Martha Vs Paula

Martha Stewart Vs Paula Deen.
Who has the better
Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe?

I'm always on the lookout for
good recipes,
even though I might already have
one on hand.
You never know.
There might be a better recipe out there.

SO,
when I saw this peanut butter cookie recipe
from
Martha Stewart,
I just had to try it.
Now,
I have a good peanut butter cookie recipe
from Paula Deen.
Her Magical Peanut Butter Cookies
are divine.
So simple to make.
Yet so delicious.
But I thought,
let's try Martha's.
Maybe hers is better.

Well,
I followed her recipe to a T.
No changes made.
Martha's Peanut Butter Crisps,
is very crispy and crunchy.
Whereas Paula's is chewy.
There are more ingredients in Martha's
cookies
whereas Paula's is so much simpler.
Taste wise,
Paula's is richer and a bit sweeter.


So who has the better recipe?
Hands down,
I think Paula Deen takes this one.
Not only is it simpler to make,
her Peanut Butter Cookies tasted SO MUCH BETTER.
It's rich and has so much
peanut butter flavor.
Yum.
Martha's cookies,
even though it's quite good,
is not good enough.
It became a bit hard after a day,
in an airtight container.
Paula's cookies retain their texture.

Not to mention,
when I made Paula's Magical Peanut Butter Cookies,
my kids devour them within 2 days.
With Martha's
it took about a week to finish.
So, there.
That's the verdict.

In case you are interested,
this is the recipe for Martha's
Peanut Butter Crisps.


Recipe taken from Martha Stewart Cookie Book.

1 cup all purpose Flour
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup salted whole peanuts

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
Stir together flour, salt and baking soda in a small bowl.

2. Put butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer
fitted with the paddle attachment;
mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Mix in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low.
Gradually add flour mixture; mix until combined. Stir in peanuts.

3. Drop 2 teaspoons of dough on baking sheets lined with parchment paper,
spacing about 3 inches apart.
Lightly flattened to 1 1/2 inch in diameter.
Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through,
until edges are just golden, about 13 minutes.
Let cool on sheets on wire racks.
Cookies can be stored in airtight containers in room temperature up
to 1 week.

Texas Chilli Cheese Fries

I haven't had this
in the longest time!
When I saw Rachael Ray's
recipe
in her
Big, Orange Book..
I just have to try it.

The only thing I'm not too happy about,
is that the cheese sauce
ain't thick enough.
I didnt cook long enough,
I think.
Too much in a hurry to put
this on the table!


Recipe taken from Rachael Ray's Big Orange Book.
Serves 4.

4 Big Idaho potatoes, cut into wedges
2 tablespoons grill seasoning, such as McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more to drizzle the fries
2 - 2 1/4 pounds ground sirloin or Turkey
1 large onion, chopped
3 to 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons chilli powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
Salt and Pepper
3 tablespoons tomato paste
Hot Sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 cups beef or chicken stock, or 1 bottle dark beer
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 cup milk
1 cup chicken stock
1 1/2 to 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 450F.

Place the potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle them with
the grill seasoning and give a good drizzle of the extra virgin olive oil;
toss to coat.
Roast the potatoes until crispy golden brown, about 40 minutes,
turning them once halfway through the cooking time.

While the potatoes are roasting, place a large heavy bottomed pot
over medium high heat with the 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Add the ground meat to the pan and cook until brown, about 6-7 minutes,
using a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon to break it up
into small pieces as it cooks.

Push the meat to one side of the pan and add the onion, garlic,
jalapeno, chilli powder and cumin to the pot.
COok until all the veggies are soft, 5-6 minutes, and season
with salt and pepper.

Add the tomato paste to the pot and cook for about 1 minute,
until it smells sweet and has caramelized slightly.
Add hot sauce to taste, the Worcestershire and the stock/beer.
Bring everything up to a bubble, then reduce the heat
and simmer the chilli until thickened, about 10 minutes.

While the chilli is simmering,
melt the butter in a medium pot over medium high heat.
Sprinkle the flour over the melted butter
and cook it for a minute, stirring.
Stir the mustard into the roux, then whisk in
the milk and chicken stock.
Continue whisking the sauce until it has thickened up,
then remove the pot from the heat and stir in the cheese,
in a figure 8 motion, until it melts.
Season the cheese sauce with salt and pepper.

To serve, divide the fries up and top each serving with
some chilli and some cheese.

Mocha Crackle Cookies

This is almost similar to my
Double Chocolate Espresso cookies,
except that these cookies
are more cakey in texture.
Almost like
Brownie Bites.

The coffee takes centerstage here.
To me,
I would prefer it to be a bit more
chocolatey.
The next time I made this,
I'll put some semi-sweet chocolates.
Enjoy!

Recipe taken from Taste of Home Magazine:

Recipe yields about 5 dozen.

1/2 cup butter (no substitute)
5 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened chocolate
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
4 eggs
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 cups plus 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup confectioner's sugar

In a microwave or saucepan, heat butter, chocolate and coffee granules
until chocolate melted; cool slightly.
In a mixing bowl, combine eggs and salt.
Add sugars.
Stir in chocolate mixture; mix well.
Combine flour and baking powder;
gradually add to egg mixture to form a soft dough.
Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until
easy to handle.

Roll dough into 3/4 inch balls.
Roll into confectioner's sugar;
place 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets.
Bake at 350 F for 12 minutes until set. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Corn Bread Casserole with Fresh Corn and Green Onions

Everyone in the South knows
what corn bread is.
I was introduced to cornbread
back in Hawaii in 1998,
whilst eating at Anna Miller's
with my boyfriend (now hubby).
At first,
when I saw it,
I thought
"Who would eat cake as a side dish?"
Cornbread to me looks like a cake.
And when I saw
Jeff dipping his cornbread
into his spaghetti sauce,
I almost gagged in horror!
Cake and spaghetti sauce?
Eeek...

Anyway,
I got past that
and over the next few years,
have learnt
that cornbread is a staple side dish
in the South.
I have also learnt to enjoy
and LOVE eating it.
Yes,
alongside my meals.

There are so many different variations to
cornbread.
Some people like it saltier
but I like mine a bit sweet.
My absolute favorite is corn casserole.
I have made several variations with it
but this one,
is my fave.

P.S. You can substitute the fresh corn
with canned corn, if you like.

Recipe taken from the Deen Bros. Y'all Come Eat.

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus additional for coating pan
1 cup fresh corn kernels (from 2 ears of corn)
1 15oz can cream style corn
1 cup sour cream
1 8oz package corn muffin mix
6 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
A pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 9 inch square baking pan: set aside.

2. In a large bowl, stir together the 1/2 cup melted butter, the fresh corn,
cream style corn, sour cream, muffin mix, green onions, pepper and salt.
Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake for 60-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Two Sauce Lasagna Bowls

I LOVE lasagna
but
it's so tedious
to make
that I dont make it
often.
Too time consuming
especially
when I have 3 kids screaming
for attention.

This recipe by
Rachael Ray,
is a quick version of a lasagna dish.
The pasta is tossed
with a white sauce (besciamella)
and top with a light meat sauce.
No baking is needed,
unless you want to add
mozarella on top of it.
It's good without it.
Even my hubby,
who doesnt like any sort of white sauce,
is impressed
and love it.

I did tweak the recipe a bit
to suit my liking.
In the original recipe,
Rachel used pork, beef and veal
in her meat sauce
and she
also used pancetta.
Since I dont eat pork,
I omit it in the recipe.


Recipe taken from Rachel Ray's Big Orange book -
with a bit of tweaking.

Ingredients:
Salt
1 pound curly short cut pasta
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3/4 pound ground beef
1/2 carrot peeled and grated
1 small to medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, 2 chopped or grated
and 1 peeled
1/2 tsp ground allspice
Black Pepper
1 Bay leaf
3 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup dry red wine * I used 1/2 cup beef stock.
2 cups beef stock
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp all purpose flour
2 cups milk
Freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup grated parmesan reggiano

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta.
Salt the water, add the pasta and cool al dente.

While the pasta water comes to a boil,
heat 2 tbsp of the extra virgin olive oil in a medium sauce pot
over medium high heat.
Add the ground beef and break it up as it browns.
When the meat has begun to caramelize and develops a nice brown color,
4 to 5 minutes, add the carrots, onions, 2 cloves of chopped garlic, allspice,
salt and pepper and the bay leaf.
Cook for 3 to 4 minutes more to soften the onions and carrots,
then stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the wine (or 1/2 cup beef stock) and cook for 1 minute.
Then stir in 2 cups of beef stock and reduce the heat to simmer.

While the red sauce cooks,
cut the peeled whole garlic clove in half and rub the inside
of a medium sauce pot with it.
Add the butter and melt over medium heat.
Add the flour and whisk together for a minute or so,
then whisk in the milk and bring to a bubble.
Reduce the heat and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Cook for 8 to 10 minutes to thicken.

Toss the pasta with the white sauce and the grated cheese.
Serve the pasta in individual bowls and top each serving
with a ladle of meat sauce for mixing in.

Egg Salad in Cups

I saw this idea from
The Deen Bros. Y'all Come Eat
cookbook.
They used white bread and
toasted it in muffin cups.
And I thought,
wow...
that's a great idea
but I'm too lazy to cut
my bread.
So, since I have
a tin of Pillsbury Refrigerated Crescents,
I substitute it for that.
And boy,
did it turned out DELICIOUS.
I usually make an egg salad sandwich
with either white or wheat bread.
but now,
I'm gonna start eating it with the Crescent dough.
It takes the egg salad sandwich
into another level.

For this recipe,
you can use your own egg salad recipe.
Here's mine:


1 refrigerated Pillsbury Crescent dough
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup mayonnaise
3 tbsp sweet pickle relish * You can use less or more, depending on your taste
1/2 tsp Kosher salt or Onion salt *

1. Preheat oven according to crescent package.
Unroll the crescent dough and using a circular cookie cutter (about 3 inch in diameter), cut the dough into a circular shape.
Put it in a muffin tin and mold the dough to the sides of the muffin cup.
Brush a bit of the melted butter.
Bake accordingly to the package or until golden. Transfer cups to a wire rack.


2. In a medium bowl, stir together the remaining ingredients.
Divide the egg mixture evenly among the toast cups. Serve immediately.

Double Chocolate Espresso Cookies

This is my cookies #2 that I tested
to make for my in-laws.
If you love chocolate and coffee,
this is the cookie for you.
It has a bit of a chewy texture (instead of crispy).
The coffee isn't overwhelmingly bitter.
Even my girls love it.
They said it tasted like brownies.
And it does!
I put coffee granules in my brownies to bring out
the chocolate flavor.
The first dozen that came out of my oven,
were gone within the hour!
Yum!

Most important,
it is so easy to make.
Idiot proof.
The next time I'll do this,
I think some kind of nuts added like pecans and walnuts,
will be good too.



Recipe taken from Tastes of Home Magazine.

Yields: 3 dozen

3 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1/2 cup butter (1 stick) butter, cubed
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules ( I used Nescafe)
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. In a small heavy saucepan, melt the unsweetened chocolate, 1 cup chocolate chips,
and butter with coffee granules;
stir until smooth. Remove from the heat; Set aside to cool.

2. In a small mixing bowl, beat sugar and eggs for 3 minutes
or until thick and lemon-colored.
Beat in the chocolate mixture.
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to the chocolate mixture.
Stir in remaining chips.

3. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inch apart onto greased baking sheets.
Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes or until puffed and tops cracked.
COol for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks.

Pasta with Chicken Meatballs

This is a great recipe to make with
your kids.
I have Juliana mixed and rolled
the meatballs.
She loves it.

What makes this dish is the Bocconcini
(small Mozarella balls).
If you can't find it,
just get some fresh mozarella
and chopped it up roughly
and toss it with the pasta.



Recipe taken from Giada's Kitchen.

1 pound pasta (small pasta preferably) - 1 cup of pasta water reserved
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tbsp whole milk
1 tbsp ketchup
3/4 cup freshly grated Romano cheese
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 pound ground chicken

1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
8 oz Broncconcini (small mozarella balls) halved
1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite,
stirring occasionally, 8 to 12 minutes.
Drain the pasta, reserving about 1 cup of pasta water.

In a medium bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, parsley,
eggs, milk, ketchup, Romano cheese, salt and pepper.
Add the chicken and combine well.
Using a teaspoon for measure,
scoop up a bit of the mixture, roll the seasoned chicken
into 3/4 inch mini meatballs.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
Working in batches, add the meatballs and cook without moving until
brown on the bottom, about 2 minutes.
Turn the meatballs and brown the tops, about 2 minutes longer.
Add the chicken broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil,
using a wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits that cling to the bottom
of the pan.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the tomatoes are soft and
the meatballs are cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Transfer the pasta to a large serving bowl and add 1/2 cup of the
Parmesan.
Toss to coat the pasta lightly,
adding some of the reserved pasta water to make a sauce.
Add the meatball mixture, bocconcini,
and 1/2 cup of the basil and combine.
Garnish with the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan and the remaining basil.