My College Kitchen

I had a rosemary shortbread cookie at a family party a few weeks ago and it was so good I went home and the next day baked a batch of my own. This recipe was originally something I found online but I tweaked it a little bit. 

This cookie is, in my opinion, the perfect cookie- not too sweet and they have an earthiness from the rosemary that is aromatic and so tasty. If you’re trying to drop a few lb’s try to just get past the amount of fat in them. The recipe calls for a cup and a half of butter, but everyones got a little Paula Dean in them, so enjoy!

INGREDIENTS —->

2 3/4 cups of all purpose white flour

1 1/2 cups of butter

2/3 cup of granulated sugar

1 1/2 tbsp. chopped rosemary

1 tsp. vanilla extract 

STEPS—->

Cream together butter, sugar, rosemary and vanilla until it is a nice fluffy mixture. Then slowly add in the flour in 3rds- make sure to scrape down sides of the bowl so the flour is mixed in well. 

As for making the cookie itself, there are two options. The hard, pain in the ass but super pretty way, or the lazy way. Since I baked these for gifts I used the harder method but sometimes its worth it. 

Pain in the ass Method: Once dough is mixed, flour your counter surface and dump dough out onto it. The dough will be very creamy and soft, so make sure your hands are nice and floured up also. Knead the dough a few times and pat it into a disk. Wrap it up in plastic wrap and chill it for at least an hour. Once it is chilled, flour up your surface again and roll the dough out. Make sure to flour your rolling pin and the top surface of the dough so the rolling pin doesnt stick. Roll out into 1/4-1/8 inch round and use a cute cookie cutter to create your pretty little cookies. 

Simple Method: Once dough has formed in bowl flour your surface and dump dough out onto it. Knead it a few times until it comes together. Divide dough into three equal parts and roll each out into a log that is about an inch and a half in diameter. Wrap up logs into plastic wrap and store in fridge for at least an hour. Once it has set a bit, cut up little 1/4-1/8 inch disks and youll have nice little round cookies. 

BAKE —->

Preheat oven to 375 and place cookies on ungreased baking sheet because there is so much butter in the batter. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges are golden brown. 

I started playing around with tomato recipes because my Dad decided to plant some in our garden. He crammed 8 plants in about a 5x5 area- probably because he thought he wouldn’t have any luck with a harvest. To all of our surprise, they just kept coming and keep on coming… and if I see another tomato,or so much as hear the word tomato again…. KLSJKJBWKJBKJSKDH!!!! Anyway- this chutney recipe was the perfect way to use a massive amount of delicious heirloom tomatoes. 

INGREDIENTS —->

10 cups of chopped tomatoes

1 large onion sliced

1 tbsp. cracked black pepper

1 tsp. red pepper flake

1 tsp. dried thyme 

1 tbs. sugar

1 tbsp. salt

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar 

STEPS —->

In a large soup pot sweat out the sliced onion until they are translucent in color (about 15 minutes). Add in tomatoes, spices and vinegar and bring mixture to a boil. Once its boiling turn it down to a simmer and keep it going for about 3 hours until the mixture has reduced and thickened— make sure to stir every 15-20 minutes. At the last minute I tasted the mixture and it needed a bright sweetness so I cut up a peach and finely diced it and threw it in and it made the slightest difference, but was very necessary. 

I washed out ball jars and jarred them up, so the chutney needs to be refrigerated and it wont last forever, however if you want to preserve the chutney, head to the ball website and they give a great step by step tutorial to jarring/preserving goods!

«<  http://www.freshpreserving.com/home.aspx »>

Recipes to put your Chutney to use:

~ Foil wrapped fish—-> use a flakey white fish like halibut or cod and place the filet in foil with salt and pepper and 2 tablespoons of chutney. Wrap up the fish in foil loosely so that steam can be created within the pouch to cook the fish. Cook at 375 for 12-15 min.

~ Grilled Porkchops —-> use 1/2 cup of chutney and 1/4 cup oil and pour over raw chops to create a marinade. Throw them on the grill for about 8 minutes per side. Finish with another tablespoon of chutney once off the grill and serve with grilled veggies.

~ Salad Dressing —-> In bowl add 1/2 cup chutney, 1/4 cup oil and 1 tbsp. of dijon mustard. Add salt and pepper to taste and mix up with a whisk and youll have a delicious sweet/sour dressing

~ Its also delicious poured over goat cheese and served with crackers as an appetizer

I sort of always thought the idea of a ‘healthy mac & cheese’ was an oxymoron. Cutting out calories on a dish so universally cheesy and fattening seemed sacrilegious- however, I have to say my healthier spin on the carbalicious deliciousness is a winner. 

1 lb. whole wheat fussili

1 cup cubed sharp cheddar 

1 1/2 cup cubed non fat mozzarella 

4 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

2 1/2 cups non fat milk

1 tsp. dijon mustard

1/2 tsp. lemon zest

1 clove garlic

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Boil water in large pasta pot (make sure to salt the pasta water before pasta goes in). Cook pasta for 7-10 minutes or until it’s mostly cooked, as it will finish baking in the oven. 

Cheese Sauce: 

Melt 4 tbl. spoons of butter in a medium pot then add the chopped clove of garlic and saute for about one minute. Once the garlic is sauteed sprinkle in the flour. Whisk this mixture until it combines and makes a thin paste, and cook for about 1 minute so the flour taste is cooked out of the mixture. Slowly pour in milk while whisking to make sure there are no lumps. Once milk is added bring to a simmer so the sauce can begin to thicken (this will take about 3 minutes). Then add both the cubed cheeses, pepper, dijon mustard and lemon zest. Stir until cheese has completely melted. 

Combine cheese sauce and drained pasta. I used a muffin tin to bake my Mac in because these 1 cup tins are great individual servings. I could easily eat way too much Mac & Cheese in one sitting, and baking them in portions prevents me from devouring more than I should. 

Spray Muffin tins with a good amount of non-stick spray or butter. Fill muffin tins with one cup of cheesy pasta goodness. Lastly, the best part of all this… the topping. Combine 1/2 cup parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs in a bowl. Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of topping on each serving. Then to finish put a small (1/4 tsp.) pat of butter on each serving so the topping can get crispy. Bake for 35 minutes.

Let them cool for about 15 minutes before serving- and ENjoiiiii ! 

I had a fellow Art Director and soul sista help me with these Banana Pops. After making Mac & Cheese (recipe to come) we were craving something sweet but light. Dipping bananas in melted chocolate peanut butter then rolling it in various toppings was the perfect finish to our meal.

-cut 4 bananas in half and stick on to popsicle stick then stick them in the freezer for 30 minutes to firm up.

-melt 3 large chocolate bars (milk or dark) 

- stir in 1/2 cup of all natural chunky peanut butter into melted chocolate mixture

- carefully dip bananas into melted mixture then roll into toppings of your choice: pretzels, honey roasted peanuts, sprinkles, crushed oreos, gram cracker crumbs, granola, etc. 

Enjoy them freshly dipped or frozen