Recipe Review....Helpful Hints from Cuisine At Home Magazine, Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was reading the June 2013 issue of Cuisine At Home Magazine and came across a question from a reader in regard to chocolate chip cookies.  They wanted to know, why, if following the same exact recipe their chocolate chip cookies would turn out differently.  Sometimes they were thin and crispy and other times thick and chewy.  I must say I have wondered that at times myself.  They seem to turn out different every time.
So what was their answer?
It has to do with the temperature of the ingredients, and how the dough is mixed and handled.  So how do you overcome this variable? Their answer, "chill the dough until it is very cold".  This "allows the fat to stay firm to aid in the shape of the cookie and allows the proteins to relax and the liquid to absorb, giving your cookie better texture and flavor" They also suggest making sure that your cookie sheet is at room temp and not hot or you defeat the purpose.
Ok lets give it a try.  I picked up the Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, gathered my ingredients  and mixed my dough

I decided, for scientific purposes, to make one batch from the fresh batch without the chilling. The result is seen below. Tasty but flat cookies...

I chilled the dough for several hours and placed the dough on a room temp cookie sheet and popped them in the over...

It really did produce a better texture.  They were moist and chewy with more fullness.
Here is a picture from the magazine of a side by side comparison...I guess they know what they are talking about...Yummy Goodness:-)

So next time you make chocolate chip cookies try chilling the dough and see what happens.  For me it made all the difference.
Happy Cooking Everyone!
Enjoy Your World:-)

Recipe Review...Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

This is an easy 3 ingredient recipe that I will be sure to make again.  Simple and tasty.  I will have to give it a 10/10 on my cooking scale....Slow Cooker Pulled Pork....

I studied the recipe...

1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin (I used Pork Boneless Center Loin) 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle root beer (Good ole A& W) 1 (18 ounce) bottle your favorite barbecue sauce (KC Master Piece Hickory and Brown Sugar) 8 hamburger buns

DIRECTIONS:

Place the pork tenderloin in a slow cooker; pour the root beer over the meat. Cover and cook on low until well cooked and the pork shreds easily, 6 to 7 hours. Note: the actual length of time may vary according to individual slow cooker. Drain well. Stir in barbecue sauce. Serve over hamburger buns.

I gathered my ingredients and started cooking...

Removed the pork from the crockpot, removed the fat, shredded the meat with a couple of forks, and the BBQ sauce and it was ready.....Easy and Yummy!!

Would I make this again?  Yes!!! Really good and my Souther Slaw Recipe is a great side to serve with it, or in my case, on it:-)
Happy Cooking Everyone!!!

(Enjoy Your World:-)

Recipe Review...Asian Beef with Snow Peas from all recipes.com

I discovered a new magazine.  New to me, but also new to the world....All Recipes Magazine.  I have a sample of their new magazine and decided to make one of their "Ready in Minutes" meals one night after work.  I attempted Asian Beef with Snow Peas (in my case canned peas:-).

I studied the recipe...

3 tablespoons soy sauce 2 tablespoons rice wine (I did not have rice wine so I searched for a subsitution on line and they said to use white wine.  I used Pinot Grigio.  Next time I think I will add a sweeter wine) 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root 1 tablespoon minced garlic (I used garlic powder) 1 pound beef round steak, cut into thin  strips (I just bought the meat alreay sliced for stir fry.  I think next time I will add a bit more beef) 8 ounces snow peas (I used canned peas drained of course)

(I also made instant white rice.  Made 6 servings and mixed everything into that to serve.
I also doubled the sauce ingredients which was perfect for the amount of rice I had made)
I gathered my ingredients and got to cooking...

Remember to double the sauce...

 Nothing more enjoyable then sipping a glass of wine and putting together a new recipe:-)

 Ginger?  What do I do with this?  When in doubt...google.  Went online to find out how to mince my ginger.  It is easy.  Cut away the outside to get to the light yellow ginger cut into strips and mince away with your knife.  Easy!

So what do I rate this on a my cooking scale?  I would have to give it an 8/10.  It is quick and easy and a nice meal to make after a long day at work.

The thing I like about this new magazine is that they give suggestions from other cooks on how to adapt the recipe...Here are a few of their suggestions..

*Use rice wine vinegar not rice wine

*Increase the amount of meat

*Double the sauce

*Add mushrooms or water chestnuts

*If you want to learn more about this recipe and get more helpful hints go to All recipes.com. 

(Happy Cooking Everyone from Caleb and Nana:-)

Enjoy Your World!

New Burlap Table Runner/Valentines Day 2013

It was Valentine's Day.  How should we celebrate?  Well let's see....first lets decorate the table.  A few weeks ago I had ordered a table runner from The Burlap and Lace Place on Esty.com. Below is a photo from their site.  I had the option of having it monogrammed but I preferred the simplicity of just the lace and the burlap.  I will add that customer service at this site was great.  When the owner saw that I did not put in any info on a desired monogram she wrote me right away to make sure that I had not forgotten to add this to my order.  She was happy to make it anyway I wanted it and it arrived at my door very quickly and I love it:-)

See how pretty?

Lets add some flowers....

Have to have chocolate and gifts....

Dinner had to be special but simple...(Since I had not been feeling well I assisted Josh in the cooking of the day and it turned out wonderful.  He should cook every week:-)

Lobster and Filet Mignon

Time to eat....yum...

What a wonderful Valentines day.  (We did miss Tim and Erica.  They were in Vegas riding 4 wheelers in the red rock desert....poor things:-)

Few pictures of family...Steph and Caleb enjoying some time together...

I had to add Caleb's first school photo below.....

What a wonderful day.  What a beautiful table runner.

Enjoy your family!

Enjoy Your World!

Kathiey:-)

If you need a really nice table runner I suggest you try The Burlap and Lace Place!

Recipe Review...Southern Slaw from Southern Lady Magazine

Last weekend I tried probably 4 new recipes.  Lots of fun but not all make the 8/10 cooking score cut.  One that did make the grade last week was simple and very good....Southern Slaw from Southern Lady Magazine.  Really easy.  It would be great to take along on a summer picnic.

I studied the recipe....

Ingredients

1 cup Mayonnaise

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup sugar 

1 tsp of salt (I added maybe a half a teaspoon)

2, 16oz packs of tricolored coleslaw mix (I think I did one and a half)

Directions

*In a medium bowl, combine mayo, vinegar, sugar and salt.

*In a large bowl combine mayo mixture and cole slaw mix.

Stir to combine.

*Cover and marinate for 2 hours in the refrigerator.

I gathered my ingredients...

Served with Steak, homemade apple sauce and peas.  Pretty yummy:-)

Another very nice Sunday meal.  A couple of hours later Joe. Caleb and I headed out for a bit of post meal exercise.  Joe and Caleb took off on the bike and I ran the trail.  Fun day with family.

Caleb in deep thought after his bike ride:-)

Happy Cooking Everyone!

Enjoy Your World:-)

Recipe Review....Key Lime Pie VII from Allrecipes.com

I have many recipes that I want to try saved on my Pinterest board.  I thought it was high time I got started.   I decided to try Key Lime Pie VII and Better Then Ever Cheesy Meat Lasagna.  Both sounded wonderful.  Only one of the two made my 8/10 cooking scale rating and that was the Key Lime Pie.  The Lasagna was fine, we did not waste any of it, but I would rate it maybe a 6/10.  So here goes with the pie....

I studied the recipe I found on All Recipes... You will see my adjustments and hints in blue:-)

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cook Time: 8 Minutes (cook time for me was longer around 13 minutes)

Ready In: 55 Minutes

Servings: 8  

INGREDIENTS:

1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust 3 cups sweetened condensed milk (2 of the small cans is all you need) 1/2 cup sour cream

3/4 cup key lime juice (I used "real lime juice") 1 tablespoon grated lime zest (I did not use the zest)

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.	In a medium bowl, combine condensed milk, sour cream, lime juice, and lime rind. Mix well and pour into graham cracker crust.
3.	Bake in preheated oven for 5 to 8 minutes(13 for me), until tiny pinhole bubbles burst on the surface of pie. DO NOT BROWN! Chill pie thoroughly before serving. Garnish with lime slices and whipped cream if desired.

I gathered my ingredients...only a few so really easy!

Mixed everything together...

Poured the mixture in the prepared graham cracker crust....and into the oven...

The directions tell you to look for tiny pinhole bubbles.  I was not seeing any bubbles at the 8 minute cooking time they suggested.  When I read the reviews on this recipe most folks ended up cooking it longer.  My cooking time was around 13 minutes....see the pinholes in the photo below?...

A bit hard to see but they are there...The recipe says to garnish with lime slices and whipped cream.  Have you ever thought you had a great idea only to have it fall flat?  That is what happened to me when I attempted to garnish this pie.  My great idea...I will use Reddi Wip, its easy and tastes yummy and I can have the pie looking great in a matter of seconds.  Wrong!

It may have looked nice to begin with....

Looks fine, but I did not take into account all the air in Reddi Wip....in a matter of seconds all the fancy swirls were gone, and what was left had melted down the sides of the pie.  Was still good but not pretty.

Here we are a few days later.  Only a small piece of pie left and no Reddi Whp in sight.  I wonder where it went? Evaporated completely I guess!  I will re-garnish with a few blueberries..much better....

So what did I learn?  Cooking time is a bit longer then it called for and do not use Reddi Wip to garnish your pie:-)  I think I will go with Cool Whip next time it tends to hold up better...
I would rate this pie a 8.5/10.  I thought it was a good tart/sweet pie and it was easy to make.  It would be great served with fresh berries.
We gave Caleb a bite of the pie. He made the sour face and started to run away.  He made it a few steps, hesitated, turned around and said "hmmmmm" and came back for more.  I think the lime hit him first and then the sweetness:-)

(Photo taken by Josh Orihood

Master Photographer

He needs to give his Mother-in-law lessons:-)

Happy Cooking Everyone!

Enjoy Your World:-)