CHILI WEATHER!

It’s chili weather in Blowing Rock!  Believe it or not, Ray's Weather is calling for snow next week!  Saturday was a lazy day and just called out for a big pot of chili.  We invited our neighbor, Jim W., to join us.  Walter fixed grilled cheese sandwiches and we had these cookies for dessert.

This is my go-to chili recipe - it can't be bad if it comes from Emeril!

After the chocolate chip cookies I made last week, Walter told me that his very favorite cookie is Oatmeal Raisin.  So I found this recipe and they were good - so chewy!  They were a little sweet for me, though, so next time I'll omit half the granulated sugar like it suggests in the notes and see how that works.

Big Chewy Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies

From the episode: Cookie Jar Classics

Makes 16 to 20 large cookies

If you prefer a less sweet cookie, you can reduce the white sugar by one-quarter cup, but you will lose some crispness. Do not overbake these cookies. The edges should be brown but the rest of the cookie should still be very light in color. Parchment makes for easy cookie removal and cleanup, but it’s not a necessity. If you don’t use parchment, let the cookies cool directly on the baking sheet for two minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups raisins (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
• 2 sticks unsalted butter (1/2 pound), softened but still firm
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups rolled oats

Instructions

• 1. Adjust oven racks to low and middle positions; heat oven to 350 degrees. In bowl of electric mixer or by hand, beat butter until creamy. Add sugars; beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time.
• 2. Mix flour, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg together, then stir them into butter-sugar mixture with wooden spoon or large rubber spatula. Stir in oats and optional raisins.
• 3. Form dough into sixteen to twenty 2-inch balls, placing each dough round onto one of two parchment paper–covered, large cookie sheets. Bake until cookie edges turn golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes. (Halfway during baking, turn cookie sheets from front to back and also switch them from top to bottom.) Slide cookies on parchment onto cooling rack. Let cool at least 30 minutes before serving.

(I cooked these one cookie sheet at a time.)

Week of October 24-30

Let's see, what did we do last weekend?  Friday night we went to see Wicked at the Orpheum, which was very enjoyable.  Walter and I were lucky enough to see it on Broadway and this production was almost as good.  We had a nice dinner at Felicia Suzanne's.  I had a goat cheese and carmelized onion tart to start and it was outstanding.  Saturday Walter worked, as usual, and I had my needlepoint group, then we went to Huey's for dinner.  Great fries.  Sunday night I cooked:

Chicken Marsala
Rice Pilaf with Vermicelli
Sugar Snap Peas with Lemon, Garlic, and Basil

All of these recipes are from Cooks Illustrated.  I will say, don't attempt this menu unless you're pretty good at doing several things at once.  I was mighty challenged, but it all came out ok and almost at the same time!  The pilaf and the peas were especially good to know about as I am always looking for good side dishes.

Monday 10-25-10

Chicken and Parsnip Soup

From Cooking Light, this soup was very easy and tasty.  I cooked some extra chicken when I was doing the Chicken Marsala yesterday, so I had that part done.  I intended to make some biscuits to go with this, but Walter informed me at the last minute that he wouldn't be home for dinner and then I was running late for my lit class, so I just did the soup.  My friend Pam and I spent almost all day on a gardening project, so I was pretty tired when I got home.  This soup was perfect.


Tuesday 10-26-10

My former neighbor Nancy invited Dotsie and Wanda and me to lunch today at her new digs at Trezevant Manor.  How nice is that place!  Nancy and Gordon have an apartment in the new building and it is first class.  They're very happy and very busy there.  We had a great lunch and a great visit with each other.  Thanks again, Nancy!  I took her these chocolate chip cookies which Walter later proclaimed as the best cookies ever (of course he says that about every cookie I make...) I had my Search class tonight so didn't really feel like cooking. Thankfully, Monday night's Lore of Literature class was the last one for this semester so I won't have double class nights for the rest of the year.  My wonderful neighbor Troy made a huge batch of spaghetti gravy earlier this month and brought some frozen to me.  I snatched that sauce out of the freezer and had spaghetti for dinner!  Thanks, Troy!

Wednesday 10-27-10

Get ready.  I made Pork Ragu Al Maialino and it was fantastic.  Notice that I'm big on one-dish menus.  They're not always balanced, but I don't worry about Walter, he eats pretty good all day long.  And I get lots of vegetables at lunch, so nights are kinda whatever.

Thursday 10-28-10

It's Thursday morning as I write this and we're leaving today for North Carolina.  We're driving to Asheville to spend the night, then to Charlotte on Friday where we're going to shop for a Murphy bed to put in Walter's upstairs office.  Then on to Blowing Rock for the weekend, can't wait.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 16 cookies. 

Avoid using a nonstick skillet to brown the butter; the dark color of the nonstick coating makes it difficult to gauge when the butter is browned. Use fresh, moist brown sugar instead of hardened brown sugar, which will make the cookies dry. This recipe works with light brown sugar, but the cookies will be less full-flavored. For our winning brand of chocolate chips.

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (8 3/4 ounces)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

14 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 3/4 sticks)

1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)

3/4 cups packed dark brown sugar (5 1/4 ounces) (see note)

1 teaspoon table salt 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

1 large egg 

1 large egg yolk 

1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips or chunks (see note)

3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted (optional)

Instructions

1.   Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 large (18- by 12-inch) baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

2.   Heat 10 tablespoons butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and, using heatproof spatula, transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl. Stir remaining 4 tablespoons butter into hot butter until completely melted.

3.   Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk until fully incorporated. Add egg and yolk and whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. Let mixture stand 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth, and shiny. Using rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts (if using), giving dough final stir to ensure no flour pockets remain.

4.   Divide dough into 16 portions, each about 3 tablespoons (or use #24 cookie scoop). Arrange 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets, 8 dough balls per sheet. (Smaller baking sheets can be used, but will require 3 batches.)

5.   Bake cookies 1 tray at a time until cookies are golden brown and still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, 10 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack; cool cookies completely before serving.

Buttery Pecan Rounds

BUTTERY PECAN ROUNDS

1 CUP ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR

½ TEASPOON SALT

1 CUP (2 STICKS) UNSALTED BUTTER ROOM TEMPERATURE

¾ CUP PACKED DARK BROWN SUGAR

1 LARGE EGG YOLK

1 ½ CUP FINELY CHOPPED TOASTED PECANS

PECAN HALVES, FOR DECORATING

1.  Preheat oven to 325°F. Sift together flour and salt into a bowl.

2.  Put butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.  Mix in egg yolk until combined.  Reduce speed to low.  Add flour mixture; mix until combined.  Mix in chopped pecans.

3.  Using a 1 1/4 –inch ice cream scoop, drop batter onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 3 inches apart.  Press one pecan half into the center of each.  Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

4.  Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.  Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 days.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

PAR picnic

I'm a Tennessee Master Gardener (class of '10 - yay!) and one of our projects is a garden at Davies Plantation called Plant A Row for the Hungry, "PAR" for short.  Saturday we had our first PAR picnic out at the garden.  What a gorgeous day we had and how much fun was it to get together and eat instead of our usual hard work!  Our fearless leader, Sharon Lusk, provided sandwich makings and drinks and the rest of us brought either a salad or a dessert.  Except for In Sung Kim!  He and his wife prepared various Korean dishes on the spot, using vegetables from their own garden which I need to see some day.  Kim was in my MG class and he's a fantastic gardener!

I took Vanilla Bean Shortbread.  These cookies are delicious, but there was so much good food that I came home with a lot of them.  Goody bags are available upon request!

Vanilla Bean Shortbread

Here's some more pictures:

Walter and our okra!

In Sung Kim and his lovely wife

The food...

A few of the PAR folks

Vanilla Bean Shortbread

Vanilla Bean Shortbread Recipe - MyRecipes.com

"This half-oil, half-butter version yields a crisper, more delicate cookie," says Cooking Light Advisory Panelist Greg Drescher of the Culinary Institute of America. Make up to five days in advance, and store in an airtight container.

Yield: 32 servings (serving size: 1 piece)

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Line bottom and sides of a 13 x 9–inch baking pan with foil; coat foil with cooking spray, and set aside.

3. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, cornstarch, and salt in a large bowl; stir with a whisk.

4. Place butter in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add oil; beat with a mixer at medium speed 3 minutes or until well blended. Gradually add sugar, beating well. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean, and add seeds to butter mixture; discard bean. Add flour mixture, beating at low speed just until blended. Spoon dough into prepared pan. Place a sheet of heavy-duty plastic wrap over dough; press to an even thickness. Discard plastic wrap.

5. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool in pan 5 minutes on a wire rack; cut into 32 pieces. Carefully lift foil from pan; cool squares completely on a wire rack.