Seattle: Part Deux

Posted on March 6, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

seattle skyline
Seattle will always have a special place in my heart. I showed up for the first time a couple years ago to visit one of my best friends from grad school, Stephanie, and my brother. At the time, she had just moved there with her husband and my brother was spending the summer there as an intern.

Times have changed. I’ve moved back to St. Louis from D.C. My brother now lives in Seattle full-time. Steph and her husband bought a house and live in a completely different part of the city. But reassuringly, nothing has changed between us. I have a great time every time I see my brother and Steph. They always make me laugh, they understand my particular genre of crazy, and they appreciate good food. So when I show up to spend time with them in Seattle, it feels a little like coming home.

Also, Seattle itself hasn’t changed much, either. Yeah, there are more Amazon and Microsoft people taking over the city. But Seattle still has the same laid-back vibe and independent spirit.

capitol hillI did a bunch of things this weekend, one being eating and drinking everything (to no one’s surprise). I’ve included below a roundup of places to visit if you’re ever in the city. It builds on my post from a couple years ago, when I experienced Seattle for the first time and went to different neighborhoods and restaurants. This trip was pretty seafood-heavy, which is good because I don’t often get good seafood in the Midwest.

Without further ado, here are my recommendations:

Molly Moon’s

molly moons interior
I was craving ice cream when I got off the light rail in Seattle on Friday afternoon so I asked my brother to meet me at Molly Moon’s. I’ve wanted to try the Capitol Hill scoop shop for years. Friday, my dream came true. I tried almost every flavor before I settled on the oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough and the Mexican chocolate. I wish I could have another cone right now.

molly moon ice cream

Canon

canonFriday night, I met Steph at a bar she recommended called Canon. It has a speakeasy vibe inside, with bottles stacked against the wall, dim lights, and an old-world feel. I got a cocktail called “First Down 10 to Go,” which is probably the closest I’ll ever get to experiencing football. It had gin, aged vanilla maple, lemon, and egg white, which made the cocktail frothy. I’m not exaggerating when I say that it’s one of the best drinks I’ve ever tried.

Dahlia

dahliaMy family says I can spot a bakery from a mile away, and they aren’t wrong. In this case, I was waiting for my brother with my mom at our hotel downtown and I spotted Dahlia from across the street. I went over to check out the situation and I was floored. Their rhubarb danish is in the top three pastries I’ve ever had, in the U.S. or abroad.

General Porpoise

general porpoiseI made it my mission to go to General Porpoise after finding them on Instagram a few months ago. Their doughnuts are OUT. OF. CONTROL. I got the strawberry rhubarb doughnut and it was delicious. You can tell the strawberry rhubarb compote is made with real fruit, not that weird, artificial gel that’s in some jelly doughnuts. The outside is sprinkled with exactly the right amount of sugar.

Doc’s Marina Grill

fishnchipsWe decided Saturday to go to Bainbridge Island. You get there by riding a ferry across Puget Sound. We were lucky and we had a beautiful day for the trip. Once we got to Bainbridge, we ate lunch at a restaurant by the water called Doc’s Marina Grill. I was craving fish and chips so I got this basket, which came with coleslaw and a dipping sauce that I want to marry. The fish was crispy, browned, and fried to perfection. I’m tearing up just writing about it.

bainbridge

Blackbird Bakery

sconeWhile we were on Bainbridge, I spotted Blackbird Bakery as we walked down the main thoroughfare. We stopped for a snack after lunch and I got this marmalade cream scone with currants. I’d highly recommend stopping in if you’re hungry and want lighter fare while you’re walking around the island.

Soi

soi
If you’re craving Thai food, Soi is the place to go. I ordered the jumbo prawns, which came in a delicious, spicy curry sauce and were topped with banana chips. I got sticky rice on the side because I like it better than regular rice. If you go to the restaurant, I’d also recommend ordering a shrub. I got one with honey and it complemented my meal perfectly.

Portage Bay Cafe

portage bay french toastMy brother took my mom and I to Portage Bay Cafe on Sunday for brunch. It has a laid-back vibe and inventive twists on classic brunch fare. I got strawberry lemon poppyseed French toast, which is made with the restaurant’s homemade challah and came with a strawberry crème Anglaise drizzle. It was denser than it looked but definitely worth it. I also got a parsnip madeleine that almost overshadowed the French toast. It was soft and moist (I hate that word), a great homage to the classic French pastry.

madeleine

Ballard Farmers’ Market

ellenos yogurtAfter a brief detour at hot yoga, we went to browse Ballard Farmers’ Market. I went to Ballard last time I was in Seattle at night and I’d never seen the farmers’ market. It’s a completely different vibe during the day. The Sunday market is huge and there are vendors with fresh, local products. I got Ellenos Greek yogurt with passionfruit and it’s some of the best yogurt I’ve ever had. It was so rich and creamy. Then I got a piece of freshly-made garlic naan with red lentils from Tandoozy. I’m going to be thinking about the naan for months to come.

tandoozy

Miro Tea

Miro TeaWhile I was in Ballard, I stopped by Miro for a cup of tea. I took home a bag of the tea I ordered, the lemon blossom oolong. It is so fragrant, warm, and reassuring. It smells like lemon poppyseed cake. I’m going to brew another cup this afternoon.

Stateside

goatcurryStateside is one of those restaurants that is so pretty, it almost hurts. I met Steph and her friend from work there for dinner Sunday and I fell in love at first sight. It has whimsical tropical interiors that make you feel like you’re in Hawaii, but you’re not. You’re at the top of a very steep hill in downtown Seattle. We ordered a bunch of dishes but the standouts for me were the goat curry, the crispy Brussels sprouts, and dessert (which I only had two bites of because I was so full after eating the six other dishes). The dessert came with a Thai tuile rose on top that was almost too pretty to eat.

brusselstuile

Victrola Coffee Roasters

victrolaMy flight didn’t leave until noon yesterday so I woke up early and walked up a very steep hill to go to Victrola. Steph recommended it and I’m so glad she did. The coffee drinks are made with an expert hand. You can tell by looking at them and by tasting them. I got a cappuccino that I sipped very slowly as I read. The shop was mostly empty at 7 a.m. but it started getting busier as the morning went on.

Conclusion

So yeah. Those are my recommendations for Seattle. It’s not an exhaustive list but I think it will keep you entertained through a long weekend. I can’t wait to visit again soon and go to some other places on my list.

Seattle Sunset

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Thé Time: Plum Deluxe Tea

Posted on March 1, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

Plum Deluxe Tea
One of the perks about writing about food for a living is that sometimes, I get free stuff. It doesn’t happen all the time. I’d like it to happen more. But when it does, it’s glorious.

Which brings me to this Plum Deluxe tea. I got an email from the company a couple weeks ago telling me about their organic tea blends. I throw most sales pitches/story pitches in the trash but this one caught my eye. I love tea and I’m willing to go out on a limb to try a new brand.

Plum Deluxe sent me a few samples and I spent this week trying them all (it’s a tough life). I started on Monday with the “Pick-Me-Up Oolong Tea.” It was the perfect tea for that day because I got stuck in traffic for an hour on the way to work. By the time I showed up at my office, I needed something reassuring. The Pick-Me-Up blend has maple syrup extract, orange peel, and almond. It’s very warm and comforting.

I followed that up with “Gratitude Blend Black Tea,” “Rainy Day Puerh,” and “Lavender Daydream White Tea.” Gratitude is a popular blend, according to Plum Deluxe’s website. I can see why. It’s a strawberry earl grey tea with cornflowers and bergamot. It’s very fragrant, almost like a cake. It’s sweet and bright, which makes it good to drink in the morning.

The Rainy Day blend is aptly named. I saved it for a rainy day (we’ve been having a lot of those lately in St. Louis). The blend includes cinnamon bark, orange peel, and anise. It kind of reminded me of the Gibassier I made the other day, just in tea form. It was reassuring and warming. I felt better after a few sips.

My favorite tea is the Lavender Daydream. I don’t drink white tea that often and I’m not sure why, because it’s so good. It’s minimally processed and very delicate, which makes it lighter than black or green tea. I love the way it tastes with lavender, apricot, and rose petals in Plum Deluxe’s blend. The tea is light enough to drink throughout the day. I’m thinking of making another cup right now.

ANYWAY. Before I get too carried away, you should check out Plum Deluxe. They’re not paying me to say this (even though maybe they should be?). I do think their blends are worth your while though, especially if you’re looking for something different than your average earl grey or green tea.

Here’s a song to get you started on your tea journey. It’s also good for times when you realize that you left yourself no time to pack for a vacation so you’ll probably end up doing it at 2 A.M.

 

 

 

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Nathaniel Reid Bakery

Posted on February 28, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

Macarons
A little more than a year ago before I moved back to St. Louis, I read about Nathaniel Reid Bakery. Reid, a classically-trained pastry chef, is from St. Louis. He moved back to town after living in France and Southern California to open a bakery specializing in classic French desserts, or “pâtisserie,” as the French would call it.

The first time I stopped by to check out the bakery, I was blown away. The space is located in a small, unassuming strip mall in a suburb of St. Louis called Kirkwood. Kirkwood is known for its charming small-town vibe. It’s the kind of place you’d expect to see kids riding bikes and people walking down the sidewalk whistling with an ice cream cone, but it’s not necessarily the type of place where you’d expect to find a gourmet French bakery.

I guess I’m not the only person who feels this way because one of the the first times I visited Nathaniel Reid, I heard a man strike up a conversation with Reid. Reid, who runs the store with his wife, often comes out from the back where the pastry-making happens to chat with customers.

“This is the kind of place you’d only find in New York, and it’s here!” the man exclaimed. I felt annoyed on St. Louis’s behalf because I hate the whole, “you can only find good food in New York” bias (obsession?). Reid smiled shyly and responded, “I love St. Louis.”

He told me later that he sees his bakery as the kind of place where families come to enjoy pastries together. He wants to know the people who visit. Eventually, the bakery will become the type of place where parents bring their children, and those children bring their children.

Reid is already on his way to making that dream come true. Every time I show up to get a pastry, there’s a long line weaving its way around the bakery’s small interior. There’s a bar against the window that’s always full of people enjoying sweets, coffee, or savory fare such as quiche or sandwiches. Kids hold their parents’ hands and stare into the glass pastry case, transfixed. Then they start hopping up and down with glee.

“She’s excited,” a man said apologetically after his toddler started singing and pulling my hand last time I was in the bakery. I laughed. “I know the feeling.”

RaspberryFinancierIt’s difficult to find high-quality, authentic French pastries in the U.S. I say this as someone who lived in France, came back, and tried for years to find something as good as I ate there. For a while, I thought it was impossible. Sure, there’s a Ladurée in New York, where you can get Parisian macarons, and a handful of good bakeries throughout the country that specialize in French pastry. But many of those places miss the soul of French baking, which to me involves attention to detail and delicacy.

When you enjoy a French pastry, you’re not having an ice cream cone or a brownie (two things I love to eat and eat often). You’re immersed in art. You’re essentially consuming a masterpiece, one that takes craft, precision, and no shortage of talent.

Reid brings all these elements to the table, and more. He has a Midwestern sensibility and kindness that permeates his shop and his food. He is modest and unassuming. He lets his pastries speak for themselves, and boy, do they speak.

Whether I’m eating a “Kyoto” with milk chocolate, hazelnut praline, and lime, or a Paris-Brest with hazelnut cream and puff pastry, I’m experiencing French pastry at its very best. I feel lucky that I’m able to find this in St. Louis, the city where I grew up and that I rediscovered as an adult.

KyotoParis BrestI will always admire Reid as a pastry chef and person. I also feel a connection to him and his work through the theme of homecoming. We both lived different places but we came back to St. Louis.

There’s something exhilarating and redemptive about coming back to the place where you started, especially after you’ve been away a while. Perhaps you’ve found that you changed. You probably have. You’ve learned a long the way and become (at least partly) the person you were meant to be. But deep down, you are the same person with the same dreams as you had years ago, and you’ve made your home the stage for those ambitions. This is what Nathaniel Reid brings to the table, and what I hope to bring to the table, too.

 

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Slow Cooker Ribollita

Posted on February 27, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

Slow Cooker Ribollita
I haven’t used my slow cooker a lot this winter. I think part of the reason is because I spend most of my spare time making cookies and bread. Another reason is that I’ve been into quick, healthy-ish dinners that come together in 20 minutes or less. Ain’t no one got time.

But when I saw this recipe for slow cooker ribollita on 101 Cookbooks the other day, I knew I had to make it. For those of you unfamiliar with ribollita, it’s a Tuscan stew made with a bunch of vegetables and day-old bread. It’s a great thing to make when you have a loaf of bread going stale and you want to use it up.

My favorite thing about ribollita is that it’s light enough to eat a couple times a day but hearty enough to fill you up. I usually get sick of soup after a couple times eating it, but that’s not the case with this ribollita. I  don’t even like carrots and celery that much, but somehow, this soup changes my mind.

The secret ingredient in ribollita that makes it shine is lemon zest. You might be like, what? Why would you put lemon zest in Tuscan stew? The answer is because the citrus adds some zing and ties together the rest of the ingredients. Without the lemon, the stew errs on the side of minestrone, another Italian soup with tomatoes. With the lemon zest, the soup gets an extra layer of flavor and complexity.

I paired this soup with a couple slices of bread the first night. Then, the second night, I cut up some slightly stale bread, drizzled it with olive oil and sprinkled it with sea salt, and baked it in the oven at 350 degrees for a few minutes. I would *highly* recommend the latter version of the meal. You’ll probably want to eat the toasted bread by itself, but it’s also great for dunking in the soup or mopping up the last bit of stew.

Here’s a song that reminds me of this ribollita. It’s bright, warming, and comforting. It’s good to play when you’re prepping the ingredients for this stew. There are A LOT of ingredients.

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Le Gibassier

Posted on February 26, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

Gibassier
When I lived in France, I never saw gibassier at the bakery. It’s probably because I lived in northern France near Paris. Gibassier, or a buttery breakfast bread made with orange and anise, is more common in southern France near Provence.

So it wasn’t until a month or two ago that I discovered gibassier. Honestly, I don’t know how I found it. I think I googled “orange blossom water” because I was looking for more recipes to make with it, and this bread came up. My first thought was, I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this. My second thought was, I need to make this immediately.

Some recipes will tell you that making gibassier is difficult. I guess it is if you don’t have a stand mixer, if you’ve never made bread, or if you follow M.F.K. Fisher’s recipe, which is more complicated than the one I found. If you stick to the recipe I’ve included below, though, I think you’ll be okay.

Gibassier is similar to brioche. It’s buttery, cake-like, and rich. It has orange blossom water, which is fragrant and slightly sweet, tart orange zest, and anise inside. If you can’t find anise powder, I’d recommend adding five spice powder instead (you can find it at Whole Foods or a specialty store). Five spice powder has cinnamon, fennel, anise, and white pepper, so it’s not a basic as just using anise. I liked the cinnamon and fennel in the loaf, though. It complimented the sweet and tart flavors and gave the bread a cinnamon roll-like quality. I bet some French people would berate me for saying that.

I don’t care because the bread I made is really, really good. I think you’ll like it, too. It’s the perfect thing to make on a cold winter night when you don’t want to leave your house. It keeps tightly wrapped for a few days, too, so you can enjoy it for breakfast for a few mornings. Or you can do what I did and eat half the loaf in one sitting.

ANYWAY. Make this gibassier as soon as possible. Here’s a song to get you started.

Le Gibassier (slightly adapted from Sweet Paul Magazine)

Ingredients

1⁄3 cup whole milk, lukewarm
2 packs dry active yeast
1⁄3 cup sugar
2½ cups bread flour
½ tsp salt
2 eggs
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp orange blossom water
zest of 1 orange
2 Tbsp softened butter
2 tsp five spice powder
powdered sugar, for dusting
honey and butter for serving

Directions

Combine the milk, yeast, and half the sugar in a small bowl. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the bread flour, salt, and the rest of the sugar. Change the whisk to a dough hook and add the milk/yeast mixture, eggs, olive oil, orange blossom water, and orange zest to the mix. Mix on medium-high speed until the dough is smooth and elastic. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go. This will take about 10 minutes.

Add the softened butter and five spice powder. Mix on medium speed until fully incorporated.

Lightly oil a large bowl and place your dough inside. Cover the top of the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap. Let the dough sit for an hour and a half, or until doubled in side.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Turn out the dough on a lightly floured surface and punch it down. Roll it into a 9×11 inch rectangle. Cut slits into the top of the dough and pull them open slightly.

Place the dough on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet and cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap. Allow it to sit for another hour or so, until it’s had a chance to rise a bit.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake the gibassier for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown on top. Let it cool slightly on the baking sheet and then sprinkle with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

 

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Dimanche (That Means Sunday)

Posted on February 25, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

STL
Welcome to this edition of Dimanche (That Means Sunday), a roundup of things that caught my eye this past week.

This week was very gray and bleary in St. Louis. It rained almost everyday (or at least, it felt like it did). It’s good though because we needed the rain. My friend Lynn from Edelbrand Pure Distilling told me that farms where she lives were 13 inches out on rain. I could see it last week when I hiked in the countryside near her home. The hills and valleys were yellow and parched.

Today, the sun finally came out. I’m going to go on a hike later to enjoy the nice weather. I’ve been experiencing a lot of cabin fever this winter between the snow, ice, and rain. I can’t wait for spring.

I learn this every February and forget it, but winter is a lesson in patience. Sometimes we need to go through less-than-ideal circumstances to get to a place where we’re happier. Lately, I feel like winter will never end. Then I remind myself that we’re only a couple months away from gorgeous weather. I can start spending the whole day outside again, buying fresh produce at the farmers’ market, and making recipes I’m more excited about. I keep circling back to this so I don’t lose my mind.

I hope wherever you are, you enjoy some days of nice weather this week. Spring is almost here.

Without further ado, here is Dimanche:

I booked a trip to Seattle last week and I am *pretty* excited about it. I’m going to see my brother and my friend Stephanie, and a few other friends I have in town. I’ve loved the Pacific Northwest since my first visit a couple years ago. I can’t wait to see what the city has in store this time around.

In case you missed it, check out my chocolate chip cookie power ranking. It was inspired by the softest chocolate chip cookies I made last week. I wanted to have a place where I could easily find my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes, and I wanted to tell everyone about the best recipes (because there are A LOT of them out there to sift through). If you haven’t made Alison Roman’s salted chocolate chip shortbread cookies yet, you might want to change that soon.

There was a lot of backlash last month after famous Frenchwomen including actress Catherine Deneuve denounced the #MeToo movement. Their words ashamed me, both as a woman and a person who loves France. It’s important to realize that Deneuve doesn’t speak for all French women, though. I enjoyed reading this article about Marlène Schiappa, France’s gender-equality minister. The last paragraph where Schiappa shares an anecdote about her eleven-year-old daughter and a friend discussing harassment really hit home.

Whenever I miss France, I head to Nathaniel Reid Bakery. Nathaniel Reid grew up in St. Louis but trained as a pastry chef in France. He is so talented and is one of the nicest people I know. I got the “Kyoto” yesterday, a cake with hazelnut praline, milk chocolate, and lime. It was almost too pretty to eat.

Kyoto

I just started watching “Ugly Delicious,” David Chang’s new food documentary series on Netflix. The first episode is all about pizza. Chang takes us across the world to show us what different countries and chefs are doing with the pies. I thought the episode was entertaining and informative, but also infuriating. At one point, Peter Meehan, the editor of the now defunct Lucky Peach, sideswipes Chicago-style pizza. Other New Yorkers throughout the episode also bash on pies made outside New York, claiming that their pizza is superior. It’s stubbornness bordering on insanity. I wonder if these people have even tried pizza outside New York…probably not.

Speaking of pizza…The New York Times‘s “Frugal Traveler” columnist came to St. Louis this week and tried St. Louis-style pizza. I was cracking up at his post on Twitter. For those of you unfamiliar with St. Louis-style pies, they’re essentially a cracker with Provel cheese, a processed blend of cheddar, Swiss, and provolone. I grew up eating the pizza so it will always have a place in my heart, but I don’t actively seek it out anymore. I thought the Frugal Traveler’s assessment was pretty spot on.

Last but certainly not least, I made Gibassier last night.Gibassier is a French bread made with orange zest, orange blossom water, and anise powder. People in France make it this time of year. It’s fragrant, warming, and delicious. It’s the perfect thing to bake on a cold night when you don’t want to leave your house. Stay tuned for the recipe tomorrow.

Enjoy your week! Here’s a song to get you started.

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Cumin Black Bean Bowl with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Avocado

Posted on February 23, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

Cumin Black Bean Bowl
One of the keys to cooking is finding a recipe you like and making it your own. That’s how I came up with these cumin black beans.

Years and years ago, I found a recipe for black beans with lime and chili powder. I made the beans so many times after that, I stopped measuring out ingredients. I started doing everything by instinct, which I think is the hallmark of good home cooking. If you do something enough times, it becomes second nature. Once you have enough confidence, you can start relying less on a recipe and experiment.

I was tired last night (this rainy, dreary weather takes a lot out of me) so I almost didn’t make this dinner bowl. Then I decided to muster the energy. The recipe involves a few moving parts, but honestly, it’s pretty easy. Once you get over the hurdle of just wanting to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner, it comes together quickly.

Some people like their beans on the mushier side (for lack of a better word). I’m thinking of the black beans you get as a side at a lot of fast-food Mexican restaurants. I like mine to be more defined. This means adding more lime juice when I’m cooking them and stirring them less. Beans are fragile beings, despite their hearty flavor. I try to mess with them as a little as possible to get an optimal texture.

I wanted to use up some brown basmati rice so that became the base of this bowl. Feel free to use any kind of rice or grain, though. Quinoa would be a great addition, as would barley or another hearty grain.

I don’t know about you but I am READY for spring. This bowl is bright enough to make me forget that it’s winter for a while, and it’s warming enough to comfort me on a rainy, cold winter’s night. It’s easy and reassuring, two of my favorite qualities in a recipe.

Here’s a song to play while you’re cooking beans, or anytime, really. It’s a remix of one of my favorite songs. Whenever I hear it, it reminds me of L.A. because I listened to it when I was walking around the city last fall.

Cumin Black Bean Bowl with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Avocado

Ingredients

1 large sweet potato, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup brown basmati rice, cooked
1 avocado, sliced
juice of 2 limes
1 can of no-salt-added black beans, rinsed
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
flaky sea salt and ground black pepper for seasoning
3 Tbsp sunflower oil, divided

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Toss the sweet potato cubes with 1 Tbsp sunflower oil and a couple pinches of flaky sea salt and ground black pepper. Spread out on the lined baking sheet, making sure that none of the cubes are on top of one another. Put the baking sheet in the oven and roasted the potatoes for about 45 minutes, flipping the cubes with a spatula occasionally and rotating the sheet so they cook evenly. They’re done when the pieces are golden brown and slightly charred.

Meanwhile, make the cumin black beans. Add 2 Tbsp oil to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once the oil is warmed up, add the diced red onion. Cook until the onion is slightly browned and translucent, about four minutes. Reduce heat if the onion cooks too quickly. Add the beans, ground cumin, a pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper, and juice of half a lime. Stir and let the mixture come to a simmer. Cook, adding the juice of another half a lime and stirring every so often, for about 10 minutes.

When the sweet potato cubes are done cooking, let them cool slightly. Sprinkle on more sea salt and squeeze juice from another half a lime on top.

Place some rice in a bowl and put some sweet potato cubes, black beans, and avocado on top. Sprinkle with more sea salt and another squeeze of lime. Enjoy!

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes, Power Ranked

Posted on February 21, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

Salted Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies
After I posted a recipe for the softest chocolate chip cookies yesterday, I started thinking about all the chocolate chip cookies I’ve made over the years. I’ve tried a bunch of recipes but a few have stood out from the rest. I decided to make a power ranking of chocolate chip cookie recipes, partly so I have them all in one place and partly so you can see which ones to make.

When I was little, I grew up eating my mom’s chocolate chip cookies. They’re really good. I love them. I still feel as giddy as a child when she makes them for me or my siblings. They’re soft, full of chocolate morsels, and decadent, everything a good chocolate chip cookie should be.

HOWEVER, the older I get, the more I realize that chocolate chip cookies are even better with salt. I’m not talking about a pinch of salt or a little extra in the dough. I’m talking full-on salt chips, like the Maldon sea salt variety (see the photo at the top of this post). Salt makes most baked goods taste better, but it works a special magic on chocolate chip cookies. It pairs well with the semi-sweet chocolate and balances the sugar.

Usually I prefer softer chocolate chip cookies, but the cookie that clinched the number one spot in my power ranking is on the crispier side. It’s made with shortbread dough, which gives it a more crunchy texture.

What sets it apart from the other recipes is salt. I’m not lying when I say that salt is integral to chocolate chip cookies. It takes these particular cookies from “meh” territory to amazing. It makes me want to use salted butter for all my cookie recipes.

Anyway. Before I get too carried away, here is my (highly biased) list of chocolate chip cookie recipes. I think you’ll enjoy the cookies as much as I do:

1. ) Alison Roman’s Salted Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies – This recipe is a celebrity on Instagram right now. It’s been making the rounds for weeks. I saw it a month or two ago and I brushed it off because I hate trends. Then I caved and made the cookies. I’m so happy I did. Not many chocolate chip cookies taste better on day two, but these do. They’re chocolate-y, rich, buttery, satisfying…I’m at a loss for words.

2.) Salted Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies – These cookies get a boost from tahini, a ground sesame seed paste that is a “hip” ingredient in the food world right now. I succumbed to another trend by making these cookies last spring, but I don’t care. When something is delicious, it doesn’t matter if it turns you into a sheep. If you make these, spring for the good tahini and chocolate chips. Higher quality ingredients make a big difference.

3.) Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies – I’ve been making these cookies for years. It started after I moved back from France and I was looking for a soft chocolate chip cookie recipe. The internet pointed me in the direction of Martha Stewart. Her recipe has withstood the test of time. Every time I make these cookies, they’re consistently good. They’re soft in the center and crispy around the edges, two of my qualifications for excellent chocolate chip cookies.

4.) Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies – Chocolate chip cookies are a quintessential American dessert, but leave it up to French pastry chef Jacques Torres to come up with one of the best recipes for chocolate chip cookies. A few years ago, his recipe got A LOT of attention in food publications, which is how I found it. I haven’t made the cookies in a while but I remember them being larger and denser, partly because I refrigerated the dough before baking.

5.) The Softest Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt – I just wrote about these cookies yesterday, so check out the post for the scoop. My friend Anna gave me the recipe and I tweaked it a little to satisfy my salt cravings. The cookies benefit from a mystery ingredient, one that might freak you out a little when you see it in the recipe.

Enjoy these recipes! Here’s a song that reminds me of chocolate chip cookies. It’s sweet, slightly salty, and comforting.

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The Softest Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt

Posted on February 20, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies
The other day my friend Anna sent me a recipe for chocolate chip cookies. I filed it under “Things I Want to Make Soon, but First I Have to Make Everything Else I Have Planned.”

Then I saw her Saturday for brunch and she asked me if I’d make the cookies yet. I said no, and she told me that when she made them, her boyfriend ate them all himself in less than a week. That was enough endorsement for me.

I made the dough for these cookies last night and then woke up at 6 this morning to bake them. There are few things that would get me out of bed that early in the morning, and these cookies are one of them.

I would venture to say that these are some of the softest chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had, and I’ve tried A LOT of chocolate chip cookies. Part of this comes from the baking process. You make the dough, set it in the refrigerator overnight, and then bake the cookies the next day. Ironically, putting the dough in the fridge creates softer cookies with more gooey centers.

The other reason these cookies might be softer than usual is because of a weird addition: Instant vanilla pudding. When I first saw that in the recipe, I did a double-take. It freaked me out. I’ve never heard of adding instant anything to chocolate chip cookies.

I’m not going to lie to you: I don’t think chocolate chip cookies NEED instant vanilla pudding to be soft, gooey, or delicious. In fact, a couple recipes I’ve tried don’t call for this and they’re just as good, if not better. But I think these cookies do use the pudding mix in their favor. For lack of a better description, the pudding is the glue that holds the cookies together. It makes them soft and fluffy.

So yeah. If you’re looking for a good recipe for soft, salted chocolate chip cookies, this is the one for you. If you want something more dense and compact, check out this recipe for salted shortbread chocolate chip cookies. I made them a few weeks ago and they’re equally delicious.

Here’s a song I’ve been jamming out to. It doesn’t have to do with these cookies, but it’s still pretty great.

The Softest Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt (slightly adapted from Averie Cooks)

Ingredients

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (1 1/2 sticks)
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3.5-oz packet instant vanilla pudding mix (not sugar-free and not ‘cook & serve’)
1 tsp baking soda
generous pinch of Maldon sea salt, plus more for sprinkling
1 12-oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Beat the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg, and vanilla extract together in a stand mixer on medium-high speed until light and creamy. This will take about 5 minutes.

Add the flour, vanilla pudding mix, baking soda, and pinch of sea salt. Mix on low speed until just combined. Then add the bag of chocolate chips and mix again until just combined.

Using a 1/4 measuring cup or a large cookie scoop, form the dough into balls, rolling in your hands. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheet, with no more than eight balls on every sheet. Flatten the balls slightly with your palm. Cover the baking sheets with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least two hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes, or until the edges and center are set. The centers should be slightly glossy. The cookies will firm up as they cool.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with sea salt. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet. These will keep for about a week in an airtight container. Enjoy!

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Kale Salad with Roasted Chickpeas and Tahini Dressing

Posted on February 19, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

Kale Chickpea Salad
I was browsing Instagram the other day and I saw a salad that looked so good, I knew I had to make it immediately.

Like many food photos on Instagram, this one didn’t come with a recipe. So I decided to improvise. I bought the ingredients I saw in the picture and then I roasted chickpeas the way I always do. I made tahini dressing the simplest way possible and drizzled some on top. It was a quick, easy, healthy dinner, which I needed after a week of feeling kind of crappy and using sugar to jumpstart my appetite.

My favorite part about this salad is all the textures. You have crunch from radishes and cucumbers, juicy tomatoes, crispy kale and roasted chickpeas, and soft fried egg with lacy edges. When I eat salads, I like lots of texture because it makes me forget I’m eating a salad.

You could add a little garlic powder to the tahini dressing but I omitted it. Instead, I added a squeeze of lemon juice. I’m sensitive to garlic so sometimes I just leave it out. Plus, the citrus flavor of the lemon complemented the tahini and brought out the other flavors in the dish.

So yeah. Make this salad as soon as possible. It’s a good dish for a weekend night when you don’t feel like cooking but you want something fast and easy. If you have extra chickpeas (which you probably will, unless you eat them all off the baking sheet), you can save them for the next day and add them to a savory bowl or sprinkle them on toast. The possibilities are endless.

Here’s a song I’ve been jamming out to lately. It makes me feel like I’m in Miami.

Kale Salad with Roasted Chickpeas and Tahini Dressing

Ingredients

for the salad:
1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 Tbsp olive oil
pinch of flaky sea salt and pepper
3 radishes, sliced thin
1/2 European cucumber, sliced and quartered
1/2 head of kale, leaves removed and torn
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 egg, fried

for the dressing:
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup warm water
juice of half a lemon

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Toss the chickpeas with the olive oil and salt and pepper on the baking sheet. Spread them out and then place the baking sheet in the oven. Bake the chickpeas for about 20-30 minutes, or until they’re slightly hardened, browned, and crispy.

Meanwhile assemble your salad and dressing. Toss together the kale, radish slices, cucumber, and tomatoes. Make the dressing by whisking together the tahini, water, and lemon juice in a small bowl until smooth.

Fry your egg by heating some oil in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Crack the egg into the skillet and cook until the whites and yolk are just set. Remove and place on the salad.

Once the chickpeas are done and slightly cooled, scatter them on the salad. Drizzle some dressing on top and sprinkle on more sea salt and pepper. Enjoy!

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