Cheese Straws

We recently hosted our annual wine and cheese tasting party, a party I love to host because no matter how busy we get, its easy. Nothing but picking up a couple of bottles of wine, some cheese and crackers, and there you have the perfect party.

However, this year I decided to experiment a bit. With extra puff pastry in the freezer, and a cheese I’d never had before (Gruyère), I decided to give these cheese straws a whirl. Easy to make (took less than 30 minutes, including cook time) and impressive to look at, I’ll be keeping the makings for these goodies around the house for last-minute entertaining.

Cheese Straws

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Barefoot in Paris

Makes approximately 24 cheese straws

Ingredients:

  • 2 sheets (1 box) frozen puff pastry, defrosted
  • Flour
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tbs. water
  • 1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan
  • 1 c. finely grated Gruyère cheese
  • 1 tsp. minced fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Beat the egg with 1 tbs. water and set aside. Combine Parmesan, Gruyère, thyme, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.

Lightly flour your counter or a large cutting board. Unfold each sheet of puff pastry and roll out, until it’s 10×12 inches. Brush each of the puff pastry sheets with some egg wash. Evenly sprinkle cheese mixture on both sheets. Use the rolling-pin (lightly!) to press the cheese into the dough.

Using a sharp, floured knife or pizza cutter, cut each piece of puff pastry into 12 strips. Twist each strip and lay on prepared baking sheet.

Bake 10-15 minutes, until lightly browned and puffed. Flip each straw and bake for another minute or two. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet (the straws will initially be a little soft, crisping up more as they cool).

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Waffle Cookies

Yes, you read the title of this post correct…. this recipe popped up in my Facebook updates page, compliments of Fine Cooking. I was curious and craving something sweet, so here you go. A half batch of these cookies, even cooking them one at a time, took only 15 minutes to make. The texture did remind me a lot of waffles. There were a little crunchier than normal oatmeal cookies, but received rave reviews from friends.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Waffle Cookies

Found on Fine Cooking, from the book Dessert Express by Lauren Chattman

Makes 1-2 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/2 c. plus 2 Tbs. firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1-1/2 c. old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
  • 1 c. semisweet chocolate chips
  • Nonstick cooking spray

Heat waffle iron. With 5 heating settings, mine was set to 3.5.

Whisk together butter and brown sugar until smooth. Whisk in eggs and vanilla. Add flour, baking soda, and salt, whisking together.

Switch to a rubber spatula and stir in oats and chocolate chips.

Spray waffle iron with cooking spray. Using a tablespoon or small ice cream scoop, drop dough, one cookie at a time, onto waffle iron. Cook for 1-1/2 – 3 minutes, depending on the heat of the waffle iron. At my setting, it took about 2 minutes until the light went out. The cookies were nicely browned.

Using a fork and thin spatula, transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Continue baking cookies until finished, reapplying the cooking spray as needed.

With a half a batch and a small ice cream scoop, I got 8-9 cookies.

Jam Thumbprint Cookies

I was so very excited to make these Jam Thumbprints for the latest Barefoot Bloggers pick, but so sad with how they came out. Don’t get me wrong, the 8 that turned out were sooo good, but my dough didn’t turn out correctly. I ended up with a crumbly mess. I delayed this post in hopes that I’d be able to give the cookies another shot, but never got around to it. My best guess was that the temperature of my butter wasn’t quite right. If anyone has made them, can you share the secret to your success?

I’ll guess I’ll be sticking these back in the pile to make at a later date.

Jam Thumbprint Cookies

Adapted from Barefoot Contess’s  Family Style

also found on Food Network

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 lb. (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 c. sugar
  • 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 3 1/2 c. flour
  • 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1 egg beaten with 1 Tbs. water, for egg wash
  • 7 oz. sweetened flaked coconut
  • Blackberry jam (or any other type, as long as its jam and not preserves)

Make the Dough: In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and sugar. Add vanilla. With the mixer on law, sift in flour and salt. Mix only until dough just starts to come together.

Flour a board or counter and dump dough onto board. Roll together into a flat disk (here’s where my crumbly mess created problems for me!

Refrigerate: Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and make egg wash.

Make the Cookies: Roll dough into 1 1/4-inch balls (about 1 oz. each if you were to weigh them). Dip each ball in egg wash and then roll in coconut. Placed balls on prepared baking sheet. With the top of your finger, make a little indentation or dip in the top of the cookie. Drop 1/4 tsp. of jam into each indentation.

Bake 20-25 minutes, or until coconut has browned. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.

Pomegranate Cosmos

A twist on a classic cocktail, this Pomegranate Cosmo recipe makes a pitcher for easy entertaining.

One of my favorite things about visiting my parents is how Mom and I always end up with a drink in hand. Lately it’s been French Martinis, but this weekend, we tried a new recipe from the cookbook I gave her earlier this month (a thank you for hours of painting and yard work at our house). These cosmos were wonderfully sweet. Make sure you throw them in the shaker before serving – we didn’t and they were seriously strong. Enjoy!

Print

Pomegranate Cosmos

Course Drinks
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 6 Drinks
Author Liz

Ingredients

  • 2 c. good quality vodka I like Grey Goose
  • 1 c. Grand Marnier Contreau or other orange liquor
  • 1 c. cranberry juice
  • 1/2 c. pomegranate juice
  • 1/2 c. fresh lime juice from about 3 limes
  • lime peels for garnish

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients except lime peals in a pitcher and refrigerate until ready to serve.
  2. To serve, fill a shaker with ice and add cosmo mixture. Shake until chilled and serve, garnished with a lime peel.

 

This recipe was adapted from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

Thai Chicken Stir-Fry

Another non-dessert post! Don’t get me wrong, I do plenty of cooking – almost every night. However, usually I don’t think the dish is unique enough to blog about, or just don’t think about snapping a photo before we eat. Also, I cook like my mom – I throw a whole bunch of spices or veggies together without measuring much, and that doesn’t make for a great recipe.

This Thai Chicken Stir-Fry was a new recipe for us, from my favorite cooking magazine, Fine Cooking. As usual, it was another hit – easy and quick but full of flavor compliments of the fresh basil. I enjoyed the slight spiciness of the herb, which I don’t normally notice in pastas or salad caprese. This stir-fry did make me happy that I planted basil again this year.

Thai Chicken Stir-Fry

Adapted from Fine Cooking No. 98

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbs. vegetable oil
  • 4 medium shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 2 medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 lb. chicken breast cutlets (about 1/4 inch thick), cut crosswise into 1-inch-wide strips
  • 1 Tbs. fresh lime juice
  • 2 Tbs. packed light brown sugar
  • 1 c. lightly packed fresh basil leaves, cut roughly into 1/2 inch strips
  • Peanuts

Heat the oil in a well-seasoned wok or a heavy-duty 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering hot. Add the shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes; cook, stirring frequently, until the shallots start to soften but not brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the chicken and cook, stirring, until it’s no longer pink and the shallots are beginning to brown, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the lime juice, sugar, and 1/4 cup water. Cook, stirring frequently, until the chicken is just cooked through and the liquid reduces to a saucy consistency, 2 to 3 minutes. (If the sauce reduces before the chicken is cooked through, add water, 1 Tbs. at a time.) Remove from the heat, add the basil, and stir to wilt it.