I Got Crafty

So, I can't sew (except to replace a button), I hate scrapbooking, and those "easy" crafts I see on Pinterest make me chuckle incredulously. I'm not very crafty, unless you count my cooking. But I wanted to make my friends, and Cookie Monster, something a little special for Valentine's Day. 

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Yes, I think it's a stupid Hallmark holiday, but part of me still thinks it's fun. And so what if it's an excuse to do something nice for your sweetie? But it's not just my sweetie I wanted to let know I care about them; I also wanted to tell my good friends. 

So Valentine's Day this year was a way to tell my friends I care about them. Hallmark don't make a card for that (actually, they probably do. But damned if I'm gonna spend 3 or 4 bucks on something like that that they'll just throw away), so I made my own. Made my own cards, and made my own treats.

Here are the cookies I made. I totally plagiarized the idea from last year's Valentine's Day, but you know what? I don't care. They're still fucking adorable. And, to increase the theme and adorable factor, these cookies are cranberry-white chocolate chip ... so that makes them red and white. I used the chocolate chip cookie recipe from my trusty Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and instead of chocolate chips, just used dried cranberries and white chocolate chips. I spread the prepared cookie dough out onto a baking sheet and made one giant, flat cookie. Then I cut out heart shapes with my cookie cutter.

Now here's where the crafty part comes in. I simply took some brown paper lunch sacks and got out some Magic Markers. Then I just drew Valentine-y things, like hearts, on the bags. I put some red tissue paper in each one, making sure some stuck out of the top. Then I put in some cookies, folded down the tops, punched a hole and tied up the bags with red curly ribbon.

I made my own cards with red card stock and wrote cheesy messages on each one, like "I LOVE having you as a friend," or "I HEART that we're friends."

I had fun working on this little project. Maybe it was super cheesy, but I don't care. If someone's upset about getting free cookies, well, then, they're communists.

Fig Newton Fruit Thins

Foodbuzz recently offered to send me some new Fig Newton thins for free. I like free things, so I said yes. I received a box of the fig and honey flavor.

Cookie Monster had actually recently purchased a box of the classic Fig Newtons since we hadn't had them in a really long time (like, 10 years or something). I expected the eating of these Newtons to be all Proustian, but instead they tasted all fake and chemical-y. Blech!

That being said, however, I actually did like these fruit thins. They are slightly sweet with a nice, subtle cinnamon flavor. But here's a caveat: They are not really very cookie-like, at least to me. They're more like a sweet cracker. When I have a hankerin' for a cookie, I want gooey, squishy and chewy. Hence the opened package of these has been sitting on the counter for the last month. Actually, I bet they'd be better for breakfast crumbled over yogurt or oatmeal.

So, I don't think I'd purchase these cookies with my own money (remember: they were freeee!), but it was an enjoyable experience to eat them.

White Chocolate Bark

I like to watch the Barefoot Contessa. 

She has a show on the Food Network that's still actually about cooking. (Not crap like: How Tall Can You Build a Cake? or How Badly Can You Fuck Up Toast, Dumbass? Food Network has MTV syndrome.) Ina's ok, but parts of her, and her show, bug me. Like the ridiculously staged parties she throws, or the "surprise" she has for someone--like you haven't rehearsed it 17 times with your script and fucked with the lighting 'til it's just so. I also hate the way she makes everyone who's not her look like a fucking moron/child in the kitchen (Wow, Jeffrey! You turned the steaks all by yourself! Would you like a sticker?)

Anyhoo, this post was not meant to be a rant about Food Network or Ina Garten, because I actually do like her show. So I was watching it the other day, and she made drool-worthy white chocolate bark. I had a bag of white chocolate chips in the cupboard, as well as my favorite complementary flavors for this not-chocolate, so I hopped to making some.

I started with white chocolate chips, chopped pecans, dried apricots and dried cranberries.

Using Ina's tempering method, I microwaved 3/4 of the bag of white chocolate chips for 30 seconds, then stopped and stirred. Another 30 seconds, then another stir. I repeated about four times, until the chocolate was melty and smooth. Then I dumped in the rest of the chocolate chips and let the residual heat melt them.

 

Ina's bark recipe says to spread the chocolate out onto a cookie sheet first, then sprinkle on the toppings. But I don't want all the shit falling off the second I break the bark. So I just stirred the toppings into the chocolate and then spread it out.

Isn't it pretty? Then I just popped it into the fridge for about an hour. Voila! It was completely set, and because of my handy-dandy Silpat mat, I was easily able to extract the bark from the cookie sheet and break into pieces. 

The time for it to set is the longest part of the process. Making the bark took about five minutes; I don't know why I haven't made it before. But it'd be a great party snack, and the combinations are endless. I think next time I'll try dark chocolate with peanut butter chips and pretzels. Ok, that pretty much sounds spectacular! That is definitely in my future.

Boston Restaurant Week Lunch

Cookie Monster and I recently ventured to Boston for a long weekend. While there, we did plenty of eating. But also plenty of walking. So it evened out.

On our last day, we took advantage of Boston's Restaurant Week and had a two-course lunch at Henrietta's Table in Cambridge for $15.10 each. It was a stellar deal and great food.

Here is my first course: Spinach Salad, Native Blackberries, Westfield Farm's Goat Cheese, Spicy Maple Pecan Vinaigrette

Wow. This was so simple yet so delicious. The goat cheese was mild and creamy, the berries were bright and incredibly fresh, and the candied pecans were sweet and nutty. 

The dressing (which I ordered on the side) had more whole pecans in it. The maple flavor was pretty subtle, and really, it was not all that exciting. But the salad was so good, it didn't really need anything extra.

The meal came with a bread basked with myriad flavors of bread: there was cranberry walnut (which I tried but gave most of to Cookie Monsters, since walnuts and my tongue do not get along), some kind of molasses-y bread, and a plain roll.

Perusing their cocktail menu, I saw this cocktail, and since it was my last day of vacation, I said to hell with it and ordered a cocktail at lunch. It was a very good call.

This would be the Sangria Sorbet Martini: A Scoop of Sangria Sorbet topped with Ketel One Vodka

Um, wow. The sorbet was full of  fresh fruit flavor, though I did have to heed the waitress' warning to stir it all together, lest I just be drinking straight-up vodka.

For my entree, I ordered the Assorted Grilled Vegetable Sandwich on Seven Grain Bread, Olive Relish, Creamy Cole Slaw.

Honestly, the sandwich was just ok. It came with lots of tasty grilled vegetables, but the strong olive tapenade flavor sortof took over the sandwich and muted the flavor of the vegetables. Also, it was a bit greasy. Maybe less butter on the bread and the addition of basil and goat cheese would've made it great. And the coleslaw was completely forgettable. It was quite heavy on the mayo, so I only took a few bites. I typically don't like coleslaw, and while I thought Henrietta's version could make me a convert, alas, it did not.

Here are Cookie Monster's two courses.

That would be the Cornmeal Crusted Monkfish Sandwich, House-made Tartar Sauce, Lettuce and Tomato.

 Oh yes, and the Henrietta's World Famous Chocolate Bread Pudding with Rum Caramelized Bananas, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. It was pretty much amazing. The caramel with the bananas and ice cream was an amazing combination, and the chocolate added a little somethin' extra to the bread pudding.

The stars of this meal were easily the salad and the bread pudding. An interesting dichotomy, but a tasty one.

I really liked Henrietta's pledge to use local, seasonal ingredients. Here's what they say about that:

Henrietta's Table prides itself on "Fresh from the Farm and Honest to Goodness Home Cooking." Chef Davis and his staff are committed to finding the best regional and organically grown produce, not only to support the local farmers and community, but to bring award-winning dishes to our guests.

That's definitely something I can get behind.Well, that and bread pudding.

Apple Pie Soufflé

We had four apples that were looking pretty sad and needed to be used ASAP.

They look ok here, but were starting to get mushy.

I found this cool recipe in the paper a few months ago for a carrot soufflé, which turned out awesome. At the time, I thought it would pretty much work with any flavoring in place of the carrot; the recipe simply calls for pureeing cooked carrots to give it the carrot flavor. I think asparagus, cheese, roasted peppers, artichokes or corn would all be good substitutes for the carrot. So today, as I was brainstorming how to use up those sad apples, I thought of the souffle recipe. Enter: apple pie soufflé.

I started by peeling two of the apples, then chopping into pieces.

Then I pureed them in my mini food processor with a bit of milk to make them a soft puree texture.

Then I just followed the recipe, of course with my own additions here and there.

Here's the recipe (which is cut in half from the original):

1 cup cooked carrots (or whatever flavor you're going for)

1.5 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 cup + 1/8 cup  milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon honey

2 eggs, beaten

1/8 cup butter, melted

So obviously I used the pureed apples in place of the carrots here. I also added some pumpkin pie spice, molasses in place of the honey, cinnamon and cardamom.

Then I baked the whole thing at 400 in a greased casserole dish for about 45 minutes, until a knife inserted in the middle came out clean.

Et voila! Apple pie soufflé! Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Cookie Monster's Valentine

Since Cookie Monster is, well, a Cookie Monster, I made this Valentine's Day gift for him. I think it was apropos. Also, if I do say so myself, it was pretty fucking cute.

These are his favorite cookies, Oatmeal Scotchies, cut into heart shapes. All I did was make a whole batch of cookie dough and bake it flat on a sheet pan instead of shaping the dough into cookies. Then I used a heart-shaped cookie cutter to make these adorable cookies.

Isn't that so cute?

I paired a plate of the cookies with his present, a pair of Valentine's themed boxers. All together.

And yes, he agreed to be my Valentine. Cookies always help.

Cranberry Sauce (juiced!)

Cookie Monster and I did not host Thanksgiving dinner this year; we were guests at his boss' house. So, in order to ensure our favorites were around after the Big Day, we made some of them just for us. Cookie Monster's favorite is a turkey, cranberry, stuffing, cream cheese sandwich (and I happen to like them, too), so we cooked up all of those things. Yes, for the two of us, we cooked a 14 lb. turkey. It was the smallest I could find! So, after two Tupperwares of that turkey, plus some leftover his boss sent with us, we are pretty damn tired of turkey right now. (Nevermind the two more Tupperwares full in the freezer!)
Anyhoo, I'm getting off track. The cranberry sauce. It's tasty. It's tart. It's a bit sweet. And, in our case, it's juiced. With liquor, that is.

Obviously, it started with these:

And then I stripped an orange naked.

And Cookie Monster did this to said naked orange.

...until there was a half cup of orange juice.
Then came the good stuff!

A little for the cook...
(Glass from Portugal. Appropriate, no?)

And then some sugar.

Boil everything together 'til the cranberries burst and it reduces into a lovely, thick sauce.

Makes the best sandwiches! Also great in oatmeal, too.

Orange Port Cranberry Sauce

1 bag fresh cranberries
Zest of 1 orange
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup port wine
3/4 cup sugar

Combine all ingredients into a saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until all cranberries are broken down and mixture becomes gelled.