Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is my family's stand-by cookie recipe.  It is so great.  I think it is a great classic recipe.

1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 bag chocolate chips (I prefer milk chocolate but semi-sweet also works)

Cream butter and sugars.  Add eggs.  Mix in sifted together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.  Mix in vanilla and chocolate chips.  Bake at 350 for 9-12 minutes.

Another yummy treat is to take two of the cooled cookies and stick a scoop of ice cream in between.  A great cookie ice cream sandwich.

French Bread

This is a great recipe that I started making a few years ago.  I totally love it.

5 1/2 - 6 cups flour
2 packages (2 tablespoons) active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups warm water
cornmeal
1 egg white, slightly beaten
1 tablespoon water

1.  In a large bowl, mix 2 cups flour, the yeast, and salt.  Add 2 cups water to flour mixture.  Beat with an electric mixer on to for 30 seconds.  Scrape bowl to incorporate all ingredients.  Beat on high for 3 minutes.  Stir in remaining flour.
2.  Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead in enough flour to make a stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes).  Place in a greased bowl; let rise until doubled in size - about an hour in a warm place.
3.  Punch down dough.  Divide dough in half and pinch into two smooth balls.  Place on a cookie sheet (I use pizza stones) prepared with a layer of cooking spray followed by a layer of cornmeal.  Brush mixture of egg white and tablespoon water onto loaves.  Allow to rise until doubled size (about 20 - 30 minutes).
4.  Place in 375 oven for 20 minutes.  Brush with remaining egg white mixture and place back in oven for 15 mins.  Bread should sound hollow when finished.  Cool on wire rack.

This is a great bread for lots of occasions.  I love to eat mine with Extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Lemon Chicken

This is a knock-off recipe of P.F. Chang's, "Phillips Better Lemon Chicken."  I thought it turned out really yummy.

1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon each water and cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

dash of pepper

2 tablespoons salad oil

1 cup all purpose flour, sifted

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup water
salad oil

Cut chicken into 2 inch squares.  Pound chicken lightly to make them uniform in thickness.  In a bowl, combine soy, water, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, sesame oil, and pepper.  Add chicken and stir to coat, then stir in 1 tablespoon of the salad oil and let stand for 15 mins to marinate.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup cornstarch, and baking powder.  Add the remaining 1 tablespoon salad oil and water and blend until smooth.  Let batter stand for 10 minutes.

In a wide frying pan, pour salad oil to depth of 1 1/2 inches and heat to 350.  Dip each piece in batter and fry until golden and not pink in the middle.  Remove from oil and place on paper towels.  Keep in warm oven (170 - 200) until all pieces are cooked.

Lemon Sauce:
Cut 1 large, thin-skinned lemon into thin slices; discard and seed and end pieces.  Heat 1 tablespoon salad oil over medium-high heat.  Add lemon slices and stir fry for 30 seconds.  Add 1 cup chicken broth, 7 tablespoons of sugar, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, and salt to taste.  Simmer for 2 minutes.  Blend 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water.  Pout into sauce and cook, stirring, until sauce bubbles and thickens slightly.  Pour over chicken just before serving.

We served ours with steamed broccoli in the mix.  Super tasty!

Cookies and Cream Cake

For my mother's birthday, I decided to try a recipe from the Food Network Magazine (totally recommend getting a subscription).  It is a cookies and cream cake composed of a basic vanilla cake and a white chocolate frosting.

Basic Vanilla recipe:
Makes two 9 inch rounds
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing pans
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting pans
1 tablespoon Baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups whole milk (or 3/4 cup heavy cream mixed with 1/2 cup water)

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter two 9 inch pans and line with parchment paper.  Butter and flour the paper tapping our the excess.
2.  Whisk 3 cups flour, the baking powder and salt in a bowl until combined.  Beat 2 sticks butter and the sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 mins.  Reduce the mixer speed to medium; beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla.  (The mixture may look separated at this point.)  Beat in the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with flour, until just smooth.
3.  Divide between the two pans.  Bake until lightly golden on top and a toothpick comes out clean, about 30-35 mins.  Place on a rack for ten min to cool.  After 10 mins run a knife around the edges and turn onto cooling rack to finish cooling.  After cooled, trim cakes if desired before stacking or frosting.

White Chocolate Frosting:
6 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped (I just used white chocolate chips)
3 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
3 cups powdered sugar

1.  Melt chocolate until smooth (I did it in the microwave in 30 second increments).  Beat the butter, vanilla and salt in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute.  Add melted chocolate and beat until combined.  Beat in sugar until smooth.

Assembly:
Place one layer on platter; spread about 1 cup frosting on top and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of chopped oreo cookies.  Top with second layer and frost entirety.  Place chopped cookies on sides of cake after frosted (can be a little messy).

It turned out pretty cool looking and tasted pretty good too.

Simple Baked Herb Chicken

So this is one of the simplest recipes, but it is so yummy and a great staple recipe.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Simply take your chicken (I prefer breasts, but any pieces will do) and lay them on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper sprayed lightly with non-stick spray.  Spray the chicken lightly with non-stick spray.  Sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and any other combination of herbs that you like.  Bake for about 25-35 minutes or until thoroughly cooked.  Delicious when served with roasted vegetables.  I have also used this chicken to make chicken salad sandwiches.  Yum-o!

The Beginning

Okay, so I wanted to start this blog about yummy food creations and recipes I have tried/make.  I think it can be a lot of fun.  I love food and I love cooking.  I think it is such a fun was to express yourself and you get to know a lot about a person by their food.  So the purpose of this blog is to have some fun with some food.
My personal blog is www.ofsoundsandsilence.blogspot.com