simply sweet

Greetings friends!

It's Anna again! I played with my kitchen aid mixer this week. I made cookies of the chocolate variety. DELISH! I realize as I continue to cook/bake that I do not have many of the normal things that belong in a kitchen. ie..cookie sheet. So in these pictures you will notice that I use a roasting pan as a cookie sheet. Just has to be flat, right? Below is a sweet action shot of me and my mixer! notice my excited face.

another action shot! I couldn't stop. I bake in a tiny kitchen and my mixer is on the floor because that is where the plug is. One day I will be more sophisticated. For now it's floor mixing time! (haha I spelled the word mixing as "mixen" first cause thats how I say it) You're lucky I edit.

Here is a sweet shot of the baking. No worries I DON'T bake with the oven door open. That is just for the photo op, and to show you my creative baking methods. It does work people, just be creative.

I made these delish cookies because of the souper bowl. I'm not sure that is spelled right but I am going to spell it that way and I had some dough left over. I am making them to give to my friend Jaime. I decided to make chocolate cookies, well because they are yummy, but also that is what I had in my pantry. COCOA! WHOO HOO!

Makes about 3 dozen

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 pound good-quality milk chocolate, 4 ounces coarsely chopped and 4 ounces cut into 1/4-inch chunks
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Melt 4 ounces coarsely chopped chocolate with the butter in a small heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water; let cool slightly.
2. Put chocolate mixture, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until combined. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture. Fold in chocolate chunks.
3. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies are flat and surfaces crack, about 15 minutes (cookies should be soft). Let cool on parchment on wire racks. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.

By the way makes about 3 dozen, whatever I never really believe that. I doubled the recipe and did not get 3 doz. out of it. But at the same time I don't really want 3 doz. cookies. hope you enjoy these, they are soooooo good. A really rich chocolate taste.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Happy Valentine's Day. Yep. I'm going there.

I made my very excellent, very sweet, very charming boyfriend these cookies because they are his very favorite. And because it's Valentine's day week. And because cooking is my love language and I express my affections for people best through it.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) of butter

1 cup of peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 Eggs

2 cups of flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup of chocolate chips (or the whole entire bag, you're grown and can make your own decisions).

Preheat oven on 325 degrees F. Cream butter in a stand mixer. Incorporate peanut butter. Add sugars and eggs. Add dry ingredients and mix well until everything is incorporated. Add chocolate chips. Spoon onto cookie sheets and bake for 12-15 minutes or until browned.

chicken and black bean salad

turns out...i LOVE black beans. they were previously featured in my "honey glazed salmon" entry, and here they are yet again. this "salad" is really just a wonderful mess of my favorite ingredients. and for this reason, it has several purposes. you could serve it warm over a bed of lettuce, chips, or inside of a tortilla. i personally like it cold, after its been marinating for a bit...with avocado on top. it's a perfect dish to bring to a gathering. full of veggies and protein!



dice up some chicken and either saute or grill (add some minced garlic, salt and pepper). drain and rinse a can of black beans and add to cooked chicken. in a bowl toss together (all diced) tomatoes, red onions, red pepper, garlic and cilantro. add chicken and bean mixture. toss with olive oil and red wine vinegar. notice i did not specify the amounts so that you may enjoy changing the ratio on your own to provide your prefered flavor!

Saturn Grill

Hi! It's Emily again. And I know that I have cooked and baked this week, but I would like to dedicate my blog post today to the Saturn Grill and some of my amazing friends.

A few months ago, my friend Kathy was in town for the day and we spent the whole day Christmas shopping and running errands all over Oklahoma City. For lunch, we stopped at the Saturn Grill in Nichols Hills Plaza. We had a great time taking a break from our busy day of shopping. We also split the chocolate chip bread pudding, which was awesome.

A few weeks ago, my friend Becky visited in town from Seattle and asked me where we should all meet for lunch. We discussed a few options, but ultimately decided on the Saturn Grill.

And finally, yesterday I met my friend of almost ten years, Anna, for lunch at the Saturn Grill, where she told me that she and her husband, Nathan, are expecting their first child in August. This is so exciting for me because I introduced Anna and Nathan in the tenth grade after I had failed my driver's test (I landed it the second time) and they were both nice enough to celebrate my birthday with me and help me enjoy myself and my birthday.

Now anyone that knows me well would not describe me as a sentimental person, but I do hold quite a bit of sentiment for Saturn Grill. Their menu is amazing. I always order something different and am always pleased with whatever I get. I've never been there with anyone that is even unsatisfied with their food. It's been a great place to relax and reconnect with friends. Everyone in there seems to feel comfortable with where they are and, once again, extremely pleased with their dining experience. If you ever get the opportunity to or need a good lunch place in Oklahoma City, I highly recommend this place. And if you haven't had as good experiences as I have, please keep it to yourself. I'd like to continue to think that this place is fantastic.

lime-and-honey glazed salmon with warm black bean salad

sounds fancy, eh? don't you worry...this is steph again, and if you remember my first entry, you will remember that i am the queen of all things quick. and i am not ashamed to say that i refer to my dear friend rachael ray for meal ideas on a consistent basis. yumm-o!

this recipe i got from rach's cookbook "365- no repeats", which is my roommates cookbook...and this is her favorite recipe of all. (thanks callie!)



the exact amounts of the ingredients will follow, but here is a quick summary for this salmon goodness...

saute some onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, cumin, salt and pepper. in a seperate dish add lime juice, honey, chili powder, and salt and pepper. put salmon fillets in the honey/lime juice mixture and coat each side. add salmon to a hot skillet (seperate from the onions) and cook until just cooked through. to the cooked onions add bell peppers, then chicken stock, then black beans. remove from heat and add lime, cliantro, and spinach. toss and serve with salmon. you can add corn with the black bean/onion mixture buuuuuuut i cut it out due to the starch content :) enjoy!




ingredients:

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 med red onion, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 to 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper
juice of 2 limes
3 tbsp honey
1 tsp chili powder
4 (6 oz) salmon fillets
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
1/2 cup chicken stock or broth
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 to 3 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
6 cups baby spinach

Breakfast for Dinner: English Muffins

I'm just going to come out and say it. Baking bread is my forte. You know the quote, "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." Well, for me it's bread. Beer too, but bread especially. I love the taste, the texture, the baking process. There are few things that bring me more joy than a nice, smooth dough. That said, many of my posts will be about bread.

I could go on, and on, so let's just get into content.

This recipe produces 10 or so buttery, soft-on-the-inside, crunchy-on-the-outside, sweet, salty, all-around mouth-watering english muffins or, as I like to refer to them, pockets of heaven. Prepare yourself, you will probably cry at the first bite, then look up to the heavens and thank God for introducing them into your diet.

If you want these for breakfast, prep them the day or night before and leave it in the refrigerator over night. Or you can do what I did, prep first thing in the morning and have breakfast for dinner.

Start by mixing your dough starter: 1 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoon of unbleached, all-purpose flour, 3/4 cup of water, 1 tbsp honey, 1 tsp active dry yeast.

The starter is a wet, battery mixture that will ultimately ferment and produce the deep, savory flavor profile of the muffins. Whisk all of the ingredients together in a large stand mixer bowl and set to the side.

In a seperate bowl, make a flour mixture by combining 1 cup plus 1 1/2 tbsp of unbleached, all-purpose flour, 2 tbsp dry milk, 1 tsp of active dry yeast. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the dough starter. Cover with plastic wrap, let stand at room temperature for an hour and then refrigerate for up to 24 hours.

Two hours before you're ready to serve, take your dough out of the refrigerator. Mix the dry ingredients into the starter using a kitchen aid on a low speed. Add 1 1/4 tsp salt and 3 tablespoons of butter to the mixture and continue mixing until everything is incorporated.

The next step is prepping out a workspace by flouring an area large enough for your dough. I'm not one of these people that loves to flour out an entire counter top and get dough and crap everywhere. Maybe it's because the mess would be ridiculous. However, if that's your spirit, go for it. There's no judgement here. I use my commerical sized baking sheet.

Roll your dough out, then cover it and let it rise for about an 30 minutes to an hour. Then cut out muffins using a biscuit cutter or an inverted, floured glass (like me!). Toss each muffin in a bit of cornmeal and when you are ready fry them in butter on a griddle, the same way your would a pancake. You'll know they are ready when both sides look delicious and not doughy.

Now gather your friends or family around the stove. Open a jar of jam and a container of butter and let your loved ones enjoy the fruits of your labor, fresh off the griddle. This, is living.

Dough Starter:

1 cup plus 1 1/2 tbsp all purpose, unbleached flour (156 g)

3/4 cup of room temp water (177 g)

1 tbsp honey (20 g)

1 tsp active dry yeast (2 g)

Flour Mixture:

1 cup plus 1 1/2 tbsp all purpose, unbleached flour (156 g)

2 tbsp dry milk (20 g)

1 tsp active dry yeast (2 g)

Then later:

1 1/4 tsp salt

3 tbsp butter

Cornmeal for dusting

Butter for frying

Breakfast Tacos for a Crowd

This is Emily again. Last Sunday, I made Breakfast Tacos for lunch. I did make enough taco filling for a larger party, but they re-heat so well, I knew they would come in handy during the week for a balanced meal on the go. I got this recipe when I spent the Summer of 2008 working at an orphanage in Mexico. I mostly helped out in the kitchen with the meals for the kids living there and the different youth groups and such that came through on Mission trips.Everything that I learned about Mexican cooking, I attribute to the wonderful women I worked with. The food made for the youth groups and for the kids was sometimes different, but Breakfast tacos were always made for all. Opalo (the head cook) would come in and just work her magic, while I usually cracked eggs or sliced onions for her. I put my own twist on the tacos, but I think that I would have made her proud last week. This recipe can be modified in anyway to accommodate different groups.

Breakfast Tacos for a Crowd
Taco filling
1 lb. breakfast sausage (medium or spicy)
1/2 finely diced medium yellow onion
1/2 peeled diced potato
1 dozen eggs
1/4 c. black beans

Warmed flour tortillas
Shredded Cheddar Cheese (jack, pepper jack, queso blanco may also be used)
Sour cream (optional)
Salsa (optional)

Begin the process by browning the sausage in a non-stick, large skillet on medium heat. Break the sausage apart into smaller pieces in the skillet using a wooden spoon. When the sausage is browning up nicely, add the diced onions and potatoes to the sausage so that all these ingredients can cook together.

Next crack all 12 eggs into a large glass bowl. Add a dash a salt and a few clicks of pepper from the small pepper mill. Use a wire whisk, break the yokes with the whisk and whisk the eggs.

When the sausage is completely browned, pour the egg mixture over the sausage mixture and stir the two mixtures together. Next, sprinkle the small amount of black beans. They go such a long way!! There is no walking away during this process. This filling mixture needs to be watched. The eggs can burn so quickly, so it's important to watch the skillet and constantly stir the filling until the eggs are completely cooked through.

When the potatoes can be cut complete through, they are ready.

Since everyone is so different, fill the tortillas with as much filling as you'd like. Top filling with cheese, sour cream and salsa.

One thing that I just love about these tacos is that they can be customized to accommodate each group and person. If you have any kind of peppers on hand, add them the same time as the onions. Use any type of cheese, crema or salsa too.

The only thing that cannot be compromised is the use of FLOUR TORTILLAS. Corn tortillas are delicious, but they are too thin and flimsy for these tacos. Other than that, prepare the tacos to your liking and enjoy!