Best Chocolate Chip Cookies!

I feel quite often in life, simple pleasures are the most divine.  Chocolate chip cookies in my opinion embody such a statement perfectly.  Like so many of us, I have wonderful childhood memories of making chocolate chip cookies.  I can remember standing on a chair so I could "help" my Mom stir or pour ingredients into the bowl.  Thinking of those memories brings a smile to my face and makes me want to get in the kitchen and whip up a batch of cookies!

There's something so temptingly delicious about a well made (from scratch) chocolate chip cookie that's had me obsessed with finding the perfect recipe for years.  My mom sadly passed away a number of years ago and many of her recipes were committed to memory, leaving me to experiment trying to find the right fit.  What I'm looking for is a buttery, thin cookie that has a slight crunch on the edges and a chewy texture in the middle. I can honestly say that I've baked thousands of chocolate chip cookies over the years, this recipe is the closest I've come to my ideal cookie.

I find the ratio of butter to sugar and flour in this recipe results in the aforementioned thinness I prefer.  As well, the addition of toasted then crushed slivered almonds seems to intensify the chocolate flavour and adds a nice bit of crunch.  Sprinkling some Turbinado sugar on the top of each cookie before going in the oven adds a lovely caramel flavour and slight snap of crunch on the edges. I often use Turbinado sugar in baking for decoration or garnish because it doesn't tend to melt down as much as traditional granulated sugar does.  I've tried making these cookies without it and found the cookies came out softer, doughier and less chewy in the middle than I would like.  However, if you like a somewhat soft chocolate chip cookie, or can't find Turbinado sugar, feel free to leave it off.  I've found that most grocery stores now carry this type of sugar (sometimes labelled as "raw" sugar) but if it's not available where you live, you could use some regular white granulated sugar instead.

One thing I like to do is make the full recipe, but only bake up a quarter or half of the dough I've made. I then wrap the remaining dough in plastic cling film and store in the fridge for up to a one week or in the freezer for up to 6 months.  This way, I always have the wherewithal to whip up a delicious batch of chocolate chip cookies should the need (or craving) arise.

Here's the recipe:

4.5 ounces (about 1/2 cup) of unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup almond slivers toasted and roughly ground (I do this in a mortar and pestle)
1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips (I like a mixture of semi sweet and milk chocolate)
2 to 3 tablespoons of turbinado sugar (http://wholesomesweeteners.com/Products/product-detail/PId/5/Organic-Turbinado)

Preheat your oven to 350 F and line a couple of cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Sprinkle the almonds onto one of the prepared cookie sheets and toast in the oven until golden and fragrant (you can do this while you make the cookie dough).  Then grind up to a coarse meal in a mortar and pestle, set aside.

Combine the butter and brown sugar in a mixing bowl and using a spatula mix well until completely incorporated.  Then add in the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.

Mix in the flour, baking powder and baking soda, and salt then followed by the almonds and chocolate chips.

Drop tablespoons of the dough on the cookie sheets and using your fingers or the palm of your hand, flatten the dough onto the sheet.  This will help the cookies bake up nice and thin with a slightly crispy edge and a chewy texture in the middle.  If you prefer a taller cookie with a doughy texture than skip this step and leave the dough in mounds.

Sprinkle each unbaked cookie with some turbinado sugar to add a slight crunch and caramelization. Bake in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until each cookie is golden brown.

Bon Appetit!

Coq au Riesling

I recently posted a recipe for Bouef Bourguignon that I love to cook on cold winter days.  I think it's really great to have a good arsenal of cold-weather recipes to bring out this time of year. However, as most of us have a rotation of recipes we rely on, the time inevitably comes you start to tire of slow cooked, beef-heavy recipes and long for something a little brighter and quicker. My Coq au Vin recipe ticks all of these boxes for me, yet still gives the warmth and comfort I love while it cooks away on the stove filling the house with mouth watering aromas.

Most people are familiar with the traditional Coq au Vin recipe which braises chicken in wine (traditionally red).  While I like the classic version of this dish, I've given it a bit of a make-over by using white wine, mustard and finishing with cream.  My wine of choice is a nice dry Riesling which adds a wonderful depth of wine flavour without overpowering the other ingredients.  In the past, most Riesling I've come across here in Canada was often sweet and fruity making it a poor choice for savoury recipes. However, dry Riesling varietals are becoming more and more popular and readily accessible in most places.  Thus, I've started cooking a lot with this wine and find it very versatile and an overall great choice.  Of course, you could use any dry white wine you like it doesn't have to be Riesling.

I prefer to cook this recipe in a shallow braiser, dutch oven or a skillet (with a lid) as opposed to a deep dutch oven.  This way, less of the chicken skin is submerged in the liquid preventing it from becoming loose and flabby.  As well, I find using a shallow braiser helps the sauce to reduce faster lowering the cooking time.  There are lots of reasons to make this recipe, but tops for me is that it doesn't take a particularly long time to cook, while still having the flavour of a slow roasted recipe.

The finished product has a creamy luscious quality that's balanced nicely by the tang of Dijon mustard.  It pairs beautifully with the same Riesling wine it was braised in and can be served alongside some lightly buttered noodles or steamed potatoes.  Overall, I think this zhooshed up version of Cog au Vin is a great recipe to brighten up the winter recipe repertoire.

Here's the recipe:

1 whole chicken broken down into 8 pieces (or 10 pieces if the breasts are quite large and you wish to cut them in half) or any individual chicken pieces of your choice
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of butter or bacon grease
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 pound of crimini mushrooms quartered (or cut into chunks)
1 medium yellow onion finely diced
2 cloves of garlic minced
1/4 to 1/2 cup of wine for deglazing
1 sprig of fresh Rosemary
3 to 4 sprigs of fresh Thyme
2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
1 to 2 cups more wine, to simmer the chicken in
1 cup of whipping cream
1 tablespoon of butter
More salt and pepper to taste for finishing
Parsley roughly chopped for garnish

Break down the chicken by using a sharp thin bladed knife, such as a boning or fillet knife.  If you do not have either of these use a regular chef's knife in conjunction with a paring knife to get into the small areas.  Cut off both legs first, slicing between the joints to separate.  Then remove the wish bone (using the paring knife if you don't have a boning or fillet knife) to make removing the breasts much easier.  Then slice each breast off the bone trying to keep as close to the bone as possible to avoid leaving a lot of breast meat attached to the body.  Then cut around the thigh and slicing between the joints to remove.  Pat all the pieces down with some paper towel and season with salt and pepper.  If you're not comfortable breaking down a whole chicken, go ahead and use any chicken pieces you like, boneless skinless chicken thighs are usually available in most grocery stores and work well.  Whatever chicken meat you use, I would still advice patting it down with paper towel before seasoning.  This will help ensure the meat browns nicely when searing it later.

In the shallow braiser or pan, heat the butter and oil (or bacon grease) until melted.  Add a few pieces of the chicken to the pan searing on all sides until browned all over.  Depending on the size of your pan, this may need to be done in two batches to avoid crowding.  Otherwise the chicken will steam instead of searing, which results in flabby chicken skin.  I want the chicken to be golden brown and the skin crispy to develop a lot of flavour in short amount of time.  Once all the chicken pieces are nicely seared and crisp, remove to a plate or bowl and set aside.

Add the chopped mushrooms to the pan and saute on medium high heat, until they are golden brown at which time add the onions, garlic, herbs, a pinch of salt and lower the heat down to medium low.  Let the mushroom and onion mixture cook until the onion and garlic has softened.  Then deglaze the pan with some of the white wine and stir to bring up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Continue to cook on medium to medium low heat until the wine has reduced a little.

Then add the Dijon mustard and stir into the mixture and add the chicken back into the pan.  Pour more wine into the pan until the liquid comes halfway up the chicken pieces.

Cover with a lid, slightly ajar to release steam and let simmer on low heat for 30 to 40 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked through and the sauce is thickened slightly.

Pour the cream into the pan, trying to avoid pouring directly over the chicken pieces (so the crispy skin doesn't soften) and continue to simmer with the lid off until the sauce is nicely thick. Add the butter to finish and add glossiness to the sauce and sprinkle with the parsley.  Serve, eat and enjoy!

Bon appetit!

Bouef Bourguignon my way.

This time of year, when the weather is cool and rainy (in my part of the world at least), I'm drawn to food that is warm and comforting.  Subsequently, recipes which fall into the category of stews, soups and braises are what I'm itching to make.  After a summer of avoiding the use of my oven (in an effort to keep my house cool), I can't wait to start using it regularly again and enjoying the gentle warmth it adds to my home.

Bouef Bourguigon is beef stew cooked in wine from the Burgundy region of France. There are many variations of this recipe, but most of the time the beef is braised in the aforementioned wine with garlic, pearl onions, herbs, and mushrooms.  It's usually served on top or alongside a starch of some sort like buttered noodles or steamed potatoes.

My version is slightly different by which I use regular cooking onion (since I couldn't find any pearl onions), carrots, celery, herbs, bacon and finally leaving out the mushrooms.  I added in carrots because I quite like the balance and slight sweetness they add and while I often add mushrooms to this recipe, I prefer this dish cooked without them.  I find in order for the mushrooms to have the right texture in the stew, I have to saute them separately and add them in at the end.  Since the mushroom flavour won't make or break the stew (for my palette), I left them out.  Also, my decision to add bacon is not very traditional, but the subtle smoky and salty quality it adds is quite pleasant. I like to serve this with lightly buttered cavatapi noodles; they're definitely not a traditional accompaniment, but my family loves them so I always have a supply on hand.  However, you could certainly choose a different pasta of your liking, or some potatoes and failing that; nothing at all, just the lovely stew.

In my opinion, this recipe can be made with any full bodied red wine that appeals to you.  It's not absolutely imperative the wine come from Burgundy or even from France for that matter.  I used a nice, full flavoured and reasonably priced red wine from the Okanagan to cook the beef in.  I wouldn't recommend using an expensive wine for this recipe, since the stew will braise for a few hours and the wines flavour will end up much less pronounced.

Recipe:

2 lbs of beef stewing meet, I used chuck
3/4 cup of all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
Few pinches of freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup of red wine (plus some more for later to top up stew)
4 strips of bacon chopped
2 carrots chopped into batons or a rough dice
2 or three ribs of celery coarsely chopped
1 medium yellow or red onion coarsely chopped
2 cloves of garlic finely grated or chopped
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
2 or three sprigs of fresh rosemary and thyme
1 cup of beef or chicken stock


Preheat your oven to 275 F, pour the flour and salt into a shallow dish and add a dash of freshly ground pepper.

Pat the beef stewing meat dry with a piece of paper towel and heat a large dutch oven or pot on medium high heat.  In batches, dredge the beef in the flour, and then saute in olive oil turning the beef as it sears to brown on all sides.  While sauteing the beef, ensure that your pot doesn't get too hot causing the bits (that stick the bottom) to burn.  Remove the seared beef to a bowl and set aside, leaving your pot on the heat.

Deglaze the pot with the cup of red wine; making sure to stir and lift up all the bits of beef left at the bottom of the pan.  Allow to gently simmer for a minute or so, letting the wine reduce slightly. Then pour the wine into the dish with the beef, set aside while you continue.

To the same pan still on medium heat, add the chopped bacon and saute until the fat is rendered and the bacon is browned.  Remove the bacon to a paper towel to drain and set aside (leaving any bacon fat in the pan).  Add the carrots, celery, onion and garlic to the pan and saute in the bacon fat until softened.  Add the tomato paste to the vegetables stirring until the paste has combined and spread around in the vegetable mixture.  Then add the beef and bacon back into the pot; add in the herbs and top up with beef stock as well as some more wine.

Put a lid on the dutch oven or pot, leaving it a little ajar to let steam out.  Place the pot in the oven and check on the stew every 45 minutes or so to ensure the sauce isn't over-reducing (if it is, turn down the oven by 25 degrees).  Leave the stew to braise for 3 hours or until the meat is meltingly tender and the sauce is nicely thickened and glossy. Serve and enjoy!

Bon appetit!