Sugar Cookies

I have been busy baking cookies lately for various occasions for my girls at school.  Before moving to the States 2 years ago, I'd never baked a cookie in my life!  Just not a big thing in Australia so I was under some pressure to get up to speed, particularly if I wanted my little hobby with parties to succeed here in the US.  I quickly learned some basic techniques and now have been having more and more fun decorating sugar cookies for all sorts of occasions.  These are some from our Wedding Anniversary celebration a couple of weeks ago.  I really enjoyed putting together the event styling and preparing all the food for our event but I was particularly proud of these.  So simple but so cute. I have to credit the fact that I use an awesome sugar cookie recipe and more than that, I use an incredible vanilla extract which has transformed the taste!  

I use the recipe below from Glory from Glorious Treats and I love the flavor and texture.  Some cookie folk use icing sugar in their mixture but I'm not sure about that, might be something I try down the track but this gives a great texture to work with and so I am sticking to this for now.

Rolled Sugar Cookies, 

3 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

1teaspoon good quality vanilla extract

Directions:

Directions as per Glory, here at http://www.glorioustreats.com/2010/03/making-sugar-cookies-recipe-and-tips.html

I could rewrite her directions but she has done a wonderful job of working through each step with easy to follow photographs.  I also think it's necessary that you explore her site and get lost in her creativity... she's amazing.

Here are some more of mine for a baby shower Party Favor I finished today.... a little preppy, in some spunky colors of yellow, blue, lime green and grey.

Dukkah

Dukkah (pronounced Dook-ah) is an Egyptian spice and nut mixed which is usually served with bread and oil as an appetizer.  I gave these as a party favor gift at our recent Anniversary Party so I hope there are now people all over Wisconsin enjoying some tasty dukkah with their friends! It is a simple yet interesting start to a meal or you could use it in place of a breadcrumb to coat lamb or pork before pan frying or baking it.  There are loads of ways to use this versatile mix.  If you're interested in trying something different, you will be so surprised with the flavours you can achieve my mixing the basic blend of nuts with any other of your favorite element to make something you just love.

1 cup hazelnuts
1/2 cup pistacchio nutes
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup coriander seeds
1/4 cup cumin seeds
salt
pepper or peppercorns

Method:

• In a hot dry skillet, roast the nuts and seeds separately until they are toasted and aromatic.
• Process each element in a coffee grinder to a coarse grind.  Finer if you wish but it is nice to have a bit of texture to it to grab hold of the oil on the bread.
• Mix the quantities you desire and add salt and pepper. 
• Optional: Add red pepper flakes, dried lemon etc (whatever takes your fancy) until you are happy with the flavor.
• Store in an airtight container in the pantry for up to 3months.
• To eat; tear off pieces of a nice rustic bread, dip it in a good quality olive oil, and then dip into a bowl of dukkah.  Delightful!

additional options:
ras el hanout
fennel seeds
dried lemon zest
red chili flakes
dried herbs - mint, thyme

Stuffed Red Peppers

This was a knock out.  Very easily made into a vegetarian meal and sometimes I would say it would even be preferred but tonight we ate it with some spicy chorizo sausage meat and it was amazing.  My apologizes, it is not the most gorgeous of photographs, but let me tell you - you will inhale it! I had some left over cous cous from the night before and needed to clear out my vegetable drawer of some rather suspicious looking zucchini's.... I whipped this up and had it in the oven within minutes.  A beautiful aroma filled my house as it cooked and with a simple salad, it was a great healthy mid week meal.

Ingredients:
1 cup israeli cous cous, cooked
2 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
100g chorizo sausage meat
1/2 small red onion, diced
butter
1 tspn garlic
smoked paprika
oregano, dried
2/3 cup portabello mushrooms, finely diced
1/2 medium zucchini, finely diced
chili powder or red pepper flakes
1/2-1 cup tomato sauce / pureed tomatoes
tabasco sauce, optional

vegetarian option:
diced zucchini
roasted butternut squash
roasted eggplant

Method:

• Carefully cut around and remove the stalk from the red pepper and then slice it in half.  Trim and clean up the seeds from the inside so that you have two tidy half shells.
• Pre heat your oven to 350'F
• In a saucepan, cook your cous cous in chicken stock and a pinch of salt, until tender.  When ready, add a knob of butter and 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese and mix through.
• Heat a small skillet, add a drop of olive oil and cook your diced red onion under tender.
• Add garlic and zucchinis and cook for about 3mins. Add the mushrooms and a knob of butter.  Season with salt and pepper, oregano and mix well.
• When the mushrooms and zucchinis have browned nicely, remove from the heat and pour all the onion, mushroom and zucchini into a mixing bowl.
• Cook your chorizo meat in the same skillet until browned.  Drain any excess fat.
• Mix your chorizo with your vegetables and taste.  Add tabasco, chili powder or smoked paprika to your liking.  
• Add 1/3 cup of tomato puree and mix well.
• Spoon mixture into your half red pepper shells and bake for approx 25mins.
• Baste with a little extra tomato sauce after 15mins of cooking to ensure it stays moist.

As everything is already cooked you are just waiting for the peppers to soften slightly and for the flavors to incorporate.  Serve with a fresh mixed leaf salad, corn on the cob or boiled potatoes.