Big and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

 I'm discovering it's really hard to follow the directions precisely.  I seem to think I know better (I don't!)(not yet anyways).  In history, it's been rare that I follow a recipe 100% perfectly...  but I'm learning, and forcing myself to do it!
I'm a little impatient, perhaps a little too liberal with measuring... I shouldn't deviate too much if I don't even know how it will react or don't even know what it will produce as it's written! I have churned out some damn good cookies in my time, but I swallowed my thoughts and followed the recipe to a T.  (what does that expression mean anyway?)

All in all.. I had a great time making these cookies and .. they turned out... absolutely... AMAZING!!

This picture doesn't do them justice - I actually have more snapshots but they are locked away on my boyfriend's phone, he forgot to send them to me!  If I remember, I will put another one up later.. (and yes I"m still using our phones as cameras - I need to locate the digital camera battery charger!)

Everyone who tasted them said they were delicious - I took them to work, they were a hit!

 I actually had an uneventful cooking session..  I didn't get flour everywhere (like usual), the egg breaking went well.. cookies all stayed on the sheet... Success!

Ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, butter, light brown sugar, sugar, eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, semisweet chocolate chips!


**Edit on August 4 to put this cool picture!

Creamy Stovetop Mac 'n' Cheese

Last week I made Stovetop Creamy Mac 'n' Cheese. It took a long time to decide what to make, as I flipped through the pages and pages of ATK. I've been having trouble making decisions lately, what to do, what to eat, what to cook... I finally decided on this recipe because it looked easy and fast.

I had a few more "firsts"... first time overall making homemade macaroni and cheese... first experience using dry mustard - it was amazing, I mixed equal parts dry mustard and water, it smelled just like mustard! (I'm easily amused!)
It was also the first time I've dropped an egg on the floor.. classic! I actually saw the egg falling in slow motion and I remember thinking - maybe somehow, some way, it will land without breaking, bounce a little, then come to rest unharmed - and then it landed and broke all over the floor....

I cooked up the macaroni pasta without a hitch, drained it and added the rest of the ingredients... for the cheese I used that Mexican Four Blend cheese instead of cheddar because, well, it looked really good at the store. As I was mixing the cheese into the noodles it reminded me of melting the marshmallows for rice krispy treats, yum!

The ingredients are: macaroni, salt, eggs, evaporated milk, dry mustard dissolved in water, Tabasco, pepper, butter & cheddar cheese!

This recipe turned out how it was supposed to turn out, I presume.. though I feel like there is something missing from it - possibly different spices, or meat, or toss in a vegetable, I'm thinking tomatoes might be good...

BUT - this is labelled as a fast basic recipe, and as always it was a learning experience. Start with the basics!



Sidenote - a couple days later I had some leftovers and mixed in a Hebrew National dog - extremely delicious!!

This is a recap of the other night...  I've been procrastinating in writing... it's only the beginning and I gotta get used to the flow of things!

First I made Black Bean and Mango Salsa.  I've never worked with mango before, it's weird and I didn't quite know if I was doing it right, nor if it was ripe!!  I grabbed one at the store the other day because I'm watching Lost and they were eating mangoes all the time.  So I browsed through the cookbook and found something using mango!

The cookbook illustrated how to cut up a mango, and I followed it, but it was slimier than I expected, and had a different inside section than I expected as well!  I guess I expected some sort of seed, like an avocado or something... Another first for myself!!

It contains black beans, mango, red bell pepper, red onion, pineapple juice, lime juice, cilantro, jalepeno chile, cumin, salt & pepper.

I think it turned out well and it got a good review by all who tested it, but I must confess, if I want some salsa, I hunger for tomato salsa or pico de gallo...
So I also made Fast Tomato Salsa!  This contains more tomato than I usually use, as well as less onion, less garlic, less peppers..  I suppose that's why it's "fast" and "tomato" salsa!
The recipe called for canned tomatoes and I was going to go with it but I checked out the canned toms and they have salt added, so I opted for fresh tomatoes, which are probably better anyway!
This recipe contains tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, garlic, jalepeno chile and salt.
It was very tasty!!

Unfortunately the only chips I had in the house were sort of stale, but they worked out just fine (if you're not too picky!).

I capped the evening off by making a random Smoked Salmon Mousse.  It was quick and easy, especially with a food processor.  Yum, yum, yum!!  I will definitely make this again.  How do I know?  I picked up some smoked salmon at the store again today and will hop into the kitchen to make another batch tonight!
The recipe has smoked salmon, shallot, cream cheese, lemon juice, sour cream, salt & pepper to taste.

I didn't use any salt or pepper, it was extremely tasty without it!

Later that night.......  perhaps I'm the only one, but I simply must remember when I work with jalepeno peppers, I should wear gloves.. or take out my contacts before preparing the food...  Here's a friendly warning for those who chop up spicy peppers and then reach into their eyes to remove contacts... it burns!!  Seems as if no matter how much I scrub my hands, the essence of the pepper sticks around on my fingers!  Fortunately the burning eventually subsides, after a good round of tears :)  All is well.
Carry on!