Tasty, but Ugly Shortbread Cookies

One of my favorite quotes comes from British author Catherine Aird, "If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning." Today, as I share one of my failures with you, let me be your horrible warning.

A rainy, dreary Sunday had me in the kitchen experimenting.  Sometimes, as I'm sure you know, things work out, and other times, well, they don't.  As a rubber stamper I am always looking for new ways to use my gobs and gobs of rubber stamps.  So when perusing the Martha Stewart Cookie app and running across a recipe for "Stamped Shortbread Cookies" I got an idea.  Instead of using cookie stamps to make an impression on a cookie (something I've tried in the past with mixed results), why not rubber stamp them?

I wisely made a half a batch of Martha's cookie recipe and while it was chilling, prepared the cookie sheets, selected and cleaned the rubber stamps, and sprayed them with baking spray to keep them from sticking.  

The lightly chilled dough rolled out beautifully, and I was pleased to see that it took the impressions very well (see top photo).  Unfortunately, as has always been my experience when trying to make an impression into dough, once baked, the design tends to disappear.  Such was the case here, alas.  As I pulled them from the oven and waved the cookie sheet in front of my husband, he studied each one and asked, "Am I supposed to recognize something here?"  Yep, that pretty much said it all.

My son stopped by and had a look at them.  
"Is this one of the villains from Scooby Do?" he wanted to know.  
No, I told him, that is Perry Mason.  
"It looks more like, ummm, Perry Mortem," he smiled. 
"It's postmortem, but I get the picture."  And I did. 


It is a rather tasty cookie though, so if you'd like to try it for yourself, here's the recipe:

Stamped Shortbread Cookies (Martha Stewart)

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for parchment
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped and reserved (pod discarded)
Vegetable oil, for cookie stamp

Whisk together flour and salt in a bowl. With an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, and vanilla seeds until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap in plastic. Chill until firm, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Let dough soften slightly at room temperature. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough on a lightly floured piece of parchment to 1/2 inch thick*. Stamp with a lightly oiled cookie stamp no larger than 2 inches in diameter; cut out with a 2-inch cutter. Repeat. Gather together scraps, reroll, stamp, and cut out. Space rounds 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets.

Bake until edges are pale golden, 16 to 18 minutes. Let cookies cool slightly on sheets. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container up to 1 week.

*This seemed way too thick to me, so I tried 1/2", 1/4" and 1/8" and found that I liked the cookies rolled to 1/4" the best.

This post is linked to:
Metamorphosis Monday 

Beef and Broccoli for Two

If you're anything like me, you occasionally get a hankering for Chinese food.  If you are even more like me, when it gets to around seven o'clock in the evening you're often too tired to go out for Chinese.  Here is a great recipe for two that cooks up in no time and tastes as close to restaurant-style beef and broccoli than any other that I've tried.  It's adapted from a recipe that I found on epicurious.com, but I like my version better.

Beef and Broccoli for Two

Marinade for Beef:
2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 pound boneless sirloin, cut across the grain into 1/4-inch-thick slices

Sauce:
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon medium-dry Sherry
1/4 cup beef broth
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons Oriental sesame oil

For rice:
1/3 cup Basmati rice, well rinsed
2/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 tablespoon butter

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger root
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes, more or less to taste
1 medium head broccoli, cut into flowerets

Prepare the beef:
In a small bowl stir together the soy sauce, sugar, and the salt.  Add the beef, and let it marinate for 30 minutes.

Make the sauce while the beef is marinating:
In a small bowl dissolve the cornstarch in the soy sauce and stir in the Sherry, broth, oyster sauce, sugar, and sesame oil.

Make the rice:
 Spray a medium-small saucepan with canola oil.  Put the rice, water, salt, and butter in the pan and place over high heat.  Bring to a boil and let the rice simmer until the level of water is equal to that of the rice.  Cover with lid and reduce heat to low.  Simmer 20-25 minutes.  If you happen to find yourself cooking the beef mixture longer than the rice is to cook, simply turn the heat off and let it rest the in the pan while you prepare the remainder of the meal.  It will keep for another 30 minutes without any adverse effects.

Heat a wok or large heavy skillet over high heat until it is hot, add 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil, and heat it until it just begins to smoke. Stir-fry the beef in the oil in batches for 1 minute, or until it is no longer pink, and transfer it as it is cooked with a slotted spoon to a plate. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to the wok, heat it until it is hot but not smoking, and in the oil stir-fry the gingerroot, the garlic, and the chili for 30 seconds, or until the mixture is fragrant. Add the broccoli and stir-fry the mixture for 1 minute. Add 1/3 cup water and steam the broccoli, covered, for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, or until it is crisp-tender. Stir the sauce, add it to the wok with the beef and any juices that have accumulated on the plate, and cook the mixture, stirring, for 2 minutes, or until the sauce is thickened and the beef is heated through. Transfer the mixture to a heated platter and serve it with the rice.

This post is linked to:

Foodie Friday
Food on Friday
Friday Favorites
Friday Fat Camp
Fantabulous Friday
I'm Lovin' It Friday

Kirsten's Fried Pork Chops with Country Gravy

Believe it or not, this is actually a breakfast dish. Now I don't know about you, but no matter how hungry I am in the morning, the last thing I want is a pork chop.  Pancakes yes, pork chops, no!  So, I made these for dinner.  I was actually looking for a recipe that was fairly quick, easy, and didn't call for any oddball ingredients when I stumbled upon this one in Bruce Aidells's Complete Book of Pork: A Guide to Buying, Storing, and Cooking the World's Favorite Meat.  It advocates what I've been doing for years, namely brining pork (I'll never cook another pork chop without brining ever again!). If you're one of those people like I used to be who thought pork chops were chewy and dry, wait until you try this!  I let them brine for about 6 hours before cooking and they were moist and tender and so delicious.  It's worth making for the gravy alone, but do try the chops as well.

Kirsten's Fried Pork Chops with Country Gravy

BASIC BRINE:
3 cups cold water
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup sugar (I used light brown)
2 cups ice cubes
6 bone-in pork rib chops (each 1/2-inch thick) or 6 boneless pork chops

COUNTRY GRAVY
1/2 pound bulk fresh sausage (I used Bob Evans' "Hot")
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups half-and-half, plus additional if needed
Freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco)
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Sausage fat or bacon fat

DIRECTIONS

To make the brine: Put the water in a large bowl and stir in the salt and sugar until the sugar is dissolved (I add the salt and sugar to a cup of water and microwave it for 3 minutes until everything is well dissolved, then add the rest of the water and ice cubes). Add the ice cubes and cool the mixture to at least 45 degrees F. Submerge the pork chops in the brine. Refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 4. Remove the pork chops from the brine, pat dry, and wrap in plastic wrap. Store in refrigerator until ready to cook.

To make the gravy: In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat, breaking it up with a spatula or fork. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat and discard. Reserve the fat in a cup for cooking chops.

Sprinkle the flour over the cooked sausage in the skillet; stir to coat. Gradually stir in the half-and-half, nutmeg and Worcestershire sauce. Cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add more half-and-half if the sauce becomes too thick. Season, to taste, with salt, pepper and hot sauce. Cover the skillet and set aside while you cook the chops.

Sprinkle the chops generously with pepper. Dredge them in the flour, shaking off excess. In a large, heavy skillet, heat the reserved fat plus additional oil to a depth of 1/8-inch over medium-high heat. Put the chops in the pan, as many as will fit without crowding, and fry until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Turn and cook on the other side, 2 to 3 minutes. If you're cooking more than one batch of chops, keep the fried chops warm in a preheated 250 degrees F oven.

To serve, put 1 chop on each diner's plate (you will have 2 remaining for second helpings) and spoon the gravy over them. Serve extra gravy on the side to pour over biscuits or grits...or not.

This post is linked to:

Savvy Home Made Monday @ Home Savvy A to Z
Melt In Your Mouth Monday @ Make-Ahead Meals for Busy Moms
Mouthwatering Mondays @ A Southern Fairytale
Homemaker Mondays @ 11th Heaven’s Homemaking Haven
Recipe Sharing Monday @ Jam HandsMenu Mondays @ Faith and Family

Making You Crave Monday @ Mrs. Happy Homemaker

Baked Egg Custard with Gruyere and Chives for Two

I love brunch, and because I love brunch, I also love brunch recipes, and really love brunch recipes that can be both made ahead, and scaled down to two so we can enjoy them on no other occasion than that I just wanted something special for breakfast.  This tasty little custard fills the bill quite nicely, goes together in a hurry, and will seem as if you labored all morning.  With nothing more needed than a little blender that can go easily into the dishwasher, clean-up is also a breeze.  The next time I make these, and I will, I'll add a little more of the grated Gruyere on top for a better presentation and just a tad more cheese.

Baked Egg Custard with Gruyere and Chives for Two

1/2 cup coarsely grated Gruyere
2 Tablespoons chopped chives
3 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon instant minced onion
3/8 cups whole milk
1 ounce cream cheese, softened
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F with rack in middle. 

Butter 2 6-oz. ramekins into which you will place 1/4 cup grated Gruyere and 1 tablespoon of chives in each. 

In a mini blender (if you have one, regular blender, if not) place eggs, minced onion, milk, cream cheese, and nutmeg along with a few gratings of freshly ground paper and a pinch of salt. 

Blend thoroughly.

Pour egg mixture over Gruyere and chives, and bake until puffed, set, and golden, about 22 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Have a great weekend!

This post is linked to:

Forget the Cake Crumb Cake Cookies

If you like crumb cake as much as I do then you'll have to admit that it's really more about the crumbs than it is the cake. The cake, generally an inch or so of dreadfully dry yellow cake (New Jersey Coffee Cake being one exception), is the price we have to pay for that thick layer of flavorful, crunchy crumbs. Well, suffer no more, I've come up with a solution! Cookies made of crumb topping so you can get what you want when you want.  Amazingly easy and with only a handful of ingredients, you can be a bit reckless when making them to give them the rustic look of a crumb topping.


Try them for yourself and see if you don't agree that these quite happily satisfy that crumb cake craving, in an acceptable form.  Excellent with morning coffee or afternoon tea.


Forget the Cake Crumb Cake Cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 sticks of butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons cinnamon
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Place all ingredients into a medium mixing bowl and beat together until well blended and large crumbs start to form.  

Using your hands grab walnut-sized pieces of dough and place it rather haphazardly onto an ungreased baking sheet.  These should look unformed and rustic, like the crumb topping on a crumb cake, but sized like a medium cookie.  Bake for 15-17 minutes.  

Remove from oven and allow to set on the baking sheet for three minutes until removing to a wire rack to cool completely.  Sprinkle tops with powdered sugar. Makes 24.

This post is linked to:
Mouthwatering Monday

Made by You Monday
On the Menu Monday
Wow Us Wednesday Foodie Friday
Sweets For A Saturday
Cast Party Wednesdays

Melt-in-Your-Mouth Tarragon Chicken

You know me and cooking magazines -- I'm crazy about them!  So I had to try something from the new Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine that appeared in my mailbox on Wednesday.  

The word "Crockpot" leapt at me from the cover, most probably because it was 104 degrees at the time and a Crockpot seemed the only way to go.  As it turned out, it was.  I don't think I've ever had a tastier, more tender chicken than the one in this recipe.  Making the sauce outside of the Crockpot ensured a dish far more elegant that what is usually, umm, "crocked," and doing a bit of advanced prep (gathering, cleaning, and chopping herbs, zesting and juicing a lemon), made this a very easy meal.  There's a lot more to love in this issue, and I'll let you know as I test each recipe, but trust me on this one, it is, as Rachael would say, "Yum-o!"

This post is linked to:
Simply Delish Saturday
Savory Sunday

For a subscription to Everyday with Rachael Ray, click the image below:

Zucchini Gratin

Year after year I plant zucchini.  I have so many wonderful zucchini recipes to try that I always hope for a bumper crop.  Year after year I'm disappointed.  I just do not understand how some people can have oodles and gobs of them while I struggle for even one.  This year I got lucky.  I got two.  Two, very large, very healthy zucchini were the entire harvest of the four Buick-sized plants that have overtaken my garden.  Deciding which recipe to try was not easy, particularly since I have way more recipes than I do squash, but since Ina Garten has never failed me I chose her recipe for Zucchini Gratin from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook and was not disappointed.  Unlike my husband, who can take a vegetable or leave it, I could make a meal out of vegetables alone.  This delicious dish and a thick slice of crusty bread was all that I needed to have a very satisfying dinner (and having been so virtuous, how could I say "no" to dessert?).  I hope you give it a try!

Zucchini Gratin

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for topping
1 pound yellow onions, cut in 1/2 and sliced (3 large)
2 pounds zucchini, sliced 1/4-inch thick (4 zucchini)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup hot milk
3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
3/4 cup grated Gruyere


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Melt the butter in a very large (12-inch) saute pan and cook the onions over low heat for 20 minutes, or until tender but not browned. Add the zucchini and cook, covered, for 10 minutes, or until tender. Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg and cook uncovered for 5 more minutes. Stir in the flour. Add the hot milk and cook over low heat for a few minutes, until it makes a sauce. Pour the mixture into an 8 by 10-inch baking dish. 

Combine the bread crumbs and Gruyere and sprinkle on top of the zucchini mixture. Dot with 1 tablespoon of butter cut into small bits and bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbly and browned.

This post is linked to:

Foodie Friday
Food on Friday
Friday Favorites
Friday Fat Camp
Fantabulous Friday