Awww, cookie!

These Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are my favorite when its cold or just plain miserable outside. Sometimes I like to add dried fruit like sour cherries, cranberries, candied pineapple, or even candied ginger-- if you haven't tried adding fruit to your chocolate, you just ain't livin'. I'm not a great picture taker so these may not be the best ever but I hope you get the idea.

Oh, me and Mama Dukes bought these great Kitchen Aide cookie sheets from (of all places) Costco. They are awesome. And were so affordable. I think we paid $18 - $20 for four pans; two big and two little. They are really heavy duty and non-stick. Check 'em out!

Here is the recipe for the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, go forth and stuff yo' selves:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 c (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 c granulated sugar
• 3/4 c packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 3 c quick oats
  
• 2 c (12-oz. pkg.) choco chips
• 1 c chopped nuts
• 1 c yummy candied or dried fruit, chopped
  

Preheat oven 375 degrees

1. In a small bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking soda.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar and brown sugar.
3. Add vanilla, and eggs (one at a time, being sure to mix thoroughly between each).
4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients slowly; being sure not to over mix.
5. Add the oats and fold gently.
6. Add chips, nuts and fruit.
7. Taste test, at own risk (raw eggs can be unsafe, be sure eggs are fresh and free of cracks before using).
8. Using two tablespoons or a scoop, drop about a tablespoon of dough onto a cookies sheet (either lined or unlined depending on how much you trust your sheet.)
9. Bake for 9 to 11 mins. Allow to cool and enjoy with tea, hot chocolate, milk or your favorite chilly day beverage.

Peace!

Emma's first snow

So it snowed this past Saturday. Well, I guess you'd call it snow- its probably considered more of a dusting. Nonetheless, it was enough to make Emma freak out. When I first let her out in the morning I wasn't even thinking about the fact that she had never seen snow before. She sort of stopped at the edge of the back porch and sniffed at it a bit. Once she realized it was nothing more than a field of slushy ice she went bezerek. She tends to lick everything alot in the first place but she started licking the snow off the back porch in this spiral design and then licked the stairs and the grass, and the leaves, and the trees. She had a good time and by the time I finally tricked her into coming inside she was covered in tiny icicles.

Watching her get excited about snow made me excited about snow. I hope it snows again soon. I'm not holding my breath. Winter lasts about a week in NC. Oh well, its better than nothing. I should hold my tongue. Last time I said something like we got a horrible ice storm that left a half inch blanket of ice all over everything.

Where has all the baklava gone?

Since I started this blog after the last supper club meeting this is what's left of the baklava that I made. Granted, the original dish was much larger and a bit more glamorous looking, I really wanted to get a picture. I had planned on making it way in advanced because that's what you're suppose to do with baklava, (It's the kind of dish that is best the next day) but I actually started preparing it about 4 hours before I had to be at Miriam's house. I was nervous that it would be really runny and difficult to cut but ultimately when you put buttery, crispy fillo dough with honey-coated walnuts and almonds, you can pretty much just put the pyrex in the middle of the table, hand everyone a fork and say "Have at it." It was still pretty warm when I served it which enhanced the aroma of the clove and cinnamon-- very hot. I think that makes baklava officially a sexy dessert.

I served it with some really potent Turkish-style coffee which I made in a regular sauce pan because I don't own an ibrik. I also didn't have cardamom so I used ground coriander and clove as a substitute. It worked out pretty well and kept me amped until about 3am.

The complete menu prepared by the Supper Club Ladies (we're still working on an official name for our group) included:

• a Vietnamese dish, pho, with beef, bean sprouts, spicy Thai basil, fresh cilantro, ginger and onion (perfect on a chilly night)-- Thanx, Miriam
  
• spicy fried rice with chicken, raisins, and peanuts ( so ver good)-- Thanx, Carla
  
• a retro noodle salad with sweet green peas and crunchy water chestnuts (perfect for cooling down the palette after the spicy fried rice)-- Thanx, Katie
  
• a spinach and peanut curry (to blow your mind)-- Thanx, Woodie
  
• some Chinese-takeout-style fried egg rolls with shrimp (amazing dipped in spicy sweet'n' sour sauce)-- Thanx, Margaret
  
• and warmed baklava with Turkish coffee

We had a blast and I can't wait for our next get together in Durham. Oh and here's the recipe for the Baklava, I hope you find it easy to make:

Oven temp: 325°F
Cooking time: 1 hr

20 sheets fillo pastry
¾ c. melted butter
2 c. chopped walnuts
1 c. chopped almonds
¼ c. caster sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground cloves

Syrup:
1 ½ c. sugar
1 ½ c. water
¼ c. honey
thinly peeled strip of lemon rind
small piece cinnamon bark
3 cloves
2 tsp. lemon juice

1. Butter base of 13x9x2 inch oven dish and place nine sheets of fillo separately into dish, brushing each w/ melted butter.
2. Mix nuts, sugar and spices and spread half of this mixture over fillo. Top w/ another two sheets, brushing each with butter.
3. Spread remaining nuts on top and finish w/ remaining fillo, brushing each sheet as before.
4. Trim edges and brush top with butter. Cut baklava w/ a sharp knife into diamond shapes. Sprinkle lightly w/ water so the layers don’t curl.
5. Bake on centre shelf for 30mins. Move up one shelf and cook for further 30mins. Cover w/ foil if top colors too quickly. Pastry must cook thoroughly.
6. When the baklava goes into the oven, make the syrup. Place sugar, water and honey in a heavy saucepan and stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Add remaining syrup ingredients, bring to a boil and boil for 15mins. Strain and cool.
7. Spoon syrup evenly over hot baklava. Leave for several hours before cutting again into serving portions.

Tip: When you're not working with the fillo dough, drape a damp towel over the dough to prevent it from cracking on you. Don't make it too wet or the dough will stick to the towel and ruin your day.

Conclusion,
baklava + warm= sexy
warm baklava + forks = very happy ladies
supper club + me = very happy me

Enjoy, everyone!

Til next time.

Hello from the 'Boro

Hello, my name is Selena and this is my puppy, Emma. She loves peanut butter, abandoned socks, men with beards, and me (possibly in that order). We live in the bright city of Greensboro in the great state of North Cakalaky.

I've never blogged before so I hope that I don't disappoint. I love to cook and both my mom and I consider ourselves "foodies." We've always loved to cook together and were pleasantly surprised to find that we had "people" so I'm really excited about reading other foodie blogs and reporting my adventures in cooking and puppy life. Especially since Emma always gets to taste my experiments first. I like to think I can tell if she likes something from the curl of her tail. She just had a birthday on Christmas day. We were at my mom's house so for her birthday cake I fixed up a piece of French toast with whipped cream and a candle. Needless to say, her tail was completely relaxed and she was really focused on eating. I like to think it meant she loved it. (By the way she, just sneezed all over my Mac... my new Mac. I rarely type alone these days.)

I also have two cats, Iggy and Apple, who will be a source of great hilarity I'm sure. They are notorious for climbing and knocking stuff over.

Oh and I just joined a supper club so I will hopefully have great stories and recipes from our parties. The next one will be the end of February so I'll have a whole month to plan the perfect brunch dish. I get to drive to Durham at 8am on a Saturday and nothing says "wide awake" like a 3 hour drive on your day off. These ladies are lucky I love food and their company so much. Also, If anyone reads this and has some suggestions for a bitchin' brunch, please holla at a girl.

This was fun, yall. Talk to you soon. Emma, Apple and Iggy send their love (and yes, they love you already!)