Channel TxVoodoo

White Chocolate Key Lime Cookies

txvoodoo — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 01:45:32 GMT

2 of my hubby's favorite things are Key Limes and white chocolate. He loves these cookies. I adapted it from about 3 recipes - 1 for key lime cookies, 1 for white chocolate, 1 for regular lime cookies.

White Chocolate Lime Cookies
Yield 5 dozen cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, softened (sometimes, if I don't have unsalted,I use salted. If I do that, I cut down the salt to 1/8th teaspoon)

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon Key lime juice

1 tablespoon Key lime zest

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 – 12 oz bag white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two sheet pans with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, mix sugar and butter until combined but not fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time (I am anal and break my eggs individually before I add in. If you've ever had a bad egg, you know why I do it.)

In a small bowl, mix vanilla, lime juice and lime zest. Add to sugar/butter/eggs. Mix to combine.

Whisk together flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. (I sift them together. That guarantees that they're thorougly blended)

Mix into creamed mixture until just combined. Fold in the white chocolate chips.

Shape the dough into 1″ to 1.5" balls, and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the centers are just set. (My oven is erratic. I set the timer for 8 mins, and keep checking.)

Allow to sit on the pan for three minutes before moving to wire racks. (I don't do this. I slide right off the paper onto racks, let them sit there for @8 mins, then into an airtight container. If you let them sit on the pan, they keep cooking and get too crisp for our tastes)

Recipe - Chewy Lemon Sugar Cookies

txvoodoo — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 04:04:38 GMT

My cookie making continues! These are REALLY yummy - just a nice bit of tang but not overwhelming, and not overly sweet.

Chewy Lemon Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Zest of one large lemon, finely minced

4 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup sugar for rolling cookies

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Using a mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth and very fluffy.

Beat in egg, vanilla extract, lemon juice and lemon zest.

Gradually blend in the dry ingredients.

Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and roll in sugar. Place on lined cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned.

Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

Note: my oven is...random, so I set the timer for 7 mins and kept checking. It ended up being around 9.5 mins for total doneness, but keep checking yours.

These are chewy, but not uber-soft. A nice level of resistance!
Makes approximately 24-30 cookies depending on size

cooking mmmm

txvoodoo — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 01:08:52 GMT

I just made this: Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Sage

I didn't have sage, so substituted basil w/ some parsley. OMG so good. I let the gnocchi brown a tiny bit in the pan - worth it.

I found this via FoodGawker.

Another family recipe - our tomato sauce

txvoodoo — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 04:23:16 GMT

Our family's sauce isn't like anything you buy in a jar. None of this "family style", "chunky traditional" - nope, to us, traditional means "cooked a HELLA long time, slowly."

No question about it - it takes a while. But it's WORTH it. And, like the pesto, this can be frozen and used months and months later, and for many things other than pasta sauce - soup bases, eggplant/chicken parmagiano, lasagna, etc.

If you're of a cooking mindset, try making this sauce at least once, and then tell me if it isn't awesome sauce, literally!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil

3 cloves garlic, chopped

4 cups of canned Italian plum tomatoes, drained and chopped, or 2 pounds fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper (or, ya know, not freshly ground :D I'm not a pepper monkey (tm Top Chef), so I'm not as picky)

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Directions:

Heat the oil in a skillet or saucepan. Add the garlic and cook just until it's soft - about 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, and the parsley.

Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until hot - but make sure the tomatoes still have their shape - i.e. they haven't gone mushy. (SEE NOTES BELOW - this was the original recipe which we have been ignoring for at least 75 years)

Add the oregano at the last minute.

NOTES:
Now, here's the trick. WE NEVER cook it for just 2-3 minutes. That gives you that chunky psuedo-homestyle sauce.

From my aunt's notes: "If you cook them for 20 minues, the sauce is thick, velvety and rich in taste, producing an exceptional smooth sauce. Further cooking reduces them still more and concentrates the flavor."

IT'S TRUTH.

So, here's what I do, which is what my aunt did, and my grandmother. And probably on back :D

We start off the process in a BIG pot. We double or triple the recipe. Then, when we get to the 3rd step, we lower the heat way down, till it's just simmering. We cook that down, and down. Maybe 30 minutes? Maybe more - it's an experimentation thing. TRICK: Put the lid on the pot. Stir every few minutes, or so.

Yeah, it takes longer. IT'S WORTH IT. Your tastebuds will SING. You will hate to use Ragu, Prego, etc again.

ETA: And, as I said below in comments - I kinda hestitated to say how long I have been known to cook this. I've gone as long as 4 hours, with a tripled recipe. It ends up being like tomato ambrosia.

Notice that there's no sugar in this recipe? Yeah. When you cook something down this much, it gains a sweetness all its own. You don't need the sugar.

Variations:

Meat sauce: Remove skin from 1 pound Italian sausage - sweet, hot, or both. Crumble the sausage meat into 1/4 cup of dry red or white wine, or dry or sweet vermouth. Cook until the wine has evaporated and the sausage is lightly browned. Pour off the fat and add the meat to the sauce.

More veggie: 1/4 green bell pepper, diced and 1/2 onion, sliced. Saute this with the garlic in the oil. Continue rest of recipe as above.

Again, you can freeze this. I'll post some recipes later that you can make using this.

Recipe: Pesto

txvoodoo — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 22:39:20 GMT

For silverthoughts

Ingredients #1
1 cup fresh basil, tightly packed
1 cup parsley (Italian, if possible), tightly packed
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup pine nuts (may also be called pinoli or pignoli)
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese (or other good-quality Romano cheese with bite)
1/4 cup olive oil

Instructions:

Place the ingredients listed above the olive oil in a food processor - blend to a paste. (If it seems it's not working well, drizzle in 1 tablespoon of olive oil to lubricate)

Add the rest of the olive oil in dribbles, until the mixture has the consistency of thick cream.

Notes:

This can be frozen. We'd put a single-serving (about 1/4 to 1/6th of this recipe) in a plastic baggie to freeze, so a single person could have it any time. Just remove from the plastic bag, put in a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave on medium to low power for 1 minute intervals until it's soft again.
Some recipes will say to add salt. We don't, because Romano cheese is salty enough.
When you make your pasta, reserve a little of the pasta water (maybe 1/4 cup?) when you drain. Dilute the sauce with that so it spreads better.

3rd Daylight Savings Time Public Service Announcement :D

txvoodoo — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 00:23:45 GMT

It's now an annual tradition!

Have you, too, noticed a preponderance of sad, almost-depressed, emo posts on your friends' list? Puzzled?

Wonder no more! It's almost certainly due to the evil Setting Back of the Clocks Lack of Daylight Blues!

2 years ago, I posted about this, with a lot of suggestions on how to beat it - and asked for more from ye olde flist - and you came through WONDERFULLY. That post is a fabulous resource of how to lift yourself out of the doldrums.

So if you need to, read it again, and then come back here with YOUR suggestions! Feel free to pimp - the more suggestions for beating it, the better!

And some news links, proving it's NOT imaginary :D And apparently some of this may just be our bodies resetting to natural, normal time, which is thrown off by the time change in spring.
Health effects of daylight-savings time ... Be optimistic
Does daylight-saving time mess with your body's internal clock?
Body's Clock Never Adjusts to Daylight Savings Time

ETA - I linked the First Annual post - I meant to before! :D

Egg egg egg, nog nog nog

txvoodoo — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 23:32:09 GMT

Dug out my grandmom's recipe for eggnog. Enjoy!

My Grandmother's Recipe:

12 egg yolks, well-beaten
2 cups sugar
1 pint Myers Jamaica Rum
1 pint Coronet V.S.Q. Brandy
2 quarts cream
Nutmeg

Mix egg yolks & sugar, until sugar is dissolved. Add liquor slowly. Cover & chill in refrigerator for several hours. Before serving, fold in whipped cream. Pour into glasses & lighly sprinkle nutmeg over each.

Serves 60.

Btw, 60? not in MY family!

Public Service Announcement

txvoodoo — Thu, 03 Nov 2005 00:23:17 GMT

In the past 2 days, I've read a disproportionate amount of entries on my f-list talking about how suddenly "down" or "dismal" people feel.

Reminder: What did we do on Saturday night? We set back the clocks. That means, for a lot of folks, their exposure to natural light is now severely and suddenly reduced by an hour.

Now, that's not really long enough to make Seasonal Affective Disorder set in, but it's certainly enough to make you feel blue and off your stride. Just like a string of rainy days, but without the negative ions in the air that make a storm feel invigorating.

So, my suggestions:

Do whatever is your comfort ritual.
Don't feel obligated to go out and party.
Curl up with your fugly-but-soft PJs, a smushy blankie and your bunny slippers. Read an old but favorite book. Watch a favorite movie, but not one that makes you feel down :)
Eat chocolate, drink hot chocolate. Chocolate DOES help. Have an orange, or other citrus fruit.
Take a bath with something that's stinky in a good way. If you don't have a bathtub, get a basin and put the yummy stinky stuff in that, put your feet in nice hot water, and give THEM a treat! You'll get the benefit of something that smells good, your feet will thank you. Hell, make an evening of it and post footbath, slather those feet with gooey lotion and put them in old soft socks.
In that vein, give yourself a mani/pedicure. Doing girly shit is fun!
Snuggle an animal. If you don't have one, snuggle a friend's animal. (AND I DON'T MEAN ANY DOUBLE ENTENDRE BY THAT! ;)) Ask permission first, of course!
Get some extra sleep.
Try and make a point to get outside when the sun IS shining. Take 15 minutes at lunch, sit outside on a bench (even if it's COLD!) and look around. Let the sun's Vitamin D soak into you.
Do some light exercise. Yay, natural endorphins! You don't have to do a lot to get those going - a brisk walk for 10-15 minutes will give you a spark that'll last for hours. Or 15-20 minutes of yoga or stretching!
Something that helps me personally, but it's a matter of choice - I take Evening Primrose Oil supplements at night. Maybe it's a placebo effect, maybe not. *shrug* Works for me!

DON'T:

Listen to angsy music, read angsty fic/books, or watch angsty movies. Right now, you don't need anything to make you feel angsty :)
Let others bring you down. Be sympathetic, but don't identify too much. If you're depressive by nature, it is VERY EASY for others' emotional states to affect you.
Drink a lot of booze. The lift is temporary, but it'll drag you further down. And if you feel bad on a normal day, you'll feel even WORSE on a grey day with a hangover!
Obsess. We all tend to do it, but it really will only drag you further down.

No, I'm not a psychologist or psychiatrist - I'm just someone who has fought depression for 20+ years, with varying levels of success :) I'm not adverse to taking meds when I'm VERY down, or getting into some of the worse aspects of it. But not every blue mood is a depressive episode. Sometimes, you just need to break the cycle of a string of bad days.

ETA: I didn't realize I was putting up such..um...wisdom? Maybe I just did this at the right time. But wanted to say - feel FREE to link to it. We all need to help each other!