brown sugar chocolate chip cookies

Happy long weekend everybody! I just spent the past few days at home in Camillus, where I suffered through Morgan’s long and boring graduation (it’s cool, she sat through mine) and enjoyed Kevin’s antics as usual. This week at school the fifth graders watched.. THE movie. So it was pretty entertaining to be home.

class of 2020

I’m heading to Ocean City with some friends for the weekend, and because I’m not a big drinker my contribution to the fiesta is, of course, food. I went to two grocery stores this morning to get the best prices on produce for my famous black bean salsa, and the right wing sauce for my more-famous chicken wing dip. I highly recommend both of these recipes if you want to impress your friends. And maybe these, and this, and this.

I also wanted to contribute something sweet to the mix, but because we’re moving soon my pantry stores have been running low. Despite my double grocery store visit this morning, I didn’t want to buy bags of flour and sugar only to need to make room for them in a box in 7 DAYS when we move. Especially since, knowing me, that will be the box I drop and then I’d be crying over spilled cookie ingredients.

Anyway, I had some remnants of white sugar and flour floating around, and I went in search of a cookie recipe to accommodate what I had on hand. I knew my fellow bloggers wouldn’t let me down. I even ended up needing to use a little bit of cinnamon sugar that I keep in a tupperware container for toast- my bag of white sugar could be measured in teaspoons.

Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies

from Averie Cooks

1 1/2 sticks softened unsalted butter

1/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup bread flour

2 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

chocolate chips

We’ve made enough cookies on this blog, you know the drill.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes on a lined baking sheet. Allow to cool for 5-7 minutes before removing from the baking sheet.

These are coming in the car with me, but I of course had to try one to make sure I wasn’t giving you a recipe for crappy cookies. We’ll have none of that at Spill the Beans. They were puffy and chewy and wonderful. I think cornstarch has magical powers.

 

Have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!

corn and potato chowder (Dinosaur BBQ recipe)

A perfect meal for late Spring days that are drizzly and just a tad cold.

I wish I had a cute story about a neighbor, like Erin did for her superb strawberry pie. There is a bit of a not-so-cute story behind this dish, though. Beginning with the fact that I really shouldn’t like it, but I absolutely love it.

My mom gave me a xeroxed copy of this recipe and told me I needed to make it. Considering I don’t love most soups, I had never had chowder, and potatoes that are not fried or mashed are not my thing- this cooking endeavor was a bit of a bold move for me. The recipe hung on a magnet on my fridge for a month or so. Then, Joe brought home fresh sausage from a coworker’s family farm. Sausage, which is also something I don’t normally eat, seemed like a great addition to this chowder. And so, I took a leap and I got ta-cookin’!

This recipe is one from an old Dinosaur BBQ cookbook we’ve had in my family forever. For those of you who don’t know our beloved Dinosaur, it is a downtown Syracuse barbecue joint that is now a franchise and has various locations! If you don’t have one near you, check your grocery store for some “Sensuous Slathering Sauce.” Divine. This chowder is one they’re known for and one I’m sure you’ll love, if I did.

Corn and Potato Chowder

Adapted from Dinosaur Barbecue

• 1/3 lb ground pork sausage
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1-2 bell peppers, diced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 4 cups chicken stock (I use this and water)
• 4 cups peeled and finely diced potatoes
• 1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
• 2 cups frozen corn
• 1 cup fat-free half and half
• 1/2 tablespoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh, chopped parsley
• Shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
• salt and pepper

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook until evenly browned. Remove sausage and let drain on paper towels. Remove some of the fat from the pot, if necessary.

Add the onions and peppers to the same pot to cook in the residual grease. Season wit salt and pepper and cook for about ten minutes, until soft. Add the minced garlic and stir until fragrant, about one minute. Sprinkle in flour to lightly coat the vegetable. Pour in the chicken stock (or water and base) and add the potatoes. Cover the pot and turn heat to high until it reaches a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and allow to cook for 10-15 minutes, until potatoes are fork-tender. Add the shredded carrots and corn and simmer for 5 minutes longer.

Stir in the half-and-half, cayenne, thyme, lots (and lots!) of ground black pepper, and salt (to taste). Serve in bowls and top with the ground sausage, parsley, and some shredded cheddar cheese.

strawberry pie

As I’m sure you all know, last Sunday was Mother’s Day. Unfortunately I couldn’t be home with my mom on the actual day, but I obviously sent a card and called her before either of my sisters (winning). After Body Pump I decided to do some cleaning since I was already dirty. Even though my mom and I don’t live in the same house and she couldn’t see me, I felt like scrubbing my bathroom floor on my hands and knees was a fitting way to spend Mother’s Day.

Then I went outside to wash my car (you’d think it was Father’s Day, too), and our elderly neighbor came over and said he would pull his car around when I was finished. I told him, sincerely, that I would be happy to wash his car, but then he got embarrassed and walked inside. About 10 minutes later he came back over with two cartons of strawberries.

“I really don’t want you to wash my car, but I want to give you these.”

Seriously the cutest thing ever.

So I made a pie!

Strawberry Pie

for the crust:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 sticks cold butter, diced and then re-refrigerated

3 tbs sugar

1 tsp salt

ice water

for the filling:

2 lbs fresh strawberries, halved

1/2 cup sugar

3 tbs cornstarch

juice of 1 lemon (I had a VERY juicy lemon- it was at least 1/4 cup)

zest of 2 lemons

I’ve made pie crust a couple times now, and I found it to be messy and taxing with my hands so I thought I would try using my food processor. This was a good idea, in theory, except that I ended up adding too much water so the crust was a little wet- almost like biscuit dough. It turned out fine, but you want to add just enough water to get the crust to hold together.

Separate the crust into two sections, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Combine the strawberries, lemon zest and juice, sugar, and cornstarch. Refrigerate. I used a lot of lemon juice and zest because I find strawberries to be sticky-sweet sometimes so I wanted the tart flavor. If you aren’t a fan, just add less.

Roll out half of the pie crust and place in a buttered pie plate. Poke holes in the bottom with a fork, then pour in the strawberry mixture.

Add the top crust, pinching the two together. Brush the top with an egg mixed with a little bit of water, and then cut two slits to release some of the steam.

Bake at 400 degrees until the top is golden brown, about a half hour. Slice and serve with ice cream and/or whipped cream.

I’ve since knocked on my neighbor’s door no less than 3 times trying to bring him a big piece of this pie to share with his cute little wife as a thank you for the berries, but he hasn’t answered.

Maybe I should slip hearing aid information under the door and he’ll hear me knocking the next time I bake in excess.

furniture painting!

I know this is a food blog, but in the spirit of creativity I’m sharing this as well.

A friend of mine moved from Baltimore to D.C. about a month ago, and she was getting rid of most of her furniture. This works out well for me, because I need a bed for our new house and I could use a desk as well. The GS and I went over to her house and strapped the bed to the roof of his car and drove at a glacial pace back to my house, and then we made a second trip for the desk.

Someone had obviously tried to paint the desk black without sanding it first, so it looked weird but I took it anyway. Project!

I sanded the whole thing down, and removed the knobs. The GS and I went on an adventure to Lowes with our friend John, where I agonized over which paint colors and hardware to choose and they tried on funny hats.

Knobs are EXPENSIVE! There were some that were like $14 each. Hell no. I went with small stainless steel ones that were 97 cents each- going for a nautical feel on a budget.

My original plan was to do a chevron pattern for the drawers, but they’re all different sizes and trying to figure out the math made my head hurt. Stripes are simpler.

These were most of my supplies, although I forgot to get a paint tray. That’s what cardboard boxes are for. I also used my quilter’s rule to measure out the stripes. A regular ruler would be fine, but this was nice because it’s bigger and has more lines. I did 1/2 inch and 1 1/2 inch stripes with 1 inch gaps because I had 1 inch tape. Again, keeping things simple.

My lines didn’t come out perfect, which could be because I used too much paint or because I used ancient tape that I found in our basement. You can’t tell from a distance though, and I decided it makes it look antique-y.

The finished product!

The whole project cost me less than $40. I have no money, and that still seems pretty reasonable.

Between the cooking, the quilting, and the furniture painting I think I should quit audiology and become a Girl Scout troop leader/Michael’s employee.

easy homemade marshmallows

Story time!

I like three desserts (with a few exceptions) on heavy rotation in the Summer. I will tell you a story about each one because, my heavens, I am so psyched for Summer I can’t even stand it. With the last class of my Master’s program being tomorrow, the sweet smell of vacation is almost in my grips!

Just why do I love Summer so much? Let’s start with dessert:

Dessert # 1: Ice cream cones.

Cold, drippy, sweet ice cream cones. I can’t have these very often, but it means I savor every lick when I do. I am lucky enough to live near two of the best ice cream places around: Gannon’s and Arctic Island. When I was younger, I would spend Sundays with my dad (who lives right down the street from Gannon’s). Sometimes, on the way home, we would get an ice cream cone- usually a twist for me. Then I would go home, being sure to hide all evidence of Gannon’s, and ask my mom if we could go to Arctic Island “for dessert” in hopes of a crunchy scoop of Mocha Fudge Almond. I told you, I really like ice cream.

Dessert # 2: Strawberry Shortcake.

With whipped cream, please! I like strawberry shortcake because I can justify eating it at 8 am for breakfast. I can also justify eating it at 1 am, just because. In fact, two summers ago, I spent over a week in New York City to heal the wound of being a recent college graduate. Twice, we went to the same restaurant at ungodly hours just to get some strawberry shortcake. I don’t even know how many miles we walked for that cake, but it was worth every bite. The coffee with tequila we ordered alongside it? Not so much.

Dessert # 3: Toasted marshmallows.

I saved the best for last! I can have ice cream and strawberry shortcake anytime, if I really wanted to. Toasted marshmallows? Nuh-uh. These are a testament to my favorite holiday: the Fourth of July. I don’t think I’ve ever had one that wasn’t punctuated by mouthfuls of charred, gooey marshmallow. I like mine almost burnt and completely oozey in the middle. I am a master at finding marshmallow sticks to do this job perfectly. Evidently, I’m also a bit of a snob.

If I had known it was this easy to make marshmallows at home, I would’ve start a long time ago. I’d challenge you to make these or your friends that “don’t really like marshmallows” because the homemade version isn’t even the same food at the jet-puffed ones in plastic bags. These are silky and smooth, not too sweet, and so bouncy it feels like you’re trying to chew a cloud. If you have the right equipment, you can make these in a cinch!

Homemade Marshmallows

Adapted from Alton Brown

• 3 packages unflavored gelatin
• 1 cup very cold water, divided by half (pop it in the freezer for a minute or two)
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• Nonstick cooking spray

Equipment:

• Stand mixer with whisk attachment
• 9×13 pan
• Candy thermometer

Put gelatin and 1/2 cup water in the bowl of your stand mixer, stir, and let sit.

Add sugar, 1/2 cup water, corn syrup, and salt in a sauce pan. Place over medium-high heat and attach the candy thermometer to the pan. Stirring occasionally, let the mixture reach 240 degrees F (about 10 minutes). As soon as it does, remove from the heat.

Begin whisking the water gelatin mixture on low speed. Slowly pour in the cooked sugar mixture down the side of the bowl while still mixing. Once the entire mixture incorporated, increase speed to high. Let mix for about 15 minutes, until it is thick and lukewarm in temperature. Add the vanilla and mix for a minute more.

Spray a 9×13 pan (or an 8×8 and loaf pan because you 9×13 is being used!) with nonstick cooking spray and generously coat with powdered sugar, including the sides. Using a spatula, pour in the marshmallow batter and spread evenly. Dust the top with the remaining powdered sugar. Refrigerate, uncovered, overnight.

Once set, run a sharp knife under warm water and run it along the marshmallow’s edges. Invert the pan onto parchment paper or a cutting board and tap the pan with the knife until the marshmallows release from the pan. Use a pizza cutter dusted with powdered sugar to slice the marshmallows.

Eat plain, toast under the broiler, or dip in chocolate and toppings- Get creative!

warm pasta salad with goat cheese, lemon, and asparagus

Are you guys on Pinterest?

I know Erin is. Brittany is. Are the rest of ya’ll? I go through heavy phases of Pinterest. For those of you who don’t know, Pinterest is like having a set of online bulletin boards that you “pin” stuff on and you can see what all your friends are “pinning” to their boards, too. Boards might be like “Food,” “Fashion,” “Home Decor,” “Dogs,” etc. Or maybe that’s just me. It’s also a great resource for school professionals and babysitters (like me). K, Pinterest isn’t sponsoring this post, promise.

I’ll pin like a mad woman for a week then forget about it for a week. The typical binge-and-purge social media cycle. It’s probably no surprise that one of my favorite things to pin are recipes from around the web. It probably is a surprise that I don’t pin food all that often. If I pin something, I make it. Point blank. I don’t pin 30 things and make one. No Sir-ree. If I like something enough to save it to my life’s website, I will for darn sure attempt that recipe. That results in some successes and some fails. This pasta recipe is a Pinterest success story. I liked it so much I made it twice already!

If you’re unfamiliar with tarragon, it is a minty, licorice-tasting herb that really complements the salty goat cheese and acidic lemon. This salad is sweet, salty, and deep in its layers of flavor. An impressive side dish to share, for sure.

Warm Pasta Salad with Goat Cheese, Lemon, and Asparagus

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen (and discovered on Pinterest)

• 1 lb. curly pasta
• 1 lb skinny asparagus* spears, chopped 1-2″ long
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 6.0 oz goat cheese log (not pre-crumbled!)
• 2 teaspoons chopped, fresh tarragon
• 1 tablespoon lemon peel, freshly grated
• 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice (or, to taste)
• Lots of salt and freshly ground black pepper

Boil pasta in salted water for three minutes less than the package calls for “al dente” pasta. When three minutes remain, add the asparagus and cook until both the vegetables and the pasta are al dente. Drain completely, reserving some pasta water.

While the past cooks, combine lemon peel, lemon juice, tarragon, cheese, and olive oil in a large bowl. Mix well. Microwave for 20 seconds or so, if necessary. While pasta and asparagus are still piping hot, transfer them into the bowl with the dressing ingredients. Toss to coat the pasta in the cheese mixture, adding salt, pepper, and pasta water to taste/texture. Serve immediately.

If you want to make this ahead of time, like I did, reserve 1/3 cup of the dressing ingredients after you mix them and before you add the pasta. Toss the pasta and asparagus in the rest of the dressing and transfer to a casserole dish. Keep the pasta warm in a 225 degree oven, or warm for a few minutes at 350 before serving. Toss with remaining dressing right before digging in. 

*Note: I made this version for my family’s Easter dinner (delicious!). I made it again using green beans in place of asparagus and adding ham to make it the entire meal with a side salad and bread. Both are great!

Update from Sheila

Hey guys!

I don’t know the last time I blogged and I’m not going to check because it’s depressing. Between technical difficulties on the blog and end-of-the-semester due dates (I get my Master’s a week from today, hurray!), blogging definitely had to be put on the back burner for a while. That doesn’t mean good food wasn’t had, though! Now I’m back with plenty of recipes to share and hopefully you won’t mind if I share some delicious recipes I cooked up over a month ago

To ease back into things, though, I thought today I’d just share some recent foodie highlights that I don’t want to forget about. So in very few words, here are what’s been keeping me happy and motivated to cook during the “crunch time” of my graduate career:

A quick trip home for Easter and an uncommonly fun night out in Syracuse (Pictured: The sophisticated pregame, and these cookies).

“Healthy” pancakes and strawberry compote butter on a Saturday morning.

A first lost tooth!

A homemade version of this dip for some college friends’ trip to Plattsburgh to catch a lacrosse game.

A late-night baking venture after a sushi date: Pretzel crust for candy bar pie.

Cheese plate with roasted pepper lime jelly, mimosas, and Master’s viewing.

Making these treats for the hundredth time (they’re someone’s favorite).

Roasted chicken dinner by Joe, using Giada’s recipe, during a particularly busy week. Seriously. Divine.

Cinco De Mayo Weekend:

A walk around Lake Champlain with a visitor!

Homemade sour mix margaritas on the porch.

And a night out

Now, I’m off to start what might be my last research paper ever. I’ll be back to regular posting in a day or two, missed you guys!