Cookie By Accident

According to MIT, America's most famous cookie was invented by accident by Ruth Wakefield. Ruth, a dietician and food lecturer, who along with her husband Kenneth, bought a tourist lodge named the Toll House Inn in Massachusetts, where she prepared home-cooked meals for her guests. 

In 1930, using a butter cookie dough, Wakefield was mixing a batch of cookies for her inn guests and was out of baker's chocolate. She substituted broken pieces of semi-sweet chocolate that was given to her personally by Andrew Nestle. She had expected the chocolate to melt and absorb into the dough to create chocolate cookies. But as you can imagine, what she was left with was a butter cookie with bits of chocolate. She called her new treat "Toll House Crunch Cookies."

The 'chocolate chip cookies' were an instant hit with her customers and word of their popularity reached back to Andrew Nestle. Nestle then went on to buy the rights to the Toll House name and to Ruth Wakefield's 'chocolate chip cookie'. For her name and recipe, Wakefield's compensation would be a lifetime supply of Nestle chocolate. I guess that's not so bad if you are a chocaholic.

Nestle printed the Toll House Cookie recipe on its package of bar chocolate that was scored for easy breaking. By 1939 Nestle began selling, small chocolate morsels (aka - chips) in a yellow bag. Of course you know by now that the chocolate chip cookie has become the most popular cookie in America!

Here's my recipe + rendition of America's cookie. My cookie is a bit chewier and less cakey than the Tollhouse recipe. It is also bakes a darker shade due to the dark brown sugar. Share with friends. Enjoy with a talk glass of ice cold milk.

George's Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe by Chef George Hirsch | Makes about 40 cookies

2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) lightly sweet butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, beaten
2 cups good quality semisweet chocolate chopped, or mini chips 

Optional: 1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

Whisk the flour, soda and salt together in a bowl. In another large bowl, cream the butter on low speed to lighten it a bit and then mix in the sugars, cream for two minutes.. Add the water, vanilla and eggs to the butter mixture. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined and then fold in the chocolate chips and nuts. 

Using two soup spoons, drop the cookies 2" apart onto two parchment lined, nonstick or greased cookie sheets. Bake for eight-nine minutes, rotating the sheets after four minutes. 

Remove the cookies to a wire rack to cool, and repeat the process with the rest of the dough.

Humble Crumble

The soon to be legendary Mrs. Patmore, from the mega hit TV series on PBS, Downton Abbey, is the head cook brimming with one liners that can only be heard from downstairs within the heat of the kitchen and in this case, the heat, directed to her assistant, Daisy, the scullery maid.

Mrs. Patmore: Daisy, I said you could go for a drink of water, not a trip up the Nile.

Mrs. Patmore: Listen to me Daisy, take those kidneys up to the servery before I knock you down and serve your brains as fritters.

Daisy:  I was only trying to help.

Mrs. Patmore:  Oh!…Judus was only trying to help, I suppose, when he brought the Roman Soldiers to the Garden. 

So what's a scullery-maid?—from Mrs. Beeton's The Book of Household Management - circa 1861

The duties of the scullery-maid are to assist the cook; to keep the scullery clean, and all the metallic as well as earthenware kitchen utensils. The position of scullery-maid is not, of course, one of high rank, nor is the payment for her services large. But if she be fortunate enough to have over her a good kitchen-maid and clever cook, she may very soon learn to perform various little duties connected with cooking operations, which may be of considerable service in fitting her for a more responsible place.

While Mrs. Patmore is taking a well deserved rest, in one scene, Daisy interrupts Mrs. Patmore in the servant’s hall unsure if the crumble was ready. Sorry, you will just need to watch this weeks finale of season 2 Downton Abbey for more of Mrs. Patmore good hearted but sometimes cutting humor. 

Meanwhile, enjoy My Apple Charlotte Recipe, a dish Mrs. Patmore was not able to plate-up, reason, you'll need to watch-n-see (don't want to spoil the plot).

Another dessert dish, circa 1915 featured on Downton Abbey - "Humble Crumble":

Crumbles can be traced back to the UK, but became highly popular in America during colonization, where it is also known as a crisp.  The crumble originated as a wartime dessert due to strict rationing.  The crumb topping, or cumble is a mix of flour, butter and sugar and replaced pastry or typical pie crusts. Fruits such as apples, blackberry, and rhubarb are often used depending on seasons or what was previously preserved and on hand.  

TIPS: picking the right apple
Granny: This Australian native was discovered in 1868 as a chance seedling by "Granny" Anne Smith of Ryde, New South Wales. One parent might have been a French Crab Apple. Grannys are known for their distinctive green flesh, which sometimes bears a red blush, and their very tart flavor. An all-purpose apple, Grannys work equally well as a snack or in pies and sauce. U.S. Grannys are harvested beginning in August, and are available year-round.

Gala: This variety originated in New Zealand, a cross between Kidd's Orange Red and Golden Delicious. The Royal Gala strain was named in honor of Queen Elizabeth II, who deemed it her favorite during a visit to New Zealand. It was brought to the United States in the early 1970s, and is now one of the country's most popular apples. This crispy, juicy, very sweet apple is ideal for snacking. Galas can vary in color, from cream to red- and yellow-striped. U.S.-grown Galas are harvested beginning in mid-July, and are typically available year-round.

George’s Warm Apple Crumble Recipe
Makes 4–6 servings
As seen on George Hirsch Living it UP! TV series

For Topping:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup flour
3/4 quick oats
1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1/2 cup melted butter 

Mix all sugars, flour, oats and nuts. Pour in butter and mix until topping looks like wet sand. Do not over mix; topping should have a lumpy consistency.

For the Filling:
4 cups Apples- 1/2 granny and 1/2 gala or other sweet apple, peeled, cored and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces. 
1/3 cup water or *simple syrup
1/4 cup raisins, plump in simple syrup

Pre heat a 375 degree oven.

Grease small individual ramekins or one nine inch ovenproof casserole. Add chopped apples, raisins and simple syrup. Top with a generous amount of crumb topping.  Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until crumb topping is crisp and light brown. 

Serve warm topped with powder sugar, whip cream or powder sugar.

*To make simple syrup:
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
1 orange, cut into quarters

Place all ingredients into a saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook for five minutes. Remove and cool.

King of Cocktails

Champagne is recognized as the universal symbol of good news, and this cocktail's simple recipe shows that life doesn't have to be complicated to be enjoyed. A classic Champagne Cocktail may not be a trendy drink these days, but as a classic, it’s as good as when Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr sipped it in An Affair To Remember. 

A great Champagne stands on its own and should be sipped solo, whereas an inexpensive sparkling wine benefits from the bitters and the sugar cube keeps those bubbles hopping. 

Classic Champagne Cocktail Recipe: Six ounces of Champagne or sparkling wine and a sugar cube soaked in Angostura bitters is all it takes to make a sophisticated cocktail for the New Year. Drop the sugar cube into a tall flute glass, and then slowly add champagne and a lemon twist. 

Tips: With the Champagne Cocktail, you can trust the bitters to take the edge off a lesser quality champagne or sparkling wine. For this drink, you can use a less expensive wine, spending about $10 to $18 for a good domestic bottle. Or, as I personally prefer to use a good Prosecco for under $15.

When opening Champagne or Prosecco, use a gentle twist - save the bubbles for the inside of the glass and not the floor.

Optional: If bitters in sparkling wine is not your cup of tea, a Prosecco Spritzer Cocktail could be the toast for you. To a glass of prosecco, omit bitters, sugar and lemon and replace with splash of limoncello and Cognac and go all Amalifi-like. Cin cin!

chefgeorgehirsch.com

New Years Eve, Cotechino Con Lenticchie

In Italy, people welcome the New Year by tossing old things out of their windows to make room for the new and bring luck into their lives in the upcoming year. In regards to food traditions, Italians cook up a dish called Cotechino Con Lenticchie, pork sausage served over lentils. This dish is eaten during the New Year because of the presence of a rich and robust pork sausage with lentils in the dish. Cotechino sausage is a symbol of abundance because it is rich in fat; while the coin-shaped lentils symbolize money. 

I love it served with a steamy dish of gnocchi and sautéed garlicky greens, another symbol of prosperity. 

Cotechino Con Lenticchie: Pork Sausage Served over Lentils

by George Hirsch | Makes six servings

chefgeorgehirsch.com

If you can't find cotechino, a high quality fresh pork sausage flavored with nutmeg, and pepper a good hearty italian style sausage will suffice. 

1 pound cotechino, pork sausage
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic
1 large carrot, chopped
1 bay leaf
8 whole black peppercorns
1 sprig fresh thyme 
1 pound dry green lentils
4 cups chicken broth
1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped 

Pierce the cotechino with a fork in several places. 

Pre heat a large pot and add olive oil, chopped onion, garlic, carrot, 1 bay leaf, peppercorns and thyme. Simmer vegetables for two minutes and add cotechino, cook two minutes and add lentils, cover with 4 cups broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 45 to 50 minutes or until lentils are soft. Add additional water if necessary. 

Remove the bay leaf and discard. Spoon the lentils into a serving dish, drizzle with olive oil and slice rounds of the cotechino over the top. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley and serve.