I’m back — THANKS!

October 20, 2008 | Filed Under Mischief Mari, Cha no ma-ri, Fellow Bloggers, Biscuits/Cookies, Baking | 34 Comments

Hi everyone!

I’m back! ;-)

While I was recuperating from my surgery, I want to thank all those who helped me out as guest bloggers — Mischief Mari of Cha no ma-ri, Layla of Laylita’s Recipes, Simona of Bricole, Ilva of Lucullian Delights, Elizabeth of The House in Marrakesh and About New York, Sra of When My Soup Came Alive, Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen, Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once, Lydia of The Perfect Pantry, Rebecca of From Argentina with Love, Christine of Christine Cooks, Amy of The Heart of a Seed, and Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict. Everyone readily agreed to help me, without hesitation. I appreciate it so very much, especially since I know you’re all very busy. Thank you so very much!

Thank you to the readers who stopped by here with kind comments and get well wishes. Also, thanks to those who emailed me privately. I think your good wishes did the trick in helping me feel much bettter, real fast.

I can’t thank you all enough. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I’m feeling much better now and have returned to work. I’m still a bit tired but I think that’s just my body getting used to more physical activity and all.

For my first post back, I wanted to share the cookies that I’d ordered from Mischief Mari. She really does make the coolest cookies on the planet. When I saw the presidential candidate Barack Obama cookies that she’d designed on her blog, I knew my mom would love them and decided to order them for her. She did love them. She shared them with her friends and they loved them, too.

Mari also designed some very nice presidential candidate John McCain cookies. She’s so talented.

I’m so glad that I feel well enough to enjoy Mischief Mari’s cookies. Not only do they look good, they taste good, too. Thanks, Mari!

And thank you all, again, for your support and well wishes.

Paz

The Three Pazes

July 21, 2008 | Filed Under Guest Bloggers, Mischief Mari, Cha no ma-ri, Fellow Bloggers, Biscuits/Cookies, Baking | 29 Comments

As I recuperate from surgery, please help me welcome our first guest blogger, Mischief Mari of Cha No Ma-ri. Thanks, Mari! To see other cookies Mari has made for me, look here and here.

Paz

I did it. I tricked Paz into showing herself to the world.

If you have been a regular reader of our beloved Paz’s cooking adventures, you’re probably aware of the fact that she is not enamored with the idea of revealing what she looks like. I have seen numerous comments on her Monday New York photos from readers hinting that a photo of herself in the city would be highly desirable. And each time, she has either politely disregarded those requests or outright refused.

Lucky for you Paz admirers today!

I thought it might be interesting to design a cookie with her silhouette on it. Through an email in which I expressed my deep admiration and regard for our Lady Paz, I tried to convince her to send me a photo of herself. Not surprisingly, she was reluctant. “I look horrible. I don’t want to take my photo. Do I really have to?” she protested. But I persevered. “I want to immortalize you in a cookie,” was my reply.

I was pleasantly surprised, when, in less than a day, I received a photo of her which confirmed what I knew already: she’s lovely!

Making a silhouette cookie is very easy. I opened Paz’s photograph in Photoshop, desaturated it to transform it into a black-and-white picture, ratcheted up the contrast, resized it to about 2.5 square inches and printed it out. I traced her outline onto a piece of thick plastic and carefully cut it out to create a stencil.

After baking these large sugar cookies, I first covered them with a base layer of white icing. Once the base was dry, I placed the stencil over the cookie, and using an offset spatula, wiped a layer of stiff black icing over the top. I gently pulled the stencil off, and there was Paz. The details on each cookie were hand-piped.

If you want to try this yourself, I have a more detailed tutorial at my website (http://mischiefmari.com/jane_austen_teapot_cookie_howto.html).

I’ve never met Chef Paz in person. But as I’ve gotten to know her through our blogs and email, I believe that this combination of decorated silhouette cookies and Maida Heatter’s ‘Positively-the-Absolutely Best Chocolate Chip Cookies’ captures the essence of what I believe is Paz: casually elegant.

Thank you Paz, for letting me fill in this week.

Maida Heatter’s ‘Positively-the-Absolutely Best Chocolate Chip Cookies’

(from Maida Heatter’s Brand-New Book of Great Cookies)

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract [2 teaspoons]

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

2 eggs graded “large”

2 1/4 cups unsifted all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon hot water

8 ounces (2 generous cups) walnuts, broken into medium-sized pieces

12 ounces (2 cups) semisweet chocolate morsels [16 ounces semisweet

or bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces]

Adjust two racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with baking parchment or with aluminum foil, shiny side up. In the large bowl of an electric mixer beat the butter until soft. Add the salt, vanilla, and both sugars and beat to mix. Add the eggs and beat to mix. On low speed add about half the flour and, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula, beat until incorporated. In a small cup stir the baking soda into the hot water, then mix into the dough. Add the remaining flour and beat only until incorporated. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Stir in the walnuts and the chocolate. Spread out a large piece of aluminum foil next to the sink. Use a rounded tablespoonful of the dough for each cookie and place the mounds any which way on the foil. Then wet your hands with cold water, shake off excess, but do not dry your hands. Pick up a mound of dough and roll it between your wet hands into a ball, then press it between your hands to flatten it to about a 1/2-inch thickness. Place the cookies on the lined sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake two sheets at a time, reversing the sheets top to bottom and front to back as necessary to ensure even browning. Bake for about 12 minutes, until the cookies are browned all over. (If you bake one sheet alone, bake

it on the upper rack.) The cookies must be crisp; do not underbake. Let the cookies stand for a few seconds, then transfer with a metal spatula to racks to cool. Store in an airtight container.

Note: If you use 16 ounces of chocolate (see introduction to recipe) you will think it is too much to be incorporated into the dough. Just be patient. It’s not too much.

P.S. I was told that this is a big secret. Mrs. Fields refrigerates her chocolate chip cookie dough before shaping and baking. (Actually, Ruth Wakefield, who created this recipe at Toll House, did also.) The dough should be cold when the cookies go into the oven. I tried it. It’s great. The cookies have a much nicer and more even golden brown color.

Mischief Mari Cookies

February 24, 2007 | Filed Under Mischief Mari, Cha no ma-ri, Fellow Bloggers, Biscuits/Cookies, Baking | 1 Comment

I ordered some cookies from Mischief Mari and received a delightful treat when they arrived. Her cookies are not only visually pleasing but delicious as well. If you’re not familiar with Mari’s cookies, you can check out her creative site here. You can also find her fun blog here.

I’m off to get some more cookies before they all disappear. Thanks, Mari!

Happy weekend, everyone!

Paz

Cookies in honor of the Chinese New Year of the Pig

Lime Pistachio cookies

Paz for Prez - The Coolest Cookies on the Planet!

May 30, 2006 | Filed Under Mischief Mari, Cha no ma-ri, Fellow Bloggers, Biscuits/Cookies, Baking | Leave a Comment

Click on photo for enlarged image

Paz for Prez! Sounds pretty cool! The only thing I’m president of, is this blog.

Mari of Mischief Mari Cookies made these special cookies for me to get a good giggle. Oh, I did some giggling and more, indeed.

Mari bakes and designs different kinds of cookies for all occassions. They truly are ‘the coolest cookies on the planet.’ Go check out her web site and see for yourself. Independence day is coming up and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with for that occassion. I always enjoy visiting her site to discover her new fun and enticing cookie designs.

Just recently, Mari started a blog. Like her website, it’s fun, full of good stories and cookies. When you get a chance, go take a look!

Thanks Mari! I love the cookies. They really are cool!

Paz for Prez

Click on image for larger image