GIANT Chocolate Chip Cookies

Have I mentioned that I didn't used to be much of a baker? Well, it is true, but this last year I have proven that wrong and also have found out I am quite good at baking. Here is me tooting my own horn! One of the simplest recipes any baker has to master is an amazing chocolate chip cookie recipe...or any cookie recipe for that matter. Chocolate chip cookies aren't your thing? Well, something is a little bit wrong with you, but that is ok - find your favorite cookie and just master an awesome recipe.

These cookies are soft, chewy and GIANT. I suppose you could make the balls smaller, but where is the fun in that? The batch makes 9 cookies - yes, that is it - 9 cookies, so if you are making these for a crowd then double up. Just know that you will only be able to fit about 6 cookies on a large cookie sheet and you do not want to double stack these in the oven.

GIANT Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 9 Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 stick (8 tbsp) of unsalted butter melted then cooled to room temperature
• 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar loosely packed
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup chocolate chips

How to Make GIANT Chocolate Chip Cookies:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray. 
2. Combine your flour, salt, and baking soda in a small mixing bowl and set aside. 
3. In a large bowl, combine the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar and beat on high with a hand mixer until creamed (4ish minutes).
4. Turn the setting to medium and beat in your egg and vanilla. 
5. Once combined, add in your flour mixture and continue to mix until everything is combined. 
6. Fold in your chocolate chips. 
7. Scoop cookie dough into balls using a 1/4 measuring cup. Do not flatten the dough balls and make sure they have plenty of space to grow.
8. Bake for 13-14 minutes. 
9. Remove from the oven and let cool on your cookie sheet for 20-30 minutes until they set.

Enjoy these delicious chocolate chip cookies!

~H

Habanero Garlic Hot Sauce

Some like it HOT, HOT, HOT! In this house, we love hot sauce and I am always experimenting with making new hot sauces. We have a butcher near our house where we love to shop and they are always showcasing local items. A few months ago, they had a hot sauce vendor and we sampled, then subsequently bought, a habanero hot sauce. It was truly amazing and we went through it very quick! Every time I go back to the butcher I look for that same hot sauce and they have not had it since.

John keeps hinting at how much he loved that hot sauce, so I finally gave in and made my own. It is SPICY but has a really complex, deep flavor and only uses a handful of ingredients. It is super quick to make and comes together in about 30 minutes. Now, that is my kind of hot sauce!

Just look at that bright orange color!

Habanero Garlic Hot Sauce
Makes 16 ounces

Ingredients:

• 12-14 habanero peppers stem removed
• 1 carrot peeled and chopped into large chunks
• .5 medium onion chopped into chunks
• 10-12 cloves of garlic peeled
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1.5 tsp sugar
• Drizzle of olive oil

How to Make Habanero Garlic Hot Sauce:

1. Place your garlic and onion in tinfoil and lightly drizzle with olive oil. Seal the tinfoil tightly and place in a 300 degree oven for 30 minutes. 
2. In the meantime, combine all other ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover and continue to simmer while your garlic and onions cook. 
3. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend on high until smooth. 
4. Let cool, then place in an airtight container and refrigerate. 

All the ingredients in the pan after the onion and garlic cooked. 

John enjoying his hot sauce on his breakfast bagel :) 

This can be used as an every day hot sauce or used on wings as well. I mean, it is excellent on wings! The longer you leave it in the fridge, the spicier it gets so beware! 

Enjoy!

~H

Tacotopia 2019

For the last several years we have attended an event in San Diego called Tacotopia. We all know my love of tacos, so it is just a great day! The event took place this past Saturday. It is about four hours and it is all you can eat tacos as well as all you can drink small beer samples. This year there were 60 taco vendors and about 20 breweries. here are some pictures from the event this year:

We are already looking forward to Tacotopia 2020!

Enjoy!

~H&J

Beef Back Ribs

Have I told you that this girl can grill? Well, she can and I never cease to amaze myself with my grilling skills. I was at the butcher and saw that they had some awesome beef back ribs. I repeat, beef back ribs, not dino ribs/full plate short ribs - beef back ribs! Ok, I think you got it now. Beef back ribs are basically the ribs on a bone in prime rib, they have just been cut off and are delicious on their own.

I always use the same slow and low method for cooking ribs, but I decided to try a new method with a higher temp to see if I could get these done in a reasonable amount of time for a weeknight meal. The method worked and they were just as juicy and tender as if i had cooked them low and slow. I will definitely be keeping this in my arsenal for further use since it proved you don't have to set aside an entire day for amazing bbq.

Beef Back Ribds
Makes 1 slab

Ingredients:

• 1 slab beef back ribs membrane removed as much as possible
• Your favorite bbq rub
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons apple juice
• 3 tablespoons of your favorite bbq sauce

How to make Beef Back Smoked Ribs:

1. The night before you cook the ribs, remove them from the refrigerator , remove the membrane, and rub them with your favorite bbq rub, salt and pepper, oil. Be generous with the seasoning. Cover and refrigerate overnight. 
2. 1 hour prior to smoking your ribs, remove them from the refrigerator and let sit. Soak your smoking wood in water or apple juice at this time as well.
3. Set your grill up for indirect smoking at 325 degrees. Place your seasoned ribs directly on the grill and let smoke for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  
4. Remove the ribs from the smoker and wrap in tinfoil. Just before you close the ribs up, pour your apple juice in the tinfoil packet. Place back on the smoker and continue to cook for one hour and 15 minutes. 
5. Remove from the smoker and remove from the tinfoil. Pour the juice from the tinfoil into your bbq sauce and stir to combine. 
6. Place the ribs on the grill bone side down and brush a light layer of the bbq sauce mixture on the ribs.Cook for 10-15 additional minutes until a nice crust forms. 
7. Remove from the grill and let rest for 10 minutes before cutting into them. 

These ribs are so tender and just fall right off the bone. As you can see from the pictures below they really pull right off the bone.

All seasoned up and ready to go on the grill. 

The first hour and fifteen minutes. 

Right before tehe bbq sauce went on. 

And they are done!

I hope you enjoy this awesome method for getting amazing beef back ribs!

Enjoy!

~H

Shrimpo de Gallo

I just love food holidays! Every year, John's work has a salsa cooking competition around Cinco de Mayo and this year was no exception. I decided to spice it up a bit but creating a pretty standard pico de galo recipe then adding in some additional jalapenos, shrimp, and avocado to create a "Shrimpo de Gallo!" Yeah, you read that right, Shrimpo de Gallo.

This is a recipe that I have been making for years and you can really get creative with it. You can add additional ingredients like black beans and corn or if you are not a fan of avocado or shrimp, then just leave them out. It still packs a punch and is delicious. This recipe is pretty aesthetically pleasing too. Just look at all those bright colors! You can serve this with regular old tortilla chips or if you want a heartier meal, then throw it on a tostada shell and serve with rice and beans on the side.

Shrimpo de Gallo
Serves a large crowd

Ingredients:

• 6-7 tomatoes diced
• .5 red onion diced
• .25 sweet yellow onion diced
• Jalapeños diced (I used 5, but I wanted it spicy)
• 1 bunch cilantro finely chopped
• 3 large avocados diced
• 1 pound cook shrimp, tail removed and cut into thirds 
• 3-4 limes juiced
• Salt to taste

How to Make Shrimpo de Gallo:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
2. Cover and refrigerate for several hours before serving.

Oh, you are all wondering how I did with the salsa conpetition...I know I just have you on the edge of your seats :) I/we took third place, but I am pretty sure it was rigged! Ok, it probably wasn't but I do know this was a damn great entry!

Enjoy!

~H

Chile Verde

Now this is an award winning recipe! Now really, I won John's works chili cook off with this one :) Not to toot my own horn or anything, but it is important to note that you are now cooking in the big leagues! :) haha!

Since we live in San Diego, we can pretty much drive a few blocks in any direction and find awesome Mexican food. It is always super satisfying though to master a dish and crave it more than the restaurant quality food you can get on any corner!

John is a huge fan of chile verde and outside of the prep time and cooking time, it isn't too technically hard to make. You basically are stewing pork in a tangy and spicy tomatillo and chile verde sauce. this can be served plain, over rice, with tortillas taco style, over tamales, etc.

Served with a quesadilla and topped with cheese, onions, cilantro, and jalapeno!

Just starting to come up to a boil.

This has been simmering for several hours. Nice, deep, rich flavor!

Chile Verde
Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 3-4 pounds of pork butt trimmed and cut into 1" squares
• 1.5 pounds tomatillos with the husk removed, cleaned and dried
• 3-5 jalapenos (optional - adjust for your heat level)
• 2 poblanos
• 10 cloves of garlic
• 1 large onion cut into large chunks
• 1 bunch cilantro roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp cumin
• 1 box chicken stock
• Salt and pepper to taste

How to Make Chile Verde:

1. Preheat your oven to broil. 
2. Place 1-2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil in the bottom of a large cast iron dutch oven. Over medium high heat, brown the pork.
3. Place your tomatillos on a baking sheet and place them on the top rack of the oven to brown. Once they have browned and begin to burst, remove them from the oven and place in a blender.  This takes 10-15 minutes. 
4. Place your jalapeños, poblanos, garlic, and onions on another sheet tray and place them on the top rack of the oven to char.
5. After ten minutes, the garlic should be nice and brown. Place this in the blender with your tomatillos. 
6. At this time, your peppers and onions should be charred on one side. Turn them over and place them back under the broiler to char the other side. 
7. With a set of tongs, place your peppers in an airtight container or in a ziploc bag to sweat so we can peel the skin off later. 
8. Place your onions in the blender. 
9. Once the peppers have cooled and the skin starts to peel off, peel the charred skin off the peppers and remove the stem. Place the peeled peppers in the blender. 
10. Last, but not least add your cumin and cilantro to the blender and let it rip. You will end up with a paste that is kind of a medium thickness. 
11. Dump this over your pork along with the chicken stock. Allow the mixture to come up to a boil then reduce to a simmer  and salt and pepper to taste. Place a lid on the chile verde and allow to cook for at least 2 hours. The longer you can let it simmer though, the better. 

This is definitely one of those things you can do in the crock pot. Brown your pork, then simply load it into a crockpot. Pour your chile over top and let it go for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low. I would reduce the chicken stock by half if doing this in a crock pot though. 

There you have it! Award winning chile verde! It's Cinco de Mayo this weekend, so whip yourself up a batch.

Enjoy!

~H