Chocolate Brownie Cookies

I wouldn't have believed how good these cookies are. They're more trouble than brownies, but I am not in love with brownies. I am in love with these.

From Cook's Country.

Chocolate Brownie Cookies
Makes 20

Step 1
5 ounces flour
3/4 ounce Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon table salt

Preheat oven to 300°. Whisk all together, set aside.

Step 2
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped, divided
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons whole milk

Microwave 6 ounces chocolate, oil and butter in medium bowl at 50 percent, stirring halfway through, until melted. About 3 minutes.

Whisk milk into chocolate until combined.

Step 3
7 ounces sugar
2 large eggs

Whip in stand mixer on medium-high until very thick and pale, about 4 minutes. Whisk in chocolate mixture by hand until uniform. Fold in flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Fold in remaining 4 ounces chocolate.

Step 4
Using 1-tablespoon measure or #30 scoop, scoop 10 heaping tablespoons of batter onto a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper (you should have 20 cookies total).

Bake until until cookies are puffed and covered with large cracks (cookies will look raw between cracks and seem underdone), about 16 minutes.

Let cool completely on sheets. Store in airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Cookies freeze well.

Note:
Baking at 300° results in cakey cookies. I originally mistakenly baked these at 350° which resulted in chewy wonderful cookies (guess which ones I prefer?). Try both methods and see which you like best.

Coquito

We recently discovered this delicious Latin American drink which seems like a good equivalent to eggnog. If eggnog were a coconut delight.

This is from Cook's Country.

Coquito
Serves 8-10

Step 1
1 15-ounce can Coco Lopez cream of coconut
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
1-1/4 cups gold rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Whisk all ingredients together in large pitcher until combined. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.

Step 2
Just before serving, working in batches, transfer cream of coconut mixture to blender and process until slightly frothy, about 1 minute per batch. Serve over ice, garnished with extra nutmeg.

Second Verse, Same as the First: Thanksgiving Cooking

Thanksgiving means much loved favorites that only get trotted out once a year. And I'm ok with that. So no weird variations to try to make these much loved favorites "new" or "fresh." Just good, honest Thanksgiving cooking.

These dishes, for us, represent the perfect versions of their oeuvre.

Our day-after-Thanksgiving meal also is mandated by tradition. Chef salad featuring turkey (of course), blue cheese dressing and crumbled bacon (the real thing please!) on top. Mmmmmm, crumbled bacon ... except that since we do meatless Fridays, this feast actually comes on a Saturday.

Here are a few links to recipes I've posted before.

Herbed Thanksgiving Stuffing
This is the best stuffing ever and cooks in a slow cooker. I have made this five times now and never been disappointed. It really frees up the oven for other things and, if you happen to have a problem with sticking your hand up a turkey (no problemo here) then you're set free from that as well.

Skillet Cornbread
If you happen to like cornbread stuffing (which I do not), you may want to make this for your base. I've never found a better recipe.

Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Crumble
The funny bone in the menu is the sweet potato selection which in the past I have always played around with. This one is Rose's favorite and since she is the co-cook, we bow to her judgment!

Cranberry Ginger Relish
I also used to change up the cranberry recipe from year to year. No longer. This relish is practically perfect in every way!

Mashed Dinner Potato Rolls
I've been making these for years and they never fail to turn out well. They are the classic American dinner roll.

Perfect Piecrust
This is not a misnomer. Very easy and very delicious. It is long but that is because of the detailed directions. You can't go wrong with this.

Pecan Pie
This is non-negotiable. Gotta have it.

Pumpkin Pie
Are you allowed to have Thanksgiving without this? Or watch the Cowboys play without having some? Nope.

Things there are no recipes posted for:

• Green Bean and Mushroom Casserole — Made with all fresh ingredients, this is not the standard casserole. It's been reverse engineered from the Campbell Soup version ... and it is simply wonderful. I promise to get the recipe on the blog soon!
• Mashed Potatoes — I use baking potatoes with plenty of butter and milk (and maybe some sour cream).
• Gravy — Julia Child's recipe from The Way to Cook. It makes so much gravy that you never run out!
• Turkey — of course! A basic recipe from The Doubleday Cookbook. 

AND Afterward ...
What do you do with the turkey carcass? I used to toss it, until being given a fantastic recipe for Turkey Bone Gumbo.

It is fantastically simple, especially if you fear not the roux which has been given a bad rap as far as I can tell. It does take some time but I do it in steps here and there so that on Sunday we have a delicious bowl of gumbo that hasn't been much trouble at all.

Whole-Grain Banana Bread

Mom insisted this was a great Banana Bread so we tried it. I wouldn't have believed you could get such a good quick bread that also is whole-grain but King Arthur's Flour (and Mom!) proved me wrong.

Whole-Grain Banana Bread

Step 1

2 cups (454g) thoroughly mashed banana, about 4 or 5 medium bananas
2/3 cup melted butter or 1/2 cup (99g) vegetable oil
1 cup (213g) brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in the center. Lightly grease a 9” x 5” loaf pan; if your pan is glass or stoneware, reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.

Stir together the mashed banana, oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.

Step 2

1 cup (120g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 cup (113g) King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour or Premium Whole Wheat Flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup (57g) chopped walnuts, toasted if desired; optional

Combine all ingredients. Then mix into the banana mixture. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl and mix again to thoroughly combine the ingredients.

Step 3

1 tablespoon (13g) sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Scoop the batter into the prepared pan. Mix together the sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle over the batter.

Bake 60-75 minutes, until bread feels set on the top, and a tester comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs (but no wet batter). If the bread appears to be browning too quickly, tent it with aluminum foil for the final 15 to 20 minutes of baking. Note: If baking in a glass or stoneware pan, increase the baking time by 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove the bread from the oven. Cool it in the pan for 15 minutes, then loosen the edges, and turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool completely.

Store leftover bread, tightly wrapped, at room temperature for several days. Freeze for longer storage. Makes 12 generous servings.

Note
This recipe will make 15 standard-size muffins. Bake muffins in a preheated 350°F oven for 20 to 23 minutes.

Curried Peanut Sauce / Dip

Mom gave me a hand-written note with this sauce on it. I was surprised when I saw it was from Bon Appetit which had it down only as a dip. We took our cue from the sauce and, thinned with some chicken broth, it made a super-duper tasty sauce for simmering your choice of meat and vegetables to serve over rice.

So easy!


Curried Peanut Sauce / Dip

Step 1
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 tablespoons red curry paste (original recipe calls for 1/4 cup)

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium. Add curry paste and cook, stirring frequently, until paste begins to stick to bottom of saucepan and is very fragrant, 2–3 minutes.

Step 2
1 14.5-oz. can coconut milk

Whisk in coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Continue to cook, whisking occasionally, until mixture turns darker in color and is slightly reduced, about 3 minutes.

Step 3
1/2  cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon honey
Salt

Remove saucepan from heat and whisk in peanut butter, vinegar, fish sauce, and honey. Season to taste with salt. Let cool to room temperature, then transfer to an airtight portable container and chill.

As a sauce
Add some chicken broth to thin the sauce and simmer meat and vegetables in it.

As a dip
Season to taste with salt; it should be well seasoned since the things you are dipping in it may not be (i.e., boiled eggs, cukes, etc.). Let cool to room temperature, then transfer to an airtight portable container and chill.

Ginger-Turmeric Potatoes and Green Beans (Aloo Faliyan)

This is easy and absolutely delicious either at room temperature or hot. It does take a bit of chopping, but is totally worth it. From Milk Street: Tuesday Nights by Christopher Kimball.

GINGER-TURMERIC POTATOES AND GREEN BEANS
Serves 6
Start to Finish: 45 minutes

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large shallot, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons yellow or brown mustard seeds
1-1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
12 ounces small Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (don't use russet or starchy potatoes - they'll break down)
12 ounces green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup halved grape tomatoes
1/3 cup cashews, toasted and roughly chopped
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 to 1 serrano, minced (optional)

In a large skillet over medium, heat oil until shimmering. Add shallot, ginger, mustard and cumin seeds, and pepper flakes. Cook, stirring frequently, until shallot has softened and is just beginning to brown, abut 2 minutes.

Stir in turmeric, potatoes, green beans, salt and water. Then cover and cook until potatoes are just barely tender, bout 8 minutes. Uncover pan. If all of water has cooked off, add 1 to 2 tablespoons, then continue to cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender and pan is dry, another 2 to 5 minutes.

Off heat, stir in lemon juice. Season to taste with salt if needed. Fold in tomatoes, cashews, cilantro and optional serrano.

Black Forest Cake

Rose has been interested in this recipe for a while and it turns out that the best time to make it was for her birthday! So it was an experiment and a celebration at the same time. It is from A Baker’s Life by Paul Hollywood. You can find the original recipe here.

Making this cake it struck me that, much like Tiramisu, the cake acts as a conductor to all the cream, cherries, and kirsch. Though the chocolate, of course, is a definite presence.

The cake part of this didn't work well for us. Looking around, I saw that Mary Berry's Black Forest Gateau didn't have any butter and, therefore, might not have been quite as hard as the Paul Hollywood version. Or I just didn't do a good job with his chocolate sponge. That's a definite possibility.

Be that as it may, we liked the rest of the recipe very well. So we'll be making it next time using our own Easy Chocolate Buttermilk Cake. It's easy, it's foolproof and our son-in-law who loves Black Forest Cake says that a deep chocolate flavor is his favorite here ... and it's got that flavor for sure. We'll use Mary Berry's formula of baking in two 9" cake pans and horizontally slicing them in two, resulting in four layers.

BLACK FOREST CAKE
Serves 12

For the cake
One recipe Easy Chocolate Buttermilk Cake 

Bake in two 9" cake pans, horizontally slicing them in two, resulting in four layers. (Or just use three of the 4 layers if that's how tall you want the cake.)

For the filling and topping 3 layers
(increase as needed for 4 layers)
3 tbsp kirsch
4 tbsp cherry jam
900ml (32fl oz) double cream, whipped
400g (14oz) tin pitted black cherries, drained and halved

To decorate
60g (2¼oz) dark chocolate (60-70%)
A handful of fresh cherries

To assemble, carefully cut the cake horizontally into three even layers (see tip below). Place one sponge on your serving plate and sprinkle evenly with 1½ tbsp kirsch. Spread half of the cherry jam over the sponge then apply a layer of whipped cream on top, and spread it out with a palette knife.

Scatter over half of the cherries. Place another sponge on top, sprinkle with the rest of the kirsch, then repeat the jam, cream and cherry layers. Place the last sponge on top. Load a palette knife with cream and spread it all over, covering the entire cake in a thin layer of cream.

Press finely grated chocolate around the sides and top.

Pipe rosettes of cream around the edge and sit whole cherries on them.

Bollywood Kitchen

Bollywood Kitchen

Home-Cooked Indian Meals Paired with Unforgettable Bollywood Films

You’re invited to a party where the food and entertainment are both in Technicolor. It’s “dinner and a movie” in this vibrant, beautifully photographed tour of Indian food and films.

Indian cuisine and Indian cinema share much in common – bold colors and flavors with plenty of drama. But to the uninitiated, they can seem dizzying. Let Sri Rao be your guide. As one of the only Americans working in Bollywood, Sri is an expert on Indian musical films, and as an avid cook, he’s taken his mom’s authentic, home-cooked recipes and adapted them for the modern, American kitchen.

Sri has paired each meal with one of his favorite Bollywood movies. Sri will introduce each film to you, explaining why you’ll love it, and letting you in on some juicy morsels from behind the scenes.

This is a quick read and I'm happy to say it is absolutely solid on the movies. I've seen a lot of the author's selections and they are a good representation of new and old Bollywood movies that are very accessible. He also has three supplemental movie recommendations for each major selection so that if you like a film you can explore similar ones. Those also were right on the money. His descriptions are engaging and I liked the bits of extra information he scattered throughout the book.

The recipes are a good blend of his mother's Indian home cooking, adapted for the American kitchen including Indian takes on American food, such as the Bollywood Burger and seasoned sweet potato fries. Sri grew up in America and he understands how to keep recipes authentic but not time-consuming.  I also like the fact that each movie is matched with a full meal, so you don't have to wonder what side dishes to come up with.

I made the Keema and the Chicken Rollups (street food that is like Indian chicken fajitas). Both were very good, though much hotter than I like. I'd advise cutting the cayenne in half if, like me, you don't like it hot.

The way the recipes were adapted were definitely easy although the author seems to have too generous a sense of portion size. For example, the Keema was supposed to serve 4-6 using 2 pounds of hamburger. Oy veh! We halved it and it served the three of us with leftovers for 2. So keep a judicious eye on his proportions compared to how many you want to serve.

Recommended for those wanting to dabble in Indian food and movies!

Shepherd's Pie

This is from Cooking for Friends by Gordon Ramsay. Rose is a Gordon Ramsay fan and after sampling the many recipes she's made for us, I can see why. This Shepherd's Pie is a great example. It is still a simple dish but has been elevated beyond the regular Shepherd's Pies I've tried in the past, which, to be fair, never seemed that great. This one is great and will make you and your family very happy.


Shepherd's Pie

1 pound ground lamb or beef
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup red wine
1.5 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
2 pounds baking potatoes
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons hot milk
4 tablespoons Parmesan
2 egg yolks

1. Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Season the ground meat with salt and pepper and fry in a thin layer of oil until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer the meat to a bowl using a slotted spoon.

2. Add more oil to the pan and stir in the onion, carrot, and garlic. Fry, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are golden brown, 4-5 minutes. Add the flour and tomato paste and stir for a couple of minutes longer. Pour in the red wine and scrape the bottom of the pan to dislodge the browned sediment. Let the wine boil until it has almost all evaporated and the pan is quite dry.

3. Pour the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Return the meat to the pan and add the Worcestershire sauce. Turn the heat to the lowest setting and partially cover the pan. Simmer, stirring every once in a while, until the meat is tender and the sauce has thickened, 30-40 minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Meanwhile, cook the chunks of potatoes in boiling salted water until tender when pierced with a small knife, 15-20 minutes. Drain well, then mash with butter, hot milk, Parmesan, and egg yolks. Season to taste and set aside.

5. Pour the lamb or beef mixture into an 8 cup baking dish. Spoon the mashed potato on top. Bake until top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling up around the sides, 20-25 minutes.