White Chocolate Macadamia Brownies

White Chocolate Macadamia Blondies - made September 20, 2013 from Life's Simple Measures

This is another bar cookie I made for Zoe's bake sale.  I already had White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies but I had more macadamias and white chocolate on hand so I forged ahead with a bar cookie version just to make sure I had enough baked goods to bring to the bake sale.

I was baking a lot of stuff the day before the bake sale and I couldn't taste test them all.  I ended up only having (literally) a sliver of this just to make sure it was okay.  I think it was.  This was a brown sugar blondie with white chocolate and macadamias.  This is very easy to overbake so watch it carefully.  I don't think I overbaked it but it might've been better if I had underbaked it a little more.  The middle was okay but the corners and edges would have benefited from a few minutes less in the oven.

1 cup butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 cups plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 cups white chocolate chips

1 cup macadamia nuts, toasted and rough chopped

1. Heat oven to 350°F.  Line a 13x9-inch pan with foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Dust with flour and shake out the excess.  Set aside.
2. Place butter and brown sugar in bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment and cream together on medium speed until smooth batter is formed (about 3 minutes).  While the mixer is running, add eggs and vanilla extract, until incorporated into batter.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together 3 cups of flour and baking powder.  Slowly add flour mixture to the batter and mix on low speed until a dough is formed.  Very gently, fold in white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts into dough.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and evenly spread.  Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until set yet still moist.

Restaurant Review: Tomatina's

Tomatina - lunch on September 19, 2013

Tomatina is a conveniently-located-to-me casual Italian restaurant that's a good place to go for lunch with friends and/or colleagues.  They have 5 locations in the Bay Area and fortunately one very close to my office so it was a good place for a coworker and I to go for lunch during the week.  It pays to get there as close to noon as possible before the restaurant gets too busy when there might be a wait for a table.  It's not usually a very long wait but people from surrounding office buildings know they can get a good lunch for a reasonable price in a fairly short amount of time so it's popular with the business crowd on weekdays.

The interior is very casual with bench-style seating at both normal height and counter height tables.  There are also booths, 4-tops and 2-tops. Wood-fired ovens can be seen over the kitchen counter where Tomatina bakes its pizzas and piadines.  This is a good place to go for just 2 people or a crowd, especially if you have vegetarians in the group as there are plenty of meatless options on tap and you can easily fit a group of people at one of the long tables.  Between the pizzas, salads, piadines, pastas, and main entrees on their menu, there's an abundance of choices for varied tastes. Price points are at the medium range between $10-$20 per entree.  The entrees aren't feeding-trough-size but still a decent amount that you can eat well and still have leftovers to take home....as long as you subscribe to the fact that restaurant portions aren't single servings :).

Bread served warm with marinara dipping sauce

Warm bread served with marinara dipping sauce is complementary and a good filler before your entree arrives. I normally order the spaghetti and meatballs but on this particular lunch, I went with lasagna since that's something I rarely make for myself.  I thought it was pretty good; the tomato sauce wasn't too sweet or too bitter and really, it's hard to fault anything served hot and blanketed in melted cheese.

Lasagna

Tomatina is known for their piadines: warm flatbread topped with cool salad and folded over into a pizza-like "sandwich".  I've never had one since I'm not a big salad-y person but on a prior visit with one of my nieces, we ordered the Pesto Chicken Pizza which was really good.  The crust isn't thick like a deep dish pizza but it's thicker than flatbread and more like an artisan-style pizza.  My niece and I were impressed with the artsy presentation of the pesto pizza as much as the taste.

Pesto Pizza Chicken

Also on that prior visit, I had the Shrimp Capellini.  Whenever I have noodle dishes, I generally prefer the thinner one so I don't get full as quickly (or so I tell myself).  With the shrimp and the underlying marinara sauce, I could even almost convince myself this was healthy, lol.  But this is a good choice if you don't like pasta with heavy sauces.

Shrimp Capellini

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies - made dough September 16, 2013, modified from allrecipes.com

If you click on the recipe title and go to the original recipe for these cookies, the first thing you'll notice is mine don't look quite like that. I'm not sure I used enough white chocolate or maybe even enough macadamia nuts.

This was still a good version of white chocolate macadamia cookies although they spread a bit more than I would've liked and you definitely want to underbake them to get the chewy texture.  This is a brown sugar cookie base so if you bake them until "done" they'll be dry the next day.

I confess I don't have much to say about them because they don't really stand out in my memory. Although that might be understandable since this was another cookie for Zoe's bake sale and it was one out of many I had made and barely tasted.  At some point in my cookie-baking frenzy that afternoon, I was doing the barest taste tests, just enough to make sure I hadn't used salt instead of sugar by the cupfuls or was risking poisoning anybody.  I didn't have the luxury of savoring a test cookie just for the taste.  I was in production mode.

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces good quality white chocolate, chopped
6.5 ounces macadamia nuts, lightly toasted, rough chop

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt, stir into the creamed mixture. Finally, stir in the white chocolate and nuts. Drop cookies by heaping teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. When cool, store in an airtight container.

Quadruple Chocolate Fudgy Brownie Cookies

Quadruple Chocolate Fudgy Brownie Cookies - made dough September 14, 2013, recipe adapted from Averie Cooks

The original recipe name of these cookies was Quintuple Chocolate Fudgy Brownie Cookies because Averie uses 5 kinds of chocolate: bittersweet chocolate and cocoa powder in the dough itself and chocolate chips, truffles and chocolate-filled Oreos for the add-ins.  I didn't have truffles or chocolate-filled Oreos so I just went with milk chocolate chunks and semisweet chocolate chips as my add-ins, hence the quad designation instead.

When I first made the dough, I was a little concerned because it was more like a thick brownie batter than cookie dough and that soft of a dough usually means the cookies will spread, even if baked from frozen dough. I did chill the dough for about 10-15 minutes before portioning it out just for easier handling.  You don't want to chill it for too long, however, or it'll be tough to scoop out as the dough will harden to something more clay-like.  Alternatively, you can just let it sit at room temperature for a bit and the chocolate in the batter will set to make it more like a cookie dough.

My fears were groundless about these spreading too much. They spread a little but still stayed thick enough to be chewy bites of chocolate goodness. You never want to overbake chocolate cookies (or any cookies) because not only will they be dry and crumbly but you lose the chocolate flavor and it's almost fudge-like texture.  These are pretty rich so I recommend either making them a little small or, if normal-sized, getting your glass of milk ready and working out for an hour first.

Oh and since we're in Halloween candy season, this is a good cookie to incorporate with extra candy, depending on your tastes.  I wouldn't go with candies that melt like caramels (Rolos, Milky Way Caramels, Milky Ways, 3 Musketeers) or anything with nuts (Snickers, Paydays) unless you like nuts in a fudgy cookie but those mini Hershey bars can easily be chopped up into chunks.  Or peanut butter cups might work if you want less of a pure chocolate cookie and more of a chocolate and peanut butter combination.  This is the time of year I tend to go down the Halloween candy aisle looking for what can be incorporated into baked goods as well as serve as what I give out on Halloween.

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup bread flour

1/4 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder (as always, I use Pernigotti cocoa)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt, optional and to taste

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I used Lindt 70% and 85% bittersweet chocolate)

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup milk chocolate chunks

1. In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the flours, cocoa powder, baking powder, and optional salt; set aside.
2. In a medium microwave-safe bowl, melt the baking chocolate on high power for about 1 minute, stir, and continue to melt in 30 second increments until fully melted and can be stirred smooth; set aside.
3. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla; set aside. 
4. To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the sugars and beat to incorporate and mixture is uniform, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the egg-vanilla mixture and beat until incorporated, about 1 minute. Add the melted baking chocolate and beat until combined, about 1 minute. Add the sifted dry ingredients and beat to just incorporate them, about 1 minute. Do not overmix.
5. Add the semi-sweet chocolate chips, chopped truffles (or chopped candy bar pieces; chopped to the size of a chocolate chip or just slightly larger) and the chopped Oreo cookies and beat for 10 seconds to just incorporate or fold in by hand. Chill dough for at least 15-20 minutes or until firm enough to make into golf-sized balls and hold their shape. Unbaked cookie dough can be formed into balls and stored in an airtight container or ziploc in the freezer for up to 3 months and baked straight from freezer to oven, extending baking time by a minute or two if necessary
6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 F and line two baking trays with parchment paper; set aside. Place dough balls on a baking sheet, spaced about 2 inches apart. Bake for approximately 10 minutes.  Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to finish cooling.

Restaurant Review: Xanh

Xanh Restaurant - dinner on September 18, 2013

Crispy Potstickers

Remember when I mentioned my friend Rick whose favorite cookie is Oatmeal Chocolate Chip and that I made him a batch the last time he was in town and a group of us got together for dinner?  Rick arranged the dinner and we ate at Xanh.  Xanh labels itself a contemporary Vietnamese restaurant, going for the hip look with a lounge-y atmosphere. Or at least as hip as you can be if you're not in a trendy neighborhood in San Francisco but are in Castro Street in the suburbs of Mountain View. But I don't care how they brand themselves because their food is amazing and that trumps all.

Inside the crispy potsticker

I'm not even going to go into each dish or else this post would go on forever but I offer the pictures for your visual enjoyment.  Xanh is the rare restaurant that holds the distinction of being a place where I like their savory dishes more than their desserts.  It's not that their desserts are bad - far from it.  But their entrees and appetizers are amazing and my taste buds tell my sweet tooth to pipe down because they're busy enjoying the wonderful entrees that come out. And my sweet tooth subsides because it agrees.

Xanh Full Moon wraps (vegan version)

Everything comes out also visually appealing, creatively and decoratively arranged on platters and dishes in a way that makes you think the kitchen is staffed with culinary artists, not just chefs.  They know what they're doing.

Crispy Shrimp Clouds

It's best to come with a group of people (there were 7 of us this time) as the dishes are meant to be shared. Plus, honestly, you want to try as many dishes as you can because they're just that good.  As Rick says, "I've never had anything bad here." So true.

A close up of a Crispy Shrimp Cloud

My favorite dish is the prawns with garlic noodles (below) - amazing.  But they also have some of the best Shaking Beef I've ever had, tender and perfectly seasoned and flavored (pictured further below).

Garlic Prawns

Xanh can be a bit pricey if you go for dinner and order a lot.  Entrees range up to $30 or so and while they're decent-sized portions, they're not overly huge.  It's still worth it to me because of how good it is but if you're value-conscious and still want to try a range of their offerings, I recommend going to Xanh on a weekday for their lunch buffet.  For $12, it's all you can eat and they put out an excellent spread, including my favorite garlic noodles, soups, fresh Vietnamese spring rolls in three varieties, protein entrees like fish, chicken, and beef, and vegetarian dishes as well.

Peppercorn Beef

You do have to order rice separately as the entrees don't come with it but that's also available as part of the lunch buffet.

Brown Rice

Shaking Beef

Miso Salmon

Vegan dish

Banana Leaf Seabass

Probably the only thing I didn't care for at this particular dinner was the sorbet.  It was mango and passion fruit sorbet enrobed in white chocolate. I tried it to see what it was like but I'm not a fan of either mango or passion fruit and found it too sweet for my taste - and I don't say that very often.  So out of all the times I've gone to Xanh and made my way through their menu, there's ONE thing I didn't like.  Those are pretty good stats.  Everything else on the menu has been delicious.

Split Personality Sorbet

Hazelnut Mousse

Red Velvet Oreo Truffle Bars

Red Velvet Oreo Truffle Bars - made September 20, 2013, brownie base from That Skinny Chick Can Bake, brownie concept from Pizzazzerie

I was inspired to make these bars by Pizzazzerie's recipe.  But I knew I didn't want to use a cake mix and I wanted to make the red velvet brownies from scratch, especially since I had a good recipe for it from That Skinny Chick Can Bake.  I had blogged about these earlier and had only linked to the recipe but when I checked the link on my blog recently, I was redirected to a new site.  I'm glad it still works and I still have access to the recipe but it freaked me out enough that I'm re-posting it on my blog in case I can't access it sometime down the road.  That would be terrible since I really like these brownies.

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this whole brownie though.  The concept was different enough to dress up a regular brownie and I thought the Oreo layer would win me over.  Plus topped with melted chocolate and mini chocolate chips?  It sounded like a good idea.

Maybe because it was one of many for the bake sale but I didn't love these.  I mean, they were fine, taste-wise and all, and I'm glad I tried them out. But after 7 cookie doughs and 4 pans of brownies and bar cookies, I have to admit my taste bar was a little high that day.  A "really good" brownie on a different day might've just been "eh, they're okay" on that particular marathon baking day. Especially since this was another one that I confess I barely tasted from the sliver I cut from it.

Red Velvet Brownies

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/4 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 tablespoons red food coloring

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line 8 x 8 pan with nonstick foil or regular foil. Grease regular foil with cooking spray if using.
2. In a small bowl, mix cocoa powder, food coloring and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla to form a paste. Set aside.
3. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, then add second teaspoon of vanilla. With mixer on medium, beat in cocoa paste. Add flour and salt, and mix just until combined.
4. Spread in pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool before frosting.

Oreo layer
1/2 package Oreos, finely crushed
4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1. Combine crushed Oreos and cream cheese and beat until blended smooth.  Spread over cooled brownies.

Topping
1 cup semisweet chocolate, melted
Mini chocolate chips

1. Spread melted chocolate over oreo truffle layer, smoothing into an even layer.  Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips and let set.  Cut into squares when cool.

7-Up Cake

7-Up Cake - made September 17, 2013 from From the Kitchen of: Mrs. Bettie Rocker

I've had this lone can of Sprite in my pantry for awhile.  I can't even remember how it got there but assume someone must've brought it for a past social gathering since I don't drink Sprite so I wouldn't have bought it for myself.  I finally got tired of looking at it and I didn't want to waste it by simply throwing it away so I searched for a recipe on pinterest that would use it and sure enough, found a 7-Up cake (close enough).

I've made soda cakes before and I don't know how the chemistry works but find that generally the cakes that use soda have a tender crumb.  Must be something in the carbonated water.  This was no exception.  There was too much batter for my Bundt pan so I baked the overflow in a ramekin and a mini loaf cake.  The ramekin was my usual taste test piece and the cake had great texture, very soft, almost velvety.  But I think I underbaked the Bundt cake a little and it could've used more baking time in the oven.  You can tell by how dense the crumb was and the bottom in the first picture above is a dead giveaway.  The Bundt cake formed an almost meringue-like crust on top and past experience has taught me that those are almost always very hard to get out of the pan intact because it clings stubbornly to the pan and only gets more intractable as it cools.  So as soon as I took it out of the oven, I quickly ran a small spatula along the top and sides, keeping the cake from clinging to the pan like a jealous lover and turned it out onto a plate.  Normally I let it cool for a few minutes in the pan at least since if you turn out a Bundt cake while it's still too hot, it can fall apart more easily.  But thankfully, this time it worked and it came out intact.  I think if I had waited longer, the meringue-like crust would've turned into tentacles adhering to the Bundt pan and at least the top would've crumbled a lot more before releasing itself from the pan.

The texture is best when this is baked properly as when it's underbaked, it's a little dense and not as fluffy although it's still got a soft crumb.  But you get more of the velvety mouthfeel if it's baked the right amount of time.  Taste-wise, this was just a bit too sweet for me...and you know it takes a lot for my iron sweet tooth to flinch.  I think it was the Sprite itself - one reason I don't drink it is because it's too sweet.  Combine sweet Sprite with the amount of sugar the cake calls for plus the glaze and even my sweet tooth blinks.

1 cup butter
1⁄2 cup shortening
3 cups sugar
1-1⁄2 teaspoons lemon extract
1-1⁄2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
7 fluid ounces 7-Up (or Sprite)

Glaze
1-1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 tsp lemon extract

1. Preheat oven to 300. In a large bowl, place butter, shortening, and sugar. Beat until it is fluffy and well mixed. Add in lemon extract and vanilla flavoring. 
2. Add in all of the eggs and beat again until blended in. Add in all of your flour and then seven up. Mix until smooth and creamy. Pour into greased and floured tube pan
3. Bake at 300 for one hour, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Run a spatula along top and sides and turn out onto a plate while cake is still warm.