Cook Every Recipe

BCP: Chocolate White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

2009-03-01T12:57:00.003-05:00

Major apologies for a lack of posts these past few weeks! I recently started a full-time teaching job, helping my best friend plan a wedding, trying to keep my family fed and making sure my house doesn't turn into a dumpster! Weekends have been primarily chore/errand oriented and I am just now getting into a better groove. The irony is that I have about 10 recipes just waiting for a write-up but we all know that's the hard part.

So I reward your patience with a deliciously divine cookie recipe from Miss Ina. Sink your teeth into these Chocolate White Chocolate Chunk Cookies. Ina describes these as "reverse chocolate chip cookies."

I've made these a few times because they are super simple and really unique. Part brownie, part cookie, all decadence. The recipe is your standard chocolate chip cookie recipe with cocoa powder mixed into the dough and white chocolate instead of semisweet chips. I used Nestle's but Ghiradelli also sells them (a little more expensive).

If you're having a bad day, these are sure to put a smile on your face! Gosh, I wish I had some white chocolate in the house--I'm really craving a bite!

BCP: Rugelach

2009-02-03T10:21:00.003-05:00

When I told my Dad I was making Rugelach as part of my holiday cookie craze, he thought I was talking about lettuce. I'm a little nervous I'm mispronouncing the name--does it sound like Arugula??

Whatever it's called, it's good! I'm still mastering those pie crust skills which again comes into play with these little beauties. The cookie part of this cookie is made from a cream cheese dough (that you can mix in a food processor!). The dough was very easy to make. I'm still getting in the groove of rolling out the dough but as long as I use plastic wrap I seem to manage.

The filling is composed of nuts, brown sugar, apricot preserves and a few other goodies. Again, just a few pulses in the food processor and its ready.

I rolled the dough into a pizza basically. Using the preserves mixture, I spread a thin layer on the dough. Then I cut the dough into 16 wedges with a pizza cutter. Starting at the outer edge, I rolled each wedge and a cute little cookie emerged.

I brought these and a few other treats to a dinner with friends. I didn't think these cookies would be a huge hit but surprisingly they were the hands-down favorite. They were warm and soft (I thought they would be hard and dry). A little time intensive but they were appreciated.

BCP: Apple Crostada

2009-01-20T18:25:00.007-05:00

After my disastrous attempt at shortbread, I was determined to find pastry success with the Apple Crostada. Ina describes this delicacy as her "go-to" dessert and one where even crumbs don't survive. Expectations were high.

I took my time and followed the recipe just as written. I started on the pastry component which did actually use a food processor (wasn't just me being lazy!). After I mixed everything together and chilled the dough for a bit, I rolled the pastry between plastic wrap (my idea, I might add) to get it thin enough. This was definitely a crucial step and I would have been sunk without that plastic wrap--I never would have been able to pry it off a cutting board or my counter.

While I chilled the dough, I peeled a bunch of apples (easier than I thought!), mixed together streusel-y crust and was ready for assembly. I piled the apples on the dough and topped with the streusel.

The result? (Side note: sorry--totally forgot to take an actual pic of the final product but the picture above is at the oven ready stage--still very pretty!). A delicious, flaky, fruity pastry pie. This dessert is actually quite light and so good. It's a bit of work but it would definitely impress!

BCP: Cookies for Santa

2009-01-05T10:38:00.003-05:00

Since we were on a cruise for Christmas, we didn't actually leave these cookies for Santa but I'm pretty sure he woud have liked them--we did!

These are your traditional chocolate chip cookies ut they use chocolate chunks instead of chips. They are one part of a trio of cookies Ina includes in her "Snow Day" celebration. I've actually made all three cookies before (chocolate chunk, peanut butter chocolate chunk and chocolate white chocolate chunk) and they get rave reviews each adn every time.

Ina is of the "bigger is better" philosophy as well as the "soft, chewy center" cookie--two schools of thought I also subscribe to.

An extra cookie tip--chill the dough before you use it. That way your cookies won't become too flat. I wish I had done that as mine were quite thin (but still super tasty).

BCP: Pasta, Pesto and Peas

2009-01-03T13:52:00.002-05:00

This recipe rocks! Ina incudes this recipe in her section on "Summer Parties" and I couldn't agree more. I guarantee if you took this to a picnic or BBQ, you would come home with an empty bowl.

First, I needed pesto which I had previously made (you could use store bought refrigerated pesto if you are short on time). Since the first step was already completed, I boiled up some bow-tie pasta (the recipe calls for half bow-ties/half fusilli but I used all bow ties). When you get your pasta al dente, drain it and toss with a touch of olive oil.

Meanwhile, food process the pesto, drained and squeezed frozen spinach, lemon juice and mayo. Mix this with the pasta and pop in your defrosted frozen peas, pine nuts and parm. Add some salt and pepper and get ready for a food party in your mouth!

BCP: Roast Loin of Pork with Fennel and Sauteed Cabbage

2009-01-02T16:33:00.005-05:00

This is probably what most people would consider a "Sunday Night" meal. It's really not complicated but it's probably not something I would have the patience for after working all day.

You need to first grind together the garlic, salt, mustard and thyme to make a paste for the pork. Use your hands and have some fun spreading it around--then let it sit for a while.

Meanwhile, cut up tons of fun veggies like carrots, onions, potatoes and fennel. The seasoning for the vegetables is simply olive oil, butter, salt and pepper. You roast the vegetables for a bit and then add the pork to the pan and cook for 30-50 minutes.

After you let the pork rest, you can slice it thickly.

Sauteed cabbage makes a nice accompaniment to this dish. And bonus--it's Martha Stewart's recipe! The best part is that you simply slice the cabbage into thin ribbons, saute in butter and season with salt and pepper.

Overall this was an excellent meal. I would definitely make the cabbage and the roasted vegetables again. The pork was fine but I'm beginning to recognize that pork is just not my favorite (unless it's ribs!). Pork loin doesn't have enough flavor for me and even cooked properly, is still a bit dry. But if pork's your thing--this is a good one.

BCP: Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls

2009-01-01T12:32:00.004-05:00

Happy New Year! I thought I'd start the year with a comforting recipe to get you through the winter cold (even though it's quite warm and sunny here in Florida). I love soup so the thought of making this recipe was quite exciting. I've made chicken soup from scratch many times and enjoy the process.

Sometimes making homeade broth can intimidate people but it really is a snap. You don't have to peel any vegetabes or chop them just so--you basically give them a rough cut and toss 'em in with a whole chicken and some herbs. I was able to find a packaged assortment of herbs instead of buying them all individually. Otherwise I probably would have just used the dried variety to save money.

Your house will smell wonderful as the soup simmers for a few hours. Then you remove the chicken, let it cool and cut off the meat. Meanwhile, you strain the rest of the contents of the broth, let that cool in the refrigerator (I left mine overnight) and skim the fat off the top. The broth is now ready to use.

I've never had matzo balls before so I don't even know how to judge this recipe. I'll be kind and say they weren't the best thing I've ever made. My kids kind of liked them though which completely shocked me.

I don't know what my problem is but I suck at whipping egg whites. No stiffness at all which I'm sure affected my end product. Anyway, I ended up throwing out most of the matzo balls and just serving the soup with noodles. Everyone loved it!

BCP: Shortbread Cookies

2008-12-30T16:44:00.002-05:00

Does this look fun to you? Me neither. Some tips for next time:

#1 If you've never made pie crust before, you need to realize shortbread has a lot of pie crusting skills involved.

#2 Don't use a food processor when the directions clearly call fo a mixer (and you don't have a paddle attachment).

#3 Shortbread dough is sticky.

#4 Don't overbake the shortbread.

Next....

BCP: Caramel Chocolate Nut Ice Cream

2008-12-30T15:37:00.000-05:00

Let me begin by saying I'm a bit of an ice cream fanatic. And I love lots of "stuff" in my ice cream. Not to mention in addition to the stuff in the ice cream, I normally add a touch of peanut butter and dry oatmeal as my ice cream topping. Yes, I'm disgusting (or so my husband says!).

My sweet, dear hubby once again helped the cause by single-handedly making this ice cream for me. We bought an ice cream maker at Lowe's about 8 years ago and I think this is the third time we've used it. It makes great ice cream and is easy to use but I can't seem to give up my Edy's--it's cheap plus you don'thave to wait when you need a fix.

This ice cream required many steps. First, to make the "caramel" element, hubby slowly (and I mean ssslllooowwwlllyyy) stirred and stirred waiting for the sugar to disolve into water over a very low heat setting. Then he combined this with straight heavy cream (Ina skips a ratio of milk and halfnhalf and just goes straight to the good stuff). Pour this into an ice cream maker for awhile. Then mix in chopped chocolate truffles and pecans.

The end result was a very rich, almost buttery ice cream. It had a slightly burned flavor that I think was intentional. It was good but really too much. I might make this again and scale down the cream. Or maybe I'll just stick with Edy's:-)

The World As I Know It Has Ended.

2008-12-17T12:24:00.003-05:00

My computer bit the dust this week. Ouch. I am squeezing in a quick internet session at the library--so much to do in 25 minutes!!! Anyway, thanks for stopping by and I should be back in action near the end of December (we leave on a cruise in three days!). Don't give up on me--I'm still cooking!! It will just take a bit of catch-up once we get our new system.

BCP: Pesto, Pesto Spaghetti

2008-12-02T10:30:00.003-05:00

What can you say about pesto that hasn't already been said? Garlicky, oily, cheesy, basily deliciousness. I think that about covers it.

No real surprises to this recipe aside from some walnuts and pignolis.

Oh, if you want some good, clean fun, drive down to your local supermarket and start asking random employees what aisle pignolis are on. The blank stares are worth the price of gas.

Ina should probably include "pine nuts" in parenthesis just to give readers a fighting chance.

I get a two-fer with this recipe as once you make the pesto, just toss it with cooked spaghetti to satisfy another BCP recipe. Yea!

BCP: Tropical Smoothie

2008-12-02T10:29:00.003-05:00

You really don't need a recipe to make a smoothie. That's the whole beauty of this drink--throw a bunch of stuff in a blender and get something new each time.

My kids really liked this recipe and drank the majority of it themselves. Then again, we usually drink spinach smoothies in our home so the fact that this smoothie was a beautiful fuchsia instead of bright green was a huge selling point.

If you want a diversion from the traditional smoothie, throw a banana, two cups of loosely packed fresh spinach and a cup of water into the blender. Blend until smooth. It know it sounds really disgusting but it's actually quite tasty. And it's a super easy way to get in your veggies!

A BCP Thanksgiving Special: Spinach Gratin, Smashed Sweet Potatoes with Apples and Chocolate Ganache Cake

2008-11-30T15:45:00.004-05:00

We usually head to South Florida for Thanksgiving so I haven't had a chance to try out this type of holiday fare before this year. I selected a few recipes to bring to my parent's house: Spinach Gratin, Smashed Sweet Potatoes with Apples and Chocolate Ganache Cake.

My dear husband, Dave, helped me with the arduous task of squeezing three boxes of frozen (now thawed but still really cold!) chopped spinach. Anyone who has ever squeezed even one box of spinach can certainly commiserate with the sheer tedium of this task. But Dave's not a big cooker man so I thought this would be easy if not boring. (And secretly I was doing cartwheels inside knowing I wouldn't have to do this--yeah!!!).

While the spinach was being prepped, I began heating the secret BCP ingredient--butter! Oh how Ina loves her butter. Actually this recipe only called for a tablespoon or two to saute an onion. Then the second rockstar ingredient--cream! Boil this with a pinch of nutmeg, some Parmesan cheese and the spinach and get it all gooey and yummy. Spoon it into a baking dish and top with more parm and Gruyere cheese. I took the dish over at this point and then just heated it when we were close to eating. I think we left it in a touch too long as it got a bit brown but it was soooooo good!!! I really don't like cooked spinach but I loved this--maybe my favorite recipe of the day!

Next was the Smashed Sweet Potatoes with Apples. Thankfully I glanced at this recipe early in the morning because I forgot that I'd have to cook and cool the sweet potatoes before actually assembling the dish. It took a good hour plus to fully cook the potatoes. Thanks again to my wonderful hubby for following the recipe and making the sweet potato portion of this dish while I worked on the apple element.

After scooping out the sweet potato meat, you add a touch of orange juice, cream and butter (hooray!), a bit of brown sugar and a pinch of both cinnamon and nutmeg. Using a mixer, blend this all together until creamy and smooth and spoon into a baking dish. Meanwhile, peel/core/slice a few apples and cook these in a skillet with butter and brown sugar. Place on top of sweet potatoes. When ready to eat, just pop in the over for about 20 minutes.

I liked the sweet potato portion of this dish but it is very sweet. Everyone said it tasted just like the filling of a pumpkin pie. The apples were okay. I don't think it added anything to the dish and I'd probably skip them in the future.

Bad news. I totally forgot to take a picture of the Chocolate Ganache Cake. It went very fast and was so good. The cake itself was not difficult to make even though it looks quite fancy. You do need a spring form pan though. The ingredients are fairly simple: butter, sugar, chocolate (actually Hershey's chocolate syrup!), and a mere one cup of flour. It's important not to over bake this cake or it will be dry and tough. That's one thing I hate about baking (in addition to having to really measure the ingredients!)--I can never tell when baked goods are ready. I'm a notorious under-baker because I hate dry cake, cookies, brownies, etc. I think I did well on this. The center was still very moist but it was definitely done.

The ganache is made from heavy cream (wee!), chocolate chips and instant coffee granules (I used a tablespoon or two of strong brewed coffee instead). Melt all this in a pan (it said to use a double broiler but I don't have one--really not necessary) and pour over the cake. There's a ton of extra ganache so we ended up using this as a sauce to go on top of the cake when sliced. Total heaven!

BCP: Sour Cream Coffee Cake

2008-11-29T10:03:00.007-05:00

I'll begin by saying making a cake from scratch is a lot of work. This cake especially, had so many dang steps to it that I wanted to beat someone about halfway through. Couple that with a few screw-ups on my end and it was a long afternoon!

Ina calls this coffee cake her homemade version of a Drake's Cake. I've never had a Drake's Cake so can't really compare.

You need a tube pan to make this cake. I don't have one so I substituted a bundt cake pan. This essentially delivers the same results.

The best way to begin is to work on your mise en place. I'll admit I usually skip this step and just fly by the seat of my pant adding this and that and making a huge mess. But because you have to dump and mix so many different ingredients I decided to treat my self and mise en place everything first (can that be a verb?).

The brown sugar component is the struesal and was comprised of several ingredients. Once I made the batter, I poured half in the greased pan, added a layer of struesal, poured the remaining batter in and topped with the rest of the struesal. Here is where my first error occurred. Since my bundt cake has ridges, I should have actually layered struesal/batter/struesal/batter because after the cake is cooked, you are supposed to flip the cake over and not have struesal on top. Oh well.

I baked the cake and flipped the cake to cool. I then whisked together maple syrup and confectioner's sugar for the glaze. Unfortunately, I did not whisk this nearly enough so there were quite a few unsightly clumps (error #2).

So, I flipped the cake again and it looked nice. The time the bottom for glazed instead of the top but the flavors were all there. My family loves sweets but this probably would not fall into our favorites category. The flavor and texture were awesome but it was a tad dry. The cake still dissppeared within a couple days so it was obviously pretty good!

BCP: Lobster, er, Crab Rolls

2008-11-24T07:26:00.007-05:00

My kids went to Grandma's this past weekend so I thought it the perfect opportunity to make one of the more expensive dishes from Barefoot Contessa Parites (BCP). Mainly because I could scale down the recipe to feed two instead of our usual family of four.

I was excited to make the Lobster Rolls. They looked yummy but not too frou-frou. I've had lobster a few times on a cruise but I've never made it at home...and apparently never will.

After perusing two separate grocery stores, neither carrying lobster (am I out of season??), I decided to switch gears and use crab as my base. I didn't break any rules though (ha!): Ina says if lobster is too expensive to substitute crab or shrimp. I chose crab because it's a bit more high end and we almost never eat it.

Sweetbay had just received a shipment of beautiful stone crab claws so I ordered a pound for about $10. The other ingredients were pantry staples: mayo, celery, dill weed, S&P. Hubby and I had fun cracking the claws and making the recipe together--something we don't do very often.

The end result: The crab rolls were tasty but nothing extraordinary. I served them on potato rolls (which I love!). The meat was tender but I didn't think this recipe had any more flavor than a tuna sandwich. It sounds exciting using crab and it was fun to eat (especially paired with some celebratory champagne) but I don't think I'd make these again.

BCP:Cinnamon Honey Butter

2008-11-21T15:21:00.005-05:00

After a trip to the grocery store today, I was finally able to tackle my first recipe: Cinnamon Honey Butter. It's funny--this recipe took all of two minutes to make--very simple--but would be quite impressive to serve to guests.

Simply combine unsalted butter (room temperature), good honey (i.e. whatever you have!), cinnamon and kosher salt. Whip this up with an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or in my case, a food processor) and you've got yourself some fancy butter!

I don't need fancy butter right this minute but I popped it in a Ziploc container and stuck it in the freezer for when we do have guests.

I have a bunch of recipes picked out for the week--including some for Thanksgiving--so stick with me. Fancy-schmancy butter is the only the beginning....

My Way (i.e. I reserve the right to make the rules)

2008-11-18T09:02:00.001-05:00

#1 I'm not cooking the recipes in order. Though BCP (Barefoot Contessa Parties!) is set up as a series of "menus" for entertaining, I am going to take some liberties to play around. Let's take caviar for example. There are two recipes (in different sections) calling for caviar. Instead of buying two containers of caviar at different times, I'll probably make these recipes within a couple days of each other. Really a money-saving technique.

#2 I reserve the right to adjust serving sizes. I'll probably make 1/3 to 1/2 of certain recipes. Most of BCP's recipes are meant for gatherings of 8-10 people. My family of four doesn't need a chicken soup calling for three 5-pound chickens. I can easily scale the recipes down so we aren't saddled with a month of leftovers.

#3 I'm going to shoot for making at least three recipes each week. Some weeks I may be able to knock out a few extras.

Julia Child, French Laundry, Alinea, Gourmet....Barefoot Contessa?!

2008-11-17T18:33:00.001-05:00

No, I don't think I'm in the same league with people cooking Thomas Keller's inspired creations but there are several reasons I selected Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Parties! as my initial cookbook.

1) I don't want to waste food. I'm married with two young children. While I feel that my husband and kids are very supportive of whatever I'm doing, I'm pretty sure they'd draw the line at pig snout and calf hooves. Unfortunately, my husband is super picky with vegetables: no mushrooms, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini or squash (to name a few). Do you understand what I'm working with here?!?! So I selected a book that could feed my family--not my trash can. I just don't live in a world where fois gras is coveted.

2) I love Ina's easy, breezy style. Whether reading her many cookbooks or watching her show on Food Network, she is welcoming and warm. She never seems stressed or pretentious. I know people have a love/hate thing for her but I hope you'll learn to embrace your inner-Ina.

3) The food is awesome! It's not snooty nor does it try too hard. Barefoot Contessa aims to comfort. And who couldn't use some of that as we approach the colder months (well those of you who don't live in Florida with me!). Not to mention Barefoot Contessa Parties is a mere 81 recipes--I think I can knock this out in a few months.

4) This book allows me to dip my toe in the water--before I dive in head first.

Let's get started!

Um, why?

2008-11-17T16:46:00.001-05:00

A couple years ago, I read the intriguing Julie & Julia project--a married, no kids New Yorker chronicled her attempt (and success!)cooking all 524 recipes of Julia Child's infamous Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I in the span of 365 days.

I don't know what exactly appealed to me about cooking my way through an entire cookbook. I've had the idea several times but never quite got around to diving into the project. After stalking several blogs of people doing the same, I've decided to go for it.

Plus, I need a new blog to spout my thoughts.

Hope you'll join me for the adventure....