Tori’s Writing Hole

My cookie adventures didn’t end with macaroons. On Tuesday, Julia and I went over to Nana’s house to make gingerbread men (and trees and deformed looking puppies). The baking went surprisingly well, considering my failings with all things gingerbread. In fact, I have been known to fail at those gingerbread house kits with the premade pieces - miserably.

We made the dough, a lighter colored and lighter tasting gingerbread than I’m used to, following Paula Deen’s recipe from the Food Network seen here: Gingerbread Boys and Girls. We didn’t mod the recipe at all, except to sub light brown sugar, and while the flavor was ok, it really didn’t SING gingerbread to me.

Nevertheless, we had fun. Julia cut out her first cookies, as well as decorating them and eating them! She’s so not only 2.5…

She’s also doing well with potty training, although she will defiantly use the Pull-Up as a defecation or urination station if she decides to test boundaries. Ah, toddlerhood.

Here’s some pics of our escapade:

Technorati Tags: baking, gingerbread, toddler, family

Tired. Snow, and the driveway imported from the Swiss Alps has taken its toll. Not to mention the sinus infection and just the general Tori sick. But it’s cookie time, and I must oblige. So far this year I’ve baked some biscotti (Cinnamon Pecan), my always-loved Molasses Cookies and Spritz cookies made with the “time saving” automatic cookie press. I wanted to make something different so I went with Coconut Macaroons.

I’ve actually never made Coconut Macaroons before, although I love them. They are tasty and good. Easy too, although sticky to handle and mold. Here’s the recipe I used at Allrecipes: Coconut Macaroons III. I subbed out 1/2 tsp almond extract (so that’s 1 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1/2 tsp almond) and drizzled them with melted 60% cacao Ghirardelli chocolate chips. I also used a cookie disher to form them, so I made smaller, bite sized macaroons.

Aside from that, all the presents are wrapped, the stockings are hung and I am spent. Santa can come right now, I just need a nap. More snow you say? Evil, evil time of year.

Technorati Tags: baking, macaroons, snow

I guess it stands to reason. Not everything I write is good - not everything I photograph is perfecto either. But I take a certain pride in being able to turn butter, sugar, eggs and miscellany into something yummy. Unfortunately, in the case of the elusive Butter Horn (just a sample recipe, not the one I used) I am unable to produce anything even remotely yummy. Icky, that might be the word I’m looking for. These cookies were some of my mom’s favorites as a child, and when her mom died at a young age, Mom was unable to learn the recipe and techniques that made them so great.

Over the last few years, I’ve tried twice, with separate recipes to make these treats. Both times, I’ve ended up with a sodden mess of tasteless, yeasty cookies whose pictures, below, scare me. Curls of bad pie crust with bad filling, just bad. Yesterday’s attempt fared no better than the year before.

I am no master baker, I am no perfect poet, I am no great genius. I will probably throw these cookies out. But I will keep baking, writing and learning.

Oh, and looking for a really, really good cocoa based brownie recipe (a recipe that was so good I didn’t get to take pictures) - try these by Alice Medrich from Epicurious: Best Cocoa Brownies

Technorati Tags: baking, poetry, brownies

Hmm, my second food post in a row. A few days back, I made Spanakopita for the first time. I’m not Greek, and actually never tasted the dish until a couple of years ago (due to the fear of spinach - greensophobia? - that my mom put into me since I was young). I found out I actually like spinach! I like feta too! So, I decided to make some of this lovely dish for myself.

Last weekend, we went to the Troy Farmers Market for the first time. Nice - a small space but plenty of vendors (including evilly yummy pastries). While there, I had to buy some of the fresh goat’s milk feta I saw for sale. It called to me. I thought of spanakopita right away, so I went in search of some spinach and bought some baby spinach to go with it.

I looked for a recipe that seemed “right” to me, but most of the spanakopita recipes seemed to be missing something - so I glommed a couple together and made my own. Next time, I think I’ll replace the dill with some parsley.

Spanakopita

• 1.5 lbs baby spinach, well rinsed, chopped
• 1 bunch green onions, rinsed and chopped (including tops)
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 small bunch dill, chopped
• 8 tbsp butter (2 tbsp + 6 tbsp melted)
• .25 to .5 lb feta cheese
• 3 eggs, beaten
• salt and pepper to taste
• .5 lbs phyllo dough, thawed

Preheat oven to 350º. Melt 2 tbsp butter in frying pan and sauté onion and garlic until translucent. Add dill and spinach to pan, cook until just wilted. Take off of heat. Crumble feta and mix with eggs, salt and pepper, and then carefully add in spinach mixture (take care not to cook the eggs). Brush bottom of 8″x8″ pan with melted butter, and layer phyllo onto dish, coating each layer with butter before laying the next. Use 1/2 of phyllo, then top with spinach/feta mix. Repeat the phyllo process, making sure to coat the last layer with butter. Score the phyllo on top with squares, and put into oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until phyllo looks golden brown.

This did make a hit with everyone, including Julia.

Technorati Tags: spanakopita, cooking, feta, spinach

Sometimes, you just have to have cookies. I love Good Eats - perhaps my favorite show on the Food Network. Even so, I’ve only tried a few of Alton Brown’s recipes. This one is by far the most successful. The Chewy (click link for recipe) chocolate chip cookie made slightly differently than most, uses melted butter instead of creamed softened butter, and bread flour instead of all purpose. Unusual for me, I made these cookies *almost* exactly like the recipe. I microwaved the butter instead of melting it in a pan (I’ve figured out the exact timing for this in my ‘wave) and I doubled the vanilla (I always do). I also used sea salt instead of kosher.

My ingredients were as organic as I had on hand - Sunspire Vegan Semisweet chips, organic local eggs, organic vanilla, organic bread flour.

They are chewy, and yummy as predicted. Must not eat them all before Stephen gets home. Oh, and they get the Julia seal of approval too.

Technorati Tags: cookies, chocolate chip, organic, good eats