Some Good Ol' Stress Relief

My junior year in high school I realized that when ever I'd get stressed out baking helped to calm me down. The exactness of baking is what makes it so tranquilizing for me, you don't need to think, just measure, just relax. That's exactly what I did, and by the end of my senior year I was known as the person who would bake cookies for pretty much every club I was in. Sadly in college I haven't been able to bake as much as I would like (especially considering my stress level) which has caused baking things to be a rather large deal.

While I was home over break I decided to try to squeeze as much baking as possible into one week, I didn't succeed as much as I'd originally hoped to. But I did find one of the best (according to my Mother and Father) chocolate chip cookie recipe that I'd used so far. I'm not one to eat what I bake, not because I don't trust it but more because I eat enough of the dough or batter to want to eat a ton of the final product. But these cookies were different. I made 2.5 dozen large cookies with this recipe, and by the next evening they were completely gone. I easily ate at least nine of them, with the rest of the batch going to my parents and aunt and uncle.

The recipe is adapted from the "Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake" recipe from foodnetwork.com.

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt (I added 3/4 teaspoon of salt since salt makes the cookies taste sweeter)
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips & 3/4 cup white chocolate chips (I just dumped the entire bag into the dough)

The directions are pretty standard.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit or 190 degrees Celsius.
First, cream the butter and sugar until they're completely mixed. Then, add the eggs one at a time to allow for them to fully incorporate into the dough.



Next, mix the dry ingredients (Flour, baking soda, and salt) and mix with a whisk, this ensures that the dry ingredients are mixed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. When you are finished adding the dry ingredients add the vanilla extract and mix. When the vanilla is fully incorporated fold the chocolate chips into the mix.

Spoon the dough onto a cookie sheet and place in the oven. All it to cook for 20-25 minutes (the cookies will appear done on top, but give them a few extra minutes so that the bottom and inside will firm up as well.) When you take them out of the oven let them cool on the pan for about ten minutes and then transfer to a wire rack (if you have one) to fully cool.

Tomato Soup

Being home for spring break, I couldn't help but be a little adventurous the other night while both my parents were working late. Again, choosing food over school work (a trend you'll probably notice) I wanted something to keep me distracted from school work, and the awful weather. After the four day nor'easter I needed some type of pick-me-up from feeling waterlogged, cold and well, grumpy. So I decided to make tomato soup, one of my favorite comfort foods, and with this recipe, who wouldn't want to make it.



The recipe was simple (although tedious at times) it didn't require too much prep, or tools. All I needed was a medium pot, two bowls, a large strainer, a tinfoil wrapped baking sheet and a blender or food processor. For those of you that don't like tomato soup, well you're lucky, this soup isn't super tomato-y like your typical canned soup. Instead it's sweet, with just a hint of tomato, it's delicious.

Here's the recipe: (Stolen from SmittenKitchen.com)
2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes packed in juice, drained, 3 cups juice reserved
1 1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 large shallots, minced (about 1/2 cup)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Pinch ground allspice
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons brandy

Set the oven to 450 degrees and make sure that one of the racks is in the middle of the oven. After opening the can, begin to peel open the tomatoes and remove the seeds into the strainer while placing the seeded tomatoes on the covered baking pan. Do this for both cans, and empty the juice into the strainer so that any seeds in the juice are removed. Leave juice from the tomatoes in a bowl while you roast the tomatoes, you will use this later. Next, cover the tomatoes on the pan with the dark brown sugar and place in the oven for about thirty minutes (or until the water has evaporated). When you remove them from the oven, take them off the pan and put them in an empty bowl.



Next, mince the four shallots and prepare a sauce pan or soup pot by melting four tablespoons of butter over medium heat. When the butter is melted, reduce heat to low, add the shallots and the tomato paste and mix-cook until the shallots are browned. When the shallots are browned add the two tablespoons of flour, this will create a mock roux (a mix of melted butter and flour, when combined the butter breaks the starch in the flour; when liquid is added it thickens the liquid). Next mix in the stock slowly while continuing to stir the mixture. When you are done with the stock, the reserve tomato juice and the roasted tomatoes. Bring heat to medium and allow flavors to combine for about ten minutes (I got distracted and let it simmer for about 15 checking on it occasionally).



Next, strain the soup, rinse out the bowl and put the strained liquid back in the pot on the stove. Put the shallots and tomatoes in a blender with about a cup of the strained liquid and puree. When blended place in the pot with the rest of the liquid and add in the half cup of cream and let it warm over low heat for a few minutes. When the soup is warm, remove it from heat and add the brandy. If you'd like you can add salt or pepper to the soup, but I thought it was fine on its own.

That's it! Tomato soup in less than an hour! Both of my parents loved it and I can't wait to make it again.

Crepes with Gabby

Sometimes, it seems impossible to cook at school. Tiny kitchens, next to no equipment, no money and no time its not a surprise that ramen is the most common food made by college students. After itching to make something for a while I hopped on my friend Gabby's floor program (she is an RA too) so that she would have an extra person helping her. Gabby decided to make something that no one would expect to be made in a dorm room kitchen--crepes. And needless to say, it was much easier than you would think.



We started cooking at 10 in the kitchen of her dorm, which is pretty scary, mainly because people don't clean up after themselves. This meant that before we could cook, Gabby and I had to clean and prep. I handled the cleaning while Gabby stole butter, peanut butter, eggs, bagels, and a few other ingredients. After arranging all of the ingredients on the table we began to cook.

Here are the ingredients you'll need:
1 Cup all purpose flour
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 eggs
4 teaspoons of sugar
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
(this recipe is adapted from Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone )
Crepes with only seven ingredients look easy, right? That's because they are! First, you whisk the milk, cream and eggs together, and then you gradually add in the flour and sugar. When the first five ingredients are completely combined you add in the salt. That's all you need to make the batter - no refrigeration, no frustration…just mixing.




Some might think that the hard part is cooking the crepes, but the steps to creating crepes are enough quell any fears. You just need to heat your pan to medium heat, and coat it with butter. Then, pour about a quarter of a cup of the batter onto the pan and swirl it around so that it coats the pan. Let it sit for two minutes and then flip the crepe using a spatula. The other side will not take as long to cook, so be sure to watch it!



Finally, you just top it with whatever you want. I chose to use peanut butter and bananas, a combination that I never can never tire of. Other people chose scrambled eggs, some people mixed oranges and confectioners sugar. The possibilities for the fillings are endless.

In total, this only cost 12 dollars to feed over 15 people--a quick and easy meal for anyone on a budget.

First Post's The Charm

For as long as I can remember, I've had a passion for food–and for about half of that time I’ve loved making it it. I grew up the youngest of five on Long Island, yes Long Island, not “Lawn Guyland.” For my entire life I’ve been surrounded by different cultures, I’ve experienced food and traditions from France, England, Vietnam, Spain, Italy, India, Thailand, Greece… if you can think of mainstream food, I’ve probably tried it. I love trying new foods, I’m not necessarily a picky eater, and while at college, food in the dining hall has made me even less picky. Which is why I want to create alternative ways for college students, or just people living on a budget to cook good food. Because in the long run, its cheaper than most people would expect.

I’m hoping to update this weekly, but I know I’m guilty of getting myself in over my head, so I can’t make any guarantees. The dishes I create will have easy to find ingredients that require little prep and few kitchen tools.