Coq au vin

There are many variations out there available for this dish, so it was difficult to choose.  Since I hadn't planned far ahead (chose it same day), I had to eliminate the ones that require marinating--that helped a bit on cutting down the choices.  When it came down to it, I figured to give William-Sonoma's version a shot, as I've generally had excellent experiences with their recipes.  This was stellar--very highly recommend it.  I only modified a couple of ingredients slightly.  Here is the original version:
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/coq-au-vin2.html

Ingredients:

1 bottle (750 mL) Merlot
5 fresh Italian/flat parsley sprigs, plus a little chopped for garnish
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
1/2 leek (cut lengthwise)
6 oz. thick cut bacon, cut into 1/2" dice
3 1/4 lb. chicken drumsticks
salt and coarse ground pepper
1 lb. small button mushrooms
1/2 lb. shallots, halved
1 T. unsalted butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 T. tomato paste
2 T. all-purpose flour
1 small can chicken broth
3/4 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into 1-2" pieces

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (I'm a bit of a slow cook, so I actually waited until I was nearly done to do this, but I'm sure others are faster...).

2. In a medium or large saucepan over high heat, bring the wine to a boil and maintain boil for 15 minutes, then remove from heat.

3. Place the parsley sprigs, thyme sprigs, and bay leaf against the cut side of the leek and tie together as a bouquet garni with kitchen string/twine.  Set aside.

4. In a 5 1/2 qt. Dutch oven over medium heat, cook the bacon until just crisped.  Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and set aside.  Discard all but 2 T. of drippings from the pot.

5. Season chicken with salt and pepper, then raise heat to medium-high.  Cook chicken in batches (I did 3 drumsticks at a time), 8 minutes total, turning once at halfway point.  Transfer chicken to a plate.

6. Place mushrooms in pot and cook, stirring every minute, until they are beginning to brown (around 6 minutes).

7. Add shallots to pot and cook for additional 2 minutes.  Transfer all contents of pot to bowl.

8. Reduce heat to medium and melt the butter.  Add the garlic, tomato paste, and flour.  Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

9. Whisk in the reduced wine and the chicken broth, increase heat back to medium-high, and bring to a simmer.

10. Add bacon, chicken, mushroom mixture, carrots, and bouquet garni.  Cover and transfer to the oven.

11. Bake for 1 1/2 hours.  Upon removing from oven, transfer chicken pieces only to a bowl.

12. Set pot over medium-high heat and simmer sauce for 15 minutes to reduce.

13. Remove bouquet garni, then return chicken to the pot.

14. Garnish with desired amount of chopped parsley, serve with preferred side (mine was egg noodles), and enjoy!

Rocky Road Oatmeal Squares

This recipe came as one of those daily email subscriptions that I always rarely pay attention to (even though I intend to...).  Glad this one managed to get my attention--delicious and easy to make!  It's on the rich side, but not extremely.  You will want some milk to go with this bar cookie, be prepared!
Here is the link to original recipe:
http://www.cooking.com/recipes-and-more/recipes/rocky-road-oatmeal-squares-recipe#axzz3ksteUwok
I made it exactly as written except that I was 1/4 cup short on the old fashioned oats, so I subbed in some quick oats.  Think it turned out just fine :)

Ingredients:

--for the oatmeal cookie base--
1 1/2 c. old fashioned rolled oats
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
7 T. unsalted butter, softened, wrapper reserved
1/2 c. dark brown sugar
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract

--for the filling--
1 T. unsalted butter
7 oz. (1/2 can) sweetened condensed milk
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. mini marshmallows

--for the topping--
1/2 c. mini marshmallows
1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. For the cookie base, begin by combining oats, flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.  Set aside.

3. Use electric mixer to cream butter and both sugars until light and fluffy.

4. Add egg and vanilla, mix until fully incorporated.

5. Add dry ingredients, about a 1/3 at a time.  Finish by mixing by hand if needed.  Only mix until all ingredients are just incorporated.

6. Grease an 8"x8" pan (or 9"x9", like I used) using the reserved butter wrapper.  Press 2/3 of the cookie batter into the pan and reserve the rest.

7. For the filling, place butter, condensed milk, and chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave for 30 seconds and then stir.  Microwave for additional 10 second increments until mixture becomes smooth when stirred (it only took 40 seconds total for mine).

8. Add salt, vanilla, and marshmallows.  Stir to incorporate.

9. Pour into baking dish and spread to top cookie base.

10. For the topping, use reserved cookie dough to dot all over top of filling (filling will still be visible after).

11. Sprinkle marshmallows and chocolate all over top.

12. Bake for 28-32 minutes (23-27 for 9"x9" pan), until marshmallows are nicely browned.

13. Let cool completely before cutting into squares to enjoy!

Pork Chops Marsala

Decided I needed to try something a little different and had this recipe saved in book for quite a while, thus it was a pork chops experiment kind of evening.  This was tasty; however, I didn't measure the amounts as I was cooking this time for the most part, thus you may need to adjust the amounts for taste.  You will need more salt, but I think the pepper could be omitted (I did not use much and it still seemed to dominate a bit).
Here is the link to original recipe:
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/pork-chops-marsala

I'm listing the amounts as given by the original recipe.  I modified by using butter instead of just cooking spray at the beginning.

Ingredients:

6 T. all-purpose flour, divided
16 oz. of boneless pork chops (mine was slightly more, 3 portions)
cooking spray (or 1-2 T. butter)
1/3 c. minced shallots (mine was a large one that came out to just slightly less than this)
2 tsp. bottled minced garlic
8 oz. sliced mushrooms (I used baby bellas and sliced them thin via stand mixer attachment)
2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme (I think I used closer to 3)
1 c. chicken broth (I used slightly more)
1/4 c. dry marsala (I used slightly more of this as well)
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Heat non-stick skillet over medium high heat.  If using butter, add now; otherwise, coat pan with cooking spray.  Put 4 T. of flour in a shallow dish and dredge pork chops in it, then add to pan.  Cook for around 4 minutes per side.

2. Remove pork from pan and set aside.

3. Add shallots, garlic, and mushrooms.  (You may also need to add more spray.)  Sauté for 3 minutes or until liquid from mushrooms has evaporated.

4. Add remaining 2 T. of flour to mixture and cook for 1 minute.  Stir in thyme.

5. Add chicken broth and marsala gradually and stir mixture constantly.  Simmer for 2 minutes after both have been added completely.

6. Return pork to pan and cook for additional 2 minutes or to desired degree of doneness (I think I went closer to 4, just to be sure).

7. Add salt and pepper to taste, then serve pork with desired side and enjoy!  **I happened to have a lot of lefotver rice, so I used that this time, but would not recommend it.  Would be better with angel hair pasta or roasted potatoes.)

Honey Cashew Chicken

This recipe sounded sooo tasty...and then I sorta failed a little on the ingredients but tried to make it work anyway.  I'm normally quite the stickler about getting the right things and such, yet I know there is usually wiggle room for substitutions and omissions.  While this was indeed good, it wasn't as amazing as I had hoped.  I plan to try it again sometime with the correct ingredients, and of course I will post that when it happens.  For now, I suggest examining the difference between the original and mine, then decide for yourself :)
Link to original recipe:
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/honey-cashew-chicken-with-rice

Ingredients:

12 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
2 T. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
1 T. canola oil
1 T. sesame oil (I did not have dark on hand like I thought I did)
1 tsp. bottled minced garlic
1 red bell pepper, sliced thinly in strips
1/2 c. lightly salted cashews
1 T. rice vinegar
3 T. honey
2 T. low sodium soy sauce
1/2 T. sambal oelek (again, thought I had sriracha and turn out I did not!)

Instructions:

1. Combine chicken, cornstarch, salt, and pepper in a bowl.

2. Heat both oils together in a wok (or large skillet) over medium high heat.  Add chicken mixture and cook until no pink is showing, around 5 minutes.

3. Add garlic and bell pepper.  Cook for additional 4-5 minutes.

4. Stir in cashews.

5. Combine vinegar, honey, soy sauce, and sambal oelek in a bowl.  Add mixture to wok and cook for 1 minute.

6. Serve with rice (or preferred side) and enjoy!

Crème Brûlée Cookies

Well, sort of...these are good cookies, but they do not live up to the name on the recipe.  They are fairly easy to make; problem is, the tops do not hold enough sugar after baking to get a nice glossy caramelization of the sugar.  Instead, the sugar tends to want to get too dark too fast.  While the effect did remind me of crème brûlée, it's simply not enough to make the effort on all the cookies; the rest will be eaten just as they are, which make for nice vanilla bean sugar cookies.
Link to original recipe:
http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/creme-brulee-cookies.aspx
Side note: be sure to roll the log to make it round--as you can see in my pictures, my cookies are not quite so circular...

Ingredients:

3 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 c. sugar, plus 1/3 c. for decorating
Seeds scraped from 2 vanilla beans (or 4 tsp. vanilla extract)
2 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks

Instructions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt.

2. In mixing bowl, beat butter for 1 minute.

3. Add the 1 1/2 c. sugar and vanilla bean seeds.  Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.

4. Add flour mixture gradually and mix on low speed until combined.

5. Turn dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap (large enough to wrap it up in).  Shape into a 12" long roll, 3" diameter, then wrap plastic around.

6. Cut an empty paper towel roll open and place dough roll in for support.  Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 3 days (mine was in for a day).

7. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line 2 or 3 baking sheets with parchment.  Put remaining 1/3 c. sugar in a shallow dish or bowl.

8. Use non-scented dental floss to slice the log into 1/4" thick rounds.

9. Coat one side of cookie slice in sugar, then place slice on parchment, sugar side up.

10. Bake for 11-14 minutes, until edges are just turning golden brown (was 14 minutes for me).

11. Remove from oven and let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.

12. Dip cookie in sugar again, then use kitchen torch to caramelize the sugar.

13. Serve with milk and enjoy!

Roman-Style Braised Oxtails and Short Ribs

Originally, I had wanted to make this recipe as written; however, a couple of things happened that got in my way.  1. While out grocery shopping, I looked for the oxtails, of course.  First store had them, but they were not great, especially for the price, so I decided on visiting another store to get them.  2. Second store didn't have them at all, so went to a third store.  At this store, they had just one package of oxtails, and they looked great, but said package only contained 1.38 lbs and I needed 4 lbs.  I did not feel like going to any more stores, so I decided I'd get some beef short ribs to make up the difference.  3. After getting home and starting to gather all the ingredients together, figured out I'd forgotten to get any pancetta (d'oh!!).  Considered trying for a different recipe, yet did not find anything compatible, so I went with subbing the last few pieces left of a package of regular bacon.  At any rate, it still turned out wonderfully tasty, so I will not complain :D
Here is a link to the original:
http://www.williams-sonomawine.com/!oub6kvrg!hxEBQrv4eXy3w!/Recipes/Roman-Style-Braised-Oxtails
I used the instructions to cook in slow cooker.

Ingredients:

3 T. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt, plus more (to taste)
1/2 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
1/2 c. olive oil (I didn't actually measure, but I think I used less than this due to using a non-stick skillet)
4 lbs. total of oxtails and beef short ribs
2 yellow onions, finely chopped (I used food processor)
2 tsp. bottled minced garlic
4 slices bacon, cut into small pieces (I use kitchen shears and cut across all 4 strips at a time, about 1/4" thick each time)
1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
1 T. sugar
1 1/2 c. Chianti wine
1 can (14 oz.) beef broth
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 large sprigs fresh oregano

Instructions:

1. In a shallow dish, combine flour, salt, and pepper.  In a large skillet, add the olive oil over medium-high heat.

2. Coat oxtails and short ribs in flour mixture, then place in skillet.  Cook until browned well on all sides.

3. Transfer browned meats to slow cooker, then add onion to skillet.  Cook for around 3 minutes.

4. Stir in the garlic and bacon.  Cook for around 3 more minutes.

5. Add tomato paste and sugar.  Stir to combine and cook 1 minute.

6. Add wine and stir until well combined.  Bring to boil.

7. Stir in the beef broth, bring mixture back to boiling.

8. Pour wine mixture over browned meats in slow cooker.

9. Add carrots, celery, and oregano.

10. Cover and cook for 3 1/2 hours on high, then reduce to low heat and cook until meat is falling off bones (this took a little over one additional hour for mine, particularly for the ribs).

11. Serve with preferred side and enjoy!  (I chose medium egg noodles.)