I've been meaning to follow up on making the NYTimes chocolate chip cookies (here on the NYTimes site) but the weather turned too hot for cookies for a while there.

So, to catch up, I finally located the Valhrona feves that the recipe mentions at a Whole Foods. They were fun to locate, they are not in the baking aisle, not the chocolate aisle, not the bulk foods aisle. No, these were displayed in front of the aged cheese cave. But of course. Now, I get it, dark chocolate, good cheese and wine go together but I felt like an idiot for a while there.



The Valhrona feves are huge. I used larger than normal chocolate chips the first time, but I worried these would simply be too large for the cookies. Here is a picture of a feve scoop next to a chip scoop:



The special thing in this recipe is that you let the dough sit chilling in the fridge for 36 hours before you form and bake the cookies. This allows the dough to absorb all the liquid and reportedly gives a caramel-y depth of flavor to the cookies. I read a lot of people suggesting you form the dough into scoops before you chill it and I wondered if this was missing the point. So, I made one batch of dough and pre-scooped half of it, left the rest in the bowl and let everything chill for a couple of days. Then I scooped the remaining dough, and froze half of the pre-scooped and half of the post-scooped dough, just to see if scoops out of the freezer would make noticeably different cookies. It didn't, so that whole step was beside the point.

Anyhow! There was a difference between the halves of dough. The dough that was pre-scooped was noticeably lighter in color than the dough left to chill in the bowl:



This batch, sadly, spread too much when baked and I know why, it was too warm the night (way back) that I made the dough. Not pretty, but they still taste good. We, amateur cookie tasters that we are, couldn't taste a difference between the pre and post-scooped dough.



Obviously I'll have to do another batch to see if I can get the consistency right next time. Valhrona feves, by the way, are expensive. I used just under a pound, and that seemed like it was a lot of chocolate so you could probably get away with a little less. I prefer the flavor of the Valhrona chocolate, but I think Scott liked the Ghirardelli chips a bit better. Either way, yum.

Yesterday Scott and I found ourselves in a Target so new that Google Maps refused to believe that the address existed (so much for the convenience of being able to look up driving directions on the iPhone). While we were looking for the aisle where the doomsday-sized packages of Ivory soap are kept we passed some things marked clearance in the kitchen area. So, we bought a big 2 quart brother for the tiny 1 quart saucepan I bought a while back instead of spending a lot more on a shinypretty All-Clad. I'm giving some serious consideration to the 3 quart saute pan with a lid, something we've been improvising a lot lately by wrapping a splatter screen in tin foil and weighing it down with a plate. An actual lid would be way safer than our current method, don't you think?

So, while the Calphalon Kitchen Essentials aren't quite as sexy as All-Clad I've been pretty darn happy with the one I have. If you need a saucepan I can recommend getting yourself to a Target and seeking out one of these while they are on sale. The 2 quart size is on sale for $28 (instead of $40) and I forget the sale price on the 1 quart size, though I think I bought mine for $17 earlier this year. They are heavy enough to hold heat nicely and clean up easily and, happily, these are dishwasher safe.

What are the best cupcakes you've ever ever had? How can I make them? at Ask Metafilter

I made cheese! at Cupcake Show

These tomato bites shown at Yum Sugar are cute.

What is the best recipe (and wine) for Beef Bourguignon? at Ask Metafilter

'Iron Chef' Secrets Revealed at ABC News

Sorting Out Coffee’s Contradictions at the NYTimes

Looking for home storage solutions for bulk items such as flour, sugar, rice. at Ask Metafilter

IceOrb at Cool Hunting, this is nice. The video on the Fusion Brands shows all the uses. They make a lot of cool things.

The Best Granola at Pro Bono Baker

I want one of these two piece magnetic truffle molds, shown at Ideas In Food.

It's been a week full of new kitchen gadgets. In addition to the scale and scoop, an Amazon gift certificate prompted me to finally (finally) buy the Breville electric kettle I've been wanting. It's so shiny and pretty and such an aestheic improvement over the white plastic one we've been using (which has started to rust and really needs replaced). And I'm sure since the interior of the Breville one is mostly metal it's better for us. It also makes a gentle *ding* sound when the water is boiled, which is good because I'd stopped listening for the old kettle to turn itself off in my early morning sleepy state.

And I love the plug on this thing, I keep unplugging it just because it's so easy to do:

Ooh, pretty, Zebra cake at Baking Bites.

Does frozen yogurt actually contain live active cultures? Miss Ginsu finds out.

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Ribbon Dessert, as done by Bakerella.

Blueberry Pancakes 101, at Smitten Kitchen

I would like some recipes or meal ideas that, when cooked, will last for a long time. at Ask Metafilter

On wild black raspberries, at twelve22

Freezing bacon into individual portions, I need to do this, I always end up tossing the whole package of bacon in the freezer and regretting it later when I'm carefully separating layers. At Eating Well Anywhere.

Cool Hunting's video showing us the inside of June Taylor Jams, a very thoughtful company.

individual pie slice pans at King Arthur Flour

mini caramel apple recipe, via Craftzine

I've decided to make the famous NYTimes chocolate chip cookie recipe, and I really want to follow the instructions as closely as possible. The recipe calls for 3.5 ounce mounds of dough, so I've been on the lookout for a scoop, or disher, that would be exactly that and, though I think I might have the size I need, I looked all this up recently so I'm putting this here as a big Dishers 101 for myself when I forget it all again.

Dishers, or scoops or portioners, have number sizes on them, mine can be found on the little metal sweep. This size represents the number of scoops in one quart. The larger the number, the smaller the capacity of the scoop. You can find a whole range of disher sizes, I know Sur La Table seems to have them all hanging in a big, happy, jumbled group. The book of yields lists a table of disher sizes in ounces, cups and mililiters. According to the Kitchen Conservatory list the closest sized scoops in liquid ounces would be a size 10 at 3.75 ounces or a size 12 at 3.25 ounces. They have the size 12 as being for standard muffins. I own a Norpro size 16 disher (56mm, 2 tbsp) which I've used for standard sized muffins. The OXO cookie scoops I was looking at were sizes:

large: size 20, 3 tbsp., 3.25" diameter cookie
medium: size 40, 1.5 tbsp., 2.75" diameter cookie
small: size 60, 2 tsp., 2" diameter cookie

So, the dishers all have fairly precise measurements, but which size will give me 3.5 ounces of that cookie dough? The finished cookies are supposed to be 5 inches in diameter, far larger than the size 20 OXO disher is supposed to give. The 3.5 ounces is described as being "generous golf balls". Will my size 16 scoop be too small? When is the last time I held a golf ball in my hand? Do I have the patience to wait until I can locate a size 10 or 12 scoop? Why don't I own a kitchen scale yet?

Cointreau Pearls at Not Cot

Alright already, I'll make the famous NYTimes chocolate chip cookie recipe, just as soon as I find a 3 1/2 ounce scoop. The entry at Orangette finally convinced me.

Gin and Titonic Ice Cube Molds at Cool Hunting

How much bacon should be added to Rice Krispies treats? at Ask Metafilter

how to make candied herbs at Ask Metafilter

how safe are cakes baked in mason jars? at Ask Metafilter

white peach sangria at Liqurious

Can I patent a sandwich? at Ask Metafilter

Strawberry Freezer Jam at Posie Gets Cozy

ice brewed tea at Tea Spot NYC, also see the entry on wild tea, it's naturally sweet

The Accidental Wine Company, they sell bottles which, simply, have labels that are damaged. At Chow.

cablebox, at The Girl In the Green Dress

Review: Mark Bittman's Rosemary-Lemon White Bean Dip at The Kitchen

Chow brings up the jury stick, a useful thing I'd not heard of before

Ask The Splendid Table: Go slowly to keep chicken breasts moist at Seattle PI

James Beard's English Muffin Bread at Between Stupid and Clever, that looks fantastic

Propery Salted on shoots

Which one is worse for you: high-fructose corn syrup or aspartame? at Ask Metafilter

onion goat cheese tart and perfectly puffy popovers at Shelterrific

Hydrox are coming back, perhaps temporarily, at Chow

jim lahey’s potato pizza and 10 paths to painless pizza-making at Smitten Kitchen

I'd like to bake eggy-stink-free biscotti, but how? at Ask Metafilter

Bicicletta, a refreshing looking summer cocktail, at Hedonia

Simple, easy and elegant recipes that are always crowd pleasers: What are yours? at Ask Metafilter

Recipe: Cold Peanut Sesame Noodles at The Kitchen

Citrus Basil Cocktail at the Seattle PI

Sloe Gin Is Back, but Hold the Fizz and recipe for a Ramos Gin Fizz at the NY Times

Note to self: go try the Bitter End cocktail at Artemis

Homemade Ice Cream Drumsticks at Baking Bites

thing I want: ice princess, straw and ice mold from Fred & Friends

Safer than teflon, lighter than cast iron, it's Ceramcor to the rescue, at Chow.

best supermarket cabernet picks, at The Kitchen