Ginger Cooooookie!!!!

So, I made cookies. I think like 3 people voted (Amparo, Julia, and Kevin. I don't know if Sarah was agreeing with them or just whatever) and said they wanted the ginger chocolate chunk cookies. So here they are.

First off, I'm not a baker. I cannot bake. Unlike regular cooking, where you can basically just wing it and throw crap in, I don't believe baking is like that at all. Baking is an exact science. If you measure a little too much flour or a little too much something else, the whole thing goes crazy. So I let professionals figure out how much is good and how much is bad.

So, full on props go to Susan Spungen, who made this recipe.

This is for 36 cookies. And at 12 cookies per batch, if you've done your math right, you'll need 3 batches to make the 36... although my 36th cookie was like a mini cookie. Well, here we go!!!

First the dry ingredients:

2 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground cloves (or 3 whole cloves crushed)

1 Tbsp cocoa powder

1/4 tsp salt

I know the sugar is there, but I put it there by mistake. We'll get to it don't worry. We're not making a cookie with no sugar in it. Because as Gary Gulman says, "Every cookie is a sugar cookie. A cookie without sugar is a cracker."

OK, we all need a good lesson on how to properly measure flour. Seriously, people do this all the time and it bugs me. But here's a video on how to do it correctly. Use it.

So, I didn't have any ground clove, so I just used the whole cloves and crushed them.

Like this!

And got this. Just as good.

Once you get all your dry ingredients just whisk it together really well.

Now for the wets:

1 1/2 sticks of butter (ROOM TEMPERATURE!)

1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated white sugar

Eventually:

1 large egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup molasses

Butter looks really weird huh? It's at room temperature as it should be. Looks gross but it'll be easier to work with and taste better.

Using a mixer, mix the butter just a little before you add anything else in.

Add the brown and white sugars

And mix for about a minute or two before adding anything else.

People think that molasses, because it comes from sugar, is probably going to be sweet and awesome smelling. I know I did. But this stuff smells really really bad. You're going to think something wrong happened, and that your cookies will taste like nasty crap. Especially when the smell won't go away even when you've mixed everything together. Don't worry; it will smell, but your cookies will not stink.

Just pour it in, with the egg yolk. It's really really viscous so you might want to just hold it there while mixing.

OK, for a while, I forgot to work the camera, so I'm really sorry.

So, after I mixed everything together with the butter, I scooped it up and put it on the flour mixture. Now, you can do this with a spatula, but I liked to use my hands. Don't go super crazy, but get it all mixed together. It is sticky and it will stay sticky. Just make sure there aren't any pockets of flour and that the thing is mixed pretty nicely.

Now for the fun parts.

Get a nice bar of good dark chocolate. And chop it up with a knife on a cutting board.

Then, get about 1/3 cup or so of candied (or crystallized) ginger, and do the same.

Mix it into the cookie dough.

Wrap it up, and put it in the refrigerator to chill.

It doesn't have to stay in there too long. But just until its pretty firm. You probably realize by now, how ridiculously sticky it is. I kept it in there for about 45 minutes?

While you wait, you might as well clean the other bowl, and any spills and all that fun stuff. That way you can enjoy the cookies when they're done instead of moping around while you clean as others chow down.

Oh, and get the oven preheated to 350F.

So, before you start, I want you to make a little station like this. A plate with some sugar in it next to the baking sheet with some parchment paper.

Why the parchment paper? Because it's amazing. The cookies won't stick to the pan, which is wonderful. And it makes clean up sooooo much faster. It's ridiculous how awesome it is.

DO NOT use wax paper. Wax paper does not go in the oven. The wax will melt and it will be terrible. DO NOT USE IT!

Now I want you to make your cookies about 1 Tbsp sizes. So just use that Tbsp measuring spoon to get them out.

I will warn you though. Because there are chunks of ginger and chunks of chocolate, you probably want to even it out. If you find that a spoonful has none or too many, remake it.

You don't have to roll it. Actually I'd say don't make it too rolly. Don't squish it.

But do roll it in the sugar. Give it a nice even coat. You think this is too sweet? Well, too bad; it's a freaking cookie. And the sugar is nice later on when it's all done.

Put them a good distance apart from each other. I had 12 (3x4) on my baking sheet. They will grow and spread, not huge, but they will and you don't want them touching.

So put them into the oven. Give them about 5 minutes, then turn the pan. I'd give it another 6 minutes or so.

Your cookies should have little cracks on top. Don't worry if they're not hardened or anything. You don't want them to be. They'll be soft to the touch, so let them cool on the pan for a minute.

Then transfer them to a cooling rack.

What the heck! Who bit that cookie!?

mmmmm, I did...

So, back to the parchment paper. You can reuse the piece of paper for the next batch. Isn't that wonderful!?

Look how clean that pan is. I'm so happy I used that parchment paper.

Mmmmm... ginger cookie. And don't feel bad about eating them. Apparently gingers don't have souls, so there's nothing wrong with chowing down. Except this kid, he's apparently upset about it. Hahaha, cookies and comedy. (especially at 0:44!) hahahaha.

The Most-Awesomest PBJ Sandwich

So, today we're making Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich. Oh, I know what you're saying; "He's making PBJ? Isn't that for like 5 year olds? And who needs to know how to make PBJ?" Clearly, you don't know the most awesome way to make it. So here we go!!!

Here are the basic ingredients.

Bread

Peanut Butter

Jam of any flavor. (I really like blackberry jam with seeds, but it seems everyone else hates seeds because the only ones I can find these days are seedless)

Ok, now I know it's jam, not jelly, but if you call it PB & JAM, I will never speak to you again.

Hmmm, but something's missing here... there's something not right about this picture....

I wonder what it could be....

BAM!!! That's right, we need butter!!

I'm serious. This isn't just PBJ, this is grilled PBJ!

You might be asking me, why not just toast the bread, and make the PBJ?

Why? WHY? WHY!!!!? Because I said so. Because toasting only makes the bread crispy. Does nothing to the PB or J.

Honestly, this is the first time I did this. Here's the basic story:

So I was in the lunchroom with Mike Piccioli (I think that's how you spell his last name). Anyways, we were talking about weird food creations, and I thought, it might be nice to make a PBJ pizza without the sauce or cheese. But I realized that's just a GIANT baked one-sided PBJ. Then, I was thinking about grilled cheeses and stuff. And it hit me.

I've been toasting before PBJ my whole life. I don't make grilled cheese that way. Why not try it out?

The possible bad things that I thought might happen included:

PB separates into its own oils and whatnot.

Jam burns and goes crazy.

FIRE!!!

Well, now that you know that this is a complete first run for me, I hope you're prepared. Sometimes my wacky ideas (like the PBJ Pizza) are terrible. But I plan on this being awesome.

[EDIT]: So, someone told me this was done before... so I googled it. And yes, in fact, it was. Here I thought I was super creative. Turns out I'm not at all.

So, make a PBJ sandwich. Huh? What was that? You want me to show you how? Really?

Ugh. You people are hopeless!!

Two pieces of bread.

Jam on one. Spread.

Peanut butter on the other piece. Spread.

Note: Only put the spreads on one side of each piece of bread.

Now, a good PB and J ratio is quite necessary. Too much jelly and it's way too sweet. Too much PB and its just too thick and weird.

Anyways, make the PB and J kiss. Awww... look at them.

If you want your PBJ to be jelly side up, then just flip it. Just in case you didn't realize that.

Oh, yea forgot to tell you. If you have room temperature butter, it's a lot lot lot easier to do this next step.

Just spread some butter on each outer side. Don't go super crazy, but you should make it so that there is a complete thin layer.

In case you didn't put enough, put some butter on the pan too!

I like this grill pan. It makes the sandwich look pretty. But if you don't have one, that's fine. It'll taste just as good. Oh and medium heat.

When the butter starts to slightly turn brown in the pan, put your sandwich on it.

After about 2 minutes, flip!

Look at those grill marks!

I make diagonal cuts. It tastes better that way. What was that? It doesn't matter how you cut it? Well, maybe you say that because you're stupid. It does taste better this way.

(I had to step outside because my house was too dark.)

This is awesome with some chicken soup.

Mmmmm Mmmm goooooooood.

Well, that's it. It was a huge success. Everyone who ate it (me) thought it was such a great sandwich! Try it out. It's far better than toasting then spreading.

So I realized I had one last slice in my bag of bread. I hate it when this happens. But then again, I can now make halfies!

Yup, just like that. Or you can live on the wild side and put the jelly on the right! Ooooo, scandalous.

Fold and enjoy.

The king of meat, Steak.

So, here we are on a nice Saturday afternoon. What a beautiful day. You know what this day really needs to make it perfect? That's right! It needs a perfect steak.

I wish I had a butcher shop nearby, but I live in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of rednecks (no offense New Hampshire, I do like it here but you guys really are pretty redneckish). Anyways, this recipe works with pretty much any kind of steak, but I'll give you a few pointers.

Ribeye steaks are probably the most flavorful. They have a good amount of fat, and have a certain texture to them that lets you feel like you're chewing meat. I don't know if I've made it obvious or not, but it is my favorite cut. NY Strip (or any other strip for that matter) is also really good. It does have less marbling, but it s a real favorite of a lot of steak lovers. The filet is really tender and nice, but it doesn't have nearly as much fat (flavor) as the other two and it's also generally the most pricey. You could go with the porterhouse or T-bone, too. It's basically the strip and the filet in one.

One last thing. If I can, I always try to get bone in. Porterhouse and T-bone steaks come with bone by definition. It might be hard to find a strip steak or filet with bone in, but the rib eye usually comes with the bone. Do not get boneless rib steak. Well, you can, but then we can't be friends anymore. Don't laugh. I'm serious.

I'm gonna make this steak extra special. You'll see.

Anyways, here's what you'll need:

Steak (obviously)

Mushrooms

Red Wine (I used Pinot Noir, but you can use just about any red wine. No "cooking wine" though).

Butter, olive oil

Egg

Garlic

Salt/Pepper

So you got your steak. Here's what we do to it!

I recommend sitting your steak out in room temperature for a few minutes before starting. And no, you won't die. Well, use fresh steak. If the expiration date was yesterday, I wouldn't do that.

So, first things first. Take the paper towel and pat it dry. You want to make sure it's nice and dry. On both sides.

I guess while you do stuff to the steak, you can start warming up some olive oil and a Tbsp of butter in the pan on medium.

Also, please forgive my nasty looking pan. I made some crap yesterday that was awful and burned and it just made a mess. I did the best I could, but I couldn't find any vinegar to get rid of that discoloration.

So, for the flavoring of the steak. People have asked me what I use to marinate the steak. I use nothing. I don't like making it all liquidy. All I use is salt and pepper. I don't want to hide the taste of the meat with some other flavors. Just salt and pepper is perfect. Try it. It's the best. Heck, I just made the sauce too just for the hell of it, but I like steaks just by themselves with salt.

While your butter is melting, salt your steak. I like kosher salt, not because it tastes better, or because of some Jewish thing, but because I like how it feels in my fingers when I use it. You can use regular salt if you want to but it's harder to control.

Also, when I say salt, I mean SALT. Don't go supercrazy, but I'd say a minimum of 1 tsp per side. If you've been cooking crappy steak until now, this is probably why. You NEEEEEED salt. AND SALT BOTH SIDES!!!! If you don't, I can't be your friend. I'm serious. What happens if I come over your house and you make me crappy steak? I won't be able to speak to you again.

Also, it helps if you rub the salt onto the meat.

Bah, I keep typing "stalk" every time I want to say "Salt"

Pepper it too. Not as important as salt, but it's nice. Sorry, pepper, but it's true... and you know it.

So, when the butter melts and it looks kinda tiny bubbly and it starts to get slightly brown (although thanks to my stupid pan, it's hard to see), your pan is ready.

Start Steak Cooking Process!!!

Do not touch the steak. Do not press the steak. Do not touch your pan. Don't move it around. Just leave it alone. I'm serious. Just sit there.

Oh, but your steak might cause the oil to spatter and crap. And unless you want to really clean your stove like crazy afterwards, I suggest you get a splatter guard, or in my case a paper towel to cover the pan.

So, I like my steaks medium rare, so I gave my steak just under 4 minutes on side one. If you like yours more rare, then cook it less. If you want it more then cook it more. I don't know, you be the judge of that. Remember though, you can always cook an undercooked steak a bit longer, but once you can't uncook an overcooked one.

Don't forget to cover with paper towels again.

I like to give this side about half a minute less than side one. But you can make it the same time.

Seriously, stop going crazy about the time. It's just a damn steak. Sheesh, just use your freaking brain and just figure out what works best for you. Ugh.

Hahahaha, sorry. Well, I forgot to take a picture of the steak on a plate, but when you're done cooking, put it on one. IMPORTANT!!! DO NOT CUT IT. DO NOT STAB IT. DO NOT DO ANYTHING WITH IT. Just let it sit. At least 5 minutes before you do anything to it. Or else the steak will start to leak. Yes, it will leak. And unless you want dry steak in a puddle of water, don't touch it.

Honestly, you could just stop here and eat an AWESOME steak. But where's the fun in that? I'm going to make an AWESOMER steak, then turn it into AWESOMEST steak.

So, while the steak is sitting there on that plate, put some olive oil in another pan on medium low heat.

This pan is for the egg.

So my parents have this place in Poconos in Pennsylvania. And at that place, they have all these chickens. And these are seriously cage free and super natural chicken. We just open up the coop in the morning and let them run around this huge field we have and eat whatever they want from the field. The eggs they produce are amazing. The camera doesn't do this yolk any justice, but those yolks are so bright yellow and orange and sooooo creamy. Yum. Sucks to be you, but you have to use stinky supermarket eggs. HAHAHAHA! ..... I apologize for that. But yeah, a large egg would be nice.

You won't need to salt this or anything. Just cook it. I like to cook it sunny side up but feel free to make it over easy or medium.

Just smack that egg on top of the steak. Isn't that beautiful!? But we're not done.

While that egg was on the pan, I poured myself a glass of Pinot Noir.

Bad, Jimmy! That wasn't for drinking!!! Well, ok, you can drink the wine. Well, if you're of age that is... But remember to leave some for the sauce.

If you noticed the fat and oil and butter remaining the on pan, there's a lot of it. Pour some off. Not too much though.

Yeah, this was too much poured off. You'll need more than this. Don't worry, if you're cooking and realized you poured off too much, then just pour some back in. Put the pan back on the stove to warm up a bit, but do not let that fond burn.

So, I'm sorry I didn't mention this before, but I didn't want to just interrupt the steak cooking thing. Anyways, what I found was that the difference between a good cook and an awesome one was that the better chefs always cut their stuff up before they started cooking. Also, they read the whole recipe and get a feel for it before they start. So if you're cooking while reading this, I'm sorry. But yeah.... just cut up a few mushrooms. I cut like 5 mushrooms for just one steak, but I felt like I could have used a couple more, so you might want to use a few more. But be warned, that steak was huge.

Throw the mushrooms in the pan with a little salt. And mix around in the oil. If it's not enough like it was for me, just pour some back in.

Make sure to scrape the bottom using the mushrooms.

It helps to pour just a bit of that red wine we had earlier into the pan. Not much though. The mushrooms will release some water into the pan too. And you don't want to boil the mushrooms.

When much of the liquid is gone from the pan, pour some more!

Ooooo.... you can smell the alcohol steaming off of it. Stir it around! And make sure to get that fond into the wine.

Now you're going to want to reduce that wine for a bit.

Oops forgot to mention that garlic clove. I didn't cut or crush this clove though (don't worry, I'm gonna take it out). I didn't want a strong garlic flavor to it. If you want, you can do whatever you like and make it however you want. Remember, the more you cut garlic, the stronger its flavor.
Also, you want that liquid pretty thick and mostly gone - like in this picture.

That way... you can do it one more time! Pour some more wine in there.

The reason I did it in two steps was because I didn't want to boil the mushrooms in the wine. I wanted them to cook in it but not really boil.

The steam!!!

Well, once you get a pretty nice consistency like this...

Remove from heat and throw in a sliver of COLD butter. There will be enough heat in the pan to melt it. This is a sauce trick to make it more shiny and glossy.

WHISK IT IN!!! I think I needed some more liquid, but eh, it's ok.

Pour those beautiful mushrooms on that steak and egg!!

I added some greens next to the steak. If you have enough liquid in the pan, you should use it as a dressing on the greens as well. It's great.

Here's another angle of the steak. It goes great with the wine you cooked with, so I'd recommend drinking that with the steak. Unless you're a kid.

Oh, in case you didn't know, there's no alcohol in the sauce. The alcohol is gone, so if you wanted to make this for some minor (although they're probably be happier with a blue box of mac and cheese), you don't have to worry.

Oh, just look at that beautiful steak! Perfectly medium. But it was even more perfectly medium rare closer to the bone. You will have to remember that. The closer to the bone, the less done it will be. If you're working with a porterhouse, I think the filet side will cook faster than the strip side.

Awww. Look at that chunky boy enjoying his steak.

*burp*

I thoroughly enjoyed this meal.