Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks

     The holidays came and went very fast and transitioning into a new job during the hullabaloo was a challenge in itself, never mind feeling lonely and wishing that I could be one of the guys sooner than later. But like everything, things take time and I would just have to be patient. Sometimes I want to bang my head against the counter, the statement "There is nothing common about common sense" has been my anthem these days.

     I ventured on my own very early in life, at 20 I was responsible for pretty much everything that a young adult should be responsible for. I was grateful that I could rely on myself to provide the things that I needed, not wanted , but needed. I ate a lot of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese in those days.

    One of my bosses told me early in my career, that I would take a lot of lumps in life. This was in order to build character, humility and integrity. I never questioned that lesson, and it has taken me far in life. Yes it sucked, to clean kitchen hoods after a 10 hour shift, the greasy water running down my arm and soaking my uniform. Sure I wanted to complain, but I never wanted them to see that I could not handle the lessons they were dishing.

     2011 was a complicated and difficult year. We saw a flood and the garden that I was so proud of receded with the water. People that were special passed away and left a somber hole for those that were left behind. In spite of all that, I lost my job. Yes 2011 was quite a year. But like the seasons, things change.

     I have been settling into my job the last few months, with the dips and valleys along the way. But staying the course has been my number one motive. The kitchen is extremely small and you could feel claustrophobic all of the time. However as small as the kitchen is, the ingredients and the freedom to be creative is far more valuable than having someone step on my toes.

     What I have been learning lately is the fine art of removing all that is good (hey, I am a chef..I can't help it) and morphing it into tasty items for our customers with restrictions. This is has been a super pain in the arse challenging aspect of my job, because no butter is a foreign country to me. Once I got over my hissy fit, I am quite enjoying this adventure.

     Who knew that you could make a cookie taste good without butter, cream or eggs. Hell, I lived in Alaska by myself and that was easier than this task. I would like to introduce you to some great products that I have been working with the past few months. First, every gluten-free cookie needs Pamela's Gluten-Free Flour. I have worked with this product in every aspect possible and I have made some really awful interesting things. It is a very perplexing product. Thanks to Sarah A. I am still in the game.

     Then Alex brought up a box of Egg Replacer that had a lot of Chinese looking writing on it. I thought "Oh Boy, another baffling product to add to my already amassing list of baffling products. To tell you the truth, I placed it at the back of my supplies and hoped it would go away. Then like a crack of lightning Alex the Busy reappeared and the jig was up! "People need Dairy-Free, Gluten Free and what about the Vegans"? The law had been spoken it was time to unpack my surplus of free this and free that products and use them. God help me, or rather God help the customers.

     Butter oh my lovely butter had to move over for Earth Balance and Vegan Buttery Sticks , and milk and cream needed to make room for Soymilk Creamer and Coconut milk creamer. I had all the machinations for a good cookie.  Putting it together is an entirely different hustle. But I did it!

Vegan Gluten-Free Molasses Crinkles( pictures coming shortly)

2/3 cup Earth Balance
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup Crosby's Molasses
2 tsp Egg Replacer mixed with two tablespoons of water
3 cups Pamela's Gluten-Free Flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 ground black pepper (for a kick)
1+cup of Demerara Sugar

In a small bowl combine the Egg Replacer with the water and set aside. In a medium bowl combine all the dry ingredients whisk and set aside. In a standing mixer cream the Earth Balance with the sugar until creamy. Add the molasses and mix well. Re-stir the Egg Replacer and add to the sugar mixture, mix well. Scrap down the bowl.  Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter constantly scraping down and pulling the batter from bottom of the bowl and recombining it with the top until all incorporated. With a # 12 ice cream scoop, scoop the batter and roll in the Demerara sugar place on a baking sheet and bake in 350 degree oven until the tops crack. Cool and serve.

 The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won't.  ~Henry Ward Beecher

It's Gonna Be a Hot Time in the Bowl Town Tonight

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of TABASCO® Original Red. All opinions are 100% mine.

 

   Well the countdown to the big game is underway. Can you believe it, football season will be over in just under a week? This means we are closer to spring, and further from winter. Not that I don't like winter, I just don't like digging my car out every time I turn around.

     For Super bowl, my family loves to eat hors d'oeuvre's during the game. I like to refer to these little treats as a "mobile feast", maximizing your viewing experience and your stomach's demands at the same time.

     Super bowl feasts almost always include pizza, because it qualifies in that "mobile" category. Funny, when I think of Super bowl, I almost always think of hot wings, and hot wings makes me think of TABASCO® Original Red. But TABASCO, really is much more than just a hot sauce, that you shake on your eggs. It enhances your recipes, bringing out the integrity of your dish.

    The recipe was born on Avery Island, Louisiana by Edmund McIlhenny in 1868. The diet of the South was known to be bland , and Edmund McIlhenny, being the foodie that he was, developed TABASCO to shake things up in the South. This was a shake that was heard around the world.

     In my opinion, it is the recipe of TABASCO® Original Red that makes the difference between so-so and OH WOW!!, it is made with reddest chili peppers, known as African Devil peppers, mixed with Avery Island's own salt, Avery Island is also home to a massive salt dome, where when mined provides the salt that TABASCO uses. The "mash" or the peppers and salt are allowed to ferment up to three years, then blended with a superior distilled vinegar, four months later after being stirred too many times to count, it is highly strained, bottled, labeled and shipped to over 160 countries.

     TABASCO® Original Red has a variety of uses and not just on pizza, although a buffalo chicken pizza, with a blue cheese enhanced white sauce, cheddar and mozzarella cheeses, sauteed green beans, caramelized onions and balsamic roasted red bell peppers would complete my day! Ugh~I could eat pizza everyday. I am in fact my own worst enemy! But, if I am not convincing enough, you should visit Pizza done TABASCO style!, or if your life is as hectic as mine, and you haven't planned the Super bowl noshings yet visit TABASCO game day menu ideas where the experts are continually improving Game Day food.

     My recipe is a Mexican Double Chocolate Cookie, which is not your average cookie. It is a Paige cookie, and if you know me, I can never seem to do anything small time. Alas I try, still I falter at slimming it down. I like my customers get more bang for their buck.

Mexican Double Chocolate Chip Cookies (not for the faint of heart)

8 ozs or 1 cup softened butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
6 cups cake flour
1/2 cup sifted cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon TABASCO Original Red
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups chocolate chips
2 cups mini chocolate chips

In a bowl combine the dry ingredients, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cornstarch, cocoa powder whisk and set aside. In a standing mixer cream the sugar and butter, until well combined. Add the vanilla and TABASCO and mix, add eggs mix until eggs are combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix well, the dough will be dry. Add the chocolate chips, BUT only until combined. Any friction and or heat from the mixer on chocolate chips will cause the chocolate to melt. Mix and shut off is my rule. Scale to 6 1/2 ounces and bake in a 350F oven until golden brown. It is OK, if the center is slightly undone, that is what we want. Makes for an ultimate chewy, delicious cookie.



Football is, after all, a wonderful way to get rid of your aggressions without going to jail for it. ~Heywood Hale Brown

When the Chips are Down, We should make Cookies

     Fridays are a gamble, it can go either two ways. We can be totally unprepared or fighting each other to sweep the floor.  Hmm, thinking about that last statement, I would have to say no... Alex, for $200 dollars. When the parking lot is not paved, and the snow is up around your eyeballs, we are NOT and I repeat not fighting each other to sweep the floor.

     The highlight of my day, was my turkeys!!!! I started at this bakery almost 5 years ago in June. Since then I have gotten rid of all bacon already cooked. By this I mean, pre-shaped and strips. Threw out ham that tasted like it took a bath in cloves. Braised corned beef rounds for a killer Reuben, roasted pork for a almost authentic Cuban, all the way up in Hinsdale, New Hampshire, and the piece de resistance~ I threw out Deli turkey, that by all accounts tasted good, but.......what if? I roasted my own turkeys?, and what if?, I brined my own turkeys and then roasted them?

     But that was not the only highlight of my day. My secret highlight was that someone just might perhaps be pregnant. We all joked about it, and shared the what if, you can do that when it's not you, that is potentially pregnant. If it is you, you just want everyone to shut up!

     Alas, I must wait...LONGER for a little baby to annoy and spoil. I know two people tonight that are going to sleep soundly.  So during the "cliffhanger", I prepped some gorgeous, beautiful cookies, that are just out of this world. Cookies in my opinion lack the "WOW" factor. You eat it and ho~hum, get another one. Cookies have a anti-climatic flavor to them. I want a cookie to punch me in the face. Like all food, I want the "WOW" factor.

     When one eats a chocolate chip cookie, what happens? In my world, I want another one, bigger than the last one. I want to warm it up, and chase it with an ice cold glass of milk, and share it with my sweetheart of 15 years. He is responsible for Senor Mohawk.

     The walnuts need to left alone, don't crush we need to remember that big is good here, and little is for tea parties. The chocolate chips can be mixed up if you want, there are three cups, so you can go one dark, one light and one white. The possibilities are endless. Just remember, that you are not the pregnant one, and have fun. I say this only because, kids are EXPENSIVE. The money when out the window, in 2010. Just sayin....

     Do you see the photo of this cookie!!? I wish that my diet compensated for one of these "Moon Pies", and believe me you, it is a pie. The cookie is just CRAZY. Regular cookies are done and eaten in three maybe four bites. This cookie, it is a meal. The way a cookie should be. I experimented with my boys all fall long.

     They still torment me to bring them home, but the Gould's need to practice patience and restraint. If I brought one of these rocks home every night, Ugh, I only would worry about the ramifications of such a outlandish idea.

Vanilla Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

8ozs of softened butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup dark brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

3 1/2  cups of cake flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tablespoon corn starch

3 cups chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups whole walnuts (or any nuts that you might like better)

In a bowl combine all dry ingredients and whisk with a whisk. In a standing mixer, beat the sugars, vanilla and butter until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs and mix. Add the dry ingredients, the dough will be stiff, it is OK! You are still doing great. Add the walnuts and chocolate chips and only mix till it is incorporated. We don't want any heat friction from the mixer, this melts the chocolate resulting in a dark cookie. Turn the dough out on a working surface and knead the remainder of chips and nuts in. I scale (weigh) these cookies to 6 1/2 to 6 5/8 ounces. Bake in a 350F oven for 14 to 15 minutes. The cookie should be slightly undone in the center. That is what makes it KILLER.

Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts. ~Author Unknown

I got the Dough, Now Let's Roll

     Work was very chaotic today, because single-handed, Mrs. O'Connor came in and ordered 22 dozen Christmas cookies, throwing our mojo all out of whack. I told Jasmine, she better get on the telephone and track down our fearless leader Barb, and give her a heads up on the cookie order. That many cookies requires some time to organize. Tis the season, for ridiculously decorated cookies, that are more expensive to make than sell. In this little piece of heaven, 22 dozen cookies in one shot, is big for us.

     I enjoy this time for year, in the cooking arena, because it is the time of overindulgence, myself included. Last night at the mall, I so wanted to peruse the food court and size up my meal. But the food court, was beyond sketchy. The scene reminded me of when Spongebob Squarepants and Patrick got on the wrong bus from the carnival and ended up at the bottom of the ocean. I know this because, Nickelodeon is a staple in my house. In fact, I have watched Nick Cannon grow up and marry Mariah Carey, and Kenan Thompson become a member of SNL.  SNL has never been the same without Will Ferrell, Chris Kattan, and Molly Shannon, that is just my humble opinion.

     When I was full-blown in the 365 days a year restaurant, I always had this feeling of foreboding surrounding Christmas. I felt like I couldn't fully get in the Christmas spirit, because I knew that I would never experience what my husband experienced with the boys. I had two choices: go in really early, and get out around 2, 3, or 4 and miss the boys opening their gifts. Or going in late to see the boys open their gifts, but closing the kitchen and eating Christmas dinner out of a to-go container, coming home and my boy's asleep. I always felt cheated, but everyone that was working along with me, also felt cheated.

     Now, I work in a great establishment, my boss is a retired 7th grade math teacher, she understood from the beginning, how important it was to be with my sons on Christmas. I am truely blessed, in all aspects of my life. I am grateful for the experience that I got at the Putney Inn. I worked under some very gifted individuals, and I learned valuable information, that I still carry with me. Many people have enhanced my career, Ann, Norman, Greg, Alan just to name a few.

     This time of year, cookies are shipped to every part of the world, little tiny buttons of love, so delicate and pretty! Well, enough of that. Here is a cookie that is a meal and you might have to pay an extra shipping charge.

The Christmas Cookie That You Can Only Eat Just One Of

1 cup butter softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsps vanilla
2 eggs
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 cups white chocolate chips
1 cup crushed peppermint candies
1 drop of green food coloring to make them look Christmasy

In a bowl mix all the dry ingredients together and whisk with a whip to evenly distribute. Set the bowl aside. In a mixer blend the butter, vanilla and sugars. There is no need to cream, we are not looking to incorporated a lot of air. When well mixed add the eggs and continue to mix, being sure to scrape down the sides. Add the drop of green food coloring, and all the dry ingredients, and mix until all flour is incorporated. The dough will be dense. Add the chips and candy just long enough to get through the dough. Turn out on a clean surface and work the dough for about 5 minutes. Scale your cookies to weigh about 6 1/2 ozs. If there is extra dough just add a little to each cookie. Bake on a cookie sheet in a 350F oven until golden brown. Hint: you want the inside to be slightly underdone this is what makes this cookie irresistible.

        God gave the angels wings, and he gave humans chocolate.~Author Unknown