No matter what store you buy cookies in, most of you will probably agree that home-made cookies are the best. Today I went out and purchased Ginger Snap cookies thinking that they would taste at least somewhat remotely to how I make them. When I opened the bag, and tried a cookie, I thought to myself this cookie is gross! Not to mention the chemicals and preservatives added in.

Today guest writer Silvercube is here to tell you about making delicious ginger snap cookies. What are wonderful about these cookies is that they are known to stay fresh longer, and do not require the time to make them into shapes, as you would with gingerbread cookies.

An interesting “did you know” fact: According to many health experts, ginger is good for you. In an article written by Gloria Tsang, RD – she explains: “Ginger is a common spice known for its “stimulating carminative” property throughout the world, especially in Asia. We can cook it in hot dish for its pungent flavor, or eat it raw like the raw ginger marinated with vinegar in Japanese cuisine. Because of its action on promoting gastrointestinal circulation, significant evidence has been brought up of the usefulness of ginger against motion sickness, nausea and vomiting.”

So for those on business trips who get sick on the plane, or if you are on a cruise ship- or even just every day life- bring some home-made ginger snap cookies with you, because not only do they taste good but they make you feel good.

Anyways, one thing interesting you will find with my recipes is that they contain all kosher ingredients. That’s right, there will be no mention of miss piggy in my recipes. I have personally tried this recipe, and usually make them in a convection oven. So let’s begin! Let me know how they turn out, Enjoy!

Ginger Snaps [Silvercube Style]

◊ Ingredients:

* 3/4 cup shortening
* 1-cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
* 1 egg
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 4 Tbsp molasses
* 1 Tbsp water
* 2 1/3 cups flour
* 2 tsp baking soda
* 1/2 tsp ground cloves
* 1 tsp ground cinnamon
* 1 tsp ground ginger

◊ Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream together shortening and brown sugar until well mixed – light, and fluffy.
3. Beat together well the egg, salt, and molasses and then mix them with above mixture.
4. Sift together flour, baking soda, ground cloves, cinnamon and ginger.
5. Add dry ingredients to first wet mixture and combine well.
6. Chill in the refrigerator a few hours or overnight.
7. After chilled, shape dough into balls about walnut sized and place balls on a greased cookie sheet, allowing room for expansion. Flatten balls with a fork.
8. Bake in 350-degree oven 12 to 15 min. Do not let get too brown.
(I usually bake them for about 11 minutes- I like them more chewy)

Servings: About 6 dozen (72 cookies)

For a few variations, you can substitute water for milk, and have a little bit of dairy in your snap. Try experimenting with time to get your desired texture- I prefer 10-11 minutes because I like them more chewy. They can last up to about two weeks if stored properly in an airtight container. You can always freeze some and save them for later.

 For the past week starting January 1st., I started eating all Japanese food, from sashimi, white rice, miso soup, tofu etc… and limiting my red meat intake. I gotta tell ya, I’ve been feelin’ pretty good! I’ve also been reading Naomi Moriyama’s: Japanese Women Don’t Get Old or Fat: Secrets of My Mother’s Tokyo Kitchen which is an excellent book if you’re “turnin’ Japanese”

Sushi making isn’t as complicated as everyone would think. All you need is rice, some few good pieces of raw tuna or salmon or whatever fish you prefer, cucumber, nori wraps or sea weed strips, soy sauce and wasabi and you’ve got yourself your own sushi bar…and for the fraction of the cost of what these things actually would cost in Japanese Restaurants…yeouch!

So for people who are too squirmish to eat raw fish…Try making fried Octopus Balls or Takoyaki. Since I live in a place where nothing interesting ever happens, I tried substituting it with squid instead. Seriously…my area, too many rich people that would barf if they see squid or octopus tentacles…ugh!

So here’s the recipe…enjoy and tell me what you think!

 Fried Octopus Balls (Takoyaki)

Ingredients:

[Batter]:

• 2 1/2 cup dashi soup (or fish stock)
• 15g powdered katsuo-bushi (shaved dried bonito)
• 1 cup flour
• 2 eggs

[Sauce]:

• commercial takoyaki sauce
• or worcestershire sauce
• or mayonnaise (Best Foods or Hellman’s)

 I should update this often from now on… I promise!

 Prepare to see some weird and wacky recipes, articles and everything food.

 This is from another blog I saw online as seen here. How cool is this cake?!

How about this Gears Of War cake I found online from this blog

And this DS cake found in this blog

And the best one… a PS3 cake in the Wired.com blog site

How’s that for a yummy treat?!

Click here to learn more about Chef Symon

I didn’t watch most of the episodes and never really got to see how and who were eliminated first because I thought the show was a bit dry. Then again I think it’s just me who thought so. I didn’t want to sit through all the episodes on Sunday when Food Network played an entire Marathon of “The next Iron Chef” and just waited until the actual final elimination. Since the begining I always thought Chef Michael Symon was going to win this, he has always executed his food beautifuly since the start of the show. And he has this more laid back personality to him which I think the judges loved. I was really happy to see him win the Next Iron Chef match because I think he would bring some flare into the Iron Chef stage.

Eliminated during the first five episodes of the six-week series were fellow CIA graduate Jill Davie ’96, Chris Cosentino, Traci Des Jardins, Gavin Kaysen, Morou Ouattara, and Aaron Sanchez. Symon, 38, is the executive chef/owner of Lola and Lolita restaurants in Cleveland. He will join Cora, Flay and Morimoto as an Iron Chef on “Iron Chef America.”

from PoughkeepsieJournal.com

I also found out, or it might be a Food Network rumor that Chef Mario Batalli may not return on the shows future episodes which I’m really upset about because He is one of my favorite Iron Chefs along with Chef Morimoto, one of the original Iron Chef in Japan.

Now I can’t wait to watch Chef Symon’s matches in the show, I’m sure he’ll bring a new twist to the show’s already eclectic line-up of Chefs.

To learn more about the show and learn more about these masters of cooking, go to foodnetwork.com/ironchefamerica

1/4 cup Sweet chili Sauce
1 tbsp Tomato Ketchup
1 tsp Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce
2 cloves Garlic, minced
2 tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 tsp. Brown Sugar
Medium size Bamboo skewers (about 25 pcs) submerged in water for about 30 mins.
Cilantro to garnish

Directions:
To make the sauce, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Add the chicken pieces to the sauce and stir to coat thoroughly. Transfer them to a roasting pan and arrange in a single layer. Let sit in the refrigirator for about 25-30 minutes to marinate. While waiting, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Transfer the roasting pan to the oven and cook the chicken for 20 minutes, or until cooked through and sticky. Garnish with cilantro.

To make Tzatziki sauce:

2 1/2 cups plain yogurt
4 Garlic cloves chopped finely
2 medium Cucumbers, peeled, seeded and very finely diced
1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 tbsp Lemon Juice
Salt and Pepper to taste
Paprika to garnish

Place all ingredients in a serving bowl and stir together until well combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

5-7 skinless boneless chicken breast, cut in about 1/2 inch thick and cubed (I will be making them pretty small so 5-7 will do)
1/4 cup Cilantro, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic, minced
3 tsp Lemon (use more or less depending on your taste)
25 medium sized bamboo skewers (submerged in water for about 30 mins before cooking chicken)
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and add chicken. Refrigerate the chicken for a couple of hours to marinate. Once done marinating, preheat oven to 375 degrees, place chicken in skewers and place in oven for about 20-25 minutes or until golden.

I love Paninis! They’re just like your ordinary sandwiches, but jazzed up in so many different ways. From kids grilled cheese panini sandwiches, to Atcihokes and prosciutto with balsamic vinaigrette (fancy huh?) panini sanwiches. The possibilities are endless!

1 roll of Chiabatta bread

2-3 slises of Mozarella Cheese

Few slices of Turkey Breast (or your choice of deli meat)

1/2 tomato sliced very thinly

a handful of Arugula leaves, the somewhat bitter taste give it that extra kick in the sandwich.

For the Spread:

4-5 fresh Basil leaves

2 cloves of Garlic

2 tsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tbsp of Lite Mayo

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Make the Garlic Basil spread first by using your food processor or blender to blend all the ingredients together and set aside to allow the flavors to marinade a bit. Heat up your Panini Grill or any grill pan. Cut Chiabatta bread lenghtwise and spread your Garlic Basil spread on both sides of the bread. Add theTurkey Breast, Arugula, Tomatoes and Mozarella cheese. Place Chiabatta sandwich on the grill press or your panini grill. Place a heavy pot over your sandwich so it flattens out you can do this if you do not have a panini grill. Hold down for about 6-8 minutes or until golden brown on one side. Repeat this on the other side of the sandwich… and voila!! You have this delicious restaurant style Panini Sandwich! Enjoy!!

1 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 egg yolks

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp Lime juice

1 tbsp Dijon Mustard

1 tbsp Chopped fresh tarragon

Salt and Pepper

DirectionsMake sure all ingredients are at room temparature. Place garlic and egg yolks in a food processor or blender and process until well blended. With the motor running, pour in the oil, teaspoon by teaspoon through the feeder tube until the mixture starts to thicken, then pour the remaining oil in a thin stream until a thick mayonaisse forms.  Add the lemon and lime juices, mustard and tarragon and season to taste with salt and pepper. Blend until smooth, then transfer to a nonmetallic bowl. Garnish with a tarragon sprig. Cover with a plastic wrap and let chill until ready to serve. This serves about 4.

I’ve always wanted to try making Stroganoff and replace the usual Beef and use pork loin instead to be on the healthy side a bit.

1 tbsp vegetable oil

12 oz/350 g lean poik fillet cut into 1/2 inch/1-cm thick slices

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tbsp all purpose flour

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 cup chicken or vegetable stock

2 cups sliced  mushrooms

4 tbsp lowfat natural yogurt (plus extra to serve)

Directions

Heat oil in a large pan, Add the pork, onion and garlic and gently cook for about 4-5 minutes or until they are lightly browned. Add teh flour and tomato paste, then pour in the stick and stir until mixed thoroughly. Add mushrooms, season to taste and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, then cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes or until pork is tender and cooked thorouhly. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the yogurt. Serve pork and sauce on a bed of rice and sprinkle some chopped parsley with an extra spoonful of yogurt. Serves about 4.

This is about 220 Calories and a very yummy dish!