Chocolate Slice Shortbread Cookies

 My sister recently gave me a new cookbook titled, Around My French Table, and I have thoroughly enjoyed looking through it. Reading cookbooks is a hobby of mine.  In fact, there is often a cookbook or two on my nightstand reading stack.  This cookbook is great because there are hundreds of French recipes, but they are not all complicated.  The author does a great job of giving tips for each recipe on whether or not you can freeze it, various ways to serve the dish, and other little tips to help in the kitchen.

Beware, because I'm going to be sharing many recipes from her book and most of them contain LOTS of butter!

This cookie recipe was one that I flagged upon my first perusal of the book because it combines two of my favorite things in a dessert:  butter and chocolate.  Not only that, but in her little side tip, she suggests serving these cookies as an ice cream sandwich using Ben & Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar Crunch Ice Cream.  Coffee ice cream just happens to be my favorite flavor, and with a little Heath Magic Shell topping, you have the perfect combination.  These cookies added a nice touch.

Chocolate Slice Shortbread Cookies

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 sticks (10 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped {optional}

Whisk the flour, cocoa, and salt together.  In a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth.  Add sugar and beat until creamy, but not airy.  Mix in the vanilla.  Gradually add the flour mixture until incorporated.  Stir in the chocolate at this point, if using.

Divide the dough in half and roll each piece into a log about 1 3/4 inches in diameter.  Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 350F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Slice the logs into 1/2-inch thick cookies {or 1/3 inch if you want them thinner} and place on baking sheets.  Bake for 15-18 minutes, rotating sheets at the halfway point.  Cookies should be firm to the touch.  Cool on wire racks.

You can refrigerate the dough for 3 days, or freeze it for up to 2 months.  If freezing, just add a minute or two to the baking time.  


source: Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours, Dorie Greenspan

Shrimp Thermidor

When I married into my husband's family I quickly discovered that I was going to be eating well.  They lived in a former French colony of West Africa for 16 years, so any western food they were served in a restaurant was of course French cuisine.  They came to greatly appreciate this food and so incorporated into their home. Their favorite dish was lobster thermidor, which I tasted there a few years ago, and it is amazing.  My mother-in-law altered the dish slightly to use shrimp instead of lobster, since lobster is so expensive here in the US, so I've mixed a bit of her twists along with a recipe in The Fannie Farmer Cookbook to create my version of this delicacy.

This recipe is not for the dieter, or the lactose intolerant, but if you enjoy the rich creaminess of French cuisine, mixed with a bit of seafood, then you will definitely fall in love with this dish.  Bon Appètit!

Ingredients:

2 pounds frozen raw shrimp, with peels and tails on
1 packet Zatarain's shrimp and crab boil*

8 oz fresh mushrooms

1/3 - 1/2 of a red onion

8 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

2 1/2 cups half and half

2 dried bay leaves

1/4 cup sherry**

4 cups shredded swiss cheese (not quite a pound)

salt to taste

Rinse the shrimp under cold running water to thaw.  This takes about 5-7 minutes.

Place bag of boil in a large pot and fill the pot with water, making sure to leave enough room for the shrimp.  When water comes to a rolling boil, add the shrimp, cover, and boil for about 5 minutes, until the shrimp turn pink.

This is the shrimp boil you should look for.  

Drain shrimp and allow to cool until easy to handle.  Then, remove the peels and tails. 

Slice the mushrooms and onion.  I usually do this while the shrimp is cooling.

The onions should be sliced finely.

Melt 5 tablespoons of butter in a deep saucepan.  Then, add mushrooms and onion, cutting up mushrooms into smaller chunks with the back of the spoon.  Cook until onions are tender and mushrooms are golden brown.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Using the same pan, melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter.  Add the flour and stir until smooth.

Slowly add half and half to this mixture; add bay leaves.  Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture thickens.

When mixture has thickened, add the sherry and cook for 1 minute. Remove bay leaves.  Then, stir in 2 cups of the shredded swiss cheese and stir until the cheese melts.  Add mushrooms and onions.  Remove from heat and stir in the shrimp. 

Pour thermidor into a greased baking dish, preferably a shallow one, so that each bite is adequately covered with the cheese in the next step.

Sprinkle remaining 2 cups of shredded cheese over the top.

Bake at 450F for 10-15 minutes.  When it starts to bubble, switch the heat to the broiler and broil until the cheese turns golden brown. 

Serve over rice.

*You could also use 2 pounds of cooked, frozen shrimp and just skip the steps of boiling the shrimp in the shrimp boil.  I have made this both ways, and I prefer cooking my own because it does add a better seafood flavor. 

**The sherry gives it a distinct taste, so if you're not comfortable purchasing actual sherry or cream sherry from the liquor store, white cooking wine would be an okay alternative.