Zingers! - Blueberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies

By day, I work as a lawyer in McKinney, Texas. Other than the politics and the lack of synagogues, I love McKinney. It is growing so rapidly, but it still represents many of the quintessential virtues of Americana.

In this great city, there is one notable jewel. On McKinney's historic town square there is a small restaurant/retail store called Petina Greens. The chef at Petina Greens buys produce from the farms surrounding McKinney. The menu rotates daily based on availability of seasonal local produce. That is where I tried my first blueberry, white chocolate chip cookie. And it shook me...to my very core. Well, that might be a slight over-statement, but it did inspire me to try to recreate the recipe for myself.

So at around 10:30 pm on Tuesday night, I set out to create the greatest cookie in the universe. I researched several recipes and then played around with the ingredients. After covering myself in flour and spilling half the blueberries on the counter --victory was mine. The cookies actually tasted better than the ones at Petina Greens! I call these little cookies Zingers! The slightly tart blueberries, the salty white chocolate, and the bite of lemon zest produce a great zing in your mouth. Here is the recipe. This is a great new cookie to add to your holiday traditions! Enjoy!

Zingers!

Ingredients:
1 cup Crisco
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. double strength vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup dried blueberries
1 cup white chocolate chips
Zest of one large lemon

Directions:
1. Preheat Oven to 375 degrees
2. Beat together Crisco, sugars, eggs, and vanilla.
3. Mix together dry ingredients and stir into crisco mixture.
4. Stir in white chocolate chips, dried blueberries, and lemon zest.
5. Roll dough into small 1 1/2 inch balls and place on parchment lined cookie sheet.
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Take out when tops turn light brown. They may look slightly undercooked, but they will continue to cook out of the oven. Cool on sheet for a few minutes before removing to cool on rack.

Pop Over for Some Popovers

We just got back from three days at the beach. And although the weather was perfect and the beach was relaxing, there is nothing worse than South Padre Island beach food. Even the seafood was disappointing. So while everyone else paid top dollar for what promised to be an upscale dining experience, I consistently ordered the basket of greasy fried shrimp or a burger. Ultimately, everyone agreed that my strategy was the better one. You really can't mess up fried shrimp, particularly when lathered in tartar sauce.

So the first morning back in Dallas, I wanted something a little more refined and light. So I decided to make fresh homemade popovers served with sides of homemade strawberry jam and whipped honey. A popover is a light, hollow pastry made from an egg batter similar to that used in making Yorkshire pudding. The popover is believed to have originated in the late 1800s in Portland, Oregon. It was originally a savory dish made with meat drippings, but is now typically served with a simple eggy and buttery flavor. The name "popover" comes from the fact that the batter swells or "pops" over the top of the muffin tin while baking. The recipe I used turned out delightful and was suprisingly (perhaps all based on luck) easy to make.

Ingredients:
Canola Oil
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tbsp cooking oil
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
6 oz. glass custard cups, a popover pan, or a muffin tin

Directions:
Preheat oven 400 degrees. Coat the bottoms and sides of custard cups, muffin tin, or popover pan cups with Canola Oil. Place all cups on top of a large baking pan. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, and cooking oil. Add flour and salt. Beat with a wire
whisk until mixture is smooth. Fill the greased cups half full.

Place baking pan with cups on top of it in a 400 degrees oven for about 40 minutes or until
very firm.

As soon as you remove from oven, prick the top of each popover with a fork to let the steam
escape. Carefully remove each popover from the pan. Serve warm with butter, jam, honey,
maple syrup, or just powdered suger. Yields 5-6 Enjoy!

Tips:

• The popovers will rise better if the batter is already at room temperature.
• Move the oven rack to one of the lower levels so that the tops don't burn.
• Do not peek inside the oven for at least the first 30 minutes of baking. The popovers rise based on steam and heat. If you let this out of your oven, you may find little lumps of dough rather than success.
• Leave the popovers in the oven until they are firm.
• Remember not to feel discouraged. Popovers are picky. They are sensitive to room temperature, humidity, drafts, oven types, and a host of other variables. If conditions aren't perfect, they may refuse to rise. Or they may explode. Be patient if it doesn't work the first time.

Here is another recipe. I haven't tried this one yet. But if you've been to Neiman Marcus's Zodiac Room in Dallas, you know that these popovers are AMAZING!

Neiman Marcus Popovers

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs
1-3/4 cups milk, warmed to just above room temperature
2 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix dry ingredients. Beat eggs until light, then add milk and butter. Slowly add wet ingredients to dry. Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed.

Preheat a popover tin in the oven 5 minutes. Spray heavily with a canola-based spray. Fill cups almost to the top.

Bake 10 minutes at 450, then reduce heat to 350 and bake for 30 minutes or until deep brown. Yields 6.

Illegal Fruits and Vegetables in Dallas

I know people who despise tomatoes. Can you really blame them? They are picked while still green on the vine to later be dyed a deep red so that buyers think they are actually ripe. Tomatoes are nothing more than false advertisement. Each time you buy a tomato, you think that this will be the one that will knock your socks off. And each time, all you get is a mealy, tasteless ball of blah. Sure the tomato is an easy target, but most fruits and vegetables are equally disappointing when you buy them at the grocery store.

I realize this isn't breaking news. The mantra of almost every liberal and every enlightened conservative seems to be "Eat Local." So what better place to find local produce than at your local farmer's market. And that usually holds true, unless you live in Dallas. I will tell you right now, I have no interest in buying from the guy who has never stepped foot on a farm who is schlepping dole bananas at the Dallas Farmer's Market for Whole Food prices. These folks are just taking advantage of the "Eat Local" phenomenon. And for all of you trendy Dallasites who somehow convince yourself that a Dole banana must have been grown somewhere in Collin County -- well frankly, you deserve what you get.

But there are other options. There are "illegal" farmers markets and community gardens cropping up all over Dallas. That's right, many of these are not permitted under the Dallas Zoning Ordinance. You won't get in trouble for shopping there, but if you are selling, you may be looking at a fine ranging from $500-2000. There are also farms around Dallas that will allow you to pick your own produce.

Here are some helpful links to find the farms and community gardens in the Dallas area. Make sure you contact them before you go out there.

Farmer's Markets in Dallas:

http://lakewood.advocatemag.com/2010/03/its-a-farmers-market-out-there/

"Pick-Your-Own" Farms around Dallas:

http ://www.pickyourown.org/TXdallas.htm#listingsheaplikemeblog.com/

Community Gardens in Dallas

http://www.gardendallas.org/Area%20Gardens2.htm