These are it!....almost

I've almost found my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. I was going through my pantry recently and noticed I had several half used bags of chocolate chips. I decided it was time to try another cookie recipe, and I'm so glad I found a recipe which is close to the cookie in which will be my "go-to" chocolate chip cookie. When I have some more time, I'm going to tweak this recipe a bit to see if I can get the cookies to stay a little taller. I don't want to change the consistency though, as it's perfect....for me.


Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended (do not over-mix). Stir in the chocolate chips by hand. Refrigerate the dough for a couple hours before baking. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart. I prefer smaller cookies, so I use my cookie scoop. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes (about 12 minutes if using cookie scoop size) in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Watch closely and pull out of the oven as soon as edges start to turn golden! Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
Store in an airtight container and these cookies should stay soft for a couple of days.

Barefoot Bloggers: Easy Sticky Buns

I had to laugh when I read this recipe selection, as I've already made them! When I first received my copy of the new Barefoot Contessa cookbook, Back to Basics, this was one of the first recipes I tried! So rather than posting about it again, I am linking back to my original post. These are must-try, must-make again, the most delicious and easiest sticky buns you can make at home! Melissa chose a great recipe to be featured this week!

Link to original sticky bun post.

(Holiday) Tortellini Soup

The holidays have come and gone, but with it still being freezing cold in Wyoming, I made this soup....despite the name. The description for the soup says it freezes well which is a help during the holidays when you have so much going on, you don't have the time to spend cooking regular meals for your family. I'll have to keep this recipe in mind for next year!


Holiday Tortellini Soup (Taste of Home Magazine- Dec/Jan 2009)
2 Tbls olive oil
2 oz pancetta or bacon, finely diced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (49 1/2 oz) chicken broth
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 (9 oz) pkg cheese tortellini
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes in puree
8 oz fresh spinach, rinsed, stemmed and chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add pancetta. Cook until crisp. Add onion; cook 3-4 minutes or until soft. Add garlic; cook 1 more minute. Add broth and Italian seasoning; bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, cook tortellini according to package directions; drain. Add cooked tortellini to soup mixture. Stir in tomatoes and simmer 5 minutes. Add spinach and cook just until wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with cheese. Serves 8.

Fig and Orange Glazed Pork Tenderloin

I've never cooked with figs before and wasn't sure what to expect from this recipe. I decided to try it as I had a pork tenderloin to use up in the freezer and it sounded interesting with the addition of figs and orange segments. My husband and I were pleasantly surprised and thought it was very good! I'm going to have to search out more fig recipes, as I have half a bag left....


Fig and Orange Glazed Pork Tenderloin (Taste of Home Magazine - Dec/Jan 2009)
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fennel seed, crushed (omitted)
1/2 tsp rubbed sage
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 pork tenderloins (3/4 lb each)


Glaze:
2/3 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 Tbls brown sugar
1 Tbls molasses
1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp kosher salt
dash white pepper
dash ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped orange segments
10 dried figs
1/4 cup water
1 Tbls olive oil


In a small bowl, combine the first seven ingredients; rub over pork. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. For glaze: in a large saucepan, combine the broth, brown sugar, molasses, vinegar and seasonings. Stir in orange and figs. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 15-18 minutes or until figs are tender. Stir in water; cool slightly. Transfer to a blender; cover and process until smooth. In a large nonstick skillet, brown pork in oil on all sides. Spread with half of fig-orange glaze. Place pork on a rack in a shallow roasting pan lined with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees, basting occasionally with remaining glaze. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

TWD: Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins

What a great pairing with ham and beans (or at least that's what I paired the muffins with). I typically prefer my cornbread on the sweet side, click here for my favorite cornbread recipe, however these savory muffins were a nice change. Rebecca of Ezra Pound Cake chose this week's recipe.

Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon

I'm always looking for good salmon recipes. It really isn't my favorite fish, but my husband likes it and I try to incorporte fish into our diets at least a few times a month. This is one recipe I'll keep around, it's easy and delicious!

Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon (Taste of Home - Dec/Jan 2009)

1 Tbls brown sugar

2 tsp butter

1 tsp honey

1 Tbls olive oil

1 Tbls Dijon mustard

1 Tbls soy sauce

1/2 to 3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 salmon filet (2 1/2 lbs)

In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook and stir the brown sugar, butter and honey until melted. Remove from the heat; whisk in the oil, mustard, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Cool for 5 minutes. Place salmon in a large foil-lined baking pan; brush with brown sugar mixture. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Serves 8.

Barefoot Bloggers: Banana Sour Cream Pancakes

The first recipe of 2009 for Barefoot Bloggers was chosen by Karen. I had some over-ripe bananas in the freezer to use, so when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make it. (Now I have banana pancakes in the freezer!)



Banana Sour Cream Pancakes (Barefoot Contessa Family Style)
1 1/2 cups flour
3 Tbls sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup plus 1 Tbls milk
2 extra-large eggs (I used large eggs as that was all I had)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp grated lemon zest (I used a little lemon juice)
unsalted butter
2 ripe bananas, diced, plus extra for serving
maple syrup

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest. **At this point, I also mixed in my bananas since they had been frozen and were very ripe, they weren't going to dice well! Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, mixing only until combined. Melt 1 Tbls of butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat until it bubbles. Ladle the pancake batter into the pan to make 3 or 4 pancakes. Distribute a rounded Tbls of bananas on each pancake. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until bubbles appear on top and the underside is nicely browned. Flip the pancakes and then cook for another minute until browned. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, add more butter to the pan, and continue cooking pancakes until all the batter is used. Serve with sliced bananas, butter and maple syrup. **I also added chopped pecans to the top of mine. Makes 12 pancakes.

TWD: French Pear Tart

What a great way to start another year of Tuesdays with Dorie. Dorie herself chose this week's selection; check out her blog for the recipe. I made the tart yesterday as I had a dinner guest last evening and we couldn't get enough of the dessert! I would have to say my favorite part is the crust. I am anxious to try the crust and filling with some other fruit options. The pears were good, but I also think peaches would be a wonderful pairing with the almond cream and sweet tart crust!

first "new" recipe for the New Year

My husband has been wanting to make gnocchi for quite some time, and he finally got around to accomplishing the task last night. He doesn't make New Year's resolutions, but if he did, he would already be off to a good start! This being his first attempt at gnocchi, it turned out really well. It took him a while to get the right consistency with the potato dough, but once he figured it out it didn't take long for him to get the gnocchi cut and cooked. His with marinara sauce


Hers with pesto olive oil

Gnocchi (Cooking Secrets of the CIA)

1 egg

3 Idaho potatoes, baked until tender, peeled, mashed, and cooled

pinch ground nutmeg

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

about 1 1/2 cups semolina flour for kneading

sauce of choice

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. In a large bowl, blend the egg with the cooled potatoes. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Turn the potato mixture out onto a lightly floured board. Adding semolina, a little at a time, knead until a smooth dough is formed. When the dough is no longer sticky to the touch, roll it into a rope 1/2 inch thick. Cut it on the diagonal into pieces 1/2 to 1 inch long. Cook in the pot of boiling water until the gnocchi float, about 1 to 2 minutes. Drain the gnocchi and serve with your choice of sauce. Serve hot. Serves 4-6.

Happy New Year's

Happy 2009! My husband and I just returned from visiting our families in the Midwest and rang in the New Year driving from Denver Airport to our home in Wyoming. We are thankful for all that 2008 brought and are excited to see where 2009 takes us. I'm not one to make resolutions so I won't be publishing a list for everyone to hold me accountable. However, I have been thinking that I need to prioritize things and let go some of the blogging groups/activities I've participated in 2008.


So without further ado, I am saying goodbye to Cookie Carnival. I had a great time baking cookies along with the rest of the group for a few months, but have really slacked the last couple of months and didn't get around to participating. Therefore, I have decided I just need to face the fact that at times I over commit myself and it's okay to end some activities. I will continue with Barefoot Bloggers and Tuesdays with Dorie and possibly Daring Baker's (yet to be determined!).

I'm excited to once again try a lot of new recipes in 2009 and will be sure to publish them here for all of you! I hope you have a healthy and successful 2009!