Recipe: NY Times Chocolate Chip Cookies

NY Times Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted on Bakelikeachamp.com
4.5 stars

I'm on the quest to test and find the best chocolate chip cookie recipe.  I've tried out recipes including Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery, Cook's Country, and of course the Tollhouse recipe on the back of the chocolate chip bag.

This NY Times recipe was really good, a solid recipe.  However, it requires refrigerating the dough for 24 or up to 72 hours, so this is not for those who have issues with immediate gratification.  Must plan ahead with this recipe!

Interestingly, this recipe uses bread flour;  and I like the use of chocolate chunks and the touch of sea salt flakes on top.

My favorite recipe so far; however, is still the Cook's Country recipe that requires browning the butter which gives the cookies a nice depth of flavor.  I just realized I haven't blogged about that recipe so. . .  looks like I'll need to make those cookies again and post about it!  Who wants some chocolate chip cookies?

Drink Recipe: Peach Rosemary Gin & Tonic Cocktail

Peach Rosemary Gin & Tonic Cocktail
My recipe
5 stars

Fill a glass with ice and add:

• 1.5 oz gin
• 0.5 oz peach liqueur
• Top off with tonic
• Add a squeeze of lime
• Add a few peach wedges
• Stir with a fresh sprig of rosemary

Recipe: Pork & Spinach Noodles

Pork & Spinach Noodles
Food and Wine Magazine, Jun 2016, p. 50
4 stars

Talk about a quick weeknight dinner that is healthy and quick to make.  The ingredients are items we almost always have in our fridge.

Ingredients:  spaghetti, ground pork, spinach garlic, ginger, canola oil, Asian fish sauce, lime juice, basil, salt, pepper

Tips:

• Used udon noodles instead of spaghetti
• Used ground bison instead of pork
• Added firm tofu that we seared in a separate pan
• Doubled the amount of spinach
• Added sriracha to taste at the table

To Eat or Not to Eat Shrimp

I was reading my July 2016 issue of Vogue yesterday and came across the article "Should We Really Be Eating Shrimp?"

Here are some excerpts/quotes to help you decide what type of shrimp you'll be buying at your local grocery store:

• 80-90% of shrimp in the U.S. is imported and come from Thailand, Ecuador, Indonesia, China, Mexico, Vietnam and Malaysia.
• Almost all of the shrimp is farmed in "man-made ponds brimming with so many shrimp that they pollute nearby water sources, are infected with disease and parasites -- and are treated with a toxic fleet of antibiotics, disinfectants, pesticides, and herbicides."
• "In April the FDA declared that one-third of shrimp imports from Malaysia contained substances such as chloramphenicol (a last-resort typhoid-fever and meningitis drug) and/or nitrofurans (an antibiotic the FDA considers carcinogenic)."
• The FDA doesn't have nearly enough employees to screen more than a fraction of imports and inspects only about 2% of imported seafood.  
• "It is, basicaly, a producers responsibility to ensure that U.S. standards are upheld.  We import shrimp on the honor system."

The article goes on to explain how shrimp are caught and how a company called CleanFish has developed a sustainable (and clean!) way to raise shrimp in an "Eco Shrimp Garden."

The article was a fascinating read (click on the link above to read it).  I thought I was educated, but this article made me realized that unless I know where my shrimp is from and where it was caught, I'm never ordering a shrimp dish in a restaurant again.