Yummy.

Saturday night was Dungeons and Dragons. Yes, yes, laugh all you want, but it's fun and I got the opportunity to feed people. For dinner, I just made a large batch of the arroz con pollo I already have posted, but some of us wanted more... something sweet.

I thought about what I had in the pantry, and ended up making chocolate drop cookies. They are soft and chewy, almost like a brownie in cookie form. Be careful not to overcook them!

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

On low speed, beat in flour mixture a little at a time, until well blended and smooth.

Drop chocolate cookie dough onto greased baking sheets by rounded tablespoons, about 2 inches apart. Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes, or just until set. Cool on pans on rack for about 5 minutes; transfer chocolate cookies to rack to cool completely.

I recently moved and have a much nicer kitchen than my old place. This has put me back in the cooking and baking mood! The window is especially a big inspiration.

I've been lax at updating you, but with my job came less time for cooking. It's been all about fast meals for the most part.

However, I have a couple of recipes I'll share soon including a recipe for some absolutely fantastic chicken enchiladas (different from the last ones I posted).

For now, allow me to share with you my experience at the company holiday party at One Market in San Francisco.

Our holiday party was at One Market Restaurant.

The food was excellent. The butternut squash soup was incredible and the steak with port wine reduction was actually flavorful (sometimes they suffer when you have large groups).

The problem, however, was the service. They seemed to just not be prepared for a group our size. It took 40 minutes between the soup course and the salad course alone. Dinner was supposed to start at 7pm. It was a four course dinner. We did not get out of there until around 10:30pm (and we left immediately after eating our cheesecake, so it wasn't a matter of hanging around and conversing). There was tons of grumbling going on because people were hungry and it was taking forever. Jason and I missed our ferry at 9:30pm. Fortunately, our newest engineer - who hasn't started working yet, but was invited - offered to take us home.

On top of this, they had a vegetarian option for the entree. One of the guys at our table was vegetarian and had the "vegetarian" place card and everything. Well, the first course started to come out and they are bringing around bowls with the bacon and mushrooms (so they can ladle the soup over it). Despite the fact that it says right in front of him "VEGETARIAN", they place the bacon-laden bowl in front of him. It took talking to THREE people before someone finally did something about it. One server said, "Oh, I don't know if I can get a bowl without bacon." Come on, lady. Bring an EMPTY BOWL. It's not hard.

So overall, it was fun. Most of my co-workers were plastered. One of our quiet new guys threw us all for a loop when we were talking baseball and I mentioned how I don't like it on TV and prefer to see it live and he blurts out, "That's how I like sex!"

My company also opted to do it at 6pm, after work. Most of us get off at 5pm. This left many of us not enough time to go home and change, but then we had to wait at the restaurant for an hour before the room was ready. The bar was overly crowded already and there wasn't any room to get a drink and stand inside.

So, overall, fun but a pain in the rear.

I cheated by using a can of enchilada sauce. I had it in the cupboard and figured I should use it. Anyway, this was extremely tasty.

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 skinless boneless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 teaspoons cumin powder
2 teaspoons garlic salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup frozen corn
4 chipotle chilies, canned in adobo
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
6 corn tortillas
1 15 oz can green enchilada sauce

Coat large skillet with oil. Season chicken with garlic salt, pepper, and cumin. Brown chicken over medium heat, allow 7 minutes each side or until no longer pink. Remove chicken to a platter, allow to cool.
Saute garlic in chicken drippings until tender. Add corn and chiles. Stir well to combine. Add tomatoes, saute 1 minute. Add more cumin.
Pull chicken breasts apart by hand into shredded strips. Add shredded chicken to skillet, combine with vegetables. Dust the mixture with flour to help set.
Microwave tortillas on high for 30 seconds. This softens them and makes them more pliable. Coat the bottom of 9 inch glass baking dish with a a small amount of enchilada sauce. Spoon 1/4 cup chicken mixture in each tortilla. Fold over filling, place enchiladas in each pan with seam side down. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and cheese.
Bake for 15 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven until cheese melts.

Last night, our friends Don and Pam had come down to San Francisco for an arts and crafts festival. So, since I often eat at their house up in Citrus Heights, I figured it was only fair I return the favor. They brought a bottle of Topel's '05 Pinot Noir, and I made a Guinness beef stew and served it with some fresh country white sourdough and Kerrygold butter.

Ingredients:
2 boneless beef sirloin, cut into 1 inch cubes
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
All-purpose flour for dredging
4 tbsp unsalted Kerrygold Irish butter
1/4 cup canola oil
4 medium onions, chopped
2 cups beef stock
2 cups Guinness
5 carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
4 parsnips, peeled and thickly sliced
1 medium turnip, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup pearl barley

Season the meat with salt and pepper and dredge in flour. In a stockpot or large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter with the oil. Cook the meat on all sides for 5 to 7 minutes or until evenly browned. Remove from the pot. Stir in the onions and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until soft.

Return all the meat to the pot and add enough of the beef stock and Guinness to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for about an hour or until meat is nearly tender. Add the carrots, parsnips, turnip,  and barley and cook for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the vegetables and meat are tender and stew is thickened.

This year, this was my contribution to Thanksgiving Dinner at the in-laws'. I was sent home with a mere bite left.

Ingredients

7 Tbs. unsalted butter
2 Tbs. minced fresh sage
6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 cups butternut squash puree
2 Tbs. olive oil
2/3 cup caramelized onions
2 cups Arborio rice
1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 4 Tbs. of the butter. Add 1 Tbs. of the sage and heat until the butter browns. Strain the butter into a small bowl and discard the sage. Cover the bowl to keep the butter warm.

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together the stock and squash puree. Bring just to a simmer, 8 to 10 minutes; maintain over low heat.

In a large saucepan or risotto pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the caramelized onions and rice and stir until the grains are well coated with the oil and are nearly translucent with a white dot in the center, about 3 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1 Tbs. sage and the rosemary. Add the wine and stir until it is absorbed.

Add the simmering stock mixture a ladleful at a time, stirring frequently after each addition. Wait until the stock is almost completely absorbed before adding more.

When the rice is tender to the bite but slightly firm in the center and looks creamy, after about 30 minutes, stir in the remaining 3 Tbs. butter, the cheese, salt and pepper. Add more stock if needed so the rice is thick and creamy. Let stand for 2 minutes. Drizzle with the reserved sage butter and serve immediately. Serves 6.

sour cream pumpkin cake

Streusel
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground allspice
2 tsp butter

Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and allspice in a small bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or food processor until it is a crumbly mixture. Set aside.

Cake
3 cups flour
1 tbsp cinnamon

slice of sour cream pumpkin cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan or an angel food pan, both work well with this recipe.

Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

Beat sugar and butter in mixer bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin puree, sour cream and vanilla until incorporated. Gradually beat in flour mixture and mix well.

Spoon half of the batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle with streusel mixture over batter (do not allow the streusel to touch edges of pan). Add rest of batter on top.

Bake 55 to 60 minutes or until cake tester inserted in cake comes out clean. Cool 30 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Invert cake onto wire rack to cool completely.

Glaze
1 1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons orange juice or milk ( i use orange, it compliments the pumpkin cake).

In a small bowl, add all ingredients stirring until smooth with a wire whisk. Drizzle glaze over cake.

Dinner tonight...

bowl of cheesy chicken and rice bake

1 cup long grain rice, uncooked
1 cup frozen peas
2 cups water
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups diced chicken, cooked
2 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp pepper
1/3 cup milk
 1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tsp dijon mustard
4 slices swiss cheese
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

casserole

In a medium saucepan, combine rice, water, pease, and 1 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, covered, and allow to cook for 2 minutes. Then, turn down to simmer until the rice is completely cooked.

In a saucepan, melt your butter.. Stir in flour (roux time!), pepper, and remaining 1 tsp salt. Continue cooking until bubble. Stir in milk, water, and dijon mustard. Keep cooking and stir until sauce thickens. Add chicken and the rice and peas and mix well. Place in a baking dish, cover with the slices of swiss, and sprinkle the panko bread crumbs on top.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.