Archive for January, 2011

Bacon & Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies With Maple Cinnamon Glaze

 


Yield: 2 dozen
Serves: 2 people

COOKIES:

  • 3/4 cup butter 
  • 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon hazelnut OR almond extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup white chocolate chips
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips
  • 2 lbs high quality bacon, cooked and crumbled (about 2 cups)
  • 1/2 lb high quality bacon, cooked in whole strips


MAPLE GLAZE:

  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon maple extract 
  • Splash of shagbark hickory syrup (OPTIONAL) 
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon


DIRECTIONS:

  1. In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugars, extracts and eggs. In another bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir together.
  2. Dough will be slightly soft. If you want a more cake-like cookie, add another 1/2 cup of flour. Mix in chocolate chips and crumbled bacon. Stir until well integrated.
  3. Place dough in refrigerator and let rest 1 hour.
  4. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  5. Remove dough from fridge. Roll 2 tablespoons worth of dough into ball. Set dough balls about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten dough balls slightly with your fingers. Bake about 10 minutes, or until the dough starts to turn golden brown. Allow cookies to cool on cooling rack while you make the glaze.
  6. Maple-Cinnamon Glaze: Mix 2 cups powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon maple extract, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, shagbark syrup and ½ teaspoon cinnamon with enough water to make a thick glaze, about 3 tablespoons. Wisk all ingredients together until smooth and creamy.
  7. Spread a small amount of glaze on top of each cooled cookie and top with a small piece (1 inch) of crisp bacon.
  8. Sneak off to couch with platter of cookies, watch episodes of 80′s sitcoms (they go especially well for some reason with Punky Brewster or Alf) and enjoy.

Farm Bloomington – Bloomington, Indiana

108 East Kirkwood, Bloomington, IN 47408 • (877) 440-FARM

 

 

 

 

ANY CHEF THAT MAKES SPOONS OUT OF COOKIES IS ALL RIGHT BY ME

What a quirky place. It’s one of those wonderful places that knows who it is, where it is and what it’s doing philosophically while backing up the whole thing with deliciously flavorful food and great service. What seems at first sight as a quaint tearoom / antique mall / run-for-the-hills-the-food-here-is-all-about-chicken-salad kinda place quickly gives way to a funky industrial warehouse whimsy that immediately makes me think something interesting is going on here.

FARMBloomington is the socially-conscious, green-minded, locally produced food brain child of Indiana native chef Daniel Orr. The low-brow menu consists of down home comfort foods brought up to culinary scratch with playful ingredients and worldly flavors; Seared scallops with red curried cauliflower and chili vinegar…Waygu beef hamburger with sunny side up duck egg and wasabi mustard…and a customer favorite of minty green pea guacamole. The gourmet pizzas are rustic (and outstanding) as are the FARMfamous Garlic Fries…yes…I said garlic fries.

The FARMbar is also outstanding. A full selection of luxury bourbons and single malts line the indiana small town turned rock and roll bar ledge. The service is friendly and fun and you immediately sense from the diversity and educated tone of the staff and customers that you are in a university town.

Farm Bloomington will serve me well as a nice long drive reward from downtown Indy or a lazy day pit stop on the way back home from Brown County. Sunday nights are reserved for the sous chefs to shine (and give the regular chefs the night off) and the menu and crowds are pared down.

Buying a copy of the FARMfood, the green living book by Chef Orr, I was tickled to see not only a large selection of spice combinations and sauce recipes but also a list of preferred cooking preparations for Hoosier game ranging from Oppossum, Raccoon, Groundhog, Squirrel and Turtle. Hey…keeping local food tradition alive isn’t always pretty (though I bet oppossum is good).

Check out Chef Daniel Orr’s FARMBloomington Blog by clicking here 

 

Farm Bloomington on Urbanspoon

Recess – Indianapolis, Indiana

4907 N College, Indianapolis, IN 46205 • (317) 925-PLAY

 

 

 

BEST RESTAURANT IN TOWN

What’s there to say about the food … that it comes from local celebrity chef Greg Hardesty means its thoughtful seasonal food that is beautifully cooked with a interesting point of view. I was so angry at this town after the close of Elements where I first became a monthly fan of his kitchen creations. Now I breathe a little easier knowing there is once again a restaurant in town I don’t have to apologize for and a place I can call my own whenever I need something special.

The single meal concept culinary trend…or should I say culinary reaction… is a deliberate answer to the massive over abundance of choice, forcing fresh and anything you want when you want it tradition this country nurtured through the last 15 years. Its’ the best result of a chef-owned restaurant. Amen to that.

The $52 per person price tag (varies per menu day of course) for a three course meal keeps the quality high and the place mostly filled with business dinners during the week and empty nesters and younger foodies on the weekends.

Great news article link here from IBJ on the restaurants success…great videos of Hardesty talking about the struggles and rewards of this venture….plus a little more info about his upcoming casual next door restaurant Rm. 4 which plans on serving tasty short-order comfort food.

Recess on Urbanspoon