fudge drops

This recipe is for Pam LaRue, the bookkeeper at my school for the first several years I worked there. It was because of her that I even got the job -- my boss thought he had seen enough résumés before Pam caught mine on the top of the fax machine and insisted that he call me in. As fate would have it, he called and I ended up getting the job.

Here I am, five years later (!) and I have to say goodbye to Pam as she and her husband are retiring to North Carolina. Best of luck to you both! Enjoy these treats -- I dedicate them to you :-)

12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons espresso powder (Medaglia d'Oro brand is a good choice)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Melt the chocolate and butter together (double boiler or microwave). Stir until well melted.

In a separate bowl, beat together the sugar and eggs until thoroughly combined. Add the espresso powder, vanilla, baking powder and salt, then stir into melted chocolate, mixing well.

Stir in the flour. Let the batter sit for at least 5 minutes to thicken; it should be the consistency of thick cake batter.

Drop rounded tablespoons of batter onto a parchment-lined or greased baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches in between each.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the tops are shiny and cracked. You want them to bake all the way through but just barely; additional baking time will make them cakey and not fudgy.

Remove cookies from oven, slide parchment onto counter (with cookies still attached) and wait for cookies to cool (the cookies come off easier once they're cool). Repeat until all batter is used.

Makes approximately 24 cookies.

chocolate-cherry-almond cookies

I have tried lots of recipes for chocolate chip cookies over the years -- first, of course, was straight off the Nestlé bag. I think I was 8 or 9 when I tried it and the taste of home-baked cookies turned me into an addict. Now that I'm all "growed up" I prefer a little more complicated cookie. After toying with combinations of add-ins for a chocolate chip cookie, I settled on almonds and sour cherries as perfect foils to the sweetness provided by the cookie and chocolate. This is a chewy cookie -- no crisp chocolate chip cookies in my house! The secret to their chewiness is pulling them out of the oven while they look underdone -- slightly browned around the edges but not yet done in the middle.

12 TB unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 1/4 cups sugar (10 ounces)
1/4 cup light corn syrup (2.5 ounces)
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (9.5 ounces)
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp table salt OR 1 tsp kosher salt (less even distribution of salt gives the cookies a neat effect)
1 cup slivered almonds (4 ounces)
1 cup dried sour cherries (5 ounces)
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips/chunks (I use a mixture of milk and semi-sweet) (9 ounces)

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Cream butter, sugar, and corn syrup until fluffy and noticeable lighter in color. Beat in the egg and the extracts.

In a small mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together to ensure even distribution. Add dry ingredients to creamed butter and mix on low until fully incorporated.

Stir in the chunky stuff (nuts, chocolate, cherries) on low speed (or by hand) until evenly distributed.

Use a spring-loaded ice cream scoop (regular size - these are big cookies) to dish out 6 mounds onto a parchment covered half-sheet pan. Flatten mounds slightly with moistened fingers and bake for 12-14 minutes. Remember to err on the side of underdone.

When the cookies are done baking, slide the parchment off the pan (cookies still attached) and let the cookies cool on the counter. Use new parchment for the next batch. Once the cookies have cooled, they peel off easily. This recipe makes 16 big cookies. If you like, you can use a tablespoon-sized disher and get about 3 dozen cookies -- just don't flatten them. They'll take 11-13 minutes to bake. I like the bigger ones because this cookie is so chunky.

maple cornbread

This is for my sister, who wanted a dense, un-crumbly cornbread similar to what you can get at Boston Market. Here's hoping this lives up to it!

PS - A thousand apologies to all of my southern friends who would scoff at the idea of sweetened cornbread :-)

1 cup (4.25 ounces) unbleached AP flour
1 cup (4.75 ounces) yellow cornmeal (preferably stone-ground)
1 TB baking powder
1/2 tsp table salt
1 cup milk (whole or 2%)
1/4 cup (2.75 ounces) real maple syrup
4 TB butter, melted
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 425 F. Lightly grease an 8x8 square or 9" round baking pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the liquid ingredients. Add the liquid to the dry and fold until just thoroughly combined. Do not overmix!

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

chicken marsala

This was a request from my friend Ben. It is really easy and tastes great. You'll get tons of compliments. Serve it with veggies and roasted potatoes or on top of spaghetti tossed with butter and Parmesan cheese (the good stuff, please -- no green cans). This recipe comes courtesy of Cooks' Illustrated Magazine. If you have never checked out that magazine, you should -- it is a wonderful resource.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 5 ounces each)
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
table salt
ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 1/2 ounces pancetta (about 3 slices), cut into pieces 1 inch long and 1/8 inch wide
8 ounces white mushrooms , sliced (about 2 cups)
1 medium clove garlic , minced (about 1 teaspoon)
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 1/2 cups marsala wine (sweet)
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice from 1 small lemon
4 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 4 pieces, softened
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, place large heatproof dinner plate on oven rack, and heat oven to 200 degrees. Heat 12-inch heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat until very hot (you can hold your hand 2 inches above pan surface for 3 to 4 seconds), about 3 minutes. Pat chicken breasts dry. Meanwhile, place flour in shallow baking dish or pie plate. Season both sides of chicken cutlets with salt and pepper; working one piece at a time, coat both sides with flour. Lift breast from tapered end and shake to remove excess flour; set aside. Add oil to hot skillet and heat until shimmering. Place floured cutlets in single layer in skillet and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using tongs, flip cutlets and cook on second side until golden brown and meat feels firm when pressed with finger, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to heated plate and return plate to oven.

2. Return skillet to low heat and add pancetta; sauté, stirring occasionally and scraping pan bottom to loosen browned bits until pancetta is brown and crisp, about 4 minutes. With slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to paper towel--lined plate. Add mushrooms and increase heat to medium-high; sauté, stirring occasionally and scraping pan bottom, until liquid released by mushrooms evaporates and mushrooms begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Add garlic, tomato paste, and cooked pancetta; sauté while stirring until tomato paste begins to brown, about 1 minute. Off heat, add Marsala; return pan to high heat and simmer vigorously, scraping browned bits from pan bottom, until sauce is slightly syrupy and reduced to about 1 1/4 cups, about 5 minutes. Off heat, add lemon juice and any accumulated juices from chicken; whisk in butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and stir in parsley. Pour sauce over chicken and serve immediately.

tortellini in brodo cremoso

Another of my wife's favorites. The combination of cream, parmesan, and nutmeg is reminiscent of northern Italy. It's simple but satisfying. Serves 4-6.

6 cups low-sodium chicken broth (homemade or swanson organic)
2 cup heavy cream
2 bay leaves
2 cups dried tortellini (barilla brand - any variety)
1/4 tsp of freshly ground nutmeg
fresh black pepper and grated parmesan cheese to taste

1. In a 3-4 quart saucepan, bring the broth, cream, and bay leaves to a boil. Reduce heat so that the broth is just simmering.

2. Add the dried tortellini. Boil for 10 minutes (according to package directions).

3. Off the heat, add the nutmeg. Stir.

4. Serve in soup bowls with pepper and cheese to taste.

If you want a creamier soup, you can either increase the ratio of cream to broth (up to 1/2 and 1/2) or add a slurry of 1 TB cornstarch in a bit of water about one minute before the pasta is done.