The Cookie, Not the City

The next Great American Bake Sale featured item is the humble kolaczek (kolaczki is plural).  Amidst my eternal indecision of what to bake for the masses, I decided to embrace my heritage and attempt a Polish mass of white ingredients.  

I grew up eating kolaczki, but they were always store-bought or restaurant-made.  Most of the time, they are anemic pieces of dough folded over filled with either more white stuff (cheese), or a fruit jelly, then garnished with powdered sugar (even more white stuff).  The following recipe I got from a great chef who makes the best [foie gras] pierogies I know.  It doesn't include baking powder, which is an ingredient that seems to be up to much debate in online grandma forums.

Click to read more ...

Coconut Cookies

This weekend I had a ton of cooking to do for various events, whether it be the HOA belated holiday party, Bears game, or monthly book gang meeting.  In my panic, I immediately opted to all of my strong Mexican dishes, but still wanted to attempt the Achilles heel of all Top Chef contestants, dessert.  For these high stress (and also ultra lazy occasions) I have one simple cookie recipe that I can complete in 20 minutes, and it's made with three ingredients that are all in the pantry.

Click to read more ...

Been Caught Stealing

Tati's Chocolate Chip Cookies (halved in video):

• 2.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1.5 sticks unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 lg eggs
• 2 tsp good vanilla
• 10 oz bittersweet chocolate cut into chunks or bittersweet chips

1. Preheat an oven to 350 Dg.
2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together.
3. In a seperate bowl, whisk the butter and sugars together.
4. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, in the butter/sugar bowl.  Then add vanilla.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet.
6. Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts if any.
7. Using a 1/4 cup measure, place the dough on the lined baking sheet.
8. Bake for 15-18 minutes, switching the pan positions halfway through for even baking.
9. Cool completely on the baking sheet.  The center of the cookies should be soft and puffy.
10. Devour.

A Man Chooses, A Slave Obeys

Since I started sharing my culinary experiences, a year ago (this month), via www, I've been very apprehensive about repeating dishes.  Don't think anyone wants reruns.  I started to overcome this once I realized my core, and current, audience didn't jump onboard until halfway in.  So I could go back and reuse material from 'classic' posts that no one read, other than my mom.

In August, something happened-- I made the same dish three times.  I prepared a Mexican style braised pork for my UFC guests, then for myself, and then again for a HOA BBQ.  The final time I tasted it, it was significantly better than the first.  An interesting concept.

Growing up, I was in band for five years, and choir for eight.  Never practiced once.  I ran cross country for seven years, and never really ran on my own time.  A genius I certainly was not, but nor was I amateur.  This concept of practicing has never been one of my core competencies (could also explain various homework habits).

Could the first few executions of the pork dish been anything other than practice?  What if I make it a fourth time?  Besides, I need something new for the people.  It's common we become slaves to what we do, what we love.  I adored when Audioslave hit the music scene back in '03, because by name they were very upfront about this concept.  Is it wrong for the mass of bloggers across the world to become slaves to their audiences?  Not like we're getting paid, but we're often personally financing our practices. 

This weekend, I was tasked with making some really great food for some really great people.  Attendance didn't pan out as planned, but the bottom line still had to be the same.  Because of this, I chose to repeat a dish I loved making once before.  Not only have I made this before, but readers disliked it, moreso than usual.  I'm talking about pig trotters.

Click to read more ...