A Favorite and a Newbie

Often, when I tell people I like to cook, they'll ask "Oh, what do you like to cook?"

Damn.

Why is it so hard to think of anything when people ask this? So I am going to think up some answers, write them down here, and hand people cards when they ask in future (I'm sure this will be a hit).

Now, um... er...

Good thing I have my iPhoto library. Using it as I do to see what's next for this blog, I see I have a favorite. I really like cauliflower- not raw, but roasted. Actually, roasted OR blanched and sauteed, they make very easy targets for any kind of spice/ flavor profile you want to lay over them.

My first foray into cauliflower was plain and easy: oil, salt, roast. As time went by, I added paprika, or herbes de Provence, or coriander and curry. Still very easy.
After some time, I tried recipes that tried a different tack: the blanch-and-saute method. A little more labor-intensive, but not yet Gulag territory. It requires a pot that doesn't even get dirty, so it's still in my comfort zone. And what I liked about it was that you can add a little more zazz with other ingredients. Don't get me wrong, I like one-main-ingredient dishes, but sometimes I like to add greens, or a protein, etc. I've recently been adding more eggs to vegetable dishes, and let me tell you, it's a much better meal than the one-ingredient dish, which is sometimes all I have in me for the night.

Mmmm.....

This second entry is, by contrast, a complete newbie, inspired by Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Almond Laceys, a cookie which I tried once and got hooked on! (Well, my coworker definitely got hooked; I liked them very much, thank you.) I thought I might try to see if I could make them, where I could control how many I had access to at a time (ahem).

I'm not sure how to regulate the butter spreading as it melts, but it did so in very unique ways...

I guess if I was going to enter these in a Cookie Beauty Pageant, I would have to figure that out...
Suggestions? Chill the dough? Comments welcome!

The recipe I had found in my Moosewood Desserts cookbook. I like it when I have a dozen books to search through for a recipe inside my head, instead of just Googling it. Where's the fun in that?

  

I would give them a 7.5 for taste, a 10 for fragility, a 6 for looks. Oh, and a 10 for talent.

And you never know, these might become a favorite.

After a few more tries.