Birthday Cake (with Nutella Frosting)

The picture doesn't do it justice -- this is a perfect Birthday Cake. Three layers of dark, moist, chocolatey cake, held together with thick firm homemade frosting. 

Some tips:

• Buy a big-ass jar of Nutella if you're gonna make this frosting. You need just over 500g, which is more than is in a standard jar.
• All-purpose flour is surely fine, but I used a fluffy 405 Weißmehl and it was delightful.
• Don't forget to pull out the butter first to get it to room temperature.
• Make the chocolate simple syrup! It's easy and is key to moist cake.

You're gonna make three things: 1) the cake layers, 2) chocolate simple syrup, and 3) the frosting. Let's gooooooo!

Cake layers

• 2 cups (260g) flour
• 1¾ cups (350g) white sugar
• ¾ cup (75g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted 
• 2 tsp baking powder 
• 1½ tsp baking soda 
• 1 tsp salt 
• 1 cup (240 ml) warm water
• 1 cup (250g) full-fat plain yogurt or sour cream
• ½ cup (110g) vegetable oil
• 2 eggs, room temperature 
• 2 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1 tsp instant coffee powder

Whisk together the dry in one bowl, whisk together the wet plus instant coffee powder in another bowl. Then whisk them both together and pour evenly into three round, greased (!) cake pans. You could measure it out with a cup measure or weigh the pans to ensure evenness. Bake at 170C / 350F until they pass the toothpick test, 23-25 minutes. Set them aside to cool.

Chocolate simple syrup

• ½ cup (120ml) warm water
• ½ cup (100g) white sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

In a small saucepan, stir together the water and sugar and heat until it juuuust starts to bubble. Take off the heat and stir in the cocoa powder.

Frosting

• 1¾ cups (525g) Nutella
• 1 cup (230g) butter, room temperature
• ½ powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

In a big mixing bowl, beat all ingredients with a mixer until you've beat enough air in there to increase the volume and fluffiness. Something like 3-5 minutes is good. You can just eyeball it: If it looks and feels like frosting, it's good.

The Assembly

Use a pastry brush to "paint" the chocolate simple syrup onto the cooled cake layers. This will soak in and make the cake dark and moist. Apply the frosting to the first layer by dolloping blobs of it evenly over the top. Then use a knife to "connect" the blobs and paint the frosting down the sides. Be careful not to drag the knife too close to the cake surface, or the tension will tear the cake. (It's not like buttering a piece of toast.)

Set the next layer on top and treat it the same, then the third. Then use the remaining frosting to fill in any gaps on the side and make nice swirl patterns.

Shake some adorable rainbow sprinkles on top for the happiest classic Birthday Cake look. Don't forget the cute candles.

It's mighty -- you can get 12 thick or 16 moderate slices out of this one!

Will keep outside the fridge for a couple days, but after that, it keeps better in the fridge.

Pumpkin Bread (but come on, it's really cake)

Makes a nicely spicy, moist loaf cake.

A couple of tips:

• That's right, olive oil. Believe me. It's perfect for this.
• If you are in the States and can use Libby's canned pumpkin puree, great! 
• If you are in a non-Libby's zone and thus using fresh pumpkin, get yourself a Hokkaido. These are ideal for baking, because they're firm (not watery) when cooked, and also the skin is edible. Cut it up, remove the seeds and stem, peel away any weird spots with a knife or potato peeler. Boil the Hokkaido chunks for 15 minutes until soft, then drain the water and puree it with a hand mixer. Or a potato masher. Or a fork. Or whatever works.
• Boiling/steaming is better than roasting, because you want a soft, even puree, not crispy roasted edges.

To the cake!

Dry ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cloves
• ½ teaspoon allspice
• ¼ teaspoon cardamom (optional)

Wet ingredients

• ¾ cup olive oil
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ¾ cup white sugar
• 2 eggs (or egg substitute, if making vegan)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla 
• 2 cups pureed pumpkin 

Preheat the oven to 175 C (350 F).

Whisk together the dry ingredients in one bowl. Then whisk the wet ingredients in another bowl. Pour the dry into the wet and stir until just combined (you don't want to overmix, otherwise you'll overdevelop the gluten and make it tough/dense rather than fluffy).

Pour into a loaf pan or muffin tins. Bake until it passes the toothpick test (loaf = 45-55 minutes, muffins = around 25 minutes but check them at 20).

Want to glaze it?

Glaze ingredients

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• Just a splash of milk (cow, soy, almond, oat, whatever)
• A dash of cinnamon

In a small bowl, pour the maple syrup over the sugar and whisk really hard until it forms a paste. Add the milk, drop by drop, until you get a thick, spreadable consistency. Whisk in some cinnamon. Use a spoon to spread it over the (entirely completely totally cooled!) cake, dribbling some down the edges. You can let this dry and then add another layer, if desired. It should harden up in 30 minutes or so.

Broccoli parmesan fritters

(Adapted from the inestimable Smitten Kitchen.)

Serves two, so double or treble as needed!

• 250 g or 3 cups washed, fresh broccoli cut into chunks (1 medium bundle)
• 2 large eggs
• 70 g (1/2 cup) flour
• 50 g (1/3 cup) shredded parmigiano, plus a bit more for topping
• 1-2 small garlic cloves, minced
• Salt, like 1/2 teaspoon 
• A few red pepper flakes or several grinds of black pepper
• Ghee or oil for frying
• For topping: yogurt, quark, or sour cream with garlic added

Steam the broccoli until tender but not mushy (maybe 5 minutes). Drain, chop, and set it aside.

In the bottom of a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Whisk/stir in flour, cheese, garlic, salt and pepper. Add the broccoli and mix it all up with a spoon.

Heat a large, heavy skillet over moderate heat and add a good slick of oil. (If a flick of water sizzles and pops when it hits the pan, you're ready.) Scoop a two tablespoon-size mound of the batter and drop it into the pan, flattening the blob slightly with your spoon or spatula. Repeat with additional batter, leaving some room between each. Once brown underneath, about 2 to 3 minutes, flip each fritter and cook on the other side until equally golden, about another 1 to 2 minutes.

Transfer briefly to paper towels to drain, and then right to a plate. Repeat with remaining batter, adding more oil as needed. 

Serve with blops of garlic-pimped yogurt/quark/sour cream and sprinkled with more parmesan. Cholula (or another other hot sauce) was also *chef's kiss*

Pasta salad

Perfect for a summer evening meal. ✨

Ingredients

        Salad:

• 400g (about four cups) dry pasta in any small shape
• 125g (1 cup) frozen peas 
• 1 fresh cucumber
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1/2 of a red onion
• 10 grape (or 15 cherry) tomatoes
• 20 Kalamata olives, pitted
• Celery would surely be good, too, but I didn't have any today

        Dressing:

• 1 large or two small garlic cloves, minced
• 60 or so grams (1/4 cup) of mayonnaise
• 80 or so grams (approx 3/4 cup) plain yogurt
• 1 tbs mustard
• 2-3 tbs balsamico
• 2 tsp or so salt
• 1 tsp dill
• A couple spoonfuls of capers

         Optional:

• 3 tins of small oily fish (tuna, sardines, mackerel, etc), drained & mashed

                OR

• 6 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

                OR

• both!

Directions

Set your pasta to boil. When it's almost done (like 2 minutes left), add the peas. Drain and rinse in cool water.

Meanwhile, quarter & slice the cucumber; quarter & thinly slice the bell pepper; halve & really thinly slice the onion; slice up the tomatoes; cut the olives in half. If you have celery, give that a chop into those little c-shaped pieces.

Stir together all the dressing ingredients in a cereal-sized bowl. Then mix up everything in a big mixing bowl because this makes a lot!

Cover and chill for a while so that the flavors can all blend together before dinner. 😋

Beef pumpkin stew

You guys. This rich, warm, comforting wintry stew was SO GOOD for a cold January night. I just kind of riffed on what we had in the kitchen, so will try to render as accurately as I can remember! Definitely making again.

• 200g beef (I only had mince in the freezer but stew chunks would be even better)
• You could for sure make this vegetarian by using thick flavorful mushrooms here
• 1 smallish Hokkaido pumpkin, cut into large chunks. (You don't need to peel Hokkaido.)
• Maybe a dozen (?) small, firm potatoes, cut into spoon-sized chunks
• Sizable chunk of ginger, about the size of half a computer mouse, chopped
• 1 onion (I used a small red onion but any sharp onion would surely be good), sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• A few tablespoons of oil or butter for sauteeing (I prefer clarified butter)
• 1 can chopped tomatoes, drained (Stephan drinks the leftover juice. #italian )
• 2 tablespoons coriander seeds (crushed) or powdered coriander
• 2 teaspoons ground allspice
• 1 tablespoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• A handful of chopped parsley (dried is fine)
• 4 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• Lots of salt
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• Splashes of red wine
• Splashes of apple cider vinegar
• Crème fraîche for topping

Brown the beef (or mushrooms) in a bit of oil/butter/ghee. Turn down the heat and throw in the sliced onion, sauteeing until nearly soft; add ginger and garlic plus a bit more butter. Don't let the garlic burn! 

After about a minute, add the tomatoes and spices (not yet the salt). Let simmer together for a bit before you pour on about a liter of water.

Add the potatoes and bring to a boil. Add salt. Turn down and let bubble for about ten minutes before you add another liter of water and the pumpkin chunks. Let bubble for another ten minutes.

As it all starts to soften and blend together, add the brown sugar and a few splashes of wine and vinegar for flavor. Taste and see if it needs more of any of those three (or more salt).

Let the whole thing simmer for at least 30 minutes more. Resist the aromas in the kitchen. Resiiiiist theeemmm... Maybe pour yourself a glass of that red wine while you wait.

Serve topped with a dollop of crème fraîche and sprinkle with more parsley to look pretty. 

(Trust me on the crème fraîche. It adds a whole new dimension.)

Snarfle!

Oh yes, and we had an arugula salad while we were waiting. With some parmesan flakes, it was perfect.

Gingerbread pancakes

These came out *perfect*: tall, bouncy, richly spiced, crisp on the edges. I adapted them a bit from the New York Times Cooking blog. If you don't have fresh ginger, then first of all, that would be a shame (it's really great in this recipe) but second of all, just double the powdered ginger. However, do make sure you have lemon zest, as it simply makes this recipe!

Mix wet in one bowl:

• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1/3 cup dark molasses (but not blackstrap)
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger (I mean *really* fine. Biting into a chunk of ginger is great in soup but jarring in pancakes)
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest (seriously, do this)

Mix dry in another bowl:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoons ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves

Pour the wet into the dry and stir until just combined. You don't want to overblend; it's okay if there are some lumps in there.

Drop batter by the 1/4 cup onto a preheated, thickly buttered skillet (it should sizzle a little). Fry them up like usual. They'll inflate to towering cakes, mmm! Keep finished batches on a plate in a warm oven until it's all cooked up.

Serve with whatever (butter, quark, cream cheese, syrup, all of the above) but be sure to top it with cinnamon! Some orange slices make the plate look pretty, too.

Brownie truffles

Batch of brownies come out less-than-ideal? Turn them into these delights:

Ingredients:

• One batch of ho-hum brownies, cooled
• Heavy cream
• Shakes of rum (optional)

The magic:

1. Mash up the brownies with a pastry cutter, or slash at them with knives, or whatever it takes to turn them into a crumbly pile.
2. Add several shakes of rum and splashes of cream until it's a thick, sticky mass the consistency of cream cheese.
3. Use a cookie scoop to form dense, evenly sized balls (really pack it in there) and roll each ball in cocoa powder. 
4. Place truffles into the freezer for 30 minutes to set. Voilà!

Note: The cocoa powder will eventually get moist and disappear into the truffles. 

Variations: Try rolling them in cinnamon, powdered sugar, sprinkles, coconut flakes, or a shimmery decorative topping. Instead of rum, try whisky, brandy, or cointreau.

MMM...Meatloaf

I've been making meatloaf all my life. I ran across this recipe online a few years ago and decided to try it. So much better than anything I had ever made before. I'm not sure why. There is no "secret ingredient". It's just uh-mazingly good! It's the only meatloaf recipe I will ever use from here on. 

Servings: 8 

Ingredients: 

• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 1 onion, grated on large holes of a box grater (I don't use a whole onion) 
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 
• ¾ cup ketchup 
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar 
• 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar 
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper 
• ¾ cup low-sodium chicken broth 
• ½ cup chopped fresh parsley 
• 2 large eggs 
• ⅔ cup fine breadcrumbs 
• ½ cup finely grated Parmesan 
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt 
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
• 2 pounds ground beef (15% fat) Preparation: 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. 
2. Heat oil over medium in a small skillet. Cook onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, until very soft, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. 
3. Meanwhile, bring ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, and cayenne to a boil in a small saucepan, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced and syrupy, about 5 minutes. Transfer 2 tablespoons ketchup mixture to a blender (just a large cup is fine); add broth and parsley and blend until smooth. Set remaining ketchup mixture aside. 
4. Add broth mixture, eggs, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, salt, and pepper to onion and garlic; mix to combine. Add beef and mix well with your hands to combine. 
5. Transfer meatloaf mixture to oven-safe pan (Nik, we know you have a good meatloaf pan!). Spread reserved ketchup mixture over top. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 165°, approx. 90-100 minutes. 
6. Let rest 10 minutes before slicing. 

Don't forget to save some for next day meatloaf sandwiches!

Cocktails: Classic Negroni

Winter, spring, summer, or faaaall... this cocktail sure has it aaaaall!

Equal parts:

• Campari
• Sweet vermouth (red or white)
• Gin

Shake everything together in a cocktail shaker with ice. Pour into old-fashioned glasses over ice with a twist of orange peel. Tip your hat at passersby while waiting for the ferry to Capri.

Cocktails: The Man o' War

 A delicious cocktail that manages to be both bright and rich at the same time.

• 2 parts bourbon or rye
• 1 part Cointreau
• 1/2 part sweet white vermouth
• 1/2 part fresh squeezed lemon juice

Shake everything up in a cocktail mixer with ice until nice and cold. Serve in martini glasses and garnish with a twist of lemon peel or even a maraschino cherry.

Cocktails: Boulevardier

Or known in some circles as: The Boo-Boo.

Equal parts:

• Bourbon (for a rounder flavor) or rye (for a richer, spicier note)
• Sweet red vermouth
• Campari

Shake everything up in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake, shake, shake. Pour over ice in an old-fashioned glass with a twist of orange peel.

 

Cocktails: Gimlet

The freshest summer cocktail *chef's kiss*

Ingredients

• 2 parts gin

• 1 part freshly squeezed lime juice

• 1 part simple syrup

Combine everything with ice in a cocktail shaker and shake shake shake till nice and cold. 

Pour into a champagne coup or martini glass and garnish with a lime twist or spring of rosemary.

Grünkohl, a.k.a. the greens that are better than dessert

Believe it or not, this is so simple yet so delicious I postponed eating dessert so as to polish this off!

Ingredients

• Big bushel of fresh Grünkohl (curly kale, I believe)
• Butter
• Salt & pepper
• Cinnamon
• Squeeze of fresh lemon

Method

1. Wash the kale.
2. Pick the green leafy parts off the stems, tearing the greens into pieces. Discard the stems.
3. Put a chunk of butter into a warm pan and pile on the torn-up greens. It’s fine if they’re still a bit wet from the washing; in fact you want some drops of water in there.
4. Add shakes of salt, pepper, and cinnamon.
5. Let it all kind of wilt over medium heat until the kale is softened, stirring to distribute the spices and butter.
6. Serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon.
7. Eat seconds and thirds.

Egg nests

Easy, satisfying, and nutritious!

Ingredients

• Six eggs
• 2 packages frozen spinach (around 800g total)
• Chopped garlic & onion
• Herbes du provence
• Salt & pepper
• 1 package feta cheese
• Chili flakes, if desired

Baking it up

1. Thaw the spinach in a pan until there's no longer enough water in it to pool. It should be juicy but not "wet". 
2. Push the spinach to the side and sautee the chopped garlic & onions in the middle. Once soft, mix it all up and add the herbs, chili flakes, salt, and pepper.
3. Spread the spinach mixture in a baking dish. With a spoon, whittle out six evenly-spaced indentations. Carefully crack one egg into each nest.
4. Crumble the whole feta cheese over the top.
5. Bake at 180 Celsius until the eggs are how you like them. The time really varies; sometimes it's 30 minutes, sometimes 45. Just keep checking on it and giving the pan a shake to see how much they wiggle.
6. Serve with crusty bread.

Beanless beef chili

Warm and comforting without the, shall we say, after-effects of beany chili!

Ingredients

• Around 350g minced beef
• 1 tsp each allspice (Piment), ground black pepper, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, chili flakes
• 1 whole onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• Peeled carrots, cut into half-moon slices
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes, drained, or 3 chopped fresh
• 1 small tin of corn/maize kernels, drained
• 1.5 liters beef broth 
• 1 cup rice (I like wild rice but any rice will do)
• 2-3 bay leaves (Lorbeerblätter)
• Couple dashes soy sauce
• A few gloops of red wine, if you'd like

Stew time

1. Brown the beef in some oil/butter in a pan on high-ish medium heat. 
2. Add the chopped garlic and onion, and the spices (except bay leaves). Sautee till soft. 
3. Add the carrots, tomatoes, and corn. Stir around a minute or two.
4. Add the broth, bring to a boil. Add the rice. Turn down to a simmer and add the bay leaves.
5. Simmer until the rice is cooked and everything is nice and thick, 45-60 minutes. 
6. Toward the end, add the wine and soy sauce. Taste to see if you need more salt.
7. Serve with a dollop of crème fraîche or yogurt on each bowl.

Foolproof cacio e pepe

Can't take credit for this one, the perfect cacio e pepe comes from smitten kitchen!

The secret: This recipe begins the sauce with cold water, forming the cheese and pepper into a thick paste. No heat touches the sauce until it hits the piping hot pasta, so it melts only onto the noodles. A few spoonfuls of cooking water loosen it to a thick but lightly creamy consistency. 

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces dried spaghetti or tonnarelli
• 4 ounces aged pecorino romano, finely grated
• A lot* of freshly ground black pepper 

Method:

1. Bring a pot of well-salted water to boil. Cook pasta to one minute shy of package instructions and taste for your desired doneness, cooking a minute longer if needed. We are not cooking the pasta and sauce further together on the stove, so the bite it has now is about what your final dish will.
2. While it’s cooking, combine all the pecorino (except a spoonful for garnish) and lots of freshly ground black pepper in a bowl. 
• Add 1 tablespoon cold water and use an immersion blender to work it into a paste, adding additional cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, only as needed. You want to form the mixture into a paste about the thickness of cream cheese or frosting. I use about 4 to 5 tablespoons total for this amount. 
• Blend more than you think is needed; you want this paste as smooth as you can get it. You can do this same process in a food processor, even grinding the cheese in it instead of grating it first but it will require longer processing to get the rubble-like cheese smooth.
3. Before the pasta is done, scoop out a cup of hot cooking water and set it aside. 
4. Drain the pasta very quickly in a colander (no need to shake every drop of water off) and immediately drop it, piping hot, back into the pot. 
5. Add 3/4 of cheese-pepper paste in dollops and toss to combine. It’s going to be too thick to form a sauce but once it has begun to coat the noodles, pour in one small ladleful of pasta water and toss, toss, toss (a lot of movement helps here) to loosen the paste into a lightly creamy consistency that evenly coats the spaghetti strands. Taste and add more of the cheese-pepper paste to taste, or use it all. Add more pasta water as needed only to loosen.

Finish with reserved pecorino and a few grinds of black pepper. Eat immediately.

*How much is “a lot” of freshly ground black pepper? It’s impossible to measure — too low in grams to register steadily on a scale, too varied in coarseness to measure in consistent measuring spoons, plus peppercorns vary in intensity, and your preference may not be someone else’s. Taste the cheese-pepper mixture. The pepper should be prominent and give it a sparkly kick. If you want more, add more. Remember that this sauce base will stretch over a lot of pasta, so if it tastes too intense, that’s probably correct. 

Spinach pie

Can never have too much spinach and cheese, nom nom nom

Ingredients

• 800 g frozen spinach (two packages)
• 2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 small onion or 1/2 large onion, chopped
• Salt & pepper
• 1 tsp herbes du provence
• 1 package feta cheese
• 4 eggs
• 1 c heavy cream
• 1 pie crust

Bakin' some pie

1. Roll out the pie crust and transfer it to a pie pan, pressing down firmly. You can pre-bake it a bit if you'd like but I don't think that's absolutely necessary.
2. Thaw the spinach in a pan, letting as much water steam off as you can. It should be moist and juicy still, but also dry enough that you don't see any liquid pooling up when you press on it with a spoon. This is important: If there is water, you will have a runny pie.
3. Push the spinach to the side of the pan and sautee the chopped garlic & onion in some oil in the middle. Once soft, mix it all up with salt, pepper, and herbes de provence.
4. Layer half the spinach mixture on the bottom of the pie.
5. Crumble the feta cheese over this layer, spreading around evenly.
6. Whisk up the rest of the spinach in a bowl with four eggs, the cream, a bit more salt. Pour over top of the pie.
7. Bake in the oven at 180 Celsius for about an hour.
8. Serve with a fresh green salad.

The Roast Chicken Legs

Crispy-skinned roasted chicken legs you can eat like a barbarian!

Ingredients

• Four high-quality Hähnchenschenkel (whole chicken legs). Get them organic or from a local butcher. Believe me, you will taste the difference.
• 2 tbs coconut oil
• 2 tsp thyme (fresh is good, but out of the spice shaker is fine too)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cayenne powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Roast 'em

1. Make sure there are no feathers on the chicken. Pluck out any bits you see. But leave the skins on!
2. Mix the spices together in a wee bowl.
3. Pan method: Heat up the coconut oil on the higher end of medium and drop in the chicken legs. Sprinkle half the spice mix generously over the top. When one side is browned (maybe 5 min?) flip them over and sprinkle the other side. Cover them and turn the heat down so that they're just sizzling, no longer frying. Cook around 30 minutes, until the meat is pulling away from the bone (or a thermometer stuck in says 70 Celsius).
4. Oven method: Coat the chicken legs in melted coconut oil and lay on a foil-lined pan. Sprinkle spices generously. Bake at 180 Celsius for 45 minutes.

Super warming broccoli cream soup

Perfect for a cold winter's day!

Ingredients:

• A full kilo of broccoli (seriously, like three of those frozen boxes)
• Let's say a half-dozen medium-sized-to-small mehlige Kartoffeln ("floury" potatoes? You know, the kind that cook soft, which you would use for making mash)
• Chunk of butter for sauteeing
• One whole big white onion
• Three toes (hee hee) of garlic
• Ground black pepper
• A ton of hot chilis. In whatever form: chili powder, chili flakes, fresh chilis, dried chilies. I used like nine dried bird's eye chilis and they were absolutely divine: definitely very spicy and warming, but not painful
• 1.5 liters of water
• A few spoonfuls of salt
• Some kind of blender, like a stand blender or handheld immersion blender
• 100g cheese (cheddar or gouda would be perfect)
• 100g crème fraîche 

Make the soup:

1. Prep the broccoli: If using fresh, wash this and cut it into pieces, peeling the tough parts off the stems (such as the bottoms and maybe even a couple centimeters up the stalk with a carrot peeler). Then cut off the florets really high up, so that you have a pile of stalks and a pile of nothing but florets. Chop the florets really fine.
2. Prep the taters, garlic, and onion: Peel these and cut into hunks. Don't worry about being too fine about it, we're just pureeing it all in a bit.
3. Sautee the onions and garlic in a pan with the hunk of butter. 
4. Once soft, add the potatoes, broccoli stalks, pepper, and chilis, and stir around for a minute or so.
5. Pour the water over everything, add the salt, and bring it all to a boil. Then immediately reduce the heat and simmer until the potato chunks fall apart when you prod them with a fork, about 15 minutes.
6. Add half of the finely chopped broccoli florets and simmer for another 5 minutes or so.
7. Remove the soup from the heat and carefully (it's hot!) blend it so that it is fine and creamy. Take your time and be thorough about it.
8. Carefully transfer it back to the heat to simmer. Add the cheese, crème fraîche, and remaining broccoli florets. Taste to see if it needs more salt, and if it's spicy enough, mmm.

Serve with another dab of crème fraîche in each bowl and a sprinkle of parsley over the top, if you'd like. Crusty bread and a cold white wine are great with this. I'd suggest a fruity wine to counteract the chilis' heat – something more like a Sauv Blanc than a Riesling.

Thick n chewy chocolate chip cookies

Another cookie recipe for the collection! This one produces a perfectly textured, thick (not puffy!) cookie with a crisp exterior and a tender interior. Plus puddles of melted chocolate. Yes yes yes.

Lifted from the excellent recipe from smitten kitchen, adapted here for the Euro crowd.

• 115 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 115 grams white sugar
• 1 teaspoonful of dark molasses (this is key! do not skip)
• 1 teaspoonful of ground bourbon vanilla
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• Heaped 1/4 teaspoon (or, technically, 1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon) fine sea or table salt
• 200 grams medium-protein flour, e.g., Halbweissmehl or Weizenmehl 550
• 200-225 grams dark chocolate, chopped into roughly 1/2-inch chunks

Heat oven to 180C.

Beat together butter, sugars, molasses, and vanilla until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes with electric mixer or kitchen machine. Beat in egg. Beat in baking soda and salt. Turn off the beater and use a wooden spatula to mix in the flour until just combined (if the dough looks crumbly, that is okay). Fold in the chopped chocolate.

Shape into cookie sized balls and arrange on baking paper on a baking sheet. Make sure to leave a good 10cm between cookies (avoid them running together, amoeba-like).

Bake 8-12 minutes, until the edges are looking brown and crisp but the insides still soft. Don't overbake! They'll continue to firm up a little on the hot pan when removed from oven. Let rest on pan for at least 5 minutes before removing for cooling or eating.

Pro tips:

• Get a cookie scoop thing! They are amazing.
• Don't chop the chocolate too fine! Big chunks make nice big pools of melty chocolate.
• White sugar + molasses can be replaced with American brown sugar if it's available.
• Consider sprinkling with sea salt before popping in the oven. If you're into that.
• You can either bake these straight away, or rest the dough in the fridge first (for 30 minutes up to a few days). I've done both and they turn out great. If resting the dough, scoop the batter into cookie-sized balls before nestling them into a plastic bag and tucking them into the fridge. Then no wrestling with hard, cold dough when you're ready to bake; can just arrange them directly on the pan.