Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie

We’ve had snow. We’ve had rain. We’ve actually had SLUSH fall out of the sky. Windy … well, all I could think upon opening one eye one morning was ‘Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore!’ Ice everywhere. So much ice our friends won’t all drive down our driveway, and I find myself praying as I drive up the driveway, please make it, please make it, so that I don’t suffer the INDIGNITY of being watched as I don’t quite make it to the top of the hill!

Welcome to Maine! Seems to be the mantra here of fellow sufferers, or perhaps it’s a condolence from another who has not managed to escape.

As we stand outside, the Dear One keeps looking at me, mostly smiling, an occasional grimace as a blast of arctic wind finds a tiny speck of skin not covered, and asks, ‘You will be here when I get back, right?’  Ask me again when I’m not shivering in my boots … well, truthfully, the answer will be the same, yes, I’ll be here when you get back, and if I can manage the driveway, I’ll even pick you up at the airport.

(As an aside … I have spent two weeks either in slippers or my Bean boots. I have had a line from a movie constantly floating around in my head. Remember the Goldie Hawn movie Private Benjamin? The scene where she’s marching around in a circle out in the pouring rain wailing  “I WANNA WEAR MY SANDALS! I WANNA GO OUT TO LUNCH!” All I keep thinking is … I want to wear shoes! I want to wear a cute pair of heels!)

But when it’s too frigid to go outside. Well, too frigid for me to go outside, I get bored. We’ve watched all of Sherlock, The Tudors, House of Cards, Jon Stewart, every decent movie on Hulu, Netflix and Crackle. Bookshelves have been built. Every single bit of laundry done. It’s 9:00 am … NOW WHAT!?

When cabin fever sets in I only have a few things on my mind … cooking and eating (oh, what did you think I was going to say!!). If I cook or bake, I don’t want to eat. So better to cook than graze. But what to make?

Baking is more time consuming than cooking. You have to pay attention to every ingredient and it takes time. Cookies are always good. The Dear One LOVES chocolate chip cookies, and he did build a bookshelf in the kitchen for all most of my cookbooks. SO chocolate chip cookies it is! This recipe has been calling to me for quite some time, what better time to try it!?

• 6 T unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/3 C packed dark-brown sugar
• 1/2 C granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 t pure vanilla extract
• 1 C all-purpose flour
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/2 t coarse salt
• 1 C semisweet chocolate chips

NOTE: Room temperature is really subjective. Room temperature, in Maine, is not the same as it was in NYC. A little zap in the microwave did the trick.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine butter and sugars with a wooden spoon.

NOTE: The allure of this recipe, besides one ginormous chocolate chip cookie, was not using baking sheets AND the Kitchen Aid AND making a huge pile of bowls and pans, etc., BUT, that being said, creaming sugar and butter together by hand is for the birds!

Stir in egg and vanilla. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt.

Stir in chips.

Transfer to a 10-inch cast-iron skillet; smooth top.

NOTE: A glob. A glob, I tell you. It’s the same as cookie dough that you would scoop for individual cookies. Getting it into all ends of the pan is tough. And smoothing it? HA! I tried flouring my fingers, no. I wet my fingers with cold water and that let me push the dough around to get the job done. But ICK!

Bake until cookie is golden brown and just set in the center, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes.

I cut this into wedges to serve.

Steamed Clams & Tomatoes

I have been in the car for a lifetime. Okay, not quite a litetime, perhaps it was just a month. Okay, fine, not a month. SIGH! It had to be a week. Really. Those 6 1/2 hours in the car battling Friday traffic to the Cape seemed to have lasted at least a week!

I am TIRED!

My tushy is SORE!

I am CRANKY!

I am STARVING! Yes, I know, when am I ever NOT starving.

A quick stop at the supermarket and then I can stretch (unpack the car), have a glass of wine (put the groceries away), and do what helps me unwind best (we’re hungry, what is there to eat) … COOK!

But it’s late and the sun is setting. I really want to sit with my love and watch the sun set over the bay and don’t necessarily want to be tied to the stove (an electric one to boot … oh, the horror), so whatever it is it has to be quick … but it still has to be GOOD!

Oh, Everyday Food, you have saved me yet again. While I miss the printed magazine terribly – oh, please bring it back – the online version will suffice (a little) and brought me this fabulous, quick and easy recipe.

To make this a little more substantial, I put it over linguine. But for a really light supper, just bread and a salad would do the trick!

• 2 T olive oil, plus more for serving
• 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/4 t hot pepper flakes
• 3/4 t dried oregano or 2 teaspoons fresh
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved (2 cups)
• 4 pounds clams, scrubbed and rinsed
• small handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

NOTE: I used Little Neck clams.

In a large pot heat oil over medium-high, add garlic, hot pepper flakes, and oregano. Cook until fragrant, 1 minute.

Add tomatoes, increase heat to high, and cook until the tomatoes burst, about 4 minutes.

NOTE: They don’t really burst, they’re already cut in half. But the skins start to pucker and the tomato halves start to break down a little.

Add clams and 3/4 cup water, cover, and cook until clams open, stirring once, 8 to 10 minutes. Discard any unopened clams.

Drizzle with oil and sprinkle chopped parsley on top to serve.

NOTE: I sliced some Italian bread, brushed it with olive oil, a sprinkle of salt, and put them into the oven as I dumped the clams into the pot. Perfect to sop up all the delicious liquid in the bowl.

Roasted Chicken with Tangerines and Olives

Now, you all know I am a huge fan of EveryDay Food Magazine. Really, Martha, what were you thinking by getting rid of our beloved little digest!?

And there has never really been a recipe I tried from EveryDay Food that I haven’t liked … until now. I think it’s just a matter of taste as I am sure many have tried this and loved it, but the brininess of the olives and the sweetness of the tangerines … well, YUCK. It just didn’t work for me. That and someone around here does not like olives. That should have been my first clue.

It may work for you.

• 1 whole organic chicken, cut into pieces
• salt and pepper
• 3 tangerines, unpeeled, quartered
• 2 T tangerine juice
• 2/3 C pitted green olives 4 oz
• 4 large garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 T honey

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Arrange chicken pieces on a rimmed baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Add tangerines and olives and garlic to pan. Roast 30 minutes.

NOTE: I used only thighs.

Whisk together juice and honey. Remove pan from oven and brush chicken with juice mixture. Return to oven for another 10-15 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.

NOTE: If I make this again, I’ll skip the olives and perhaps add in fennel, or something that better compliments the tangerines.