Keep ‘Em In Da Freezah!

This is one of David’s beloved cookies. His bff (best friend forever), the ultra talented Efrat used to make it for him all the time. The great thing about these cookies is that after you bake them you can put them in a container and keep them in the freezer for a very long time. This way they stay fresh and you can nibble at them for as long as you want. I call these freezer cookies but they are really chocolate chip cookies that you plop on a cookie tray and then ¾ of the way through you slice them thinly like a biscotti and bake them a little more and then you have these amazingly delicious cookies. You can also shape in any way you want. I haven't tried because why mess with David's perfect cookie--but I'm sure they'll be JUST as great!

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Bake Time: 1 hour

Yields: About 25-35 pieces

Ingredients:

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of all purpose oil

4 eggs

3 cups of all purpose flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (the liquid, not the powder).

8 oz. crushed walnuts (you can also use pecans or almonds, or a mix)

11 oz. of chocolate chips(you can also use bitter sweet chocolate, or a mix like I like to)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

1. Mix sugar, vanilla extract, oil and eggs in a bowl.

2. Add the flour through a sifter with the baking powder.

3. Mix ingredients together.

4. With a spatula, add the walnuts and chocolate chips. Fold in these ingredients very well. Constantly keep folding the dough in, while rotating the bowl so everything is well incorporated.

*The mixture should be very sticky!

~Hint: Wear disposable gloves, and spray your hands with cooking spray to handle the dough.

On a cookie tray, either line it with parchment paper or spray with nonstick baking spray.

Plop the dough onto the cookie dray and mold the mixture into a loaf (it doesn’t need to be perfectly smooth, in the oven it will smooth out as it melts together.)

Bake for 45 minutes. Take it out and slice into thin slices, like a biscotti. Lay them flat and return to the oven and for another 15 minutes.

Let cool down for 15-20 minutes. You can serve them or put them in an airtight container and keep them in the freezer and serve them with tea or dessert.

Potatoes are the Devil!

Hello Dear Readers. This recipe was taken from my friend Keren who spoiled us this past Chanukah at her house get-together. This recipe is so super easy it’s disturbing. It’s delicious and addictive and people will keep going back for more so if you are having a lot of guests over make two trays =). To some, the Osem soup mix might not be known but it is one of those Israeli ingredients everyone has in their kitchen and uses religiously. These soup mixes have a very nice mix of spices, as well as dried herbs and vegetables. It already has the salt and pepper too so you don’t need to add much of anything when using it. My mother was known to use this in much of everything when cooking. Even in the Israeli MasterChef you saw cooks using this as their base for their winning dishes. However if you cannot find this in your supermarket because you don’t have Jews over taking your neighborhood go ahead and buy any type of dry soup mix that is onion or mushroom based. You can make this either onion flavored or mushroom flavored. Or when you are making two trays, like I did last night for my friends holiday party, I made one of each.

So anyways, thanks Keren for sharing this recipe with me! Now everyone has it and can make it!

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Potatoes in Cream

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Cook Time: 1 Hour (about)

Serves: 8-10 People

Ingredients:

4.5 pounds of potatoes (I used plain Idaho potatoes)

1 ½ pints of heavy cream

1 package of Osem Onion Soup or Mushroom Soup Dry Mix

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Take a large bowl, and fill it half way with cold water. Peel all the potatoes and place them in the water to keep them from browning. Slice the potatoes in either direction semi-thin (a little less than a quarter inch). In a half size aluminum tray (or ½ size oven safe tray), lay one layer of potatoes. They do not need to be over lapping, but just closely together. Once you finished one layer, sprinkle the soup mix all over the layer. Don’t be too generous with this mix. This soup mix has a ton of salt in it. So sprinkle a light layer all over the potatoes. Then repeat the process. Layer potatoes, sprinkle soup mix, etc. When you get to about a inch from the top of the pan stop. You might get 3 layers; you might get 4 or 5. It really depends how think you cut your potatoes and what type of tray you are using. You want to aim for at least 3 layers. On the top layer you want to also sprinkle soup mix on top. Then you pour the heavy cream on top. You do not need to cover the tray, just pop it in the center rack of your oven and let it cook. It will come to a bubble and begin to brown on top. You want to check the potatoes after 1 hour to make sure they are fork tender. If they are not, give it another 10-15 minutes. If the top is getting brown too quickly, either reduce the heat by 10-15 degrees or cover the tray with foil wrap.

*If you cannot find the Osem mix (Which is typically available in jewish/israeli neighborhoods you can feel free to use any American dry onion soup or mushroom soup mix.)

*You can also add some zing to it by adding in between the layers thinly sliced mushrooms or onions. This recipe it just super easy but sometimes adding a little more to it makes it extra special!

Creamy Garlic Loveliness!

I was watching the cooking channel late one night and “The best thing I ever ate” was on and the topic was garlic. I saw this cream of garlic soup and was like… I love garlic and I love cream soups that soup has to be amazing. This soup is really a mix between garlic and onion but the taste is AMAZING. It goes exceptionally well with some toasted French bread. It’s pretty simple to make but you do need to give it time. Cooking it as slow as possible is what makes it so amazing. If you have a hand blender it will really make life easy here.

I got this recipe from this website: http://gumbopages.com/food/soups/garlic.html, but I made some changes.

CREAM OF GARLIC SOUP

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cook Time: 45 Minutes

Serves: 8

Ingredients:
4 cups onions, peeled and roughly chopped
2 cups garlic, peeled and chopped roughly (I just cut each piece in half)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1.5 quarts of chick stock
1 bouquet garni (parsley stems, thyme sprigs, rosemary, and bay leaf, tied together)
2 cups stale French bread, torn into 1/2" pieces (I used whole wheat French bread so it gave it a nuttier texture).
1 cup half and half (or 1/2 cup whole milk with 1/2 cup heavy cream)

Directions:
In a large soup pot, sauté the onions and garlic in the butter and oil. Stir frequently over low to medium heat until the onions are a deep golden brown, about 30 minutes. Add the chicken broth and bouquet garni and bring to a boil. Stir in the bread cubes and simmer for 10 minutes, until the bread is soft. Remove the bouquet garni and purée the soup in a blender, carefully! Remember that hot liquids can splash up in a blender; you can use one of those hand-held blenders and purée it right in the pot if you like. Strain the soup through a medium strainer. Add the half and half, then season to taste with salt and pepper.
To Garnish (Garlic Chips): I took a few garlic cloves and sliced them thinly. I took a small frying pan and heated it up really well. I added about ¼ cup of olive oil and let it get very hot. I then fried the garlic chips giving them lots of room (do not over crowd, they will stick together). I flipped them over once, till they got a nice golden color. I topped each soup with a few pieces. Place them gently on top so they do not sink into the soup. Gives it a nice kick!