Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, Pecan Cookies

I enjoy making a ton of cookies during Christmas to give away. This year I made 9 dozen! I was debating between making the Nuoc Mam Chocolate Chip Cookies again or trying something else, and I went with the latter.

Smitten Kitchen's Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, Pecan post intrigued me with the added orange zest. Plus, I always trust her insight and tips so I was excited to try something new. In 2 days, ALLLLL of the cookies were eaten. As Smitten Kitchen points out, they are a more "grown up" cookie, so the adults ended up liking them more then the kids.

They stayed soft all weekend and had a nice balance of flavors. I think I might switch up the chocolate and nuts next time just to try something different too.

Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip and Pecan Cookies
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes about 3 dozen cookies (made 4.5 dozen for me)

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground clove
1 cup quick-cooking oats
2 cups chopped pecans
2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest (I only added 1 tsp after reading comments about 2 tsp being overpowering. I thought 1 tsp was perfect.)
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment or a Silpat (nonstick baking mat).

2. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter in a bowl until light and fluffy. Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla, and beat until well mixed, about three minutes.

3. Stir in eggs, one at a time.

4. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove in a separate bowl. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter with the mixer on low speed. Once the flour has been incorporated, add the second half.

5. Stir in the oats, pecans, orange zest, and chocolate chips.

6. Drop the dough, by the tablespoon, onto the cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden.

7. Remove from the oven and cool the cookies on a rack. Store at room temperature in a cookie jar or other airtight container.

Happy New Year! Recap of the End of 2011

I can't believe it's 2012 already! You guys know that holiday time can be a bit insane, and that definitely reflected in my blog with the last post being RIGHT before Thanksgiving. Gah.

I'm feeling really good about 2012 and am excited to go full throttle with posting more often again. Maybe even going into a different direction...we will see.

Happy New Year to you all! Here is a mini glimpse at the end of 2011.

Thanksgiving in Phoenix, AZ

We flew out Thanksgiving morning and made it just in time for food! We were in town for about 5 days, and besides eating leftovers, my family took us out to a few places. We got New Orleans seafood at Pappadeaux, fed our addiction of In-N-Out Burger, sipped bubble tea at Boba Tea House, stuffed our faces with a buffet brunch at The Royal Palm Hotel, and ate fresh sushi at Tomo.

There is nothing better than spending time with family especially when it's not often. We climbed mountains at Papago Park, played some baseball behind my brother's house, ate some fresh jack fruit, and was reminded how much I miss my mom's cooking.

$1 Day at the Baltimore Aquarium

Once a year, the Baltimore Aquarium is cheap enough to actually visit. Typically, it is $24.95 for adults and $19.95 for children, which is an expensive day trip for a family. We waited in line with our friends for about 40 minutes, and were given a time to come back. We ended up going to Stuggy's in Fells Point for hot dogs while we waited. We got the fries with Stuggy's Sauce, the Late Night dog ($5.99) and the Chi-Town dog ($5.99). Tiny place with delicious food!

Christmas

Spent Christmas with my family and the bf's. My cousin's yorkie napped while dinner was cooking, my aunt displayed her porcelain figurines, the kids left Santa some homemade cookies and Korean banana milk, and we got a new ornament for our 1.5 ft tree.

Hope you guys had a great end of the year too!

Phoenix for Turkey Day 2010

Thanksgiving is a time for being thankful, and I am thankful for being able to spend it with my family even if it's only for a long weekend.

Day 1: Turkey Day in Phoenix, AZ

The bf and I flew out on Thanksgiving morning so we'd miss the mad house of people traveling the day before. It was brutal waking up so early to catch the 6:40am flight, but so worth it because we arrived at 10am without missing any of the festivities.

My brother had about 40 people over, which means insane amounts of food! That was about half of it.

My sister-in-law made most of the dishes, and I made my 1st honey baked ham! Costco makes it easy with directions on it, haha.

I see my niece and nephew about once a year, and every time I see them they get so much bigger and more mature. They're so cute... I miss them already.

Day 2: Sushi in the Desert

Tomo Japanese Cuisine
1550 N Dysart Rd Ste. A7-9
Goodyear, AZ 85395
(623) 935-2031

The family was tired of eating leftover Thanksgiving food for every meal, so we broke the cycle and went out for sushi. This is my family's favorite place and accommodated our group of 14 for happy hour very well.

It has trendy decor, and a happy hour from 3pm-6pm on weekdays, with drink specials lasting until 7pm. The staff is friendly, the food comes out fast, and the prices are great for the quality.

Imagine how much food everyone ordered for our table of 14 - a lot! Their menu offers a lot of special rolls, many of which are very cheap for happy hour. The kids don't eat sushi, but there were many other items on the HH menu for them like dumplings, chicken, etc.

Day 3: Hiking, Mexican Food and Fine Dining

Papago Park
Priest & W. Park Dr
Phoenix, AZ 85073

We wanted to do something outside and didn't want to travel far. What's nice about Phoenix are the mountains in and around the city. We went to visit the Hole in the Rock next to the Phoenix Zoo. This is the front, which people were climbing...

...but they have stairs in the back! This is the kind of exploring I like.

You can walk through the hole and gaze down at the scenery below. Why do I look so short?

We also visited another "mini-mountain" nearby, which has this nice amphitheater at the bottom.

The rest of the hike was hard for me because I always thought hiking meant "walking on paths", not walking up a 45 degree angled rock using your hands, and slipping on loose pebbles and avoiding cactus. Let's just say my little niece and nephew kicked my butt, and I ended up waiting for my family to come down from the top while I snacked on vanilla wafers.

Carolina's Mexican Food
1202 E Mohave St
Phoenix, AZ 85034
(602) 252-1503

After making it safely down the mountain without cracking my head open, we stopped by the best Mexican joint in all of Phoenix. This has been a family favorite for years, and my sister-in-law used to give me bags of burritos and tamales to freeze in college.

It's a typical hole-in-the-wall kind of place that serves amazing food for so cheap! The tortillas are so fresh and soft, and the sauces are flavorful and everything is so tender. I wish I had taken some on our flight home!

We didn't want to get too full before dinner, so we didn't order as much as we could have. We had burritos, enchiladas, tamales, and sipped on Mexican flavored drinks like manzana soda and horchata. Each item we ordered was less than $4.

Orange Sky
9800 E Indian Bend Rd
Scottsdale, AZ 85256
(480) 850-8606

Our family planned a nice dinner on the 15th floor of the Talking Stick Resort & Casino. They claim to have the nicest view of the sunset, so we requested a window table on the west side of the restaurant.

The space is very open with floor to ceiling windows around the whole restaurant, large comfortable tables and amble space between them. Aside from the main dining room, there are enclosed rooms for larger groups and small sectioned off tables separated with curtains lining some windows. There were also windows into the kitchen, which the kids and I enjoyed seeing.

Curtains cover the windows until the sun is at the right part of the sky, then the curtains automatically open displaying the horizon.

Once the sun has completely set, the lights below provide a nice view too.

The cuisine is American, and was SO GOOD. My brother said it was one of the best meals he has had since moving to Phoenix about 6 years ago. The bread platter was pretty, and we ordered a dozen oysters and an antipasti plate, which was amazing as it had a variety of grilled veggies, meats and cheeses.

Everyone at our table ordered meat (beef, lamb and pork), which ranged between low to high $30s. Every dish comes with your choice of 13 sauces. My lamb was insanely good, and everyone raved about their dish.

We went a bit overboard on the sides ($8 each) because we ordered a lot of potatoes. Each side serves 2 people, so we ended up taking leftovers home. The service was so friendly and professional, I would definitely come back.

Day 4: Shopping and Chinese Buffet

Four Seasons Chinese buffet
1461 N Dysart Rd
Avondale, AZ 85323
(623) 882-8388

Sorry guys, I have ZERO pics from that day! The food was ok to me, and it might have been because we were eating so much everyday that my body wasn't able to get excited for a buffet. They do offer crabs and sushi, which I liked.

Day 5: Chocolate Factory

Cerreta Candy Company
5345 West Glendale Avenue
Glendale, AZ 85301-2619
(623) 930-9000

Who knew there was a chocolate factory in the city? My mom said she's driven by so many times and never noticed, and my cousin went to school a few blocks away and had no idea. At the end of our meal at Orange Sky, we were given Cerreta's famous French Mint truffles, which are AMAZING. So since we had a late flight, we stopped by on the way to the airport.


They offer free guided tours, however I wouldn't recommend it. The place is small, and you can't get close to the machines. You can just walk in and look for yourself, which is what we did and it took us about 5 minutes.
They sell so many different chocolates, popcorn and nuts. It's $11 a pound for the bulk chocolates, and they sell others in nice gift boxes. They taste like good quality and are not overly sugary. I wish I had bought more, but will be going back next time I'm in town.

Hopefully this post showed you guys some places to visit if you'll be in the Phoenix area!

Pate Chaud and Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

For Mother's Day, I was given the tasks of appetizer and dessert. My family is Vietnamese so I wanted to impress them by making something Vietnamese for the FIRST time ever. I found the perfect recipe on Ravenous Couple for Pate Chaud. They are similar to empanadas, but taste different and are more flakey. This was a very easy to follow recipe, and a great blog for getting into the world of Vietnamese cuisine. Thanks Hong & Kim!

My version is slightly different from theirs but only because I'm lazier, haha.

Ingredients:
1 lb of ground chicken (you can use pork too)
1 medium yellow onion diced
1/2 tbs ground pepper
2 tbs fish sauce
1 package of puff pastry
1 egg, beatened
1/4 cup bean thread noodles
1/4 cup chopped carrots

I forgot to picture the fish sauce and black pepper, but it's a pretty short ingredient list.

Soak a small amount of the noodles in warm water for about 10 minutes so they become soft.

Chop up your onion, carrots and noodles.

Mix chicken, onion, fish sauce, pepper, noodles and carrots together!

I couldn't find pre-cut squares, so I just rolled mine out and cut each sheet into 6 squares.
Put a little meat on one side, fold over into a triangle.

Seal with egg and use a fork to close the edges. Then brush egg on top so they get golden brown in the oven.

Pop them into a 400 degree oven for 40 min. Since mine seemed bigger than the original recipe, it took longer, where as theirs took 15. So I'd just monitor them until they're golden brown and cooked on the inside.

They were a HUGE hit! Everyone was very impressed and it was really easy to make. It has just the right amount of salt, and the flakey pastry is so good. I want one right now! I actually prepared the meat the night before to save time.
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My family isn't big on sugary cakes, so I decided to make Smitten Kitchen's Raspberry Buttermilk Cake. I've made her Cream Cheese Pound Cake before, which is now a staple dessert for me.

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup fresh raspberries (about 5 oz)

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside. In a larger bowl, beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about two minutes, then beat in vanilla. Add egg and beat well.

At low speed, mix in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined.

Place raspberries evenly over top of smoothed batter. If the raspberries are 'upright' they won't sink into the batter as much while in the oven. That's you're preference though.

Bake for 20-25 minutes and is golden. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool to warm, 10 to 15 minutes more. Invert onto a plate. I sprinkled some powered sugar on top just to make it a little fancier.

The cake was a big hit too! Great flavor, and very easy to make.