Mother's Day Cookies

Yeah, I know I haven't had much to say lately. I've been too busy for either cooking or eating out, so I've been relegated to posting about local happenings that I'm too busy to attend anyway.

I took a break this afternoon to take part in that most manly of Sunday activities: baking cookies. I had wanted to make a batch of pignoli cookies from a recipe my father provided, but once I started thinking about it, I realized that what I really wanted was chocolate chip.

I use a slight variation of the basic Toll House recipe for my cookies. The only real difference is that I swap out half the baking soda for baking powder and melt the butter prior to adding it to the sugar and vanilla. I also make sure to chill the dough before baking it so that it spreads more slowly in the oven. Oh, and I used Ghirardelli chocolate chips because they looked good and the package was shiny and I like shiny things.

CHF Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

2 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 c sugar
3/4 c brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c (two sticks) butter, melted
Most of 1 bag of Ghirardelli chocolate chips. I use about 2/3rds of the bag and munch on the rest because I'm greedy and piggish.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In a stand mixer (or mixing bowl), combine sugar and vanilla. Begin mixing at the lowest speed and slowly pour in the melted butter. Mix until creamy. Slowly add in the flour mixture, alowing it to combine as it mixes. Once the dough is completely combined, add in the chocolate chips and mix until combined evenly. Chill the dough in the fridge for about half an hour.

Using a tablespoon, ball the dough onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

That's it. Quick, easy, and awesome.

Happy Mother's Day!

Square Root Cafe Art Exhibit

Thanks to Myrtle Minutes for letting me know that Square Root Cafe is currently exhibiting the works of artist Katharine Sandalls. It's a great reason to stop in and try the place out if you haven't yet. We enjoyed the fare when we were there for their opening.

Information:

Square Root Cafe
584 Myrtle Avenue
718.230.7077
www.squarerootcafe.com

Google Map

New Fort Greene Restaurant

Easy Being Greene points me in the direction of a NYMag tidbit about a new restaurant coming to the Fort soon.

Former Perry Street sous-chef Tyler Kord describes his concept as “New American, with a little Hungarian, some Korean, and a bit of Wisconsin thrown in.”

Sounds interesting, to say the least. The same site has a little rundown on some of the best tender vittles to be had at the Brooklyn Flea.

Outdoor Eateries

It's full-on spring in the 'hood, and the cats over at Brooklyn Based have a great piece up on some of the best places to eat and drink in Brooklyn while sitting outside. Specifically:

Red Bamboo, Chez Oscar, Sushi D, corner Adelphi and DeKalb, Fort Greene

When this corner is jam-packed with outdoor diners, you know it’s spring. For drinks only, try Red Bamboo’s shaded front patio.

I've never been a huge fan of Sushi D, but it's not awful, and I do like Red Bamboo and Chez Oscar a whole lot. Our new favorite watering hole, Rustik, has an outdoor seating area out back that's been great since the weather got nice.

What are your favorite places to eat, drink, and get some sun?

Kif

I never actually got a chance to go into Liquors before it closed, so I'm not among the apparently large contingent of Clinton Hillers who mourned its passing. It's nice to have the space finally filled with someone interesting, though, an interesting Moroccan place called Kif. Feeling like something new, we gave it a try the other night.

It's a pretty small space, but there's a nice open area out back and since the weather was nice, that's where we decided to sit. The decor in the garden could use some work, really. More little plants and trees would help, and music that's appropriate to theme would be welcome. Listening to Top 40 Latin hits wasn't quite what I was looking for. It's a minor issue, though. There's a big hookah out there, although it wasn't in use while we were there.

Kif's got a sparse but interesting cocktail menu, and on weeknights they offer 2 for 1 drink from 5-7, and they don't restrict you to the bar, which is nice. Mick got one of the drinks, something with rum and juice and a cherry - I can't remember the name of it, for the life of me. SOmething to do with a harem, I think. It was pretty good.

To start, I had a very basic dish of pita bread with oil. It was very good, but I felt like this should be provided to every table as a matter of course. It was only a buck, but come on.

Mick got something much more interesting: spinach and goat cheese "cigars," deep fried and served with sour cream. These were outstanding and might have been the best thing we tasted all night. If you like goat cheese, don't pass these up.

For my entree, I had the seared salmon with peppers and chic peas. It's tough to screw up salmon, and thankfully they didn't. I would have liked the whole thing to be a bit spicier, but it was definitely good and I'd order it again.

Mick got the cous cous with seven vegetables, which as far as we could tell was a bit of a misnomer. We only counted six vegetables, but one of the condiments provided was a little bowl of sweet onions, so maybe that counts? I think thats like counting ketchup as a vegetable, frankly. In any event, the dish was good, although it's a big portion and she was a bit bored of cous cous by the end.

Kif's a fun little addition to the neighborhood, and it's definitely worth trying. The menu isn't particularly expansive, but we liked what we had. If anything, the fruity cocktails are worth it for happy hour during the week.

Information:

Kif
219 Dekalb Ave
718.852.7273

Google Map

Have a Drink at Tamboril...Finally!

Tamboril finally got their liquor license, and they want to celebrate:

A night of cocktails as we unveil our cocktail menu. The menu features nuevo latino inspired martinis to timeless classics such as the sidecar. Best of all enjoy our mojito or a caribbean cosmo.

The celebration begins at 5:30pm with a happy hour until 7:30pm

…it’s gonna be a cocktail affair…enjoy your social experience

April 26th, 2008

RSVP info@tamborilnyc.com

I'm a fan of this place but haven't frequented it much because I'm also a fan of a drink with dinner. Glad to hear they finally got that sorted out - the food is pretty great.

Information:

Tamboril
527 Myrtle Ave
718.622.5130

Google Map

I Haven't Been to Kif...

...but Clinton Hill Blog has. They seemed to like it. It's up there on my list of places to try as soon as I have more than twenty free minutes in a single stretch.

Edit: This post is now a lie, as I have been to Kif.