Thin Mints

These crispy cookies are easy to make at home and taste even better than the “real” thing. The dough is made in advance, rolled into a log and chilled. This allows the cookies to be sliced off easily into rounds so there is no need to fiddle with a cookie cutter.The cookies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for several days, but like “real” Girl Scout cookies, they taste great when frozen and will last for weeks - if not longer - in the freezer.

Yield:

Makes 3 1/2-4 dozen cookies.

Ingredients

1. For the cookie:
2. ===============
3. 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
4. 1/4 cup cornstarch
5. 6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
6. 1/2 tsp salt
7. 1 cup white sugar
8. 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
9. 1/3 cup milk (any kind)
10. 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
11. 3/4 tsp peppermint extract
12. .
13. For the dark chocolate coating
14. ===============
15. 10-oz dark or semisweet chocolate
16. 1/2 cup butter, room temperature

Directions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder and salt.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. With the mixer on low speed, add in the milk and the extracts. Mixture will look curdled. Gradually, add in the flour mixture until fully incorporated.
3. Shape dough into two logs, about 1 1/2 inches (or about 4 cm) in diameter, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 1-2 hours, until dough is very firm.
4. Preheat oven to 375F.
5. Slice dough into rounds not more than 1/4 inch thick - if they are too thick, they will not be as crisp - and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cookies will not spread very much, so you can put them quite close together.
6. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until cookies are firm at the edges. Cool cookies completely on a wire rack before dipping in chocolate.
7. In a microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate and butter. Melt on high power in the microwave, stirring every 45-60 seconds, until chocolate is smooth. Chocolate should have a consistency somewhere between chocolate syrup and fudge for a thin coating.
8. Dip each cookie in melted chocolate, turn with a fork to coat, then transfer to a piece of parchment paper or wax paper to set up for at least 30 minutes, or until chocolate is cool and firm.
9. Reheat chocolate as needed to keep it smooth and easy to dip into.

Notes

Yum Nua - Thai Beef Salad

A great way to eat left-over steak - it's a meal that tastes completely different than yesterday with minimal effort. However, it's such a good recipe that we even cook the steak just to make Yum Nua

Yield:

2 Servings

Ingredients

1. 2 vegetable oil
2. 1/4 onion, thinly sliced
3. 1-2 limes
4. 2 tablespoon fish sauce
5. 10 sprigs cilantro
6. 1/2 lb beef
7. 2 sprigs spearmint (optional)
8. 1 teaspoon nam prig pow (optional)
9. 1/2 teaspoon ground dried chili pepper (optional)

Directions

1. Broil or grill the steak until medium rare. When cooked, slice the steak against the grain into very thin slices .
2. The amount of onion that you should add should be equal to the amount of meat. Mince most of the cilantro and the mint, but set aside a few sprigs of cilantro and mint for a garnish. Put the beef, onion, cilantro, mint, fish sauce, chili pepper and nam prik pow in a bowl and mix together.
3. Add 3/4 of a lime and taste. Depending on how sour and how juicy your lime is, you might need more. If you need more lime, keep adding just a little. This dish should taste a little hot, and well balanced between the lime and the fish sauce. Serve warm or cold.

Notes

Fresh Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

Almost every shop that sells frozen yogurt is now offering “tart” yogurt, which is little more than yogurt-flavored yogurt, complete with the tang of the real thing. This recipe uses a base of tangy Greek-style yogurt that is lightened with beaten egg whites. The tartness of the commercial frozen yogurt can be quite strong, and while this isn’t a bad thing in the plain yogurt variety, it’s not always a big plus for the fruit-flavored “tart” yogurts.

Yield:

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

1. 1 1/3 cups fresh strawberries
2. 2/3 cup sugar
3. 2 tbsp vodka (optional)
4. 2 1/2 cups Greek-style yogurt (approx 500g)
5. 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
6. 2 large egg whites, room temperature

Directions

1. Clean berries and trim off tops. In the bowl of a food processor, puree strawberries, sugar and vodka (optional) until mixture is very smooth.
2. In a large bowl, whisk berry mixture into greek yogurt (you may strain plain yogurt for about 5 minutes with a fine sieve or cheesecloth if you cannot find greek yogurt in your area to achieve a similar consistency).
3. In a medium bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until eggs reach soft peaks. Fold into strawberry yogurt mixture. Pour everything into an ice cream maker and mix according to manufacturers’ directions. When yogurt has set up, you can serve it immediately or store it in a freezer-safe container, if you are not going to eat it right away.

Notes

You could try this with frozen, defrosted berries, but it really will be best with freshly picked strawberries. You can also use any variety of Greek yogurt you like: full fat, low fat or nonfat.

Chocolate Chocolate Chunk Gelato

Gelato is Italian ice cream. While in composition it is not that different from other frozen treats, there are a couple of things that set it apart from a standard ice cream. First, it is generally made with milk and not with cream (some recipes do call for a small amount of cream). I’ve had many shopkeepers try to impress this upon me as a selling point, since it makes the gelato lower in fat than ice cream is (for the record, it works as a selling point). Second, gelato tends to be more dense than ice cream, with less air churned into it and fewer tiny ice crystals suspended in the mixture. This gives it a rich taste.

Yield:

Makes about 1 quart.

Ingredients

1. 3 cups milk
2. 2/3 cup sugar
3. 3/4 cup cocoa powder
4. 1-1/2 tbsp cornstarch
5. about 3-oz chocolate, shaved/chunked (1/2 cup)

Directions

1. In medium saucepan, bring 2 cups of the milk just to a simmer, which is when you start to see steam rising from the pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the remaining cup of (cold/room temperature) milk with the sugar, cocoa, and cornstarch. Once the milk in the saucepan has come to a simmer, add in the cocoa mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil and begins to thicken. Cook for one more minute, then remove from heat.
3. Strain mixture into a large bowl, cover the surface with plastic wrap, and chill until cold. Overnight chilling is best.
4. Pour into your ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturers directions. Freeze until firm, at least 30 minutes, before serving. Stir in the chocolate chunks/shavings after churning or stir them in halfway through the churning process. Makes about 1 quart.

Notes

You can use any type of milk for this recipe, from skim to whole. I recommed going with low fat (1 or 2%), since it produces a creamy product and one that is lower in fat than one made with whole milk.

Vanilla Extract

Vanilla extract is made by transferring the flavor and aromas of vanilla beans into alcohol. Vodka is the alcohol of choice because it has a neutral flavor. Other liquors can be used, but they contribute flavors of their own. The vanilla flavor comes from the cured seed pod (bean) of the vanilla orchid. The properly prepared pod contains vanillin and 100s of other flavor compounds. Vanilla orchids are the only orchids that produce an edible seed.

Yield:

Makes 16 fl ounces

Ingredients

1. 16 oz. vodka
2. 12 whole vanilla beans

Directions

1. Split the vanilla beans down the middle and scrape the pods to remove the seeds. Take the scraped pods and the seeds and deposit them into the vodka.
2. Seal the vodka and set the bottle in a cool dark place. For the first week, shake the mixture daily. You will see cottony fiberous objects floating in the extract.
3. After the first week you will need to shake the extract at least once a week for the next 6 months. After 6 months, filter the extract and remove the orginal vanilla beans (the beans are "dead" at this point and may add bad flavors. You can add fresh beans as desired for a more concentrated flavor or simply use the extract as is.

Notes

While it does seems like a lot of vanilla beans, this ammount is required in order to make true vanilla extract as defined by the Food and Drug Administartion which states "Extract contains 13.35 oz. of bean per gallon of alcohol." In order to maintain this ratio, you need to use 6 vanilla beans for every 8 oz of alcohol.Vanilla Planifolia beans have a strong, familiar vanilla flavor, it is often called 'Madagascar Bourbon'. Planifolia is the same variety grown in Mexico, but now synonymous with Madagascar.Vanilla Tahitensis is a weaker vanilla with 'fruity, floral, and sweet' flavors created by the compound heliotropin. Tahitensis is a mutated form of a Planifolia orchid from Tahiti. Most Tahitensis vanilla is now grown in Papa New Guinea. This vanilla is favored by pastry chefs.