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Chonky Boys: The Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches that Scream Summer!

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Featuring my thick and nuggy Chonky Boy Chocolate Chip Cookies, these ice cream sandwiches are the stuff that summer dreams are made of.  If you've ever had the Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich at Disneyland , you are going to LOVE these!  These big and bold chocolate chip cookies are based on a recipe from my culinary school studies at Auguste Escoffier, but with a few modifications to give them that Jennuine touch.  They make the perfectas book for a fat slice of real vanilla bean ice cream.  And those mini chips?  You just gotta have that extra cronch! Thank goodness this recipe only makes 8 sandwiches, otherwise I would be eating them for breakfast lunch and dinner.  This way, my big family can help save me from my inner child diet-saboteur.   Print With Image Without Image Chonky Boy Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches Yield: 8 Author: Jenn Erickson Loaded with chocolate chips and buttery, brown-sugary vanilla flavor, these mall-sized cookies form a perfect partnership with a

Recipe: How to Make Your Own Citrus Cured #Salmon

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Hello there, friends! I know, I know. It's been a while. My job as a high school  Culinary Arts instructor has kept me very busy. Best Job Ever! But I do missing sharing my recipes and creative endeavors here. Yesterday I branched out from teaching high school students and taught a 5-hour Holiday Appetizer Class in my classroom through our local Adult School.  I'm happy to announce that over the next two weeks, I'll be sharing some of my favorite recipes! I'm starting with one of my all-time favorite recipes:  Citrus Cured Salmon.  I love smoked salmon, lox and gravlax, but it' so expensive.  Last year I started experimenting with making my own house-cured salmon.  I started with a recipe from Martha Stewart by way of Michael Ruhlman.  Over time I've adapted the recipe and have come up with a formula that comes out amazing every time. This cured salmon takes just two days to complete and is a million times better t

Recipe: Kawasaki Chicken Lettuce Wraps #GlutenFree #Sriracha

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Light, healthy,and absolutely delicious -- our Kawasaki Chicken Lettuce wraps were inspired by a sushi specialty at one of our favorite (now defunct) Japanese restaurants in Carmel, CA.  The Kawasaki roll featured a tempura fried prawn with sushi rice, fresh avocado and spicy mayo, wrapped in a butter lettuce leaf.   Our version features a crispy, oven baked chicken strip with an almond meal crust -- lots of protein, no gluten.  It's become a family favorite that we've enjoyed weekly over the summer.  We serve it up taco-bar style:  all the components plated separately so everyone can build their own to their liking. Kawasaki Chicken Lettuce Wraps 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 1/2" strips (approx. 16) 1/4 cup mayonnaise 1/2 Tablespoon sriracha 1  1/4 cups almond meal 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1 teaspoon garlic powder a few cranks of freshly ground pepper 3 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese 2 Tablespoons olive oil 2 ripe av

How to Host a Family Camp-In {Making Memories with #DarkForDinner} #ad

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Dixie for IZEA . All opinions are 100% mine. #DarkForDinner Lights off Phones exiled No TV You, me, Family Talk, listen, Be Camp Out (Inside) Camp In? Fire Crackling Candles Flicker Faces light up Smiles Laughter Time moves slowly Unplugged Unencumbered No expense High Yield Investment Family Time #DarkForDinner     This past Sunday, July 5, my family fulfilled their promise to go #DarkForDinner with Dixie. We didn't spend a dime. Our labors amounted to moving the coffee table off to the side of our living room and firing up the BBQ. Sounds simple, right? Yet this Sunday dinner turned out to be a really big deal. A new summer family tradition was born -- The Camp-In. As I anticipated, there were moans and groans when I presented four kids, ages 10-18 with the idea of turning off the lights and all electronics for dinner. But something sort of magical happened once we powered

Family Camp-In Recipe: S'more Kisses For the Dixie
#DarkForDinner Movement #ad

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Dixie for IZEA . All opinions are 100% mine. Last weekend, my youngest daughter and I spent some one-on-one time in the kitchen coming up with a new cookie recipe inspired by the classic summer camping treat -- S'mores. There is nothing in this world more important to me than family time. How about you? It's summertime, and we hear a lot about grand summer road trips, traveling by air or by sea to explore other lands and cultures, and lazy days on a river or lake followed by nights under the stars in inside a tent. These summer family getaways are no doubt memorable, but not always within our grasp. Fortunately, it doesn't take a lot of money, a week off of work, or even a tank of gas to make special family memories with those you love most. All it takes is a little imagination, and that's why on Sunday, July 6, we're going #DarkForDinner with an indoor camp-out -- a Camp-In . On Sunday, June 14

Recipe: The Perfect Peach Cobbler

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Continuing along on my peach-fueled trajectory... ...today I bring you one of my all-time favorite desserts:  Peach Cobbler! Forget pie.  That's right.  You heard me.  Forget pie.  This cobbler is so buttery, crispy-crumby, cakey, ooey-gooey and profoundly peachy that you can forget about that old Plain Jane . Just try it.  Thank me later.     Perfect Peach Cobbler For the peaches 4 cups fresh, ripe peaches (peeled, sliced and diced) 1/2 cup granulated sugar 3 Tablespoons cornstarch For the cobbler topping 1 cup unsalted butter (that's 2 sticks), softened (plus a TB butter for buttering the pan) 2 cups granulated sugar 2 large eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour 2.5 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 Tablespoons raw or organic sugar (slightly larger grain that regular) Vanilla bean ice cream  Preheat oven to 350°F Butter a 9"x9" baking dish and set aside

Recipe: Heavenly Fresh Peach Fritters

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Well, isn't this peachy? Finally -- a post that's not a throwback project or made from squid!  Right? Summer is definitely my favorite time of year for fruit.  In a word, PEACHES!  I'd be hard-pressed to find anything more ambrosial than a perfect summer peach.  When the peaches are at the peak of their season, I become a sticky-fingered, nectar-chinned, peach-perfumed glutton.  Those few fuzzy Venus of botanica that make it past my greedy grasp are reborn in cobblers, pies and cocktails.  This year, on National Doughnut Day, I decided to pay homage to the fairest of fruits by making peach fritters. These fritters are ethereally light.  The nectar of the peaches intensifies inside the pillow of cinnamon kissed dough as it develops a golden, crispy exterior in the hot oil.  The warm fritters are blanketed in a buttery glaze that will have you lusting after a second before finishing your first.   Heavenly Peach Fritters (Yield 8-10) (adapted from About.c

Recipe: Amazing Restaurant Style Fried Calamari

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I miss being here.  I really do.  It's been an exciting and wonderful year teaching High School Culinary Arts, and even though I'll miss my students and my classroom, it will be nice to get back to some regular posting and sharing here over the summer.  Thank you for sticking around during my hiatus! We still have one week of school before summer officially begins, and to give the students some extra credit to bring up their semester grades, my friend Amanda, a Marine Science teacher, and I collaborated on a lunchtime lesson.  Using squid pulled out of our bay by a local family, she led a dissection lab.  After, I led a lesson in how to make the perfect deep fried calamari -- the kind with the golden brown, crispy crunchy coating you get in good restaurants. If you have access to fresh or frozen calamari (squid) in your area, give this recipe a try.  It's so easy and is so delicious that you don't even need a dipping sauce -- just a squeeze of fresh lemon!

Recipe: Linguini with Calamari & Clams {and how to make squid ink pasta}

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Last week, I taught my advanced culinary students to clean fresh Monterey Bay squid and how to cook clams.  At the same time, we made homemade linguini.  We tinted one of the batches with squid ink, which made it turn a lovely black color.  To bring all the ingredients together, we created a black and white pasta dish with fresh garlic, white wine, calamari, clams, fresh Roma tomatoes and kalamata olives.   We all agreed that if we'd ordered this in a restaurant, we'd be back again the next night.  Here's our recipe: Black & White Linguine with Fresh Clams & Calamari Prep: 20 mins Total Time: 35 mins Servings: 4-6 8 ounces fresh linguine* 8 ounces squid ink linguine (recipe below) 3 tablespoons olive oil 2 small Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced small 4 garlic cloves, minced 1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes 3/4 cup dry white wine 1 pound small clams (approximately 20-22), such as Manila, rinsed and scrubbed  1/2 pound fresh calamari, cut into

Recipe: Risotto with Zucchini and Sundried Tomatoes

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  Risotto is a wonderful and versatile rice dish that hails from Northern Italy and showcases the best attributes of the short-grain Arborio rice.  Sadly, over the years, it's earned a reputation for being difficult to make at home.  With the wrong recipe, this is true, but I'm pleased to tell you that there are risotto recipes out there that are authentic, restaurant quality, and downright easy.  Last week in my culinary arts class, I led twelve teams of high school students in making risotto.  All twelve teams turned out their risottos to perfection.  I'm happy to be sharing our recipe with you today.  I adapted our recipe from the Cook’s Illustrated recipe for Risotto with Asparagus and Wild Mushrooms (March 1994).   Capitalizing on spring colors and flavors, we substituted zucchini and sundried tomatoes for the asparagus and wild mushrooms.  We garnished our risotto with toasted pine nuts (for crunch, color and toastiness) and a drizzle of lemon olive oi

Freebies: Kitchy, Cute and Beautiful Vintage Valentines

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I recently hand-picked some fun vintage valentines at a local tag sale.  I've scanned them in, restored some of the color and am sharing them here with you today.  Happy Valentines Day!  

Chinese New Year Red Evelopes for Kids -- Free Printable -- Year of the Ram

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Hello friends! January has come and is almost gone. The Asian New Year is almost here! By request from a reader, I've updated my free Asian New Year Red Envelope Template to reflect The Year of the Ram.  Isn't he the cutest? Clicke HERE for the template.   Please feel to print, assemble and share good fortune with those you love. ------------------------------------ I've been busy teaching culinary classes, but hope to get back to blogging regularly soon.  In the meantime, please check out our class blog -- www.pghsculinaryarts.com , where you'll find all of the delicious recipes I use with my students.