Beef and Broccoli: NY Chinese Take-Out

There are a lot of things I love about living in Texas, and lots of foods I love eating in Texas, but there is one (of a couple things) that I can not get here that just kills me: Chinese Take-Out. 

When I lived in New York growing up, we could get it anywhere really.  Every town had at least two different places, and truthfully, they tasted the same, the menus were the same, and they were perfect.

My asian-take-out game stepped up a few notches when I moved to San Francisco in college - suddenly, there wasn't just chinese.  There was Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Pan-Asian, Asian-Indian, the list goes on.  SO. MUCH. GOOD. FOOD.  And, it was all take-out. 

Such simple beauty in just calling it in, picking it up, boarding a cold, wet, smelly, MUNI bus, sitting in a cold, hard seat smelling it's delicious aroma through its Styrofoam encasement, and finally walking up three flights of stairs to your apartment, flopping down on your bed and devouring take-out perfection with a plastic fork and trashy TV.

Beauty like this does not exist in Austin, Texas.  Sorry, Austin, but take-out is not your forte.  The only thing I could order for delivery to my house when I first moved here was Pizza.  That was it. And even if I wanted to venture out and drive to get it myself, there was ONE decent Chinese place and it was so far away, it wasn't worth the effort.

Four years of missing Chinese later and I stumble upon this recipe from Table for Two and everything changed. A little tinkering on getting it right, and before I knew it, I could close my eyes and pretend I was eating it out of a cardboard contained with plastic fork, and I wouldn't be the wiser.

I am still missing my Chicken Lo Mein, but man, this hits the spot for beef and broccoli any day.

New York Style Beef and Broccoli

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. boneless beef roast, sliced into thin strips
• 2-3 cups beef broth
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 2 tbs. sesame oil
• 2 tbs. garlic powder
• 1 tbs. corn starch
• 3 tbs. flour
• Broccoli florets, large bag, frozen
• Cooked white rice, for serving

Cut the strips of beef in to 1-inch pieces.  Set aside.

In the bowl of a crockpot, whisk together 2 cups of beef broth, the soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and garlic powder.  Add the meat to the bowl and toss to coat.

If there is not enough liquid to cover the meat, add just enough broth to ensure the meat is all covered.  Sometimes the roast I am able to buy is heavier than 2 lbs, but not to waste I just use it all - in this case I adjust my liquid appropriately.

Cook on high for 5 hours (or until meat is cooked to your preference, I like it very tender to a fork).  Keep in mind with crock pot cooking times, that all crock pots vary greatly depending on how large the capacity is and your cooking temp options.  Check your your meat as it cooks and when it is done, its done, don't fret over what the recipe says.

In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and flour.  Whisk in 4 tbs. of the broth from the crock pot to form a paste.  Stir this paste back into the crock pot and allow the sauce to thicken for 20 minutes.

After the sauce has thickened a bit, add in the desired amount of frozen broccoli florets.  I happen to love broccoli so I put in an entire bag, but its entirely up to you.  Stir, re-cover the crock pot and let the broccoli heat through (about five minutes). 

Serve over rice immediately.

Salted Nutella-Stuffed Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yeah, the name of these cookies alone is a mouthful.  A delicious, warm, chocolatey, nutty, sweet and salty mouthful.  If you like chocolate, Nutella, oatmeal cookies, or any combination, these are the cookies for you. 

They take a little longer to throw together than a standard chocolate chip or oatmeal cookie recipe, but the extra step or two required to stuff these with creamy Nutella is well worth it.  The earthy texture of the oatmeal is the perfect wrapper for a soft, sweet filling.  Trust me.  These will not disappoint.

Salted Nutella-Stuffed Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yields about 18 Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Nutella
• Kosher salt or sea salt, for sprinkling

Using a large mixing bowl (you can make this whole recipe with one bowl) cream the butter and sugars with a hand mixer (or in the bowl of a stand mixer).

Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined and smooth.

Mix in the flour, baking soda, 1 tsp. of salt and the oats.  The dough may feel thick, but mix just until it is evenly combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips.

Cover your bowl and chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

While the dough chills, prepare a pastry bag (or gallon-sized Ziploc bag) with Nutella.  An icing tip isn't necessary in this case, just fill your bag with 1-2 cups of Nutella and set it into the fridge to cool for 15-20 minutes before your dough is ready.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare baking sheets with a silicon mat or lined with parchment paper.

Remove your dough and Nutella from the refrigerator.  Trim the corner off your pastry bag slightly.  Using a cookie scoop or a teaspoon, shape your dough into balls.  

Hold each ball in your hand and, using your thumb, press down into the ball, turning it into a bowl.  Pipe desired amount of Nutella from the pastry bag into the dough.  Pinch the edges of the dough back together around the Nutella, reforming a ball. 

Place the stuffed dough onto the cookie sheet, seam side down, and flatten it slightly.  Sprinkle the top with sea salt.  Repeat with remaining dough.  Place on cookie sheets about two-three inches apart.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown. Allow cookies to set on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.

Sweet Brunettes

The night we got home from two long weeks on the road, I needed some junk food to settle down on the couch with, put up my feet and binge on all the trashy TV I had missed.  So we ordered in, put the kids to sleep and I got ready to chill.  Then the sweet craving kicked in.

As all of our friends know, there is always some kind of baked deliciousness in the cake stand on the kitchen island.  Since my first pregnancy, I've been a sucker for my sweet tooth and need to have something around for a nibble when it kicks in.

In any case, because we had been gone for two weeks, my cake stand was woefully empty.  I didn't want to walk to the grocery store because it was legitimately 100 degrees outside and I was exhausted.  So I had to work with what I had around.  I had seen recipes for "Junk Drawer" cookies and brownies before, but never made them.  This was my interpretation of a similar recipe from Averie Cooks, but with substitutions based on what was around in the pantry. Anyone could easily do the same.  Work with what you've got - this recipe isn't really trailblazing, but definitely sweet.

I decided to call my creation Brunettes because I used dark brown sugar instead of light.  Light brown sugar is typically the base for blondies because it will produce a fluffier, lighter brownie because it has less syrup in the sugar (granulated sugar is the driest of the three, light brown is a nice medium and dark brown practically oozes).  Due to my lack of light brown sugar (since I didn't heed Chanel's warning that we were out before we left on the trip), I just used what I had and they came out, not surprisingly, much darker than blondies - hence, Brunettes.

Have fun mixing it up - This whole thing won't take you more then 30 minutes!

Sweet Brunettes

Makes about 16 squares

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), melted
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup dark brown sugar (or light if you prefer)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 Oreos, chopped
• 10 Mini Twix, refrigerated and chopped
• M&Ms (about 1 cup)

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter.  Set aside and allow to cool.

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.  Line a square baking pan (8x8 for thicker bars, 9x9 for thinner) with parchment paper and set aside.

Add the egg to the melted butter, whisk until smooth.  Whisk in the brown sugar and vanilla.

Stir in the flour and salt until combined.

Add the Oreos and Twix (or whatever you decided to try, I bet Reese's cups or pretzels would taste fantastic) and stir together.

Spread the batter/dough into your pan.  Sprinkle your M&Ms (or topping of choice) on top and press them into the dough lightly.

Bake for 22-26 minutes, or until done.  They are done when a toothpick comes out clean.

Allow to cool in the pan.  Cooling completely is IMPORTANT with these before cutting, be patient!  Once they are cool, lift the parchment paper from your pan and cut into squares.

New England Clam Chower

We just got back from the most magical, wonderful, fulfilling (I could go on and on) trip to Cape Cod that I could have imagined.  Having grown up spending every summer there with my family, and my grandmother being born and raised there, it is a place with such a deep meaning and permanent place in my heart.  Chanel grew up just a few hours from there and frequented the beaches on the bay in the summer.  Aaron even spent his summers on the Cape, sent up all the way from Houston to spend time with his grandparents.  We could not have been more excited to share this place with the boys for the first time.

So we embarked on a two-day long road trip in the Suburban to drive up to my mom's in New York, then on to the Cape.  All five of us piled into the car, drove to Nashville as our halfway point, and then pushed on to NY.  It went surprisingly well, perhaps another post another time on surviving road trips with babies and toddlers.

We could not have been happier to make it to the Cape on day 4 of the journey.  Everything was perfect.  I felt completely at peace, my heart was happy and full, and so was my stomach.  The food was incredible.  I will often talk about missing food from NY, but missing the fresh seafood from Massachusetts is a whole different ball-game.

Pretty much my first meal once we got there was some amazing Clam Chowder.  And then it turns out, it was pretty much part of my lunch every day we were there.  So naturally, as soon as we got back to Texas I was doing two things: 1) Searching for real estate on the Cape so we can move back immediately and 2) craving chowder with a passion.

As with any craving I have, I gave in immediately and started cooking. This was my first foray into making my own Clam Chowder and it was totally worth it.  I added a bit of a Texas flair to the classic soup by flavoring it heavily with smoked bacon fat.  If you want a flavor that is more true to a classic New England Chowder - leave out the bacon entirely, skip the first step, and start your soup with butter instead.  Either way, don't forget to get some oyster crackers to crumble on top, its just not the same without it.  I also suggest setting the mood by staring at these photos while you are eating.

New England Clam Chowder

Serves 4 - 6

Ingredients:

• 1 lb bacon, diced
• 2 tbs. butter
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 white onion, diced
• 1 tsp. ground sage
• 1 tsp. ground thyme
• 1/2 tsp. celery salt
• Salt and Pepper
• 3 tbs. flour
• 2-3 cups half and half*
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 2 (6.5 oz) cans of chopped clams, juices separated and reserved
• 1 bay leaf
• 2-3 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
• Chopped fresh parsley or dried, for garnish
• Oyster crackers, for garnish

Dice your entire 1-lb package of bacon.  Heat a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add bacon to the pot and cook until the bacon is crispy.  Remove the bacon from the pot, onto a plate lined with paper towels.  Pour the bacon fat from the pot into a bowl and set aside (you don't need it for this recipe, but it can be useful for pie crust making or other recipes, so hang on to it in a covered container in your fridge if you might use it).  DO NOT SCRAPE THE REMAINING FAT FROM THE POT.  Leave all those drippings and bacon crumbs in the pot.

Add 1 tbs. of butter to your pot, melt, add garlic and onion and cook until onions are translucent.  Stir in seasonings (sage, thyme, celery salt, and some salt and pepper). 

With you half and half, vegetable broth, and clam juice ready and on hand, whisk in the flour until lightly brown. Immediately whisk in 1 cup of broth, 1 cup of half and half, and the clam juice.

Using and immersion blender, blend the mixture carefully so that the onions and garlic cloves are blended smoothly into the broth.

Bring to a boil, and stir in the potatoes and add the bay leaf.  Reduce the heat and let it simmer as it begins to thicken and the potatoes are tender and cooked.

Once the potatoes are cooked, stir in the clams and another 1 cup of half and half (or however much you prefer to achieve a consistency you like - you can even add heavy cream instead for a very thick soup, or vegetable broth for a thinner soup).

Simmer until your desired consistency is reached, remove the bay leaf and serve immediately.  Garnish with bacon, parsley and oyster crackers.

The Perfect Ice Cream Sandwich

We are kicking off June with some summer favorites.  We both grew up on classic ice cream sandwiches after a hot day at camp and couldn't think of a better way to end the first day without rain in Austin in a long time.  It finally feels like summer is here and we are ready to jump right in.  I'm sure we will be eating our words in August when it is 102 degrees outside, but for now, the sun feels amazing.

After finishing a 5.5 mile walk in the sun and scarfing down salads for lunch, we were craving something sweet and it just struck me that the perfect snack for a day like this was straight from our childhood: ice cream sandwiches.

The key to those perfect ice cream sandwiches from camp was that the chocolate cookie was soft.  You could bite into it and it wasn't tough to break through the cookie, it just broke apart perfectly with the ice cream.  So for us to have the same experience, we needed a cookie recipe that was going to produce a soft, almost spongy cookie.

I found this recipe for Oreo jello cookies and modified it a bit.  We left out the Oreo's and white chocolate chips and replaced them with mini semi-sweet chocolate chips. And for the ice cream we used good ol' Breyer's vanilla bean.

Once you have baked your cookies and allowed them to cool completely, putting them together is pretty simple.  One thing to remember though, is when working with ice cream, speed is critical so make sure to get everything you need ready and set out before you get the ice cream from the freezer and begin.

You will need:

• 1 batch of cookies of your choosing (but we recommend a variation of this recipe)
• 1 gallon of your ice cream of choice
• A serrated bread knife
• A cookie cutter (we used a round biscuit cutter)
• A tray or containers to store and re-freeze your assembled sandwiches in
• Sprinkles for decoration (optional)
• Plastic wrap

Once you have assembled all your supplies, make sure you have cleared out a space in your freezer that will fit your sandwiches once they are assembled.  You will need to put them directly back into the freezer to refreeze for at least an hour before wrapping them individually. Then you are ready to go!

1. Using your cookie cutter, cut an even number of cookies, discard the left over edges (we used a biscuit cutter because our cookies were round and it was the closest size so we wasted the least amount of cookie).
2. Take your gallon container of ice cream from the fridge and place it on your cutting board on its side (so the bottom of the container is perpendicular to the board).  Using your bread knife, slice off the bottom inch of ice cream evenly (yes, cut right through the container!).
3. You should now have an inch-thick slab of ice cream on your cutting board.  Remove the cardboard from the ice cream, moving quickly because the ice cream will begin to melt, and use your cookie cutter to cut pieces of ice cream to put between two cookies.
4. Once you have assembled one sandwich, place it on a tray and directly back into the freezer. If the ice cream starts to melt while between the cookies the pieces will slide around and they will not set evenly.
5. Repeat this process for each cookie sandwich.
6. After they have set in the freezer (about an hour minimum) you can remove them, wrap each sandwich in plastic wrap and then stack back in the freezer.

For a touch of color we rolled them in sprinkles. Perfect to enjoy on a nice hot day. Hope you enjoy!