<space>
<space>
<space>
See all my Project365 pictures here.
Now Playing in the Kitchenette: Radiohead / Street Spirit
<space>
<space>
<space>
So, because I mentioned winning in the post title, some of you may assume that I’m referencing the Superbowl.
<space>
Some of you may be grievously wrong.
<space>
This is not even remotely like Superbowl food. Brie is way too classy for Superbowl Sunday. Superbowl Sunday is made for wings that will burn your tongue off. Potato skins filled with more bacon than potato. Dips containing a year’s worth of sour cream.
This brie is like the classy older sister of the sour cream-based dip. This brie went to Harvard. She’s marrying a Kennedy, dude. This brie is too good for you and your Superbowl party!
Well, she’s too good for me too… since I didn’t make this for my party today. I totally made this for Thanksgiving. (Yep, as in 2 1/2 months ago, procrastination is awesome!) But, it’s baked cheese and mustard… two of my favorite things, and probably yours too, if you’re smart. I figured you would forgive me.
In the true tradition of snack food, this is crazy easy to make. I mean, RIDICULOUSLY EASY. This recipe is idiot-proof. I’m not even sure it deserves to be called a recipe. I feel like a recipe requires more than 2 ingredients and more than 2 steps, but… it’s too delicious not to post. Seriously.
I’m thinking of renaming this recipe “Mustard + Brie = Foodgasm.”
What do you think?
<space>
<space>
Baked Brie with Mustard
From the Kitchenette
Serves 4 brie-lovers (or 8 weenies) as an appetizer
<space>
Ingredients
1 6-inch wheel of brie
3 tablespoons of sweet-hot mustard
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slather (there really is no other word to use here) the top and sides of the brie with mustard. Place the brie on a baking sheet covered with parchment or aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes or until the brie is soft to touch of a knife. Serve with toasted baguette slices.
<space>
<space>
Now Playing in the Kitchenette: The National / Mistaken for Strangers
<space>
<space>
I wish I could pick something that meshed better with baked brie… but I can’t. Because I’m obsessed with these dudes. They sound like the Editors, or maybe Interpol. I love a good baritone lead, that’s for damn sure.
<space>
<space>
Summer is the season for music festivals. Coachella, Bonnaroo, SXSW (which technically takes place in March, but whatever), Glastonbury, Austin City Limits, etc. And since the festivals are only a few months away, festival line-ups are starting to emerge.
Last week, the line-up for Coachella was announced…
…Cue the subsequent blow up on the interwebz.
Let’s look at the line-up, shall we?
<space>
click to enlarge my jealousy
<space>
Vampire Weekend! *breath hitch*
The Cribs? swoon
The Avett Brothers?! omg
She & Him… my girlcrush will be there?!
The Temper Trap… drool
Hot Chip... hiccup
Little Boots… oh dear
Matt and Kim… be still my heart
Phoenix… yessssssss
Spoon… *fangirl squee!*
Since I have featured 6 of the above artists on the blog in the past 8 months, I can only come to one conclusion… This festival line-up may or may not have been planned out by my unconscious. My unconscious who apparently doesn’t care about me, because as much as this line up is totally rocking my world right now… I can’t go. *sadface* I’ll just have to live vicariously through my girls Chelsea, Nikki, and Vicky… sigh.
So, with the thought of missing one of the best indie/alternative festivals in the entire world heavy on my heart, I had to find someway to dull the pain!
Buffalo numbs pain… right?
I’m a big fan of buffalo; it’s a very lean meat and has lots of flavor. I especially like it in chili, since I usually find beef to be too greasy, and chicken and turkey to be pretty lackluster in terms of flavor.
I found this original chili recipe over at Half-Assed Kitchen. I love their recipes, and I would have made the recipe exactly, except Mr. Kitchenette downright refused to let me put 3 cans of beans in the chili (party pooper… you know I love me some beans). I was really impressed with the depth of flavor in the spices and I thought the touch of red wine vinegar at the end was perfect; it really lightened up the chili in the best way possible. Go check out the H-AK site, their rating system is hilarious and they’ve got some great recipes.
So even though this chili was unable to magically conjure me up some tickets and time off for Coachella… it was the epitome of comfort food. And after all… there’s always Bonnaroo.
<space>
<space>
Buffalo & Kidney Bean Chili
Adapted from Half-Assed Kitchen
<space>
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound ground buffalo
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder (not the same as cayenne, mind you)
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons paprika
2 14-oz cans dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
1 cup low-salt chicken broth
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Directions:
Heat oil and buffalo over medium heat. Break up meat into bite-size crumbles and cook until meat is browned and almost cooked through. Add onions and garlic and cook until onions are translucent. Add chili powder, cocoa powder, sugar, salt, and paprika. Stir for 1 minute to mix with buffalo and onions. Add beans, tomatoes, broth, and vinegar. Simmer over low heat for 20 minutes or until thickened. Serve now or later with rice or cornbread. Serves four.
<space>
<space>
Now Playing in the Kitchenette: Hot Chip/One Life Stand
… love this band. Had them on my list of bands to feature, but they fit well here! Follow them on twitter here… I do!
<space>
<space>
Sooooo… Are you planning on going to any festivals this summer? Have you ever tried buffalo?
<space>
<space>
WOOT. My first canning challenge for the Tigress Can Jam is complete! Can we please talk about awesome this is?!?
*crickets*
… So that’s a no? Darn. That’s okay… I got the proper amount of excitement from my two BFFs, Sam and Anna, through email.
Me: I haven’t posted about it yet but did you both know that I SUCCESSFULLY CANNED something the other day? It was totes awesome.
(Anna and Sam jabber on about such important topics as Staub’s cheaper line of cookware for BloodBath&Beyond, the undiscovered awesomeness of hardware stores, and the chances of there being a shirtless Channing Tatum scene or two or four in his new movie.)
Me: excuse me, neither of you expressed the appropriate amount of fangirl squeeing that i successfully canned something without 1) burning myself 2) burning my husband or 3) burning my house down.
Anna: SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Sam: i guess i don’t fully understand the danger of canning. it involves boiling water and tongs, right?
Me: true, i guess it’s not exactly James Bond material. i guess the danger is more that you won’t get the proper seal and that you’ll accidentally grow crazy botulism in the jar?
Sam: aaah so a delayed death. report back in a few months =)
So yeah, assuming that I’m still writing posts in a few months… we can assume everything I canned this time around was safe to eat. Nothing like a little suspense to liven up the blog posts, right? I actually planned it like this… it will be like a soap opera… it will take 4 weeks for 1 pot of coffee to brew and you’ll have to come back every day to see if I died of botulism spores or if I was stabbed by my neighbor who suffocated me with the wet filter full of coffee grounds.
For the first month of the Tigress Can Jam, we are canning citrus! Very exciting, non? I couldn’t help myself when I went to the grocery store and there were heaps of blood oranges for $1.50 a pound. And then there were Meyer lemons on sale for $1.25 a pound, so I got a bunch of those too… not sure what I’m going to do with the rest of them yet. Having never made marmalade, I was thinking that it a couple of hours devoted to making a crapload of marmalade would be a relaxing activity.
… yeah. Not so much. Dude, making marmalade is HARD. You’ve got to juice the oranges (which I did by hand) and then cut out the pith, then julienne the zest, and after all that work… you get to cook it. However, what I didn’t expect was how easy the actual canning part of the process went. Go figure. I was so scared that I was going to screw something up and then it turned out to be crazy easy! And of course I had to share my excitement with the world over Twitter:
<space>
click to enlarge my twitter enthusiasm
<space>
… because I was so proud of myself. I’ve never canned anything before and canning is necessary knowledge for an aspiring hippie like myself. Unfortunately my first marmalade endeavor only yielded three 8oz jars of marmalade, which was a wee bit less than I was expecting. But I still have lots of oranges left, so I might make another batch (or something similar) tonight.
PS. I was only able to make this marmalade because my super-awesome father-in-law, Mike, sent me a care package of brand-new canning equipment! He’s getting a jar in the mail this weekend. Hope it’s actually good!
<space>
<space>
Blood Orange and Meyer Lemon Marmalade
Adapted from The Hungry Engineer and Simply Recipes
<space>
Ingredients:
3 pounds blood oranges, washed and dried
4 cups water
2 Meyer lemons
2-3 cups sugar
Equipment:
Medium saucepan
candy thermometer
Canning pot
4 8-0z mason jars with lids and rings
Directions:
Scrub the oranges clean. Cut the oranges in half and juice them, one by one, over a strainer until you have 2 cups of juice. Set aside the juice. As you juice the oranges, set aside the seeds and membranes, as they will be used for making pectin. For each juiced orange half, use a spoon to dig out the pith as much as you can. You may find it easier to lay pieces of the peel on the cutting board and to slide a knife between the pith and the peel, similar to how you would de-skin a piece of fish.
<space>
<space>
Cut up both Meyer lemons into 8 segments each, and cut each segment crosswise into small triangles. Remove any seeds from the lemons and add to the orange seeds and membranes. Pull all the seeds and membranes from both the oranges and lemons into a square of cheesecloth (at least 4 layers thick) and tie the fabric together with kitchen twine to make a small bag.
(Note: At this point, if you plan to can the marmalade for shelf-stability, then put a small plate in the freezer to chill.)
Place the lemon and orange juices in a medium-sized pot, and add the julienned peels and lemon pieces and the water. Tie the cheesecloth bag to the pot’s handle on one side, making sure that the bag is sitting in the marmalade. As the seeds/membranes cook, the pectin will leach out of the bag and into the marmalade. Bring mixture to a boil and let cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove the bag and let sit until cool enough to touch.
<space>
<space>
Pour the fruit mixture into a measuring cup and measure how much fruit mixture you have. For each cup of fruit mixture, add 7/8 cup of sugar. (I had 3 cups of fruit, so I added 2 1/4 cup sugar.) Put the sugar and fruit mixture back in the pot. Once the pectin bag is cool, squeeze the bag to get any extra pectin out of the bag.
(Note: At this point, if you plan to can your marmalade, sterilize your glass jars. Wash each jar in hot water, and put the jars on a baking sheet. Put the jars in a 200° fahrenheit oven and let “cook” in oven for 10 minutes.)
Add the pectin to the sugar and fruit mixture. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, and cook until the marmalade reaches a temperature (as measured by a candy thermometer) of 220 – 222° fahrenheit. As an alternative to using a candy thermometer, you can utilize “the wrinkle test.” For the wrinkle test, chill a plate in the freezer while you are prepping and cooking the marmalade so it’s fully chilled when you are ready to test the marmalade. Put a small spoonful of marmalade on the plate, wait 5 seconds, and push the marmalade with your finger (it should be cool from sitting on the plate for those 5 seconds). If the surface of the marmalade wrinkles at all, it’s time to can the marmalade. If the marmalade is runny on the plate and/or doesn’t wrinkle when you push it, then it’s not ready to can; cook it for a few more minutes and try again.
<space>
<space>
To process the jars of marmalade, bring a small pan of water to boil and drop in the flat lids. Let them soak in the hot water for 5 minutes to soften the seal. Fill each jar up with marmalade, leaving 1/4 inch space between the lid and the top of the jam. Run a knife around the inside of the jars, to make sure that no air bubbles are sitting between the marmalade and the jar. Wipe the outside of the rims of the jars to make sure that no sticky marmalade will break the seal. Put the lid on the jar, and screw on the ring/band to close the jar. Put the jars in a large pot of boiling water (do not lay them down sideways, they must be processed standing upright) and cover with water such that there is at least 1 inch of water above the tops of the jars. Bring water in pan to boil, and process cans for 10 minutes. Use tongs to get the jars out of the hot water and leave them on the counter to dry.
Listen for the “pop” sound as the jars’ vacuum seal is created. Celebrate by opening a jar even though you just spent upwards of 4 hours making it shelf-stable.
<space>
<space>
Now Playing in the Kitchenette: The Cribs / We Share the Same Skies - please to be loving this band with me. trust.
<space>
<space>
Apparently I put up my Can Jam! post a little too early. Check back on Sunday if you didn’t see it this morning.
Until then… this is what I”m working with. Show me whatcha working with! (Ten points if you can name that song…)
<space>
<space>
<space>
Let me say, generally… I am not a huge fan of brunch.
I mean, it’s breakfast, and I’m not usually a complicated breakfast person. I’m usually pretty good with just some yogurt and granola, so I can do pretty good breakfast at my house. Plus, brunch on a weekend is… time consuming, to say the least. Unless you hit the restaurant early enough (and let’s face it, who wants to get up super early on the weekend) you’re stuck in a long line of post-college grads that are probably still drunk from the night before.
And then after waiting in line for upwards of an hour, you get your dollar’s worth of hash browns and 30 cents of fried eggs, and then you go home and before you know it, it’s noon o’clock and you’ve done nothing but eat breakfast. Now, as a person who cherishes every SECOND of her weekend since she works upwards of 65-70 hours at a thankless job, I’m very very conscientious about how I spend each minute of my weekend. And often times, brunch just doesn’t make the cut because it’s too damn stressful.
However, Mr. Kitchenette LOVES brunch. And because I love him, I suck it up and we go to brunch every once in a while (I know, I know… life is so tough). And we’ve been wanting to try this Colt & Gray restaurant that we had heard of a few weeks ago… and it was near our house and so we thought it might be fun to go for breakfast. And even though I wasn’t feeling brunch that day, I’m so glad I went because…
OH.MY.STARS. It was soooooooo good.
We got to the restaurant early, only a few minutes after they opened at 10 am, and there were only a few couples just sitting down for breakfast. I was overwhelmed by the decor… seriously. This place was gorgeous. Case in point:
<space>
Interior decor porn
<space>
I’m not big on drinking before noon (I have very high standards, people) so we only had decaf coffee. Which, on a side note, was some of the best coffee I’ve ever had – fresh Coda beans out of a french press with cream and sugar… boy howdy. It was a good start to the day.
Then we got down to business – the business of what we were going to order, of course. And I tried not to drool on the menu… because the menu was made of paper (if it had been laminated, I probably wouldn’t have held back).
<space>
<space>
There were SO many good choices on their menu. Um, Merguez sausage and duck fat-fried potatoes? Yes, please.
Usually I make Mr. Kitchenette pick what he’s going to have first and then I always get something different… and then I steal some of his breakfast anyways. Duh. Marriage is all about SHARING.
But this time around, I wasn’t waiting for him to make his choice. Every since I watched this season of Top Chef, I’ve totes been in LURVE with Kevin Gillespie. Basically, Kevin spent all season of Top Chef introducing the American bourgeois like myself that Pork is King. Part of his Pork 101 course was using pork belly in like 50% of his dishes. And because I was totes in love with Kevin, I’ve been wanting to try pork belly ever since.
So, suffice it to say, as soon as I saw the Roasted Long Farm Pork Belly, I was all over it. Actually, I think I might have scared the waiter with my pork belly fervor. And I was not disappointed, because this is what I was presented with:
<space>
FREAKING NOM
<space>
I think my heart stopped, I was so excited to try it. Now, being a pork belly virgin, I thought it might be really fatty like bacon can sometimes be, but I was happily wrong. The top was exceedingly crispy, almost like a extra-crispy candied bacon or something. The rest of the belly was almost like pulled pork, in the way that it flaked away when you put your fork through it, but it was tender and juicy and thankfully there were no chunks of fat like I was afraid of. Beneath the pork were perfectly seasoned cranberry beans and those were topped with the perfect pair of fried eggs.
In the past, I’ve never been a fan of fried eggs… what can I say… the runny yolk always sort of tasted like baby chickens to me. But um, I have no idea what was different about these eggs (maybe they had crack in them?) but they were freaking DELICIOUS. I’ve never been happier with my breakfast.
Oh yeah, and Mr. Kitchenette got the duck confit hash. That was also amazing.
<space>
FREAKING NOM x 2
<space>
So after I got over my initial paranoia over ordering like, the most manly breakfast EVER (seriously, Mr. Kitchenette was kind of embarrassed that he ordered something that was decidedly less manly)… I fell in love with pork belly. But Mr. Kitchenette couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make fun of me and my choice all through breakfast with choice statements such as:
<space>
“That dish should come with a designated driver”
“I’m going to have to check on you this afternoon to make sure that you didn’t fall into a coma.”
<space>
And then, when I handed the dish over to him once I had eaten all I could (this is a regular occurrence when we go out, no restaurant I know serves Carter-sized portions), came this gem:
<space>
“I hope we get the check before I lose all dexterity”
<space>
Basically, it was the best breakfast we’ve ever had. Well, that I’ve ever had, but I’m pretty sure that Mr. Kitchenette agrees… especially after I let him have my leftovers.
<space>
Hmmm… I don’t think he likes it.
<space>
If you’re in the Denver area…
Colt & Gray
1553 Platte Street #120
Denver, CO 80202
(303)477-1447
<space>
<space>
Now Playing in the Kitchenette: The Broken Bells / The High Road
<space>
<space>
After one week of Project365, I’m having a lot of fun. The best were the first 4 days, when I was at home most of the time and had good light to shoot things. Then, starting Monday, things got a little iffy, because I’ve been spending 14-15 hours per day at work, which means that I come home way after the sun has set. And I mean, taking pictures of my computer mouse or my coffee cup might start to get a little old after a while. But whatever, I’m proud of myself for getting this far… so here’s my progress on Project365.
<space>
1 / 365 – A punked-out red onion
<space>
2 / 365 - Denver at twilight, shot from behind the steering wheel on my way home
<space>
3 / 365 - My shopping list and a cookbook on the kitchen table before I head out for grocery shopping Sunday morning
<space>
4 / 365 - Honey-Roasted Root Veggies
<space>
5 /365 – Sunrise over the city in Denver
<space>
6 /365 – Christmas lights against the wall
<space>
7 /365 - Christmas lights in Larimer Square, Denver, CO
<space>
8 /365 – Empty jars ready for the Tigress 2010 Can
<space>
See more info on Project365 here, and the foodie-specific Project365 here.
My mother always got on me for saying “I hate” as a child. All my statements of “I hate this dress!” or “I hate brussel sprouts!” or “I hate my brother!!!” were all met with a resounding “No. You don’t hate. You just aren’t very happy with it right now.”
Well, I’d like to say I’ve learned my lesson, Mom. You’re right, I didn’t hate my brother… he was just pissing me off at that time of my life. Really pissing me off. But I didn’t know the word “piss.” I only knew the word “hate.” See the dilemma? However, after 26 years of life, I do know the difference between “I hate” and “I seriously dislike.” And let me tell you…
I seriously dislike this Miracle Whip commercial. In fact… I hate it.
<space>
<space>
Wait… no. I really really hate this commercial. I hate this commercial with the fire of a thousand suns.
Riddle me this, readers. Does the Miracle Whip marketing team think that I will purchase their jar of white goo if they put a bunch of hipster-doofuses on my television? Do they expect me to believe that if I buy their product, I will suddenly morph into a dude who wears vintage wool cardigans and skinny jeans? Will my own personal soundtrack of indie bands (too cool for you to recognize, of course) start playing as soon as I wake up in the morning? Will I suddenly become so freaking cool that my body cannot contain the awesomeness, such that I spontaneously combust?!?!
According to this commercial… that’s a big, fat, YES. Emphasis on the fat, of course, since we are talking mayonnaise here.
So yeah, rant over. I HATE this commercial.
However, you were right, Mom. There were some things that I *thought* I hated back then that I don’t entirely hate now. Maybe that I don’t hate at all now. One thing I seriously disliked when I was 8 (that I have since seen the light, complete with the “Hallelujah” chorus on repeat in the background) is… brussel sprouts.
<space>
<space>
*COLLECTIVE GASP*
I know. They are nasty, disgusting midget versions of cabbage.
And they smell like rotten eggs when you boil them… the epitome of gross. But I can’t help it. I’ve had them three times in a month. (It helps that they are in season, but you see where I’m going with this.) It’s getting embarrassing – it’s like the foodie equivalent of getting caught performing the entire dance routine to Britney Spears’ “Oops, I Did It Again” video… in front of your mirror. In your underpants.
<space>
<space>
It’s not like brussels aren’t good. Heck, Serious Eats is totally on a brussels kick right now. They respect the brussel. But these suckers have a terrible reputation, and most of it is well-deserved, depending on how you cook them. If you boil them, they are mushy and disgusting and all together vom-inducing. But, if you saute them, broil them… add some bacon… where can you go wrong?
I’m serious. This was my first brussels recipe since… forever. I had them forced down my throat as a kid, but not like this. I mean, bacon and balsamic vinegar certainly don’t hurt. Try it, give the brussels a chance. Learn the difference between dislike and hate.
<space>
<space>
Brussel Sprouts with Bacon, Pecans, and Balsamic
From the Kitchenette
Serves 2
<space>
Ingredients:
4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
2 cups brussel sprouts
1 tablespoon butter
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Add bacon to a heavy oven-safe skillet over medium heat and saute until crispy. Add pecans, brussels sprouts, and butter and stir to coat brussels with butter and bacon drippings. Season with salt and pepper. Move skillet to oven and bake at 400F for 20 minutes. Stir brussels, and cook again for 10 minutes, or until edges begin to get brown. Remove brussels from oven, and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.
<space>
<space>
Now playing in the Kitchenette: Pearl Jam / The Fixer – why do Eddie Vedder and brussel sprouts go together so well? These are the questions that mankind seeks to answer.
<space>
<space>
PS. While trying to remember the brand of mayonnaise that drove me off the freaking cliff with their stupid commercials, I came across You Made My List!, which is fast becoming one of my favorite websites. Go take a look at these other hipster-doofus commercials and embrace the sarcasm.
<space>
Okay… some of you may think I’m weird (spoiler: I TOTALLY AM) but… whenever some food item is really, really, REALLY addictive… I generally refer to it as “crack.” So I end up saying a lot of things like…
<space>
“This Wahoo’s green sauce has something delicious in it… probably crack.”
“They probably added crack to this smoothie.”
“I baked these chocolate chip cookies with extra crack. You’ll love them!”
<space>
Sometimes I wonder whether people who don’t know me think I actually add crack to my cooking. Sometimes I think that would be hilarious.
These cookies are the perfect example of cracked-out foods. If I hadn’t baked these myself… I would swear that the Crack Fairy came by and sprinkled some into the Kitchenaid bowl while I wasn’t looking.
So this recipe will henceforth be my go-to recipe for Chocolate Chip cookies (also called CCCs for those “in the know”) because they are so di-freaking-vine. The recipe is basically the (in?)famous Nieman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookie, but with pecans instead of walnuts… because 1) I made them for when I visited Chelsea, who is coincidentally allergic to walnuts, and 2) because pecans can be pronounced PEE-cans or pe-CAHNS, and are therefore inherently way cooler than one-pronunciation-only walnuts.
<space>
<space>
The recipe is sort of intense since you have to use a food processor to grind the rolled oats (my first reaction was “omg you have got to be kidding!”) but the extra work is totally worth it. The cookies are chewy on the inside and crisp on the outside… but not so much that you break your teeth or your jaw while chewing. And the recipe uses TWO kinds of chocolate chips. Which means these HAVE to be good, right?
If you want to really blow it out and be a high-roller (like me, duh!), you can use Ghiradelli milk chocolate chips, because the chips are a different size than the semi-sweet chips by Nestle or Tollhouse. But they taste good either way… because they have 2 kinds of chocolate chips are twice as awesome as any other CCC recipe out there.
Anyways, try these cookies. I promise you won’t be disappointed! Unless you have no soul… or don’t like chocolate. Both of which pretty much yield the same result – a life devoid of happiness. And these cookies. Which would suck.
<space>
<space>
<space>
The (Henceforth) Official Chocolate Chip Cookie of the Kitchenette
Adapted from Neiman Marcus
Makes approximately 3 dozen
<space>
Ingredients:
2½ cups rolled oats
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
4 ounces milk chocolate chips
1½ cups chopped pecans
<space>
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F degrees.
Grind the oats in a food processor until the resemble a fine powder. Add the oat flour to a bowl along with flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine the dry ingredients and set aside.
Cream together butter and both sugars in a bowl using an electric mixer or your own arm muscles, about 3-4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat in the vanilla extract. Gradually mix in the flour mixture, until the flour is just incorporated. Fold in the nuts and both types of chocolate chips with a spatula. (The dough is very thick at this point; it will be very hard to fold in the chips. Have faith that everything will still taste delicious.)
Use 2 spoons, your hands, or an ice cream scoop to portion the dough into 2-ounce balls and place about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Bake for 10 minutes at 375F degrees. (The cookies will look a little undercooked in the middle, but do not worry, they’ll finish cooking a bit outside the oven.) Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
<space>
<space>
Now Playing in the Kitchenette: Phoenix / If I Ever Feel Better – I’m pretty sure they would feel better if they ate some cookies. Just saying.
<space>
<space>
<space>
If you like today’s recipe, you may be interested in…
Even though I generally want to look forwards rather of backwards, it seems that a top ten list for 2009 recipes is needed, nay, REQUIRED, to be considered a true food blogger… wouldn’t you say?
So, here’s what you “voted” (determined by total hits per recipe) for the Top Ten Kitchenette Posts of 2009.
<space>
<space>
<space>
<space>
4. Zucchini and Summer Squash Pickles
<space>
<space>
6. Acini di Pepe with Spinach, Garlic, and Scallions
<space>
7. Vanilla and Ganache Macarons
<space>
<space>
<space>
<space>
I have to say, one of the highlights of 2009 for me was starting this blog. I started the blog just to have something share with the world, and I love getting comments from people. Getting comments on the blog is one of the highlights of my day, honestly. I”ve been known to let a “squee” fly when I get an email on my Crackberry saying that I got a new comment (and Mr. Kitchenette has been known to look at me like I have a third eye when said squee-fest happens.)
I’ve shared a lot of fun recipes in 2009, but I’m really looking forward to 2010. I’ve got some fun goals for the year, including:
- Baking bread from scratch (a carry-over goal from the start of the blog in May, so I’ve still got 4 months to do this one)
- Learning to hot-water-bath can jams, pickles, and preserves (check; I’m participating in the Can Jam)
- Eat more locally and organically, and from our own garden (in process;
- and personally, taking more pictures of me, Mr. Kitchenette, and our life together (check; Project365 in progress)
So, here’s to lots more exciting stories and recipes to come in 2010! Thanks for stopping by the Kitchenette and I hope your new year is filled with happiness and excitement!
<space>
