At my mother's memorial service, I told a story that really painted a picture of my mom. She enjoyed cooking (although sometimes - as the cook in chief - she grew tired of her obligations), and particularly liked one dish meals. One such recipe, from a cookbook titled "That Amazing Ingredient, Mayonnaise", was tuna quiche.
Now before you close this window, I must tell you that my mother's tuna quiche was really quite good, even if it was made with the amazing ingredient quoted in the title of her cookbook. A friend raised by a Parisian baker once agreed to taste it, and although she would not allow that it was worthy of the name "quiche", she did concede that it was quite delicious.
But here's the thing about my mother: since the recipe said tuna and scallions, tuna and scallions it was. Every. Single. Time. No ham, no mushrooms, no broccoli. No cheddar cheese, only swiss. No crustless quiche. Because the recipe said so.
In this regard, my mother and I have little in common; I love to mix it up. If I really like a dish, I might make it 5 or 6 times a year, but even then, I usually change up the recipe depending on how I feel and what I have on hand. Looking through my cupboards last night, I was not pleased with the amount of half-consumed snack food I found, so I decided to throw it all into chocolate chip cookie batter. Here is what I added to a 1/2 recipe of New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies:
3/4 cup of "Wholesome Medly" trailmix of uncertain vintage
1 peanut butter and dark chocolate Kind bar, crumbled
12 stale marshmallows, cut in fourths
5 oz. chopped belgian white chocolate
Might I add that I finished each of these unloved ingredients? With my son away at school, finishing snack food is a win.
Now before you close this window, I must tell you that my mother's tuna quiche was really quite good, even if it was made with the amazing ingredient quoted in the title of her cookbook. A friend raised by a Parisian baker once agreed to taste it, and although she would not allow that it was worthy of the name "quiche", she did concede that it was quite delicious.
But here's the thing about my mother: since the recipe said tuna and scallions, tuna and scallions it was. Every. Single. Time. No ham, no mushrooms, no broccoli. No cheddar cheese, only swiss. No crustless quiche. Because the recipe said so.
In this regard, my mother and I have little in common; I love to mix it up. If I really like a dish, I might make it 5 or 6 times a year, but even then, I usually change up the recipe depending on how I feel and what I have on hand. Looking through my cupboards last night, I was not pleased with the amount of half-consumed snack food I found, so I decided to throw it all into chocolate chip cookie batter. Here is what I added to a 1/2 recipe of New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies:
3/4 cup of "Wholesome Medly" trailmix of uncertain vintage
1 peanut butter and dark chocolate Kind bar, crumbled
12 stale marshmallows, cut in fourths
5 oz. chopped belgian white chocolate
Might I add that I finished each of these unloved ingredients? With my son away at school, finishing snack food is a win.
Other fun cookie adds might include leftover cocktail peanuts, broken potato chips or pretzels, any small amounts of leftover chocolate/pb/white/mint etc. chips in your freezer or pantry, crushed graham crackers, rainbow sprinkles, crushed candy canes or a handful of kalmata olives.
Just kidding about the olives. Please don't add the olives.
As you can see, the cookies turned out pretty well. The marshmallows browned and puffed up in some cases, but the they tasted delicious!
Just kidding about the olives. Please don't add the olives.
As you can see, the cookies turned out pretty well. The marshmallows browned and puffed up in some cases, but the they tasted delicious!
The full cookie recipe calls for 3-1/2 cups of chips, or about 20 ounces. To mix it up, leave out the chips and add 3-1/2 cups of whatever you like (I added about 2 cups to 1/2 recipe of the batter, but the marshmallows were rather large).
If you'd like to try mixing up your chocolate chip cookies, here's the New York Times chocolate chip cookie recipe. And if you're willing to share, I'd love to hear what you added...as long as it's not olives...or tuna.
If you would like to see my recipes, tips and adventures in cooking every week go to www.ucancook.net and enter your email on the right side. Alternatively, email me at [email protected] and I will set you up! For even more tips and techniques, follow You Can Cook on Facebook.
If you'd like to try mixing up your chocolate chip cookies, here's the New York Times chocolate chip cookie recipe. And if you're willing to share, I'd love to hear what you added...as long as it's not olives...or tuna.
If you would like to see my recipes, tips and adventures in cooking every week go to www.ucancook.net and enter your email on the right side. Alternatively, email me at [email protected] and I will set you up! For even more tips and techniques, follow You Can Cook on Facebook.
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