Alexandra's Kitchen Cookies

Because pinterest has failed me one time too many i'm putting this link in a place easy to locate.

http://www.alexandracooks.com/2014/11/14/ak-cookies/

And here's the recipe copied from her site. These cookies are too good.

AK Cookies

Source: Peter Meehan and Lucky Peach

Ingredients

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups (256 g) flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 12-oz chocolate chips (I used Sharffen Berger semi-sweet bars, which I rough chopped.)
• 2 cups quick-cooking oats (I used 1-minute, but rolled might be fine, too.)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Using a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars on medium-high speed until pale yellow (never happened for me), homogenous, and smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix for another five minutes. Add the dry ingredients in order (or whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together separately, if you, as I, like to complicate things), mixing them in on low speed, just until each is incorporated into the dough.
3. Use two soupspoons or an ice cream scoop, form the dough into lumps about the size of a squash ball. (I weighed mined into 36 g or 1.25 oz portions)
4. Scoop out all of the dough and chill it on a quarter sheet pan in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before baking. If you're not baking the whole batch, freeze the balls on the sheet tray before transferring them into a freezer bag. When you are ready to bake, space them well on a Silpat- or parchment-lined sheet pan and bake for 11-12 minutes. The cookies will look pale and not cooked when you remove them from the oven. Have patience — they will continue cooking on the sheetpan and will firm up perfectly. Let them cool a bit (or completely) on the sheets, then transfer them to wire racks to fully cool before serving. Meehan's words: These cookies are best when they have fully cooled (it's true), though you will undoubtedly eat some warm because it will take you years to develop the patience to ignore the siren's call until they are ready. You are only human.

Hamburger, Mushrooms, English Muffin with Cheese Sauce

For the sauce:

3 tbsp butter 

3 tbsp flour

2 cups milk

2 cups cheese of choice (I used fontina, jarlsburg, and cheddar)

1 lb Hamburger

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp seasoning salt (spike)

Salt and pepper to taste 

1 lb crimini mushrooms

2 tbsp butter

Toasted English muffins

Chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

Melt butter in skillet over medium heat and cook mushrooms until juicy and yummy :), salt to taste. Put aside in a bowl, cover to keep warm.

Mix hamburger with Worcestershire sauce, seasoning salt, and salt and pepper. Form meat into patties and cook over medium high heat. Cook 4-5 minutes per side until cooked through.

While hamburger is cooking melt butter in a separate pan. Once butter is melted whisk in flour and allow to cook for 1 minute. While continuing to whisk slowly add milk to the pan being sure milk is thoroughly mixed with flour as you go. Allow mixture to come to a boil and once sauce begins to thicken add your cheese. Once cheese is melted take sauce off the heat.

Place one toasted half of an English muffin on your plate, top with one hamburger patty, mushrooms, plenty of cheese sauce and parsley. Enjoy :)

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup oatmeal

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup chocolate chips

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil (canola)

1/2 cup 100% pure maple syrup

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp water

Mix dry ingredients together in one larger bowl and wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Finally add wet to dry ingredients mix well. Form balls on cookie sheet and bake at 350F for 11 minutes. 

Americas Test Kitchen makes me drool

Poached Salmon with Herb and Caper Vinaigrette

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/4230-poached-salmon-with-herb-and-caper-vinaigrette?extcode=LN14D3CAA

Italian Easter Pie (savory)

http://www.cookscountry.com/recipes/7811-italian-easter-pie?extcode=LN14D3KAA

Marbled Blueberry Bundt Cake

http://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/7390-marbled-blueberry-bundt-cake?extcode=LN14D3AAA

Buttermilk Oatmeal Muffins

Ingredients:

- 2 cups quick-cooking oats

- 2 cups buttermilk (or substitute 4 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice and enough milk to make 2 cups, let stand 5 minutes)

- 2 eggs beaten

- 1 cup packed brown sugar

- 1/2 cup vegetable oil

- 2 cups all-purpose flour

- 2 tsp baking powder

- 1 tsp baking soda

- 1 tsp salt

In a bowl, soak oats in buttermilk for 15 minutes. Stir in egg, sugar, and oil. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; stir into oat mixture just until moistened. Fill grease or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 400 degrees F for 16-18 minutes or until muffins test done. Cool in pan 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Linguine with Tuna Puttanesca

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/linguine-with-tuna-puttanesca-recipe.html

Putting up this link for easy access. Put this on my menu for Monday and if it's a hit then we'll put the recipe itself on the page.

Next Monday night:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/spicy-beef-stir-fry-recipe.html

Friday: a version of this

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/taco-soup-recipe.html#!

Next Tuesday; a version of this

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/teriyaki-sesame-chicken-skewers-recipe.html#!

Slow Cooker Pork Roast

INGREDIENTS:

2 medium potatoes cut into sixths (red, Yukon gold)

2 carrots cut into large chunks

3 whole peeled garlic cloves

1 small-medium sized leek, sliced, white and light green parts only

Handful of crimini mushrooms (halved or quartered if they are larger)

Fresh oregano sprigs

Fresh thyme sprigs

(Optional fresh rosemary sprigs - I forgot to put this in the first time)

3 cup chicken broth

2-3 lb pork roast 

Salt

Pepper

Dried thyme

Dried rosemary

Olive oil for drizzling

Place all large chopped vegetables into the bottom of a 5-6 quart slow cooker. Including whole garlic cloves. Leaving a place to nestle your roast. Place roast in the pot (fat side up if you're cooking a pork loin) and heavily coat the top with salt (perhaps a tsp or two- I just tried to make a decent coating as if I were making a rub). In the same spirit, only a little more sparingligly coat with pepper, dried thyme, and dried rosemary. Drizzle olive oil over the top of the roast, again to lightly coat. Pour the chicken broth over the vegetables, careful not to pour over the roast. Surround roast with 5-10 sprigs of thyme, 6-8 sprigs of oregano (and 4-6 rosemary sprigs if you're using it). Do a few turns of salt and pepper over the vegetables and broth. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours (or more depending on the size of your roast). Once the roast is cooked and easy to pull apart with a fork begin to prepare the pan gravy.

INGREDIENTS FOR GRAVY

2-3 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp of flour

2-2 1/2 cups broth from slow cooker

1 cup of sherry (I just use cooking sherry)

Salt and pepper to taste

In a pan over medium heat warm olive oil. Once warm whisk in flour until smooth. While continuing to whisk pour in broth making sure to break up all lumps as you go. Add the sherry and turn temperature to medium-high allowing gravy to boil until the gravy begins to thicken (and alcohol has been cooked off), stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over pork and vegetables.