SPY: laduree comes to new to new york!

Have you all heard the splendid news? Tell me you haven't because I will never forgive you for not sharing with moi! As you know I love anything French, j'aime macarons...so French macarons in my own hometown. Oui, oui, I am in love. Does anyone want me to go and report back? Its huge news. The first American outpost, ever. And I mean, they are only the best macaron shop in the world. I can see it now. Macaron classes, afternoon tea sessions..and then considerable financial debt from going there too much. Hmmm...

RECIPE: marbled peanut butter chocolate cookies

I went to the movies this weekend. I am guilty of two things. I movie hopped. Well, okay we intended to movie hop but found ourselves rather unlucky to find out that the theater had a basement level. So instead of dodging into another theater free of charge as we did in our teenage years, I paid for more tickets and escorted my law-abiding self into the second movie. What I AM guilty of though, is bringing a big bag of goodies into the theater. And no, they were not consistent of a $10 popcorn or $5 candy bar. Instead it was Apple Pie graham cracker chocolate bars, cinnamon sugar popcorn, dulce de leche filled chocolate cones (all these from Black Box Dessert Club of course), and homemade cookies. Since candy was the theme of the evening, why not candy inspired cookies? Unless you have a good reason why I shouldn't mischievously bring marbled chocolate peanut butter cookies sprinkled with sea salt and stuffed with snickers bars into the movies, then please proceed. Until next time...

Oh and of course we made homemade ice cream sandwiches the following night with the cookies that didn't get devoured. I mean really, why not?

Marbled Peanut Butter & Chocolate Snickers Cookies
adapted from The Kitchn

INGREDIENTS:

Peanut Butter Dough
3/4 cup organic Jif Peanut Butter
1/4 cup non-hydrogenated shortening
1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup organic whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 organic cage-free egg, (room temperature)
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips

Chocolate Dough
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 cup organic cane sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 organic cage-free eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4-5 regular-sized Snicker bars, chopped into small pieces
3/4 cup chocolate chips

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 375°F.

For the peanut butter dough, cream the peanut butter, shortening, butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a mixer. Add the milk, vanilla and egg, and blend just until combined.
Add flour, salt and baking soda. Blend until flour is combined, scrape bowl and mix 20 seconds more. Place bowl in freezer for at least a half hour. An hour is preferable

For the chocolate dough, cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until well combined. Slowly beat in egg and vanilla until well combined. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add the butter mixture until well combined. Stir in chopped Snickers pieces and chocolate chips.

Take a tablespoon of peanut butter dough and a tablespoon of chocolate dough and press together. Gently roll into a ball and place on a lightly greased baking sheet.

Place in oven and bake for 7 minutes. Rotate pans front to back and top to bottom in oven and bake for 5 minutes more.

Note: It is essential that your dough be chilled before baking. Because of its (delicious) fat content, the dough doesn't ever freeze rock solid, which means you can make it a day ahead and toss it in the freezer without worry. If the batter is warm, even a little, it will spread and give you thinner cookies which will taste the same, but the texture of a large chewy cookie is a little nicer and makes for a prettier cookie!

RECIPE: almond brioche french toast

You ever sit back and wonder...what the heck did I just eat the last few days? Or drown in amazement at yourself that you, and you alone, set forth three meals a day for an entire holiday weekend? Well, I may still be suffering to recount all the washed away memories of this past weekend's eating binge, but I in no way can take credit for all of its creation. My weekend started off with brunch for two at dB Bistro thanks to Gilt City (review coming soon) where I pretended to be posh enough to blow $20 on a mimosa, which was then quickly redeemed by their unbelievably divine eggs benedict and foie gras stuffed burger. Then it was off to the food markets, farmer's markets and greenmarkets that make my pantry smile every weekend (and you'll be reading about tomorrow, though you might have caught a glimpse at already thanks to voyeuristic images I posted). Come Sunday, I was so inspired and so stuffed, both myself and my fridge, that I was ready to cook myself to sleep for the rest of the holiday. And what else does one do for brunch when you score a really good loaf of brioche for less than five bucks? You make French toast. Come on. You knew that right?

ALMOND-CRUSTED BRIOCHE FRENCH TOAST

INGREDIENTS:

6 large organic, cage-free eggs

1 cup organic half-and-half

2 tbs organic cane sugar

finely grated zest of one orange

3/4 tsb organic almond extract

1/2 tsp organic vanilla extract

8 thick slices brioche

Canola oil for cooking

1 cup sliced almonds

1 cup raspberries

organic maple syrup for serving

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Have ready two rimmed baking sheets. In a large shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, sugar, vanilla, orange zest, almond extract, and vanilla extract. Add the bread slices to the egg mixture and turn gently to coat evenly. Let stand until the bread has soaked up some of the egg mixture, about 1 minute.

Place a griddle or fry pan over medium-high heat until hot. Lightly oil the pan and one of the baking sheets. Spread the almonds on a plate. One piece at a time, remove the bread from the egg mixture, letting the excess drip back into the bowl. Dip one side of the bread into the almonds, pressing gently to help the nuts stick. Place on the ungreased baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining bread slices.

Place the bread slices on the griddle, almond side down, and cook until the nuts begin to brown, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook the other sides until golden brown underneath, about 2 minutes. Transfer pieces almond-side down, to baking sheets, place in oven and bake until the center of the bread is heated through but still moist, about 10 minutes.

Serve right out of the oven, almond side up of course. And top with a handful of raspberries, drizzled in maple syrup.

NYC: food market labor day staycation part deux

NYC: a food market labor day staycation

...what I've been up to! And you?