Salted Caramel Chocolate Cookies

Yield: 2 dozen cookies

Cook Time: 12-15 minutes

ingredients:

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter
7 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa (I used dark cocoa)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Soft caramel, rolled into little balls (I used a package of caramel bits)
Sea salt

directions:

Preheat oven to 370ºF; line 2 baking sheets with baking paper, lightly coated with cooking spray.   Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Sift together flour, soda, and salt; set aside.

Using a mixer, beat butter until creamy.  Stir in cocoa powder and sugars (mixture will resemble coarse sand). Add eggs and vanilla, stirring to combine. Add flour mixture, stirring until moist. Stir in caramel balls. Place balls on cookie sheets and sprinkle with sea salt.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until almost set. Cool on pans 2 to 3 minutes or until firm. Remove cookies from pans; cool on wire racks.

Broccoli Pizza

Well, it's Friday!  That makes it a pizza day.  Here is a healthy alternative to the traditional dish.


Ingredients


1 pound prepared whole-wheat pizza dough
2 cups chopped broccoli florets
1/4 cup water
5 cups arugula ,any tough stems removed, chopped
Pinch of salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup prepared pesto
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1. Place your oven rack in the lowest position; preheat to 450°F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to about the size of the baking sheet. Transfer to the baking sheet. Bake until puffed and lightly crisped on the bottom, 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, cook broccoli and water in a large skillet over medium heat, covered, until the broccoli is crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in arugula and cook, stirring, until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Spread pesto evenly over the crust, top with the broccoli mixture and sprinkle with cheese. Bake until crispy and golden and the cheese is melted, 8 to 10 minutes.

Pulled Pork

This is a recipe that takes some time (ok...  a gross amount of time), but well worth it in the end.  I found the pork recipe through Anne Burrell (via my sister) and the barbecue sauce recipe through Tyler Florence (via my mother).  This combination is out of this world!   


Pulled Pork
From Anne Burrell's Secrets of a Restaurant Chef on the Food Network 

Ingredients

Rub:

• 3 tablespoons pimenton (smoked paprika)
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons cayenne
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon celery salt
• 1 tablespoon dry mustard
• 1 (bone-in 7 to 9-pound) Boston butt, "X" patterns cut in the fat cap
• 1 beer
• 12 burger buns, toasted

• 
  
• Directions

Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F.

Combine all the spices for the rub and massage it into the meat. Place the rubbed pork in a roasting pan and pour the beer into the pan. Cover it with foil and roast for 6 hours. Check it periodically just to make sure everything is going along just fine, turning it over every 2 hours.

Remove the foil and roast until the pork has reached an internal temperature of 190 degrees F, about another 3 hours. Remove it from the oven, cover it loosely with foil, and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Sometime during the marathon cook time, make the sauce. In a small saucepan combine all the ingredients and bring to a boil. Taste it to make sure it is delicious. Remove the chiles. When the sauce is cool, I recommend putting it in a squeeze bottle for easy use.

Remove the bone from the pork, it should slide right out. Using your hands with dish gloves on, or with two forks, start to "pull" the pork into long shreds. Get rid of the fat and anything else that doesn't look delicious.

Serve the pork on burger buns with a drizzle of barbecue sauce to your liking.

Ultimate Barbecue Sauce

From Tyler Florence's Ultimate Recipe Collection

Ingredients

• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 bacon slices
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1/2 onion
• 3 smashed garlic cloves
• 2 cups ketchup
• 1 cup peach preserves
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard or 1 tablespoon dry mustard
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground paprika

Directions

Special equipment: Kitchen twine

Wrap the bacon around the middle of the thyme sprigs and tie with kitchen twine so you have a nice bundle. Heat a 2-count of oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the thyme bundle and cook slowly for 3 to 4 minutes to render the bacon fat and give the sauce a nice smoky taste. Add the onion and garlic and cook slowly, without coloring, for 5 minutes. Add all of the rest of the sauce ingredients, give the sauce a stir, and turn the heat down to low. Cook slowly for 20 minutes to meld the flavors.