Culinary Wafflings...

I've done a lot of cooking over the past few weeks, which has been really nice as the last couple of months have been so busy that I haven't had a chance to do much other than throw stuff at pasta.

A few weeks ago I made some Sunday morning bagels (half cinnamon and raisin and half plain) for some friends (in honour of all the bagels we ate in Dublin!). Both lots turned out really well and it's definately something I'd do again - a bit of effort but *so* much nicer than the store bought ones (especially the cinnamon and raisin ones!).


A half eaten cinnamon and raisin on the left, and a plain on the right...

Then a few days later, I decided it was Dal o'clock... I'd been meaning to make Dal for a while, and came across a great sounding recipe - more complicated than a lot of other recipes I'd seen, but had some raving reviews, so decided to give it a whirl... Oh so good and definately worth the effort (which turned out to be less time consuming than it looked from the recipe).


And then came the cookies. And by that I mean THE cookies. The cookies I've been rambling on about for months. The infamous NY Times Chocolate Chip Cookies. I found a partner in culinary crime who was equally as excited about the slightly geeky recipe as me and we set about the baking. The main point about these cookies is that you make the dough (which in itself is quite fussy - 2 types of flour, 2 types of sugar, quite specific and expensive chocolate in large quantities (40% chocolate to 60% dough)...) and then chill it. Yes, you make the dough, then stick it in the fridge. For 1-3 days. And then you get to weigh out the balls of dough, sprinkle them with salt and bake them. Finally you get to sample the fruits of your labour (and patience). And boy were they worth it. The result is an incredibly rich, very chocolatey, huge (almost 5 inch in diameter - I measured it...) cookie, with a really interesting (in a good way) twist from the salt... Perfect cut into quarters (they really are that rich!) with a nice cup of tea...


The dough in it's ready to be chilled state... Note the huuuuge chunks of chocolate...



The balls of dough, sprinkled with salt, awaiting their baking destiny...


A truly terrible photo of the finished product that doesn't do the size or awesomeness of these cookies justice...

So the current tally on the "52 things to learn to cook" is 33 down, 19 to go which isn't too bad. Plus hopefully wonton soup should be tickets off tomorrow with a bit of luck... An updated list is located below...

1) Jambalaya - done
2) Yaki Soba
3) Dal - done
4) Clam Chowder
5) Spring Rolls and Sesame Prawn Toast - done
6) Roasted Red Pepper Houmous + pitta bread - done
7) Mussels and Chips - done
8) Stifado - done
9) Kleftiko
10) Coq au Vin - done
11) Moussaka - done
12) Fish Pie - done
13) Olive Foccacia
14) Hollandaise Sauce - done
15) Thai Green Curry Paste - done
16) Stollen - done
17) Gravalax - done
18) Tortellini
19) Bagels - done
20) Pumpkin Pie - done
21) Jerk Chicken - done
22) Chicken Chow Mein - done
23) Falafel - done
24) NY Times Chocolate Chip Cookies - done
25) Borscht
26) Seafood Gumbo
27) Char Siu Baau
28) Gnocchi - done
29) Enchilladas and Refried Beans - done the enchilladas
30) Frikadeller
31) Dolmades - done
32) Crumpets - done
33) Goan Fish Curry
34) Jamaican Goat Curry
35) Bakewell Tart - done
36) Won Ton Soup
37) Lamb Rogan Josh and Pilau Rice - done
38) Biryani
39) Miso Soup
40) Tabbouleh - done
41) Pad Thai - done
42) Parantha
43) Saag Aloo + Naan Bread - done
44) Chicken Adobo - done
45) Baked Alaska
46) Chicken Mole - done
47) Bobotie - done
48) Sticky Toffee Pudding and proper Custard
49) Meatloaf - done
50) Nettle Soup
51) Jam - done
52) Brioche