True friendship

Chilled Pea Soup with MintThe heatwaves of the New York City’s early summer are upon us, but fortunately they correspond with the season for shelling peas. That means you can cool yourself down with a refreshing and delicious batch of chilled pea soup led light. It requires minimal stove time, which is a good thing in hot weather. And except for the time it takes to shell the peas it’s quick enough to prepare that you could fix it in the morning before work and have it chilled and ready when you get home from your sweltering commute personal loans.

This version is fairly light: if you like it thicker and more vegetal you can raise the amount of peas. Home made stock is always best but not always feasible. If you must use commercial stock select the highest quality that’s available and always use a low sodium variety so that you have more control over the amount of saltiness . I recommend eating this with a fresh greenmarket salad of watercress or radishes and with your feet dangling over the sides of a swimming pool.

 
I have admittedly been in a bit of a cookie-baking frenzy lately. I just can’t seem to help it! I’ll have some non-cookie recipes soon, but please indulge me while I have cookie brain this week travel mugs wholesale.

Not only does December make me want to bake cookies constantly, it also makes me want to break out all those great winter spices ageloc me. Sure, I use cinnamon year-round, but this time of year makes me want to add some nutmeg and allspice and cloves. Any one else have this compulsion?

The idea of spiced sugar cookies somehow got in my head and wouldn’t go away. So, I caved and got baking. I kinda veered off the traditional sugar cookie path, though, and added some cream cheese to make them a little tastier and fluffier.

These cookies may not look very exciting, but just bite into one and you’ll change your mind. It’s that magical crispy on the outside, soft on the inside kind of cookie. And, the flavor is just what I want in a holiday cookie!

If you’re in cookie-baking mode, too, find some inspiration among the cookie recipes here on BoB. Happy baking Singapore company formation!

Last week Gabrielle, a very dear friend of mine, who moved to New York a couple of years ago, visited me here in Mumbai. She always wanted to visit India, and since she’s getting married next month, she decided to make this a shopping cum holistic trip. After attending a months course at the yoga ashram in Kerala, she landed here to catch up with me and get some wedding shopping done. Since she already had her bridal jewellery sorted by her inlaws, she was keen on getting some beautiful info-western fusion wedding gowns. My sister makes the most beautiful wedding lenghas and gowns, and Gabby couldn’t ask for anything more. Actually she did – she asked me to bake for her!

Recently my inlaws travelled to Istanbul, and brought back gifts for everyone from their travels. Knowing what a hopeless foodie I am, they got me a KILO of Hazelnuts. Yup a whole kilo. How apt ! I was saving them for the right occasion and recipe, and luck favoured Gabby : its her favourite nut and I had plenty. Now I was torn between making rich sinful chocolate hazelnut brownies or plain hazelnut cookies. Knowing the brownies would be heavy on the calories I didn’t want her to gain those extra pounds before the big day, and yet I had to bake something a little more than just plain old cookies. So I picked Crinkle Cookies. Having made the regular chocolate crinkle cookies many times, ( which I’m wondering why I haven’t shared on the blog yet : I will do soon ) I knew are simply irresistible.

They are crispy on the outside but with a soft chewy centre and loaded with nuts.This is where a brownie meets a cookie, the best of both worlds. The recipe calls for a jar of Nutella and 2 cups of roasted hazelnuts. There is no need to add extra chocolate, as the Nutella is enough. I used this recipe, but I had to change it to my needs. A rule for baking cookies is always do a test batch first. Never blindly follow the recipe, as ovens differ and you may not want to risk all your cookies. Try baking one or two just to make sure you get it right, before you bake the whole batch. My first two batches resulted in black bottomed and hard cookies. So I kept the cookie batter in the fridge for a couple of more hours and baked them at a lower temperature for a few minutes longer. The result is in front of you. Bake them to believe me reenex facial.

Hazelnut Crinkle Cookies

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
? teaspoon salt
1 cups Nutella
4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1-1/3 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon instant coffee
1/3 cup milk
2 cups hazelnuts, toasted and finely chopped
1 cup powdered sugar

Combine the dry ingredients : flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, beat the Nutella, butter, and granulated sugar for about 2 minutes with an electric beater. Add the eggs, vanilla, coffee and mix until incorporated. Reduce the speed to low and alternate additions of flour mixture and milk, starting and ending with the flour, and mixing until just combined after each addition. Fold in ? cup of the chopped hazelnuts. Refrigerate the dough until firm, at least 2-4 hours. 8 hours worked best for me hong kong company setup.

Preheat oven to 160 C. Line your baking trays with baking paper. Place the remaining hazelnuts and the powdered sugar in two separate bowls. Take about a tablespoon of the mixture and roll the dough into balls, roll in the hazelnuts, then roll in the powdered sugar. Place the balls 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake until the edges are set and the middle still looks a little soft, about 13-15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. Just before serving, to jazz them up, drizzle with some Nutella.

Whether at the theater or on the couch at home, popcorn really is the ultimate movie food. It also happens to be super quick and easy to make, and friendly to a variety of different flavors, two qualities that make it a perfect last-minute Oscar party snack curly wigs.

Here are 13 of our favorite blissfully simple popcorn toppings. There's almost no cooking required, but these add-ons contribute tons of great flavor. If you're feeling more ambitious, go ahead and try some of the more involved recipes in our Popcorn Recipe Slideshow. And if you're not sure which kernels to pop, check out our taste test of the major popcorn brands.

Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper might seem obvious but a hearty helping of black pepper really amps up the popcorn bowl.

Donnie's Spice Mix is a homemade take on packaged spice mix. Not up for making your own? We like Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning.

Freshly grated Parmesan is obviously a good topping for just about anything, no questions asked.

Bragg Liquid Aminos once again proves its versatility by lending an unexpected umami edge to popcorn.

Hot sauce (use your favorite) is another one of those jack-of-all-trades condiments that offer an easy way to dress up popcorn.

Truffle oil gets a bad rap but it's pretty hard to deny how good it tastes on popcorn. Olive oil and truffle salt also work Natural stone.

Piment d'Espelette and Marcona Almonds add subtle heat and textural contrast to the popcorn bowl. If you can't find the ground French pepper, sub Hungarian hot paprika.

Japanese Furikake features seaweed, sesame seeds, salt, sugar, and sometimes, dried fish flakes; it gives popcorn a savory, salty, Asian spin.

Old Bay Seasoning, with its "world-famous blend of 18 herbs and spices," makes for instant crowd-pleaser popcorn.

Herb Butter takes a couple minutes of prep time (melt butter, add chopped herbs such as rosemary or sage, pour over popcorn, and toss to combine) but is ridiculously easy and rather sophisticated.

Coconut Oil and Lemon Zest is slightly unexpected but completely easy to like. Melt the coconut oil so it's easy to coat the popcorn and be sure to use freshly grated lemon zest.

Browned Butter, like the Parmesan mentioned above, is a no brainer. It is always, always a good idea.

Cinnamon-Sugar is just as satisfying on popcorn as it is on toast. Don't scrimp on the butter and sprinkle in a little salt to balance the sweet panamanian foundation.

For more Oscar night recipes and entertaining ideas, see our complete Oscar Party Planning Guide.

yield
Makes 4 (main course) servings

active time
1 hr

total time
2 hr
Tender, faintly bitter escarole gives a unique, delicious earthiness to this double-crust pizza, which stands apart from its traditional saucy brethren Cloud Hosting.
Ingredients

3 lb escarole (about 3 heads), tough outer ribs discarded and leaves thinly sliced (20 cups loosely packed)
1 lb pizza dough at room temperature
6 tablespoons olive oil
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
10 oz chilled Italian Fontina, coarsely grated (2 cups)

Special equipment: a 9-inch round metal cake pan (2 inches deep)

Preparation

Put oven rack in lowest position and preheat oven to 500°F. Lightly oil cake pan.

Cook escarole in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, until tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Drain in a colander, then immerse colander in a large bowl of ice water to stop cooking. Drain again and press gently to remove excess water scholar leaders. Transfer escarole to a large kitchen towel, then gather corners and twist tightly to wring out as much liquid as possible.

Cut off one third of dough (keep remaining dough covered with plastic wrap) and pat into cake pan, covering bottom. Brush with 1 tablespoon oil and prick all over with a fork. Bake until golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Let crust stand in pan on a rack.

Meanwhile, heat 1/4 cup oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté garlic, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 30 seconds. Add escarole, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and sauté, stirring, until escarole is coated with oil, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a large shallow bowl to cool slightly, about 15 minutes, then stir in cheese.

Spread escarole filling over crust in pan, leaving a 1/4-inch border around edge. Roll out remaining dough into a 10-inch round (on a lightly floured board if it sticks). Transfer to pan, covering filling and tucking edge under bottom crust to form a flat top and completely enclose filling (stretch dough if necessary). Press edges to seal. Brush top with remaining tablespoon oil and bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutesAluminum Windows.

Run a sharp thin knife around edge of pan. Invert a rack over pan and, wearing oven mitts and holding pan and rack firmly together, flip pizza onto rack. Turn pizza right side up and cool 15 minutes before serving. Slide pizza onto a cutting board and cut into wedges.

Cooks' notes: ·If you can't find Italian Fontina, substitute supermarket mozzarella (not fresh).
·Escarole can be washed, dried, and cut 1 day ahead and chilled in sealed plastic bags lined with dampened paper towels.