chocolate chunk cookies with toasted pecans

Last night, I was flipping through Peggy Cullen's cookie book, Got Milk? and came across these simply amazing looking cookies. Deep, dark, chocolatey, with the sweetness of toasted fresh pecans I just got from a friend in Alabama - well, let's say it does the word "decadence" justice.

Apparently, I'm still on my "I love anything chocolate" kick!

The recipe worked perfectly, but the book says the recipe makes 28 cookies - using a 1 1/2 inch ice cream scoop, the total was only 19 - so if you need to make a lot, doubling the recipe makes sense.

To make:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Line two cookie sheets with foil or parchment.

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

pinch of salt

1 t. vanilla

1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa

1 large egg

1 cup King Arthur flour

1/2 t. baking soda

6 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate ( I used one 4 ounce bar of Ghirardelli 60% cacao and it worked fine)

1 cup roughly chopped pecans

Toast the pecans in a toaster oven, or the regular oven - just don't forget they're in there! Toast just enough for them to smell deliciously toasty. Cool pecans well before adding to dough.

In mixer bowl, beat together the sugar, butter, salt and vanilla until creamy.

Beat in the cocoa, then the egg. Scrape down the mixer bowl and beat briefly again.

Add the flour and baking soda and mix on low until combined.

Mix in the cooled pecans and the chopped chocolate.

Using a 1 1/2" ice cream scoop, scoop out balls of dough about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets.

Bake for exactly 10 minutes . Remove baking sheet and let cool five minutes, before removing cookies with a spatula to a cooling rack.

This makes 19 cookies, using the ice cream scoop - 19 delicious, stupendous chocolatey cookies!

Enjoy!

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chunky black bean soup with goat cheese

It's Spring in New Hampshire - sugaring season for the maple syrup producers, mud that sucks at your boots and tire wheels, and raging rivers and streams filled with snowmelt. The woods are still snowy, but with the cold rain we're getting today, should be clearing soon. Then again, snow is predicted for Wednesday - our own April Fool's Day, I guess!

This kind of raw weather always finds me making a thick, chunky soup - today it's black bean with roasted red peppers and fresh, creamy goat cheese. YUM! Serve with a bottle of Tabasco and you're bound to be feeling cheerful and warm.

You can add a little chicken or meat, if you like - but I'm happy with it just the way it is. This serves about 3.

To make:

1 onion, chopped or sliced

2 cloves garlic, pressed

3 T. olive oil

1 T. cumin

1-2 t. oregano

spring of fresh rosemary

dash of hot pepper flakes

1 T. chili powder

1 cup plum tomatoes with juice, diced

3 T. ( or more) roasted red peppers, diced or 1/2 a red bell pepper, diced

1 cup chicken, vegetable, or beef stock

2 cans ( 15.5 oz) drained black beans

water if needed at the end

2 t. basil

a few slices fresh, mild, goat cheese ( I used Ile de France)

In a heavy bottomed pot, heat the oil and add the onion and garlic. Stir and cover for five or ten minutes.

Uncover and add the cumin, chili powder, rosemary, and oregano and red pepper flakes.

Add the plum tomatoes and stock, stir, and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Add the black beans and red pepper, and more water or stock if needed.

Add the basil and cook another ten minutes.

Taste carefully and add more seasonings if needed.

Serve hot with a slice or two of goat cheese and a tablespoon of diced or sliced red peppers .

Enjoy the crazy Spring weather!

warmed goat cheese with wilted greens

For a long time, I thought I didn't like goat cheese, but it turned out more to be age and brand that changed my mind. Fresh goat cheese from a good manufacturer is creamy ( especially when slightly warmed) and mild.

This is a fast and easy brunch or dinner, and it has a lovely combination of flavors and textures.

To make:

pasta of your choice

several fat slices of fresh goat cheese ( I used Ile de France)

baby spinach or regular spinach

arugula

sauteed mushrooms ( or you can use grape tomatoes)

fresh basil or oregano

freshly cracked pepper and salt to taste

good olive oil

Cook and drain the pasta .

Saute the sliced mushrooms in butter until nutty and brown.

Assemble on a plate or in a large pasta bowl:

Spread the pasta on the plate. Take two handfuls of the greens and arrange on top of the pasta.

Place two or three slices of goat cheese in the middle of the greens.

Sprinkle the mushrooms around the pasta and greens.

Toss a few leaves of basil or oregano on top, top with salt and pepper.

Warm for 1 1/2 minutes in a microwave and drizzle with good olive oil.

Serve and enjoy!

I think this also would be delicious with a few slices of juicy sausage - like the sage and chicken one I saw and forgot to buy. I would simmer the sausages, and then cut into chunks and arrange on the plates.

french potato salad

Now, I like mayonnaise as much as anyone else, but I prefer the French Potato Salad sans mayo. You dress it with olive oil and herb vinegar while the potatoes are still warm, so they soak up that tasty, tangy marinade. And to celebrate the first patch of garden that is finally free of snowcover, I thought I'd make this springtime favorite for lunch ( and save the mayo for the first ripe tomato from the garden - on white bread, please).

To make:

3 medium large red skinned and/or California White potatoes, whole, scrubbed

Bring the potatoes to a low boil in a saucepan and let cook til just tender - about 25 minutes.

Remove potatoes when done and let cool for five minutes.

While the potatoes are boiling, you can make the dressing:

4 T. olive oil

1 pressed garlic clove

1/2 t. Dijon mustard

2 T. good herb vinegar ( I used dill)

1/4 t. salt, or to taste

several grindings of pepper

1 T. fresh minced dill

1T. fresh scallions, sliced thinly

Mix the dressing very well. Slice the potatoes lengthwise, then into even slices vertically. Don't make them too thin.

Gently toss the warm potatoes in the dressing and serve on top of a handful of arugula, or other greens.

I was thinking how nice a chunk of cheese would have been with this, like a soft brie.

Happy Spring!

the humble egg

I am completely in love with eggs. Their shapes are so pleasing, so organic, so....Brancusi. And you can feast on everything from stuffed omelets to souffles, from chocolate mousse to these little hors d'oeuvres. They're inexpensive - even the best cage free, organic eggs run under $4. This is my favorite way to serve them fancied up.

In a saucepan, place however many eggs you need and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat a little, so the eggs aren't being overly boiled, which will produce a green rim around the yolk. Set timer for ten minutes.

Drain eggs and place back in saucepan. Cover with cold water, drain, cover again with cold water, and let sit for ten minutes. This insures the egg peels easily. If your eggs are under two days old, forget about hard boiling - it never works.

Slice off a tiny sliver of egg from the pointy end. This will enable the egg to sit on a plate without falling over . Cut a small slice from the larger end, and there will be your very pretty yolk. Pipe a little wasabi paste on the yolk, and top with a fern of fresh dill.

You can do lots of beautiful color combinations, too - from diced tomatoes to black or red caviar, from chopped herbs to chiles, minced olives - the list goes on. Have fun!

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cream scones with toasted walnuts and currants

When I saw my friend Barry the other day, he had just arrived back from California, looking healthy and tanned. As usual, our conversation leaned toward food, and he raved about some toasted walnut and currant scones he'd tasted there. I mulled it over and started tinkering in the kitchen, deciding to go with a cream scone instead of my usual buttermilk scone. Pleased to say the first recipe that came out of the oven was just perfect - tender, a little sweet, but not overly so, and chock full of that lovely walnut and currant richness. These would be perfect for a special breakfast or brunch!

To make:

1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted in a toaster oven briefly

1/2 cup dried currants, plumped in a tablespoon of boiling water

2 cups King Arthur flour

1/3 cup sugar

2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. nutmeg or about 6 scrapings fresh

4 T. unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 extra large egg

2 t. vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment.

In mixer bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and sugar.

Add the small pieces of butter and mix until distributed evenly with the flour .

Add the egg, cream, and vanilla and mix briefly.

Add the toasted walnuts ( reserve a few for the top) and the currants.

Mix briefly again and remove from bowl.

Knead lightly and form into an 8 or 9 inch circle.

Cut circle in half, and each half into thirds, so you have 6 pieces altogether. Sprinkle a few pieces of walnut on tops of scones.

Arrange triangles on the baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove and cool. Though this doesn't need adornment, you can put out fruit preserves and sweet butter.

Enjoy!

quick and spicy mushroom soup

This is such a great soup - no fillers, just sauteed mushrooms with thyme and hot pepper flakes. You can rustle it up in about ten minutes, throw together a green salad , slice up a rustic bread and have a nice brunch/dinner on the table in under a half an hour.

To make:

4 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

4 T. unsalted butter ( or olive oil, if you prefer, but butter is better)

4 cups chicken stock or broth

1/4 t. hot pepper flakes

2 t. thyme

salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste

hot sauce to taste - or just place bottle on the table

Serves about 4 people, depending on bowl size

Melt the butter in a large skillet. Toss in the mushrooms and saute until the mushrooms are browned and nutty.

Add the broth, hot pepper flakes, and thyme and stir well, scraping up the browned bits.

Using an immersion blender, or a regular blender, puree until smooth. Taste and add salt or pepper as wanted.

Pour into bowls and serve, topped with a little dill and a nicely browned mushroom.

Serves 4.