Chocolate Caramel Chip Cookies

It's Christmas time, time to make cookies! (Unless you are reading this recipe at a later date, in which case, disregard my previous statement.) My mom loves chocolate covered toffee, so I decided to make her some cookies. These turned out crispy yet with a bit of chew, just how I like them. Be sure to leave some out for Santa!

Ingredients:

2 ¼ C of AP flour
1 t baking soda
1 t salt

½ C of butter, softened

½ C of shortening

1 C of dark brown sugar

½ C of sugar

1 t of vanilla

1 C of toffee chips

1 C of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Place the butter, shortening, and sugars in a mixing bowl and cream on medium speed until lightened in texture and color. Turn the speed down  and add each egg, one at a time, then add the vanilla. Once the liquid ingredients are fully incorporated slowly add the dry ingredients in 3 instalments, waiting for each to be fully incorporated before adding the next portion. You might need to scrape down the bowl down between each addition.

Tightly wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hr*, then preheat your oven for 375. On a parchment covered baking sheet dish the dough out in heaped tablespoon portions. Make sure that each cookie is approximately the same size to ensure even baking. Make sure to put the dough you don't immediately bake back into the fridge to keep cool. Bake for 11 -15 minutes or until the edges are browning and the middle starts to set. Let the cookies cool entirely on a cooling sheet. This recipe makes about 4 dozen.

*Keeping the dough cool allows the outside to set and bake before the middle so it doesn't spread out as much. If you want a thinner, crispier cookie, feel free to skip this step.

Classic Pesto with Cashews

While I am on a pesto kick, I decided to share my recipe for my everyday pesto. I still don't use pine nuts in this one, since cashews create a similar texture and are way more affordable.

Ingredients:

2 C of fresh basil

¼ C of raw unsalted cashews

1 clove of garlic

½ C of extra virgin olive oil (EEVO)

½ C of parmesan cheese, grated

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In the bowl of your food processor or blender, combine the basil, cashews, and garlic. Blend or process until you get rough chunks. Add the EEVO and cheese and process until smooth. Add the salt and pepper to taste, mix, and enjoy!

Pistachio Lemon Pesto

Pesto is an extremely versatile sauce; it can go on pretty much any type of meat or pasta; it can be a condiment, or even added to other sauces. Given it extra virgin olive oil base, it's actually not bad for you, in moderation. The only problem with traditional pesto, with pine nuts, is that it is really expensive to make. In light of that, I decided to make a pesto out of pistachios (green nut for a green sauce). I also added a special lemon olive oil for an extra flavor dimension.

Ingredients:

2 C of basil
1/4 C of unsalted pistachios*
1 clove of garlic
1/2 C of lemon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1/2 C of reggiano cheese, grated
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In the bowl of your favorite blender or food processor, combine the basil, pistachios, and garlic. Grind until coarse chunks have been achieved. Once you have coarse chunks, add the EVOO and cheese and process until smooth. Add the salt and pepper to taste.

Now you have some great pesto, time to put it on stuff!

*Harvesting these pistachios can be a bit of a pain, especially trying to get the skin off after you have removed them from the shells. If you want to purchase them already shelled, go ahead, but I could only find them lightly salted, if you want to use these, go right ahead but be careful to not over-salt your pesto.

Sausage Rolls

EDIT: Here is a better, updated version of this recipe! Check it out!
When I was traveling in the UK with my family, I noticed that in every convince store, instead of the usual fruit danishes, they had these sausage rolls in pastry instead. I missed those once we got back in the States, and I decided to make them myself. These ones are a very simple and easy recipe that can be easily augmented.

Ingredients:

17.3 oz package of pastry dough
1 lb of Italian style sausage links*
1 egg, beaten

Directions:

Defrost the pastry dough according to the package instructions and preheat your oven to 350.

Once the dough has been defrosted, roll it out so that the long side is the length of 2 sausage links, as pictured. When the dough is the proper size, place your sausage links together at the top and gently roll them up. Right before the dough is about to overlap, brush a bit of the egg wash on the two pieces that are about to touch. Overlap the dough a little and then cut off that roll. Brush the top of that roll with some egg wash to enhance browning.

Repeat with the remaining sausage links and sheets of pastry dough. if you get to the end of  a sheet and find that you don't have quite enough to overlap, just roll the dough a bit or stretch it out by hand, yes that will make the pastry a bit thinner, but it will still work.

Once your rolls have been assembled, cut them into 1 inch pieces and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the sausage is cooked through and the top is golden. Enjoy these warm with ketchup or mustard.

*When I make this I leave the sausage casings on because they don't bother me in the final product. They do, however, bother my wife, and if they would bother you, feel free to strip them out of there casings or use a 1 lb package of sausage meat and roll it into thumb size strips.

An Apology

My lovely readers, I'm afraid that I have some sad news. There has been a death in my wife's family. Her grandfather had been suffering with severe dementia for quite some time, and has passed away due to complications.

I know that I have committed to a 2-3 times a week update schedule, but will simply not be possible this week. I plan to resume that schedule as soon as I can.

Your thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated.

Taqueria La Michoacana

It's no secret that my wife and I love Mexican food, and luckily there are plenty of great Mexican restaurants where we live. Our favorite place for a good sit down Mexican meal is Taqueria La Michoacana in Norristown, PA.

Taqueria La Michoacana is a sit down and carry-out restaurant right on Main St in the heart of Norristown. They have a large menu with good selection of appetizers, entrées, delicious drinks, and a fantastic selection of classic Mexican favorites. Due to the wacky liquor laws in the state of PA they cannot sell alcohol, but they can give you a free margarita with the purchase of an entrée and it’s a damn good margarita.

The restaurant has plenty of seating and the walls are decorated with some traditionally styled Mexican murals depicting some Aztec myths and legends. On the ceiling as you walk in is an impressive mural of the golden eagle of Mexico. There are two TVs which usually have a futbol match or a Mexican soap opera going, it creates a nice atmosphere.

The staff is friendly and responsive and is happy to get me an extra serving of crema or sour cream if my white bread American taste buds can’t handle the spiciness.

Last time I went there I had a pambazo which is a sandwich that has had the bread simmered in a red sauce, making it extremely messy and extremely tasty. The menu offered a few choices for meat filling and I chose beef Milanese and its toppings included lettuce and queso fresco. The spice of the red guajillo sauce was present but not overwhelming and included a good smoky flavor. All in all it was a great sandwich even if it did stain my fingers up eating it.

My only critique would be that they don’t do American food very well. The French fries I have had there were not very good and had the texture and color of fries that had been fried once instead of blanched and then fried. But, I don’t go to a good ethnic restaurant looking for American food so that does not bother me.

If you are in Norristown, PA and have a hankering for good Mexican cuisine, take a quick trip to La Michoacana, you definitely won’t regret it.

Sausage Stir-fry

I love stir-fries, they are a great chance to use up stuff around your house, they don't take long to make, and are a great way to experiment with new flavors and combinations. This recipe takes advantage of one of the more interesting sausages the grocery store I work at sells. If you cannot get your hands on wine and cheese pork sausage, I think a mild italian sausage would substitute nicely.

Ingredients:

2 T of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 red onion, cut into wedges
2 t of salt, divided
1 lb of wine and cheese pork sausage cut into 1" pieces

⅓ C of low sodium soy sauce

3 T of honey

4 C of red swiss chard cut into ribbons

½ t of black pepper

Directions:

Over medium high heat, heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet, and once it shimmers, add the 2 cloves of garlic and saute until lightly browned. Add the red onion and the first teaspoon of salt. Once the onion is lightly browned, add the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sausage is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Once the sausage is cooked, reduce the heat to medium and add the soy sauce and the honey. Reduce them to a syrupy consistency and then add the chard. Steam the chard until it is tender, this took me about 3 minutes. Add the black pepper, and serve. I recommend serving over quinoa or rice.

When I say stir-fries are quick, I mean it. from prep to service, this took me about 20 minutes total, an easy recipe for when you need to whip up a quick, nutritious dinner for the family.