Sunday, March 29, 2009

Calzones

I've been sitting on this post since spring break, two weeks ago. While I was home I made calzones with my mom and Eamae.

Homemade calzones are way better than anything you can get in a pizza shop. This recipe is from Cook's Illustrated. I don't have the recipe with me, but you can see the process here, taking place in a much nicer kitchen than what normally appears in this blog.



The filling had lots of garlic, fresh ricotta, and mozzerella.These photos are making me hungry.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies


It's been quite a while since I've posted. Things have really picked up here at CMU, and I've been often too busy fretting about various projects to cook or eat anything vaguely healthy.

I made these cookies a few weeks ago for a Valentine's Day gift (I snuck one or two before wrapping them up). They were awesome! I've been wanting to make another batch to keep in my desk drawer for those times you just need a cookie (alas, I haven't done it yet! And I'm currently eating bargain brand Oreo's knockoffs)

I adapted this recipe from The Bon Appetit Cookbook, which was a totally sweet gift I got from my brother last Christmas. The recipe calls for normal size chips, which I didn't have, but instead I made half a batch, used mini chips, and made the cookies smaller than normal. I still ended up with a lot of cookies!

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
reprinted from the Bon Appetit Cookbook

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (about 12 ounces)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add sugar and brown sugar; beat until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until mixture is creamy and well blended. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until just incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips.


Working in batches, drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto a prepared baking sheet, spacing about 3 inches apart. Bake cookies until pale brown, about 15 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on sheet. Transfer cookies to racks and cool completely.