It doesn’t get any easier than that now does it?

Chocolate Walnut Biscotti

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa (I used Hershey’s)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup walnuts
milk, dark, or white chocolate for drizzling. Or some combination of all of them.

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter with the sugar.

2. Add in the eggs and vanilla. Beat until combined.

3. Mix all the dry ingredients together and then add it to the wet ingredients.

4. Drop in all the walnuts and stir to combine.

The dough will be tough and sticky. And look something like this.

5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or this handy dandy silicon thing I have. Divide the dough into two batches and set them out on the baking sheet in log form. They don’t have to be perfect.

6. Set in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove, and let them cool for about 15 minutes.

7. Using a serrated knife, cut the logs on a diagonal.

8. Set the slices side-by-side back on the baking sheet and set in the oven for 8-9 minutes. Remove, flip them over and bake another 8-9 minutes.

9. Let the biscotti cool completely and then drizzle with some chocolate.

and because I couldn’t just leave it alone after one drizzle, I also drizzled them with white chocolate. That part is entirely up to you!

I, Zahra, do not love pizza. I LOVE PIZZA. In all caps. That’s how much I LOVE PIZZA.

However, no matter how awesome the toppings on your pizza, it’ll fall short of your expectations if you don’t have an equally amazing pizza crust. I once made the mistake of not taking the dough seriously. Oh what a mistake that was. The internet offered many recipes for yeast-less pizza dough (as I did not have any yeast at that moment and really wanted pizza), so I thought since so many people had tried this method, it was just as good as a regular yeast-full pizza dough. Boy was I wrong.

True, it looked just fine, but it made the list of Worst Things I Have Ever Cooked. It’s actually up in the top three.

So although other people have had these apparent successes, I beg of you, find your yeast packets and make this pizza dough. It’s delicious!

Pizza Dough

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 teaspoon yeast
1/3 cup olive oil
Pinch of salt (about 1 teaspoon)
4 cups all-purpose flour

1. Start by measuring out your yeast and salt in a little bowl.

2. Pour in your warm water. Try not to pour as violently as I do and splatter all the yeast everywhere.

3. Stir it just a little and let it sit until nice and foamy. It’ll look something like this.

4. Pour mixture into a bigger bowl and add in olive oil and stir around.

5. Dump in your flour and stir stir stir until a well-incorporated ball forms.

6. Dump out the dough unto a lightly floured surface and knead knead knead.

Until you get a pretty dough ball.

7. Coat the outside of your dough ball lightly with olive oil.

8. Cover tightly and let it rise for about 2 hours. Then, use your pizza dough for all your pizza needs! Or calzone needs! You’ll want to bake at a fairly high heat, 400 degrees or so.

But enough of my excuses, the pictures from Sara and Eric’s engagement hosted by my parents can be found HERE!

These pictures are giant monstrosities and Flickr won’t allow the entire set to be full-sized. So each is a measly 500 pixels wide on there. If any of you want certain photos in all their 10.1 megapixel glory, shoot me an email with your address and I’d be happy to send you a CD. Or you could come pick up a CD. Or I’ll send them over email. We’ll figure something out. My email is listed under the “Contact” section over yonder by the header.

Congrats kiddos. We wish you the best.

Truth be told, I don’t even like the yolks in hard-boiled eggs.

The first time I bit into one of these lovely lovely things was actually last year. Neil’s now ex-boss invited us over for Easter and one of the other employees had made some. After eating fifteen of them, I decided I really was missing out by not having these as a part of my diet.

So now, here’s my version of deviled eggs. I’m sure you could add many other things to them, and I have, but I’m pretty fond of this recipe. Totally basic and un-frilly. Enjoy!

Zahra’s Deviled Eggs

5 eggs
3-4 tbsp ranch (or mayonnaise I suppose)
1 tsp dijon mustard, more to taste
salt and pepper to taste
paprika for garnish

1. Hard-boil your eggs. The easiest way to do this is to fill a pot with water and a tablespoon of vinegar. The vinegar helps keep everything contained in the egg in the unfortunate event that your egg cracks. Set all your eggs into the pot gently and place the pot over the stove and turn on the heat to medium-high. Let the water come to a boil for about a minute, and then turn off the heat. Let the eggs sit in the hot water for about 15 minutes. Trust me, you’ll have perfectly hard-boiled eggs every time!

2. Let your eggs cool and then peel them. Isn’t that fun?

look how shiny and bald they become!

3. With a sharp knife, split your eggs right down the middle.

4. Scoop out the yolks with a spoon and pop ‘em into another bowl.

and of course, set the whites onto a plate until you’re ready to fill ‘em.

5. Crumble the yolks with a fork and start adding the ranch or mayonnaise. Then, add the dash of mustard and season to taste with salt and pepper.

6. You can then pour the filling into a little Ziploc baggy and snip off the tip to use in filling the whites. Or, you could use a spoon. No one will tell.

Oh me oh my. They get incredibly creamy and fabulous.

I took a bite out of one before I had a chance to garnish them with paprika.

Try not to be like me. Garnish away for the bestest flavor!

My poor blog has been neglected for quite some time. But hey, new year, new resolutions, new recipes, new successes, new failures. Oh boy!

To start the new year off right, today’s recipe comes from a bruschetta I tried in the previous one.

I’ve tried numerous times to re-create the “caramelized onion and balsamic vinegar dip”. The internet was hardly useful. I kept coming across creamy dips meant for actual dipping, not this hearty flavorful oniony thing I had come to love.

But lo and behold, who knew that pretty much the only ingredients in the “dip” were the ones contained in its name?? I’m sharp. I know. I went to college.

So here you are, internet. My version of the lovely caramelized onion dip, in the form of bruschetta!

Caramelized Onion and Balsamic Vinegar Bruschetta
adapted from the version made by Angelika!

1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
pinch of salt

1. Start with some butter. Of course I would go for the “Mediterranean Blend”.

2. Over medium heat, combine the butter and olive oil in a saucepan. This will make sure your butter doesn’t burn but will give everything a nice brown color. Make sure your saucepan is peely and yucky looking. It’s not my fault! Santa just didn’t read my wish-list.

3. Dice up an onion. We’re gonna caramelize ‘em!

4. Wait until the butter/olive oil starts getting kinda frothy. When it looks like this, you’re ready to rock.

5. Pile in all the onion. Then spread it out evenly and let them chill for 3-4 minutes.

6. When they start looking sweaty (this process is called “sweating” apparently, how fitting), you can now start bouncing them around the saucepan.

7. But first, you want to add in about a teaspoon of salt. Rachel Ray said that this part helps the onions release more moisture and become sweeter. I trust Rachel Ray with my onions.

8. When they’re all flimsy and transparent looking, congratulations! You have caramelized onions! However, we’re gonna keep going since we’re making bruschetta.

9. Add in the balsamic vinegar one tablespoon at a time. Start with one…

10. And if you want more (I always want more) add in another tablespoon. I suppose you could add another one, but you don’t want to overpower it all.

11. Now turn down the heat just a notch and let it all reduce and get all dark and yummy looking.

*Note: if you overpower the dish with too much balsamic vinegar, have no fear! A dash of honey will fix it.

Toast up some bread and enjoy!

They were shocking.

Clinton, Bill Clinton.

In a fedora.

In my house. Weirddd.

It ain’t fancy schmancy or anything of the sort, BUT I used a technique Bobby Flay taught me. Yes, Bobby Flay teaches me cooking techniques.

To create the “smokey” flavor of grilling when you don’t have a grill, all you have to do is pour about a tablespoon of liquid smoke on the bottom of a baking sheet and set it under the oven broiler for about a minute.

Take out the pan and set another pan on top of it with your grillin’ stuffs. I used portabellos of course. I drizzled a bit of olive oil on top and sprinkled my new favorite ingredient: Lawry’s lemon pepper.

Set under the broiler for about 4 minutes per side. I used the final 4 minutes to also heat up and crunchyize the hoagies.

Then, assemble! We topped the mushrooms with avocados…

and carmalized onions…

and cheese! I also spread some barbeque sauce on one side of the hoagies. Just for fun. (To my siblings, that was your Nacho quote, thank you)

Did Neil like this sandwich attempt??

He sure did! (Neil, I’m sorry, but I just had to post it! <3)

Today, however, I had way too much to do, and on top of that, I just picked up The Pioneer Woman’s cookbook since I missed its delivery and I got not one but two coats I’d ordered last week. If that wasn’t enough, the coats fit wonderfully (it’s very limiting to be junior-sized but want to order womens coats) and the cookbook is awesome.

So since today is so fabulous and because I do not have enough daylight (or enough oatmeal) to make a full batch of these crispy cookies, I’ll merely leave you the recipe, courtesy of the new cookbook I have today!

And yes, I used the other half of the egg from yesterday. Thank you for asking.

Oatmeal cookies

1 cup vegetable shortening (it’s ok to indulge every once in a while. Remember, you’re worth it
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup regular granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream shortening with the sugars. This is pretty much the first step to most cookie recipes so get used to it.

2. Beat eggs and add the vanilla. Pour the whole thing into the sugar mixture and stir until combined.

3. Combine the flour, salt and baking soda together and pour into the sugar mixture and mix until well integrated. Then, roll in the oats and beat those in too.

4. Last but not least, add in your pecans and mix mix mix until everything is evenly dispersed. Chill for 30 minutes or so. (Or put it in the freezer like me)

5. The recipe calls to roll the dough into a log and then slice it thin. I have no patience for that so here’s what I did.  Spoon out a tablespoon of the dough and then flatten it to about a 1/2″ thickness.

6. Bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Let ‘em cool and enjoy!

For this important holiday, I embarked on creating my own super chocolatey double chocolate chip cookie and, I must say, I am very pleased.

I will have to tell you though, I had my doubts, which is why I made the smallest batch I could (yes, that even involved using half an egg). But success! I’ll be making this cookie many many more times.

Zahra’s Double Chocolate Chip Cookie

1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) UNsalted butter
1/2 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 PLUS 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 oz semi sweet chocolate, melted
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 to 1 cup chocolate pieces or chocolate chips (I used both!)

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Start by dicing your butter and putting it in the bowl with your sugars. Cream them together.

2. Add in your half egg, vanilla and baking soda. Mix mix mix until combined.

3. Now, mix the salt in with the flour and then pour the whole thing into the batter and mix until well combined.

4. Throw in your melted chocolate (be messy like me so I don’t feel so bad) and your cocoa powder.

Mix until evenly dispersed and the mixture is a nice chocolatey color. Fold in your chocolate chips and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. I always cheat and place it in the freezer for about 7-10 minutes. Whatever floats your boat.

5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or an uncanny blue silicone parchment paper replacement thing) and scoop out the dough with a 1 tablespoon ice cream scooper. Place them about 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart.

6. Bake for 16-18 minutes. Here’s a tip: cookies harden as they’re cooling, and since these cookies are already brown, you can’t really see when they’re done. A good rule of thumb is that cookies are done about a minute after they’ve deflated. So keep an eye on ‘em!

7. Remove and, if you can resist, let them cool for 5 minutes or so.

Enjoy these lovely chewy on the inside crispy on the outside super chocolatey cookies!

I’m a ginormous fan of cold pies. They’re so simple to put together and the only hard part is waiting for the pie to chill enough to eat.

Here’s what you need:

Peanut Butter and Nutella Pie

For the crust:

1 1/4 cup finely crushed pretzels. I used these lovely Honey Wheat ones but really, any ol’ pretzel would work.
2 tbsp brown sugar, lightly packed
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp butter, melted

I absolutely love the honey wheat pretzels. They’re sweet but still pretzel-y enough to fill my pretzel needs.

Random fact: the SAT prep place that I went to for 2 years of my life provided these buckets of pretzels for the students. I now associate learning weird vocabulary with eating pretzels.

Getting back to what we’re all really here for,

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Crush your pretzels until you have 1 1/4 cups worth. I had just enough. Whew.

2. Add in your brown sugar and pulse a few times until well combined.

3. Pour out into a bowl and add in the melted butter. Stir until all the crumbs are coated.

4. Pour the whole thing out into your 8″ pie dish and press down with the bottom of a measuring cup until you have a tight crust. Set in the oven to bake for 8-10 minutes.

Now, as the crust sets, work on the filling.

For the Peanut Butter Nutella filling:

1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup milk
About 1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup Nutella

1. Combine the cream cheese with the powdered sugar and beat until smooth.

Oh girl, it’s lovely.

2. Mix the peanut butter right in as well. Add in the milk after the peanut butter’s well combined and beat until totally smooth.

3. In a separate bowl, Combine the whipping cream with the vanilla and beat until stiff peaks form.

4. Fold in the whipped cream into the peanut butter filling until all the ingredients are well combined.

5. Now drop in your Nutella in one dollop.

6. Stir carefully just to get lovely ribbons of Nutella throughout. You don’t want it totally mixed in.

7. Spread over your pretzel pie crust and set in the refrigerator for about an hour to set and chill.

The end result is a very light-tasting peanut butter pie with lots of lovely Nutella flavors throughout. Enjoy!