cooking ala mel

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip

March 31, 2012

Tomorrow, Game of Thrones comes back in its second season on HBO. To say that I’m excited is a bit of an understatement. If you haven’t seen it yet, I couldn’t recommend it enough. It’s just the right mix of action, romance, mystery, with a hefty dose of scandal. If you don’t have HBO (I don’t), you can get the first season on DVD from netflix (alas, not instant watch.. darn you, HBO), but I highly recommend that you read the series by George R.R. Martin. At the moment, there are five books. I’m currently in the third one, A Storm of Swords. I saw the TV show first, I will admit, but I had heard how closely they stuck to the book for the TV series, and I was absolutely shocked to find how true that was when I read the first book, A Game of Thrones. The TV show mirrored the book scene by scene. I’m one of those people that are always disappointed in screen adaptations of books, and I was highly impressed with the work they did on this. The first season was the first book from start to finish. I’m so excited to see how they did with the second season, now that I actually have read that book in its entirety.

While Game of Thrones would really be best with some lemon cakes, Sansa Stark’s favorite, or perhaps a few oat cakes, I had to share the second of the chickpea-based dips that I so enjoyed. I’m out of it now, unfortunately, but perhaps I’ll need to make more for tomorrow night.. it’s that good.

Just like the brownie batter dip, this dip has a base of chickpeas and is sweetened with dates instead of sugar, so you don’t need to fill guilty about including this with your lunch or an afternoon snack. It’s great with graham crackers, apple slices, pretzels, by the spoonful..

Now I’m wishing I had more of this. In my case, I only had a tablespoonful or so of the dip at a time, it filled me up so much, but that could be because I usually had it after a meal of sorts. Otherwise, I caution you: this dip is hard to stop eating!

Any other Game of Thrones fans out there? Have you guys read the books? I’d love to hear what you all think of them!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip

adapted from Chocolate-Covered Katie

1 (15-oz.) can of chickpeas, drained
1 1/4 cup Medjool dates, pitted
2 T almond butter (or any other nut butter)
2 T coconut oil
1 T + 1 t vanilla
1/4 t salt
pinch of baking soda
2 T oats
1-2 T milk
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

In a food processor, pulse the dates until chunky. Add in the chickpeas, almond butter, and coconut oil, and pulse until smooth. Mix in the vanilla, salt, baking soda, and oats. If still slightly chunky, add milk, 1 T at a time, until it reaches the desired consistency. Pulse in the chocolate chips. Serve with graham crackers, pretzels, or fresh fruit.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies

March 30, 2012

Last night, I just wanted to bake. And I really just wanted to sit down and eat a cookie (or three). After finishing an assignment, I did just that. Because I had been debating having a spoonful of peanut butter, I figured it was an absolute necessity that I choose a cookie that has peanut butter. And chocolate, preferably. I quickly checked out what I had pinned on Pinterest, and these were the perfect fit!

Chocolate cookie with a peanut butter center. These remind me of a Reese’s egg in cookie form. Which is absolutely fantastic. Can you believe, there’s only a week until Easter, and I haven’t had a Reese’s egg yet?! They’re my absolute favorite.

I used Swerve sweetener in these in place of sugar; I’ve been having a lot of fun trying it with different things! This was the first time that I noticed any difference between it and sugar, and it has nothing to do with flavor whatsoever (the flavor is fantastic – just like sugar). It’s just this odd sensation of coldness in your mouth when you are chewing the cookie. I’m assuming it’s just the way that the erythritol dissolves that causes it, but it’s quite an interesting sensation, haha.

These cookies are rather rich and sweet, perfect for a healthier dessert!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Surprise Cookies

adapted from Post Punk Kitchen

For the chocolate dough:

1/2 cup coconut oil (a slightly more refined oil is fine, if you don’t want the coconut flavor)

1 1/4 cup Swerve (or sugar)

1/2 cup milk

1/2 t vanilla

1/2 t maple extract (optional)

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1/2 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

For the peanut butter filling:

3/4 cup natural peanut butter

2/3 cup confectioner’s style Swerve (or confectioner’s sugar)

2-3 T milk

1/4 t vanilla

In a small bowl, combine the cocoa, flour, baking soda and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the coconut oil and sugar. Stir in the milk, vanilla, and maple extract (if using). Slowly sift in the flour/cocoa mixture. Mix until it forms a soft dough. Remove the dough from the bowl (should come out clean), and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside.

In the bowl of the stand mixer, mix together the peanut butter, confectioner’s sugar, vanilla, and about 2 T of the milk. If it seems a little dry, add the remaining tablespoon. It should make a soft dough.

Shape the peanut butter dough into 24 balls (about 1/2 T). Shape the chocolate dough into 24 balls (about 1 T). Flatten the chocolate dough in the palm of your hand, place a ball of peanut butter dough in the center, and fold the sides of the chocolate dough up around the peanut butter. Roll the ball smooth. Repeat with the remaining dough balls.

Place about 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 350ºF for about 10 minutes. Allow to cool on the sheet slightly before transferring to a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.

Lobster Mac and Cheese

March 29, 2012

With the weather being so hot and cold, with one day being 70 degrees and the next in the 30s, Tesla has been having some trouble adjusting. He’s been loving sitting by the sliding glass door with only the screen there, so he can hear all the birds chirping, the leaves rustling, and he can see and “chase” all the little critters that cross his path on our patio. Since the past few days we haven’t been able to have it open, it’s been like he’s a girl kitty in heat, howling at the door all the time to get out. With all the noise he’s been making, I’m surprised our neighbors haven’t complained yet. I keep mentioning to Alex that we should get another kitty so Tesla has a friend; with our busy schedules, it’s hard to give Tesla all the attention he needs when he doesn’t have his window to occupy him. I’m on the hunt, but I’m still not sure whether or not another kitty would be the best idea.. what do you all think?

This lobster mac and cheese has been a dish I’ve had pinned on Pinterest for a long time; I had originally wanted to make it for my birthday but never got the chance. Finally, I wanted a study break over the weekend, and I had all of the ingredients, so I got my chance.

I love getting lobster mac and cheese when we go out to dinner every once in a while, but it’s always a pretty expensive dish, so I figured we could save some money by making it at home. While lobster has a pretty hefty price tag no matter what, it’s definitely great for a special occasion, and you end up with at least 5 times the amount you’d get at a restaurant for the same price. Worth it!

I chose a sharp white cheddar and Kerrygold’s Dubliner cheese for this, which made a lovely rounded cheese flavor with just the right amount of nuttiness and sharpness. The Dubliner cheese had the flavors of parmesan, cheddar, and swiss, so if you don’t have that, you can easily use any of those cheeses for this dish! The sauce tasted surprisingly similar to Stouffer’s, from what I can remember of it, although it’s been so long that I may be completely off with that, haha. It’s definitely a much less processed sauce, anyway, than Stouffer’s! 😛

Lobster Mac & Cheese
adapted from Everyday Occasions

7 oz. lobster meat, cooked
1/2 pound Conchiglie pasta (shells)
1/2 pound whole wheat elbow pasta
2 T sea salt

For the sauce:
2 cups milk
2 1/2 T butter
1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
8 oz. sharp white cheddar, shredded
7 oz. Dubliner cheese, shredded
1/4 t black pepper
1/4 t sea salt

For the topping:
3/4 cup bread crumbs (from about 2 slices bread)
1 T butter

In a large pot, boil water, and add in the sea salt. Cook the pasta for about 7-8 minutes, and drain. Cut the lobster into 1/2″ pieces; set aside.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour and allow to cook for about a minute while stirring. Stir in the milk. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes, until it has thickened, stirring often.
Remove from the heat, and stir in the shredded cheese until fully melted. Stir in the pasta until well coated, and then add the lobster and stir. Season with salt and pepper.

Pulse two slices of bread in a food processor until it makes fine crumbs. Melt the tablespoon of butter and toss in the breadcrumbs.

Place the macaroni into a large casserole (or several individual oven-proof bowls), and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Broil for about a minute, until the bread crumbs are browned. Serve and enjoy!