Chocolate Chip Cookies

Short but sweet: if you make them, they will come. That is: if you eat cookies, people will come...to eat them!!









Generously inspired by and adapted from the Tollhouse Cookie Recipe.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
a lot of chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350.

Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl.

Beat the butter and sugar in stand mixer on high until light and fluffy. It should take about 10 minutes; scrape the bowl several times.

Add the eggs one at a time while mixing slowly, just until incorporated. Add the vanilla.

Add the flour mixture in a few batches while the mixer is on low speed. When everything is incorporated, add the chips and mix with a spatula.

If the dough is really soft, chill in the refrigerator until slightly more solid. This way the cookies won't spread too much.

Drop about a tablespoon of dough on an ungrease cookie sheet. Fill the sheet with 12 dough balls. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until just golden brown. Do not overbake - the cookies will continue to cook for about a minute after they are removed from the oven.

Enjoy!!

Life Is Souper

The minute I exited the airport in Chicago, I smelled it. Diesel? No: Fall!

The scent of fall in the midwest is distinct. It's a swirl of fresh and musty, life and death, change encapsulated in an ephemeral whiff. Leaves darken and brighten, sleeves are supplemented with jackets, then scarves and hoods, the whole system preparing itself for the onslaught of freezing winter but celebrating with a big blast of color before it all turns white and gray.

Since it all must go back to food, I bring you my favorite harbinger of fall: soup. My mom bought all the ingredients for this minestrone and had them sitting on the counter when I walked in the door. This is my mom in a nutshell: "Welcome home! I love you! Now cook!" And gladly, with love, I eagerly grab her always-sharp knives and tear into the mountain of vegetables on the butcher block. That's another thing: making soup is a great way to vicariously hack away at whatever seems to deserve it.

Here's the recipe, to be doubled, tripled, or adapted at will. This makes about 6 quarts.

Minestrone Soup

6 Tablespoons olive oil
2 large leeks, thinly sliced, white and light green part only
4 carrots, chopped
2 zucchini, sliced in half lengthwise and then in slices
8 ounces green beans, halved
4 celery stalks, thinly sliced
12 cups vegetable stock (or chicken stock) (3 cardboard containers of, i.e., Pacific Brand)
2 14-ounce can chopped tomatoes (San Marzano, if you want the best flavor)
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
2 14-ounce can cannellini beans
1 cup macaroni (small elbows)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley, to garnish


1. Heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven or soup pot, add all the fresh vegetables and heat until sizzling. Cover the pan, lower the heat and sweat the vegetables for 15 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally.

2. Pour in the stock and add the tomatoes and herbs with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, replace the lid, then simmer gently for about 30 minutes

3. Add the beans with the can liquid, then the pasta. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Check the seasoning and serve with the Parmesan cheese and parsley