Lots of Cookies

So I went to hang out with my friend Charlotte today. I usually go over on Monday but I had a banquet at the restaurant yesterday so I had to work. Last week I had measured all my ingredients out for chocolate chip cookies but failed to realized that I only had 1 egg. Charlotte supplied my missing egg so we could bake this afternoon. I've never used a specific recipe for my chocolate chip cookies just the one on the bake of the chip bag. I did however use whole wheat flour instead of white. It makes them a little healthier...until it comes to the 2 sticks of butter. :)

Memories from England

So most of you know that in a few weeks Jen (my roommate) and I will be going on a trip to England, Ireland and Scotland. I am SO very excited! I can't wait to go back. Right after I graduated highschool I went to England for 3 months. It was one of the best things I've ever done. I fell in love with Britain! The family I stayed with were American and Sarah, the wife, loved cooking so we got along great. Sarah was a fan of Nigella Lawson a British chef. One of the recipes that Sarah and I tried was Orange Breakfast Muffins from her 'Nigella Bites' cookbook. I bought the cookbook after I got back to the states and it always brings back great memories when I cook from it.

Orange Breakfast Muffins

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 2/3 cups self-rising flour
2 tablespoons ground almonds
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
zest of 1 orange
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon whole milk
1 egg
12-cup muffin pan lined with 12 paper baking cups

Preheat the oven to 400F
Melt the butter and set aside. Combine the flour, ground almonds, baking soda, baking powder, sugar and orange zest in the large bowl. Measure the orange juice and milk into a pitcher and whisk in the egg and then the cooled, melted butter. Now pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing with a fork as you go. The batter will be lumpy that's as it should be: you want everything to be no more than barely combined. The whole point of muffin mixture is that it must never be overworked.
Spoon out the mixture equally into the muffin cups and cook for 20 minutes. Remove, in their paper baking cups, to a wire rack and let cool slightly before devouring.
Makes 12

Tiramisu

I'm not much of a dessert person until it comes to tiramisu and ice cream. Finding good ice cream in Statesboro isn't usually a problem but making tiramisu comes with its challenges. Lady fingers are the source of my 2 year long struggle to make this amazing dessert. None of the grocery stores carry them! (we only have 3) I just found them last week online at www.igourmet.com for a very reasonable price so I think that I will just go ahead and order them. Here is my recipe for tiramisu:

Tiramisu

6 egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated suger
1/3 cup brandy
1/4 cup Marsala
1 pound mascarpone cheese
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
3/4 cup extra-strong cofffee
24 Italian ladyfingers (not the soft kind; cookie-like)
4 ounces semisweet chocolate; finely chopped

In bowl, beat egg yolks with sugar until light, about 5 minutes. Whisk in 1/4 cup each of brandy and Marsala. Transfer to double boiler over gently simmering water; whisk for about 7 minutes or until thickened. Let cool. Beat cheese until smooth;fold in egg mixture. Whip cream; stir one-quarter into cheese mixture. Fold in remaining cream. Combine coffee and remaining brandy and marsala. Dip the ladyfingers into the coffee mixture to lightly moisten them Arrange the ladyfinger in 11x7-inch glass baking dish; spread with half of the cream mixture. Repeat layers. Top with chocolate.
Cover and refrigerate overnight. (Can be frozen for up to 2 weeks. Let thaw in refrigerator for 24 hours before serving.)

I've Been Sucked Into Blogworld

So thanks to my married friends I'm going to start my own blog. I've really enjoyed reading their blogs so I thought I'd start one. So...here it goes!!