Camera Cleanup #11

Wow it's been a while, sorry about that. Although these days there's so much good food reading on the net I suppose I don't need to apologize. Heh. Anyway, I haven't been posting because I haven't really been cooking much. Too hot mostly, but I also don't really like cooking for one. I mean there's only so many sandwiches a dude can post, especially since they aren't always as creative as some I have made. I doubt folks really want to hear "ate another turkey sandwich. It was pretty good", you know?

I've also had some writers block, although that sounds a bit too grand for referring to blogging. But there it is. Anyway, I do have some pictures, why not share them?

Let's start with breakfast, that seems appropriate. Mmmm, pecan sticky bun. This is another pizza dough thing, but what I did was make a rope of dough that I coated with sugar, apple pie spice, pecans and a little butter. Then I coiled it, put it in a covered bowl and let it rise in the fridge over night. The next morning I baked it and it was awesome.

For lunch, how about some fish I made. I think it's tilapia, if not then it's mahi mahi, those are the only fish I've had lately. I remember using Mexican spices, I think maybe even the same ones I did this with. The rice was some leftover white rice I had that I tossed in to the pan after cooking the fish making a kind of fried rice thing. Oh and I put some cilantro in it, seemed the thing to do.

I thought this was kind of weird, see the size difference in the yolks? Well the little ones on the left came from the same egg, which was itself shaped strangely. It was wicked long and narrow. Yeah, it's not really that exciting. Heh.

And for dinner? Might I suggest some roast chicken? I pretty much used the same method for this as I did for the roasted half chicken. The big difference being, clearly, this was a split breast and not a half a chicken. It was, however, fantastic.

Alright then, there it is. Hopefully this is indicative of me getting my groove back. Is that something a white guy is allowed to do? Perhaps I should get back on the horse, but I'm no equestrian. Maybe put my shoulder to the wheel? I don't know, something. Start posting again, anyway.

Baklava

My brother makes the best baklava. It's not as cloyingly sweet as other recipes, which I really like. It also involves three sticks of butter for a 9x13" pan. So, not healthy. At all. Also a pain to make. But so fricking good. And since I've been having writers block lately, this is all you get. That and the fact that I don't have the recipe. I'll get it and post it though, eventually. Now, more coffee.

Pecan Tassies

I have a fairly large family (I'm the youngest of seven) so for Christmas we just draw names out of a hat and get a gift for one person/family unit. This year one of my sisters got my girlfriend and me and along with some amusing t shirts she sent a couple dozen of these. These are pecan tassies and they are deadly. They're like mini pecan pies with a cream cheese crust. And no, there isn't one missing from that pack. I swear I didn't eat any before taking a picture because they just looked so good, it only appears that way. All right? All right.Anyway, my girlfriend and I almost came to blows over the last one.

It went down like this:

*Intense stare down, High Noon whistle. I loom over her, almost a foot taller and much heftier.*

Me: "You think you can take me, girl? I have over 100 pounds on you and years of martial arts under my belt!"

Girlfriend: "Uh-huh. Hey! Noodles is scratching your guitar! Go stop her!"

Me: "Whaa?!" I turn my back.

I turn back after noting that no, Noodles was not scratching my guitar but my girlfriend is covered in crumbs and grins. The bastard.

Ok, that didn't really happen. But civil discussion isn't half as amusing.

So anyway, I figured I'd have to make them. But that hasn't happened yet and since I want to clean up my camera I'm going to post about them anyway. My sister used the recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, but I don't feel like writing out a recipe today. So instead I'm going to link to a few of my favorite bloggers who have posted a recipe for them.

Evil Shenanigans has one that uses golden syrup, which I bet gives a great texture to them.

Here is one at The Joy of Baking that looks an awful lot like the BH&G version and if it is I can testify to its awesomeness.

And here is a gluten free pecan tassie recipe from Simply Gluten Free, which I am intrigued by. I'm not a gluten free needing person but they look fantastic and if that's something you're into you should check that out.

Who out there has had these? Has anyone ever subbed other nuts? I was thinking cashews or almonds. Maybe chocolate and peanuts...

Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ok, I'm a bad blogger. I had a post all ready, albeit in my head, for these cookies. It was moderately witty, had an anecdote involving children and/or animals, the whole nine yards. But I forgot it. All of it. I don't even remember the anecdote and I was there when it happened!

But, I'm still going to post the cookie pictures. They were delicious after all, but they're just my go to recipe that I tossed some hazelnuts in.
That's why I had had the story and all the interesting stuff, because I don't have much to say about the cookies other than they're good.
Hm. Well, I should do something to entertain you all. I could dance, but you would ever know. Also me + dance = disaster. Same with singing, you guys don't want that, I assure you.

And since I'm going to go help a buddy move some furniture and tear up his carpet so he can install new flooring I don't have any time to think of something new and amusing. So that's it, I guess. Apparently the bullet point of my little speech here is hazelnut chocolate chip cookies are good and not writing things down is bad. Thank you for your time.

Hazelnut Chocolate Brownie Cookies

I love chocolate and hazelnuts together, it's one of my all time favorite combos. But for some reason up until just the other day I had never thought to actually go out and buy a bag of hazelnuts. Can you believe that?

I'm not sure why, but I had hazelnuts stored in the part of my brain labeled "want/cannot have/weak". Until one day I had an epiphany. Now, I remember this clearly because all of the things I was doing were so out of character.

I was sitting in front of the computer (this is where you gasp). Eating a hazelnut/chocolate bar (now you should clutch your pearls and emit a more startled gasp). And reading food blogs (you may now place the back of your hand on your forehead and faint from shock). When someone mentioned a bag of hazelnuts they had in their pantry.

And I said, "You can buy bags of hazelnuts!? $@#%!".

I'm not sure why I was surprised, but there it is. Heh. So I went out and got some. Then I needed something to make.

I remembered reading this post over at Yes, We Cook! and thought some hazelnut chocolate cookies were in order. Then I remembered some brownie cookies my mom made once when I was a kid. They were wicked good, a perfect combination of chewy/gooey/awesome. They were spectacular. I loved them. I wanted to make them, with hazelnuts. The only problem is that after that first time my mom made them she lost the recipe and we never found it again. It's like some kind of Greek tragedy. Sort of. But fortunately the internet was there for me. I punched "brownie cookie" in and got a metric web-load of recipes.

The one I finally decided on was from Brown Eyed Baker and the only change I made was to add the chopped hazelnuts (I know you can't see them, but I assure you they're in there). The dough was quite thin when I first finished mixing it, but letting it rest for fifteen minutes or so made it thicker and easier to work with. I did make a batch with it right away (I only have one functional sheet pan right now) and it came out fine. But I liked it better after it had rested a bit. The cookies came out a bit taller too.
The bottom line, though, is this: the recipe is awesome, it's now my default chocolate cookie. It's also the closest to recreating those cookies my mom made that I've gotten so far. And frankly, I have a feeling those cookies have been flavored by nostalgia at this point and nothing will ever live up to them. Heh.

Repost: Chicken With Cashews

1 1/2 lbs boneless/skinless chicken breast
3 tbls hoisin sauce
2 tbls soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp sherry or 1/2 tsp of rice wine vinegar
1 tbl cornstarch
1 can water chestnuts
1/2 - 1 cup roasted, unsalted cashews
sesame oil

Cut up the chicken into bite sized chunks. Toss it with the cornstarch and sherry or vinegar. Mix together the hoisin, sugar and soy sauce. Heat up a nonstick stir fry pan or skillet over med/med high. Cook the chicken in batches if you want browning or all together if you don't care. When the chicken is almost done add the sauce mixture. Cook over med/med-high for a minute or so, then add the water chestnuts. Cook till the chicken is done then add the cashews. Stir it up and serve over rice, sprinkle a little sesame oil over the top right before eating.

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Stuff has been wicked busy lately so you kids are getting a repost. I originally did this way back at the beginning of my blog and it wasn't very well done. The post, I mean. The dish hasn't changed a bit, it's awesome, but the pictures I put up make me want to cry. If you really want to see it, it's here. Anyway, I don't have step by step shots this time around but it's so easy I don't think they are needed. Which is convenient since I don't have them. Heh. This is one of the easiest and simplest stir fries I make and also one of my favorites. It's great over rice or noodles or even by itself, if you aren't feeling it for carbs. Put it in a wrap with some carrots and lettuce, that would be good too. Or toss some chow mein noodles on there for some additional texture.

Speaking of texture, the water chestnuts are key to this. They lighten up the flavor a bit and give a great contrast to the tender chicken. But then, I love water chestnuts. It's another one of those things I've noticed people either love or hate, where do you folks stand?

Product Review: Green Valley Pecans

Just a quickie today kids. Pecans. They're in the, oh... top five best nuts to mix with chocolate. So when I got a sample from Green Valley Pecan Co. I figured something chocolate had to be done. So I made those chocolate pecan cookies that I posted about yesterday. But how were they just by themselves? Well to test that I ate a handful. They were quite good. Were they significantly better than the kind I get at the store whose name I can't remember? Not really, but if their prices were the same I would pick the Green Valley ones. And not just because they sent me free samples. Heh.

Chocolate Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
dash of salt
2 oz unsweetened chocolate
2 tbls butter
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts
4 oz melted semisweet chocolate (optional, for drizzling)

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Stir together the flour, baking powder and salt and set it aside. Melt together the butter, unsweetened chocolate and 1 cup of chips. Let cool a bit then beat it together with the eggs, vanilla and sugar. Beat in the flour mixture. Mix in the remaining chips and nuts. Drop round tsps of dough onto the prepped sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes, till top is dull and cracked. Let sit for 1 minute then transfer to a wire rack.

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Ok, this post is missing several pictures because blogger insists on importing them sideways. I don't know why, there isn't any kind of answer in the "help" section (although I'm not the only one it's happening to) and it seems you can't contact them directly. I'm going to keep at it to see if I can figure out what's going on, but I figured you guys don't really mind if I skip the pictures of "just combined the egg" or "about to mix in the flour" and such. Especially since we are talking chocolate cookies here. So.

This recipe comes from The Ultimate Cookie Cookbook and claims to be The Ultimate Chocolate Cookie. I don't know about all that, but they were good. I'm not really the biggest chocolate cookie fan, so... hey, don't look at me like that. I like them, but when I want all-chocolate baked goods I'm more of a brownie dude. I won't turn my nose up to a chocolate cookie, but I tend to steer more towards standard chocolate chip or peanut butter if I'm going to actually make some. But I was bored and flipping through the cookbook and this recipe caught my eye. Mostly because I had all the ingredients on hand and I was feeling it for something a bit different. So I decided to whip some up.

I actually mixed the dry ingredients together first. I swear I did. And it's one of the pictures that is sideways. Of course. So we skip right to the melting stuff together bit. Ok, so I didn't have quite all the ingredients. What I thought was baking chocolate was bittersweet and that's just not the same. So I subbed cocoa powder (three tablespoons of cocoa powder + one tablespoon of butter, oil, etc = one ounce of baking chocolate). Melted it up. Mmmm, I could eat that as is. Well, almost. It was a little bitter. Heh. Next is vanilla, egg and sugar. I'm making half a batch, that's why there's only one egg. Mixed that together (insert picture here), added the flour (insert picture here) and mixed that. Then the chips and nuts. I used pecans because that's what I had and frankly would have probably been what I wanted in these anyway. Mixed that together (insert picture here) and baked it up. They didn't really spread much, which was kind of a bummer. I prefer that. I also didn't bother with the chocolate drizzle the book suggests, I just didn't feel like it and I can't imagine it makes that much of a difference. They were still good, but even as good as they are I'm not sure I'd make them again. First off, only two tablespoons of butter? Are you serious? What is this, health food? Is that why they didn't spread? Pfffft. Secondly... well, they just didn't thrill me. They were good, but not great. If I'm going to make cookies I want them to be wicked good, not just good.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup chunky peanut butter
3 tablespoons milk, or as needed
2 cups confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup chopped chocolate chips

Cream the butter and peanut butter together. Add the sugar, mix to combine. Add the milk, a tablespoon at a time and mix till smooth and spreadable.

adapted from here

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Ok, here is how good this frosting is. See this? See the cake? The chocolate cake? Practically irrelevant. I wound up eating about a quarter cup of the frosting with a spoon while I was waiting for the cake to cool enough to be frosted. Then when I did frost it and eat some I barely even noticed it. It probably didn't help that it was a mix cake, but I like mix cakes. Sure, they aren't as good as a good homemade one, but it will satisfy a cake craving and it's easy. But this frosting. This was very good. It's full of chunks from the peanuts and chocolate, so it will never be smooth and pretty. But it tastes like some kind of wonderful, delicious... thing. Words fail me, apparently. Look, if you like peanut butter, butter and chocolate you will like this frosting. It's wicked good. Here's how you make it.


Chop up some chocolate chips. No need to worry too much about small pieces, big chunks of chocolate are always good. And I've found that nothing is going to make a chunky frosting spread well, so you might as well get good flavor. Plus if you are using an electric mixer it will break them down a bit more. I didn't feel like breaking out my electric, which probably wouldn't have been able to handle frosting anyway. It's really weak. But I didn't use the whisk pictured here either. I'm not sure why I thought I would. I also didn't feel like following the instructions, I just dumped in everything except the milk and chips into a bowl and mixed. Then added some milk to thin it out. Then chocolate chips and more mixing. When it was as smooth as I wanted, I called it done. Then, as you saw, I put it on cake and ate more. It would also be good between two peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies or chocolate oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Or just on a spoon. I think that was my favorite.