Chocolate Espresso Cookies

Okay, I know. What's with all the muffins and cookies, lately, Abby? Believe me. Some meals of sustenance are in the future. Until then, passing an oh-so-hard dental hygiene board exam calls for celebration (a.k.a. cookies), right?

These will knock your socks off. My mom has a "chocolate crinkle cookie" (well, that's what we call them) recipe very similar to this one. Man, sometimes I just long for those cookies. Which makes me realize now that I should probably just ask her for the recipe. These chocolate cookies, however, have the addition of instant espresso coffee granules. It adds a little kick. Maybe the kick that knocks your socks off (ha ha). Anyways, if you've never had crinkle cookies, you got to get some somewhere. Somehow. Ugh. They're so amazing. As you bite into them, they just sort of crack in a crinkly sort of way and then the melting begins. You taste the confectioner's sugar, then it disappears ever so softly. And before you know it, the chocolate just hits you. And the espresso. It's so rich. It's so delicious. It makes an impression. An I-need-you-for-the-rest-of-my-life impression. Find one. Somewhere. And if you can't, I'm going to make boat loads of these during Christmas time (and probably before then), so do ask. By the way, if anyone ever wants one of these recipes, just comment on my post; I'm happy to share. Sharing is caring. And I care about you because you're reading my blog. Thanks for doing so. Cheers.

Chicken Cutlets/Espresso Ice Cream

Dinner tonight? Chicken cutlets with sausage, zucchini, and red wine gravy. Definitely, my most hectic cooking excursion yet: three skillets, three pyrex dishes, and a baking rack. Now imagine that...all at the same time. Not to mention the ingredients involved. It was like Thanksgiving or something.

The cutlets are covered in a bread-crumb mixture with cornmeal, orange zest, parmigiano, and rosemary. Though incredibly tasty, I have a bread, walnut, parmigiano mixture in mind that I would like to try next time. I think it might be healthier. The vegetable side involved here consists of onion, red bell pepper, garlic, zucchini, and thyme. Very fresh and delicious. 

Now, the espresso ice cream. Our first adventure with the Kitchen Aid ice cream maker. I never thought I would make homemade ice cream. I mean, I absolutely love ice cream. Ice cream is one of my favorite foods, but it always seemed too complicated to actually make. Well, that is no longer a problem here. 

The recipe belongs to Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. It is the ice cream she leaves in the freezer for her husband, Jeffrey, before leaving him on his own for the evening. Now she left him dinner also, but he just goes straight for the ice cream and proceeds to spoon it directly out of the container. Before dinner. That's how good this is. And that is what happened to Zack and I earlier today. After we spilled the ground coffee that is. I don't know what it is about the ground coffee. I spilled it partially into the dishwasher a week or so ago, and now we dump it on the kitchen counter and floor. From now on, we handle the ground coffee with care; none of this nonchalant, carefree business. 

We did limit ourselves to just a couple spoonfuls (I don't know how) and saved up for a bowl of this gem after dinner. Espresso ice cream with chunks of chocolate covered espresso beans. Does it get any better than that, coffee lovers? Zack gives this a 9.5/10. And he's a pretty good food critic. He is also a good sous chef. And food photographer. Whose cooking blog is this...? :)