Double Chocolate Espresso Cookies

• 2 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder (like Medaglia D'Oro, or similar)
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350

Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Then, add eggs one at time, mixing after each addition to make sure they are well combined.

In a separate bowl mix together dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder. I use a whisk to make sure the dry ingredients are well mixed.

With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Mix everything until the ingredients are fully combined, but do not overbeat. Using a wooden spoon, stir in chocolate chips.

Line a baking sheet with Silpat or parchment paper. Using a 1 1/2" ice-cream scoop, or rounded teaspoon, drop dough on the sheet 2" apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and serve.

Yield 52; 120 calories.

VERDICT:  Delicious, even with slightly fewer chocolate chips than called for (the bag has 10.5 ounces!).  Maybe next time, cut recipe in half.  Keep.

White Bean and Radish Salad

• 2 anchovy fillets packed in oil, drained
• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons drained capers
• 2 1/2 cups (packed) fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, divided
• 1/4 cup (or more) white wine vinegar
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
• 1 bunch radishes, trimmed, cut into thin wedges
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 3 15-ounce cans cannellini (white kidney) beans, rinsed
• 3/4 cup oil-cured black olives, pitted, quartered 

Blend anchovies, oil, capers, and 1 cup parsley in a blender until a coarse purée forms. Transfer to a large bowl, mix in 1/4 cup vinegar, and season with salt, pepper, and more vinegar, if desired.

Add radishes, scallions, beans, olives, and remaining 1 1/2 cups parsley to bowl and toss to combine.

DO AHEAD: Salad can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover and chill. 

 

Serves 6; 470 calories.

 

VERDICT:  So many things went wrong here that I don't think I can properly judge this recipe.  I left out the anchovies on purpose, then discovered we only had about a 1/4 c. of olive oil and a cup of parsley.  I opted to add a 1/4 canola and put the whole cup of parsley in the dressing.  I also added a hardboiled egg, as suggested by the recipe notes.  It was a little goopy, but again, I suspect that's my fault.  Suspend judgment and try again.

Brown Sugar and Spice Cookies

Cookies:

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg 
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• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 5 1/2 ounces)
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour (about 1 1/2 ounces)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Cooking spray $

Topping:

• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Dash of ground nutmeg
• Dash of ground allspice

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare cookies, combine 1/3 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg; beat well. Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours, baking powder, and next 4 ingredients (through 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg) in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture; beat at low speed until well blended.

Shape the dough into 30 balls. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets coated with cooking spray; flatten cookies with bottom of a glass.

To prepare topping, combine 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, dash of nutmeg, and allspice in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over cookies.

Bake at 350° for 9 minutes. Cool 10 minutes on pans. Remove from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

Yield: 30; 67 calories.

VERDICT:  These surprised me by being soft and chewy--I was expecting them to have the snap of a gingersnap cookie.  They're not as strongly flavored as I like, though, so toss.   (Note: I rolled the balls in the sugar mixture for easy flattening.  Seemed fine.)
 

Not Your Mother's Make-Ahead Whole-Grain Cinnamon Rolls

Dough:

• 2 cups milk
• 4 1⁄2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 11⁄2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1⁄4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 3⁄4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1⁄2 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 3 to 3 1⁄2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 3⁄4 teaspoons salt

Filling:

• 3 1⁄2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 3⁄4 cup light or dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

When ready to serve, you will need:

• 3⁄4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 to 2 tablespoons milk
• 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place the milk and butter in a medium saucepan and warm slightly. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add the vanilla, sugar, and yeast. Stir and allow the yeast to proof for 5 minutes. Add the oats, whole-wheat flour, 3 cups of the all-purpose flour, and the salt. Stir to combine well. Turn the mixture onto a lightly floured surface and knead. Continue kneading for 5 minutes to create a smooth, elastic dough, adding more of the all-purpose flour as necessary. Transfer to a greased bowl and turn the dough ball to coat. Let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

When the dough is ready, roll it out on a lightly floured surface to form a 12 × 15-inch rectangle.

Spread the softened butter over the surface.

In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle this mixture over the butter.

Roll up the dough, jelly-roll fashion, starting from a long edge and pinching the seam to seal.

Cut the rolled dough into 18 slices, each about 2 ⁄3 inch wide, and arrange them on the prepared baking sheets 1 to 2 inches apart.

Freezing instructions:
Place the trays in the freezer and freeze the rolls until they are firm. Remove the trays from the freezer and place the rolls on their sides in the freezer bags, in stacks of six. Place the bags in the freezer immediately.

To thaw and serve:
The night before baking, remove as many rolls as desired from the freezer and place them in a greased 9 × 13-inch baking dish. You may need two pans if you bake all 18 rolls at once. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The rolls will thaw and rise in the refrigerator. In the morning, remove the dish from the refrigerator and let the rolls rest for 20 minutes at room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the rolls until browned, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and cool on a wire rack. To make the icing, stir together the confectioners’ sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Glaze with the icing before serving.

Serves: 18.

VERDICT:  These are wonderful--not too sweet, with complex flavor from the whole grains.  I love that we can just take out a few rolls and not have leftovers lying around getting stale.  Good job, Jess!  Keep, obviously.

Thai Red Curry with Vegetables

• 1 14-ounce can “lite” coconut milk, divided
• 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste, or to taste
• 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 cups water
• 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths
• 2 fresh cayenne chiles or bird chiles, cut into long strips (optional)
• 2 whole lime leaves or 2 teaspoons lime zest
• 2 cups coarsely chopped dandelion greens or arugula
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, preferably Thai basil
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce 

Heat a wide heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add about 2 tablespoons coconut milk and curry paste, stirring to dissolve it. Cook, stirring, until aromatic, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add 1 cup of the coconut milk and cook for 1 minute, then add sweet potatoes. Stir to coat the pieces and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes more.

Add water and bring to a boil. Cook until the sweet potatoes are almost cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining coconut milk, asparagus, chiles (if using) and lime leaves (or lime zest); cook for 1 minute. Stir in dandelion greens (or arugula), basil and fish sauce until well combined. Continue cooking until the asparagus is just tender, 1 to 2 minutes more. Remove lime leaves, if necessary, before serving.

Note: This flavorful Thai red curry recipe matches sweet potatoes with fresh dandelion greens and asparagus, though you can also substitute cauliflower florets, cubed Asian eggplant, squash or carrots. If using cauliflower or eggplant, add them earlier, when the potato is only partially cooked, as they will take longer to cook than asparagus. Classic Thai red curry is flavored with lime leaves and Thai basil. If you find them, use them, but even without them the vegetable curry will still be a knockout.

Serves 4; 180 calories.

VERDICT:  I left out the chiles and fish sauce, used lime zest, arugula, and regular basil, and this still turned out very nicely and is a nice, unfussy recipe.  Unrelated to the recipe, but contributing to my happiness with the meal: I also made the first--and probably last--perfect pot of rice of my life, using instructions from thekitchn.com.  Keep!

Cold Remedy

• 1 oz. sliced fresh ginger
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken
• 1 tsp. coriander seeds
• 3 whole cloves
• 1 lemon slice
• 1 pint water

Simmer 15 minutes; strain.

VERDICT:  Super astringent.  It probably works, but I did not enjoy it.  Toss.

Smoked Cheddar and Lentil Burgers

• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup dried lentils
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onion 
• 1/2 cup finely chopped carrot 
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded smoked cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 3 large egg whites, lightly beaten
• Cooking spray
• 8 teaspoons stone-ground mustard
• 8 (2-ounce) whole wheat sandwich buns, toasted
• 8 (1/4-inch-thick) slices tomato
• 2 cups trimmed arugula

Place first 3 ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until tender; drain. Discard bay leaves. Place lentils in a large bowl; partially mash with a potato masher. Cool slightly.

Heat oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and carrot; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Cool slightly.

Add onion mixture, cheese, and next 8 ingredients (cheese through egg whites) to lentils; stir well to combine. Cover and chill 45 minutes. Divide mixture into 8 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty.

Heat a grill pan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add half of patties, and cook 5 minutes on each side or until done. Repeat procedure with remaining patties. Spread 1 teaspoon mustard on top half of each bun. Place 1 patty on bottom half of each bun, and top each serving with 1 tomato slice, 1/4 cup arugula, and top half of bun.

Serves 8; 354 calories. 

VERDICT:  I made these because I had smoked cheddar and most of the other ingredients.  I was not terribly impressed--the flavor of the burger after cooking was strangely muted.  I think I'd rather eat the cheese on crackers.  Toss.