Cookies from afar!

Alright...

This post requires a bit of a confession on my part. A secret, if you will. 

Except really, its not that much of a secret. The evidence is easily found around anywhere I spend any considerable amount of time. 

I really really enjoy a genre of books that is often referred to as "chick lit". Essentially, fiction targeted towards young women. And before you mock, or scoff, let me just say that they are very enjoyable and intelligent and maybe its nice to read about a happy ending once in awhile. I love the masses of pastel-color books with curlicue fonts and little cartoons of shopping bags or women striding across the cover that I have acquired. 

Ahem.

Okay, so the point? 

Chick lit books are awesome, and you should totally read them and brighten your day.

Ok, that wasn't my point, but it is true.

So a few times in a few of these books I know and love, a certain cookie is mentioned. (It is worth mentioning that several of the books that I have are set in England.) Every time this cookie would be mentioned, it would pique my interest. Then, I began to notice it again and again, and started to wonder what is with this cookie? Is it that great a cookie? 

More importantly, I began to feel a bit left out and was starting to wonder, probably a bit more than is normal, what am I missing out on???

SO...

Cut to Adam and I in Bermuda, and us wandering into a convenience store. Ironically, the thought of these cookies had not crossed my mind once while we were in this BRITISH TERRITORY. I'm sure no one is surprised now to hear that, while wandering the food aisle, I stumbled upon these. 

"OH MY GOD IT'S THEM!!!!" I not-so-subtly screamed in a tone that not only could Adam hear me, but so could the cashiers, the people wandering around the toothpaste aisle, and probably the people on our cruise ship a few blocks away. "I READ ABOUT THESE!!!" I was now clutching the package. 

If you have never heard of these cookies, they are called Digestives, and as far as I can tell, are really only sold in European countries (and written about in books with plotlines set there). For even more info, here's the Wikipedia description. 

(You'd think, given my reaction, that I had bought at least 3 boxes. My friends, I simply (and gleefully) bought the 1. Really, I'm not sure why I didn't stock up. Perhaps if I didn't enjoy them? I mean, it's not like I can run down to the store and get more very easily. Apparently I exercise great restraint in my fits of joy.) 

Are you ready?

I know I am...

(Really, I'm not sure that you needed -or wanted- a play-by-play of me eating a cookie. But I provided one. How thoughtful am I?)

The verdict...these are amazingly great!!! They are, as I'm sure you can tell, a chocolate layer on top of a biscuit-y cookie. They are not too sweet, the perfect little mild cookie. They are also remarkably light. If these were available closer to home, they would definitely be in my regular cookie lineup. 

Note: In case you are curious, the books that (I am pretty sure) Chocolate Digestives are mentioned in (that I have and that I can think of right now - please keep in mind they could be (and probably are) in many more) are:

The Shopaholic Series by Sophie Kinsella (I know they are in Shopaholic & Sister, likely they appear in others)

Swapping Lives by Jane Green

Where I was

Last week, I went on my first-ever cruise - headed for Bermuda! 

Plentiful and delicious food?

A destination with crystal clear blue waters?

As many desserts as I wanted???

Needless to say, it was a great time :)

To come: a cookie purchase based on a book. Seeing how most of my cookie purchases have little to no motivation behind them, this seemed like a fantastic reason to stock right up! 

Handing over the blogging reins...

I'm sure many of you have noticed by now that there are many people in my life with much more kitchen confidence than myself. 

Actually, I'm sure many of you have noticed by now that there are many people in the world with much more kitchen confidence than myself.

Baby steps, people. We're getting there, one cookie at a time.

Perhaps it is time to hear from one of those people. Someone who doesn't panic when their cookies are slightly different in size. Someone who makes fun of me for feeling that way. 

Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, please welcome Adam to Tales of a Kitchenphobe. 

::steps aside::

First, I would like to thank the lovely Kitchenphobe (also known as the love of my life, and yes, I am going for the nauseatingly cute here) for allowing me to guest post. This is not my first appearance in this blog, as I have popped up a few times, the Zest King, Adam, and any other alias I have gone by, and my hands have been photographed several times. Today I am here to recite a recipe Sara and I experimented on this past weekend. 

I want to begin by saying that I am by no means a trained chef, but I am a master at eating and enjoying food, but I'm not sure whether or not that gives me license to do anything in particular, but you get my point. I will also apologize preemptively, as I do not cook via measurements, so I will guesti-approxi-measure everything for you, as well as give you some substitutions you may enjoy. The veritable feast I have been referring to consisted of sautéed asparagus, extra creamy macaroni and cheese, and a savory pork tenderloin with fruit. A list of ingredients for this recipe appears below.

Pork Tenderloin

Asparagus bunch

Box of Macaroni and Cheese

1 apple cut into 1/5’’ by 2’’ strips

1 pear cut into 1/5’’ by 2’’ strips

1 plum cut into 1/5’’ by 2’’ strips ( You can substitute any fruit you like here, but I find that berries tend to break down too fast in the cooking process and become paste and softer fruits tend to burn.)

  3 tablespoons of butter

  2 tablespoons of olive oil

 3 tablespoons + 4 teaspoons honey

 4 pinches course ground sea salt

 2 pinches fresh ground pepper

  2 pinches garlic/wine seasoning (can be substituted for 2 pinches garlic and 2 pinches dill, or any other flavor combo you enjoy)

I personally love to cook with pork, as it has a neutral flavor and tends to take on the flavor profile of whatever it is cooked with a little better than beef or chicken. For this recipe, we found 2 beautiful, thick cuts of pork tenderloin. Season one side of the pork with a pinch of salt as you melt 1 tablespoon of butter into 1 tablespoon of olive oil at medium high heat. When the butter begins to brown, put down the seasoned side of the pork to brown. Season the other side with a pinch of garlic/wine seasoning. You are looking to brown each side of the pork and give it some nice carmelization. This should take about 5 minutes on each side.  

As you are browning your pork, arrange 75% (minus the bits you munched on while slicing) of your sliced fruit onto a baking sheet (I always line mine with aluminum foil for easy cleanup) and drizzle 3 tablespoons of honey over it. Arrange the fruit into one layer (you can arrange them into concentric circles, happy faces, anything you’d like to keep it fun) and preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Once the pork is browned, lay it on top of your fruit and drizzle a teaspoon of honey over each of them. Pop it into the oven until it is fully cooked (internal temperature of 160-175 degrees or until it is white throughout and the juices run clear) which should take about 30 minutes.

After the pork is in the oven, take the sauté pan and deglaze it over medium low heat with a tablespoon of butter and about 3 teaspoons of honey. Once everything is nice and hot, toss in the remaining bits of fruit and sauté until the fruit is nice and tender. Add this to the top of the pork when it is about 2/3rds of the way cooked (after about 20 minutes). Don’t be afraid to let this mixture sit as you wait for the 2/3rds mark, as it does need a few minutes to thicken off the heat.

Next we move to the asparagus, my favorite vegetable. Use the snap trick to get rid of the ends (snapping off the bottom by bending it upright in order to see where the natural break is, and then cutting the bunch there) and then cut the sprigs into thirds at an angle (purely for presentation, no practicality here). First melt 1 tablespoon of butter in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until the butter begins to bubble. Begin to sauté your asparagus with a pinch of pepper and 2 liberal pinches of salt. This is actually the one of the easiest vegetable recipes I know apart from boiling broccoli. All you need to do from this point is sauté the asparagus with an occasional toss until the desired tenderness. I personally like to give it a nice char and leave it a little crunchy.

Finally, we come to the macaroni and cheese, and I am not ashamed to say that it comes from a box. This is probably due to a childhood love affair with the blue box. Just follow whatever instructions and enjoy. This part is definitely interchangeable with any particular side dish you enjoy. A nice rice or potato base side dish would do quite nicely. Once all is cooked, plate and enjoy. 

I do hope you enjoy, and I encourage you to add your own flair to this or any dish. And most of all, I hope you enjoy everything from the preparation to the digestion. Bon Appétit. 

Waiting

Originally uploaded by Kitchenphobe

Lately while waiting for a friend or a tv show or whatnot, I enjoy pulling out my camera and seeing what I can see from where I am. This normally includes my shoe, fingernail, or perhaps what I am snacking on at the moment (another usual favorite is the radio in the car).

This was taken at the mall, waiting for my friend.

The more I wait, the more I see.

It's my birthday, and I'll eat souffle if I want to...

Really, I can't think of a much better way to celebrate a birthday than by sharing a chocolate-y dessert with a loved one. 

And so that is what was done. At the Salt Creek Grille, with Adam (aka boyfriend, aka grill master extraordinaire, aka the king of zesting). 

He has a lot of aliases, doesn't he?

Anyways, on to dessert. This is the Chocolate Ganache Souffle, otherwise referred to as the dessert of awesome deliciousness. Or whatever you choose to call it. 

This souffle by any other name will definitely taste as sweet. 

Before

And yes, that is Adam's impatient spoon looming in the foreground. 

And after.

Yum. 

Scenes from Piermont, NY

Cakes

Originally uploaded by Kitchenphobe

Lately I've noticed that there are a lot of shows on TV about making cakes. And, really more specifically, not just making cakes -- but making amazingly gorgeous cakes that, for the most part, resemble pretty much anything else on this planet besides cake.

Not that I'm complaining, really. I regularly watch the shows that I have heard of in this genre. The fantastically gorgeous cake genre. The genre that I watch, and long to be a part of.

Oh, how I wish that I could create a random object out of cake, and have someone say "is that cake?".

Do I really wish that?

I'm not entirely sure that I do.

I'm not entirely sure that I'm not completely okay with the way that my cakes look right now, as seen in exhibit A, where they are slightly lopsided (nothing that can't be fixed with a healthy dollop of whipped cream), fillings pour out onto the plate after being sliced (yum), and they resemble nothing else but cake.

But despite its appearance, I know (well, I'm not entirely confident, it IS me) that it tastes good. Not that the other cakes that resemble animals and buildings and other foods (oh my!) don't look like they taste amazingly scrumptiously good.

To be honest, their cakes look like they taste ridiculously amazing.

But my cakes have heart. And spunk. And charisma.

Even if they really do look like just a cake.