Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I've had some issues with my internet provider and have had to make countless calls to their customer service line.  I am going to make a strong statement here and say that they have THE WORST on-hold music ever.  It's like some electronic power music that hits some pretty heavy interference about half-way through, so it sounds more like a windstorm than music.  It's even worse than the overly peppy acapella groups that Loyola uses.  Luckily this morning I wasn't put on hold as long as I usually am (upwards of 20 minutes) and I only had to suffer through about five minutes worth of the electronic-power-windstorm.

Speaking of windstorms, Chicago was hit by a pretty awful storm a few days back.  It hit at the perfect (not) time when I had to drive my friends to the train station.  Thank you for that impeccable timing, thunderstorm.  We had perfect weather the next day, though, which was much appreciated because we had my grandparents over for their birthdays.  My dad made BBQ pork chops with all the fixings and then we bought an eclair cake for dessert.  My grandma can't do dairy, though, so I made her these cookies so she could eat something with us.

These are a permutation of Jessica's Brown Butter Chocolate-Stuffed Toffee Cookies.  I didn't have any toffee chips on hand, so I went with just chocolate and re-named them.  I highly recommend making these or any of the other cookies on Jessica's website.  I may or may not have made most of them repeatedly.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Ingredients:


1 1/2 sticks butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg + 1 yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups + 2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
chocolate chunks/chips


Directions:


Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and salt.


In a small saucepan, melt the butter, whisking constantly.  Continue to whisk until brown bits are at the bottom.  Remove from heat immediately (butter burns fast) and let cool 10-15 minutes.


Mix the butter with the two sugars.  Add the eggs and vanilla.  Mix in the flour mixture until a dough forms.  It will be crumbly, so use your hands to mix it all together.  Roll about 1 tbsp of dough into a ball and press chocolate chip into the center.  Top with another 1 tbsp dough ball and place on baking sheet.


Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Coconut Bars

These bar cookies were truly made with love.  I had a family dinner at my grandparent's house and although my grandma is the queen of cookies (I learned everything I know from her) I volunteered to bring dessert.  

This recipe had me at peanut butter.  And chocolate chip.  And coconut.  

Yowza.

I usually keep a bit of whatever I bake for myself, but I sent the entire batch to my grandparents.  I knew that I would have about zero control with them in the house, and my last doctor's appointment showed me that I need a little control.  Like five pounds worth.

I was more than happy to bring the entire batch and share them with people that I love.  Make these pronto and share with the loved ones in your life!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Coconut Bars

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut

2/3 cup chocolate chips

1 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare a 8x8 baking dish.  In a bowl, mix together the flour, salt and baking powder.  Set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, cream together the sugar, butter and peanut butter.  Add the eggs and vanilla, scraping down the sides.  Put the mixer on low speed and add the flour mixture.  Fold in the chocolate and coconut.

Pour the batter into the baking dish, smoothing it evenly.  Bake 30 minutes, or until the center is browned and the edges darken.

Source: Confessions of a Cookbook Queen

Date-Nut Overnight Oats

I really wish I was a morning person.  I look enviously at all those people who get up nice and early and squeeze in a workout before finally hunkering down for breakfast.  They're probably the same people who organize closets and successfully avoid impulse magazine buys while waiting in the check-out line at the grocery store.

I like quick breakfasts because when I wake up in the morning the last thing I want to do is spend a long time making breakfast.  Overnight oats are great because they're fast and require minimal clean-up.  That's my main gripe about scrambled eggs.  They cook up quickly, but I always find cleaning the pan a pain in the you-know-what.

I usually mix just about anything into my oats (coconut is surprisingly tasty) and one of my absolute favorite mix-ins are chopped dates.  This one combines dates with chopped walnuts and warm cinnamon and nutmeg.  

Date-Nut Overnight Oats

Ingredients:

1/3 cup old-fashioned oats

1/3 cup milk

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cinnamon

chopped dates

chopped walnuts

Directions:

Combine the oats, milk, nutmeg and cinnamon in a bowl.  Let chill in the refrigerator over night.  In the morning, mix in the dates and walnuts.  

The Haircut

Lots of exciting things happened this weekend.  My dad officially moved into his new office.  I got bangs.  And I drove expressways for the first time and didn't kill a single person!

I know that expressway driving is pretty much like regular driving, only at higher speeds, but it still terrifies me.  It's the merging that gets me.  Cars going 65-70 mph are going REALLY fast.  And when you're the type of person who won't do a left hand turn unless practically no cars are visible, merging poses a bit of a problem.  I did it, though, and it should make driving to law school (hello expressways!)  a little more comfortable.

Anyway, let's get to the important part of this post.  I mentioned earlier that I broke down and got bangs.  I was convinced that I would regret them, but I don't!  I brought in a picture of Zooey Deschanel this time so my hairdresser knew exactly what I wanted, and I absolutely love my new haircut.  Fingers crossed that I like it as much when I style it myself!

So, did you guys do anything exciting this weekend?

Mediterranean Couscous with Olives and Artichokes

Yesterday I spent the entire day helping my dad move his office down a floor in the hospital.  It was hours of lifting boxes and pulling carts.  Oh boy, I hurt in places I didn't even know it was possible to hurt.  I'm counting this as my daily workout, because my butt hurts WAY more than it does after sets of squats.  So, there you go.

I know posts have been less frequent here, and it's basically because I'm home and no longer cooking like a beast.  My mom makes most of the meals (we're the typical nuclear family) and I feel weird making us wait ten minutes before eating so I can snap pictures.  Not that my family would mind.  My dad always makes these weird salad concoctions (believe me, they are NASTY) and goes, 'Liz, want to take a picture of this for your blog?'.  I usually tell him that since most of the world lacks his iron stomach and affinity for gherkins, I'd better steer clear.

This salad made me think of him, though.  He's notorious for making salads with all the odds and ends in our fridge.  Marinated artichokes.  Pickles.  Left over pork.  Doesn't matter what it is -- it'll go in the salad and be smothered in Western dressing.  This couscous salad doesn't involve pickles or Western dressing (Thank God), but it does have a bit of everything in it.  Mixed together with fresh basil and a light balsamic vinaigrette, it's the perfect summer meal.

Mediterranean Couscous with Olives and Artichokes

1 2/3 cup Israeli couscous
1 tbsp olive oil
1 3/4 cup water
1/2 cup sliced olives
1 cup chickpeas, rinsed
5 artichoke hearts, quartered 
1/4 cup chopped sundried tomatoes (not packed in oil)
1 cucumber, quartered and sliced
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
salt/pepper


Directions:


Cook couscous according to directions on package.


Combine all the ingredients, up to the balsamic vinegar.  In a small bowl, whisk together the balsamic and olive oil until emulsified.  Pour into the couscous mixture and toss to coat.  Serve either on its own or with a main dish.

Turkey Burgers with Basil Mayonnaise

I'm not a big burger person.  I never order them at restaurants, and even when I was a kid I would order chicken strips over a burger any day.  I actually went through a huge chicken strip phase when I was a kid, where I refused to eat anything else if we went out.  We had a trip to Disney one summer and I proceeded to order chicken strips at every restaurant that we went to.  I believe this was the same trip where I was afraid of birds and would run for cover every time I saw one.  In case you didn't know, Florida has A LOT of birds.

Anyway, I was never a big burger person until I made these turkey burgers.  I literally ate them for every meal the week I made them, and it wasn't only because I made six and I was the only person in my apartment.  I actually looked forward to them.  I would count down the minutes until five o'clock, when I could make dinner without feeling like an old lady with dentures and hip issues.

I know I always say, 'You hhhaavvee to make *insert food here*!!!', but this time I'm serious.

You hhhaavvee to make these burgers!!!

They're moist and flavorful, and the basil mayonnaise is the perfect compliment.  And then you have the fontina cheese and some buns, and I'm just about ready to head down to the courthouse and marry the whole thing.  It's that good.

Turkey Burgers with Basil Mayonnaise

Ingredients:


For the burgers:
1 lb ground turkey
1 zucchini, grated
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tbsp mixed dried herbs (basil-oregano-parsley)
salt/pepper


For the basil mayonnaise:
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice


For assembly:
6 hamburger buns
4 oz fontina cheese, sliced
6 romaine leaves


Directions:


In a bowl, mix together the ground meat, bread crumbs, grated zucchini, herbs, salt and pepper.  Form into six equal patties and place on a prepared baking sheet.  Broil the burgers 8 minutes on each side.  Add the cheese and broil for 1 minute.


While the burgers cook, whisk together the mayonnaise, basil, lemon zest and juice.  


For assembly, spread the mayonnaise on the bottom half of the bun.  Add the burger, romaine leaf and the top of the burger bun.  


And enjoy!

Grilled Pork Sandwich with Fontina

I have to apologize in advance for the awful pictures that will accompany this post.  I made this sandwich for dinner and took the pictures in that witching hour when each picture you takes get progressively worse, and considering that the first one wasn't all that spectacular, it's not a pretty...well...picture.

Anyway, don't let the subpar pictures fool you.  This sandwich is easily one of the tastiest things that I have made in the past month.  The pork is nice and flavorful, and the basil mayonnaise may just be my new favorite condiment.  And I don't even like mayonnaise.

I used my leftovers from the Herb-crused Pork Chops for this, but you could easily whip up a batch just for these sandwiches.  Believe me, you'll want to have it more than once.

Grilled Pork Sandwich with Fontina

Ingredients:


2 Herb-crusted Pork Chops
1 large baguette, halved and sliced into quarters
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp lemon juice
4 oz fontina cheese, sliced
romaine lettuce


Directions:


In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, basil and lemon juice.  Spread the mixture on both sides of the baguette quarters.  Layer on the cheese, romaine and the pork.  


Source:  Slightly adapted from Giada's Weeknight Meals