The other day I was getting ready to head over to my friend Jill’s house to watch a movie.  She’s a huge fan of cookies and red velvet, so I figured I should whip something up before I headed over (to eat cookies).  Since Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching, I wanted to try my hand at something a little festive and appropriate for the holiday.  These little guys fit the bill.  I took them over, still warm from the oven, and they were quickly and repeatedly snacked on.  Nothing beats good red velvet, right?

So, before you make this recipe, there are a few things you should know.  Some things that I may have had a few issues with.  But the end result turned out so good that I had to share them with you.

The cookie dough is VERY thick, so if you don’t happen to have an electric or (preferably) standing mixer, I would give these a pass.  The dough would probably be way too tough to combine by hand.  As far as the red food coloring goes, I used the standard Wilton red food coloring gel….but I had to use an awful lot of it (almost the entire larger vial) to get the cookies to turn a red shade.  Perhaps a liquid food coloring would work better with this recipe in the future (it might also help with the thickness of the cookie dough, too.)  When you are ready to bake them, flatten them down a little with your fingers or the back of a spoon-they are very cake-like and won’t flatten out like regular (less delicious) cookies.

The fact that Jill continues to talk about how delicious these cookies over a week later says a lot.  That’s music to my ears.

Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Servings: approximately 20 cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup cocoa powder

Red food coloring liquid or gel

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

2. In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and both sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

3. Add the food coloring gel or liquid until you reach the desired color.

4. Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and add the egg and vanilla, mixing well until combined.

5. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder, mixing until thoroughly combined.**I had to add  more food coloring gel at this point because the addition of the cocoa powder really changed the color.

6. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the white chocolate chips until incorporated.

7. Using a cookie dough scoop or a tablespoon, drop the dough into mounds about two inches apart from one another.  Lightly flatten each cookie dough mound with your fingers or the back of a spoon.

8. Bake until slightly golden and crisp around the edges, about 10-12 minutes.  Enjoy.

Source: Barely adapted from How Sweet It Is.

I’ve been waiting to post this one for a while now.  I didn’t want to let the cat out of the bag yet.

I don’t share all that much about my personal life on this blog.  It’s about the food for me.  But, I feel strongly about this one, so I figured I would share it with all of you, my friends through the internet.

Some of you may know that I had been traveling cross country the past few months, interviewing at several different places for my final, real, grown-up job.  Hectic?  Just a smidge.  After going through all this training (ahem, student loans galore….), I wanted to make the right decision when it came to finally settling down somewhere for a while.  Get my roots, you know?  And after some pretty extensive turmoil over the past four years or so of my life, I was ready to finally go ahead and get my big girl pants on….find a job…negotiate a contract…uproot myself (again) on my own (with a package deal of one fat orange cat, one petite and prissy black cat, and one lovable, sweet sweet boxer..) and start the next phase of my life.

And, so I did.  I’m moving to Milwaukee, friends!  So, starting in July, expect a lot more recipes that call for beer and/or cheese.  I’m going to a great practice with great people, and I will get to do my dream job…everyday.  It’s rare that opportunities like this come up for people in my field, so I am running with one.

To celebrate, I wanted to share a recipe with cheese.  Lots of it.  Something comforting.  Something rewarding.  I indulged at the market with the truffle oil.  I had passed by the white truffle oils several times, giving them a sideways glance and wondering what all the fuss was about.  And, as in fuss, I mean a small bottle costing nearly $20.  My grocery bills are exorbitant enough for one person (I mean, sometimes it’s seriously embarrassing with the amount of food I bring home..for one person.) so I never went for it.  But, with the contract officially signed and sent off now, I figured I should celebrate.  So I bought the big bottle.  Big girl (fancy) pants, right?

A few things about this recipe: I think I may have used a little too much truffle oil, so I am tweaking the recipe here for you.  The flavor is great..it’s a little hard to describe: earthy, savory, a little salty…but definitely fancy.  I also used Dijon mustard in the original recipe, but I would also omit this as well the next time I make this (so I omitted it for you here). The cheese combination melted beautifully.  I used the panko because I prefer that over bread crumbs any day, but feel free to use whatever topping you like.  I decided to broil the mac and cheese instead of baking it because I prefer the texture of a creamy stove-top-like one over a baked version.

And so what did I do?  I poured myself a nice glass of wine, made a side salad, ate something totally unhealthy for dessert, and enjoyed this fancy-pants mac and cheese to celebrate my new transition into being a grown-up.

White Truffle Macaroni and Cheese

Servings: approximately 8

Ingredients

1 cup panko

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1-2 tablespoons white truffle oil (to taste)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons flour

2 cups half and half

8 ounces white cheddar cheese, grated

8 ounces Fontina cheese, grated

Salt and pepper, to taste

8 ounces elbow macaroni (or your personal favorite type of pasta)

Green onions, chopped, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees (this is considered broiling).  Generously spray a 2.5-quart casserole dish with cooking spray.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the panko, Parmesan and 1 tablespoon white truffle oil (if using less white truffle oil overall, use about 1/2 tablespoon here), mixing until combined.

3. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. (If you are short on time, it might be helpful at this point to get your water boiling for the macaroni.)

4. Add the flour and whisk continuously until the mixture forms a thick paste, about a minute or so.

5. Slowly whisk in the half and half until smooth (some lumps may remain-that’s ok).

6. Bring the mixture to a simmer and let cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes.

7. Using a wooden spoon, slowly add the cheeses and stir until completely melted.

8. Add the remaining truffle oil and salt and pepper, to taste.

9. Meanwhile, cook the macaroni as directed on the package.  Once cooked, drain the pasta and add it to the cheese sauce.

10.  Evenly distribute the macaroni into the prepared casserole dish and top with the panko mixture.

11.  Broil until the panko topping is lightly golden, about 3-4 minutes.  (Watch it carefully so that it doesn’t burn!)  Top with green onions (if using) and serve immediately.

Source:  Adapted from Leites Culinaria.

If you are familiar with the food blogging world, then you have had to have seen these little bites making their way around the blogosphere.  Genius, I have to say.  A genius appetizer for the health-conscious.  Super Bowl, anyone?  Anyways, the first time I saw these was on Pinterest, then the food photography websites, and I knew I would be adding them to my ever-growing list of “must-dos”.

I’ve already talked about the health benefits of quinoa from one of my favorite blog posts of all time (check it out!), so I don’t need to repeat myself there.  But if you’ve got a box or bag of quinoa on hand, some leftover veggies to get rid of, and maybe a little bit of cheese on hand, then you’ve got an easy, savory, and bite-sized appetizer ready in less than 20 minutes.

I had ironically made quinoa for a little veggie dish the night before and was wondering what to do with the leftovers.  I had cooked way too much of the stuff in order to get rid of the box and make room in my pantry, so I had exactly 2 cups of cooked quinoa ready to go.  I had a few random carrots, some fresh spinach, and some shallot on hand, too.  The beauty of this recipe is its versatility in what you can add into it.  Peas?  Maybe.  Corn?  Probably.  Kale? Hopefully.  I just tossed the veggies in my food processor and was good to go.  And, as far as cheese goes, I added in some sharp cheddar in because I was out of Parmesan.  As long as you can bind it all together with those eggs, I say add as many veggies in as possible.

For serving, I dipped them in Ranch dressing.  Probably not the healthiest, but, since Ranch is my kryptonite, I couldn’t resist.  You can forgo the dipping sauce by adding in some additional spices to add to the flavor content.

In my opinion, these are best straight from the oven.  When I reheated them in the microwave, they were a bit soggy for my taste (I was too impatient to try re-heating them in the oven.), but they were still flavorful and satisfying.

Here’s to our health.  And the Super Bowl.

Cheese and Vegetable Quinoa Bites

Servings: 24 bites

Ingredients

2 cups cooked quinoa

2 large eggs

3 carrots, shredded

1 and 1/2 cups fresh spinach, chopped

1 medium shallot, chopped

2 teaspoons garlic

4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated **Or, to your liking

2 tablespoons flour

Sea salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Lightly spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray.

3. In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients together, mixing until thoroughly combined.

4. Using a melon baller or a tablespoon, place rounded drops of the mixture into each cup of the muffin pan, pressing each one down lightly with your fingers to make sure that each one is firmly packed.

5. Bake until lightly golden, about 15-20 minutes.

6. Serve immediately.

Source:  Adapted from So Very Blessed.