Filet with Cognac Cream Sauce

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cuts of filet
• 1 shallot
• 4-5 0z low sodium beef broth
• 1/2 c. cooking cognac / whiskey
• 3/4 c. heavy cream
• butter
• salt
• pepper

Directions

1. Cover your filets with a thin layer of salt and pepper, let sit while you heat your pan.
2. Heat your oven to 350°
3. Butter your pan on high heat, though not hot enough to burn the butter. When ready, throw your steaks in and leave to cook for a few minutes on each side (only flip the steaks once.) Spoon over the butter from the pan to keep the steaks moist. 
4. Chop your shallot into fine pieces, I only use about half of a whole bulb.
5. Use the finger test to cook your steaks to the preferred completion, I prefer not to use a meat thermometer as it’ll let juices escape, and I prefer it medium rare. (http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/the_finger_test_to_check_the_doneness_of_meat/)
6. Remove your steaks from the pan and wrap in foil, place them in the oven for 5 minutes.
7. Butter the pan again and scrap the left over bits that have cooked onto the surface. Add your chopped shallots and caramelize.
8. Add beef broth and let it simmer. Do the same with the cognac, allowing the alcohol to fully cook off before adding the cream, making sure it’s throughly incorporated as to not let it curdle. Taste test and add salt as necessary. 
9. Remove steaks from the oven, you’ll notice the juices that got trapped in the foil, yum! Spoon the sauce over the steaks and voila! 

Enjoy!

Mmm inspiration to learn how to cook a perfect filet. I’ll have my own go at it this week :) 

HOME MADE POTATO CHIPS

Prep Time: 1 hr

Fry Time: 3 minutes (each side)

Ingredients

• Potatoes
• Vegetable or canola oil

Directions

1. Scrub or peal your potatoes
2. Using a mandolin (or a knife and a steady hand) cut even slices. You can cut them thick or thin to preference but making even slices is the most important part so that you have the right cook time. 
3. Let them soak in cold water for about half an hour, this gets rid of excess starch. When they’re done, dry them with paper towels. 
4. Heat the oil to medium-hot on the stove. I’d recommend in a deep pot to avoid too much oil splatter, but a shallow pan works fine too. You want the chips to sizzle, not splatter, when they hit the oil. Fill 1” of oil from whatever size pan you’re using.  (KEEP AND EYE ON YOUR CHIPS! They’ll burn if left on for even 30 seconds longer than they need to be!)
5. Let them fry for about 3 minutes, or until they are golden brown, then flip. 
6. Take them out using a slotted spatula so that you can get rid of the excess oil, and let them cool on a drying rack. 
7. Season with salt and enjoy! 

SNICKERDOODLES

Prep Time: 30

Bake Time: 10-12 minutes (for each batch)

Yield: 1 glass

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 c. + 3 Tbs. white sugar (divided)
• 1 Tbs. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 c. shortening
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 3/4 c. all purpose flour

Directions

1. Let the butter sit until slightly cooler than room temp, and then cut into small chunks and add to a mixing bowl (or standing mixer with a paddle attachment). REMEMBER: If you let your butter melt too much, it’ll thin the cookies out in the end! Never melt your butter in the microwave! This also means, don’t let your batter sit out in the kitchen for too long, once the butter melts too much, there’s no turning back!
2. Preheat oven to 350˚
3. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone sheets. 
4. In a shallow bowl, mix together the 3 Tbs. of sugar and cinnamon.
5. Mix the shortening in the bowl with the butter until they are creamy and thoroughly blended together. 
6. Add the remaining 1 1/2 c. of sugar to the mixture until light and fluffy.
7. Then add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla. 
8. In a small bowl, mix together the cream of tartar, baking soda and salt, then add that to the butter mixture. 
9. Add the flour and continue mixing until smooth. 
10. Using a melon baller, scoop out 1” balls and roll them into balls in your hands. Then roll them in the cinnamon sugar until they are completely covered (the more cinnamon sugar the better in my opinion). Then place them on the baking sheet 1 1/2”-2” apart. 
11. Bake for 10-12 minutes, you’ll know when they’re almost finished because the tops will start to crack and you’ll see that familiar Snickerdoodle look. Don’t overbake them though, Snickerdoodles are meant to be fluffy and a little chewy, not hard. 
12. Allow them to cool on a rack, and enjoy!  

HEIDI’S BUTTERBEER

Time: 5 minutes

Yield: 1 glass

Ingredients

• 16 oz cream soda
• 1 tbs Kahlua
• 1-2 shots of Spiced Rum (depending on how strong you want your drink, I used Kraken)
• 1 tbs brown sugar
• 1/16 cup butter
• 3oz whipping creme

Directions

1. Place the cream soda, spiced rum, and Kahlua into a pot and bring it to a boil.
2. Melt the butter in a smaller pot and mix in 2 oz of whipping creme allow for it to become frothy and slightly thicker. Slowly mix in the brown sugar until fully dissolved.
3. Slowly mix in the butter creme mixture into the pot containing the creme soda and alcohol.
4. Poor into a glass or mug of your choosing and poor in the remaining ounce of cold whipping creme. Mix and enjoy!

I came up with this recipe the other night before finally seeing the last Harry Potter movie. We wanted to be festive and make butter beer but being over 21, we decided to make adult friendly versions. Most of the recipes called for butterscotch schnapps and since we didn’t really like butterscotch, we decided to come up with something of our own. This drink gives me the warm, festive feeling I felt that butterbeer was suppose to give off during the holiday seasons.

Hope you guys enjoy it!

PALMIERS

Time: 35-40 min

Yield: 35-40 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 box puff pastry (I use Pepperidge Farm puff pastry, comes with 2 sheets inside, ingredients below are per sheet)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of salt

Directions

1. Defrost the puff pastry.
2. Preheat the oven to 450˚
3. Mix the sugar, salt and cinnamon and pour 1/3 of the mixture onto a clean countertop and spread it out evenly (you’ll be using this the same way you would flour dough to make it not stick)
4. Unfold the soft puff pastry and lay it down on the sugar mixture, use a rolling pin to lightly roll the dough (enough to get the sugar to stick to the dough, not to flatten it)
5. Pour 1/2 of the remaining sugar mixture on the top of the dough and evenly spread it out.
6. Now fold the dough in half, it should look like a book. Unfold and fold both sides of the square towards the middle where your new crease is. Now fold it once more like a book so they meet in the middle. You should have 4 layers. 
7. Cut off the ends of your rectangular pastry log if they are uneven (it’s important for all the pieces to be the same thickness so they bake evenly).
8. Cut into 3/8 in. slices and set them down on their sides. Using a pastry brush (or your fingers if you don’t have one) brush the cut sides of each piece of  dough and dip into the left over sugar mixture (you want all part of the dough to be sugared so that it will caramelize. 
9. Use a handful of remaining sugar mixture and sprinkle it over the entire cookie sheet, covering the cookies and their surrounding baking area. 
10. Place them on a baking sheet with lined with parchment or a silicone baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. 
11. Take the sheet out and flip each cookie and allow to bake for an additional 2-3 minutes. (Watch your cookies! An extra couple of minutes could turn them into burned crisps!)
12. Repeat with your other sheet of puff pastry.

Enjoy ッ

One more cus they’re so damn cute! 

The CUTEST little desserts ever! There’s a store in Switzerland called Sprüngli (sort of a really high end confectionary shop) and they sell these there. Half of them got crushed by the iPad when the train stopped ><