david lebovitz--revisited

Winter is almost here--


It's been perfect hot chocolate drinking weather...I was out taking pictures this afternoon and needed to warm up. Enter David Lebovitz and his fantastic chocolate recipes. I enjoyed a nice hot cup of hot chocolate (made with soymilk and Ghiradelli's) with marshmallows, and later in the afternoon, fresh baked chocolate chip cookies.


I recently read some new information (new to me anyway) about the proper care of butter in making cookies, from using it at the right temperature to creaming it properly. I was curious and anxious to bake cookies with my new found knowledge.

The cookies ended up pretty flat which I'm not used to, but the flavor is great. I especially love the chocolate chip to dough ratio. The outside is slightly crisp, but the inside is nice and chewy. I will probably make them again just to see if the flatness is due to the recipe or execution. Looking at the ones Heidi made, though, I'm thinking it's on my end...perhaps that butter article wasn't so good after all.

Don't they look tasty?

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a long overdue intro to david lebovitz

I discovered David Lebovitz' blog last week...and oh how dangerous it is! I know I've heard about him countless places around the internet, but never actually took the time to visit his site. I instantly bookmarked a ton of recipes upon visiting his recipes page and honestly wish I had done so long ago. So far, I've had the Parisian hot chocolate, marshmallows, and cheesecake brownies, all of which are fantastic.


I really want to talk about the brownies today. I thought I had an amazing recipe with Jamie Oliver's fifteen brownies...I might have been mistaken. These brownies have that wonderfully fudgy texture paired with the sweet and tangy cream cheese. Honestly, I couldn't decide which was better even if I had them side by side. Nor would I want to!


As for the marshmallows and hot chocolate, I couldn't recommend them more! The hot chocolate tastes like a delicious, creamy, melted chocolate bar (which is basically what it is). If you go all out and make it with fancy chocolate, you wouldn't dare plop a marshmallow on top; save the marshmallows for other hot chocolate mixes or "lesser" chocolate...I personally used a half a king size Hershey bar (purchased super cheap at Grocery Outlet). A half batch of these marshallows do make quite a bit so I wouldn't recommend making more than that unless you plan on using them for something else (I've got my eye on some rocky road!).

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chai tea mix

A good cup of chai tea is always fabulous. I am partial to Oregon Chai brand; I really like its mild yet creamy flavor. I've had homemade chai before, the kind you actually boil with black tea and spices, but honestly the flavors are a bit strong for me. My palate has been trained, for better or worse.


I used this recipe for chai tea mix which I found on allrecipes. I found a couple recipes posted elsewhere which were exactly the same. I finally got a chance to use my vanilla sugar in making this which was great. This mix does have a bit of spiciness to it, but it is mild enough for all those chai tea concentrate drinkers out there (it was for me), so I definitely recommend at least trying a half batch.

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101 Cookbooks Experimentation

It's been a few weeks since my last post. I guess I've just let time slip by a bit too quickly. I actually made these recipes a while back, I found them from 101 Cookbooks. I really like that blog, there's always something interesting to try.

Nikki's Healthy Cookies

These sounded interesting...a "healthy" cookie?? Sounded so interesting, in fact, I made them. They were better warm, very banana-y. I suppose if you are an extreme banana fan, give these a go. Just be sure not to keep them in an airtight container, as they are moist. Personally, I did not like these cookies...

Amazing Black Bean Brownies

LOVED this recipe...who would have thought to put beans in brownies? I used leftover bean paste from this recipe. They have an incredible, moist texture which I love. Of course, the moist texture is not from chocolate and "fudgy", but fudgy none the less. I really can't describe it. I will be making these again for sure!

Anzac Cookies

Another lovely recipe for sweets (are you sensing a theme?). I really liked the butteriness of this cookie. These make for an excellent morning or afternoon snack paired with tea. Or, you know, to snack on all day.

Hummus en Fuego

My last 101 Cookbooks recipe I've made recently is for hummus. I really love Trader Joe's 4-pack hummus sampler, including roasted red pepper and garlic. I love this hummus recipe because it's got pretty basic stuff in it and easy to mix up and make how you prefer. I prepared the recipe as is, then added some roasted red peppers for extra flavor. Another excellent snack! I really love it paired with garlic pita chips (purchased at Whole Foods). This hummus would be perfect in wraps or on pizza.

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Thanksgiving leftovers?

Post turkey day, everyone's fridges are likely packed full of turkey, stuffing, cranberries, and other miscellaneous side dishes. What to do with these leftovers? Honestly, I have no idea. I'm very particular about how I eat my Thanksgiving foods: I need enough gravy to cover my potatoes and stuffing, turkey must be reheated to the proper piping hot temperature otherwise I find it utterly disgusting, and nothing, nothing should ever touch my dinner rolls.

Today I decided to make a little Thanksgiving leftover lunch. Originally I wanted to make a wrap, but then I decided to make a faux quesadilla, with cranberries, turkey, a bit of orange, lettuce, and black pepper white cheese. If I had to eat Thanksgiving foods every day of the year, this is how I would do it.

Next up, I think I'll try making a wrap with leftover turkey and roasted red pepper hummus, with some spinach thrown in for good measure.

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soup and sandwich dinner

It's fall and butternut squash is in season. What better way to prepare it than roast it, then make it into a soup?? I was really inspired to make soup after seeing Thai Spiced Pumpkin Soup on 101 cookbooks. The recipe does call for acorn squash, but I used butternut since I had it on hand and it tastes great!

Pair that with a grilled cheese sandwich, enhanced with cheese, apple, and bacon and you've got a seriously good meal.

This recipe comes from Tyler Florence, another one of my favorite Food Network chefs. If you are tired of eating the same old, I have nothing else to eat so grilled cheese will do, sandwich, be sure to give this one a try!

(Not your ordinary) Grilled Cheese

2 slices of bread
green apple, sliced thin
2 pieces of bacon, cooked until crisp
white cheddar cheese, sliced
dijon mustard
butter

1. Heat a griddle over medium heat.
2. To assemble the sandwich, spread a layer of dijon mustard on one slice of bread. Layer the cheese, apple, and bacon on top, then add the other slice of bread. Butter the bread and place onto the griddle, butter side down. Be sure to butter the other side of the sandwich at this time.
3. Cook the sandwich until golden brown, flip, and cook the other side until golden as well.

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bacon cookies!

You either love the idea of pairing bacon with anything and everything, or you think that's the worst idea ever. I personally fall into the latter category--I love perfectly crisp bacon, however, this is the limit of my culinary imagination. Until recently.


I made bacon chocolate chip cookies over a week ago...not too bad. I scoured the internet for more bacon cookie recipes and found a couple that sounded really tasty, including these, originally found here.


The recipe seems to be a basic shortbread style cookie with some crisp chopped bacon thrown in for good measure. The sweetness of the cookie comes exclusively from the maple glaze and the optional (but oh so necessary), caramelized bacon placed on the top.


The caramelized bacon (pictured above) adds extra crunch and bacon flavor. Surprisingly, the bacon within the cookie itself doesn't add much flavor, so this "garnish" is essential.

In the end, I suppose you're a bacon with everything type person or you're not...

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Pumpkin Chip Muffin Loaf

I was looking for a recipe with canned pumpkin so I could use up my leftovers from the pumpkin cookies I made. I finally settled on this recipe, but I wasn't entirely set on making cupcakes, mostly because I didn't have the cream cheese for the frosting but also because I wanted a coffeehouse-style baked item. (Side note: I really like the search function on allrecipes which allows you to search by ingredients you want and/or don't want...perfect when you need to use something left in your fridge!)


I followed the recipe exactly, using approximately 1 cup of regular sized chocolate chips. I poured into a loaf pan and baked for about an hour.

This makes a wonderful afternoon sweet snack, perfect with tea or coffee.

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Weekend Cooking

I'm a cooking machine this weekend. I have hopes of making many things, including:

• bacon cookies
• peppermint ice cream
• buttermilk biscuits
• English muffins
• and maybe some yeast bread

We'll see how much I actually accomplish ;) So far, I've got the ice cream setting up in the freezer and the cookies cooling, waiting for icing and a candied bacon topping.

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Individual Blueberry Persimmon Crumble

I went to Uwajimaya, an Asian grocery store here in the NW, and bought a bunch of interesting items. Never having seen them in grocery stores before, I sampled persimmon and bought a couple to experiment with.

Persimmons have an interesting flavor which I can't accurately describe. It reminds me of apple, but much more mild. I was thinking they would be great roasted with potatoes, or baked up in some kind of dessert. I decided to go with the latter.

Blueberry Persimmon Crumble

Ingredients

• 2 persimmons, cubed
• 1 cup blueberries
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp white sugar
• 1 tbsp butter

Crumble Topping:

• 1 1/2 tbsp flour
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp butter, softened

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Set aside 4 small ramekins.
2. In a saucepan, combine fruit, sugars, and butter. Cook over medium low heat until a bit of juices release and thicken slightly.
3. Meanwhile, combine the last set of ingredients for the crumble topping.
4. Put the cooked fruit into the ramekins. Divide the topping evenly among the 4 servings.
5. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes, until topping browns slightly.

This makes for a nice fall dessert, perfect served on its own or with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.

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