the french love ... peanut butter chocolate chip cookies!

A couple months ago, I received a package in the mail for my birthday with all my favorite american goodies-- including Annie's macaroni & cheese, cheetos, nerds, reese's peanut butter cups, and best of all...
STEPH'S HOME-MADE PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES. mmmmmm...

Even after traveling over 9000 kilometers, the cookies were still incredibly chewy and scrumptuous and absolutely divine.

Soooooo. Here I am. About to say goodbye to Paris and my coworkers at AREVA -- and I decided to take the risk and share the pleasure of these cookies with them for my "pot de depart".

I say "take the risk" - because French people are quite wary of peanutbutter. They find it strange and / or ... repulsive.

And I knew that I couldn't mess up - otherwise, they would confirm their beliefs about "that weird chemical american paste".

So after slaving over 4 batches with Mick (ok, it wasn't such a miserable experience as we were eating half of it raw - so much better than cooked by the way - and watching "the graduate" at the same time), we found the perfect touch...

And my coworkers loved them! I didn't even get to eat one they disappeared so quickly (ahem, faster than the cheesecake and the fondant au chocolat to give you a point of reference).

The secret - "undercook" them. As in, take them out before they look ready (thanks to Steph for the tip). Instead of 10-12 minutes, I would say more like 6-8 minutes.

Et voila!

The recipe is quite easy too so if you're in the mood for some yummy cookies, here you go.....


Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Submitted By: Clarice Schweitzer
*****
Read Reviews (2) | Rate/Review this recipe


* Prep Time: 20 Minutes
* Cook Time: 10 Minutes
* Ready In: 30 Minutes
* Yields: 12 servings

"'Here's a different version of the traditional favorite cookie that I think is especially good,' notes Clarice Schweitzer of Sun City, Arizona."

INGREDIENTS:

* 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
* 1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
* 1 egg
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars; beat in peanut butter, egg and vanilla. Combine flour, oats, baking soda and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 1 minute before removing to a wire rack.

fun food pics (jan-march 2011)

What: Cheese for home-made fondue (beaufort, comte, ...)
Where: Savoie (somewhere near Annemesse)
When: December 31, 2010 (New Year's Eve)

What: Fresh home-made pasta with mushroom tomato sauce
Where: Laura's house
When: February 6, 2011

What: Birthday burritos
Where: Chez moi
When: February 7, 2011



What: Home-made padthai
Where: Chez moi
When: February 20, 2011



What: Irish tart with veggies
Where: Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland
When: February 27, 2011



What: Vegetarian thalis (oops, I didn't manage to take a photo earlier)
Where: Jardin de l'Inde, 92 passage Brady, Paris 75010 (BYO)
When: March 2, 2011


What: Jamon, chorizo, manchego cheese
Where: Madrid, Spain
When: March 12, 2011



What: Argentinean steak
Where: Unico, 15 rue Paul Bert, Paris 75011
When: March 16, 2011



Yea, about that "diet". :)

le jardin d'en face

yes. another restaurant post!

just a quickie.

basically, if you find yourself in montmartre looking for a good restaurant, le jarden d'en face is a great bet.

it was so simple.

but everything a restaurant should be. good food. super charming atmosphere and decor. and a really friendly and funny waiter.

and couple that with on a monday night at le bordel club, a relaxed and easy-going comedy club, and you've got yourself a pretty awesome evening.

le jarden d'en face
29, rue des trois freres

it seems they also have another restaurant across the street:

le potager du pere Thierry
16, rue des trois freres

let's also remember that rue des trois freres is the street that amelie POULAIN* lived on. :-)

* if you leave out the poulain, it's apparently a clear indication that you're not french.

les cocottes

ah - P nu YEr !!

so... why is it that the coolest tastiest restaurants i go to in paris always happen to be with the rogoz bunch? (ya know, our tri-annual birthday celebration for ellen)

the latest is a place called les cocottes. i define this type of restaurant - "hip-chic".
(yes, alki alone has coined this term).

delicious dishes all served in "cocottes" (a crock pot? crap, what do we call this in english?)

according to wordreference, "cocotte" also means "honey"... or "loose woman".

anyways....

the restaurant belongs to christian constant (a michelin-starred chef), oooooh!

and though some dishes are kind of pricey, you can easily enjoy a tasty and affordable meal (my fish cocotte which was absolutely delicious was only 17euros!).

(yea, i only managed to get a photo towards the end of my pleasure feast)

so if you're in the mood for something tasty, and a bit different, flirt with les cocottes.

boulder bites

i've just been with the Delichapittas bunch for a lovely and hectic weekend in Boulder/Denver - a weekend filled with singing, dancing, bowling, playing non-stop iphone games, riding the free tram in Denver, breaking air coonditioners, watching Glee, and of course, experiencing "Finders Keepers Losers Weepeers", an incredible whirlwind play by the Band of Toughs. you must go see it.


and... as vacations should be, our weekend was scheduled around meals. so if you're in boulder, here a couple great spots to check out:

Lucile's
come here for a yummy southern creole style brunch. but as for most brunch places, if you want to avoid waiting in line, you have to do 2 of 3 things:
1) go as a small party
2) go early or,
3) go on a week day

we went early (930am), but we were a big party (7) and we went on a saturday... so we still had to wait 45 minutes!

"Eggs Jennifer" with cheesy grits. mmm... cheesy grits.

Pica's

a delicious taqueria. my next post will be mia's ranking of best "chicken, rice, and cheese" burritos (pica's made the top 3).

the "wet" veggie burrito. um. YUM!

that's all for now. sign out.

Prague: a (rather unusual) food and drink guide

If you like beer, meat, and "fat food" (as my Czech colleague calls anything fried), you will be happy pretty much anywhere you go in Prague.

For instance, there are hot dog and sausage stands on every street corner. Where you can get something like this (yup, I gave in, but only managed to finish half):

Otherwise, imagine traveling as 3 girls, 2.5* which are vegetarian, 1 which doesn't drink beer, and you realize quickly that you have to get creative. Lo and behold, we did manage to find pretty awesome gastronomic delights such as ... - a vegan cafeteria - ... and - a bar that serves white russians for "any price we wanted to give"- ... so read below to find out more.

Food tips:

#1 "Dumplings". Don't be fooled. "Dumplings" are just soft white bread that accompany a huge plate of MEAT. Like my "dumpling plate" ... served with 5 different styles of pork:

#2 Country Life. A yummy pay-by-the-weight vegan cafeteria in the Old Town. Highly recommended, even if you're not a vegetarian. Melantrichova 15, Praha 1

#3 Soup in a bread bowl. I think this was my favorite thing we ate in Prague (that's not saying too much....shhh....). It was a potato and mushroom soup in a bread bowl! Delicious! And the setting was lovely too - we were right near the Strahov Monastary outside with a gorgeous view (and blankets!).

#4 Smazeny syr. If you find yourself in a typical beer hall or Czech restaurant looking for something other than meat, just go for the fry. Fried cheese. Fried onions. Fried bread (served with garlic). Of course, this tactic is not sustainable for maintaining that flat tummy...

#5 Tredlnyk. For some reason, we were on a hunt for warm pretzels and apple strudel - instead we found something in between: Tredlnyk. Delicious hot rolled cinnamon - not really buns, but more like bracelet-shaped desserts.

Awesome.

And now, for some drink suggestions:

#1 Mulled wine. You can find hot wine on pretty much every corner with the hot dogs and sausages (and pickles which I forgot to mention).

#2 Pivovarsky Klub. Right near the Florenc stop (thanks for the tip, Jason).

A pretty awesome beer joint with long tables and good atmosphere. Though, the guys at our table looked at us funny when we ordered: 3 onion soups, a side of cabbage, a side of fried bread, apple strudel, and beer bread. "WHERE'S THE MEAT?"

Can you tell which one of us doesn't like beer?

#3 Boulder Bar. That's right. A bar with a bouldering wall in the Zizkov neighborhood. And you can boulder and rent shoes for 5 euros. Not bad. Beth's inspiration in life!

#4 The Big Lebowski. Last but not least, this was my personal favorite. Another bar in Zizkov, it's a small packed-in little joint, with a loft of people playing board games, smoking the sheesha, and of course, drinking white russians. And the coolest thing about this place was that there was no menu no prices. You paid what you wanted. And there's some really funny and cool Czech guys and girls there too! Hopefully they'll still be there if you decide to stop by.

Hope this gives you some good insight on eating and drinking in Prague. Na zdravi!!

* I wasn't a huge meat eater before, but yea, traveling in Prague with two vegetarians definitely made me swing completely the other way for a couple of days.

Mick's rules to brushing your teeth

1. You can't brush your teeth if you've recently drunk beer (or any alcohol really). Otherwise, you'll lose the delicious taste in your mouth!

2. You can't brush your teeth if you've eaten anything recently. The mix of different tastes is unsettling.

3. Likewise, you can't eat right after brushing your teeth (same reason as #2). And if you've just brushed your teeth, and someone suggests that "you try something and then just brush your teeth again afterwards", that person might as well jump out the window.

4. You can't brush your teeth on an empty stomach. Because it will make you nauseous.

obviously, due to my teeth-brushing obsessed mother, i don't follow the same school of dental hygiene. my rules are: brush in the morning and in the evening. at least. if not more. who cares if you had beer or ate or haven't eaten, just brush damn it. and flossing is as important (if not more) than brushing! (though i'm not good at doing that on a daily basis).

sign out. :-)