So, they said it would be a blizzard....

If you've been watching the news the last few days, you'll know that the northeastern United States was supposed to get hit with a colossal blizzard. The blizzard of the century. The worst winter storm on record.  Cities and counties shut down the schools, New Jersey even banned all motor vehicle traffic. Grocery store shelves were emptied. Airline flights were canceled from DC to Philly to NYC to Boston in anticipation of the storm. Snow predictions in Philadelphia ranged from 10 inches to over 24. Chicken Little would be proud, everyone was preparing for the sky to fall. 

When all was said and done, we got about 2 or 3 inches of snow in my neighborhood.  I think the official snowfall total at the Philly airport was about an inch and a half.  Boston, coastal Massachusetts, and Maine are getting hammered, and to my friends and work colleagues up there, please stay safe and warm. But, Chicken Little is laughing his head off at the weather forecasters right now.

So, Chicken Little, here's my next recipe, inspired by the blizzard that wasn't. 

Roast Chicken

1     4 to 5 lb whole chicken
3     carrots, cut into 2 inch pieces
3     celery stalks, cut into 2 inch pieces
1     small onion, cut into 4 pieces
1     small lemon, cut into 4 pieces
6     large sprigs of thyme
       extra virgin olive oil
       Kosher salt and black pepper


Preheat the oven to 425°F and place a rack in the lower half of the oven.

Remove the chicken from its wrappings and remove the giblets and neck from the body cavity (if present). Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, being sure to absorb any juices inside the body cavity. I know many of you like to rinse your chicken under running water, but I don't recommend this. I have this conversation with my students all the time, they think they're "cleaning" the chicken and washing away the salmonella. The only thing that will take care of the salmonella risk it to cook the chicken to a minimum of 165°F. What's really happening when chicken is rinsed under running water is that the chicken juices are mixing with the water and splattering all over. They even form an aerosol vapor that can land on every surface in your kitchen. I'll understand if you choose to step away from reading right now to go bleach your kitchen countertops.

Scatter the carrot and celery pieces across the bottom of a small roasting pan, skillet or baking dish. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables. Not only will the vegetables help to flavor the chicken, lifting the chicken off the bottom of the pan will keep it from sticking to the pan and allow the oven's heat to circulate under the chicken. Sprinkle salt and pepper inside the body cavity, then insert the onion and lemon pieces and thyme into the cavity. Sprinkle the chicken with more salt and pepper. Rub the exterior of the chicken with olive oil.  This will help to achieve a beautifully brown and crispy skin.

Using kitchen twine, tie the legs together. I prefer to tie one end of the string around one ankle, then wrap it around the other ankle and pull the two legs together. I'll then loop the string around the tail and back around the ankles. For the wings, I fold the wing tips back and tuck them under the shoulders of the chicken. This will give the chicken a more uniform and compact shape, allowing it to roast more evenly.

Place the roasting pan in the oven and roast for 15 minutes. Drop the temperature to 350°F and continue to roast until a thermometer inserted in the thigh reads 165°F. It should take about 15 minutes per pound.

Remove the chicken from the oven and allow it to rest for 15 minutes before carving and serving. Resting allows the temperature of the chicken to equalize, you may even pick up an additional 5 to 10 degrees of internal temperature while it rests. Resting also allows the juices to reabsorb into the meat, resulting in juicy slices of roast chicken instead of a puddle on your carving board.

In my next blog posting, I'll share some recipes you can make with leftover cooked chicken, even the carcass. 

Enjoy!

A few of my favorite things....

I left Texas over 12 years ago when I moved to Washington, DC, for a work assignment. Except for a couple of years as a baby, I had lived in the Houston area my entire life. I knew that living in DC would be different than living in Houston, I was prepared for the big culture shock, and in fact loved the change. What surprised me, though, was the absence of the little things that I had always taken for granted growing up in southeast Texas. For the first time, I came to truly appreciate the regional cuisine, food, and ingredients of my home state.

Growing up, I never understood why so many recipes called for the use of walnuts. Pecans were so plentiful, but so rarely called for in recipes. Of course, I now understand why. Pecan trees were everywhere in Houston, folks even used them as landscape trees in their yards. I lived in the outer suburbs of Houston, much of the area round our subdivision was still used for agricultural purposes, and there was even a pecan orchard. I remember my mom going to the roadside farm stand at the orchard and bringing home bushel bags of pecans. We'd then sit around the kitchen table, cracking the shells and removing the nut meats. Even now as I sit here typing this, I can smell the fresh pecans and feel the shell shards in my hands. We always had bags of pecans in the freezer. They are still my favorite nut for baking and desserts.

Speaking of roadside farm stands, you knew it was winter in southeast Texas when the citrus stands started popping up. The Rio Grande Valley in the southernmost part of Texas along the border with Mexico is prime citrus farm country. Oranges, lemons, limes--but the star of the show was the Texas Ruby Red grapefruit. The skin is a delicate orangish-pink, the flesh a deep pink, and the flavor was heavenly. Grapefruit is so often sour, but not the Texas Ruby Red. They are so sweet that you can peel them and eat them like an orange. Most of the grapefruit available at the markets here in the northeast comes from Florida, and you can find pink grapefruit, but it's just not the same as the Texas Ruby Red.

So, this week's recipe is inspired by these two of my favorite things from Texas, the pecan and the grapefruit:  Pecan Crusted Chicken with Grapefruit Beurre Blanc and Sautéed Winter Greens.  

One of the challenges with cooking chicken breast is that the meat is thick at one end and tapers. The thinner section is almost always over cooked to ensure that the thicker section is cooked through. I recommend cutting the chicken into medallions, simply slice at an angle across the breast and then use a meat mallet to gently pound and flatten the pieces to an even thickness. (If you place the chicken pieces inside a large zip-top bag, you minimize the chances of splattering chicken juices and other bits all over your kitchen.) Not only will the chicken cook more evenly, it will cook more quickly, and it takes most of the guesswork out of the cooking process--when the chicken is golden brown on both sides, it is done.

The sauce is a variation on the classic French sauce, Beurre Blanc. Beurre blanc literally translates to white butter. It is a reduction of white wine and white wine vinegar emulsified with butter and is traditionally served with fish.  In this version, I substitute fresh squeezed grapefruit juice for the vinegar. Please note, it is important to that the butter is cold when you whisk it into the sauce. The butter must melt slowly into the sauce. If it melts too quickly, the butterfat will separate from the milk solids, resulting in an oily, broken sauce. By keeping the butter cold (and the saucepan burner on low), the butter will melt slowly and not separate, resulting in a silky, creamy, luscious sauce.

I serve this dish with sauteed winter greens, usually kale or Swiss chard. The slight bitterness of the greens is a nice counterpoint to the tangy sweetness of the sauce. The recipe is written assuming you're buying traditional mature kale or chard--the center ribs of the leaves can be tough and will take longer to cook than the leaves. However this time, I used a box of baby kale--so much easier and faster! Just add the leaves to the pan after sauteing the shallots and proceed as the recipe instructs.

Pecan Crusted Chicken with Grapefruit Beurre Blanc and Sautéed Winter Greens

Serves 4 - 6

For the sauce:

1 cup   white wine

1 cup   chicken stock

2          shallots, diced

1          sprig fresh thyme

1          bay leaf

5          whole black peppercorns

½ cup  grapefruit juice

8 Tbsp cold butter, cut into small pieces

            Kosher salt and pepper to taste

For the chicken:

2 cups  pecans

1 cup   panko bread crumbs

1 cup   all purpose flour

4          boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2          eggs, beaten

vegetable oil

            Kosher salt and pepper to taste

For the winter greens:

2 lb      Swiss chard, kale or a mixture

2 Tbsp olive oil

1          small shallot, finely diced

1          clove garlic, minced

2 Tbsp chicken stock or water

            Kosher salt and pepper

Chopped parsley and grapefruit segments to garnish

For the sauce:  Add the wine, stock, shallots, thyme, bay leaf and peppercorns to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and reduce until thickened and syrup-like. Add the grapefruit juice and continue to cook and reduce until again thickened and syrup-like, about ¼ to ½ cup of liquid. Strain the sauce and discard the shallots, thyme, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Return the sauce to the saucepan over low heat.  Add the butter in small pieces, whisking to incorporate. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the pan with a lid and turn off the heat while preparing the chicken. 

For the chicken:  Pulse the pecans in a food processor or chop with a knife until finely chopped. Mix the pecans with the panko and transfer to a plate. Place the flour on a second plate. Place the eggs in a shallow dish, such as a pie dish. 

Slice each of the chicken breasts into about 4 or 5 medallions. Place the medallions between two sheets of plastic or inside a ziplock bag and gently pound with a meat mallet to an even thickness. Sprinkle the chicken medallions with salt and pepper.

Dip both sides of each medallion into the flour to coat and shake off the excess, then dip each medallion into the beaten egg to coat. Place the fillet onto the pecan/panko mixture and press to coat each side. Transfer the filet to parchment or waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining medallions.

Fill a heavy, large skillet to a depth of about ¼ inch with the oil and heat over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, place the medallions into skillet and cook until each side is golden and crisp, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. (Do not overcrowd the pan; cook in batches if necessary). Transfer to wire rack set over a sheet pan and keep warm in a 200°F oven.

For the winter greens:  Cut the stems and center ribs away from the chard/kale leaves. Thinly slice the stems and center ribs and set aside. Coarsely chop the leaves and set aside. Heat a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add the oil and sauté the shallot and sliced stems until the shallot is translucent. Add the chopped leaves and sauté until beginning to soften and wilt. Add the garlic and continue to sauté until fragrant. Season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken stock or water and cover the pan with a lid.  Allow the chard to cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove the lid and allow the liquid in the pan to cook away. Remove from the heat, season with salt and pepper.

To finish:  Whisk the sauce over low heat to rewarm as necessary (do not boil). Place the sautéed winter greens on each plate and top with two to three pieces of the chicken. Spoon some of the sauce over the chicken and top with grapefruit segments. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.

I am a southern gal, after all...

I admit it, I'm a sucker for a buttermilk biscuit, especially just out of the oven. That first buttery, flaky, tender bite....I can't even describe how wonderful it is. I'm always happy to have an excuse to make biscuits, whether to serve for breakfast or to accompany a bowl of soup. In this case, it's to pair with a bowl of chili.  

We're conducting our annual physical inventory this week--we're quite literally going to count every single item in the store. It's usually an 8 to 10 hour job, wrapping up sometime after 2am. We usually bring in food, sort of a pot luck, and when Harri said she was bringing in a pot of chili, I had the perfect excuse to bake biscuits.

Biscuits are a member of the quick bread family, which also includes scones and muffins. Even if you don’t like to bake, or are scared of baking, there’s almost nothing easier to make than a quick bread. Quick breads are baked goods which rely on chemical leaveners (baking powder and baking soda) instead of yeast to give lift and rise. Yeast is a living organism, and doughs that rely on yeast can take hours to rise. The yeast consumes small amounts of the sugar and proteins in the dough and produce gas as a byproduct which causes the dough to rise. Chemical leaveners react almost instantaneously to a combination of liquid, acid, and heat to create carbon dioxide bubbles which give rise to the dough. To see a quick example, put a pinch of baking soda in a small dish of white vinegar. Just be ready with the paper towels to wipe up the vinegar foam!

Biscuits are also similar to pie crust in that, when made well, they have a tender, flaky texture. Unlike cookies or cakes when you want softened fat to cream into the dough, it is important to keep your fat cold so that it can be cut into the flour. It's the separation of the flour by the fat that results in the flaky layers we love. The choice of fat also affects the flavor and texture of the biscuit, and I use an even mix of butter and vegetable shortening. The butter gives the biscuits a great flavor and lovely golden brown color, and the vegetable shortening enhances the flakiness and tenderness.  

The only other bit of advice I'll offer when making biscuits is to be respectful of the gluten. Gluten is the protein in flour that gives doughs their structure. If you've ever seen a concrete sidewalk being poured, think of the metal rebar that is laid down first as the gluten--it's a reinforcing inner framework. But, instead of stiff, straight rods, gluten looks more like tightly coiled and tangled springs. The very action of mixing or kneading a dough can cause those springs to tighten and tangle more, resulting in a tough, chewy dough. So, don't overwork the dough, mix it just enough to get it to come together. Another way to minimize gluten development is to add acid to the dough.  This is why so many biscuit recipes rely on buttermilk, it not only makes for a tasty biscuit, it helps to keep them tender, too.

Over the years, I've tweaked my basic buttermilk biscuit recipe to the version I've included here. I've also come up with a few variations on the original, and I'm giving you two of them here, Parmesan Herb and Sweet Potato. The Parmesan Herb biscuits make great nibblies with a glass of wine...

Buttermilk Biscuits

Makes 12, 2-inch biscuits

2 cups   all purpose flour, plus more for dusting

2 tsp      baking powder

¼ tsp     baking soda

¾ tsp     salt

4 Tbsp   chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch cubes

4 Tbsp   shortening

1 cup     chilled buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl; whisk until well blended. Using a pastry blender or a fork, cut in the shortening and butter until the mixture looks like coarse sand and the largest pieces of butter and shortening are smaller than peas. Stir in the buttermilk until well combined (the dough may be wet). Gather the dough into a ball. Press out on a lightly floured work surface (use more flour as necessary if dough is very sticky/wet) to about 1 inch thick. Using the desired cutter, cut out the biscuits. Gather the dough remnants together and flatten back into a 1 inch thick round, and cut again. Repeat until all the dough is used. Arrange the biscuits on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake until the biscuits are puffed and light golden and a tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer the biscuits to towel-lined basket and serve warm.

Parmesan Herb Buttermilk Biscuits

Makes about 12, 2-inch biscuits or 24, 1-inch biscuits

2 cups   all purpose flour, plus more for dusting

¾ cup    grated Parmesan cheese, divided

2 tsp      baking powder

¼ tsp     baking soda

¾ tsp     salt

¼ tsp     ground black pepper

4 Tbsp   chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch cubes

4 Tbsp   shortening

¼ cup    chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, thyme, chives, basil

1 cup     chilled buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425°F. Combine the flour, ½ cup cheese, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pepper in large bowl; whisk until well blended. Using a pastry blender or a fork, cut in the shortening and butter until the mixture looks like coarse sand and the largest pieces of butter and shortening are smaller than peas. Mix in the herbs. Stir in the buttermilk until well combined (the dough may be wet). Gather the dough into a ball. Press out on a lightly floured work surface (use more flour as necessary if dough is very sticky/wet) to about 1 inch thick. Using the desired cutter, cut out the biscuits. Gather the dough remnants together and flatten back into a 1 inch thick round, and cut again. Repeat until all the dough is used. Arrange the biscuits on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup cheese. Bake until the biscuits are puffed and light golden and tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 10 to 15 minutes (depending on size of biscuit). Transfer the biscuits to a towel-lined basket and serve warm.

Sweet Potato Biscuits

Makes 12, 2-inch biscuits

2 ½ cups all purpose flour, plus additional for kneading

1 tsp        salt

2 ½ tsp    baking powder

¼ tsp       baking soda

½ tsp       dried thyme

½ tsp       dried sage

3 Tbsp     shortening

3 Tbsp     unsalted butter, cold and cut into ½ inch pieces

1 cup       buttermilk

1 cup       cooked and mashed sweet potatoes

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl; whisk until well blended. Using a pastry blender or a fork, cut in the shortening and butter until the mixture looks like coarse sand and the largest pieces of butter and shortening are smaller than peas. Stir in the buttermilk and sweet potato until well combined (the dough may be wet). Gather the dough into a ball. Press out on a lightly floured work surface (use more flour as necessary if dough is very sticky/wet) to about 1 inch thick. Using the desired cutter, cut out the biscuits. Gather the dough remnants together and flatten back into a 1 inch thick round, and cut again. Repeat until all the dough is used.  Arrange the biscuits on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Turn the dough out onto a heavily floured surface. Knead in enough additional flour so that the dough can be more easily handled.  Press the dough out into a large flat round, ½ inch thick.  Cut with a biscuit cutter and place the biscuits on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake until the biscuits are puffed and light golden and a tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer the biscuits to towel-lined basket and serve warm.

Baby, it's cold outside....

It's snowing outside. Not a lot, but it's the most snow we've had in Philly yet this winter. I'm fortunate that today is my day off from work, so I've been safe and warm inside, watching the flakes fall. Everything looks like it's dusted with powdered sugar. 

Weather like today makes me crave comfort, and nothing fits the bill better than a warm bowl of soup. But, it's the first week of January, and I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm already done with the pumpkin-pie-spice-butternut-squash-parsnip-and-apple soups that tend to dominate our menus during cold weather. Then it came to me, I have a great recipe for Curried Carrot Soup. It's inspired by the food of northern India, specifically Mughal India. I don't think you could get further away from that pumpkin pie flavor profile.

I should give credit where credit is due, most of what I know about Indian cuisine and culinary techniques I learned from my boss in Arlington--Ed. Ed fell in love with Indian food, and fell hard, devoting himself to the study of the cuisine, ingredients, and techniques, and he was happy to share his knowledge and passion. I used to joke that our kitchen at work often smelled like Mumbai.

The soup starts with a pureed mixture of tomatoes, ginger, chilies, and cilantro. The soup is meant to be spicy, but you can raise or lower the heat level by adjusting the number and type of chili peppers as well as whether you use the whole pepper or remove the seeds and membranes first. I usually use jalapeno peppers, but since moving to the Philadelphia region, I've been introduced to the Italian long hot pepper. This chili is usually picked while still green, and they can be 6 to 8 inches in length and often have a twisted shape. Their heat level can vary widely, from almost no heat to something that will definitely have you sweating. So, for this batch of soup, I though it would be fun to try out the local favorite.  

The role of spices in Indian cuisine goes beyond creating a pleasing taste and flavor, they are also believed to have medicinal properties. Ancient Hindu scriptures describe the effect of spices on body temperature--"warm" spices are said to increase internal body temperature, while "cool" spices do the opposite. Spices are frequently blended into "masala". Garam masala, the spice blend used in this recipe, literally translates to "warm spice blend". Garam masala is a mixture of cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, black peppercorns, cumin and coriander seeds, all of which Hindu scriptures describe as "warm" spices, ideal for a cold weather soup. Most of the the time, the spices are toasted or fried in oil at the beginning of cooking, as the cumin seeds are in this recipe, but it garam masala is usually mixed into the dish near the end of cooking.

I recommend using a food processor to puree the tomatoes, chili, ginger and cilantro. The food processor is better suited than a blender for pureeing this type of mixture.  But, definitely use a blender to process the soup at the end, you'll get a much finer texture to the soup. I used my Vitamix blender, and the result is a silky, smooth puree that you'd swear had a ton of cream added to it. And, don't be afraid to add more water to the finished soup. It can be super thick, almost like baby food, when it comes out of the blender, and the water won't dilute the intensity of the flavors.

Enjoy!

Curried Carrot Soup

Serves 6

1            2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into thin rounds, divided

2            large, very ripe red tomatoes, roughly chopped

1- 3        fresh green chili peppers, roughly chopped

½ cup    packed cilantro leaves and stems

3 Tbsp   vegetable oil

1 Tbsp   cumin seeds

1            small onion, finely chopped

1 tsp      turmeric

2 tsp      Kosher salt, plus more to taste

2 ½ lb    carrots, peeled and chopped

2 cups   water, plus additional as needed to thin the soup

1 tsp      garam masala

              juice of one lime

¼ cup    finely chopped cilantro

Combine the half of the ginger slices, all of the tomatoes and green chilies and the ½ cup of cilantro stems and leaves in a food processor and process until nicely pureed.

Heat a large saucepan or stock pot over medium-high heat until hot.  Add the oil, cumin seeds and onion. Cook, stirring, until the onion is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the turmeric and salt. Add the tomato mixture and cook, uncovered, until the excess moisture evaporates and the sauce is thick and starting to dry out, about 8 minutes.  Add the water, the carrots, and the remaining ginger slices. Mix well and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook, covered, until the carrots are very soft, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Remove from the heat and transfer in batches to a blender of food processor and process until smooth.  Return to the soup to a large saucepan or stock pot and bring to a simmer, adding additional water as needed to thin and adjust the texture of the soup. Stir in the garam masala, the juice of one lime, and the chopped cilantro.  Taste and add salt as needed to adjust the flavor.  Serve immediately.

It all started with a chocolate chip cookie...

They say that when you decide to start a blog, you need to have a reason why you're blogging and to to find your unique niche, something about which you can provide your own unique perspective and voice. Well, here I am, sitting and staring at my computer screen, wondering what I'm getting myself in to....

I guess I should start by telling you a little about myself. I am a chef, but not in a restaurant. I teach recreational cooking classes for a national retailer, everything from cupcakes to sushi (and just about anything else you can think of in between). I am also a career changer. My first career couldn't have been more different--I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering and I worked for NASA managing human life sciences research experiments for almost 20 years, first at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX, then at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. How does a project manager for NASA suddenly become a chef?  It all started with a chocolate chip cookie.

Most chefs have stories about learning to cook at their mother's sides, or maybe a grandmother or aunt took them into the kitchen when they were young and taught them the ropes. My story is a little bit different. My mom dislikes cooking, she sees it as a chore, not a pleasure. But, she had a family to feed, so growing up we had a lot of Hamburger Helper, boxed mac and cheese, frozen vegetables boiled until they were mush, and if you could smother it in a can of cream of mushroom soup, it made it to our dinner table. But, all that changed when the holidays came around--cookies, pies, pumpkin bread, yeast rolls, fruit cake, all made from scratch and all delicious. I started teaching myself to cook by baking my mother's cookie recipes. My skill set eventually grew beyond her chocolate chip cookies, but those cookie recipes have always stayed with me.  

So, back to my NASA days....It became my habit to bake cookies and bring them to work, whether it was for a meeting or a coworker's birthday. When the research projects I was managing were assigned to a shuttle mission, it meant that I would be working in a backroom of the Mission Control Center for the 10 days to 2 weeks that the shuttle was in orbit. So, you guessed it, I baked cookies and brought them in to the MCC. Weeks in advance, people would ask what shift I would be working and then try to arrange to be on console at the same time. I would come in to work and find notes left next to my headset with requests for specific flavors of "Angie cookies."  

Well, I eventually found myself at mid-career working for an agency whose direction had changed in a way that I wasn't sure I wanted to follow. I felt stuck, and I couldn't figure out how to get unstuck. I found myself dreaming about a career in food--I loved cooking, my friends told me I was pretty good at it, but to make it a career? I then realized, nothing in my life would change until I decided to change it, and I never wanted to be on my deathbed wondering "what if?". So I made the leap and enrolled in culinary school.

January 2007 found me starting my culinary career at L'Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, MD. I spent that year pursuing a certificate in the culinary arts and working at an externship at The Oval Room in Washington, DC. It was an amazing year, but I learned fairly quickly that I didn't want to work in a restaurant. Working the line is definitely a young person's game, and I was 38 the first time I stepped into a professional kitchen, the age many chefs are starting to get out of the business. I couldn't have told you then exactly what I wanted to do, but I knew that I wanted to work in the world of the "enthusiastic amateur". About six months after graduation, I was hired by my current employer to teach recreational cooking classes at their location in Arlington, VA. I can still remember teaching my first class, it was like the lights came on. I had found my calling.

So, here I am, 8 years in to my new career, and I again find myself at a bit of a crossroads. No longer in Arlington, I was promoted and moved to the Philadelphia area to run the company's new location in King of Prussia, PA. It's been a crazy, grueling, intense 5 years, and I've made our location a success. But, I've come to realize in the last few months that I rarely cook for pleasure any more. I'm in the kitchen most days, cooking/teaching recipes that come down from the corporate culinary team, but it's not the same as cooking my food. I miss it. And so, a blog was born....

Cooking Upstream is the road back to cooking my food. I invite you to come along with me as I take this new step on my culinary journey.  

Now, back to that chocolate chip cookie. I mean, what's a food blog without a recipe?  

Mom's recipe was for your typical Toll house style chocolate chip cookie. I've tweaked it a bit over the years and developed a few variations on the original. My favorite version of that recipe is the Caramel Peanut Chocolate Chunk Cookie. It was the winner of the Southern Peanut Growers Food Service Recipe Contest, Dessert Category in 2010. I think they taste like chocolate covered Cracker Jacks. Enjoy!

CARAMEL PEANUT CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES           

Makes 4 to 5 dozen cookies   

2 cups granulated sugar
12 ounces roasted, salted peanuts

1 cup shortening

½ cup butter, softened

¾ cup granulated sugar

1 ½ cups brown sugar

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

3 eggs

3 ¾ cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

To make the caramel peanuts, sprinkle about ¼ cup of the first 2 cups of sugar over the bottom of a medium sauté pan. Heat over medium heat, swirling the pan occasionally. As the sugar starts to melt, add a few tablespoons of sugar at a time, swirling the pan and allowing the fresh sugar to melt into the syrup. Continue until all of the sugar is incorporated and the syrup is a dark golden brown.

Take the pan off heat, and using a silicon spatula, stir the peanuts into the caramel. When the peanuts are well coated, pour the mixture onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet. Allow to cool completely.

Using a chef’s knife, chop the caramel peanuts into small chunks.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line baking sheets with parchment, silicone baking sheet, or grease with shortening.

In a mixer with the paddle attachment or in a mixing bowl with a hand mixer, cream the shortening, butter, and sugars together. Raise the speed to medium high and beat until light and fluffy. Reduce speed and add the vanilla and eggs. Scrape down the sides of bowl. Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients, about ½ cup at a time until just incorporated, scraping the bowl as needed. Mix in the caramel peanuts and chopped chocolate.

Scoop small rounds, about the size of large walnuts, onto the prepared baking sheets.  Bake for 8 – 12 minutes (baking time will vary depending on your oven type). Allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet then remove with a spatula to wire racks to cool completely.