Chocolate Chip Cookies

I thought it was impossible to ruin a chocolate chip cookie. It's such a forgiving recipe! Add a little extra flour? Counter-act with butter. Poured in too many chocolate chips? Who's going to be upset about that??

But I did it. I managed to do something so silly and out of character, that I ruined an otherwise perfectly good batch of cookies.

I overcooked them. Yes, I of the under-baked = EXTRA love variety, over-baked them. I'm not proud, but since I have so far made relatively few disastrous mistakes that could not be salvaged in the kitchen, I thought it was only fair that I share this mishap.

So the moral of the story, obviously, is don't think the time for cooking that's marked on the recipe does not apply to you. It does. Seriously. But, the cookie dough tasted amazing, so I'll try them again and get back to you with my final verdict.

In the meantime, here's some wonderful reading regarding the epic and widely known chocolate chip cookie.

Happy Baking!

Jessica

Tomato and Onion Sauteed Green Beans

Hi, I made a pie for you today. But I'm embarrassed, and I'm going to let you in on a little secret. The bottom crust? Kind of a disaster.

I know, I can't believe after all my hard work it didn't bake through! It looked so beautiful and yet it just didn't do what it was supposed to. But the fruity mush it created was still yummy, and the outer crust was more than edible. So I guess it's okay. :)

What I did successfully make today, however, was a challah! Yes, again- but I love it and I will NEVER let it go. It's my favorite bread in the world and I will continue making it all the rest of my days, rain or shine, Kitchen Aid mixer or wooden spoon, I'll be making it.

And, I made a new green bean dish today too! Check it out- it was inspired by various cookbook recipes I found but it makes a really tasty and rather fast vegetable side dish to serve with any summer dinner.

Tomato and Onion Sauteed Green Beans

(A Jessica original)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed and cleaned
• 1 pint organic cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 sweet yellow onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon EVOO (Yes, I say evoo :) )
• 1 teaspoon garlic paste
• 1/2 cup white wine, separated
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a large pot, bring 2 -3 cups of salted water to a boil. Place the fresh green beans in a metal colander and place in the pot. Cover the colander with a lid, but make sure some of the steam can still escape. Steam for 15 minutes.
2. About 5 minutes before the green beans are done, add EVOO, garlic paste, 1/4 cup of white wine, and the chopped onion in a large saute pan, on medium-high heat. Let the onions simmer for about 6 minutes or until they start to become translucent and slightly browned.
3. When the beans have finished steaming, drain, and add to the onions, along with the remaining 1/4 cup white wine.
4. Let the beans continue to cook, covered, for 10 minutes. Stir every few minutes to ensure they don't burn.
5. Finally, add the cherry tomatoes and cook uncovered for about 10 more minutes, or until the tomatoes become softened and fragrant.

Serve warm with a nice big hunk of rustic baguette and some creamy brie cheese!

Happy Baking!

Jessica

Doomed Strawberry Charlotte....

This is a warning post. Unfortunately, today's recipe was just a disaster all around. Going through my mom's old recipe book over the weekend I was so excited to see a recipe for a low-fat Strawberry Charlotte! (Which is a French dessert, kind of like a jello surrounded by a layer of cookies and refrigerated for a few hours) Hmph.... This was just not a success.

First, the recipe calls for Lady Finger cookies- of which every store near my house was out of! So I did my googling thing and decided on Angel Food Cake as a suitable substitute- nope, it was much too soft and sticky and sweet to work with the charlotte sauce. Finally, the kicker was that the recipe didn't call for gelatin.... So it never came together. I feel a bit ashamed showing you a picture, but here it is. Hopefully tomorrow will be better! :-)

Happy Baking, tomorrow!

Jessica