The four-toed statue. Rice krispie treat sculpture, covered in fondant.
The finished tribute: Yellow cake with cherry filling, covered in fondant.
Monday, May 24, 2010
The Giddy Gourmand's Tribute to LOST
Hello foodie fans! Many of you might not know this, but your resident gourmand blogger is a huge LOST fan. Like, really huge fan. Like, spent the better part of one afternoon paying tribute to such an amazing television contribution in the only way she knew how: through food! Whether you've watched the finale or not, there's no denying that LOST gave us a solid six years of amazing, cerebral, emotional and just downright awesome storytelling. Words escape me (for once!) as we deal with the finale and life after LOST, but here are a few pics of how this giddy LOST geek decided to celebrate the final episode. Namaste.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Kabob Kreations
Yes, it's that time of year again -- get the grills ready because summer is just around the corner!! After a recent bout of lovely warm weather, I had a hankering for a fun, warm-weather kind of dinner. With just my trusty grill pan, I decided it was seasonably appropriate to make my sausage and veggie kabobs! Tried this one out on the boyfriend (again -- he's the best test subject for all my culinary creations!) and was very happy with the results! I used a mild Italian chicken sausage for my kabobs, but you can substitute with any kind of sausage that suits your fancy. So round up some veggies, whip up a quick balsamic marinade, and before you know it, your taste buds will swear they've instantly been transported to a lazy summer day! This is a relatively easy dinner that is very budget friendly and fun to make too! I never follow recipes for most of my creations, so here's the basic rundown of what I did. Enjoy!!
1. Give yourself an extra day to prepare! This marinade is best when given at least 8 hours to work, so keep that in mind as you start assembling your ingredients for these yummy kabobs!
2. To make the marinade, I mix two parts balsamic vinegar with one part extra virgin olive oil, then mix in dried oregano and basil, salt and fresh ground pepper. I eyeball these measurements while I'm cooking, but I'd say about 1 teaspoon each of oregano and basil, with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Again, use whatever works for your individual tastes! :)
3. Assemble sausage, white mushrooms, green pepper, red onion and grape tomatoes. Cut sausage and green pepper into 1-inch pieces, remove stems from mushrooms (leave whole,) cut red onion into small wedges (about 1 inch) and slice grape tomatoes in half. Add all ingredients into balsamic vinegar marinade and refrigerate, covered, overnight or for a minimum of 8 hours.
4. On day of cooking, soak bamboo skewers in water for at least 30 minutes. Soaking saturates the wood with water and prevents the skewers from burning while the kabobs are grilling -- very important if you are using a stovetop grill pan indoors and don't want your smoke alarm going off! :)
5. Remove marinade mix from fridge and arrange ingredients on skewers in whatever order you like, starting and ending with the cherry tomato halves. (For my kabobs, I used a repeated pattern of tomato, pepper, sausage, onion, pepper, etc.)
6. Spray grill pan with non-stick cooking spray. Grill kabobs over a medium-high heat, turning every 5 minutes. Total cooking time should be around 12-15 minutes.
I served my kabobs over a bed of brown rice -- and just so happened to take a picture before digging in! (This was taken right after they were fresh off the grill -- you can actually see the steam rising from the kabobs here!)
This is a really fun and tasty meal that's great for all of the lovely summer evenings ahead! Kabobs are a wonderful way to jazz up an everyday weeknight dinner too, so let your inner cook go wild -- the sky's the limit for what you can grill up in kabob form! The Giddy Gourmand would recommend this particular kabob with a lovely glass of homemade red sangria -- more to come on that soon, as that was another recipe I recently tackled with positive results! Here's to the warm weather just around the corner, and all of the yummy creations inspired by summer!
1. Give yourself an extra day to prepare! This marinade is best when given at least 8 hours to work, so keep that in mind as you start assembling your ingredients for these yummy kabobs!
2. To make the marinade, I mix two parts balsamic vinegar with one part extra virgin olive oil, then mix in dried oregano and basil, salt and fresh ground pepper. I eyeball these measurements while I'm cooking, but I'd say about 1 teaspoon each of oregano and basil, with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Again, use whatever works for your individual tastes! :)
3. Assemble sausage, white mushrooms, green pepper, red onion and grape tomatoes. Cut sausage and green pepper into 1-inch pieces, remove stems from mushrooms (leave whole,) cut red onion into small wedges (about 1 inch) and slice grape tomatoes in half. Add all ingredients into balsamic vinegar marinade and refrigerate, covered, overnight or for a minimum of 8 hours.
4. On day of cooking, soak bamboo skewers in water for at least 30 minutes. Soaking saturates the wood with water and prevents the skewers from burning while the kabobs are grilling -- very important if you are using a stovetop grill pan indoors and don't want your smoke alarm going off! :)
5. Remove marinade mix from fridge and arrange ingredients on skewers in whatever order you like, starting and ending with the cherry tomato halves. (For my kabobs, I used a repeated pattern of tomato, pepper, sausage, onion, pepper, etc.)
6. Spray grill pan with non-stick cooking spray. Grill kabobs over a medium-high heat, turning every 5 minutes. Total cooking time should be around 12-15 minutes.
I served my kabobs over a bed of brown rice -- and just so happened to take a picture before digging in! (This was taken right after they were fresh off the grill -- you can actually see the steam rising from the kabobs here!)
This is a really fun and tasty meal that's great for all of the lovely summer evenings ahead! Kabobs are a wonderful way to jazz up an everyday weeknight dinner too, so let your inner cook go wild -- the sky's the limit for what you can grill up in kabob form! The Giddy Gourmand would recommend this particular kabob with a lovely glass of homemade red sangria -- more to come on that soon, as that was another recipe I recently tackled with positive results! Here's to the warm weather just around the corner, and all of the yummy creations inspired by summer!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Project Panini!
Well hello again, my foodie friends! Now that the weather has been (slowly) inching toward spring, I've noticed that I've had panini on the brain! Technically, "panini" is the Italian plural of "panino", which means "small bread", but most people think of panini as any kind of delicious grilled sandwich with a multitude of fillings. One of my favorite quick meals to make and quite possibly the most versatile, the panini is my go-to sammie when I want to eat something with a lot of different layers, namely: chewy, crunchy, cheesy. There are just so many ways to make a tasty panini on your own -- the possibilities are endless! Now that the weather is getting a bit warmer, I'm not baking as much, so the panini is perfect since it only calls for my trusty grill pan! Recently I purchased a big bag of Red Delicious apples, and decided that I needed to put those to work -- and so the Chicken Cheddar Apple Panini was born!
I started with a nice big Portuguese roll and slathered both sides with a quick homemade honey mustard -- a 2:3 ratio of honey to dijon mustard; I just eyeballed it :) Next, I used my mandoline to slice up my apples, tossed them with a scant amount of lemon juice to prevent oxidation, then moved on to slicing up some mild cheddar cheese. While all this was happening, I grilled up some chicken tenderloins using only a bit of salt and pepper. I wanted the taste focus to be on the cheddar/apple/honey mustard trio, so I held back on any heavy seasoning with the chicken this time around. When both sides of the chicken had those really nice grill marks (about 4 - 5 minutes per side) I took them off the heat, sliced each piece down the middle, and set them off to the side. Next up was the panini assembly! Arugla seemed to be the best choice of greens for this panini, sturdy enough to hold up during the grilling process with just the right amount of bite, so down they went, followed by the chicken, then cheese, apples, then more cheese. Closed up the sandwich, brushed both sides of the roll with a bit of olive oil, then it was back to the grill pan. It was at this point when I realized I really need to pick up one of those bacon press dealies -- because the only weight I had to press down the panini as it grilled was a stoneware casserole dishes! Hey, it worked all the same -- I just had one more dish to clean :) Grilled the panini over a medium-high heat until I could see the cheese melting, probably about 4 minutes, then voila! I served it with a side of balsamic roasted vegetables including red pepper, onion, cauliflower, zucchini, broccoli and carrots. A nice glass of Cabernet Sauvignon was the finishing touch. The result? Of course I took a picture!
For a panini that just appreared out of nowhere -- this is definitely one I'm keeping in my recipe arsenal! The honey mustard blended beautifully with the mellow cheddar cheese and the crunchy sweetness of the apples, and the satisfying Crunch! of each bite as the perfectly grilled roll gave way to the amazing medley of flavor just made me savor every moment of this panini. My boyfriend said it was better than any panini he's ordered at his favorite sandwich place, and that's saying a lot -- this is a man who LOVES his sandwiches! :) All in all, I was pretty happy with this first phase of Project Panini. I'm hoping to incorporate even more fresh fruit and veggies into future panini now that the warmer weather is just around the corner. Maybe something with cucumber, tomato, feta and a creamy dill spread; possibly served with a fresh garden salad and a nice white sangria -- oh, I can almost taste summer now!! That reminds me, I really need to read up on some new sangria recipes too ... Until then, thanks for following along with my foodie ramblings! I hope you'll be inspired to invent your own recipes too! :)
I started with a nice big Portuguese roll and slathered both sides with a quick homemade honey mustard -- a 2:3 ratio of honey to dijon mustard; I just eyeballed it :) Next, I used my mandoline to slice up my apples, tossed them with a scant amount of lemon juice to prevent oxidation, then moved on to slicing up some mild cheddar cheese. While all this was happening, I grilled up some chicken tenderloins using only a bit of salt and pepper. I wanted the taste focus to be on the cheddar/apple/honey mustard trio, so I held back on any heavy seasoning with the chicken this time around. When both sides of the chicken had those really nice grill marks (about 4 - 5 minutes per side) I took them off the heat, sliced each piece down the middle, and set them off to the side. Next up was the panini assembly! Arugla seemed to be the best choice of greens for this panini, sturdy enough to hold up during the grilling process with just the right amount of bite, so down they went, followed by the chicken, then cheese, apples, then more cheese. Closed up the sandwich, brushed both sides of the roll with a bit of olive oil, then it was back to the grill pan. It was at this point when I realized I really need to pick up one of those bacon press dealies -- because the only weight I had to press down the panini as it grilled was a stoneware casserole dishes! Hey, it worked all the same -- I just had one more dish to clean :) Grilled the panini over a medium-high heat until I could see the cheese melting, probably about 4 minutes, then voila! I served it with a side of balsamic roasted vegetables including red pepper, onion, cauliflower, zucchini, broccoli and carrots. A nice glass of Cabernet Sauvignon was the finishing touch. The result? Of course I took a picture!
For a panini that just appreared out of nowhere -- this is definitely one I'm keeping in my recipe arsenal! The honey mustard blended beautifully with the mellow cheddar cheese and the crunchy sweetness of the apples, and the satisfying Crunch! of each bite as the perfectly grilled roll gave way to the amazing medley of flavor just made me savor every moment of this panini. My boyfriend said it was better than any panini he's ordered at his favorite sandwich place, and that's saying a lot -- this is a man who LOVES his sandwiches! :) All in all, I was pretty happy with this first phase of Project Panini. I'm hoping to incorporate even more fresh fruit and veggies into future panini now that the warmer weather is just around the corner. Maybe something with cucumber, tomato, feta and a creamy dill spread; possibly served with a fresh garden salad and a nice white sangria -- oh, I can almost taste summer now!! That reminds me, I really need to read up on some new sangria recipes too ... Until then, thanks for following along with my foodie ramblings! I hope you'll be inspired to invent your own recipes too! :)
Monday, March 22, 2010
Old Friends, New Foodie Traditions!
Greetings, fellow foodies!
Recently, a few of my friends and I started a new tradition of a monthly ladies' brunch. We've only had two meetings so far, but this past gathering was so wonderful that I just had to write about it! We met at Pantano's in Merrick -- or so we thought. It turns out that the location had moved about three miles down the road to Seaford -- but boy, was it worth the extra drive! After a few wrong turns and two drive-bys, I finally found the the new location and joined my friends inside. I was not expecting the outpouring of amazing food and genuine hospitality that followed in the next two hours! From the moment I walked in, I was instantly drawn to the high-backed leather booths and the all-around cozy feel of the decor. I joined my party at a table near the window and after a warm round of hellos, I attacked the steaming pot of coffee waiting on the table and tucked into the menu. I love menus. They're like candy to me. I could literally pore over a good menu for hours if given the chance! This menu was a delight. I was amazed by the sheer multitude of panini offered, and as a bonus -- breakfast was served all day! Always a plus in my book -- sometimes a girl's gotta have french foast at 9 p.m.! After drooling over this amazing collection of culinary genius, I finally decided on the "Buon Giorno" Panini: a lovely combination of egg, potato and cheese on "crispini" as they called it (a lovely crunchy bread.) This was my first time in this particular restaurant, so I had no idea what to expect. I was already impressed by the creative menu and the easy friendliness of the staff, so I was really looking forward to sampling the actual food! After what seemed like mere minutes, our dishes were brought out and I just marveled at the presentation. One of my friends even stopped to take a picture of her selection: the "Panwich" -- which was a bacon-batter pancake stacked with cheese, egg and even more bacon on top. Impressive, and lovely :) My panini? A true delight! I love brunch because it dabbles in two different meals without pledging allegiance to just one. My panini was no exception. The potato was reminiscent of a hash brown, but with a delicious crispyness and just the right amount of seasoning. A velvety layer of melted cheese came next, followed by the eggs. The eggs were scrambled perfectly, light and fluffy, and an amazing complement to the crunch of the crispini bread. Just amazing. I fell into my food zone, and for the next few minutes, all I could focus on was the simple deliciousness of a classic, reinvented. I never would have thought to put an egg and potato hero into panini form -- but I'm sure glad the chef at Pantano's did! Foodie bliss, achieved.
However, I believe the best part of any meal is the company, and on this particular day I was blessed with the laughter of good friends and the gift of delicious food all at the same time. And as an added bonus, our server welcomed us to stay for well over an hour after our bill had been paid. There truly is nothing better than enjoying food, friends, and laughter at a nice, leisurely pace :) I just can't say enough great things about Pantano's! My friends and I are quickly leaning toward making this our official monthly gathering place for our ladies' brunch -- and I'm looking forward to sampling more of the amazing cuisine we were lucky enough to discover. If you're in the area, I highly recommend you check them out! Pantano's in Seaford, NY (new location!) Visit with a group of friends or just for a nice, quiet dinner. For more information on Pantano's, just click on the link below. I'm sure you'll be just as pleased as I was with this amazing foodie find! :)
http://www.pantanofoods.com/
Recently, a few of my friends and I started a new tradition of a monthly ladies' brunch. We've only had two meetings so far, but this past gathering was so wonderful that I just had to write about it! We met at Pantano's in Merrick -- or so we thought. It turns out that the location had moved about three miles down the road to Seaford -- but boy, was it worth the extra drive! After a few wrong turns and two drive-bys, I finally found the the new location and joined my friends inside. I was not expecting the outpouring of amazing food and genuine hospitality that followed in the next two hours! From the moment I walked in, I was instantly drawn to the high-backed leather booths and the all-around cozy feel of the decor. I joined my party at a table near the window and after a warm round of hellos, I attacked the steaming pot of coffee waiting on the table and tucked into the menu. I love menus. They're like candy to me. I could literally pore over a good menu for hours if given the chance! This menu was a delight. I was amazed by the sheer multitude of panini offered, and as a bonus -- breakfast was served all day! Always a plus in my book -- sometimes a girl's gotta have french foast at 9 p.m.! After drooling over this amazing collection of culinary genius, I finally decided on the "Buon Giorno" Panini: a lovely combination of egg, potato and cheese on "crispini" as they called it (a lovely crunchy bread.) This was my first time in this particular restaurant, so I had no idea what to expect. I was already impressed by the creative menu and the easy friendliness of the staff, so I was really looking forward to sampling the actual food! After what seemed like mere minutes, our dishes were brought out and I just marveled at the presentation. One of my friends even stopped to take a picture of her selection: the "Panwich" -- which was a bacon-batter pancake stacked with cheese, egg and even more bacon on top. Impressive, and lovely :) My panini? A true delight! I love brunch because it dabbles in two different meals without pledging allegiance to just one. My panini was no exception. The potato was reminiscent of a hash brown, but with a delicious crispyness and just the right amount of seasoning. A velvety layer of melted cheese came next, followed by the eggs. The eggs were scrambled perfectly, light and fluffy, and an amazing complement to the crunch of the crispini bread. Just amazing. I fell into my food zone, and for the next few minutes, all I could focus on was the simple deliciousness of a classic, reinvented. I never would have thought to put an egg and potato hero into panini form -- but I'm sure glad the chef at Pantano's did! Foodie bliss, achieved.
However, I believe the best part of any meal is the company, and on this particular day I was blessed with the laughter of good friends and the gift of delicious food all at the same time. And as an added bonus, our server welcomed us to stay for well over an hour after our bill had been paid. There truly is nothing better than enjoying food, friends, and laughter at a nice, leisurely pace :) I just can't say enough great things about Pantano's! My friends and I are quickly leaning toward making this our official monthly gathering place for our ladies' brunch -- and I'm looking forward to sampling more of the amazing cuisine we were lucky enough to discover. If you're in the area, I highly recommend you check them out! Pantano's in Seaford, NY (new location!) Visit with a group of friends or just for a nice, quiet dinner. For more information on Pantano's, just click on the link below. I'm sure you'll be just as pleased as I was with this amazing foodie find! :)
http://www.pantanofoods.com/
Monday, March 1, 2010
Snow Day = Food Frenzy!
I don't know about you, but when I'm snowed in for the day all I can think about is food! We here in the northeast have just been slammed with winter storms this year, and we've had a fair share of snow days as a result. Whether you work in an office or you're still a student, the minute that phone call/e-mail/text hits about closings due to inclement weather, a certain excitement takes over, and suddenly you're a little kid again. Gotta love those instant days off! :) For me, after the giddy spell passes, my next thought is, "What should I bake today?" Cookies, bread, cupcakes - the sky's the limit when the snow starts to fall!
A recent snow day of mine was kicked off with a lovely cup of homemade hot chocolate, made with Scharffen Berger cocoa. If you've never sampled the chocolate bliss that is Scharffen Berger - I highly recommend you treat yourself to this little luxury as soon as possible! An early Valentine's Day present from my boyfriend, the comforting vintage art of that sweet tin called to me as the snow continued to fall one snowy morning. It didn't take me long to decide what to do: Snow Day item No. 1 would be a good, old-fashioned cup of hot cocoa. I'm not talking about the tasteless stuff in those instant packets either. Just add water? No way! Making your own hot cocoa only calls for a few ingredients - and even though it might take a few more minutes of your time, the tasty reward is worth the extra effort! Here's my recipe for a heavenly cup of cocoa. If you can't find Scharffen Berger cocoa powder, then you can just use any other kind of unsweetened cocoa powder and simply add sugar to taste. Treat yourself to a warm mug of this decadent hot chocolate on your next snow day! :)
Snow Day Hot Cocoa
3 tablespoons Scharffen Berger sweetened cocoa powder, plus a pinch for garnish
2 tablespoons water
8 ounces milk
freshly whipped cream (optional)
Mix cocoa powder and water together until a smooth paste is formed. Set aside. Warm the milk in a saucepan on medium low heat, whisking occasionally - do not allow the milk to boil. When milk is barely simmering, remove from heat and add the cocoa paste, stirring to remove any lumps. Top with a dollop of whipped cream and sprinkle with extra cocoa powder.
A recent snow day of mine was kicked off with a lovely cup of homemade hot chocolate, made with Scharffen Berger cocoa. If you've never sampled the chocolate bliss that is Scharffen Berger - I highly recommend you treat yourself to this little luxury as soon as possible! An early Valentine's Day present from my boyfriend, the comforting vintage art of that sweet tin called to me as the snow continued to fall one snowy morning. It didn't take me long to decide what to do: Snow Day item No. 1 would be a good, old-fashioned cup of hot cocoa. I'm not talking about the tasteless stuff in those instant packets either. Just add water? No way! Making your own hot cocoa only calls for a few ingredients - and even though it might take a few more minutes of your time, the tasty reward is worth the extra effort! Here's my recipe for a heavenly cup of cocoa. If you can't find Scharffen Berger cocoa powder, then you can just use any other kind of unsweetened cocoa powder and simply add sugar to taste. Treat yourself to a warm mug of this decadent hot chocolate on your next snow day! :)
Snow Day Hot Cocoa
3 tablespoons Scharffen Berger sweetened cocoa powder, plus a pinch for garnish
2 tablespoons water
8 ounces milk
freshly whipped cream (optional)
Mix cocoa powder and water together until a smooth paste is formed. Set aside. Warm the milk in a saucepan on medium low heat, whisking occasionally - do not allow the milk to boil. When milk is barely simmering, remove from heat and add the cocoa paste, stirring to remove any lumps. Top with a dollop of whipped cream and sprinkle with extra cocoa powder.
Makes 1 8-ounce serving.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
If you give a gourmand a cookie ...
Hi fellow foodies!
Lots going on in the Giddy Gourmand's kitchen lately, so here's a sneak peek at a test batch of cookies I recently came up with. First, the backstory. It's long, so grab some paprika-dusted popcorn and enjoy your first trip back to the Giddy Gourmand's childhood :)
My mom, who is an amazing cook and baker, as well as my main culinary influence, makes this amazing cookie every year and I have yet to taste anything like it. It's a double chocolate chip cookie with just a touch of peppermint extract. The dough is chilled, formed into 1-inch balls, then rolled in powdered sugar. As the cookies expand during baking, the sugar spreads and creates a very pretty crackle effect. For lack of a better term, I dubbed them Snowy Cookies because they look like little chocolate snowballs when they're finished. Whenever I make them myself, they never come out quite like Mom's - guess I need a few more years of experience and that special touch that only moms have :)
Anyway, coming from a baking family, holiday time in my house was always a big deal. During the last week of November, Mom would break out the trusty old orange Betty Crocker cookbook to prepare for the annual Christmas cookie bakeoff. I would watch in awe as she skillfully flipped through just about every cookie recipe in the book, all the while anticipating the delicious cookie aromas that would soon fill the house. Snowy Cookies were introduced a few years after our traditional Thumbprints, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Snickerdoodles, Sugar Cookies and Florentine Lace - but they quickly became a family favorite all the same. Now that I'm all grown up, I've incorporated Snowy Cookies into my own holiday baking as well and not a year goes by without at least one batch. This year, I had a surplus of Snowy Cookie dough - so I stored it in my freezer to use at a later date.
That brings us back to present day. A few days ago, I wanted to bake a treat for my awesome boyfriend and remembered the Snowy Cookie dough in my freezer. However, it was already late at night - and while I am a bit of a night owl, I didn't really feel up to doing the whole roll-in-sugar deal. Why not just bake them like a regular chocolate chip cookie? Sure, sounds like a great idea! I used my trusty #70 cookie dough scooper and soon discovered a new rule: do not use a scooper on frozen cookie dough. SNAP! Apparently, frozen cookie dough will snap that little scoop right off its designated gears. Minor setback aside - the cookies were all scooped out onto a parchment-covered cookie sheet and into the 350-degree, preheated oven they went.
Ten minutes later, they looked great. After the cookies were completely cooled, I did a quick taste test (absolutely mandatory, of course!) and was pleased to see that the original chewiness of the cookies was still there in this new form. The kiss of mint was perfect and the chocolate was rich and velvety. Wonderful. But, these were a gift - how to give them even more of a personality? Looking through my pantry, I decided that these cookies were going gourmet: the double chocolate chip mint cookies would be dipped in white chocolate with a dark chocolate drizzle. The end result?
I really loved the addition of even more chocolate to this already decadent cookie. The contrast of the white and dark chocolate gives this cookie an instant makeover, making it a perfect and delicious gift for any special occassion. And, they were a big hit with the boyfriend too! I haven't tried my Snow-free Snowy Cookies on Mom yet, but I have a pretty good feeling that she'll like this new revision as well. What do you think of putting a new twist on a favorite family recipe? Let me know if you have any stories of your own - I love to hear from my fellow foodies!
Lots going on in the Giddy Gourmand's kitchen lately, so here's a sneak peek at a test batch of cookies I recently came up with. First, the backstory. It's long, so grab some paprika-dusted popcorn and enjoy your first trip back to the Giddy Gourmand's childhood :)
My mom, who is an amazing cook and baker, as well as my main culinary influence, makes this amazing cookie every year and I have yet to taste anything like it. It's a double chocolate chip cookie with just a touch of peppermint extract. The dough is chilled, formed into 1-inch balls, then rolled in powdered sugar. As the cookies expand during baking, the sugar spreads and creates a very pretty crackle effect. For lack of a better term, I dubbed them Snowy Cookies because they look like little chocolate snowballs when they're finished. Whenever I make them myself, they never come out quite like Mom's - guess I need a few more years of experience and that special touch that only moms have :)
Anyway, coming from a baking family, holiday time in my house was always a big deal. During the last week of November, Mom would break out the trusty old orange Betty Crocker cookbook to prepare for the annual Christmas cookie bakeoff. I would watch in awe as she skillfully flipped through just about every cookie recipe in the book, all the while anticipating the delicious cookie aromas that would soon fill the house. Snowy Cookies were introduced a few years after our traditional Thumbprints, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Snickerdoodles, Sugar Cookies and Florentine Lace - but they quickly became a family favorite all the same. Now that I'm all grown up, I've incorporated Snowy Cookies into my own holiday baking as well and not a year goes by without at least one batch. This year, I had a surplus of Snowy Cookie dough - so I stored it in my freezer to use at a later date.
That brings us back to present day. A few days ago, I wanted to bake a treat for my awesome boyfriend and remembered the Snowy Cookie dough in my freezer. However, it was already late at night - and while I am a bit of a night owl, I didn't really feel up to doing the whole roll-in-sugar deal. Why not just bake them like a regular chocolate chip cookie? Sure, sounds like a great idea! I used my trusty #70 cookie dough scooper and soon discovered a new rule: do not use a scooper on frozen cookie dough. SNAP! Apparently, frozen cookie dough will snap that little scoop right off its designated gears. Minor setback aside - the cookies were all scooped out onto a parchment-covered cookie sheet and into the 350-degree, preheated oven they went.
Ten minutes later, they looked great. After the cookies were completely cooled, I did a quick taste test (absolutely mandatory, of course!) and was pleased to see that the original chewiness of the cookies was still there in this new form. The kiss of mint was perfect and the chocolate was rich and velvety. Wonderful. But, these were a gift - how to give them even more of a personality? Looking through my pantry, I decided that these cookies were going gourmet: the double chocolate chip mint cookies would be dipped in white chocolate with a dark chocolate drizzle. The end result?
I really loved the addition of even more chocolate to this already decadent cookie. The contrast of the white and dark chocolate gives this cookie an instant makeover, making it a perfect and delicious gift for any special occassion. And, they were a big hit with the boyfriend too! I haven't tried my Snow-free Snowy Cookies on Mom yet, but I have a pretty good feeling that she'll like this new revision as well. What do you think of putting a new twist on a favorite family recipe? Let me know if you have any stories of your own - I love to hear from my fellow foodies!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Introducing: The Giddy Gourmand!
Welcome to my blog!
I'll keep things really simple. I love food. I love to cook it. I love to eat it. I love to learn about it. And if you know me at all, then you know I love to talk about it. If you don't know me yet, then hello!! I'm the Giddy Gourmand and I love food. See? Easy. Also? I say love a lot :) Here's what happens now. I blather on about whatever food I'm excited about at any given moment; maybe the dinner I cooked last night or an amazing drink I had on a night out. Anything goes. I'm just your average gal who is extremely passionate about food, so I'm hoping all you fellow foodies out there will follow along!
So, what's the deal? Are you a critic? What are your credentials? No angle. No catch. Sure, I went to culinary school, but this is all just for fun. I'm not a food critic or anything like that, and I don't pretend to be. I'm just a humble fan of all things edible :) I know I can't possibly be the only one out there who proclaims this simple adoration either, so I'd love to hear from you if you dig my blog. And if you don't, then no worries. I mean, really - we're not saving lives here, right? Like I said, I do this because I love it. It's really that simple. I think you can be passionate about food no matter who you are. Just about anything culinary-related gets me giddy, and I like to share. What can I say? I'm a giver.
And that's my intro! I bid you a very warm welcome to the Giddy Gourmand cyberkitchen - hope you brought your appetite :)
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