Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies (Recipe)

I know it may sound strange, but I'm not that big of a fan of chocolate. Don't get me wrong, the dark chocolate I had in Spain was amazing and I will absolutely bring many kilos of it home with me the next time I visit. But for the most part, it rarely crosses my mind. The only problem is, many people I know love chocolate and love anything that's made with chocolate. So, being the ever-appropriate guest wherever I go, I created these cookies to please my hosts of whatever events I'm invited to.

I started out whipping 3 sticks of unsalted butter (softened) with 2 cups of packed dark brown sugar in my standing mixer. While that is going, in a separate bowl I mixed 3 1/4 c. all-purpose flour, 1 c. cake flour, 1/2 tsp. baking powder, and 1/2 tsp. baking soda.

Back to the standing mixer. Once the butter/brown sugar is whipped, I then added 1 tbsp. vanilla extract and 2 eggs and beat this again on medium speed until incorporated. I then added my flour mixture to the bowl and mixed it on low until all incorporated (this is a very thick cookie dough). While this is going, I took 3 c. dark chocolate chips (60% cacao) and melted it in a ceramic bowl in the microwave, heating it for 1 minute and then stirring with a wooden spoon until all is melted (you have to be careful melting chocolate in the microwave; it can burn easily). I then added this to the mixer and beat on low until all incorporated.

Then I removed my mixing bowl from the mixer and added 1 1/2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips to the cookie dough and folded it in. I used an ice cream scooper to get perfectly-round and perfectly-sized cookies. One trick I use is I put some chocolate chips in a small bowl on the side and after forming each cookie, place a chip or three on the top of each cookie before placing it on the cookie sheet so it looks like it has even chip distribution. I then baked the cookies in the oven for 12 minutes at 375 degrees. The cookies come out dense, chewy, and chocolaty. My chocolate-loving hosts are always pleased.

Whiskey Shimp Linguine (Recipe)

This week I'm running low on groceries, but at least I have the basics: pasta, frozen shrimp, butter, olive oil, onions, milk and, of course, whiskey. I wasn't sure what I was going to make for dinner tonight, but I was hungry and I needed something that was quick. So here's what I did.

I diced about 1/2 cup of onions, peeled and deveined about 1.5 cups of shrimp and set them aside. I put some water on one burner to boil for the linguine and at the same time placed a saute pan on another burner on medium heat. When the pot of water boiled, I threw in the linguine, reduced the heat and set the timer for 11 minutes.

While the pasta was simmering, in the saute pan I put 3 tbsp. of butter in the pan along with 3 tbsp. of olive oil. Once the butter melted I threw in the onions and sauteed them until translucent. I then added 1 tsp. of minced garlic and 1 tbsp. of dijon mustard and mixed it all in. Then I put 1 tsp. of corn starch in a cup and mixed it with 1/2 cup of low-fat milk and poured it into the onion mixture.

Once the milk was brought up to temperature and slightly thick, I added about 1/4 cup of whiskey, 1 tsp. of dry tarragon, salt and pepper to taste, and the shrimp, stirring gently every few seconds. By the time my shrimp was cooked through, my pasta was done. I drained the pasta, put it in bowls and poured the whiskey shrimp sauce all over it and sprinkled that with some grated Parmesan cheese. Fast and delicious!

Yard House--San Jose

My boyfriend has spent time in Los Angeles. He has lived there and he has friends there. Every time he would go to L.A. to visit, he would go to the Yard House in that area and for months and months I've had to listen to him talk about how phenomenal the place is. San Jose finally has a location at 300 Santana Row, and I have finally been able to experience it for myself. I was not disappointed.

They don't brew their own beer, but they have over 100 beers on tap and you can get them in half-yard sized glasses. They also have beer blends and floats (yes, they actually put ice cream in the beer). I did not have this, but their selection of beers is quite something to choose from. I ended up with the Kilt Lifter, which was a delicious American Strong Ale (good thing I wasn't wearing a kilt).

For food I selected a weakness of mine: Mac and Cheese. This one was made with campanelle pasta, chicken breast, bacon (!!), wild mushrooms and truffle oil. This was one of the heartiest, well-balanced mac and cheese dishes I've had. The bacon was crispy, the mushrooms were not mushy and the chicken wasn't overcooked. The cheeses stretched with each pull of my fork and I didn't feel heavy or weighed down after I ate it. It was heaven on a plate.

My boyfriend selected the Spicy Jambalaya and had it with linguine pasta (you can also get this with brown or jasmine rice). An excellent choice as it was super flavorful and had two giant shrimps on top of it all. Everything in it was cooked perfectly. My only complaint is that it wasn't spicy enough.

Yard House is a great place for lunch, dinner, or just to go have a beer after work and hang out with a few friends. The only down side is, everyone else feels this way too and the place gets ridiculously packed before 5pm. If you get there after 5pm, you may be waiting up to 2 hours for a table. I'd say take your chances at the bar, hover over people who look like they're almost done and snatch up that seat as soon as they leave. This only works well for parties of 2 or less, so otherwise, get there early.

Ramen Noodles (Recipe)

When most people hear someone say "ramen noodles", they think of the square brick of dry noodles that come in a plastic package with a small packet of artificial powder flavoring. The noodles are boiled for 3 minutes, the powder mixed in and every person who went to college in America has probably lived on that at one time or another, including myself.

This is not the recipe that I'm about to share. This was a scrumptious and oh-so-comforting dish that I experienced during a week-long trip to the beautiful island of Oahu a few years ago, and is my attempt to recreate it. A friend and I were strolling down the boulevard, got hungry and popped into a random Japanese noodle house along our path. The name of the place, sadly, will forever be lost in my memory. But the taste of that big bowl of noodles will be permanently implanted into my mental catalog of great eats.

In my opinion, the most important part of this dish, is the broth. I've never had a more savory or flavorful broth before then or since then, but my attempt is close enough to satisfy my monthly cravings.

First, I start off with 2 cups of homemade chicken or beef stock. To make stock, I take some chicken or beef bones (ok if there's meat on it) and simmer them for 2 to 3 hours with some water, 1 chopped onion, 3 stalks of celery, 1 large carrot, 2 bay leaves and a heavy pinch of pepper corns. Then I strain out and discard all the chunky stuff with a metal strainer and cheese cloth, and all that's left is yummy stock.

Then I make some mushroom and bonito stock. To do this I take 2 cups of water, bring it to a boil and add a handful of bonito shavings and 6 or 7 dried shitake mushrooms (available at your local asian market). After bringing this to a boil, I turn off the heat and let it sit for 20 minutes, strain and add the liquid to my stock. To finish the broth, I add about 1/4 cup of oyster sauce, 1/8 cup of hoisin sauce, 1/8 cup of soy sauce (or more to taste), 2 tbsp. of honey, 1/2 tsp. white pepper and a handful of fresh diced green onion. All these can be found at your local asian market. Now I have a rich and savory broth for my noodles.

For my noodles I tend to choose a fresh egg noodle (this is ramen, typically in the fridge section of the asian market). I boil the noodles as directed in water, remove from the water, place it in a bowl and sprinkle some sesame oil over it. Then I boil whatever else I want in my noodles, such as sliced carrots, firm tofu, soy beans and mushrooms in 2 cups of broth for about 2 minutes (I usually freeze any left over broth for the next use). I've also used half of a hard-boiled egg, zucchini, bok choy, beef, chicken, bean sprouts, etc., etc., etc. Everything goes into a big bowl and the broth poured over it all. Great for a cold June day!