Compromise Cookies

I'm home!  Had a great time in Atlanta, but so happy to be back in the Bluegrass state! 

When my husband and I first got together, the relationship was great, but I knew there was one issue that would be difficult to resolve.  He was an oatmeal cookie kind of guy and I was a chocolate chip kind of girl!  I created a new cookie with an oatmeal base, dark chocolate chips and walnuts.  This cookie is the perfect compromise...crisp on the edges, chewy on the inside, great oatmeal texture, and satifies your chocolate craving.  It has a little bit of cinnamon to accentuate the dark chocolate, and has a lovely chocolate-vanilla-cinnamon aftertaste.  This is sure to be a cookie that members of your family can compromise on too!  Makes about 4 dozen.

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 and 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips (I recommend Ghirardelli 60% chips)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.  Mix flour, cinnamon, and baking soda together in small bowl and set aside.  Using a mixer or a fork, cream butter, both sugars, and vanilla until slightly sluffy.  Add eggs and continue to mix.  In 3 or 4 batches, add flour mixture, stirring after each batch.  Add oats in several batches and mix until incorporated.  Add walnuts and chocolate chips and stir to distribute.

Drop in rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake at 375 for 9 minutes, or until cookies are slightly browned around the edges.  Remove from cookie sheet, then cool before eating.

Atlanta

Hello!  I am in Atlanta for a work conference.  I am having a great time, meeting other actuaries from around the nation and Canada.  I will return on Thursday and will get back to cooking and posting on Friday.  Since I started the blog just a couple of weeks ago, I've been having an awesome time cooking the foods, taking the pictures, and sharing my favorite foods here with all you other Modern Janes (and Modern Joes too)!  I just wanted to let you know I am on vacation this week, and definitely not losing interest.  I have many ideas of things to share over the next few months, so stay tuned!

Steak Salad

Yay, it's Saturday! 

If you're like me, you are debating whether you want to go out for dinner tonight, or make something at home.  Last night my husband Dave and I stayed home and made one of our favorites - steak salad.  This salad is a careful mixture, combining the flavors of crunchy vegetables, tart balsamic vinegar, creamy blue cheese, tender steak, and tender steak.  It is also a great balance of nutrients.  This recipe serves 2 for a great date night at home dinner, but can easily be doubled or tripled to serve more.

Ingredients:

Dressing:
1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
(if your vinegar is not very sweet, you may want to add 1 tsp. sugar)

Salad:
3 cups torn baby greens
1/2 cup grape tomatoes
1 cucumber
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
3/4 lb. steak tips, or steak cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup red onion slices
2 oz. crumbled bleu cheese
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Peel cucumber.  Cut into quarters.  Scoop out seeds with a spoon, and then slice.  Place in bowl with dressing, and stir to coat.  (This pickles the cucumbers ever so slightly.) 

Meanwhile,  heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat.  Add steak tips and cook for 5 minutes.  Add onion slices to pan, and cook for another 5 -10 minutes, stirring occacionally.When steak appears to be cooked thoroughly, add the 1 tsp. vinegar to the pan.  Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.  Remove pan from heat.

Add lettuce and tomatoes to salad bowl, and toss salad to coat with dressing.  Place the salad onto dinner-sized plates.  Top with crumbled bleu cheese.  Put warm steak mixture on top of salad, and serve immediately. 

Tastes great with a glass of red wine!

Fabulous Brownies

Happy Friday!

These brownies really are all that!  They have a deep, complex chocolate flavor, are moist and chewy, and will truly delight your palate.  They are adapted from a Cook's Country recipe I found and fell in love with a couple of years ago. Unlike with other brownies, you will have had your fill after just one because the chocolate is so satiating.  They are good to bring to a picnic or other gathering because brownies are something everyone likes, and these ones are so far above average. One of my actuary (math nerd) coworkers tried them and said "Carol, I have an equation that I use to evaluate brownies.  It's the amount of chocolatey fudgy goodness, divided by the number of square inches of the brownie.  Your brownies maxed this equation out"!  I couldn't have said it better!  Make these and find out for yourself.  Makes 20 squares.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 1 oz. squares Baker's unsweetened chocolate
5 1 oz. squares Baker's semi-sweet chocolate
3 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
3 eggs
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 cup flour
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.  Remove eggs from refrigerator so they can warm to room temperature.  In a small saucepan over low heat or in a double boiler, melt butter and chocolates together.  When melted, remove from heat and stir in cocoa powder until smooth.  Allow mixture to cool for 20 minutes. 

Beat eggs lightly in a medium-sized mixing bowl.  Add sugar and stir until light yellow and slightly fluffy.  Gradually stir in chocolate mixture.

Add vanilla, then stir in flour in 3 or 4 batches.  Add walnuts if using.  Line an 8 by 8 inch baking pan with foil, and butter the foil.  Pour batter into the pan, and smooth the top with a spatula.

Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean.  Cool for 2 hours on a cooling rack, then cut into squares and serve.  Do not add frosting - it's just not needed.

Pork chops cooked with shallots and beer

Pork chops have been one of my favorites since childhood.  These are tender and flavorful..  The beer blends nicely with the pork flavor, and the caramelized shallots add a nice touch.  These make a good weeknight meal, but are good enough to make when company comes over as well.

Ingredients:
2 Tbs. oil
3 large or 6 small shallots, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
2-4 pork chops
1 12 oz. bottle Lager-style beer

Directions:

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Arrange shallot slices in the bottom of the pan.  Place the larger slices towards the center of the pan. 

Cook shallots for 2 minutes.  Then add shallots to the pan, and pour 3/4 cup of the beer over them.

Cook shallots for 10 minutes on each side.  Add more beer if you see that there is no liquid visible in the pan.  Continue to cok until pork chops are done.  You may need to cut into centers of chope to see if they are done.  When pork chops are cooked to your liking, remove them from the pan.

Add 1/4 cup more beer to the shallots in the pan.  Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until visible liquid has cooked away, and the shallots have begun to turn a light brown color.

Remove from heat, and serve pork chops with shallots.  Barbecue sauce tastes great on these!