Loaded Sugar Cookie Bars

I adore desserts that begin with packaged cake mix or cookie dough. I love baked goods, but am not always thrilled about what it takes to produce them from scratch. It’s just all too involved. The separate mixing of the wet and dry ingredients, the adding of the eggs one at a time and the addition of the flour in batches, the gentle and time-consuming folding . . . it’s such a bother. I love a good short-cut dessert, and fortunately so does Rachael Ray.

Today I made her Macadamia Coconut Cookie Bars, but I used cashews instead and semisweet chocolate chips in place of the suggested white chocolate chips. I’m sure Rachael’s version would be delicious, but I was using up what I had on hand.

Sugar Cookie Bars with Coconut, Cashews, and Chocolate Chips
adapted from Rachael Ray’s Macadamia Coconut Cookie Bars

1 package sugar cookie mix (I used Betty Crocker)
1 egg, room temperature
1 stick of butter, room temperature, plus 1 tablespoon (butter should be very soft but not melted)
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup roughly chopped cashews
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. With 1 tablespoon butter, grease 9x13 inch baking dish.

Toast cashews in a pan over medium heat, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Add egg and butter to sugar cookie mix and combine. The best way to do this is with your hands—the heat from them will help blend the butter into the dry mix. Add coconut, chocolate chips, and cashews.*

Again with your hands, transfer dough to prepared baking dish and gently pat down into an even layer. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Bars will still be gooey in the center when removed from the oven, but they will set up as they cool.

Cool for 1 hour in the pan on a wire rack before cutting and serving.

*I added the cashews to the dough while they were still somewhat warm, and this caused the chocolate chips to begin to melt which, in turn, caused the dough to take on a slightly darker color. If you don’t want your chips to melt this soon, let cashews cool completely before adding them.

Chicken Tetrazzini

Recently I caught an episode of Everyday Italian in which Giada was cooking a meal to serve to her husband and his friends. They were out biking, and “the boys,” as she kept calling them, would be hungry upon their return. So Giada spent the day in the kitchen, standing over the stove, cooking for the boys, and when they arrived she emerged fresh, her hair recently taken down and arranged just so, food in her arms and a very large smile on her face. She laughed when they spoke and applauded as they ate. She was so enthused, so sickeningly sweet, that I almost—almost—lost my appetite. But truth be told, as annoying as I may sometimes find Giada herself, that day I found her chicken tetrazzini irresistible. And so I made it.

This is the type of food I love to eat. Casseroles, one-pot dishes, anything like that. There’s something I love about having a bunch of yummy ingredients combined in one dish. It’s just comforting. As I type this I imagine the future time when my fiancé, who insists that there is no such thing as “comfort food,” will read this post and make a face, but there is such a thing as comfort food, and this is it.

I adjusted the recipe just a bit. This makes a ton of food, so I reduced the recipe somewhat. Plus we don’t like mushrooms, so I left those out. The original recipe is here, and my modified version follows.

Chicken Tetrazzini
adapted from Giada’s Chicken Tetrazzini

8 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 large onions, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup dry white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk, room temperature
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 pound linguine
1 cup frozen peas
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1/3 cup grated parmesan
1/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs
kosher salt, black pepper, and poultry seasoning

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spread 1 tablespoon of butter over a 3-quart baking dish. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning—a thin dusting of each on both sides of each breast. Add the chicken to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes per side. Allow chicken to cool, and then shred or chop into bite-size pieces. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.

Add 3 tablespoons of butter to the same pan. Add the onion, garlic, and thyme, and sauté until the onion is translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until it evaporates, about 5 minutes. Transfer the onion mixture to the bowl with the chicken.

Melt 2 more tablespoons of butter in the same pan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk, cream, broth, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 10 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the linguine and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally, about 9 minutes. Drain. Add the linguine, sauce, peas, and parsley to the chicken mixture. Toss until the sauce coats the pasta and the mixture is well blended.

Transfer the pasta mixture to the prepared baking dish. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a bowl, and to the bowl add the cheese and breadcrumbs. Combine thoroughly and sprinkle the cheese mixture over the pasta. Bake, uncovered, until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.

Split Pea Soup

A few years ago, I had split pea soup for the first time in my life. I'd always thought that it sounded sort of gross, although now I can't even remember why that was, but the point is that, when I tasted it, it was really good. Until now, that has been the only time I've ever had split pea soup, and I never knew whether I'd just been lucky enough to sample a great recipe or whether split pea soup really was delicious. So when I saw Ina make it recently, I knew it was time for me to come to a final verdict on split pea soup.


The great thing about this soup is that it's incredibly cheap (67 cents for a pound of split peas!) and incredibly easy. Chop up some onion, carrot, and potato, season them, throw in half the peas and some chicken stock, and simmer for 40 minutes. Then add the rest of the peas and simmer for an additional 40 minutes. Done. That's it.


And yes, it's very good. I couldn't keep myself from sampling the broth as it finished cooking. But there is a catch. The soup is very good as soon as it's done. Serve it as soon as the final 40 minutes are up. This is not a soup to be left simmering on the stove all day, waiting patiently and deliciously for you to be ready for it, because it gets thick. It turns from soup to puree pretty damn quick. For those of you who like your soup that way, you'll love this recipe; for those of you who don't, either serve it right away, cut back on the cooking time (some of the peas will still have a bit of a bite to them, but that's okay), or use less than a full pound of peas. Just keep in mind that the pea is a thirsty bugger, and if you allow him to drink up all of your broth, he will.

The Assault on Mac & Cheese

Just delivered to my inbox was an e-mail announcing that FN has put together a list of the top 100 recipes of 2007. How exciting!!! I immediately clicked the link they sent and, drooling with anticipation, sat ready to devour 100 awesome new recipes to try. Of course, my eyes went straight to the number-one spot. Which recipe is the FN proud to call the top recipe of 2007?

It was Paula Deen's macaroni and cheese. Let me repeat that: Paula Deen's macaroni and cheese has been deemed the best recipe of 2007.

I have previously shared my thoughts on PD's M&C. The summary is, it's disgusting. Now, the one FN has deemed #1 (Creamy Macaroni and Cheese) is not the one I regretfully tried (The Lady's Cheesy Mac), but the offensive ingredient, those 3 eggs, are still there.

I don't understand. This recipe didn't even get 5 stars. When you read the reviews, plenty of people give it a good rating only after reducing the amount of egg or omitting it entirely. So how was this chosen as the winning recipe?

But it gets even better. In the #2 spot is Alton's Baked Macaroni and Cheese, and his uses egg, too! Although his calls for only one. But still, that's one too many. I think it's a Southern thing.

Did I say yet that I don't understand this? Because I really don't. Why do this to macaroni and cheese? Macaroni and cheese is a beautiful combination on its own---no egg required. It's just wrong--wrong, wrong, horribly wrong. Please stop doing this to macaroni and cheese.

I have strong feelings about macaroni and cheese.

By the way, the best mac & cheese I've ever made was from Andrea's Recipes. Try it---it's delicious.

Ode to the Blood Orange Martini

Two summers ago, I had a drink at a restaurant downtown that changed my life. Yes, changed my life. I saw “blood orange martini” on the menu and, intrigued, I ordered one. Little did I know that this innocent order would start an obsession that I’d be compelled to feed for the rest of my life.

Okay, maybe that’s a tad dramatic, but seriously, these are so good. When it’s December and everyone is eager for family and presents and cookies, I’m scouting the markets for blood oranges. And this week I found them. The blood orange and I have been reunited.

Go get some, now, and make a martini. You’ll thank me.

Blood Orange Martini

¼ cup blood orange juice (about 1 orange)
¼ cup citrus vodka if you like it mild, ½ cup if you like it stronger
1 tablespoon simple syrup

Mix all ingredients in a shaker filled with ice. Pour into a chilled glass and prepare to become addicted.