Monday, March 15, 2004

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

We put in a bid to buy a beautiful home this past weekend and there is nothing more nerve-wracking than waiting for the phone to ring.

Along with our offer, we put in a letter to the homeowners and tried to bribe them, their agent, and their neighbor Frankie with these cookies.

We didn't get the house. Although they liked us (and the cookies), 67k more than the asking price was too much to turn down.

1 cups (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
3 cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1 cup choc. chip cookies

1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; mix well.

2. Add oats and chocolate chips; mix well.

3. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8 to 9 minutes for a chewy cookie or 10 to 11 minutes for a crisp cookie. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Posted by Maria @ 11:38 AM :: (0) comments

Tuesday, March 09, 2004

Shrimp with Spicy Orange Flavor

Emmie was over to watch the Academy Awards the other night and I had a package of shrimp in the fridge. I quickly went on the Martha Stewart website and found this recipe courtesy of Mark Bittman.

It was light and delicious and we served it over some couscous. Add a glass of wine and it makes a satisfying meal.

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 or 4 large cloves garlic, cut into thin slivers
2 or more small dried hot red chiles
Grated zest of one orange
Freshly squeezed juice from one orange
16 large shrimp, peeled
Coarse salt
1/4 cup minced cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, or to taste

Combine oil and garlic in a skillet no larger than 10 inches across. Turn the heat to medium, and cook until the garlic begins to sizzle, then turn the heat to medium-low. When garlic is blond, stir in chiles, orange zest, and orange juice. Add shrimp, and raise the heat to high.

Cook, stirring occasionally and sprinkling with salt, until the shrimp are all pink, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and add most of the cilantro and the lemon juice. Taste, and adjust seasoning. Serve garnished with the remaining cilantro.

Posted by Maria @ 2:35 PM :: (0) comments