Hello, My Name Is ... & I'm A Chocoholic - Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'll admit I can't let a day go by without ingesting a piece of chocolate or two or three or more.  And it can't just be any chocolate, at least one of those pieces has to be dark chocolate - mmmMMM.  I thank Central & South America every day for being the originators of this little cacao bean and bringing such yummy goodness to my life.  Who knew that this little bean would bring such joy and addiction to millions (maybe even billions) of people across the globe?

As noted from a previous post, my body loves cookies so I decided to combine two of my favorite things and make chocolate chip cookies!  Last November, I made a little trip to Manhattan & Brooklyn to visit my "twin" and I demanded we stop by Jacques Torres Chocolates.  Mr. Torres is a renowned pastry chef and makes some of the most decadent chocolates around so of course it's a must to stop by his shop every time I make a visit out to The Big Apple.  His shop over in DUMBO is always bustling with people wanting to get a bite of that delicious chocolate goodness.  One of my twin's friends bought a chocolate chip cookie from the shop an shared it with everyone and it was one of the best chocolate chip cookies that has ever touched my palette!  Ever since then I have been wanting some more and now I've found his recipe!  Unfortunately I do not have any more of Jacques Torres' chocolate disks (NOTE to self - order a pack of those disks) so it's not the same but the ones I made here are still some of the best darned chocolate chip cookies I've had.  I dare you to make a batch and see if you can eat just one cookie!



Jacques Torres' Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups minus 2 tb cake flour
1 & 2/3 cups bread flour
1 & 1/4 ts baking soda
1 & 1/2 ts baking powder
1 & 1/2 ts coarse salt (I used sea salt)
1 & 1/4 cups unsalted butter, cold
1 & 1/4 cups light brown sugar
1 cup & 2 tb granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 ts vanilla extract
1 & 1/4 lb chocolate disks (at least 60% cacao)
Sea salt


- Combine and sift flours, baking soda & powder, and salt into a bowl.
- In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugars until creamy and fluffy.  About 4-5 minutes.
- Add one egg at a time and incorporate well after each addition.
- Add vanilla extract and mix.
- On low speed, add flour mixture and mix until just combined.
- Carefully add chocolate disks without breaking them.
- Now here comes the most difficult part (especially for those with no patience like yours truly) - Chill dough for 24 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Grab a spoonful of dough, roll into a golf-sized ball and place on baking sheet.
- Sprinkle a little sea salt on top of cookie.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes.



   

Egg In The Hole!

I stopped by one of my favorite bakeries the other day and came out with one of my favorite breads - rosemary semolina bread.  It is one of the most perfect specimens of bread I have ever had!  There's so many things I can do with the loaf so today I chose to take a slice and make Egg In Hole Toast.  It was absolutely scrumptious and an egg-cellent way to start my day - protein, carbs and dairy.  I'm so glad with this route because I definitely needed that energy to keep up with 14+ children between the ages of 5 and 7 during Children's Worship.   


 
Doesn't the flecks of rosemary embedded in the bread and sea salt on the crust look scrumptious?





Egg In Hole Toast 

1 ts frozen butter
1 1" slice of bread
1 egg
2 tb Parmesan cheese


- Use a 1-2" round cookie cutter and stamp a hole into the middle of the slice of bread.  Take the hole out.  I like to collect the holes and stick them into the freezer until I have enough to make croutons or bread crumbs.
- Heat pan on medium-low to medium heat.
- Add butter and place the bread on top of the butter.
- Crack egg into the hole of the bread.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes depending on how you like your eggs.
- Flip toast over, sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top of the toast and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

 Ooey gooey Egg In Hole Toast!!!  Mmmm...I could eat another one right now if it weren't for the fact that my fridge is currently void of eggs.

Spice In My Life - Mapo Tofu

It's been raining quite a bit as of late and it makes everything appear so drab and boring.  What to do when things get boring?  Add some spice in for my taste buds!  I decided to make some mapo tofu because it contains a) tofu, b) ground pork, c) spice!!  It turned out Ah-mazing if I do say so myself.  Here's a looksie and the recipe.

Mapo Tofu

Vegetable / Canola oil

1/2 lb ground pork

4 cloves garlic, minced

2-3 tb spicy bean paste (found in Asian supermarkets)  

1 package soft to medium tofu, sliced into small 1/2" to 3/4" cubes

3/4 cup broth

2 stalks green onion, chopped

1/8 cup cornstarch water

- Add oil to pan and heat on medium-low to medium heat.

- Brown ground pork, breaking it into pieces.

- Add garlic and saute until pork is completely cooked.

- Add spicy bean paste and cubed tofu and mix well.  Use 3 tb of the spicy bean paste if you want a real big kick.

- Add broth and let simmer for 7-10 minutes.

- Add green onion and cornstarch water and mix until the broth is creamy in consistency.

- Serve with rice and devour!

 

I decided to enjoy mine with a side of seaweed on the side.  D-e-licious!