Soft Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've never been a big fan of just peanut butter cookies. They seem so one-dimensional, just mouthfuls of peanut butter in cookie form. Might as well just have PB straight from the jar. However, the cookies are elevated to a different level when you add in chocolate chips. It transforms the cookie: it first tastes like an extra buttery chocolate chip cookie, and then you are left with a lingering nutty aftertaste of peanut butter. These melt-in-your-mouth cookies stick to the roof of your mouth, like when you eat peanut butter by the spoonful. The semi-sweet chocolate chips add a little bit (but not overpowering) of sweetness, which cuts through the richness of the peanut butter. I couldn't wait for them to cool before munching on one so I kind of burnt the roof of my mouth a bit. Always have a glass of cold milk handy!

Cream the butter and sugars together in a big bowl until fluffy. I recommend using an electric mixer, but you can do it by hand. 

Beat in the peanut butter, egg and vanilla. 

Time to work those arm muscles if you aren't using an electric mixer. I felt like I was churning butter thanks to the thick peanut butter!

Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a separate small bowl. 

Mix the flour mixture with the peanut butter mixture and add lots of chocolate chips. Chill the dough for at least an hour.

Roll the chilled dough into small balls of similar size. Place them 2 inches apart from each other on a non-stick cookie sheet/baking tray. Alternatively, line your sheet with parchment paper.

Flatten them with the palm of your hand.

Bake for 8-10 minutes until the edges of the cookies have set. The middle will seem underdone, but that's okay because the cookies will continue to cook on the metal sheet after you remove them from the oven.

Let the cookies cool on the sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cook completely.

Enjoy these babies with a glass of cold milk!

Soft Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 24 small cookies

Ingredients

½ cup butter, room temperature
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup creamy peanut butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 ¼ cups flour
Pinch of salt
1 ¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method

1. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy.
2. Add the peanut butter, egg and vanilla and beat until well-combined.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the baking soda, flour and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture and mix with a spatula or wooden spoon until just combined. Do not over mix.
4. Fold in the chocolate chips. Chill the dough in the fridge for 1 hour.
5. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 175 C / 350 F. Line a cookie sheet or baking tray with parchment paper if not using non-stick.
6. Roll the chilled dough into small balls and flatten them with the palm of your hand onto the sheet. Keep the balls at least 2 inches apart. 
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes until the edges of the cookies have set. The middle will appear underdone. 
8. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cook completely.

Recipe adapted from here

New York - Eleni's Cookies

Eleni's Cookies is a cute store inside Chelsea Market that sells baked goods. They sell "normal" cookies (their butterscotch is amazing) and also customised sugar cookies. They have cookies for pretty much any occasion or theme that you can think of: birthdays, weddings, animals...even silly ones like Emoji! You can also special order your own for events. I bought their DIY Color Me cookies as a souvenir for Nene because she likes to doodle. It came in a sturdy tin box with 8 cookies and 5 edible markers. We had fun coloring the cookies (I felt like a kid again!), but the cookies were way too sweet for our liking. It would definitely be a cute idea for kids' birthday parties though!

Creamy Crab Rigatoni

This is a simple yet decadent weeknight pasta dish that takes less than 30 minutes to make. I loved the chunks of creamy crab meat hiding inside the mezzi rigatoni (short rigatoni). However I must apologize for the quality of these photos. I left my camera at a friend's place so I had to use my phone. I tried my best to tinker with the editing on iPhoto, but the photos don't do this dish justice.

 Cook the garlic on low heat until fragrant.

Stir in the crab meat.

 If you don't want to, you don't have to peel them. But if you want a smoother sauce without bits of tomato skin floating around in it, it only takes a few minutes to do this step. I scored an X on top of each tomato and blanched them in boiling water for 30 seconds before peeling.

Add the stock and simmer on low heat until the tomatoes are soft.

After 15 minutes of simmering, the tomatoes have disintegrated into the sauce.

 Add the cream. Simmer for another minute.

 Add the cooked pasta and mix well. Turn up the heat to medium high to reduce and thicken the sauce.

Plate it up and add some shaved Pecorino. The salty cheese adds a nice sharpness. 

Recipe - adapted from here

For 2

Ingredients

150g tubular pasta, preferably rigatoni or penne
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can crab meat, around 150g
2 tomatoes, skins removed, roughly chopped
1 cup fish stock
100 ml cream
Salt
Pecorino, optional

Method

1. To remove the skins of the tomatoes, score an X on top of each tomato and blanch in boiling water for 30 seconds. Peel back the skins when cool enough to handle.
2. Heat olive oil in pan and added the minced garlic. Cook on low.
3. When the garlic is fragrant, stir in the crab meat. Season with a pinch of salt.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and stock. Simmer on low heat until the tomatoes are soft and mushy.
5. While the tomatoes are simmering, cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain the pasta when it is one minute shy of al dente.
6. When the tomatoes are soft, add the cream and simmer for another minute.
7. Add the pasta and mix well. Turn up the heat to medium high to thicken and reduce the sauce.
8. Shave some Pecorino on top before serving, or alternatively, add chopped parsley.

Hong Kong - Yakiniku Futago

Futago is a yakiniku (Japanese grilled meat) chain from Osaka, Japan. It was opened by twins in 2010, hence the name "Futago", which means twins in Japanese. According to their Facebook page, their concept is to provide "selected fresh beef at half price and half volume, so you can enjoy many kinds of meat". I first learnt about this restaurant from Dre’s mouthwatering Instagram feed (follow her @ledre). She has been more than once and has raved about it. Laubaby, twins Big and Small (haha twins at "twins"! Me so funny) and I made reservations for 7:30pm and we arrived on the dot. We were seated about 10 minutes later at a table near the automatic sliding door, but before we ordered they switched us to a table further inside the restaurant. That was a nice gesture as it was too warm to sit near the entrance with the door opening and closing constantly. Each table had its own little gas grill and a powerful smoke suction device. 

Salted Sesame Cabbage Salad (芝麻鹽醬椰菜）

Thick Prime Beef Tongue (厚切特上牛舌）

Roasted Beef Sushi (火焰牛壽司)

Special: Roasted Wagyu Beef Sushi (火焰和牛壽司)

Can't remember what this cut of meat was, but it was delicious!

They add garlic, wasabi and grated daikon for extra flavour.

Hamideru Karubi (大得驚人牛小排）

They divide this huge slice of beef into 3 different cuts, to be enjoyed separately.

Wagyu Prime Karubi (汁燒黑毛和牛肋骨）

Korean Style Karubi (韓式汁牛肋肉）

Beef with Sea Urchin (海膽牛肉) - watch the clip below to see how this dish was made

Verdict: We loved it. We had to order some of the dishes twice (beef tongue, wagyu karubi)! Great to go with friends who have big appetites! Most of the beef dishes were flavourful enough and didn't need the dipping sauce provided. I can't wait to go again. Futago not only offers delicious food at reasonable prices, but also friendly service and a fun environment. I liked how we were able to cook our own food but also sit back and relax while our server cooked the specialty dishes. FYI you receive a stamp for each visit, and when you get 10, you receive your very own gold tongs for use at Futago.

Yakiniku Futago HK
Address: Shop B, G/F, 1-5 Irving Street, Hong Kong
Phone: 2898 7707
Website: http://www.yakiniku-futago.com/ or go to their Facebook page for an online English/Chinese menu

Gyudon Beef Bowl

I've always wanted to make my own gyudon. Gyudon translates to beef (gyu) bowl (don). It is such an unmistakably Japanese dish. I think the secret of a good gyudon lies in the sweet sauce that the beef cooks in. Of course, higher quality/marbling of beef will also elevate the dish, but the combination and ratio of soy, sugar, mirin and wine is the key in making this the ultimate Japanese comfort food. I found this easy recipe from Harumi Kurihara's cookbook I bought almost 10 years ago. She's like the Martha Stewart of Japan, minus the tax evasion. The sauce came out just right - sweet with depths of flavour from the soy and mirin. 

Slice the onion into thin half-moons.

I got pre-sliced beef at the supermarket intended for sukiyaki or hot pot.

I used white wine, but you can also use Chinese cooking wine or sake.

It is important to use Japanese soy sauce as it is sweeter than its Chinese counterpart and also has a thinner and clearer consistency.

Bring the wine and water to a boil.

Simmer the beef and skim the scum off the top.

Add the soy sauce, sugar and mirin.

 Add the onions. The original recipe called for an otoshibuta, which is a light-weight wooden drop lid placed directly on top of simmering food to distribute heat evenly. I didn't have one, so I improvised and used the lid from a smaller pan. Cook until the onions are soft.

The beef and onions soaked up all the delicious sweet and savoury flavours. I think I will add an onsen egg next time for its silky richness!

Recipe - adapted from Harumi's Japanese Cooking

For 2

Ingredients

½ cup white wine

¼ cup of water

½ an onion

250g thinly sliced beef

¼ cup Japanese soy sauce

¼ cup mirin

2 tablespoons caster sugar

2 servings of cooked Japanese rice, kept warm 

Method

1. Slice the onions into thin half moon shapes.
2. In a saucepan (I used a frying pan), add the water and the wine. When it comes to a boil, simmer the beef for 2 minutes. Skim the scum off the top. 
3. Add the soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. Mix well.
4. Add the onions and cover with the lid of a smaller pan, until onions are soft.
5. Spoon the beef and onion mixture on top of rice and drizzle with pan juices.