It literally took the cookies longer to bake than make. And they only take 10 minutes to bake.
The Kid is kind, softhearted, and funny (although my child’s mortified when this news leaks). It all goes against the carefully cultivated image of a cranky old man, shaking his fist at neighborhood children who venture too near his yard.
The Kid’s role modle
I’d made some lemon cookies for The Kid, who was joining us for dinner. But they weren’t Petey’s thing, so I texted our offspring, to grab something sweet for Daddy on the way over.
I didn’t hear back, but I hardly ever do, so I just assumed that our conscientious child would deliver.
Only, The Kid either never received the message or forgot to procure. I’m not entirely sure which; my spawn was a little fuzzy on the details. But the upshot was, there was no dessert for Daddy.
The Kid was distraught. Our child was all set to miss dinner to get him something when I had a thought.
It was a thought about my kitchen crush; Alton Brown.
I’d been reading the October issue of Food Network Magazine. And within its pages was an Alton recipe for peanut butter cookies. But it was as stripped down as an abandoned Cadillac in a sketchy part of town. It didn’t even have flour, for heaven’s sake (which means they’re gluten-free). Regardless, they were a hit.
So thank you Chef Brown. Call me maybe?
Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
*(I haven’t tried it myself, but if there are peanut sensitivity issues you could probably sub in almond or sunflower butter)
1 cup smooth peanut butter
½ packed brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt
Heat oven to 350. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Alton mixes by hand, but at this point I just dumper everything into my mixer bowl and mixed until it just came together.
Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Place 6 on each pan, and flatten with the tines of a fork making the traditional cross-hatch.
Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cookies look dry and are lightly browned around the edges.
Let cool on pans for 2 minutes then place cookies and parchment onto racks until totally cool.
I tried rolling the balls in dark cocoa powder to give them a hit of chocolate. It didn’t really flavor them, but when baking the cookies got an interesting pattern of black with light brown peeking through.
Which gave me an idea.
Before baking, I added orange gel food coloring into the dough until it was bright orange. I made the cookies about ¼ the size of the originals. After they baked and cooled completely, they looked very Halloween-y.
I then made a batch of the marshmallow frosting that I talked about a few weeks ago.
Using the frosting I made cookie sandwiches. They’re pretty good right away, but if you make them, cover them, and let sit overnight, the frosting sets up, and won’t squish out the sides when you take a bite.
These littles cookies are very similar to a sandwich I’ve heard about. Called a fluffer nutter; it’s marshmallow fluff and peanut butter on spongy white bread that was created in New England in 1913.
Which is pretty horrifying. But if you don’t have the sandwich ingredients on hand for the small fry, you could give them approximately the same nutritional benefits by having them dine on cotton candy and gin (Of course, that’s assuming you always have cotton candy and gin in your kitchen–but who doesn’t? Amiright?).
Thanks for your time.
Despite possessing a fair hand in the kitchen, I’ve never made a pie with which I was happy. I haven’t killed anybody, but nobody has ever asked for the recipe, or even seconds. Humdrum pies are my cross to bear. With grace and dignity I try to soldier on regardless of the back-breaking burden that fate has chosen for me (besides, my mom makes killer pies, and she’s very generous).
Almost at the end of our team’s pies Lisa brought around a green silky pie with flecks of lime zest visible. It was called a key lime fudge. They gave us all pieces and we chowed down. I and one other judge at my table loved it. It was almost like two pies in one. The top layer was tart yet sweet. The chocolate layer was silky and lingered on the tongue. I never would have predicted that key lime and chocolate would be so delicious and my very faorite out of a huge assortment of pies.
Apples can be problematic, cut them small enough so that they are cooked through. And taste them before you cook them. The last lesson was probably the most important.
4oz Dark Chocolate, chopped
I’d like to leave you with a tip. If you need a heat source to keep something hot, hollow out a large pumpkin, and cut holes around it, for ventilation. Place a Sterno inside the pumpkin and light. Then set you dish on top. It’s very festive. Thursday I’m going back for another contest. I’ll report back and let you know what happened.
So I was at the North Carolina state fair. I was acting as a judge in the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission’s sweet potato contest. The direction was to come up with an item for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack.
Well…it didn’t really look like hash. It looked more like one of those hash brown casseroles (Not that there’s anything wrong with that, they are usually doctorate-level comfort food). So a nice creamy, cheesy baked sweet potato dish was coming up. Yeah, I could suffer through.
Only it was delicious. I mean it. Somehow, that disparate combo of ingredients, when mixed together and heated became a completely cohesive dish that was awesome. I don’t understand what happened; I’m just chalking it up to some kind of kitchen miracle.
3 Sweet potatoes, peeled and shredded
It won first prize.
I constantly wonder what goes on in their heads.I feel that I have a curious, scientific soul and an inquiring mind. My family doesn’t see it that way. They just think I have a pair of nosey pants in size XXXL.
What follows are just a few of the burning questions that torment me at night when I’m trying to fall asleep. They are the queries that I would love to present directly to the principle puzzler. But I’m afraid that instead of clarity, I’d wind up with a black eye.
Do you feel that you are truly living up to your potential? You’re just steering with one hand and texting with the other—I’ll bet if you tried, you could put a brush between your teeth and paint a lovely portrait.
What are you planning with 16 boxes of lime jello, turkey jerky, and a case of red lightbulbs?
Could you just stop? Pretty please?
Thanks for your time.
Except.
But this year is even redder and awesomer than ever before. I was invited to attend the media preview day.
Neomonde, who also has a restaurant/bakery in Raleigh, had Phoenician fish and chips. The fish was Pollock, and very tasty. The fries were tossed in za’atar; a spice mixture of thyme, sesame seeds, oregano, salt, and sumac. I have some of the herb mixture at home and use it on all kinds of things.
And that brings us back to La Farm.
They make a rice porridge from Carolina Gold, an heirloom variety and mix it sourdough bread. This is similar to Colonial era breads made by cooks with far less varieties of grain at their disposal. The result is chewy moist sourdough that I can’t wait to get a loaf of.
Chef James Clark is owner of the soon-to-be-opened food stall, Hook and Larder at the Blue Dogwood Public Market on Franklin in Chapel Hill. He’s also a friend who has made it his personal mission to mature my taste for seafood. I’m strictly a Filet ‘O Fish and Chicken of the Sea girl, which I think breaks his seafood-loving heart a little bit.
I should have fasted for 6-8 weeks.
Woody’s Wings (locations in Raleigh and Cary) and Chef’s D’lites took a couple of common sammiches and made them into egg rolls. Oh man.
And ice cream: NCSU’s Howling Cow had caramel apple crisp, and the John Deere folks had Elvis; banana/peanut butter. I polished off a scoop each. I know, I couldn’t believe it myself. But I suffered through it all for you, Gentle Reader.
I was warned; I came hungry, and even wore my eatin’ pants. But both me and my pants were supremely uncomfortable on that long ride home.
I’ve done it with two different kinds of meat from two different animals, and I’m telling you that I’m sold. This is how I will do it from now on.
But slow roasted meat has a whole variety of textures that are nothing but welcome to a dedicated carnivore.
So I took it home, planning on braising it in a day or so. I unwrapped it, and rubbed it with a mixture garlic powder, thyme, salt, pepper, and ground caraway seed.
When the breathtaking pork came out of the oven, the liquid in the bottom of the pan had cooked off, so I poured in 1 ½ cups of water and used a silicone spatula to get all the bits off the pan. This made clean-up a breeze.
The pork jelly (or demi glace, its technical name) is so potent it should only be used in small doses, and under close supervision. With a bucket of this stuff you could take over the world.
Since Halloween is coming I thought I’d give you, gentle reader, a voyage through one of the most spine-tingling, terrifying places that I know.
I especially loved going to garage sales and the library sale to snag those little cookbook magazines from the checkout line at the supermarket. The older the issue better, with a special interest in the Pillsbury Bake-Off editions.
To make for a dramatic, attractive presentation, I make it in a spring form pan. I layer it with flour tortillas which I dredge in a sauce. Between the tortillas I’d put a couple different Mexican ingredients.
After experimenting, I settled on filling. The center layer was 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken mixed with ½ cup of store-bought queso, like what you eat with chips. The layers above and below the meat would be my deluxe homemade cantina-style rice.
Boo!
How to describe the scene? Well, imagine if colors, glitter, and feathers had rained from the sky, and this rain not only coated everyone, but made everybody it touched into best friends. The air was thick with love and fun. It was a grand example of the brotherhood of humanity. I felt lucky to be there.
After that stop I was starting to hanker for chocolate. Since I calculated that during my stint as water girl I’d worked off forty or fifty pounds, I headed to one of my favorite stops for sweet self-indulgences; Parker and Otis.
While I was waiting for the salad to be packaged, I wandered around their autumn and Halloween displays. Store owner Jennings Brody has curated a seasonal collection which includes everything from mallow pumpkins (my personal favorite) to very exclusive hand-crafted chocolates. If you need a dose of either sweets or fall inspiration, Parker & Otis is one of the best spots in Durham. Regardless of the temperature outside, you’ll leave with the rustle of fallen leaves in your head, and the desire for a cozy sweater to wrap around your shoulders.
So, although yesterday was an entirely new experience and one of the most fun days I’ve had in a long time, it was also a typical day in Durham.
bull city mom 