Go To Bed Cookies

The name of these cookies comes from the original recipe that my Grandma made. She would place the cookies in the warm oven, turn it off, and go to bed. In the morning they would be set and ready to eat. The batter is a simple meringue with chocolate chips thrown in. They are light and just delightful. 
 

Go to Bed Cookies / Surprise Kisses

 

• 8 oz chocolate chips
• 4 egg whites
• 1/4 tsp salt
•  1/4 tsp cream of tarter
•  1 1/2 cups sugar
•  1 tsp vanilla

Beat eggs whites till foamy. Add salt and cream of tarter. Continue beating until egg whites hold stiff peaks, but not dry. Add sugar 2 tbsp at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Fold in vanilla and chocolate chips. Drop spoonfuls on parchment paper lined baking sheet. They will not rise or spread much, but will brown if you keep them in the oven too long. Bake at 300 for 25 minutes. 

Baked Macaroni and 4 Cheese

(Serves 10)

§  16 oz Elbow Macaroni

§  ½ cup (4 oz) Butter

§  6 Tbsp Flour

§  ½ tsp Dry Mustard

§  ¼ tsp salt

§  ¼ tsp black pepper

§  Dash cayenne (if desired)

§  4 cups whole milk

§  1 cup buttered cracker (or bread) crumbs

§  12 oz shredded cheese

o   4 oz Gruyère

o   2 oz parmesan

o   3 oz Monterey jack

o   3 oz Cabot Extra Sharp

1.      Butter casserole dishes (use a deep 13 x 9 or 2- 2qt casseroles) but leave some room for concoction to rise). Oven at 350˚.

2.      Boil Macaroni for 3 minutes only and drain.

3.      In large stainless steel pot, melt butter on medium low heat. Slowly blend in the flour with a wire whisk so that there are no lumps. Add in mustard, salt, pepper, dash of cayenne and mix well.

4.      Cook until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Gradually add milk and stir to assure no lumps. Cook and stir over medium high heat just until mixture boils. Continue stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan with your whisk so that the milk does not get scorched! Once mixture is boiling, continue stirring as it simmers for one minute.

5.      Turn down to low heat. Mix in cheese to melt. Fold pasta in lightly.

6.      Pour macaroni & cheese into casserole dishes and top with buttered cracker crumbs. Bake 25 minutes at 350˚.

Tarpon Springs Greek Salad

I adapted this recipe from this Louis Pappas Famous Greek Salad. This is a salad so you can add in what you like and leave out whatever veggies you don't have on hand. The one thing you must include is the potato salad surprise hidden underneath the bed of lettuce and veggies. You can find this delicious dish being served by Greek immigrants in the Tarpon Springs area, which is just north of Tampa. The village was founded around sponge diving and is now lined with sponge shops, natural soaps, and lots of Greek restaurants.

 

Potato Salad

·        4 pounds potatoes, peeled

·        2-4 green onions, finely chopped

·        ¼ parsley, finely chopped

·        ¼ Feta cheese

·        3-4 heaping tablespoons light mayo

·        2-4 tbsp red wine vinegar

·        Salt

Boil the potatoes until soft, 20-30 min. When done, strain out the water and place into a large bowl. Mash the potatoes with a fork. Add in the green onions and parsley. Add in 2 tsp salt. Next add in 2 spoonfuls of the mayo and red wine vinegar. Add in the feta. Stir well and taste. Continue adding vinegar, mayo, and salt to your liking.

Greek Dressing

·        ½ c olive oil

·        ½ c red wine vinegar

·        ½ lemon or lime, squeezed

·        Salt and pepper

·        ½ tsp basil or oregano

Mix well before drizzling over salads.

Greek Salad (4 servings)

·        1 bunch of Romaine lettuce, in 1” slices

·        4 tomatoes, cut into wedges

·        1 cucumber, peeled and sliced

·        1 green pepper, sliced

·        1 avocado, cut into wedges

·        ½ c Feta

·        1 pound Broiled shrimp, peeled

·        Potato Salad

·        Greek Dressing

·        Toast

On 4 large plates, place a cup of potato salad in the center. Next layer the lettuce on top. Add the green pepper and cucumber. Place tomato and avocado wedges around the salad. Add the shrimp and sprinkle with feta. Finally drizzle the completed salad with greek dressing. For a heartier meal, toast bread slices in oven with parmesan cheese and diced garlic and serve on the side. Enjoy.

White Chocolate Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

§  1 cup butter, soft

§  1 ¼ c cane sugar

§  ¾ c light brown sugar

§  2 eggs

§  2 tsp vanilla

§  ¾ c cocoa powder

§  2 c flour

§  1 ½ tsp baking soda

§  ½ tsp salt

§  1 c white chocolate chips

§  ½ c dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, then stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Gradually add to the batter beating well after each addition. Fold in the white and dark chocolate chips. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow to sit on the sheet a few minutes before removing so they won’t fall apart.

For the ingredients, whenever you can get the real deal, go for it. Farm fresh eggs, sandy colored cane sugar, organic flour, fresh cocoa powder and chocolate chips from the source. Living in Central America, these ingredients were easy to find. Stateside you can find local producers like amish markets or coops. Making desserts with fresh ingredients and little processing makes the flavors explode. Also when you use real chocolate, you get much more of the anti-oxidants and caffeine. Whoohhooooie! To read about the health benefits of using real cacao read this article of how the Kuna Indians of Panama live longer lives thanks to a diet rich in chocolate.

Salted Caramel Marshmallows

 

Ok before you tell me the only use for a marshmallow is on a s'more, please hold your judgement until you try these babies. This recipe should honor marshmallows with a new name. I’ve come up with a few:

o   Fluffy Caramel Fluffies

o   Pritty Pillows

o   Marbled Caramel Fluffs

o   Yours?

These turned out so soft and pillowy, yet rich with caramel. After mixing the marshmallows to stiff consistency, I folded in some caramel sauce to ensure the flavor would be in every bite. Then I made a marbled caramel effect by drizzling the caramel in a few lines across the top and sliding a knife around to create the design.

For the marshmallows I used this recipe from Epicurious, which I have copied below.

For the caramel I halved this recipe from Brown Eyed Baker Blog. Be careful not to scorch it!

Marshmallows

o   1 cup cold iced water

o   3 packets unflavored gelatin (each packet is ¼ ounce)

o   2 cups sugar

o   2/3 cup light corn syrup

o   ¼ tsp salt

o   2 tsp vanilla

o   ¼  cup rice flour or starch

o   ¼  cup powdered sugar

Line your 13x9 pan with greased foil.

Pour ½ cup ice water into large bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over water and allow to sit at least 15 minutes.

On the stove, fill stainless steel pot or pan with 2 cups sugar, corn syrup, salt, and ½ cup ice water. Stir over medium low heat until sugar dissolves and place candy thermometer in pan. Increase heat a bit to bring syrup to a boil. Boil, without stirring, until syrup reaches 240˚F, about 8 minutes.

With mixer running on low, slowly pour hot syrup into gelatin mixture in this stream away from the beaters. With all of the syrup now added, increase speed to high and beat until mixture is very thick and stiff, about 15 minutes. Add vanilla and beat to blend, about 30 seconds longer. Delicately fold in about half the cooled caramel using spatula.

Scrape marshmallow into prepared pan. Smooth top with wet spatula. Pour in cooled caramel in long lines and make a marbled effect using a knife. Allow the marshmallow to set overnight.

The following day you will want to slice your marshmallows. Take a large wood cutting board and sprinkle it with some of the blended rice flour (or corn starch) and powdered sugar. You want to put this layer down to avoid the caramel from sticking to the cutting board. Now invert your marshmallows onto the cutting board by flipping the pan over and carefully peeling off the foil. Slice the marshmallow into bite sized pieces. Sprinkle more of the rice flour/powdered sugar onto a piece of wax paper and roll the marshmallows around to get a light dusting. This will take away the stickiness factor and make your marshmallows easier to hold or mail. Store marshmallows in Tupperware lined with wax paper. If you need to double deck it, layer some wax paper on top before adding the next floor of marshmallows. This will prevent the stickiness factor.

Salted Caramel Sauce

o   1 cup sugar

o   6 tbsp butter

o   ½ c heavy cream (regular works as well)

o   1 tsp fine or flaky sea salt

Add the sugar in an even layer over the bottom of a heavy stainless steel pan. Heat the sugar over medium-high heat, whisking as it begins to melt. You’ll see the sugar begin to form clumps. Continue whisking until all of the sugar is melted. Now stop whisking and only swirl the pan occasionally if needed.

Continue cooking the sugar until it reaches a deep amber color. Once it reaches 350˚F, pull it off the stove immediately. It is extremely easy to burn caramel and render it useless!

Add the butter and whisk until completely melted. Slowly pour in the cream and use your whisk to incorporate into the sugar/butter mixture. Add salt and whisk. Allow the caramel to sit and cool awhile before storing or adding to marshmallows.

S'more Bars

This is a recipe I adapted to make S'more Bars in a 9x13 pan. It is a graham cracker crust, followed by a layer of homemade marshmallow creme, a layer of chocolate, and topped off with another graham cracker crust.

Graham Cracker Crust

· 1 cup butter

· 1 ½ cups sugar

·  2 large eggs

· 2 tsp vanilla

· 2 ⅔ cups flour

·  11 sheets graham crackers (1 ½ cups)

· 2 tsp baking powder

· ½ tsp salt

1.    Grease 9x13 pan.

2.    In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs, vanilla, beat until combined.

3.    In a separate bowl, combine flour, crushed graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture into butter mixture, beating to combine.

4.    Flip over your baking dish and line the bottom with wax paper. Use half of the dough to form the base graham cracker layer. I recommend making your dough a little wider and a little longer than the dish bottom.

5.    Press the other half of the dough into your greased pan making an even layer. Now you are ready to add the marshmallow layer.

Marshmallow Crème

·         2 egg whites

·         1 ⅓ cups light corn syrup

·         ¾ tsp salt

·         1 ⅓ cups confectioner’s sugar

·         2 tsp vanilla

1.    Beat egg whites until foamy.

2.    Add corn syrup and salt. Beat for 10 minutes until you reach stiff peaks (this will take less time if you have a KitchenAid mixer). When you lift up the mixer, the marshmallow should stay firm.

3.    Gradually add in the confectioner’s sugar, beating well after each addition.

4.    Mix or fold in the vanilla.

This makes enough marshmallow crème for two batches of S’more Bars. So you can make it again next week!

S’more Bars

Smooth a layer of marshmallow crème on top of the graham cracker crust.

On top of the marshmallow, add the chocolate of your choice. I use 12 oz. Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips. You could also use Hershey’s chocolate bars.

Flip the graham cracker crust on top of the chocolate and smooth to the edges. Peel away the waxed paper.

Bake 25-30 min at 350. Allow to cool before cutting into squares.  

Tips:

v  You will need to crush the graham crackers into crumbs. I like to put them in a Ziploc and whack away with my crab mallet.

v  The marshmallow crème recipe makes enough for 2 batches of S’more bars. I figure if you are going to go to the trouble, mise as well make a big batch. It will last a few weeks in the fridge.

v  If you use chocolate chips, they will not melt completely from baking. If you want that gooey look, use milk chocolate bars or melt the chocolate down before adding it to your s’more pan.