Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons

This past Father's Day we had plans to go to lunch with my parents but they were canceled due to the fact that my dad was feeling a little under the weather. So lucky for me, I had a little more time to figure out what to do for his gift. Growing up whenever we asked my dad what he wanted for his birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, he always said he wanted us to make him something. He preferred a homemade gift. Well, now as I am 24 years old I don't know that a macaroni necklace would receive the same enthusiasm, especially since he doesn't really wear jewelry. I do know that my dad happens to love coconut so as I was grocery shopping this week I got the inspiration to make him coconut macaroons for a belated Father's Day gift. 

I don't love coconut the way my dad or my husband does but a macaroon is one of my favorite types of cookies. In researching recipes I found that there really is not much to it. Coconut is truly the star of the show. They were very easy to make and turned out delicious! I brought some to a going away party last night and received rave reviews! 

(adapted from several recipes with my own touches as well)

Ingredients

For Macaroons:

2 (14 oz) bags of coconut

1 (14 oz) can of sweetened condensed milk

1/4 cup mascarpone cheese

2 tblsp. heavy cream

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 egg whites from large eggs

1/4 tsp salt

For Chocolate Ganache:

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Combine the coconut, sweetened condensed milk, mascarpone cheese, heavy cream, and vanilla extract. 

Beat the egg whites and salt together until it forms medium firm peaks. I did this on a kitchen aid mixer but it can also be done with a hand mixer. It will look like this when you turn the beater upside down. 

Fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture. 

Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out the mixture and place it on the cookie sheet. I had to use my hands a little too make sure they were right so don't be afraid to get a little messy. There doesn't need to be too much space between the pieces as it will not grow that much. About like this:

Bake them in the oven for approximately 27-30 minutes until they are golden brown on the tops. 

Let them cool thoroughly before dipping them in the chocolate. 

Once the macaroons have cooled it is time to make the ganache. Ganache is a chocolate sauce that is comprised of equal parts chocolate and cream. I used semi sweet chocolate in this recipe but feel free to use whatever chocolate you like. 

Ganache is best prepared over a double boiler. If you don't have one it is easy to make one at home by placing a bowl over a pot of water. It is very important that there is enough water to heat the bowl but not so much that it might touch the bottom of the bowl once it starts boiling. If that happens, your chocolate will most likely seize and instead of ganache you will end up with a lumpy mess. 

Put the chocolate and cream in the bowl and stir constantly until the chocolate is melted and combined with the cream to make a smooth glossy chocolate sauce. 

I decided to dip only half of each macaroon and drizzle the other half . I didn't want to completely overwhelm the cookie with chocolate. Let the cookies sit for 45 minutes to an hour or until the chocolate is set. 

Happy Belated Father's Day!

Enjoy! 

Katie

No Soup for You!

I'd like to start off by recognizing that it has been a while since my last blog, approximately 20 days, and for that I can apologize. It is quite worthless to have a blog if you aren't using it but as my mom said, "Life happens." I have a long list of topics that I plan to share so I hope it will keep me busy for a while--so please keep reading.

Second, I'd like to recognize my "friend" in my previous post that pointed me in the direction of the delicious El Tiempo Fajitaria. Apparently as a friend he wants a real name rec. So this is a shout out to Will Sealy. Thank you for your great recommendation. Your San Antonio upbringing has given you a keen nose for taco greatness.

Okay so now for the goods. Doozo Dumplings & Noodles located in the Houston Center downtown is no secret to many of those who work downtown in Houston. Patrick discovered it during his first few months at his job almost three years ago and has been an avid dumpling lover ever since. The first time I ever met him downtown for lunch that is where we went and its the only place we ever go every time I visit him downtown.

The dumplings at this place are delicious but the food is only half the fun of your dumpling experience. As you near the front of the line you are greeted with the following sign:

It is also an unspoken understanding of all those who have been to Doozo that you MUST have your money ready and KNOW YOUR ORDER before you get there, no doddling. They recently started taking credit cards here but the rule is still the same, money must be ready in your hand. Actually, its not so unspoken as you may get in trouble by the owner, Julie Lu, who is there ready to take every dollar and order.  You literally feel like you are walking on the set of the Soup Nazi episode -- no laughing though, you can't lose focus. She is extremely efficient and has memorized every possible combination of prices on the menu. Anyone who visits Doozo will know this immediately because the millisecond that you finish ordering, she recites your total to you. You can imagine the utter irritation across her face when you try to nervously mumble the words..."Uhh we're together" or "Can I add a drink?"  You pay, try to get some sort of thank you out of your mouth and scurry out the door. A strange feel of relief brushing over you releasing a tiny nervousness that you were a little unsure you even had.

The dumpling charade is entirely worth it though. I usually get the pork dumplings with extra spicy sauce. They also offer a chicken and vegetable option but I've been too nervous to change my order. For around 7 dollars you can get 10 dumplings and a drink so if you are in the Houston Center I would recommend that you check it out.

Enjoy!

Katie

Tacos Amor!

Patrick and I happen to love El Tiempo. In my opinion, its the best Tex-Mex Mexican food in town. I would venture to say on Earth-but that's just me. We even had our rehearsal dinner there! The downside to El Tiempo? It's pretty pricey. I'm not sure we have ever gotten out of there for less than $40 for just the two of us and that is without margaritas. So for obvious reasons, we really can't go there as much as we would like. Nevertheless, we love it all the same.

A good friend of mine told me about the meat market owned by El Tiempo, El Tiempo Fajitaria. He told me that the word on the street is that it has DELICIOUS tacos on the cheap. This information I can confirm as fact. It was amazing, and surprisingly pretty cheap. What it WAS NOT was a replacement for El Tiempo. It may be owned by El Tiempo, and it does have the same delectable homemade toritillas, but the only thing I found it had in common with El Tiempo is that it is Mexican.

The El Tiempo Fajitaria is part small market, part Mexican butcher, and part taco stand. This little gem had everything you would want out of an "authentic" eatery. First of all, a few things on the menu that I had never heard of. For instance, you can get a buche or tripas taco. The guy behind the counter showed me the buche which appeared to be pig's ear. Tripas is usually the lining of farm animals' stomach. I'm adventurous, but no thank you. They also had some classics that I knew of like barbacoa, menudo, and carnitas. Second, we were the only gringos speaking English in the place, which is usually a flashing neon sign for me that it is going to be good.

I ordered one barbacoa and one carnitas on flour tortillas and Patrick ordered two carnitas tacos. For those of you who don't know what barbacoa is , aka barbecoa de cabeza, its slow roasted cow's head and carnitas is the pork version of this Mexican delight. The food was so good. Nothing about it was fancy or even surprising but plain and simple it was good. The barbacoa was so tender it melted in your mouth like butter. Likewise, the carnitas was very tender and had the best flavor. It was incredibly savory and perfect with their house made green salsa. The tacos were HUGE. I only completely finished one. Patrick ate both of his, he couldn't resist! 

All in all it was a great place that I strongly reccommend. We loved it anyway!

Until next time, Adios!

Katie

Greeko

Everywhere that we went in Greece the Greek salad was delicious and served sans lettuce which made it so much better. Also, depending on the region there are a few differences in some of the things that go in the salad. For instance in Crete they use fresh mint in the salad and dress it with fresh olive oil and what I believe was white balsamic vinegar. In Santorini they added capers and fresh dill and used lemon juice as their acid instead of the vinegar. All were delicious though.

While we were there I got inspired to create something when we got home that took something very common here in Texas, pico de gallo, and give it a twist. Through my very creative new husband, the name Greeko (Greek pico) was born!

Okay so here it goes. This actually makes A LOT so it is great for a party. It would also be a great relish for chicken or fish or you could toss it with some pasta and serve it as a pasta salad. I also think it would be pretty easy to half.

Ingredients

10 Roma Tomatoes

3 Cloves of Fresh Garlic

1 Green Bell Pepper

1 White Onion

1 Cucumber

1 Anaheim Pepper

2 1/2 tablespoons of Capers

2 teaspoons Fresh Dill

2 cups of Crumbled Feta Cheese (I used the blocks packed in water and crumbled myself)

Juice from 1/2 of a Lemon

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

White Balsamic Vinegar

Salt and White Pepper (if you don't have it you can use black pepper) to taste

First get the seeds out of your tomatoes so that they do not over juice your Greeko. Cut each tomato in half and and squeeze the seeds out of them. This will make them easier to dice.

They will look like this on the inside when you are done.

Next, dice the tomato, bell pepper, onion, cucumber, anaheim pepper, and mince the garlic. Add the capers. Mix them all in together in a mixing bowl. Then squeeze the juice of half of a lemon into the bowl. Drizzle with olive oil (I did it about 2 and half times back and forth across the bowl) and then with the white balsamic vinegar (one time over the bowl).

Add the feta cheese.

Mix well. Season with salt and white pepper to taste.

I found this pico to have released a lot of liquid from the vegetables so I strained it with a fine strainer.

Serve with pita chips.

We brought this to a pool party and it was received very well! I hope you enjoy it if you try it, we certainly did.

Happy Memorial Day!

Katie

Téleia Mí̱nas tou Mélitos sti̱n Elláda (Perfect Honeymoon in Greece)

Patrick and I have talked forever about a trip to Greece. When it came time to decide where we would go on our honeymoon, there was absolutely no question about the location. It was probably the easiest decision we made during the year of our enagement (regarding the wedding at least). This trip was absolutely fantastic! I could never have imagined it to be as good as it truly was.

While in Greece there were several things that happened to us that made me think I was meeting a character straight out of the movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which frankly I loved. On the plane from Frankfurt, Germany to Athens I was seated next to two Greek men. One man was now living in Vancouver and going home to visit his family and the other was actually from the village in Crete right over the hill from the one where we were going to on our first leg of the trip, Agios Nikalaios. When I told them that I was a little concerned about not knowing a lick of Greek, the man told me that I could give him any word and he will tell me how it comes from the Greek language and that I should have no problem because so many English words are Greek based. Then he proceded to give me several words that he knew off the top of his head that were clearly copied by the English language from Greek. So if we got lost in a random village, at least Patrick and I would know how to ask about the state of democracy, or where the theatre was, or hey-do you have the name of a good plumber? As small talk continued and they learned that we were on our honeymoon, each man made it very clear to me that if I "become pregnant" it is customary to give the baby a Greek name. Well thank goodness that didn't happen. I'd hate to have to introduce my son, Panagotis Flynn (pronounced Pan-uh-yot-is) or my daughter, Voula Flynn. Call both of them Nick, Nicko, or Nicki for short-this really was an unbelievably common name.

The highlight of our trip was definitely our sailing trip on the Agean Sea around the island of Santorini. It was the most spectacular day. Our captain, Captain Ted, is an American Greek from Jersey who is now married to an Australian Greek woman and lives six months out of the year in Santorini. He makes a living participating in the main local idustry fishing. As Captain Ted puts it, he specializes in "catching sucker tourists!" In all seriousness, he has several catamarans that himself and other former corporate slaves turned full time Skippers take tourists for the right price on incredible tours around the island. The day provided an open bar, and a homemade meal of fresh Greek fare, and front row view to one of the most beautiful sunsets on the entire planet. If you are ever in Santorini, I strongly encourage you to take one of these trips.

The food in Greece was also very delicious. We tried tons of different things and ate enough octopus that I would not be surprised if we each sprouted six more legs. Our two favorite things were the Greek salad and the domatokeftedes (tomato fritters) which is a local to the island of Santorini.

The tomato fritters were Patrick's favorite so I've promised that I would find a recipe to prepare them at home. They are almost like crab cakes, but instead they have tomatoes, onions, garlic, and I think dill. Delicious with the classic yogurt sauce tzatziki. The Greek salad is unlike what we have here. There is no lettuce, all chopped vegetables. It has given me idea for an easy new recipe that I think I'm going to call Greek pico. I figure I will make it this weekend for some Memorial Day festivities and I will post the recipe here in a few days. Until then have a great holiday weekend!

Yia sis! (prounounced yah-sis, hello and good bye in Greek)

Officially Mr. and Mrs. Flynn!

After 8 and half years of being together, Patrick and I finally tied the knot! I cannot believe how fast our wedding day went. However, it was the most unbelievable and perfect day. We had such a blast and are still pinching ourselves about the fact that we are actually married!

The intention of this blog is to share one of our favorite hobbies to do together, cooking, with everyone. Over the years we have grown and changed so much. We are always eager to find fun hobbies that we can share but one thing is for sure, we love to cook together. It will also share recipes and anything else we feel like sharing about our lives here in Houston. We are surrounded by a wonderful family and incredible friends that I am so greatful for.