Taste 4: Double Chocolate Chilies and Cherries Chocolove Chunk Cookies

For my fourth way to show him how much I care (about his waistline) I pulled out one of my original recipes I created a couple years ago: Double Chocolate Chilies and Cherries Chocolove Chunk Cookies.  The title is a mouthful because once these babies come out of the oven, you will have a mouthful of cookies all night. Warning: eat responsibly.

Local Boulder-based Chocolove makes a Chilies and Cherries bar and it’s one of my favorites.  I’m known to make spicy brownies (coming up soon in this 14-part series), but wanted to branch out a bit on my chocolate baked goods, so one day I got creative and made up this cookie recipe.  I love it.

Here’s how I made them:

• 10 oz bittersweet chocolate (Ghirardelli sells 10 oz bags of chocolate chips which work well)
• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup evaporated cane juice
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup unbleached flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 bars of Chocolove Chilies and Cherries in Dark Chocolate

Start by melting the bittersweet chocolate in a double boiler.

While it is melting, whip the cream into butter in your KitchenAid stand mixer. Then cream together the butter and sugar (evaporated cane juice). Next, add the eggs and mix well.

Slice the cold batter-logs into disks and roll them into ping-pong-sized balls.  Bake them on a parchment lined tray at 375 for 10-12 minutes.  They’ll still feel delicate in the middle when they’re done, so carefully slide them onto a cooling rack.

Enjoy!

Taste 3- Get a little Old Fashioned

My third way to show him how much I care involves a tasty libation- a cocktail.  And not just any cocktail, but a classic… an Old Fashioned.

I used the recipe from Eric Felten’s book “How’s Your Drink?” and was pleased with the result.  According to Felten, in 1940 the New Yorker called the Old Fashioned “a national institution,” and if you’re going to make one at home, be sure to use American whiskey- either bourbon or rye.  I used Bulleit Rye because I like the spicy flavor and it’s often a great price compared to other Rye Whiskies.

Felten’s recipe calls for:

• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 2 pieces of lemon peel
• 2 oz bourbon or rye whiskey
• orange slice or maraschino cherry (optional)

First, put the sugar, bitters, lemon peel, and a couple drops of water in a glass and muddle it to dissolve the sugar. Then add the whiskey, ice, and stir…. I learned from Evan Faber to stir it 50 times, so I had fun with that. I skipped the orange and cherries and garnished it with a lemon twist.

Enjoy responsibly.

Taste 2- Pan Fried Zucchini

On day one of my 14-part project to give him a taste of how much I care, I made some nice picnic sandwiches. For day two, I decided to make something fun that I don’t make very often.  For me, that’s pan-fried zucchini.

I sliced a couple small zucchini into 1/4 inch thick rounds, lay them on paper towels, and sprinkled them with a bit of sea salt to expel the excess water. You’ll see small drops of water forming on the salted surface, so pat that dry, flip them, and lightly salt the other side.

Heat a frying pan and prep your breading assembly line: a bowl or plate with a cup or so of flour (any kind of flour), a bowl with a beaten egg (I added a little heavy whipping cream to my egg because I had some in the fridge), and a bowl or plate with panko.  I like pan frying with panko because it adds a nice crunchy texture.  I also added a tablespoon or so of Red Rocks Hickory Smoke Seasoning from Savory Spice Shop to the flour and panko to add a great flavor to the seemingly simple zucchini.

Pat dry the zucchini slices and start the following process: lightly coat in flour, dip in egg, roll in panko, place on a plate.  Then pan fry them in a few tablespoons of olive oil on medium high for a few minutes on each side.

When they’re GBD (golden brown delicious) let them cool on a paper towel for a few minutes… not because they’re super greasy, but because that’s just what I do with everything I pan fry… I think.  Salt to taste, and enjoy.

14 Ways in 14 Days- A Taste of How Much I Care, Taste 1

On my first day of giving him a taste of how much I care, I brought us a picnic lunch to share in the park. It was, after all, another gorgeous winter day in Boulder.

I rode my bike to Whole Foods for some in-house roasted turkey breast, a loaf of Udi’s roasted garlic ciabatta, cream cheese, sharp cheddar, and an avocado.  Oh, wait… and a miniature Chocolove milk chocolate bar.  Dessert is important.

I had a plan to make a good, simple sandwich.

I mixed and mashed half an avocado with approximately one tablespoon of both dijon mustard and honey. I sliced the roasted garlic ciabatta into reasonable sandwich sized slices and topped one side with cream cheese and the other with the avocado spread.

It just takes a little turkey, cheddar, and fresh ground black pepper to make a delicious sandwich. Put it together, and don’t forget a bit of chocolate for dessert.

I picked up a mini Chocolove milk chocolate bar as an impulse buy at the Whole Foods checkout. Best impulse buy of the year so far.