hmmm cookies!

I made these today.

Great Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups (175 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt1
1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Adjust the oven rack to the top 1/3 of the oven and preheat to 300F. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.

Beat the sugars and butters together until smooth. Mix in the egg, vanilla, and baking soda. Stir together the flour and salt, then mix them into the batter. Mix in the chocolate chips and nuts.
Scoop the cookie dough into 2-tablespoon (5cm) balls and place 8 balls, spaced 4 inches (10cm) apart, on each of the baking sheets.

Bake for 18 minutes, or until pale golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Make about 20 cookies.

From The Great Book of Chocolate by David Lebovitz (Ten Speed Press, 2004) - reprinted with permission.

Song of the day

Beatles- Help!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXh4EuJa2TU&feature=fvw

This morning while searching through the NYT and watching NY1 simultaneously ( a morning ritual...I know it seems impossible to do but I just mute,unmute, and mute again when I come across something interesting) I came across a website of clubs/groups. http://www.meetup.com/ Of course I entered my location in BK. I hope you enjoy flipping through the cool groups and events happening in your neck of the woods.

Lentil Salad with Escarole

I tried this recipe last night. I got it from Martha Stewart's website and changed a couple of things. Escarole instead of Frise, balsamic vinegar instead of red-wine vinegar. I'm going to make this one often. It's delicious.

Lentil Salad with Escarole
Ingredients
1 cup brown lentils, picked over and rinsed
2 strips pancetta, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper
6 cups escarole lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces

Directions
In a medium saucepan, combine lentils and 4 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer. Cook until lentils are tender but not mushy, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain well.

Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, cook pancetta over medium-low heat until crisp. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain.
Add onion and carrots to rendered fat in skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until carrots are tender. Add garlic, and cook until fragrant.
In a medium bowl, whisk together vinegar, Dijon, and oil; season with salt and pepper. Combine lettus and 1/3 of the dressing in another bowl; toss to coat. Add lentils, onion mixture, and bacon to bowl with remaining dressing; toss to coat. To serve, divide lettus among salad plates; top with lentil salad.

Gonna make this soon!

Espresso Granita

1/2 cream, 1/2 milk (I am going to try it with coconut milk and rice milk)
Espresso coffee
Simple syrup (1/2 cup sugar, 1 cup of water)


In a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish, carefully pour in cream and milk and whisk. Place dish in freezer and every hour, scrape the mixture with a large fork to create the granita texture. The first time you scrape, the granita will not be frozen solid. You want to start scraping while it's still slushy so that texture of the granita will be even throughout.

Right before serving, using a blender, mix cream mixture, cold espresso coffee, and cold simple syrup. Do not blend too much.

Pour into each cup and crumb amaretti cookies on top.

Tennis + Exploring Brooklyn = Tired

Antonio and I explored Brooklyn today. We started off with Tennis in Fort Greene Park, took the bus to Park Slope and started on our never-ending walk. On our way we ate a delicious burger (I have been a vegetarian for 3 months now but really had a moment of weakeness today). We celebrated Bastille Day with the Frenchies in Caroll Gardens and had tea with a friend. It's been a full day and we are tired but we feel great. We used this website to calculate our trip. You should try it too. http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/

Peace!

Sagine

All the beautiful men in my life!

Here are my nephews, Kingston and Jackson. Aren't they cute? I love bragging!