Garbage Day

I made my first batch of garbage cookies in college.  Always the avid baker, I tended to accumulate a variety of nuts, chocolate chips, flavorings and add-ins, which cluttered up my limited cupboard space.  On one particular afternoon, I decided to clean out my pantry by throwing a bunch of ingredients into my basic chocolate chip cookie dough recipe (see below). Well, the results were some pretty decadent and flavorful blobs of sweetness.  Dubbed "garbage cookies" by my Mom years ago, the name has stuck. What is great about this recipe, or lack-there-of, is that you can use anything you have lurking in your baking cupboard.  Macadamia nuts, marshmallows, chocolate chips, instant coffee granules, coconut, peanuts, rolled oats, raisins, chopped pretzels or toffee bits, anything goes. The other day, I decided to make garbage bars and the results were equally sweet.  There are countless ways to create your own version of these sinful treats.  And don't be afraid to add a lot of stuff to your garbage dough, I often add 8 to 10 different ingredients when making mine. Just think of it as engaging in a little pantry cleaning.  No trash bags required.

Basic Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (or starter dough for garbage bars or cookies)

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 bag bittersweet chocolate chips
garbage-style (optional):  add any other ingredients lurking in your pantry

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

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

In the bowl of an electric mixer (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer) beat butter and sugars until smooth and well-combined.  Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until incorporated.  Add vanilla and mix until incorporated.  Add dry ingredients, in two parts, and mix until dough forms.  Add chocolate chips, and any other ingredients of your choosing, and gently mix until incorporated.

If making cookies:
Drop rounded spoonfuls onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.  Be sure to leave enough space in between each cookie, depending on the ingredients incorporated into the dough.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until tops of cookies just start to brown.  Let cookies cool on cookie sheet for approximately 15 minutes and then carefully transfer cookies to a baking rack with a spatula to finish cooling.

If making bars:
Evenly spread dough into a 9x13 inch greased and parchment-lined baking pan. Bake for approximately 35 minutes or until the bars have browned on top to your liking.  Be sure not to over-bake.  Let bars cool completely before cutting.

The start of something sweet.

You can stop at the chocolate chips...

Or you can add in whatever you have in your baking stash.

Warm, melty, crunchy, chewy.

Packed with ingredients, decadent and delicious.

Impromptu Alfresco

Isn't it always the best dinners that come together in the last minute?  Calling up a few friends and grilling some juicy seafood tacos.  A simple, fresh dinner that takes mere minutes to assemble and cook. But, man, they taste so good.  Crack open a few cold beers, invite some friends over and heat up the grill. This dinner is the perfect way to add a little spur-of-the-moment excitement to your midweek lull.

Marinated Shrimp and Scallop Tacos
Serves 4

4-5 long wooden skewers
6-8 large sea scallops
12-14 large raw shrimp (peeled and deveined)
1 Tbsp olive oil
juice of 1 lime
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp dried chipotle pepper powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
pinch of salt

Soak skewers in water.  While skewers are soaking, combine the shrimp and scallops with the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl.  Let seafood marinate for approximately 10 minutes in the refrigerator.

Skewer the seafood.   Grill the skewers over high heat for 1-2 minutes per side.  Remove seafood from skewers and serve with corn tortillas, various sides, black beans and coleslaw (see recipe below).

Cilantro Lime Coleslaw
Serves 4-6
(adapted from a recipe in the July 2010 issue of Bon Appétit)

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
juice of 1 lime
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 small head savoy cabbage (or one half of a larger head)
salt and pepper

Whisk mayonnaise, sour cream, lime juice and garlic in a small bowl until combined.  Set aside.  Slice the head of cabbage in half, through the core. Remove the core from each half and thinly slice cabbage into long shreds. Transfer cabbage to a large bowl and add the cilantro and green onion. Pour creamy dressing over the slaw mixture and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to your taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Plain, canned black beans get heated on the stove with a sprinkle of warming cumin.

Wrap your corn tortillas loosely in tin foil and warm on the grill.

Topping options:
creamy avocado • salty, crumbly cheese (we used feta) •
sweet cherry tomatoes • tart, juicy lime wedges • minced serrano chile • fresh, bright cilantro • homemade "crema" sauce {plain yogurt + sour cream + fresh lime juice}

Spicy, cool, fresh and satisfying.  Not bad for a quick, midweek meal.

Cheese for a Friend

One of my entertaining mainstays is the classic cheese plate.  Really, what could be more versatile,  as delicious or easier to assemble than a beautifully arranged plate of cheese?  I, for one, tend to devour cheese when it is placed in front of me.  I also get positively giddy at the prospect of visiting a cheese counter to taste-test various cheeses for my plate.  When making my plates, I try to incorporate one hard cheese, one soft cheese and one blue cheese into my arrangement.  The types of cheese I choose vary, but a few of my favorites include a white, sharp English farmhouse cheddar, a pungent and salty roquefort, a thick and velvety triple cream brie and a grassy, rich goat cheese. Add toasted baguette slices, a small bowl of olives, some sweet fruit preserves or a bunch of fresh green grapes, whatever you have on hand. Arrange cheeses on a cake stand, wooden cutting board or a simple white platter.  It is really too easy!  So, when my best friend Heather asked me to make a cheese plate for her to bring to a wedding shower brunch, I was up for the challenge.  For her brunch platter, I chose a sharp New York state cheddar, a luxurious French triple cream brie and a pungent blue cheese.  As accompaniments, I included a small bowl of crunchy almonds, some sweet fig jam (jam recipe here) and a stack of slightly sweet oat crackers.  To finish, I poured some truffled honey over the blue cheese and used flat, green hydrangea leaves as a garnish. (Note: be sure to use non-poisonous leaves on your cheese plate.  Hydrangea leaves aren't poisonous). I wasn't there to witness it myself, but I hope the cheese platter was enjoyed, and devoured, by all.

I frequently use honey to cut the sharpness of a strong blue cheese.  Mix in a little white truffle oil for a bit more decadence.  

Salty, crunchy, sweet, creamy - your cheese platter can have it all.

Summer Dinner

Over the weekend, we hosted Dave's sister Lisa and her boyfriend Paul for dinner.  In order to appropriately enjoy one of the last few weekends of summer, we decided to heat up the charcoal grill and prepare some of the beautiful root vegetables we have available to us this time of the year. Dave grilled his delectable butterflied chicken, we corked a few bottles of wine and everyone enjoyed a simple dinner on a late-summer evening.

Menu:
Oysters on the half shell
Truffled steak tartare
Lemon and thyme grilled chicken
Roasted summer vegetables
Pommes frites
Honey and pine nut tart with rosemary cream

Briny, fresh oysters with traditional accompaniments.  

A classic French brasserie dish gets updated with Italian white truffle oil.

An organic chicken, butterflied, marinated in thyme and lemon and perfectly grilled over charcoal until crispy.

Carrots, beets, eggplant and celery root, roasted with cumin and topped with feta and fresh parsley.

Traditional pommes frites fried twice in peanut oil and generously sprinkled with flaked sea salt.

Honey and pine nut tart with rosemary infused whipped cream, unexpected but so delicious.
Find tart recipe here and whipped cream recipe here.

Who can resist a salty oyster and a cold glass of rosé on a hot summer evening?  I certainly can't.

Curry Noodles

One of my ultimate comfort foods is Thai-style curry noodles.  Ideally, the dish is spicy, brothy and loaded with rice noodles.  I find something so satisfying in slurping up those warm, wet and messy noodles with my chopsticks.  Add mounds of green cilantro and a heavy squirt of fresh lime. Heaven in a bowl.

Thai Curry Noodles
Serves 4 (or 2 very hungry people)

(adapted from a recipe by Mai Pham in the January 2008 issue of Bon Appétit)

Olive oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 large shallot, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 lemongrass stalks
1 inch knob of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 Tbsp red curry paste
2 Tbsp curry powder
2-4 tsp hot chili sauce (such as sriracha)
2 cans unsweetened, lowfat coconut milk
5 cups chicken stock
2 Tbsp fish sauce
3 tsp granulated sugar
2 large handfuls of sugar snap peas (snow peas can be substituted)
1 lb package rice stick noodles
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced into strips
1 red Thai chile, thinly sliced
Chopped cilantro
1 lime, cut into wedges

Brush chicken breasts with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Grill until just done, approximately 5 minutes per side over high heat. Cover with foil and set aside.

Heat a generous glug of olive oil in a large sauce pan or dutch oven over medium heat.  Add shallot, garlic, lemongrass stalks and ginger.  Cook until shallots are soft, about 2 minutes.  Be careful not to burn the garlic.  Add curry paste, curry powder and chili sauce.  Stir until cooked and fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Add coconut milk, chicken broth, fish sauce and sugar.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and let mixture simmer while you make the rest of the dish.

Prepare a large bowl of ice water.  In a pot of boiling water, blanch sugar snap peas for 30 seconds using a slotted spoon or chinese strainer, transfer them to the bowl of ice water. (This is called "shocking" and will stop the peas from cooking so that they retain their crunch and vibrant green color).  Once peas are completely cool, remove from ice water and set aside.  In the same pot of boiling water, cook the rice noodles until al dente, according to the package directions or for approximately 6 minutes.  Drain noodles into a colander and rinse with cold water until completely cooled.

Slice the chicken breasts and add to the simmering curry mixture.  In the mean time, divide cooled noodles and sugar snap peas between bowls.  Divide the hot curry broth among the bowls with a ladle, discarding the lemongrass stalks.  Top generously with sliced chile, green onion, red bell pepper and cilantro.  Squeeze curry with fresh lime wedges and enjoy.

BTW:  This dish gets better the longer it sits. Make the curry broth up to a day ahead of time, let it sit in the refrigerator and just reheat and prepare other components when you're ready to eat.

Lime and lemongrass bring sharp, citrusy flavors to this dish.

I always keep a stocked pantry so that I can whip up my favorite Asian-inspired dishes anytime.  

Sugar snaps, sweet as candy.

Rinse glass noodles with cold tap water.

Toasting your spices in the pot before adding the liquid ingredients creates a deeper flavor.

A spritz of lime...

Time to slurp.

Start Your Engines

Food trucks are creating quite a buzz.  If you think about it, not much could be better than grabbing some cheap, chef-driven, mobile street food and enjoying it out in the fresh air.  As luck would have it, some amazing food truck grub is found right here in my town of Minneapolis. Last weekend, Dave and I set out on our bikes and caught up to a few of these drivable establishments. First, we travelled to the Kingfield Farmers Market to discover the popular Chef Shack.  Next we biked downtown to check out the newer, Smack Shack. Both offered delicious food, made even better by the fact that everything we ordered was eaten out of paper containers while we basked in the late summer sun.  This food truck thing is a trend that I hope stays parked for quite a while.

BTW:  Some out-of-town food trucks I am dying to try include the Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream Truck in Brooklyn, the Grilled Cheese Truck in LA and the Kogi Korean BBQ Truck in LA.

First, Chef Shack:

The beet and corn salad was perfectly dressed with a tart, limey vinaigrette.  

The sweet potato tacos were filled with warm sweet potatoes and topped with cool, fresh vegetables.

Indian spiced doughnuts for dessert.  Lightly spiced and perfectly sweet.

We washed it all down with a refreshing "Arnie Palmer" made with jasmine tea and freshly squeezed lemonade.

Next, Smack Shack:

Genius, east coast-style lobster rolls right here in Minneapolis.

Our lobster roll was dynamite.  A mound of sweet lobster meat, prepared with tarragon and diced cucumber and tucked into a buttered and toasted Texas toast "roll".  With chips and a pickle, it made the perfect summer lunch.

Gettin' Figgy

While at the grocery store the other day, I spotted a display of fresh black misson figs.  Whenever I see those teardrop shaped, honey-sweet fruits I can't help but buy some, or in this case, two pints of them.  After rushing home and popping a few in my mouth, I decided to try my hand at making homemade fig cookies.  I chopped the figs and cooked them down into a tasty jam.  Then, I rolled the jam inside of a basic sugar cookie dough, flecked with orange zest.  Delicious.  I've had a few Fig Newtons in my day, but in my humble, biased opinion, they don't come close to these.

Orange Scented Fig Cookies
Makes about 30 cookies

For the jam filling:
2 pints fresh black mission figs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Juice of half a lemon
Juice of half an orange

For the cookies:
2 sticks butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 L egg, at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp fresh orange zest
3/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Jam:
Roughly chop the figs and transfer to a large sauce pot with the sugar and citrus juices.  Cook on high heat, stirring often, until the figs cook down a bit and the mix begins to bubble.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until fruit is quite soft, stirring occasionally.  Using an immersion blender, puree the fruit into a jam-like consistency.  (If you don't have an immersion blender, just pour the fruit mixture into a blender and blitz).  Set jam aside to cool.

Cookies:
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer) mix the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 3 minutes, or until light in color and fluffy in texture. Turn the speed down to medium and add the egg and mix until just combined. Mix in the the salt, vanilla, and zest. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula to ensure that everything is thoroughly mixed.  With the mixer on low, add the flour in two parts.  When the flour is incorporated, turn the mixer off and, again scrape down the bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, wrap it up into a flat disc and refrigerate for at least a few hours or overnight.

When the dough is ready, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Take the dough out of the refrigerator and let it sit for 10 minutes at room temperature to soften a bit. Place the disc of dough between two large pieces of parchment paper and roll out into a large rectangle, about 1/8 of an inch thick. (The parchment paper keeps the dough from sticking). Using a ruler and pizza wheel, trim the edges of the dough, making an even 12x14 inch rectangle. Again, with the ruler and pizza wheel, cut three 4x14 inch strips of dough.  Spread some of the jam down the middle of each strip. Lengthwise, roll the edges of the dough over the jam, making sure to seal the edges. Place the rolls seam-side-down on one of the lined baking sheets. Freeze the rolls for 20 minutes.  Remove the rolls from the freezer and using a serrated knife, cut them into cookies. Spread the cookies out on to the two lined baking sheets and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the tops of the cookies are just starting to turn golden. Cool cookies on a baking rack.

Nature's jewels.  So beautiful.

Cooked down, pureed fig jam.

Sweet and ruby red.

Roll cookie dough in between parchment to make life much easier.

Trim dough.

Spread jam, roll and seal.

Be sure to keep any left-over jam to spread on morning toast.

An updated childhood treat.