Recipes Discovered

Double Tree Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

I have a confession. I cannot make chocolate chip cookies. I have tried countless recipes and multiple techniques, but I have gotten maybe three good cookies out of hundreds. It had gotten to the point where I just refused to make them anymore because I was tired of throwing them out (or forcing Seth to eat them). All of this changed however after a recent trip to a Doubletree. Doubletree Hotel gives a chocolate chip cookie to each guest upon check-in, and they just happen to be one of the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had. As I was sitting at the hotel, enjoying my cookie, it occurred to me that the recipe had to be online somewhere, and thanks to the free Internet, I soon found that recipe. It’s a fairly basic chocolate chip cookie recipe, which a few odd additions (lemon juice), but the key to the recipe is refrigerating the dough. I found it was easier to scoop the dough onto cookie pans with an ice cream scooper and then refrigerator the whole pan for 8 hours. After refrigerating, I baked the cookies for 13 1/2 minutes, which seemed to be the magic time for my oven. And it seriously was magic, because all thirteen cookies (I made half a batch) turned out absolutely perfect. The cookies even passed the “next day test”, as Seth likes to call it. In fact, Seth called me the next day and asked me if I could make another batch. He claimed he wanted to take them to work, but I think he just wanted to see if I could duplicate my success, which I did. I made a whole batch today and each cookie turned out as great as the first one. I am so excited that I can now make a chocolate chip cookie.

Homemade Manicotti Recipe

A couple years ago, I order manicotti at a local Italian restaurant, and was surprised by what I got. Instead of ricotta cheese stuffed into a pasta shell, this was fresh crepes, filled with cheese, spinach, and garlic. It was wonderful, and I always said I was going to try to make it someday. I came across a recipe for crepes the other day, which made me think of the manicotti and how good it was. This is the recipe I put together to recreate it.

I started with the sauce, keeping it simple and fresh. First, I sauteed onions and garlic until they were soft, and then added crushed tomatoes. To that, I added oregano, basil, a bay leaf, salt, and a pinch of sugar. I let it simmer while I made the crepes, about a half hour. This could be made days in advance though and kept refrigerated.

Next, I mixed together the batter for the crepes. I used a mixture of all-purpose and whole wheat flour, just to add a little more flavor and texture. To the flours, I added salt, eggs, milk, and melted butter, and whisked until the batter was smooth. Crepe batter is very thin, similar to heavy cream, so be sure to add enough milk to get the consistency right. It’s also best to let the batter set for about a half hour before making the crepes to let the flour absorb all the moisture.>> Read more

Pumpkin Waffle Recipe

There is a restaurant in Key West, Sarabeth’s, that has the best pumpkin waffles. The waffles are served with raisin, pumpkin seeds, sour cream, and homemade orange-apricot marmalade. Seth was definitely tired of going there for breakfast by the time we left. Now that we are back home, I have been desperately searching for a recipe to calm my craving for these waffles. The recipe I found had a lot of spices added, which Sarabeth’s didn’t seem to have, so I only added cinnamon and a little nutmeg. I also added some whole wheat flour to give the waffles a little more depth. So after mixing the batter together, I brushed the waffle ironwith oil, and poured the batter in. When the light went off, indicating the waffle was done, I tried opening the iron only to discover that both the top and bottom of the waffle stuck and the waffle tore in half. Obviously, I was frustrated, but I figured it was just because it was the first waffle or because I didn’t add enough oil. So I tried again… and again… and again. And each time, I had the same result. The stupid waffle stuck and tore. My conclusion from all of this is that I probably need a different waffle iron, but I did try to salvage the waffles. They didn’t taste exactly like Sarabeth’s, but they were a decent substitute. Anyone have any suggestions on waffle irons?

Shrimp Stir Fry Recipe

Needing a quick dinner the other night, I went to the refrigerator to see what I could find. With all of our traveling, there wasn’t much to choose from, but I did come across some broccoli and frozen shrimp. I figured I could make a quick stir fry out of those two ingredients, so that’s what I ended up having.
First, I sauteed the shrimp with just a little salt and pepper. As soon as they turned pink (it only takes about 3 minutes), I removed them from the pan. I then added scallions, garlic, and grated ginger root to the pan, and stir fried that for a minute before adding the broccoli. I had fresh broccoli, but fresh could be replaced with frozen, although it wouldn’t quite have the same texture. After stir frying the broccoli for a minute, I added chicken stock, rice wine vinegar, and soy sauce to the pan, covered it, and let the broccoli steam for about 5 minutes, just until it was crisp tender. I returned the shrimp to the pan, let them heat through, and then served the stir fry over brown rice with a drizzle of sesame oil (a little bit goes a long way!).
For being so simple, this was a really delicious stir fry. The rice vinegar adds a nice background taste, while the sesame oil brings the whole dish to a new level of flavor. I tried the recipe for a simple dinner, but I will definitely be using it again for future dinners.

Pumpkin Pie Recipe

Never Fail Pie Crust Recipe

My mom, whether she admits to it or not, is an expert pie maker. She makes every type of pie imaginable, but on Thanksgiving, she always makes a pumpkin pie. Since I was making other desserts, I told her I would try my hand at making the pumpkin pie this year.

First was the pie crust. She uses a recipe titled Never Fail Pie Crust for all of her pie crust, which I hoped to be true because I have never been very good at rolling dough out. To make the crust, I combined flour and salt in a bowl and then worked in shortening with my fingers until it looked like coarse crumbs. After that, I added enough cold water to get the dough to hold together. Since I cut the recipe in half, I added 3 tablespoons of water. >> Read more