5 Simple Ingredients = Super Yummy Shortbread

Cookies…  While I’m not a big dessert person, I certainly enjoy a good brownie or cookie from time to time.  One of my all-time favs is a simple, butter shortbread cookie.  Yesterday, I needed to make some treats for a BBQ, so I decided to make some delicious shortbread.  What better way to have a cookie or two without being tempted to eat the entire batch over the next 24 hours!  I used Ina Garten’s recipe (found here).  I followed it pretty closely, except for shaping the cookies.   Ina suggested rolling out the dough and using a “finger shaped” cookie cutter.  I don’t have one of those, so I opted to go a simpler route. Take a look at my photo step-by-step to see it.

 

This simple recipe calls for only 5 simple ingredients: butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, and all-purpose flour.

 

I took the butter out of the fridge about an hour before making the cookies to allow it to come to room temperature. Then, I put the butter and sugar into my stand mixer and mixed until they were just combined.

 

Next, I added the vanilla and mixed that into the butter/sugar mixture.

 

Finally, I added the salt and flour and mixed until everything was well combined. The mixture was a bit crumbly, but that is just fine. It’s perfect, in fact.

 

I laid out two long pieces of plastic wrap on my kitchen counter and dumped the dough on to them. You can really see how crumbly the dough is in this picture. But don’t worry! It really is exactly how it’s supposed to be.

 

I formed a rough “log” shape out of the dough.

 

Then, I wrapped the dough in the plastic wrap and smoothed the surface of the “log.” Next, I put it into the fridge for 30 minutes.

 

After a little over 30 minutes, I removed the dough from the fridge, unwrapped it, and cut it into 1/2 cookies using a sharp knife. You can use a butter knife, but they can flatten the dough a bit. I find a sharp knife cuts without flattening the dough.

 

I put the cookies on a cookie sheet and baked the cookies for about 20 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven.

 

When they started to turn golden brown, I removed them from the oven.

 

I let them cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring the cookies to a cooling rack. I put my cookies a bit too close together (because I didn’t want to use a second cookie sheet), so I had to cut them before I removed them from the cookie sheet. But it was very easy since the cookies were still warm.

 

And, Voila! I had delicious shortbread cookies!

 

So yummy!  So simple!

What’s your favorite simple go-to treat?

 

Laurel Laurie Staten Nguyen Newhall, CA

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Phenomenal or Failure? It Depends On Who You Ask!

Last night, I experimented.  No, I didn’t create my own recipe, but I decided to make a new recipe which I found on the Internet last week while I was searching for dinner ideas.  It was super simple, and I had everything on hand.  It was easy to make, and I really liked it.

 

What’s the problem?  Only 2 out of the 5 people eating dinner considered it edible.  Not good… And it makes me wonder about my own taste level.  Do I like really weird or disgusting things?  I don’t think so, but OF COURSE I won’t think what I like is disgusting.

 

So I’m sharing this recipe with a warning.  I liked it, one of my sons liked it (he ate 3 pork chops!), but my husband and 2 of my sons thought it was inedible.  As much as I enjoyed it, I am not likely to make this dish again.

 

The not-so-popular with 3 family members pork chops.

 

Balsamic Pork Chops

 

Balsamic Vinegar

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Pork Chops or Pork Loin

 

Mix together equal parts of Balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  Tenderize pork chops, if using.  If using pork loin, you can cut up the loin into “chops” or marinade the entire loin.  Let marinade for 30 minutes.  Sprinkle salt and pepper on the chops, to taste.  Cook over medium-high heat until cooked through.

 

Here’s my photo step-by-step.  But, remember, I warned you that this dish is not loved by all.

 

I started with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, putting 1/3 cup of each in a small pyrex casserole pan.

 

I used a whisk to combine the oil and vinegar.

 

I cut up a pork loin into “chops,” then I cut the fat on the edge to prevent the “chop” from curling as it was cooked.

 

I tenderized each “chop” and placed it in the marinade.

 

After tenderizing the chops and placing them in the marinade, I let them sit for 30 minutes. Then I sprinkled salt and pepper on the chops and preheated a non-stick skillet with a little olive oil on medium-high heat.

 

I placed the chops in the pan, ensuring there was enough space between them that they didn’t steam. I wanted a nice golden brown outside.

 

After a few minutes, I flipped the chops and let them cook on the other side until they were cooked through.

 

Then I served them with broccoli and jasmine rice. I thought it was yummy. My husband? Not so much.

 

There you have it.  Not quite an epic fail, but the best dinner experience for our family.  Oops!

 

Have you ever had a dinner like that?  Where some people loved dinner and other people hated it? 

I’d love it if you’d share your experiences with me!

Chocolate Ganache: Epic Fail To Epic Save

Have I ever mentioned that I like to improvise when cooking?  Sometimes improvisation results in wonderful creations.  Other times, especially when working with temperamental ingredients, improvisation results in a big, yucky mess.  (Isn’t that the story of my life?!)

 

Last Saturday, I decided to make some chocolate truffles filled with chocolate ganache.  I’ve worked with chocolate before.  I make fudge almost every year and have been doing it for about a decade.  I felt pretty confident that I could follow the simple instructions for chocolate ganache.  I was wrong!  Very wrong!

 

“How wrong?” you ask.  Well, I made a tiny mistake and my ganache was a tiny bit grainy.  Just a tad bit.  I decided to “fix” it, and I ended up with this.

 

That is not fixed!

 

For you to truly appreciate my experience, I’m going to show you in a photo step-by-step how my hubris caused my epic fail.

 

I started with some simple ingredients. I knew that by using chocolate chips (which are already tempered) it would be a touch trickier, but how hard could it be?

 

I set up a double boiler by putting a bowl over a pot of water on the stove. I made sure that there was a pretty tight fit so that the steam didn’t cause the chocolate to “seize.” I turned the heat on medium (which I now realize was too hot), and let the chocolate melt.

 

Isn’t that pretty? No graininess, no seizing, just beautiful, melting chocolate.

 

I added my cream (which I realize now I should have heated first and then added the chocolate.  I guess I should read all of the instructions before I begin, huh?)…

 

It didn’t incorporate as well as I thought it would.

 

I kept whisking and it finally came together, but it was a touch grainy. I consulted the internet about how I can “save” ganache once this happens.

 

Those tips didn’t work. In fact, it got worse!

 

What was I going to do?  I didn’t want to waste perfectly good chocolate!  Thankfully, I found one website which explained that once your chocolate ganache is gone, it’s gone.  BUT… you can use it in other things, like cookies.  So I whipped up a basic oatmeal cookie recipe and spread it in a pyrex pan, like this…

 

 

I spread the chocolate mess over the top.

 

I spread the remaining cookie dough over the top and let it mix a bit with the chocolate. Then I put it in a 350 degree F oven for 20 minutes.

 

After 20 minutes, they were browning, so I removed them from the oven. They probably could have gone for another few minutes, but I like my cookies chewy.

 

And here they are! They were delicious, too!

 

I might have to mess up some chocolate ganache again and make these cookies!

 

Have you ever had an epic fail or an epic save?  I’d love to hear about it!

 

Laurel Laurie Staten Nguyen Newhall, CA