So, I picked "Jam Filled Cream Cheese Cookies." I guess I was feeling kind of jammy and cheesy.
They came out of a magazine my brother (of all people) gets once a month from Martha Stewart. I have no idea how he became the recipient of Martha Stewart magazines – this is the same as me becoming the recipient of Guns & Ammo. It’s just not going to happen.
But it did for him and so there I was with a Martha Stewart magazine, a want to bake cookies and a desire to try something new.
I was lucky I had a friend to help me in this – she claims no skill at baking but it seems she knows a lot more about it than me!
Without further ado…
Here’s how the cookies were supposed to look:
And here’s how they turned out.
It's okay to laugh.
I don’t think Martha knows what she’s talking about. Granted I never really had high hopes for her given her favorite breed of dog is one that is unable to breed without AI...I digress.
We followed the directions exactly and did not skip a single step. We even tried to fix them between batches, to no avail.
The best thing about the cookies was the homemade jam. Complements of my friend’s dad and my mother. The dough was chalky and did not hold together to form those cool shapes. Even with the egg wash. The cookies were an epic fail but we were able to pawn them onto my friend’s father-in-law and husband (who thought they were great).
On another note, I did get adventurous with another recipe and it turned out good-enough-to-make-again! I brought it to a potluck last Sunday and everyone loved it.
Carrot-Ginger Soup
Recipe adapted from The Half-Assed Kitchen
6 Tablespoons butter or margarine
1 large onion
1/4 + cup fresh ginger, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken or veggie stock
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup cream
1 pound carrots, peeled and chopped
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon curry powder
Melt butter in soup pot. Add onion, ginger and garlic and sauté for 15 to 20 minutes.
Add stock, wine, cream and carrots. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered over medium heat until carrots are very tender (about 1 hour - make sure to get them good and mushy so they puree well).
Puree soup in a blender or food processor.
Season with lemon juice and curry powder. Serve hot or cold.
I was a little worried about the carrots – I really hate mushy carrots. But it did not have that flavor at all and I will definitely make this soup again!
Cheers!
