what do you get when you take two of my favourite things and put them together???

CADBURY CREME EGG COOKIES!!!!!!

Step one:

Freeze the creme eggs.



Step two:

Chop up the creme eggs. Lick fingers.



Step three:

Mix up batch of your favourite chocolate chip cookies. Stick on a piece of frozen creme egg. Bake until done.



Step four:

Enjoy with a big glass of milk.



After thought... sweet... super sweet cookie. The sticky fondant melted and formed a nice crusty layer on some of the cookies. But the effect was inconsistent (but still tasty). The Cadbury milk chocolate never melted as I thought it would, so some of the creme egg filling was left behind and hardened nicely.

Not sure if I would repeat this recipe, but I did have to "taste test" a whole bunch of them to decide whether or not I liked the cookies. ;)

cooking for one can be fun...

As much as I love to cook, cooking for one is a really big pain in the ass. There are always leftovers to contend with and sometimes freezing said leftovers isn't a viable option. (I refer you to the infamous freezer incident of 2006.)

My self-restraint at portion control is nonexistant and because I tend to want to use up all my ingredients (i.e. say the WHOLE bulb of fennel instead of HALF the bulb of fennel), I tend to make much, much more than the recipe promises. I have authority issues. Following directions is extremely difficult for me. And I pay for it by having to eat the same thing day after day for about a week. Not an ideal situation in my world.

Last week, I took advantage of having the kitchen to myself (FINALLY!!) and cooked up a storm - mushroom strudel, homemade red wine vinaigrette, bouillabaisse with fresh, crispy (store-bought) baguettes. My friends and I went to town, gorged ourselves silly and in the end, there was still had a ton of leftovers. But the leftovers were so good the next day... and the day after... and the day after that.

bouillabaisse schmassion style

INGREDIENTS

1 small bulb of fennel - diced (reserve fronds)
1 - 1.5 cup chopped onions
couple of cloves minced garlic
1 - 1.5 cups peeled and chopped tomatoes
1 lb or so of small white potatoes - cubed 1"
2 - 3lbs of seafood (cubed salmon, mussels, clams, scallops, etc.)
0.5 cups white wine
stock (chicken or fish or both)
a few good splashes of gin/annisette etc
salt & pepper to taste
2 sprigs of thyme
hot chili pepper (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Heat up some oil in a large pot. Throw in garlic, onions, fennel and cook until soft. Deglaze with the white wine. Add tomatoes, cook some more. Splash in some gin/annisette etc, cook a couple of minutes and throw in potatoes, fennel fronds, stock. Bring to a boil and simmer until potatoes are tender. Throw in thyme and the whole chili pepper (optional, for spicier, cut open and throw in deseeded pepper... pepper seeds can be nasty).

Here's where you have options.

If you don't have perpetually late friends (unlike me), gently slide your seafood into the soup. I kid. Just throw it in according to size and required cooking time. Simmer until seafood is done, remove thyme and chili pepper, season and serve.

If you have perpetually late friends, simmer the soup until they get there. Bitch about it when they get there, and maybe drink the rest of the bottle of white wine while you wait. Depending on how late your friends are, you might want to pour in more stock or wine if your soup base has simmered away. Bring to a boil, throw in seafood as above.

Feeds a party of 6 with 4 days of leftovers for 1.

And for dessert on Day 4 of leftovers... swirly choco chip cookies... YUM!

strawberry experiment #1

Sometimes, I just sit at my desk thinking about food. Usually this happens just before lunch (when I'm hungry), or around 3pm (when I'm sleepy). Yesterday I wanted to make a strawberry white chocolate chip cookie, i.e. take your classic chocolate chip cookie, use white chocolate chips, and instead of raisins (or whatever) use dried strawberries.

Sounds fab, no?

Alas, it wasn't to be. No one at the Bayview Village Loblaws has even heard of dried strawberries, and me being lazy, it being kinda late by the time I got there, I didn't feel like driving all over town looking for something that may be not be readily available. So I improvised instead. Not bad. Next time, though, I might add a little more strawberry puree and perhaps not bake it for so long.

Of course, the wicked strawberry mojito may be why I lost track of time.

strawberry white chocolate chip cookies

INGREDIENTS
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp vanilla
3/4 cup mashed strawberries (drained of juice)
mint leaves
1 oz Havana Club
soda water
juice of 1/2 lime
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS
1. Mash strawberries and drain out most of the juice.
2. In a tall glass, muddle together strawberry juice, mint leaves, and lime juice. Add Havana Club, and top with soda water. Sugar to taste, garnish with a sprig of mint if you want to get fancy.
3. Take a sip of your wicked strawberry mojito.
4. Cream together sugar and butter. I like to do white sugar first, and then brown sugar.
5. Take a sip of your wicked strawberry mojito.
6. Beat in egg and vanilla.
7. Phew... that was hard work... take a long sip of your wicked strawberry mojito.
8. Stir in strawberry puree.
9. Take a sip of your wicked strawberry mojito.
11. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.
12. Slowly add dry mix to wet, stir until almost incorporated
13. Take a sip of your wicked strawberry mojito.
14. Stir in white chocolate chips.
15. Spoon onto parchment lined cookie sheets.
16. Bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit for about 11-13 minutes, or until cookie looks almost done.
17. Make another wicked strawberry mojito.
18. Remove cookies from oven, and let sit for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

a la eminger... courtesy of foodporn (aka foodtv)

I saw it on foodporn, and I had to try it. Eminger Berries down south somewhere does an amazingly scrumptious version of a chocolate covered strawberry. Chocolate and strawberries... not new. Strawberries and cheesecake... definitely not new. Throw all three together, and you've got everyone lining up at your door begging for more.

cheesecake stuffed strawberries

INGREDIENTS
Freshly baked cheesecake, mushed into a paste of sorts
Strawberries
Dark chocolate, melted

DIRECTIONS
1. Cut the ends off the strawberries.
2. Take a small ball of the cheesecake mush and mold it to the end of a strawberry.
3. Shape cheesecake using the palm of your hand.
4. Dip strawberry in chocolate.

Easy peesy, no?

you heard it here first...

neopolitan

Equal parts Carolans, Frangelico, Amaretto... and a splash of strawberry juice.

Tastes just like the ice cream.

yum.

it's all about the secret sauce

schmassion's costa rican version of a mexican black bean and corn salad

INGREDIENTS
corn
black beans, cooked but not mushy
tomatoe, diced
cilantro, shredded
lizano
salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Throw everything together.
2. Mix well.
3. Add salt and pepper and lizano to taste.
4. Let it sit for a bit.
5. Serve.

pom pom madness

Variation on a pom-pom theme

INGREDIENTS
pomegranate seeds
3-4 mint sprigs
1-2 tsp sugar
juice of half a lime
1 oz Stoli Razz
champagne

DIRECTIONS
1. muddle mint, sugar, lime (blah blah... )
2. add Stoli Razz, "juice" from muddled mixture and pomegranate seeds into a champagne flute
3. top with champagne
4. garnish with a mint sprig (if you want to get all fancy schmancy)

Pomegranate seeds will rise and fall with the champagne bubbles. For more pomegranate taste, add in a bit of fresh pom juice.

i'm going to iron chef yo' ass!

Sometimes it's because we have nothing better to do. Most times, it's just a ton of fun to get together and cook up a storm.

Today, IronChefBBQ vs. IronChefPaprika, in a rematch 10 years in the making.

Secret ingredient... pomegranates...

Pomegranate Stew with Chicken (Khoresh Fesenjan)*

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds chicken legs, cut up
1 white onion, thinly sliced
1/2 pound walnuts, toasted and finely ground in a food processor
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups pomegranate juice
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
2 tablespoons sugar

DIRECTIONS
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place chicken and onions in skillet, and cook 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix in pureed walnuts, salt, pomegranate juice, and cardamom. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. (If the sauce becomes too thick, stir in 1/4 cup warm water.) Mix in sugar, adjust seasoning, and simmer 30 minutes more.

"Chicken, onions, finely processed walnuts, and pomegranate juice are simmered to perfection. The sauce should be as thick as a good chili. Serve with saffron steamed basmati rice. Enjoy! If you prefer, substitute angelica powder for cardamom; instead of pomegranate juice, you can substitute 1/2 cup pomegranate paste diluted in 2 cups water."

Original recipe yield: 6 servings

PREP TIME 15 Min
COOK TIME 2 Hrs 30 Min
READY IN 2 Hrs 45 Min

*recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com