Category: Food and Drink

Coffeeshop for Daring and Open Minds

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Yesterday I was wrapping up an impromptu weekend in the Bay Area and happened upon a most unique coffeeshop. One that is not for the closed minded or faint of heart. One where you must be 18 or older to enter. Ladies and gentleman, a kink coffeeshop and erotic boutique called Wicked Grounds.

I was low bloodsugar and short on time when I stumbled upon this place, and my need for food thankfully brought me in. Lucky for me, they had a food menu! I admit to being a bit intimidated to walk through the doors, not being a member of a scene and not oozing aloof awesomeness from every pore. Thankfully, once inside there was the relaxing warmth of a neighborhood cafe, just with more interesting art on the walls. I felt like I could actually sit, relax and not worry about social pretentions. (Crazy enough, I used to have that feeling in the Chicago goth scene, and haven’t found a good replacement on this coast.)

I had to grab my sandwich (and souvenir t-shirt) and run, unfortunately.

Not even a cup of coffee this time.

Next trip, I’ll definitely try to stop in again. I’ll repeat that the shop isn’t for everybody, however, it is one of the many reasons the crazy California vibe has ensnared me. Seriously, all the many permutations of humanity seem to have a home in this state, and I appreciate the beautiful juxtaposition between the polarities.

Kitchen Experiment: Bourbon Pecan Shortbread

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Bourbon Pecan Shortbread
Bourbon Pecan Shortbread
This started out as an effort to make the Kentucky classic: bourbon balls, a traditional candy made during the holiday season. The ingredients are simple: butter, powdered sugar, pecans, chocolate. Nothing too complicated, except that the novice needs to follow the directions explicitly – which I did not. In the end, I had balls of sugared pecan and butter mix. I decided to use the bourbon ball mix (that is, without the chocolate coating), and make shortbread. This is a rough recreation of the recipe:

Bourbon Pecan Shortbread

Oven: 350°F
1 cup chopped pecans (and additional whole pecans for topping the cookies)
4 Tablespoons bourbon
1/2 pound of butter (2 sticks), softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour

Put the chopped pecans and bourbon in a bowl, cover and refrigerate at least three hours, or over night, to let the flavors blend. When the pecans are ready, cream the softened butter with an electric mixer, then add the sugar and blend together well. In another bowl, combine the salt and flour. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until it is just barely combined. Next, either roll into a 2 in diameter log, wrapped with wax paper, or roll into 1/4-1/2 inch disk for cookie-cutters, and put in the refrigerator for at least an hour before cutting. After the hour has passed, cut the roll into 1/4-1/2 in cookies, or use a cookie cutter, and place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, or until a bit golden brown. Remove and let sit for a minute, then cool on a cooling rack. When all the cookies are out of the oven, make the chocolate ganache.

Chocolate Ganache
8 oz chocolate chips, semi-sweet (or chipped up fine chocolate)
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Put the chocolate in a heat-safe bowl. In a saucepan, heat the heavy whipping cream until steaming. Once the cream is steaming, turn off the heat and pour the cream onto the chocolate. Stir until well combined.

Finally
Let cool slightly, then spoon the chocolate into the center of the cookies, topping in the center with a single pecan.

Cookies as Therapy

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I’m a fan of The Stranger, Seattle’s alternative news weekly. They do great stuff. I read most of what the Stranger writers have to say through their blog, Slog. Through my recent cookie-mania I was reminded of a piece by Megan Seling that I first became aware of last year, an entire year after it was originally published. It’s still great. It’s called The Long Winter. Her piece tells a familiar (to me, and I’m sure others) story of winter depression and her resolve to bake every cookie in Martha Stewart Holiday Cookies Special Issue. This wasn’t a Julie & Julia stunt, this was real in a way that didn’t have “book deal” written all over it.

Interestingly, she posted that she has recently found a blog (Every Last Cookie) “in which a college sophomore (a “studio art major”) is promising to make all the cookies in Martha Stewart’s Cookies cookbook by the time she graduates.”.

It’s been done, Ms. Seling points out.

I recommend checking out The Long Winter. It’s a piece that still rings true, years later.

Mint Chocolate Refrigerator Cookies

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I made these cookies yesterday, and even calculated the Weight Watchers points for them! As before, let me know if you try them and how they worked out for you! I’m working on figuring out how to best present my recipes, so bear with me as I try different formats!

POINTS® Value: 2
Servings: 36

Preparation Time: 20 min
Cooking Time: 12 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients
1/2 pound unsalted butter
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon mint extract
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/8 teaspoon table salt, pinch
2 Tablespoon milk

Instructions
Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer, then add the egg. Beat until combined thoroughly, scraping the sides of the bowl.

In another bowl, mix the flour, salt, cocoa, and baking powder. Slowly add the dry mix to the butter mixture, adding the milk so it can be well combined.

Roll out into 1/8-1/4 in sheets or into a log to refrigerate. Refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 2 days.

Use a cookie cutter or knife to cut cookies. Cookies should be between 1/8 in to 1/4 in thick. Place on a cookie sheet (preferably on parchment paper) evenly spaced, and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool on the sheet for 2 minutes, then place on a cooling rack.

Brandied Cherry Chocolate Chunk Cookies

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While I wait for butter to soften for my next cookie experiment, I thought I’d share one of my recent experiments. My recipe was adapted from Mark Bittman’s Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies in How to Cook Everything.

1/2 pound unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups extra bittersweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli’s 72% for Baking, which are large chips)
1 oz baker’s chocolate
1 oz extra bittersweet chocolate chips
about 1 cup of brandy to cover cherries (reserve liquid after soaking)
1 cup dried cherries

Oven 375?F

Put dried cherries in a bowl, add brandy enough to cover, set aside to soak.

Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer, then add the eggs one at a time and beat until well blended

Mix flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Melt the bakers chocolate and 1 oz of the extra bittersweet chocolate. Next add the dry ingredients to the eggs, butter and sugar, beating a bit, then adding the vanilla and the melted chocolate. After everything has been well beaten together, strain the cherries and reserve the brandy liquid. Add the cherries to the mixture with two tablespoons of the brandy that they soaked in. Finally, stir in the chips.

Use two spoons to scoop out about a table spoon of cookie dough on a baking sheet. I highly recommend parchment paper if you have it! Bake for 10 minutes until lightly brown. Cool on racks for 2-3 minutes and store in a cookie tin or plastic sealed container for no more than 2 days.

Let me know if you try this and if it works for you!