Sandies by the Sea Cookie Recipe

I cut out recipes all the time from magazines and stuff them in folders- but it usually takes me a while to organize them and actually try them. I found this cookie recipe dated 2006 (an ad from www.butterisbest.com) last fall and I made these for my cookie gift tins for the holidays- and I have to say these are spectacular. The secret ingredient is the salt. Salt is so underrated. I know it is bad for you and you should try to reduce your intake but man oh man, is it good. It brings out the flavor of so many foods in cooking and baking. In this recipe, when you bite into the cookie it mixes with the sweetness of the caramel and the bitter chocolate and is just SOOOOOO yummy.
This recipe calls for fleur de sel or large crystal sea salt- but I used large crystal kosher salt (all I had) and they were still deelish. Also, I have become a real fan of the Ghiradelli chocolate morsels, overall I find their chocolate taste, melting time, etc superior over some of the other brands in the grocery store.

Cookies should be always be eaten within one to two days for the best flavors. Store in airtight tin.


2 Cups of Flour
1/4 tsp fine salt
2 Sticks unsalted butter softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 Large Egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Cup of pecans lightly toasted and very finely ground (using a food processer)
20 caramel candies
3 TBSP cream
2-3 TBSP large crystal sea salt or fleur de sel
1 Cup bittersweet Ghiradelli chocolate morsels. (at least 60% cocoa)

1- Combine flour and salt in a bowl /set aside
2- Using stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla, beat on low to incorporate. Add dry ingredients in batches, mixing between each, and then stir in the ground pecans. Cover and chill dough for 1 hour.
3- Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment paper, or butter the sheets. (if you use an insulated cookie sheet, no parchment paper or greasing required).
4- Roll dough into 1 inch ball with floured hands. Place on baking sheet at least 1-inch apart, and depress a cavity in the center of each ball using your thumb, a spoon or a rounded implement (I used the granite mortar from my small mortar and pestle). Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until the bottoms are brown and set. Check halfway through baking to see that the depressions are still deep enough to fill. If not use a spoon to redefine.
5-Remove cookies from the oven, and let them sit for a few minutes on the baking sheet. Transfer to a wire cooling rack with parchment paper or empty tray underneath (to catch drips).
6- Melt caramel candies and cream together in a saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently. Fill the center of each cookie with approximately 1/2 tsp of the caramel. Sprinkle centers evenly with the sea salt, and let sit until firm.
7- Place chocolate in a sturdy plastic bag and place in bowl. Microwave and heat on medium at 30 - second intervals , massaging between each, until melted. Cut a small hole in the corner bottom bag and drizzle melted chocolate across each cookie, and allow cookies to sit until chocolate has become firm.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Recipe

I'm not a big white chicken fan, I tend to think it is flavorless and usually too dry. but this is one recipe that I love with chicken breasts. The secret to this recipe is the bread crumb coating- it keeps the chicken moist and juicy.

This is a great "manly" meal- I call on Jim to pound the breasts with a hammer so they are nice and thin. He wraps them between two pieces of waxed paper and does a great job of flattening them to a nice shape that will roll easily. PS- not the time to buy a cheap brand of chicken- you want whole pieces that will pound out flat to roll. Cheaper brands sometimes are in two pieces and don't work as well.

This recipe is from Myrecipe.com



2 Tablespoons butter ( 2/3 stick) - melted in a small sauce pan
1/2 C of chicken broth
Garlic Powder ( about 1 Teaspoon)
2/3 C of italian flavored bread crumbs
1/4 C of grated parmesan and/or Reggiano Cheese
1 teaspoon of paprika
1package of dry low sodium chicken broth
Dried oregano in shaker
3 boneless chicken breasts skin removed
3 slices of nice baked ham
3 slices of swiss cheese


heat oven to 350. spray 8x8 or 5x9 inch baking pan with cooking spray.

1- Place chicken between two pieces of wax paper and pound to about 1/4 thickeness, being careful to keep a rectangle shape as much as possible.

2- melt butter in small sauce pan. remove from heat. add chicken broth and shake in garlic powder. Stir to mix.

2- in a flat bowl, mix breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese and paprika.

3- lay first chicken breast flat. sprinkle with dry chicken broth and oregano. lay down slice of ham on top, followed by slice of cheese. Bend ends of ham over cheese (so the cheese wont melt out the sides), then roll the up the chicken with the ham/cheese jelly roll style.

4- dip roll into butter broth, then roll in bread crumbs and place seam side down in pan. continue with remaining chicken.

5- pat any remaining bread crumbs onto top of rolls or sides and pour remaining butter mixture over top.

Bake about 30 minutes until juices run clear ( watch that you don't over cook).

Oriental Chicken , Rice and Vegtables Recipe

It's been rainy and dreary out the past couple of days, so I'm into eating a stew or hot casserole tonight. One of my favorites is this chicken dish. It's a one pot meal ( once again, I pull out my trusty Caphalon 8.5 qt dutch oven) so it's easy clean up. The secret ingredient to this recipe is definitely the Chinese five spice powder. If you've never cooked with this spice, you are really missing out. It's used alot in Chinese cooking- and it hits all of your flavor buds- sour, sweet, bitter, pungent, and salty. I guess you can make your own- it's a combination of peppercorns, cinnamon, anise, cloves, and fennel, but I get it in the spice section of Stop and Shop.... so much easier.

Once again, this is a braising recipe ( my preferred method of cooking) , cooking this in the oven really melds all the flavors together for a very tasty dish. You could probably make it in a crock pot if you're into them.

The only caution I have on this recipe is that you have to be careful not to overcook the veg tables or they get too mushy. So I like to cook the carrots, broccoli and red pepper longer, but let the more delicate vegetables cook less. You can also adjust your vegtable selection and quantity to your liking. Just remember that most vegtables give off alot of water which may make the sauce a bit watery.

6-8 chicken thighs, no skin, bones still in
olive oil for browning chicken

Sauce ingredients
-1 Cup of orange juice
-2 Cups of chicken broth ( i would get the big box, you might want to add more while cooking if you see the casserole getting dry)
-1/4 cup of brown sugar
-2 Tablespoons of reduced sodium soy sauce
-1/4 cup of ketchup ( or you can you a couple of tablespoons of left over tomato paste)
-1 Tablespoon of vinegar
-2 Teaspoons of minced garlic
-1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
-1/4 HEAPING teaspoon of Chinese five spice powder
-2 teaspoons of cornstarch and 2 teaspoons of water mixed until dissolved into a paste

Remaining ingredients
1 cup of uncooked rice
1/2 bag of baby carrots
1 Red pepper cut into strips
a handful of broccoli heads, cut up into small bite size pieces
1/2 large sweet onion cut sliced
1 package of sliced mushrooms
1 package of Chinese snow peas ( the flat ones)

1- heat the oven to 350
2- brown chicken in oil in the dutch oven for a few minutes until brown on all sides
3- while chicken is browning, mix the sauce ingredients in a bowl
4- once chicken is done, add rice, carrots, and red pepper to pan. Pour sauce over chicken and rice.
5- cover and bake in oven for about 45 minutes
6-Stir, add remaining vegtables and bake for another 30 or so minutes until the chicken is no longer pink and falling off the bones and the vegtables are done .

FYI- The Rice will absorb the liquid. If it looks like it is getting too dry, add some more chicken broth while it is cooking.
If the sauce looks too watery, take the cover off for the last 10 minutes or so to help reduce the liquid.

Braised Chicken and Sausage Cacciatore Recipe

This is one of my favorite meals to cook on the weekend - especially when we're going to settle down and watch some serious TV. the secret ingredient is Vermouth. It really changes the flavor of the sauce. You don't want to put it in the sauce until the end however, or else it will burn off and you will lose the flavor.

By the way, I am not a crock pot kinda girl. I find them to be small ( even though my new one is the bigger version) and hard to clean ( yes, i tried spraying it with cooking spray but it still is very cumbersome to clean in the sink afterwords.) So I have become a fan of braising. I think this technique brings out much more flavor in your dishes, but still keeps meat moist and juicy. I also like that you can control the time vegetables are in the pot so they don't get so mushy. Herbs do better in braising vs crock pot- they lose all their flavor if they are cooked too long. And of course, the cooking time is cut way back when you braise.

So for my Chicken C, I always use a dutch oven. A very handy pot in the kitchen. I have large 7 quart metal dutch oven that can go from stove pot to oven and I love it.


Braised Chicken and Sausage Cacciatore
Vegetable oil
6 to 8 chicken thighs, drumsticks, and/or breasts with bones in, but no skin
1 package of sweet Italian sausages
flour for dredging
a package of dry chicken bullion
1 large can of crushed tomatoes (I like Cento the best- not tinny tasting)
1 can of low sodium tomato paste
2 stalks celery cut into small pieces
2 small or 1 very large sweet onion sliced
1 or 2 red peppers sliced ( You can use green peppers if you prefer)
1 package of sliced mushrooms
parsley- a couple of tablespoons of dry- if you use fresh- 1/4 cup chopped
2 bay leaves
Italian basil- a couple of teaspoons of dry- or a bit more if fresh
crushed or minced garlic- about two heaping teaspoons
2 to 3 whole cloves ( i don't use sugar in my sauce)
salt and pepper to taste ( if you use chicken bullion above, you may want to omit the salt)
1/3 cup of vermouth

1- you need to dredge the chicken and fry it in a little vegetable oil, or else you lose alot of flavor in the dish. I add a package of dry chicken bullion to the flour for a bit more flavor. Also, the flour helps to keep the sauce nice and thick- which can get a bit runny because of the vegetables. Fry the chicken right in the dutch oven for a couple of minutes until it is brown , but not too long. It's going to cook in the oven. Remove from pot and put aside. Add sausages. Fry in dutch oven for about 3 to 4 minutes so the outside skins are browned.

2- add tomato sauce, paste, cut up vegetables, spices. You'll see there is NO oregano. My mother says, Oregano is only for Pizza, not for tomato sauce.

3- cover dutch oven and put in a 300 degree oven - About a half hour later, stir, and add the vermouth, and cook for another 30 to 45 minutes. If the sauce looks too watery, you can take the cover off for the last 15 minutes, but you need to watch it doesn't dry up.


I serve this over pasta with lots of grated Romano and Parmesan cheese. Look for a shaped pasta that holds sauce better- cork screws versus Penne shape.

My first day

Ok. I love to cook. and I love to bake. And most of my friends say I am pretty good at both. Alot of people say you can't do both. But you know, I'm type A, so I have to do both. It's in my blood.

I love to make up recipes as I go along. Or, I'll print out five or six versions of recipes from the web and then pick and choose the ingredients I like from each. And yes, I even do that in baking, ( as long as the basic chemical balances are there).

Anybody can cook. When I met Jim he had three chicken dishes he could make. I taught him how to read a cookbook and now he's pretty good in the kitchen. But what makes a good dish a great dish? Usually some ingredient that makes the flavor pop- or some cooking technique that makes it all work. That little extra. Like my mother's tomato sauce. No matter how closely I followed her recipe, I could never get it to taste exactly the same. Until I realized that it was the type of wine she put in it.

This blog is dedicated to that. The secret ingredient that makes a good dish a great dish.