pancakes - beginning of a great (fat) relationship

Don't get me wrong- I absolutely love my roommate M, but there's a few things I wish I could change about her. Most importantly: I wish she ate more of my frickin food. I mean, I can eat only so many brownies and cookies by myself before I turn into a fat pig. (And honestly, a lot of these delicious baked goods that I make are either thrown away or indulged by me on my "fat kid days"). This leads me to my next statement: (once again- no diss to M, but..) I love my new roommate A!


Okay- I love both my roomies to fucking death, that's a given. But the reason I'm excited to have A move in is because she loves to eat! She enjoys food just as much as me, she watched the Food Network just as much as me, and she more willing than myself to indulge on the types of food I make. Yayyy!


Bright and early one morning, we wake up and I see her wandering through the kitchen looking for something to eat. I typically don't eat when I first wake up (ironic, seeing as how breakfast is my ultimate favorite meal of the day), but I figured I'd whip up our first breakfast as official roommates. (Notice I said roommates, because obvi this bitch has been baking and cooking with me for ages: White Chocolate and Lime Cookies, Banana Cream Pie, Key Lime Pie, Caramel Nut Chocolate Tart, and so much more).


If anyone is keeping track here, this would be my second time making pancakes, ever, even from a box. (First time was the Whole Wheat Pancakes at my parents' house). Seeing as how I'm partially a pancake virgin, I asked A to take over the flipping at first. (Note her talented hand pouring the batter.)


After a bit of practice, I decided to take my attempt at batter-pouring. Apparently I'm not quite much of a pancake pro yet, but I'm definitely on my way. (And yes- it wouldn't be my type of breakfast without a little bit of chocolate).


For once, I looked upon a huge batch of food I just created, and wasn't worried as to what I would do with it. Luckily, my tiny little roommate A (whom I have no fricken clue as to how she can stay that small while eating so much) will help me greatly in the consumption of this pile of flapjacks.


As A went through pancake after pancake, I finally brought myself to eating just one pancake for breakfast (chocolate chip, of course). I typically try to stay away from too much sweets (which is practically impossible actually), but whatever- I mean, one pancake can't be that bad for you, right?


Okay... One turned into two... Two turned into three... And then my memory just blacked out. These were pretty damn decent pancakes for being made from scratch in literally three minutes.


A and myself made a pretty huge dent in those eight servings (pshh, no way that was eight servings) of flapjacks.


And so this concludes the beginning of happy relationship in our new household.

---RECIPE---
Taken from All Recipes: "Good Old Fashioned Pancakes".

ingredients:
1+1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3+1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1+1/4 cups milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted

directions:
1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.

2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

amount:
Makes 8 servings.

tiramisu - granting the final of the trifecta

The day before I left for California, my boyfriend and I contemplated what to bake for the day (seeing as how we both needed our daily fix of sweets). My boyfriend, as predictable as he is, generally craves the same things. Besides the good ol' chocolate chip cookies and chewy chunky blondies, he's constantly on the request for red velvet cake, napoleons, or tiramisu. While I've granted him both the red velvet cake and the napoleon, I still have yet to make a tiramisu for him. What a poor, deprived baby.


Truth is, I've made tiramisu before (while at my parents' house over last winter break). It came out decadent and delicious, and quite possibly equal to the tiramisus I've tasted in Italy.


The reason why I've never made tiramisu at home is simple- money. Go and call me cheap, but when a recipe calls for 1.5 pounds of mascapone cheese (up to $4 for a single 8 oz. cup), more than 50 lady fingers, and a ton of heavy whipping cream, tell me you wouldn't do the same and put this pricey cost upon your parents.


Well I guess my boyfriend was craving tiramisu to the ultimate extreme that he was willing to forgo these pricey costs just to have a slice. But once I mentioned to him that there was a minimum 24 hour wait before taste time (which from my last experience I'm capable of attesting to this fact), he slowly surrendered.


In any case, we ended up baking the cookies and the blondies, for which I would bring half to my family in California. My conniving boyfriend on the other hand waited patiently for my return so we could finish up on his request. We spent the entire day preparing this boozy Italian cake, and then waited the allotted 24 hour span for it meld. (And yes, I was a tiramisu nazi making sure he didn't sneak a slice when I wasn't looking.)


When the appropriate time arrived, I cut him a big ol' slice of tiramisu. His eyes watched in amazement as these layers of cake and cream that he really did help create, magically transformed into this famous Italian "pick me up".


The taste was just as delicious as the first time I made it, (maybe even more, because I had a delicious boy helping me create it).

---RECIPE---
Taken from Cook's Illustrated.

Recipe found here.

chewy chunky blondies - trying to satisfy all parties is impossible

So, do you think my boyfriend was happy after I stole half of his batch of chocolate chip cookies to give to my relatives in California? Hmm, not so much. What about when I told him I was baking another batch of cookies for my family to sample? Probably, but not until he heard they were oatmeal raisin cookies (supposedly one of his most hated type of cookie). So what to do with a grouch pants that is in dire need of baked goodness? Resort to the best- My famous chunky, chewy blondies. Absolutely deelish' and positively going to satisfy my boyfriend.


The recipe is fairly simple and easy to make (well, it also helps that I've made these blondies numerous times before).


Ahh, the familiar look of these little square nuggets of gold. I don't think I'll ever get sick of these blondies. The texture and flavor combined is exactly perfect, and sure to satisfy any chewy chocolate chip cookie lover.


The only real dilemma was how to portion the amount of blondies for each party. I mean, I want to give my boyfriend all the blondies his heart desires, but at the same time I want to have enough presents to give to my family in California. Decisions, decisions.


Well, my boyfriend will just have to survive with half a batch of blondies and half a batch of chocolate chip cookies (damn, I am such a horrible girlfriend). Needless to say, my boyfriend was not so happy about this ordeal, but my family on the other hand, well they seemed to love these blondies just as much as the rest of us.

---RECIPE---

Recipe found here.

the ny times cookie - attempting to fool a die hard fan

My boredom typically gets the best of me. I am constantly searching for new types of entertainment (usually always in the form of food). What better way to get through a typically boring day other than to pull a fast one on my boyfriend, and trick him with his "favorite" chocolate chip cookie. Yeah, you heard me- I'm going to willingly trick my boyfriend... and enjoy it. We'll definitely show him who's boss. And besides that, I've been meaning to try out this recipe. There's way too much hype about these cookies online to ignore.


So apparently we've been flip-flopping from one cookie to the next. Recall the original cookie-bake-off? All four of those cookies (which apparently, my boyfriend so immensely adored the Cook's Illustrated one) are now running competitors.


We've started off with the Cook's Illustrated as the favorite. And then I pulled the first fast one by presenting him Alton Brown's "The Chewy", which he soon thereafter moved on to. I did throw in the Neiman Marcus cookie, for shits and giggles, mostly because I knew he'd know they were different.


But now- alas, the prominent New York Times Cookie! The one that stated an exact amount of a full 72 hours in the refrigerator (which, to my fault, could be the reason he disliked them the most the first try). Shall we try this recipe again, but to the T? I think so...


And so, as the process endued, I began to notice slight differences. And yes, I did also have half a leftover batch of "The Chewy" which I used that as a comparison (the fact that it is a leftover batch is obvious given the use of white chocolate chips for Mr. Picky).


In the cookie dough alone, you can notice obvious differences. The NY Times cookie is much darker in appearance, and had a firmer texture than The Chewy. Even the cookies after baking their given times and degrees lead to this stark difference in color.


And after further examination you can notice The Chewy (left) is actually more puffy than anything. It appears as if the inside had prompted the outer shell to expand so much as to form large cracks down the edges. The NY Times cookie (right) on the other hand, appears calm and collected, free of scars and breakage.


So this was the NY Times cookie, with all its spoiled 72+ hours of refrigeration, its two different types of flour, and a brand name attached to it. His dark appearance and flat surface intrigued me. The exterior was so perfect; so round and compact- Basically, they were ready to be eaten.


After enough trickery on my behalf, my boyfriend no longer easily falls for my schemes. He noticed the difference (obviously, I just rambled on for hours of the drastic appearance change), and quickly found out my plan. It didn't take him much to willingly participate in my cookie taste-off, though.


As we both armed each hand with the two types of cookies, we realized we had the end of our chocolate chip cookie quest in sight. We will finally come to a conclusive answer as to which chocolate chip cookie really is the best. And the winner is? Truthfully, all the cookies are great- they really just depend on our moods and the person tasting them. Although my boyfriend and I did choose this cookie as our favorite, I wouldn't be surprised if our opinions changed for the next cookie.

---RECIPE---
Taken from The NY Times.

ingredients:
2 cups minus 2 tablespoons cake flour
1+2/3 cups bread flour
1+1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1+1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1+1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2+1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1+1/4 cups light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
1+1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (I just used regular chocolate chips.)
Sea salt (Omitted.)

directions:
1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours. (Finally! A recipe supporting refrigerating dough.)
3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
4. Scoop 6 3+1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.

amount:
Makes 1+1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies. (I made more that were much smaller in size.)