Last night, we rung in the summer solstice (aka the longest day of the year) in proper Portlandian style. Together with our neighbors and friends, Dan and I enjoyed the long lasting sunshine and the mild temperatures over some great conversation, drinks and of course food. The whole celebration was lovely and so bountiful, as everyone brought a little something for others to enjoy. I decided to go with dessert - making these crunchy chocolate chip sea salt cookies, inspired by NY's famous Momofuku Milk Bar.
Getting the recipe for these from my Luxurious Eats Pinterest board, I was glad to see that they didn't take too long to assemble and there was no need for any sort of special equipment. As is usually the case with yummy things, it's important to use good quality ingredients such as nice semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks and some delicate sea salt. Actually using something I had on hand from my sister-in-law Diana, I sprinkled some smoked bacon sea salt on top and watched as the cookies quickly disappeared from the serving platter.
Here's the recipe I used, courtesy of Foodie Crush blog. Hope you enjoy it too and bring these yummies to your next party. They'll be a hit with adults and kids alike - I promise you.
Happy Passover, friends! Being locked down the whole weekend with a bad case of the flu, I've no doubt been a bit technologically constrained. Haven't touched a computer, camera, iPad, etc if you can believe it, in days! But now back at it, I had to celebrate my nearly feeling better with something a little creative.
Since it's the first night of Passover tonight, I wanted to share this awesome (and so simple) chocolate matzoh idea I got from The One (aka Martha Stewart). I changed up her recipe a bit, using Lake Champlain Spicy Aztec chocolate as well as truffled sea salt - a little indulgence never hurt anyone. Especially on a holiday when you can't eat bread :)
If you're looking for more sweet inspiration, here are some of my past Passover dessert recipes. Enjoy and have a happy and healthy Pesach.
Pistachio, Chocolate, Sea Salt Matzoh
Homemade macaroons
Passover candy with a twist
Brutti e Buoni for Passover
As the weather gets chillier this week, there's no sense in avoiding comforting, rich foods to keep us warm. So in the spirit of keeping it decadent, I've decided to share some dessert. It's in the form of simple, classic chocolate chunk cookies with a twist, which is a sprinkle sea salt. Dashing this savory ingredient to top of these sweet cookies made them more special and certainly elevated their status to the next gourmand level.
I served them up during last week's Championship Sunday party and the crowd loved them. They were super-sized and perfect for sharing or breaking apart. They're nice to dunk in milk or if you prefer them on the chewy side, you can pop them in the microwave for about 20 seconds before serving.
Just make sure to use good quality chocolate. I prefer semi-sweet chunks, and had also mixed this batch with Vosges' Mo's Bacon bar, which was just pure delight.
Salty Chocolate Chunk Cookies - recipe, courtesy of Bon Appetit
As you may have heard through my various rants, Meg, AJ and I held the 4th Queens Swap this past weekend at Sweet Afton Bar, and it was a smashing success. Not only did we enjoy the most participation to date, our swappers came from all over Queens and even (dare I say...) Long Island. It was refreshing to see everyone's enthusiasm for the food, and it was pleasure mixing and mingling the regulars with our newbies. I'll write a more complete post about the entire event later in the week, but in the meantime wanted to give you a preview of my personal contribution, which was bacon sea salt.
Riding the wave of excitement from past swaps, I was ready to step it up this time with a pantry enhancing specialty item, rather than something for immediate consumption, such as my chocolate chip bacon cookies or the coconut yerba mate truffles. To go along with the bacon theme, I chose a simple bacon sea salt, also gaining inspiration from my favorite salt makers - friends at Gardenfreude who produce expertly made herb sea salts.
Overall, the item was a big hit, and I heard it come up many a times during the "negotiation" phase of the swap. I was really flattered, but the ingredients spoke for themselves. I got the recipe via a fabulous blog called The Wannabe Chef, which in turn received inspiration from the Food Network. In any case, here's the recipe - and feel free to alter it any way you want. You're welcome to make the bacon chunks a little bigger for extra texture - it's all about your preference. Enjoy this important food group.
Homemade Bacon Sea Salt Recipe
Over the past couple of months, I've been lucky to get acquainted with two fabulous individuals who I've met through Mackenzi, my follow We Heart Astoria blogee. Those two people are WT and Erich from the Gardenfreude blog, based right here in Astoria. To say they know good food is an understatement, as they cultivate their own crops and grow all sorts of things - from fresh herbs and greens to veggies like tomatoes (in the summer of course), peppers, and more!
The most recent development in their veggie-lovin-life (they are vegans) is the ingenious way they've paired their fresh herbs such as rosemary, parsley, paprika, sage and others with fine quality French sea salt. It's a perfect way to finish any meal and I've been using it non-stop.
Where to find this?
I first heard about WT & Erich's legendary sea salt from friends and fellow bloggers, AJ and Meg. The fact they're both super knowledgeable about food (and good sustainable food no less) made my brows raise with excitement.
But legend became reality when I actually saw these salts being sold at Mackenzi's Pre-Holiday party at SITE. There were all kinds of flavors (all of the above I mentioned) and Mackenzi served the rosemary on popcorn, which immediately drew me in. The popcorn took on this gorgeous perfume, making you feel like you've stepped into the lushest garden. I couldn't resist so I grabbed a jar and have since become obsessed.
Rosemary Salt - As I already mentioned, the smell of this salt is heavenly (I just undid the top and took a whiff as I'm writing). Mackenzi's use of it on popcorn was clever and I highly suggest it, but since then I've also put it on toast with olive oil, pasta, my spinach/ricotta gnocchi, pea soup and virtually anything and everything it could marry into. Although I cannot wait to try some of the other flavors like the sage, I think I'll continue my love affair with rosemary a little longer.
If you're interested in trying this salt and supporting a fabulous local product, you can visit Mackenzi's store, SITE or contact Erich or WT directly. Enjoy and start pinching those fingers together!
www.gardenfreude.com
