And the most important step? Browning half the butter. In doing this, you’re giving your cookies chewiness and a nutty flavor that will knock your socks off. You can also try letting the sugar stand in the butter a bit longer before adding the dry ingredients. This will allow more sugar to dissolve, creating more caramelization during baking and, more importantly, it gives your cookie that classic crisp you look for in every bite.

Check out Cook’s Illustrated’s Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe for all the details. If you’re not a member, this recipe is pretty close. I’ve added a few twists of my own (milk chocolate chips!), but they’ve got the basics nailed down just “perfectly.”

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It’s that time again! Sauced will be appearing on WFMZ – Channel 69 News this Friday morning during their weekly Chef Segment. We’ll be preparing our favorite type of food, “Small Bites,” so tune in at 6:50am, 7:20am, 7:50am and 8:20am to watch us live!

Here are the recipes for the dishes we’re creating this Friday. We’ll also be ending the show with a surprise cocktail .. but you’ll have to watch the show for that recipe!

Grilled Focaccia Crostini with Fava Bean Salad and Ricotta

Ingredients:

1 cup Fava Beans, picked

¼ cup red onion, minced

1 T. garlic minced

1 T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tsp. fresh oregano, chopped

1 tsp. fresh parsley, chopped

1 lemon, zested

½ lemon, juiced

1 T. coarse ground black pepper

1 T. coarse sea salt

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 loaf focaccia bread, cut into 1 ½ inch thin squares

3 T. Olive Oil

Preparation:

Preheat grill or grill pan.

In a large sauce pan of boiling salted water, blanch fava beans for 2 minutes. Remove from water and shock in an ice bath. Peel fava beans and add to a large bowl. To the fava beans, add red onion, garlic, oil, oregano, parsley, lemon juice and zest. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper.

Brush foccacia squares with oil. Grill on each side for 1-2 minutes until well marked. Remove from grill. Spread ricotta cheese on each square and top with fava bean salad and serve.

Wild Mushroom and Gruyere Tarts

Ingredients:

¼ cup oyster mushrooms, sliced

¼ cup hen of the woods mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup cremini mushrooms, quartered

2 T. minced garlic

2 T. olive oil

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp coarse ground black pepper

dash sherry vinegar

4 eggs

2 cups cream

½ cup finely grated gruyere

3 T chopped chives

24 mini pre baked tart shells

Preparation:

In a large sauté pan over medium high heat, add oil. Add mushrooms and garlic and cook for 3 minutes until softened and slightly crisp. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from pan and place in a food processor. Pulse a few times to chop mushrooms fine. Reserve.

In a large measuring cup or pitcher, add eggs and cream. Beat well with a whisk until evenly incorporated. Add cheese, chives and mushroom mixture and stir until combined.

Pour mushroom mixture into mini tart shells in a muffin tin. Bake at 325 degrees for 12-15 minutes until custard sets. 

Smoked Salmon Crepes

This is one of our favorite apps and is already posted here.

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Amish Friendship Bread is a true starter bread with a simple technique that allows you to make your very own delicious bread and then share the starter with practically everyone you know.

The sugary-sweet batter is similar to coffee cake and I simply couldn’t resist swapping out the loaf pan for  a muffin pan. They came out exactly like Drake’s Coffee Cakes and are now stacked in our freezer for on-the-go breakfast treats! I did make one more twist on the recipe that made these cakes extra-irresistible and I suggest you do the same if you’re a Drake’s fan. Ditch the cinnamon-sugar coating the recipe calls for and sprinkle this crumb mixture on your muffins (or loaves) right before baking:

Jill’s Gramma’s Crumb Topping: 1/4 cup soft butter, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, and a LOT of cinnamon. Mix all 4 ingredients with a fork until combined.

So … If you know someone with a starter, you’re in luck. And if you don’t, today is your lucky day. My kitchen counter is full of starters and Phil can’t eat much more friendship bread! Post a comment below or email me and I’ll find a way to get you your very own Amish Friendship Bread starter.

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Makes 8-10 crépes

Ingredients:

For crépes:

- 1 cup whole milk

- 1/2 cup all purpose flour

- 1 Tbsp. sugar

- 1 egg

- 1 yolk

- 1 Tbsp. butter, melted

- 2 Tbsp. chives, finely chopped

- olive oil cooking spray for cooking crépes

For filling:

- 1/2 cup créme fraîche

- juice of one lemon

- 1 Tbsp. chives, finely sliced

- 8 1-oz smoked salmon slices

- pickled red onion (see recipe below)

Preparation:

Blend milk, flour, sugar, eggs and butter in a blender until smooth. Add chives and pulse 1 or 2 times to combine.

Lightly spray a 10-inch nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Holding skillet off heat, pour in 1/4 cup batter, immediately tilting and rotating skillet to coat bottom. Return skillet to heat and cook until crêpe is just set and pale golden around edges, 10 to 15 seconds. Loosen edge of crêpe with a spatula, then flip crêpe over carefully with your fingertips. Cook until underside is set, about 20 seconds more. Transfer crêpe to a plate. Repeat in the same manner, spraying skillet with olive oil before starting each crépe.

Stir together créme fraîche, chives and lemon juice in a small bowl.

Put 1 crêpe on a work surface and spread 1-2 Tbsp. of the créme fraîche mixture. Arrange 1-2 slices of smoked salmon over bottom half of crêpe, then scatter pickled red onion over salmon. Beginning at the bottom, tightly roll up crêpe, then cut roll crosswise into 4-6 pieces, trimming ends if desired

Pickled Red Onion (use only enough for a thin layer in each crépe)

Ingredients:

- 1 medium red onion

- 1 cup white wine vinegar

- 1/2 cup sugar

Preparation:

Slice red onion into thin strips. Place in a medium sized, sealable container (mason jar). Add sugar and vinegar. Seal and shake vigorously. Allow to sit overnight before using. These will keep for several weeks. 

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