Taste As You Go

Back in March, one of my coworkers received a care package of goodies from his mother, A.T. And in that package were some of the most delicious cookies I've ever eaten in my life. The cookies were so striking -- they looked like oatmeal cookies on steroids. They were moist and chewy and full of chocolate bits and had a hint of peanut flavor in the background. My coworker graciously shared his bounty with the office and I think everyone enjoyed the cookies immensely. It wasn't long before we devoured them all.



A.T. had individually wrapped each cookie with plastic wrap before shipping them, so unwrapping the cookie was like unwrapping a delicious little present. The cookies made me think back to the care packages my mother used to send me while I was in college, back when a pink slip in your mailbox meant something good. (No offense to my mother, but her cookies never arrived in an edible state... They were hard and difficult to bite into and would have made excellent weapons. Perhaps wrapping them individually is the key...)

Anyway, after I had eaten a couple of the cookies, I emailed A.T. to thank her for the treats and to see if she'd be willing to share the oatmeal cookie recipe with me. Luckily, she was happy to send along a copy of the recipe, adapted from The Congressional Club Cookbook (12th ed., 1993), that she used! This particular flourless cookie recipe was contributed to the cookbook by Nancy Schulze, the wife of former Representative of Pennsylvania, Richard T. Schulze.

Can you believe that it took me over three months to bake these oatmeal cookies and then another month to post the recipe (I tweaked A.T.'s version just a bit) and the pictures? I admit, I had to read A.T.'s email a few times to make sure I hadn't missed an ingredient and couldn't conceptualize how the chewy oatmeal cookies would stay together without flour. But I had faith, rolled up my sleeves, and made up the batter. My arms had never been given a workout like that before. The batter is thick. But so worth the effort! If you're looking for a recipe for flourless oatmeal cookies with a lil' somethin' different, then try these Montana Whoppers. You won't be sorry!


How do you do your oatmeal cookies?

Montana Whoppers

2/3 cup butter
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups chunky peanut butter
3, eggs (organic, if possible), beaten
5 1/2 cups old fashioned oatmeal
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
6 ounces M&M Minis

Melt the butter in a small pan over low heat. Once the butter has melted, pour it into the largest bowl you can find. With a large wooden spoon, blend in the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and peanut butter. When the temperature of the mixture has dropped enough so it won't cook the beaten eggs, add the eggs and stir until the batter is just mixed. Then, in order, stir in the baking soda, the white chocolate chips, the milk chocolate chips, and the M&Ms. Add the oatmeal, one cup at a time, stirring after each addition. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Drop dough on parchment-lined baking sheets with a large spoon, making sure the dough is fairly well packed. Flatten slightly. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Watch the cookies carefully, as they have a tendency to burn easily.

El Cocotero
228 West 18th Street
New York, NY
(212) 206-8930

The Lehigh Dinner Club (LDC) attempted to enjoy the cuisine of Ethiopia at Queen of Sheba in April but, unfortunately, struck out at the plate. (Haha!) So, for our May meeting, Kym chose to leave Africa behind and had us travel to South America to try the Venezuelan food at El Cocotero, a small restaurant in Chelsea that you'd probably walk right past without noticing if you weren't looking for it.


To hold us over while we waited for Brian to arrive, Kym and I ordered some appetizers. After looking at the various arepas on the menu, I was intrigued by the Cazon because of the words "baby shark" next to it. Having never eaten baby shark before, I asked our server whether he liked it. He made a face because he, personally, didn't like the consistency or texture of it, but he assured me that, if I "liked that sort of thing," I'd enjoy it. I couldn't get the image of his face scrunched up in distaste, so I skipped the Cazon and ordered the Tequeños ($4.95), which are traditional Venezuelan crispy cheese sticks. Fried cheese? I was sold! Kym the Pastelitos ($3.95), a round fried pastry, with ham and cheese.


Brian arrived just as we placed our appetizer order, so he took a few minutes to study the menu and ordered one as well - the Arepitas Con Nata ($4.95), four bite-size crispy arepas stuffed with something that had a subtle sweetness to it. I'm guessing it was plantains based on the color of the arepitas after Brian cut into them.


For our main meals, Brian, Kym, and I all ordered Arepas. I got the Pabellón ($7.25), which was stuffed with sweet plantain, white cheese, black beans, and shredded flank steak. I'm still convinced that I chose that one because the name of it reminded me of Red Sox pitcher Jonathan Papelbon, and we all know how much I love those Red Sox! While the Pabellón was very flavorful, it was slightly awkward to eat because I couldn't bite through the shredded flank steak very easily. Whole pieces of the steak slid out of the corn pancake and were left dangling from my mouth. (Very ladylike, right?) I eventually gave up on biting into it and used my fork and knife.


Kym opted for chicken and ordered the La Catira, which was filled with shredded chicken and yellow cheese. The bite I had was really good -- the chicken was tender and it wasn't too cheesy. Unfortuately, I can't remember which two Brian ordered and the picture was lost (womp womp), so I'm hoping Brian leaves a comment to let you all know what he had! (Sorry, Brian...) While the arepas were very filling, I wished they were a little cheaper. If I hadn't had the Tequeños to start, I would have still been hungry after finishing the Pabellón. In fact, we were all still a little hungry after eating our arepas, so, of course, we ordered up some dessert.


All of the desserts at El Cocotero are $5.50. We shared a piece of the Torta Tres Leches, a cake densely rich in flavor but surprisingly light in texture, and a piece of the Quesillo, a sweet caramel flan. Both were absolutely delicious! I'd go back to El Cocotero just for the dessert!

I have one more LDC restaurant to write-up (dinner at Smorgas Chef @ Scandinavia House) and then I'll be caught up with those. Hopefully, I'll be able to write it before the LDC meets again!

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And now, without further ado, it's time to announce the winner of the Barefoot Wine & Bubbly Summer Beach Giveaway! I know I was supposed to announce the winner yesterday, but I was having too much fun enjoying the relative quiet of Manhattan on a holiday weekend with my boyfriend to allow myself to be chained to my laptop on an absolutely gorgeous Saturday. I apologize for the delay!

There were 22 entries for the giveway. Random.org tells me that the winner is #8:

Amie: "I love champagne so I want to try the Extra Dry but the Bubbly Pinot and the Bubbly Chardonnay sound really good too!" I like being barefoot anywhere.

Congratulations, Amie!

I received a package from Barefoot Wine & Bubbly last week that contained a bottle of their Barefoot Pinot Grigio and a bottle of their Barefoot Bubbly Brut Cuvée. Because I had promised my boyfriend that I'd save the Brut Cuvée for his visit this weekend, I began thinking of ways I could use the Pinot Grigio. Sure, I could have just chilled it and had a glass after work but that would have been too easy. Then it occurred to me that I knew exactly what I wanted to make -- a pitcher of white sangria (or sangria blanca)!

When I attended my friend Melissa's birthday party at Sweet Revenge back in May, they were serving sangria - both red and white. Up until last Friday, I had never had white sangria before (not including the sip Mary Catherine let me try at the party). Like many people, I'm sure, I'm much more familiar with sangria made with red wine. So, even though I knew I would be straying away from the traditional white sangria recipe, in which Sauvignon Blanc is typically used, I vowed to use the bottle of Pinot Grigio in white sangria... my way.


Because I wanted the colors of the fruit in the sangria to really pop in the glass, I chose white nectarines, peaches, and raspberries. I think I chose wisely, because after an hour of chilling in the refrigerator, this is what resulted:


The white sangria was so refreshing and light! If I hadn't come up with the sangria recipe, I never would have known there was alcohol in there. It was certainly the perfect drink to help me wind down after a long week and to help me forget about the heat and the humidity. Before I knew it (i.e. five hours later), I realized that I had consumed nearly all of that sangria by myself! Thankfully, I was also drinking water and picking on food throughout the night. Otherwise, I would have woken up with quite a headache the next morning! I highly recommend making up a batch or two of this white sangria to serve at your next brunch or afternoon cookout -- you'll love it!

Quick and Easy White Sangria

Bottle of Pinot Grigio
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 white nectarine, diced
1 peach, diced
1 pint raspberries

Pour wine and sugar into a large pitcher. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add the nectarine, peach, and half of the raspberries. Stir gently to distribute the fruit. Place the remaining raspberries in the freezer and the pitcher in the refrigerator. Chill for at least one hour.

To serve, spoon some of the fruit into a glass and pour the wine over the top. Add some frozen raspberries (instead of ice) to the glass to keep it cool.

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ATTENTION:

Today is the last day to enter the Barefoot Wine & Bubbly Summer Beach Giveaway! You have until 11:59 EST TONIGHT (Friday, July 3, 2009) to enter! Just leave a comment on the giveaway post and make sure you leave an email address so I can notify you if you've won. The winner will be chosen at random and announced on July 4 in honor of Independence Day. Make sure you enter before the deadline!