NEVER AGAIN

I followed the direction on the back of the bag, with some minor adjustments. It was a mistake, a huge mistake.

New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from Jacques Torres

Time: 45 minutes (for 1 6-cookie batch), plus at least 24 hours’ chilling

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons

(8 1/2 ounces) cake flour

1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract

1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (see note)

Sea salt.

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.

Note: Disks are sold at Jacques Torres Chocolate; Valrhona fèves, oval-shaped chocolate pieces, are at Whole Foods.

I did this recipe totally wrong. I used only all-purpose flour, toll house chocolate chips and I made smaller cookies using an ice cream scoop. Still, they came out pretty amazing. I reduced the time to only about 13-15 minutes so they wouldn't be so crispy. I'm excited to try them just as the recipe instructs.

mushroom and leek risotto

I've been getting a lot of stomach aches lately so preparing meals hasn't been nearly as enticing as it used to be. I grabbed a bag of frozen mushroom risotto from Trader Joe's and ate it with canned peas and pearled onions the other night which sounds terrible and mushy but it was warm and cozy and nice.

This might be a nice from-scratch alternative. From The Kitchn.

Risotto is very easy to cook, just be sure you stir it frequently - it sticks to the bottom of your pot otherwise! Do not wash the risotto or you will wash away the gluten that makes it stick together, and this is the texture you want in a risotto.

Mushroom and Leek Risotto Recipe

Ingredients
1 1-lb package of white arborio rice/risotto
2 cups of mushrooms, your choice. I used a mix of dried chanterelles, dried porcinis, and fresh baby bellas.
1/2 of a shallot, chopped
1 large leek, washed and sliced
2 tbsp. butter or olive oil
3 cups liquid of your choice - vegetable, chicken, or beef broth. You can also use the water you soaked dried mushrooms in, if any.
1/2 cup cream sherry
2 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
Salt & pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese

Preparation
Soak any dried mushrooms in hot water and set aside. In a large pot, saute the leek and shallot in the butter or oil until soft. Add fresh sliced mushrooms and saute until nicely browned. Add the thyme, and some salt & pepper to taste. Add the risotto and stir to coat evenly. Bring pot to medium-high heat and add 2/3 of the liquid, stirring, taking care not to let the risotto stick. You want to have a slow boil going, not a rollicking boil or a simmer.

As the risotto cooks, it will absorb the liquid, so add more, half a cup at a time, stirring. At the end, add the sherry, and more salt & pepper to taste. If you've used up all your liquid and the risotto is still too hard, add about half a cup of liquid - more broth, sherry, or water. This might be a sign your heat is too high, so turn it down a little.

The risotto is done when it is al dente. Serve with grated Parmesan on top.

Marinated Eggplant with Mint

Marinated Eggplant with Mint
via Gourmet Magazine

Makes 4 to 6 side-dish servings

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 8 3/4 hr (includes marinating) Serve these eggplant slices on crusty Italian bread spread with a mild, earthy cheese such as a fresh goat cheese.

• 1 1/2 lb small purple Italian or white eggplants (about 3), trimmed and cut lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick slices
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 5 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint
• 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Toss eggplant with 1 teaspoon salt in a colander set over a bowl, then let drain 30 minutes. Rinse eggplant, then drain, pressing gently on eggplant to extract any excess liquid. Pat dry.

Whisk together vinegar, sugar, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl until sugar is dissolved. Stir in garlic and mint.

Heat oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then fry eggplant, about 8 slices at a time, until cooked through and pale golden, about 1 minute per side. Transfer eggplant as fried to paper towels to drain, then transfer to a large shallow dish, overlapping slices slightly. Spoon some of vinegar mint mixture over each batch. Marinate eggplant, covered and chilled, at least 8 hours.

Quinua with Mango and Curried Yogurt

Quinoa was of great nutritional importance in pre-Columbian Andean civilizations, being secondary only to the potato, and was followed in importance by maize. In contemporary times, this crop has become highly appreciated for its nutritional value, as its protein content is very high (12%–18%), making it a healthful choice for vegetarians and vegans. Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine), quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete protein source. It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten-free and considered easy to digest. Because of all these characteristics, quinoa is being considered a possible crop in NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System for long-duration manned spaceflights.

Quinua with Mango and Curried Yogurt
via Gourmet Magazine

• 1/3 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil
• 1 1/3 cups quinoa (7 1/2 ounce)
• 1 pound firm-ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks (2 cups)
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 fresh jalapeño chile, seeded (if desired for less heat) and minced
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1/2 cup salted roasted peanuts (2 1/2 ounces), chopped

1. Whisk together yogurt, lime juice, curry powder, ginger, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking until combined.

2. Rinse quinoa in a bowl using 5 changes of water, rubbing grains and letting them settle before pouring off water (if quinoa does not settle, drain in a large sieve after each rinsing).

3. Cook quinoa in a 4- to 5-quart pot of boiling salted water 10 minutes. Drain in a large sieve and rinse under cold running water.

4. Set sieve with quinoa over a saucepan containing 1 1/2 inches boiling water (sieve should not touch water) and steam quinoa, covered with a kitchen towel and lid, until fluffy and dry, 10 to 12 minutes. Toss quinoa with curried yogurt and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Personal Note: BUY SIEVE. Not sure if this is worth doing again. Cut down quinoa to only 1 cup.

Pizza

Home-made Thin Crust Pizza
via The Kitchn
Makes 2 pizzas

• 3/4 cups (6 ounces) of water
• 1/2 teaspoon of active-dry yeast (if using instant yeast, you don't need to dissolve it during the first step)
• 2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt

1. About 30 minutes to 1 hour before baking, pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees. If you have a baking stone, put it on a rack in the lower-middle part of the oven.

2. PROOFING: In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, heat the water until it feels barely lukewarm when you test it with your finger (if the water is so hot that you can't leave your finger in it, wait for it to cool down). Add the yeast to the water and use a fork or whisk to stir it into the water. Set this aside for a few minutes and allow the yeast to dissolve. It's ok if the yeast doesn't bubble, but it should be entirely dissolved and the mixture should look like thin miso soup.

3. Measure out the flour into a large mixing bowl. Add the salt and use your hand or a whisk to combine.

4. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the water-yeast mixture. Use your fingers or a wooden spoon to combine everything together.

5. When it comes together into a cohesive ball, turn it out onto the counter along with any extra flour in the bowl that hasn't yet gotten worked in.

6. Knead the dough until all the flour is incorporated and the dough is smooth and elastic to the touch--about five minutes.The dough should still feel moist and slightly tacky. If it's sticking to your hands and counter-top like bubble gum, work in more flour one tablespoon at a time until it's smooth and silky.

7. Use a bench scraper to divide the dough in two.

8. Tear off two pieces of parchment paper roughly 12-inches wide. Work one piece of the dough in your hands and form it into a large disk. Lay the disk of dough on the parchment paper.

9. Working from the middle of the dough outwards, use the heel of your hand to gently press the dough outward until it's about 1/4 of an inch thick or less. You can also use a rolling pin for this part. We like to make free form pies, but if you'd like a circular pie, you can trace a large circle on the back of the parchment to use as a guide.

10. Repeat with the second piece of dough.

Note: The dough will stick to the parchment paper, making it easier for you to roll out. You'll bake the pizza right on the parchment paper. As it cooks, the dough will release from the parchment, and you can slide the paper out before serving.


Margherita Topping
via The Splendid Table

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, minced
• 1 sprig parsley, chopped
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon dry oregano
• 1-1/2 cups canned whole peeled tomatoes
• 1/3 cup packed fresh basil leaves, torn
• 3 ounces fresh mozzarella (in liquid), thinly sliced
• 2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Freshly ground black pepper and salt

In a 10-inch skillet heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium high. Sauté onion and parsley to golden, then stir in garlic and oregano for a few seconds. Add tomatoes, crushing them as they go into the pan (do not substitute crushed tomatoes). Boil, stirring, 5 minutes or until thick.

Spread sauce over rolled out crust, sprinkle with basil, mozzarella, and finally the oil. Finish with generous black pepper and a little salt.


Topping and Baking the Dough

11. Spoon a few tablespoons of sauce into the center of each pizza and use the back of a spoon to spread it out to the edges. Pile on all of your toppings except the cheese.

12. Using a bread peel or the backside of a baking sheet, slide your pizza (still on the parchment) onto the baking stone in the oven. If you don't have a baking stone, just bake it right on the baking sheet.

13. Bake for about 5 minutes and then rotate the pizza 180-degrees (most ovens have 'hot spots' your pizza will bake unevenly if it's not rotated). Bake for another 3 minutes and then sprinkle the cheese over the top. Bake for another 2-3 minutes until the edges are golden brown and crispy.

14. Remove your pizza from oven and let it cool on a wire rack. At this point, you can slide the parchment paper out from under the pizza. Repeat with second pizza.

حمّص

Wiki: Many cuisine-related sources carry forward a folklore which describes hummus as one of the oldest known prepared foods with a long history in the Middle East which stretches back to antiquity, but its historical origins are unknown. The historical enigma is such that the origins of hummus-bi-tahini could be much more recent than is widely believed. One of the earliest verifiable descriptions of hummus comes from 18th-century Damascus and the same source claims it was unknown elsewhere.

Meanwhile some cookbooks repeat the legend that hummus was first prepared in the 12th century by Saladin. Sources such as Cooking in Ancient Civilizations by Cathy K. Kaufman carry speculative recipes for an ancient Egyptian hummus, substituting vinegar for lemon juice, but acknowledge we do not know how the Egyptians ate their chick-peas. Similarly, no recipe for hummus has been identified among the many books on cooking surviving from ancient Rome.

Charles Perry, co-author of Medieval Arab Cookery notes that owing to hummus bi tahina being an everyday staple, and because of the lack of Arab recipe books published between the 14th and 20th centuries, no recipes documenting this food's early ingredients have been found. He says the nearest medieval example recorded in a 13th century Arab cookbook, Kitab Wasf al-Atima al-Mutada is Hummus kasa, which substitutes vinegar for lemon, includes extra herbs and adds walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds and pistachios.

Hummus
via the kitchn
about 2 1/2 cups

• 1 15 oz can of chickpeas, well rinsed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice, fresh-squeezed

Drain and rinse the chickpeas thoroughly. Blend all of the above ingredients in a food processor or blender until very smooth.