double chocolate almond cookies

i'm really not a baker, but i wanted to make these cookies after seeing the recipe made on tv for a class in my gastronomy program. they're not hard to make and are super delicious, especially with vanilla ice cream.

kathleen king is the creator of this recipe, and it's one that she uses at her southampton bake shop. i barely altered this since i'm always scared to mess with baking recipes too much, but there were recommendations in the comments and things that i've incorporated into this version.

you will need:

3/4 cup cocoa

2 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

3 sticks salted butter, room temperature

1 cup refined sugar

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp bourbon vanilla extract

1 cup white chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks

1 cup almonds, chopped

preheat your oven to 350 degrees. grab a medium bowl and combine the flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda.

use a whisk or a fork to combine the ingredients, making sure that there are no lumps in the mixture.

in a smaller bowl, unwrap the butter and make sure it's at room temperature. (i cheated and microwaved it for a few seconds.)

add both types of sugar and use an electric mixer to whip them together.

add the vanilla and the egg, and gently combine with a spatula. then slowly combine with the dry ingredients until it's just mixed together.

then, add the chocolate and the almonds. if you can't find chopped almonds, you can always pop them in the food processor like i did.

combine until the chunks are all well distributed within the batter.

use a spoon or a little ice cream scoop to form the cookies. arrange them on baking pans that you've covered in parchment paper.

pop these into the oven for 10-14 minutes, depending on your oven - i had to keep taking these in and out to get them right. they have a tendency to fall apart when you first take them out of the oven, but after they've sat for a minute they'll get firmer, so wait a few moments before using a spatula to remove them from the baking sheets and place on a cooling rack.

let them cool, and devour promptly. 

watermelon and feta cheese salad

i know i've been neglecting this blog recently - between starting my master's program, moving to a new town, and trying to adjust to not working, it's been pretty crazy. i'm sorry! hopefully there won't be another big gap like this one in the posts for awhile.

this can hardly count as a recipe, but it's something simple that i absolutely love to make, and it's a nice alternative from a more traditional side salad. it also makes a great main course - just cook up some chicken tenders or breasts with salt and pepper, lemon juice and a little mint, and it makes a filling meal all on its own.

there are a lot of recipes emerging in this vein - the combination of watermelon and feta is a big deal right now. this is my own combination of several of them, as well as a few of my personal additives.

you will need:

1 bag of baby spinach, rinsed

about 1 cup of fresh watermelon

about 1 cup of fresh strawberries

1/3 cup feta cheese

1/4 cup pistachio nutmeats, roasted and salted

10 medium mint leaves, rinsed

equal parts olive oil and balsamic vinegar (about 1/2 cup total)

salad is pretty self-explanatory to assemble, but just in case: throw your spinach into a bowl.

cube the watermelon - i like it in pretty small, bite-sized pieces.

hull the strawberries, then chop them into halves - or quarters, depending on how large they are.

add both the watermelon and the strawberries to the spinach.

top this with feta cheese...

...and add the pistachios.

finally, grab the mint and chop it up. i like to make the pieces big enough that you can still find it in the salad once it's tossed.

add the mint to the salad. then, in a separate container just mix together the oil and vinegar, toss with the salad and serve.

super simple, but unexpected and really delicious.

ricotta gnocchi with pesto, shrimp and asparagus

last night we had our friend oliver over, and i wanted to make a new twist on something i've tried before - gnocchi made with ricotta cheese, instead of the traditional potato. i had found a recipe online that featured gnocchi with pesto and chopped shrimp, and it sounded absolutely delicious - i really wanted to combine it with the ricotta gnocchi i'd made a few months ago, and it turned out really nicely. (it's also completely vegetarian - this one's for you, cate!) i served this with a spinach and arugula salad, and an individual chocolate soufflé for dessert - it's the post right below this one, if you want to make the whole meal.

the gnocchi are not complicated to make, but you can certainly buy them pre-made and frozen if you don't have time to make your own. likewise, i would encourage you to make your own pesto for the sauce - i didn't have time to do both, but i'll make it at some point to post here.

you will need:

16 ounces of ricotta cheese

 1 large egg

3/4 cup grated parmesean cheese

3/4 cup flour

1 tsp lemon juice

2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

4 cups chopped asparagus (cut into 1-inch pieces)

1 pound shrimp, no skin or tails, chopped into small pieces

2 tbsp basil pesto

in a big bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, egg, salt, lemon juice, flour, basil, and parmesean cheese. top with salt and pepper and mix well.

cover with saran wrap and pop it into the refrigerator for 15 minutes. once it's chilled, pull this out and check on the texture - you want it to be easy to roll, not tacky. if it feels sticky, mix in additional flour until it reaches the right consistency. stick it back into the refrigerator for another 15 minutes, or until you're ready for the next step.

 put a large pot of water onto the stove and bring to a boil, adding a few pinches of salt. grab a large plate and keep it next to your workspace to stack the gnocchi on.

sprinkle flour onto your work surface. unwrap your chilled dough and grab a medium-sized ball, about the size of a tennis ball.

roll the dough out until it's a long tube, about an inch thick.

 use a sharp knife, and cut into 1/2 to 3/4 inch pieces. stack these on your plate, and repeat with the entire batch of dough.

for the sauce, put your chopped shrimp and asparagus into a large saucepan with a bit of olive oil.

throw in some salt and pepper, and add the pesto. stir well and bring to medium heat. let this simmer for a few minutes until the shrimp are cooked and the asparagus is crunchy, then bring down to low heat.

to cook the gnocchi, drop about 10 into the pot of boiling water. they will initially sink to the bottom.

keep an eye on these - once they float to the top, let them cook for 2 more minutes, then remove from the water.

when the gnocchi are out of the water, put them right into the saucepan with the shrimp and asparagus. let the gnocchi get covered in the pesto, and keep them in the pan until all the gnocchi are cooked and mixed in.

get everything into a serving dish, top with some extra parmesean cheese and chopped basil, and serve immediately (preferably with a delicious sauvignon blanc).

who doesn't love guacamole?

i absolutely love guacamole. it's one of those things that we almost always have in the house, whether i've made it fresh or we've had to settle for store-bought. obviously, fresh is better, and it's definitely not a complicated thing to make. this is a recipe you should be able to make in about 10 minutes.

many grocery stores sell guacamole packs - pre-selected ingredients all ready to go. these are great to use, but be careful to check each ingredient in the pack to ensure its freshness. an avocado is ripe if it feels about as firm as the tip of your nose. you can also pull off the stem and check the underside of it - you want it to look green and ripe, not brown.

you will need:

2 ripe avocados

2 tomatoes

1-2 small onions

1 jalapeno pepper

2 small cloves of garlic

1 fresh lime

1 tsp chili pepper flakes

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1 tsp fresh parsley, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

cut each avocado in half, remove pit and peel and place fruit into bowl. mash with a fork until you get it to the desired creaminess - this is really up to you. i like it somewhere between perfectly creamy and fairly chunky, but everyone is different and it all tastes good.

you can chop the rest of the ingredients by hand, but i prefer to use a food processor for a smoother texture. roughly chop the tomatoes, jalapeno pepper, onions, and garlic and place everything into the food processor.

chop until smooth (again, or desired consistency) and add to avocados.

cut the lime in half and squeeze all the juice into the bowl, along with the chili flakes, cilantro, parsley, salt and pepper. stir well and serve with your favorite chips - i prefer blue corn tortilla chips myself.