Why Hello Bambi...

The Mother Unit and Frank gifted us with some venison a couple of months ago. Tonight the Bambi tenderloin made a delicious appearance! Next on the docket is the venison roast, perhaps making an appearance as some burgers. The marinade was quite good although I did add a couple extra dashes of worcestershire to my own tenderloin piece for some extra zip. Since we don't have a grill I cooked it up in my cast iron pan. I liked this marinade more than the herb marinade we had at First Thanksgiving but I missed the horseradish cream! The Kale Salad, my current favorite, made an appearance and as did some red beans and rice.

Venison Marinade 

(Pinterest find!)

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 to 1.5 pounds worth of venison tenderloin or steak
Directions:
1. Mix all marinade ingredients together in a plastic bag. Add the venison to the bag.

2. Place the bag in the fridge making sure the meat is in a single layer. Marinate at least 4 hours, turning every hour or so to marinate each side.

3. Remove the venison from bag. Grill meat (or cook in a cast iron pan!) until desired doneness.

Seafood Bisque

In addition to our First Thanksgiving Mixed Grill we had some wonderful Blaak Cheese from Beekman 1802. It's made close to where I grew up, yay local Upstate NY goodies!

 We also made some delicious seafood bisque. Ours came out very thick because the Mother Unit had a ton of seafood. I think we did a half pound (or was it a pound?!) each of shrimp, lobster, and crabmeat. It was amazing and even better the next day. I also sliced my finger open in this endeavor but then you should never take a girl to a winery and then give her a knife to start de-shelling seafood. Those lobsters were nasty I tell you! Their defeat tasted delicious.

mmmm so creamy and yummy.

Seafood Bisque

(from the Mother Unit)

Ingredients:
7 tablespoons butter
1/2 pound of shrimp, scallops, and crabmeat (or lobster!)
1 tablespoon shallot or 2 tablespoons onions, chopped
10 tablespoons sherry
Salt & Pepper to taste
3 tablespoons flour
1.5 cups milk
Seasoned bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400. In a heavy skillet melt 4 tablespoons of butter and saute the shrimp, scallops, crabmeat, and shallot/onion for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with 6 tablespoons of sherry and season with salt/pepper.
2. In another saucepan melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and slowly stir in the flour. Cook several minutes over low heat. Add the milk and remaining 4 tablespoons of sherry, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth.
3. Combine the sauce and seafood in a buttered one quart casserole dish. Cover the top with seasoned bread crumbs and sprinkle with cheese. Bake 30 minutes.

First Thanksgiving

The past couple of years we've gone down to Virginia in early November to celebrate First Thanksgiving with the Mother Unit and Grandparents. First Thanksgiving should not be confused with Little Thanksgiving or Actual Thanksgiving. That's right, we have three Thanksgiving Feasts in November. Luckily we always do a mixed grill for First Thanksgiving so we don't get all "turkey-ed out". This year we had some venison and it was delicious! The fresh herbs, grill, and horseradish cream were key.

The weekend goes like this: the boys get up and go fishing, the girls go antiquing for Fiesta, we meet at a winery and get smashed, and then we come home and cook. Then things like this happen.

The boy taking apart his fly rod under the influence. He turned it into a left handed rod.

Fiesta pickings were slim but we scored this Scarlett Pitcher, in pristine condition, for 10 bucks (normally $35)! We also found a Cobalt Berry Bowl.

 Our mixed grill: cajun cod, two types of fancy sausage from a local butcher, and freshly caught venison!

 A little bite of everything!

 Hello Bambi. You're delicious.

Grilled Venison Loin with Horseradish Cream

(Pinterest Find! From Game & Fish Magazine)

Ingredients:
1.5 to 2 pounds venison loin, trimmed of all silverskin
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh herbs: thyme, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, savory, and/or parsley
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons or more freshly grated or prepared horseradish
2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives or parsley
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
Directions:
1. Season the meat with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, mix the 2 tablespoons herbs with the olive oil and spread all over the meat. Marinate for 2 hours or overnight, refrigerated.
2. Make a hot, even fire in a charcoal grill, or set a gas grill on high heat.
3. Grill the meat on one side without moving it until nicely browned, 4 to 5 minutes, then rotate 90 degrees to make grill marks and to char more surface area. Flip the loin, cooking 4 to 5 minutes more. Aim for a good, deeply browned char on the outside but leaving the meat still nice and rare on the inside. Transfer to a warm plate and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes while you prepare the sauce.
4. For the horseradish sauce, mix the sour cream, horseradish, chives, lemon juice, and zest together in a small bowl, and season with salt. Serve the loin, thinly sliced against the grain, with the horseradish cream.

Mr. Lawyer's first bite of Bambi!

Herbed Croutons

I raided the Mother Unit's garden before we left which resulted in a fridge full of beautiful fresh herbs. I chopped up some of the rosemary and oregano for these lovely herbed croutons. Mr. Lawyer is making one of his delicious salads. Tonight's features apples, cheddar cheese, cucumbers, and red onion over romaine and tossed with a little yogurt ranch dressing. These croutons will make a lovely, and crunchy, addition!

Homemade Herbed Croutons

Ingredients:

Bread (I used sourdough)

Herbs (I used rosemary, oregano, and red pepper flakes)

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Directions:

1. Cut bread into appropriate crouton cubes.

2. Lightly coat the croutons with olive oil. Mix in desired amount of salt, pepper, and herbs.

3. Preheat oven to 400. Bake croutons for 10-15 minutes or until they reach the desired crunchy texture. Stir them occasionally for even browning.

Shower Time!

This past weekend some very lovely ladies threw me a wonderful bridal shower. Tonight was the first night that I was able to use some of my new goodies! Our first Fiesta tables setting with a special guest appearance by the pasta dish! I picked out a cobalt pasta dish because I thought the color would go really well with the red and white of the saucy pasta. I was not disappointed!

The theme of our dinner was Virginia! The Mother Unit brought us up some salad and tomatoes that she grew in her garden. She also gave us some homegrown onions, garlic, and a ton of fresh herbs that got thrown into my sauce. To top it all off we opened a bottle of Virginia wine she gifted us. Go Virginia and mom's garden!

Cheese and Drinks!

I made leftover mac & cheese last night. It wasn't half bad considering I winged it and didn't measure anything. I based it loosely on my recipe for Devil's Mac & Cheese and used all of my party leftovers. I used a mix of leftover cheese (cheddar, colby, mozzarella), replaced the cream/half&half with milk, and used the improper type of noodle....the horror! Speaking of horror, it's nights like this when Mr. Lawyer comes home and announces that I'm five years old. In my defense we had leftovers to use up and I refused to go to the store for random ingredients like hot dog buns....and maybe some days I just want mac & cheese and hot dogs.

The Mother Unit played mixologist genius this weekend before passing the duty of the Mr. Lawyer. This drink was decent but really, really sweet. I think it's the dragonberry rum. One is okay but two is way too much. We solved this problem by adding a splash of sparkling wine. I'm sure seltzer would also work.

The Patriot

(from the Mother Unit)

Ingredients:

4 ounces Cranberry Juice Cocktail
1 1/2 ounce Bacardi Dragonberry Strawberry Rum
1 tablespoon frozen strawberries, thawed
Mint sprig, garnish

**Splash of sparkling wine or seltzer recommended** 

Directions:

1. In a cocktail shaker filled halfway with ice, add all ingredients except garnish and shake well. 

2. Strain into a glass filled with ice. Garnish with mint sprig.

Blueberry Peach Tart!

The Mother Unit sent me this yummy recipe. It was nice way to use up some of the four pounds of blueberries I picked this summer. She had used a mix of blueberries, peaches, and mangos which sounds delicious. While mine was delicious it didn't hold it's form well, or I just suck at taking the pieces out, so it was definitely more on the crumble side of things.

Peach Blueberry Crumble Tart

(from a taste of home)

Ingredients:

1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 cups frozen unsweetened blueberries, thawed
2 cups frozen unsweetened sliced peaches, thawed
1 tablespoon honey
CRUMB TOPPING:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup chopped Diamond of California® Pecans
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Directions:
1. In a small bowl, mix the flour, sugar and cinnamon; stir in butter just until blended. Press onto the bottom and up the side of a 9-in. fluted tart pan with removable bottom. Bake at 350° for 15-20
minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.
2. In a large bowl, combine the blueberries, peaches and honey; toss to coat. In a small bowl, combine the first five topping ingredients; stir in butter.
3. Spoon fruit mixture into crust; sprinkle with topping. Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.

A Kitchen Guest!

Welcome to my very first guest post! My mom shares lots of yummy recipes with me and I don't always have the time to try them out so she's here to pick up the slack! Also, I don't have two huge basil plants in my backyard to make yummy drinks. Or, like Mr. Lawyer, she thinks I'm slacking in the food/blogging category and this is a big hint for me to stop eating the chili from the freezer and cook something new.

The Mother Unit and I after a day on the winery/brewery trail

From the Mother Unit:
Happiness is sharing recipes with your daughter, especially after she decreed (as a teen) that she was never going to learn to cook. She just wanted to eat out all the time. Welcome to the real world of bills and budgets. It’s fun that we have developed a mutual interest in recipes involving alcohol. For me, it’s now flavor versus effect.

Here’s a recipe I tried as I had some strawberry flavored vodka. I’ve muddled up a lot of things in my life but never strawberries with simple syrup. My effort was to process the daylights out of the two of them, ending up with a red sludge. With my handy cocktail shaker (thanks for the gift kids) I put the sludge in with the basil and the vodka. So, my effort was murky and sweeter than I would like. I think if it had been straight up vodka that would have cut the sugary taste. The basil added a nice taste to the background. I have two huge basil bushes in the new garden. Time to experiment more with it.

Strawberry Fields

(from the Mother Unit)

Ingredients: 

3 parts strawberry vodka
2 parts strawberry puree (or 3 strawberries muddled with simple syrup)
1 part fresh lemon juice
1 part simple syrup (or agave nectar)
Basil Leaves
Directions:
1. Muddle strawberries and basil (to taste) with lemon juice in a cocktail shaker.
2. Add 1 part simple syrup (or agave nectar) to cocktail shaker.
3. Shake with ice & strain into a chilled martini glass.

Um, did my mother just call me an alcoholic?!

Chinese Walnut Chicken

I've been on quick and easy chicken and rice dinner mode as I re-adjust to school and find my cooking mojo! This is an old recipe that my mom use to make, I remember the Dork and I just dying for this. It's a nice basic recipe, no crazy flavors or anything weird. I did ad a dash of sesame oil to it because I'm all fancy and worldly now.

Chinese Walnut Chicken

(from the Mother Unit)

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts, cubed
1/2 teaspoon pepper, salt
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon cornstarch
5 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Directions:
1. Mix cornstarch, salt, pepper, sugar, soy, and 2 tablespoons oil. Add chicken and stir.
2. Saute walnuts in 1 tablespoon oil. Remove from pan.
3. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil and add chicken. Stir fry for 2 minutes. Add walnuts.
4. Stir in chicken broth and stir fry until chicken is cooked. Serve over rice.

I'm so classy

Blerg. I am diseased. In order to stay hydrated and soothe my poor throat I resulted to a childhood favorite that turned into an adult favorite (I now know why my parents made these drinks). I may or may not have spent the afternoon on the couch drinking the entire blender of Orange Julius. There may have been some vodka involved. And some homemade chocolate chip cookies that a certain boy made (although they were not as good as his peanut butter ones, shhhh!).

Orange Julius

(from the Mother Unit)

Ingredients:
6 ounces frozen orange juice concentrate
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
10-12 ice cubes (or to slushy preference)
Directions:
1. Throw it all in the blender and enjoy!

I need to learn how to take pictures of beverages. I never like the way they turn out.

Birthday Cake!

The Mother Unit came up and she brought a birthday cake! Woo! 

I asked for something that wasn't too sweet as I haven't recovered from my holiday sugar overdose. This pumpkin cake was perfect! Mom says that it's better if you make it ahead of time and let it sit overnight (minus the caramel and nut topping, add those right before serving). We may or may not have had some for breakfast.

Luscious Four-Layer Pumpkin Cake

(from the Mother Unit)

Ingredients:
1 pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix 

1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin, divided 

1.5 cup milk 

1 1/3 cup oil 

4 Eggs 

1-1.5 tsp. pumpkin pie spice , divided 

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened 

1 cup powdered sugar 

1 tub (8 oz.) cool whip, thawed 

1 1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping 

1 1/4 cup chopped pecans
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350 F. 

2. Beat cake mix, 1 cup pumpkin, milk, oil, eggs and 1 tsp. spice in large bowl with mixer until well blended. 

3. Pour into two greased and floured 9·inch round pans. Bake 28 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 min. Remove from pans to wire racks; cool completely.
4. Beat cream cheese in medium bowl with mixer until creamy. Add sugar, remaining pumpkin and spice; mix well. Gently stir in cool whip. Cut each cake layer horizontally in half with serrated knife; stack on serving plate, spreading cream cheese filling between layers. (Do not frost top layer.) Drizzle with caramel topping just before serving; top with nuts. Refrigerate leftovers.

Death by Dairy Products

Is there a limit to how many pasta and cheese dishes you can having sitting in your fridge? Because right now I have around 10 pounds worth of various pasta and cheese combinations just chilling in the fridge. Please come eat my leftovers.

Tonight we had Brad and Christine over for a chicken and mac'n'cheese dinner. I used my standard Perfect Roast Chicken recipe from Martha. It's my fourth time using this recipe so I might experiment with something new on my next whole chicken. For the macaroni and cheese I used a recipe from my mom which contains absolutely nothing healthy. She likes to call it "Death by Dairy Products" for obvious unhealthy reasons. I'm almost embarrassed to post it. Also, this picture sucks.

Macaroni and Cheese

(From the Mother Unit)

Ingredients:
1 lb cooked elbows
6 tbs butter
6 tbs flour
4 cups scalded milk
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp cayenne
Pepper to taste
1 ½ cup grated cheddar
1 ½ cup grated monterey jack cheese
1 cup parmesan cheese
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup buttered bread crumbs
Directions:
1. Melt butter and stir in flour. 

2.  Slowly add milk, stirring constantly till boiling. Reduce heat and stir in spices. 

3. Stir in ½ of each cheese and cook till melted. Combine sauce with macaroni. 

4. Assemble in buttered casserole by layering macaroni with remaining cheese. 

5. Top with cream and breadcrumbs.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

The Aftermath

I can't believe no one went for a drumstick! Mr. Lawyer has called dibs on them for breakfast.

And then Mr. Lawyer and Christine attempted to explain what their jobs entailed effectively putting Brad and I to sleep. Wait, you mean not everyone has exciting stories about hooligans lighting things on fire at work?!

Bits of College

The problem with a vat of soup (and leftover caper noodles) is that you eat left overs alllllll week which makes for boring blog posts. While we're in the realm of soup: I basically lived off soup and grilled cheese or bagels for my entire college career. Oh, and Captain Crunch. It was a glorious day when the dining hall restocked with the captain. While Mr. Lawyer was away this past weekend I revisited my college eating habits...mostly because I was too lazy to go grocery shopping. The best thing ever was when the Mother Unit ordered me a box of 50 individually wrapped mini blocks of Cabot Cheddar during my sophomore year. Our mini fridge was overflowing with cheese. It was glorious. It also meant that we became super popular with everyone. I would sneak my mini cheeses in to the dining hall for my soups and bagels. No way I was going to top my food with their cheap unidentifiable shredded cheese!

Slice up some cabot cheese, put it on your bagel and pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds and you've got the best cheesy bread to accompany your soup!

No, I did not buy a giant box of Captain Crunch at BJs.

Warm Soup Belly!

Happy half-anniversary! Have a giant vat of chicken enchilada soup. So romantic, although since someone isn't a fan of celebrating half-anniversaries or birthdays I suppose the feeling of "warm soup belly" will have to suffice. But who doesn't love an excuse for drinks and celebrations?! Boys. Psh.
I have very fond memories of the Mother Unit making this soup. And then I have the not so fond memory of being tasked with taking a huge crock pot full of this soup from her house to my dad's for some reason. I feel like maybe it was a graduation or boy scout thing or something. So the Dork and I pile into my first car (a lovely silver dodge stratus) and go on our way. There was this tricky little part where you left the tiny side road and had to cross two lanes of highway to get in the proper lane all while making a curvy turn and accelerating so you didn't get smushed by the speeding tractor trailers. Yeah. Guess what happened? The Dork and I watched in horror as the crock pot slide over and spilled all it's contents in the front seat of my car. And by watched I mean he was too busy playing his game boy to actually grab it when I told him to and I have no idea why the soup was in the front seat and not him. I'm guessing this was done so he wouldn't mess with my radio. Ah smart life decisions. As delicious as this soup is do you know how hard it is to clean up a puddle of cheesy goo with chicken bits? And how nasty it smelled on hot days for months after that fateful day (good thing we didn't have a lot of those in NY. Zing!). There was still a slightly crusty soup stain when we sold it. Ah memories.
Moving on to the recipe! Delicious and nutritious! Well except for that 16 oz of Velveeta. Speaking of which, it is incredibly hard to find Velveeta in the city. I ended up having to pay an outrageous amount for 12 oz of Velveeta singles from the little market downstairs which left me 4 oz short. Ah well, probably a bit healthier that way. Also, enchilada sauce is wicked expensive even by Whole Foods standards.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

(From the Mother Unit)

Ingredients:
2 tablespoon oil
4 chicken breasts
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
3 cups water
1 cup flour
1 cup enchilada sauce
16 oz Velveeta
1 generous teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
Shredded cheese and chips for serving
Directions:
1. Heat one tablespoon of oil in a pan. Brown chicken until cooked. Remove and set aside.
2. Heat one tablespoon of oil in a large pot, add onions and garlic. Saute for 2 minutes.
3. Add chicken broth. Combine flour with 2 cups of water and whisk until blended. Add flour mix to pot with onions and broth. Add remaining water, enchilada sauce, cheese and spices to pot and bring mix to a boil.
4. Shred the chicken into bite sized pieces and add it to the pot. Reduce heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until thick.
5. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese and crumbled tortilla chips.

I started the soup early so it simmered for about 1.5 hours until Mr. Lawyer got home for dinner and it was delicious! Side note: I like blue tortilla chips and Mr. Lawyer like regular. Whole Foods makes a wonderful bag of tortilla chips that has both! The best of both worlds.

Some like it Spicy!

You need to make this dish. It's hard to have a favorite but this might be a favorite. I use to make huge batches all the time in Syracuse and then eat it all week. It's delicious. I had Mr. Lawyer over one time and he ate it politely and then told me that he wasn't a huge fan of peanut sauces so I had held off on making it on Philly....which is why I had Amanda over tonight because she appreciates peanut sauces! (and brings me crescent rolls and cookies) Then lo and behold Mr. Lawyer marches through the door, grabs a plate and devours it! He has now decided that this batch wasn't as peanut-y or that he might now like peanut sauces. Silly boys. Anyway, peanut sauce, spiciness, and shrimp! All on noodles! What's not to be in love with?
Recipe notes: I always double the sauce because if you save some, the noodles so it all up. I also keep the sauce and noodles separate for leftover purposes so I don't run into that soaked up all the sauce noodle problem. Watch your jalapenos! The first time I made this it was hot hot hot! Which is good because I'm kind of a glutton for punishment when it comes to things like this but not everyone likes having to take a drink or bite of roll in between ever forkful. Speaking of which Pillsbury Crescent Rolls go amazingly well with this dish. It must be the texture but I highly recommend them. I also like to use pre-cooked shrimp (medium size) because it's less gross than raw shrimp and I normally just add the whole bag of frozen shrimp because life is more fun with shrimp.

Linguine with Spicy Shrimp Sauce

(from the Mother Unit)

Ingredients:
8 oz linguine
12 oz shrimp (de-tailed)
2 red peppers
3 scallions
1 jalapeno, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1-2 tablespoons sesame oil (I always use 2)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon soy sauce (I always use low sodium)
1 tablespoon white vinegar
Directions:
1. Prepare pasta according to directions.
2. Cut peppers into bite sized pieces (for less spice, seed the jalapeno)
3. Combine all ingredients in a large sauce pan, cover and simmer on low heat (stirring occasionally) until shrimp is cooked.

From the Bakery of Jenni and Amanda!

I must start this post with two disclaimers:

1. Amanda and I are awesome.

2. I've never been a huge traditional cake fan which is why the Mother Unit always made me cheesecakes for my birthday and Melissa always made me flour-less chocolate tortes.

That being said this was a pretty good cake recipe and the frosting was banging. I also picked up a cake decorating kit for 6.99 at HomeGoods which was the best decision ever.  Even if I never touch it again the amusement it provided for us last night was well worth 7 bucks. Oh, third disclaimer.

3. Amanda and I have never really decorated a cake before...but we do watch Food Network!

Hershey’s Chocolate Cake

(From the Mother Unit who, given the name, got it from Hershey)

Ingredients: 
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
1 batch "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting (recipe follows)
Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be super thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost .
"Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup Hershey's Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

To see how our amazing cake came to be, follow the link for a photo story!

Girl Scout Cookies!

Every year G-Babe's dad would load us up with Girl Scout Cookies in college. Then it was Nyk's dad in grad school. Now I'm a broke big kid but I was a Girl Scout and they taught me to be resourceful and thrifty so now I make my own Girl Scout Cookies! Behold the glorious mess of Jenni the Kitchen Hurricane and her homemade Girl Scout Cookies!

I decided to go with two of my top three cookies (Caramel deLites, Thin Mints, and Peanut Butter Patties. Side note: Samoas and Tagalongs for all you lame people). The deLites and Patties use the same cookie dough so it seemed like the easiest way to have variety in my cookie stash. I was worried about the caramel as I have never made it before but it came out well and was easy to clean up (much to my surprise). However, the darn chocolate was a disastrous mess! It got all over including but not limited to: my wine glass, inside the fridge, all cabinet knobs, my camera and the bottom of my computer mouse. Surprising enough there was very little of it on my apron. Shocker I know since I am a messy messy hurricane in the kitchen.
The result: Some very yummy cookies that are only moderately pretty (as in the Jenni M.O.) The Caramel deLites were great (and larger then those puny things they sell nowadays!). I think the Peanut Butter cookies need a little tweaking but Mr. Lawyer said they were all fine and wonderful. I would double the peanut butter filling and add a bit more in addition to switching the chocolate topping. I used the semi-sweet chips it called for but it is very sweet and overpowering. There's just so much of it! Maybe next time I'll use milk chocolate or a mix or just drizzle the chocolate over it instead of dunking it.
Also: Parchment Paper is your best friend.

Homemade Caramel deLites and Peanut Butter Patties

(Recipe from the Mother Unit)

Cookie Dough Ingredients:
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup superfine sugar (or granulated)

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour


Directions:
1. Cream together butter and sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Add in egg and beat well. Add in vanilla. Beat until smooth. With mixer on low, add in salt and flour. Mix until completely incorporated and dough is uniform. Pull dough together and shape into a cylinder with a diameter of about 2 1/2 inches. Wrap in parchment paper and freeze for at least 25 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice dough into 1/8 inch disks and place on baking sheets, about an inch apart. For deLites use a tiny circle shaped cookie cutter or a large round cake decorating tip to cut a hole in the center of each disk.  (I used my cupcake corer to make the holes for the deLites and it was glorious!) for patties just leave the circle along. Refrigerate for an additional 10 minutes. Bake for 8 minutes, or until crisp. Let cool completely.

Cooling Cookies!

Caramel deLite toppings:

Dipping Caramel

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
12 ounces of chocolate chips 

Dipping Caramel:
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 tablespoons corn syrup

6 tablespoons water
pinch of salt

6 tablespoons butter

6 tablespoons heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Caramel Directions:
1. In a heavy bottomed saucepan with high sides, combine sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt. Whisk until combined, and set over medium-low heat. Swirl the pan every now and then to help distribute the heat. Use can use a pastry brush dipped in water to brush the sugar crystals down the sides of the saucepan. When the sugar dissolves completely, raise the heat to medium. When it comes to a boil, watch very carefully for the bubbles to become more viscous (this means that the water has evaporated and that it is ready to go through the candy stages). As it is bubbling away, you want it to turn a deep amber color. When it does, remove the heat and, working quickly, use the spoon to scoop up a small amount of the candy and drop it into the small glass of water. If the blob turns hard like lollipop, then it is ready. If the blob is still soft, put the pan back on the heat. Keep testing until the candy is hard. Remove from heat.
2. Whisk in butter, 6 tablespoons of cream, and vanilla (Careful here, as the mixture should bubble violently for about 10 seconds). If the caramel isn’t smooth right away, return the pan to low heat and whisk until smooth.

Making the Caramel and Melted Chocolate

Caramel deLite Directions:

1. Add coconut into the caramel. Warm the caramel in the microwave for about 10 seconds if necessary. Take cooled cookies and gently dip them completely in the caramel. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Freeze until set, about 5 minutes.
2. Melt chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second intervals, stirring well after each interval, until fully melted (or in a ghetto double boiler like a real cookie chef!). Place the caramel coated cookies in the chocolate. Use a fork to pull them out of the chocolate and place them on a parchment line cookie sheet. Use the chocolate still on the fork to drizzle stripes over the top of the cookies. Refrigerate until set. 

Gooey Caramel!

Peanut Butter Patty Toppings:
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Peanut Butter Patty Directions:
1. Mix together peanut butter and powdered sugar. Form into small disks and press onto cookies. Melt chocolate in a microwave safe bowl for 30 second intervals, and mix well after each interval. Coat cookies completely in chocolate and lift out with a fork. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and let set, or freeze to speed up the process.

Peanut Butter!

The Final Product!

Anything with Bacon is amazing!

The Mother Unit came to visit the other weekend and graced us with her bacon wrapped scallops (and chocolate cheese cake!). They were super yummy, super easy, and super quick!

Bacon Wrapped Scallops

(The Mother Unit)

Ingredients:
Scallops
Bacon
Toothpicks
Directions:
1. Cut bacon in half and cook half way in a frying pan.
2. Cut scallops in half and wrap semi-cooked bacon around it. Pin with a toothpick.
3. Broil scallops, flipping half way through till they are done. How long? I have no clue. Mom was not super descriptive as she made them. Perhaps 5 minutes on each side? Care to enlighten us Mom?

The Mother Unit, doing her bacon-scallop thing.

English Muffin Loaf

English Muffin Loaf is yummy and amazing. I could eat the whole loaf by myself but tonight I had to fight the Lawyer for it. I could make this recipe in my sleep but today's loaf was my best yet and I owe that entirely to my new food processor (thanks Dad!)! This sucker did a wonderful job mixing everything together which result in a nice big loaf. Previously I had always mixed and kneaded the dough by hand which left me with some dense, not as high bread. Here is my cabinet of fun gadgets lovingly collected over the years from my parents, Mr. Lawyer's parents, and grandparents:

Waffle Iron, Hand Mixer, Grater, Blades and Containers, 2 Crockpots,

New Blender, New Food Processor, Foreman Grill, Salad Spinner.

English Muffin Loaf

Makes 2 loaves, from the Mother Unit

Ingredients:

6 cups flour

2 teaspoons salt

2 packages yeast

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups milk

cornmeal

Directions:

1. Set aside 3 cups of flour. Combine the remaining flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and yeast.

2. Combine milk and water in separate container, heat to 125-130 degrees. Add to dry ingredients and mix well.

3. Add in reserved flour, mix well.

4. Divide batter into 2 bread pans that have been greased and sprinkled with cornmeal. Sprinkle more cornmeal on top of dough.

5. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes.

6. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes. Remove from pans immediately.

Honey Butter with Cinnamon

From Alton Brown

Ingredients:

1 stick butter at room temperature

1 tablespoon honey

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon (I add a little more)

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Throw everything in a bowl and mix it together.

2. Done.

Cinnamon Grapefruitade

Because the Dork and the Mother Unit are planning on bringing back some rum from their Caribbean cruise I bring you this:

Cinnamon Grapefruitade

(Food Network Magazine)

Ingredients:

1.5 cups sugar (for simple syrup)

1.5 cups water (for simple syrup)

4 cinnamon sticks (for simple syrup)

2 cups fresh grapefruit juice

2 cups water

Some raspberries

Directions:

1. To make the simple syrup bring 1.5 cups of sugar, 1.5 cups water and 4 cinnamon sticks to a boil, stirring until dissolved. This will result in about 2 cups of simple syrup. Let it cool.

2. Take your 2 cups of cooled simple syrup, add 2 cups of grapefruit juice, 2 cups of water and raspberries for garnish.

When you get sick of lemonade during the summer this is a yummy alternative. It has a little unexpected bite from the cinnamon. The best part is that it is absolutely amazing spiked with RUM!