Red Pepper, Spinach and Feta Quiche

My family celebrated Christmas on Sunday at my parent's house.  We slept in, opened gifts (my little brother, the Mac Genius, gave me an iPod Touch!), served dinner for 13 people and ended the night with drinks and the company of a few old friends who stopped by. 

I only made one dish for Christmas dinner this year: A red pepper, spinach and feta quiche.  This is one of my favorite standby recipes.  It makes a quick and beautiful dinner or a lovely addition to a larger feast that vegetarians can enjoy as a main dish.  And, it couldn't be simpler to prepare.

Red Pepper, Spinach and Feta Quiche
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine

Ingredients

1 deep dish pie crust
1 Tbl olive oil
2 C packed fresh spinach, washed and trimmed
1/3 C sliced red bell pepper
3 eggs
1/2 C heavy cream
6 oz feta cheese, crumbled
salt and pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 425F, place a baking sheet on the middle rack.

Place prepared pie crust in a deep dish pie pan. 

Over medium heat, sauté bell pepper in oil for one minute.  Add spinach and sauté until wilted.  Season pepper and spinach mixture with salt and pepper.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and cream together.

Arrange feta over bottom of pie shell, place pepper and spinach mixture on top.  Pour egg and cream mixture over the other ingredients.

Bake on the baking sheet for 15 min.

Reduce heat to 350F and bake another 20 minutes, until set.  Watch carefully so that crust does not burn.

Serve warm or cool.

Pane Al Cioccolato

From the archives.

This decadent bread should be made with high quality dark chocolate.  Serve warm slices with mascarpone cheese for an absolutely heavenly treat.

Pane Al Cioccolato

Adapted from Bread by Christine Ingram and Jennie Shapter

Ingredients

3 C unbleached white bread flour
1 1/2 tbl cocoa powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tbl caster sugar
1 envelope yeast
1 C lukewarm water
2 tbl butter--softened
3 oz high quality chocolate--coarsely chopped
Melted butter for brushing

Method

Sift flour, cocoa powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
Stir in the sugar.
Make a well in the center.

Mix the envelope of yeast with 4 tbl of the lukewarm water. 
Allow to sit for about 10 min. or until frothy.
Add this mixture and the remaining water to the well and gradually mix into a dough.

Knead in the butter and transfer to a lightly floured surface to knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 min.

Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with clear film. 
Leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk (about 1 hr).

Turn out on to a lightly floured surface and gently deflate. 
Gently knead in the chocolate.
Cover again with film and leave to rest about 5 minutes.

Shape and place into the desired cookware. (I shaped into a round and placed in a lightly greased Pyrex bowl to bake.)
Cover and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk (about 45 min).

Bake in a preheated oven at 425F for 10 min.
Reduce temperature to 375F and bake for about 30 min.

After baking, brush the top with melted butter and cool on a wire rack.

(If you choose to make two small loaves with this recipe instead of one, be aware that the baking time should be reduced about 10 min. Watch carefully.)

Broccoli and Apple Soup

That may sound like an odd combination to you, but I assure that the broccoli and apple flavors marry beautifully in this soup.  Several years ago, my friends James and John threw a large-scale dinner party and served this, though they wouldn't tell us the ingredients until afterwards.  The apple provides a subtle kick to the otherwise flat taste of the cooked broccoli.

Broccoli and Apple Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients

5 C Broccoli

3 Tbl butter

2 granny smith apples - peeled, cored and diced

1 red onion - diced

3 C vegetable stock

1/3 C sour cream

Salt and pepper

Method

Separate broccoli into florets and dice the stalks.  Melt the butter in a large stock pot over medium heat.  Add the broccoli stalks, onion and apple and cook for 5 minutes or until the onion is soft.

Add the stock and broccoli florets.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Puree the soup in batches in a blender, or use an immersion blender, until the soup is the desired consistency. 

Season with salt and pepper and stir in the sour cream.

Thanks to John for providing me with the recipe that I based this on.

Rosemary Cornmeal Shortbread

I worked from home yesterday and between grant research and writing appeal letters I decided to bake some cookies.  These cookies are both sweet and savory - a winning combination in my book.  I based my recipe off of one from the Martha Stewart website and a recipe from Kiss the Hem of Her Apron, a lovely food site that is new to me.

Rosemary Cornmeal Shortbread

Makes 1 dozen

Ingredients

1/2 C (1 stick) butter, softened

1/3 C sugar

1/4 C pine nuts

1/4 C shredded Parmesan cheese

1/2 Tbl of dried rosemary, finely ground with a mortar and pestle

4 cracks of fresh black pepper

3/4 C all-purpose flour

1/2 C cornmeal

1 tsp salt

Method

Preheat oven to 300F

Mix butter and sugar together in a large bowl until creamy and smooth.  Add pine nuts, Parmesan, rosemary and black pepper.  Stir to combine.  Add flour, cornmeal and salt.  Stir to combine. 

Form into 12 disks with your hands and place on a prepared baking sheet (I use a Silpat mat). I  spooned a bit of sugar and kosher salt (very little salt) on top of the cookies before baking.

Bake about 25 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown and make your house smell amazing.  Allow to cool on a wire rack.  These cookies will keep for several days in an airtight container.

Herb-Roasted Hasselbacks

Last Thursday I visited the Daley Plaza Farmer's Market over lunch and came away with quite a haul: Heirloom tomatoes, purple bell peppers, sunflowers, fresh basil, smoked string cheese, a LaBriola whole grain loaf and a beautiful selection of potatoes.

These pretty yellow, red and purple potato varieties came from Nichols Farm & Orchard.  This family run farm is from Marengo, Illinois -- quite near where I grew up.  They sell their produce at several farmer's markets in the Chicagoland area.

I'm a sucker for the $5 cookbooks that can be found in piles near the register in bookstores, especially when they cover a finite topic. A few months ago I purchased Potatoes by Annie Nichols and decided to try one of her recipes.

Bay-Roasted Hasselback Potatoes

(adapted from Annie Nichols)

Serves 2 as a side dish

Ingredients:

8 small potatoes, unpeeled and scrubbed

12 fresh bay leaves

1 Tbl butter

2 Tbl olive oil

3 garlic cloves, crushed

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to 375F

Place two chopsticks on either side of a potato and make crosswise cuts about 1/4 inch apart.  The potatoes will fan open as they cook, but you want the base of the potato to remain intact so they will not fall apart.  Insert whole or partial bay leaves between a few of the cuts and repeat with the remaining potatoes.

Melt the butter with the olive oil in a cast-iron skillet or roasting pan over moderate heat. Add the garlic and the potatoes in a single layer.  Gently move the potatoes around for about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and generously salt and pepper.

Place in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are golden brown and tender.

This simple method of roasting potatoes produced very delicate and colorful results.  You could substitute any fresh herbs for the bay leaves.  My favorite herb to use with potatoes is fresh rosemary, and that is what I will use with this recipe in the future.

Pasta Fresh

Last week Nick picked up some handmade pasta from Pasta Fresh for our dinner.  Pasta Fresh is located on Harlem between Belmont and Addison, so it is a bit of a hike for us normally. However, we had my parents van while they were in Alaska in order to drive Nick to school, providing us the luxury of quick transportation for a week.

Nick ordered the eggplant ravioli and we made a nice peppercorn cream sauce to go along with it.  They offer quite  a selection, but when I return I especially want to try their artichoke ravioli, asparagus ravioli and lasagna.   

With a peppercorn studded Brie, crusty bread and a bottle of Shiraz it was a very nice dinner.

Pasta Fresh
3418 North Harlem Avenue
Chicago, IL
60634
773-745-5888

Homemade Soda Pop

Over the last few weeks Nick has been experimenting with homemade soda recipes.  A lovely article on homemade root beer in the most recent issue of Saveur provided the catalyst. These days, store bought sodas use carbonated water to provide the necessary bubbles, though traditionally yeast was used to carbonate the beverage.  However, this gives the soda an ABV of around two or three percent -- rendering it unsaleable to those under 21 in our country (you'd likely get ill before being able to consume enough to become even a bit tipsy).

The method for making soda is similar to homebrewing beer.  Nick made root beer first, using the Saveur article as a guide.  In the first photo you can see the spices wrapped in cheesecloth that steeped in the boiling water.  Sassafras root, sarsaparilla root, birch bark, licorice root, ginger, vanilla bean and molasses provided a superb aroma.

More recent creations have included ginger ale (pictured above, and my personal favorite so far) and sarsaparilla soda.  Nick has been using the book Homemade Root Beer, Soda & Pop as well as various internet sources to create recipes.  Cream soda is coming up next!

Vacation and BlogHer

I will be in Waupaca, Wisconsin with my family for the next week. You can read about this lovely place in some older posts.  I intend to consume my fill of cheese curds, Ting pop and New Glarus beer. 

I will be returning this weekend for the BlogHer Conference here in Chicago.  I only have the time and money to attend the second day, but I am quite excited to meet so many other bloggers, especially food bloggers that I have been reading for quite some time.  I will be sure to post about the conference while I am there.  You can still sign-up if you are interested in attending. 

Chicago Botanic Gardens

Last Friday Nick and I both took the day off from work and traveled north to the Chicago Botanic Gardens. We took the Metra Union Pacific North line to Braeside and walked about a mile down Lake Cook Road (there are sidewalks).  The area had a large cicada population which made the walk quite entertaining.

The gardens are truly stunning and we had the perfect weather to enjoy them.  Of particular note, we most enjoyed the Fruit & Vegetable, Japanese, Bonsai and English Walled gardens.  As we entered the Fruit & Vegetable garden a woman gave us a tiny potted zucchini plant to take home.  I am happy to say that the zucchini has sprouted and appears to be happy sharing the planter with our tomatoes and basil.

I highly recommend a trip to the gardens this summer for all of those that live in the area, especially those in Chicago proper.  It is a simple trip, and an inexpensive one too (they ask for donations, but there is no real entrance fee). 

Logan Square Farmer's Market and the Chicago Honey Co-Op

Last weekend Nick, Jerry and I made it over to the opening day of the the Logan Square Farmer's Market.  I was really excited for farm fresh eggs but alas, it will apparently be a few more weeks before they available.  However, we did buy some incredible unfiltered honey from the apiary I have been curious about.  The Chicago Honey Co-Op not only produces fantastic products, they are also a great organization.  Located in the neighborhood of North Lawndale, they provide community based training for non-profit social service organizations.  The Co-Op aims to "help residents who are locked out of the traditional labor market due to criminal records or other barriers to employment."  For more information, please visit the Chicago Honey Co-Op website.

Farmer's Markets

I missed the first day at Federal Plaza on Tuesday, but I did manage to wander over to the opening of the Daley Plaza Farmer's Market today.  These markets are a welcome change from the otherwise uninspiring loop lunch options.  Today I enjoyed the live music and came away with a basil plant and a mint plant ($2.50 each) and baguette for dinner tonight ($1.50).  Other items of note:  Fresh mozzarella, honey from a northern Illinois apiary, asparagus that was harvested yesterday evening and crates of assorted potatoes.  I will be sure to have more cash on me when I visit next week.

You can find a comprehensive list of Chicago farmer's markets here (the sidebar has the markets divided into downtown, weekly and other).   I am anxiously awaiting the Logan Square market opening on June 3rd.

Additionally, for those not in Chicago the USDA has a listing of farmer's markets by state or you can search by zip code at Local Harvest.

Wandering through the Daley Plaza offerings today made me miss my old garden in Hyde Park so much!  If only my new neighborhood had such a thing. . .

Dark Lord Day at Three Floyds Brewery

Saturday morning Nick and I rose bright and early and took the red line to Garfield where Ben and Paul met us.  Coffee and delicious Medici baked goods in hand, we drove to the Three Floyds brewery in Munster, Indiana.  We arrived around 10:30 to find the parking lot full of some of the best beer nerds around enjoying some truly gorgeous weather.  Picnic tables were brimming with the best bottles from personal collections and we were offered small tasting glasses and friendly conversation.  Around noon the door to the brew house opened and a polite stampede pushed the crowd into a haphazard line.  This line set itself apart from most by virtue of pulling us past more tables of now fairly abandoned (and perhaps a bit warm) bottles of incredible beers.  The line moved slowly, but the conversation with excited strangers was quite entertaining.  Occasionally a patron would emerge from the brew house with an arm full of 22 ounce bottles and a huge grin.

Once inside the brew house we bought pints of GumballHead to get us through the last leg.  There was a 6-bottle limit per person on Dark Lord, but there were other offerings available for sale as well.  We took off fairly quickly after purchasing our beer (the line took about 2 hours) and we were astonished to still see the line circling through the parking lot and down the street.  We estimated that there must have been about 2,000 people that came out for the event.

 

That evening Nick and I opened one of the bottles.  Neither of us had tasted the Dark Lord before and we were in for a treat.  This Russian Imperial Stout pours out thick and opaque, like motor oil.  It is extremely dark and has flavors that keep rolling for several seconds after the most flavorful beers I have tried. The head was gorgeous, small, creamy and dark espresso colored and it smelled like honey and sweet malt.  The beginning tasted like cherries, plums and chocolate.  The middle was big and sweet like jam, raisins and rum, and the end was long and tasted of espresso and chocolate (Note: they use Intelligensia coffee in the brewing process).

I have never tasted a beer so complex.  This is truly a treat.  There is no alcohol content on the bottle, but judging by how chatty Nick and I were after splitting one, I think it is safe to assume it is up there.

Oh my. I wish I had $90 to blow on six bottles.  I only ended up with three and I owe Paul money for one of those.    Hopefully you were there to get your own.  They only brew these beauties once a year.  There was rumor that the Small Bar on Division was going to get a keg, and since I noticed the bartender was there I imagine this is true.  If you have a friend that lets you try some of her stash, know she loves you.  This is special stuff.

(*I didn't have my camera on me when we opened the first bottle.  I will be sure to post a follow-up picture of the beer in a glass when we open the next one.)

Limoncello, Frittata, Cookbook Expo, Hervé This, John Vanderslice, Twin Peaks, Bloomingdale Trail and Gnocchi

Last night I visited my friend Ellen.  She lives a matter of blocks from me, yet somehow it was the first time I had managed to take her up on an invitation.  I concocted a new cocktail for the occasion.  A few years ago Hospitality Club provided my roommates and I the opportunity to host a guest named Guillermo from Columbia.  He arrived bearing this incredibly sweet liquor.  As I recall, Molly and I made quick work of it. 

I don't have much of a sweet tooth, so the idea of mixing the Limoncello with other ingredients appealed to me.  I decided upon the following:

Lemon and Rosemary Spritzer
Serves 4.

2 lemons
2 C Limoncello
2 C seltzer water
8 rosemary sprigs
ice

In a tall glass put two rosemary sprigs and fill with ice cubes.  Almost fill the glass with equal parts Limoncello and seltzer water.  Squeeze half a lemon into the glass.  Stir and serve.

The rosemary was nice, but next time I am going to try basil.  This was my original intention, but the grocery store was out.  For the basil variation, I would suggest muddling the leaves a bit before adding the liquid.  This will help the flavor permeate.  Whichever herb you choose, this is a perfect summer drink. Sadly, it still feels like February in Chicago.

For dinner, Ellen made a gorgeous frittata.  She lined a cast-iron skillet with slices of potato and piled cherry tomatoes, onions, garlic, feta and asparagus on top.  After pouring the egg over these ingredients she baked the frittata.  Oddly, I had never considered baking a frittata and instead have always made them on the stove.  Her method is clearly superior.  The frittata was perfectly cooked through and came out tall and airy.  The potato "crust" was particularly ingenious.

In other news, this weekend was more culinary-centric than most.  On Friday, Harold and I went to the IACP Cookbook Expo.  I met Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks in person and purchased her gorgeous new cookbook.  I have been hungrily reading through it and highly recommend it.  Congratulations Heidi! 

That evening, Nick and I went to see John Vanderslice.  The show was quite good.  We were particularly impressed with the opening act, St. Vincent. 

The next morning we roused ourselves earlier than most weekends and headed to the Union League Club of Chicago to hear Hervé This speak.  The event was thought provoking, yet the question and answer session was a bit lacking when it devolved into some pretty egotistical Chicago chefs debating when their skill was craft vs. art.  We took the stairs on the way out and enjoyed perusing the ULCC art collection (the second largest private collection in the U.S.).

That evening we stayed in, ordered a pizza, and finished the second season of Twin Peaks which I finally own a copy of.  It was Nick's first time through and he seemed fairly upset about the last episode. 

For the past few months we have been fairly obsessed with the Bloomingdale Trail, and finally went up for a walk (from Milwaukee to Elston).  I really hope the city decides to support the proposal to turn these old rail lines into a park.  It would be a truly unique addition to the city. 

That evening we decided to make gnocchi from scratch.  I had tried my hand at it years ago in high school.  After a fair bit of hard work, the gnocchi completely dissolved into the boiling water.  My research informed me that I had been too timid with the flour. 

It turned out quite well this time and Nick made an excellent garlic and cream sauce.  The recipe I used made a huge quantity.  We fed three with half of it.  I froze the rest and am hoping it will keep well for future use. 

Hervé This

I just reserved two free tickets for Nick and I to see Hervé This speak this Saturday, April 14th at the Union League Club of Chicago.  Email or call to reserve yours if you would like to attend.  I doubt seats will be open for long.

Thanks to Movable Feast for the heads up and for the following information!

RSVP ASAP to Michael Garbin at garbimi@ulcc.org or 312-435-4822. Please note that business casual attire or chef's coat are requested. (No jeans please.)

WHEN
Saturday, April 14, 2007
9:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.: Continental Breakfast
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.: Molecular Gastronomy Seminar
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.: Book signing (Hervé's book, Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the Science of Flavor, will be available for sale)

WHERE
Union League Club of Chicago
65 W. Jackson Blvd.
5th Floor Crystal Room
Chicago, IL 60604
312-427-7800

Spend the afternoon with Charlie Trotter

I really wish I could afford this:

Charlie Trotter's: A 20th Anniversary Celebration in his Studio Kitchen

Join us for this rare opportunity to spend the afternoon with Charlie Trotter. Take in his stream of consciousness on a variety of subjects. Pick his brain for insights on topics ranging from foodstuffs to management. Chef Trotter will prepare a five-course food and wine tasting menu to delight your palate. He will demonstrate recipes from his newest cookbook, Spa Cuisine. Check out the intimate setting in his famed studio kitchen. Charlie Trotter's is considered among the top restaurants in the world and has won every major culinary award and recognition. Enjoy one of the most provocative dining experiences and help celebrate Charlie Trotter's 20th Anniversary!

Location: Charlie Trotter's, 816 W Armitage Avenue.

Instructor: Charlie Trotter

Course Fee: $150

Date: Sat, April 14

Time: 2-3:30 pm

If any of my lovely readers attend, I would love to hear about the experience.
I blew all the money I had saved taking Nick to Charlie Trotter's for his birthday dinner.  It was far and away the most exciting meal I have ever had.  I will post in more detail about it soon.

Aquavit

The North Shore Distillery began producing Chicago's first craft liquors in 2005.  Several months ago I first enjoyed the clean and smooth taste of their vodka when my friend Harold brought some over to my house.  I soon sampled their gin and found it pleasing as well.  The hand-numbered bottles of North Shore can be found in several locations in the city, most notably Sam's and Binny's.  Nick and I learned from their website that they also offer a variety of less conventional liquors: Gin Infused with Medjool Dates, Gin Infused with Ceylon Tea, Tahitian Vanilla Vodka, and the very recently released Aquavit. 

I decided to invite Harold over for a belated birthday celebration with dinner and a bottle of one of these unique liquors.  I was quite excited about the date gin, but alas could only find the vanilla and Aquavit (it appears that this may have been a limited release, please do let me know if you find it).  I settled on the Aquavit, primarily because Harold, Nick and I had never had it before.

Harold fixed us delicious cucumber and Plymouth gin martinis while I prepared the onion tart for baking.  These simple drinks are incredibly refreshing and could be quite dangerous on a lazy summer day.  Baby cucumbers are sliced and added to the shaker with the ice and gin.  After shaking vigorously, pour into a martini glass and garnish with a cucumber wedge. The drinks take on lovely bright green hue and smell incredible.

I made an onion tart based on a recipe from Molly at Orangette.  It had been a while since I last baked one.  This tart is sweet and full of cream and caramelized onions.  Quite perfect when served warm on a blizzardy February evening. (It is also extremely inexpensive to make.)  Nick grilled us some zucchini as a side, which also helped brighten the plate.

   

(This picture is from the North Shore Distillery website, mine did not turn out well.)

We decided to enjoy the Aquavit straight in order to best evaluate the flavors.  This Scandinavian liquor is most easily identified by its strong caraway flavor and soft golden hue.  Many flavors common in gin were also prevalent in the Aquavit, especially the cardamom and anise.  The Aquavit also seemed to boast just a hint of citrus rind.  Overall, the flavors are much stronger in Aquavit and it should not simply be considered a differently flavored gin.  The Aquavit was crisp and smooth and the flavors were complex and well-balanced.  I highly recommend North Shore Aquavit as a change of pace for the gin and vodka drinker who enjoys the taste of a well-crafted liquor--not just what it is mixed with.

Dinner Party: Andean Potato Stew

Last weekend Nick and I met our friends Ben and Ruchama at the Garfield Conservatory for their annual Chocolate Fest.  We did not succeed in sampling any of the chocolate due to the huge crowds, but we were able to warm up in the dewy, climate-controlled gardens for a bit.  The conservatory is a gorgeous and easily accessible resource for Chicagoans -- the Green Line will take you nearly to the entrance.  Few places can compare in their ability to genuinely rid your body of the pervasive chill that accompanies the winter months here.  I've had fun at the Chocolate Fest in the past, but arriving when the doors open in the morning seems like the only way to  successfully consume any chocolate.

We traveled to Ben and Ruchama's house in Hyde Park and proceeded to make a fabulous dinner.

Ben and Ruchama made a beet, orange and watercress salad that was based on a similar salad that Ruchama recently ordered at the Hop Leaf.  I love watercress, but rarely buy it.  I thought this salad was superb.

They also made a tasty appetizer of grilled artichoke heart bottoms with snow peas and asparagus dressed in parsley infused olive oil.  The artichoke was soaked in lemon juice before being grilled, which gave it a light flavor that complimented the dressing well.

Earlier that morning Nick and I had ventured to Oak Park to visit Penzeys spice store.  They have a few locations scattered across the United States -- but you can also sign up for their mail-order catalog on their website.  (The catalog is peppered with recipes to try.) If you have the luxury of living in close proximity to a Penzeys, I guarantee that once you visit you will never buy spices anywhere else -- or at the very least, not from a grocery store.  Their top-quality spices range from familiar standards to exotic flavors and they are always inexpensively priced.  We went in search of annato seeds for our soup and came away with a bit more than that.

In the most recent issue of Gourmet magazine, Nick and I were both quite taken with their recipe for Andean potato stew and decided to try our hand at it.  We began by heating the annato seeds in oil to make the achiote.  The seeds are strained out, leaving a bright red, flavored oil.  We added potato, onion, water, cumin, salt, and pepper and let this simple soup simmer for about an hour before adding whole milk and queso fresco.  We served the soup over avocado slices and enjoyed it with a bottle of New Glarus Raspberry Tart lambic that I had picked up in Wisconsin the weekend before.

The texture of the rich avocado provided a great contrast to the hearty potato stew.  I thought the stew was a success and the leftovers made a nice lunch the next week.  I might add more achiote if I were to make this soup again so that the flavor is more pronounced. 

We sat and talked over wine and cheese long after dinner was over and left sleepy and sated.  It was a lovely night.

meat

Nick started a food blog.  It's all about meat. 
If you tire of the vegetarian fare at Pro Bono Baker, go read his first post about a very special ham sandwich.

Cashew Butter Cookies and Carrot Cake Cookies

My new office is having a cookie exchange tomorrow and I decided to try two new recipes for the occasion.  Nick and I went to stay with my parents this weekend and he helped me bake them in between decorating the Christmas tree and drinking hot spiced wine.

The first recipe is from Martha Stewart and can be found on her website.  The cookies call for two and a half cups of cashews which are used to make a delicious cashew butter for the batter.  A portion is also added coarsely chopped to the batter which created a lovely texture.  The only change I made to these cookies was to omit the caramel sauce.  Oddly, the grocery stores near my parent's house happened to be completely out of caramel candies. 

These cookies were fantastic.  I will definitely be making them again.  I think the caramel sauce would be an excellent complement to these cookies and I hope to try it next time around.

The second recipe, Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies, is also from Martha Stewart and can also be found on her website.  I was less thrilled with the results of this recipe.  The cookies were soft and cakey, I believe too cakey to be called a cookie.  They fell apart at the slightest touch.  However, the flavor was nice and they filled the house with a wonderful aroma while baking. 

I would do two things differently if I were to bake these again.  First, I would make the cookies much smaller.  They expand quite a bit while baking which makes for an even more unruly sandwich.  Secondly, I would recommend you ignore the recipe that is provided for the Cream Cheese Frosting filling. The cookies themselves already call for two sticks of butter.  Adding a third to the filling is not only a bit excessive, but makes for both a poor texture and taste.  Simply combining cream cheese, confectioner's sugar, and vanilla would created the perfect filling.  The zing from the cream cheese that we all love in cream cheese frosting would not be muted by the butter and the resulting texture would create a more secure sandwich.

Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

We have all most likely tried our hand at dozens of chocolate chip cookie recipes.  After many years of experimenting I have finally found my favorite recipe.  Eileen and Nick have helped me keep them in heavy rotation over the last couple of months.  Last Friday we had our first snowstorm in Chicago.  It wasn't as severe as had originally been predicted, but with 60F weather fresh in our memories it was just as bitter.  The three of us stayed in watching television under a sleeping bag, drinking hot Grzaniec Galicyjski, a spiced Polish wine that I fell in love with while living in Kraków, and baking these delicious cookies. 

My cookies are largely based on the Williams-Sonoma Triple Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from their wonderful book, Essentials of Baking. This recipe makes about 24 cookies that will stay pleasantly chewy in a sealed container for up to four days.

Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

Preheat the oven to 350F

1 1/4 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 C firmly packed brown sugar
6 Tbl granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 C semisweet or dark chocolate chips

In a medium sized bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar with a wooden spoon or flat pastry whisk until smooth.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat until well incorporated.  Slowly add the dry ingredients and stir until the dough just comes together.  Add the chocolate and and stir until incorporated. Do not over-mix.

Drop the dough in large tablespoons onto a prepared cookie sheet (I use a Silpat mat on an air-bake sheet).  Leave about 2 inches for the cookies to expand.  Bake one sheet at a time for about 10 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.  Let cool briefly on the cookie sheet and then transfer to a wire rack.

The batch of cookies I made on Friday received a nice touch from a company in New York called SweetRiot. I used a vial of their flavor 65 ("100% cacao nibs dunked in 65% chocolate") as extra chocolate flavor and crunch in these cookies (I'm currently snacking on their flavor 50).  The results were tasty! I don't usually post about things that I am sent as the owner of this website, but this company seems sweet and I know their products are. Mmm, thanks!

Do any of you have favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes?  I'd love to try them and compare.  Feel free to email or post in the comments.