Tuna Salad

I have a pretty pathetic confession to make about this tuna salad. Between us, Spice and I have literally gone through almost 6 batches of this in a week. How is this possible, you may ask? This tuna salad is THAT good! Even if you're not a huge fan of tuna, even if you don't like salad, even if you don't want to go to the grocery store, GET OVER IT AND MAKE THIS TUNA SALAD!

I started off eating this on toast, graduated to eating it with crackers and now I sheepishly eat it off a spoon, directly from the Tupperware container. Any of the above ways you choose to eat this stuff, I promise you it will be delicious.

Tuna Salad
Eating, Etc.

1 6-oz can tuna in olive oil, undrained
1/3 cup small curd cottage cheese
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 cup purple onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 tablespoon capers, drained (I can't find capers at my grocery store, so I've been leaving it out)
Juice of half a lemon
pinch or two of dill weed
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup fresh cilantro

Mix the first 10 ingredients together. It's that easy.

Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats

First things first: I had three of the weirdest dreams last night. I used to be the queen of strange dreams, but I haven't had too many weird ones since I graduated from college. I thought I had grown out of it. Apparently not. I'm telling you this in case you have an idea as to what any of these mean. The first one was at my parents' house and a Native American outside who was strategically trying to get in and kill us, although my dad didn't seem to think so until the very end of the dream. The second one involved a missing coffee maker and our downstairs neighbor standing in our bathroom. The third one I was in a lab of some kind looking for my brother. We were both teethless and sat down to play cards.

Stop looking at me like that! I told you, they were WEIRD! Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Onward to the food! I am obsessed with rice crispy treats. In high school, my friend's mother would make us a batch of them and literally cut it in half for us to eat. Ah, good times. What's so special about these, you may ask? Butter. Both in quantity and preparedness. These are literally just rice crispy treats with an extra punch of browned butter. Awesome!

Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats
Smitten Kitchen

1 stick unsalted butter
1 10-oz bag marshmallows
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal

Coat an 8-inch square pan with cooking spray.

In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden, then start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently.

As soon as the butter turns a nutty color, turn off the heat and add the marshmallows. If the butter does not melt them, turn the heat on low.

Remove from stove and stir in the salt and cereal together. Spread into prepared pan and let cool.

Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

I received Martha Stewart's "Cookies" recipe book for Christmas this year. I have to say I took the cookbook on the plane with me and successfully leafed through the thing for almost 6 hours. That's skill, let me tell ya!

I carefully selected this cookie to begin my journey through the cookbook. Excellent choice. I LOVE them! It is a bit startling at first, because you're kind of like "It's a chocolate cookie...but there's another flavor niblet in there!" Meet gingerbread. Gingerbread, meet eater.

I love both chocolate (duh) and gingerbread, so I really like these. I don't think either of my roommates love them, though. So, maybe they're not for everyone. But they sure are for me! Go Martha!

Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
Martha Stewart's "Cookies" Book

7-ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Line two baking sheets with parchment. Chop chocolate into 1/4-inch chunks; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and grated ginger until whitened, about 4 minutes. Add brown sugar; beat until combined. Add molasses; beat until combined.

In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water. Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture. Beat in baking-soda mixture, then remaining half of flour mixture. Mix in chocolate; turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pat dough out to about 1 inch thick; seal with wrap; refrigerate until firm, 2 hours or more.

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Roll dough into 1 1/2- inch balls; place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Roll in granulated sugar. Bake until the surfaces crack slightly, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Southwestern Cheese Dip

When I was in high school, my family and I frequented a restaurant called Santa Fe Cafe that served Southwestern food, which I apparently love based on this restaurant. We would always get the same thing: the cheese dip appetizer and the cheese enchiladas. The enchiladas were on a level all their own. They were literally a bowl of cheesy, spicy and enchilada-y goodness.

The cheese dip was its own beast. It was so good, I just wanted to go swim in a vat of it. My Stepmom and I decided we had to try to recreate it at home. Hence this recipe. This stuff is so processed its out of control, but if you can forget about that little tidbit of information, you will fall in love with this dip.

Spice and I started a monthly tradition of nachos at our apartment. We've only had one night of this routine (in which we ate an entire bag of Tostitos...ooops!), but next time I will surely be making this.

Southwestern Cheese Dip

1 lb. Velveeta
1/4 teaspoon red cayenne pepper
1 4-oz can chopped green chili's with juice
1/2 4-oz can chopped jalapeño chili's with juice
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup sour cream
1 tomato, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped, sauteed onion

Heat all ingredients in a saucepan, stirring constantly, until bubbly. Serve with nacho chips.

Maple Walnut Fudge

I got a new camera for Christmas! I took that picture! Isn't that just a kick in the pants?!

I'm not at all excited about this new turn of events =)

I made this fudge as a Christmas present for my Dad. His favorite ice cream is a maple walnut that he gets somewhere specific that I can't think of off the top of my head. So I figured some fudge (which he loves) of the same flavor would be a welcomed addition to the holiday sweets piled in the refrigerator. 

I think Dad really liked this. I thought it was great, but it definitely was over-shadowed by the penuche fudge that wouldn't stay out of my mind or my mouth. Pesky fudge... 

Oh! And Happy New Year! 2010...moving up in the world!

Maple Walnut Fudge

All-recipes

2 tablespoons butter

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups miniature marshmallows

1 12-ounce package real white chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 1/2 teaspoons maple flavored extract

Line a 9 by 13 inch baking pan with foil.

Combine butter, evaporated milk, sugar and salt in medium, heavy-duty saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly, over medium heat. Boil for 4 1/2- 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Stir in marshmallows, white chocolate chips, nuts and maple flavoring. Stir for 1 minutes or until marshmallows are melted. Pour into prepared baking pan. Refrigerate until firm.