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Friday, March 18, 2011

Chef's in the Kitchen

 Somebody made me a delicious meal. A ham sandwich with cheese and lettuce.
some tea. And for dessert, chocolate mini cakes. So who is this amazing chef ?
 The little boy with the new hair cut :)
This is the work station Chef Zane has been using these last couple of weeks. He sure keeps his clean- up crew busy. He cooks all the time and is constantly trying new flavors tastes new dishes he is experimenting with. Some times he acts the italian chef and throws the pots and pans when he is not satisfied with a particular dish.
And this little bug is just keeping us so happy. His smiles and coos are filling the house with laughter. He has such a sweet sense of humor.
 Elizabeth made shortbread cookies for us last week. Started craving them when she left so I rolled up my sleeves and joined chef Zane in the kitchen. We baked these cookies and boy oh boy are these cookies yummy!!!
Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
 3/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
 1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
 1/4 teaspoon salt
 6 to 7 ounces very good semisweet chocolate, finely chopped 

Directions 
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
Roll the dough 1/2-inch thick and cut with a 3 by 1-inch finger-shaped cutter. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.  When the cookies are cool, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put 3 ounces of the chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave on high power for 30 seconds. (Don't trust your microwave timer; time it with your watch.) Stir with a wooden spoon. Continue to heat and stir in 30-second increments until the chocolate is just melted. Add the remaining chocolate and allow it to sit at room temperature, stirring often, until it's completely smooth. Stir vigorously until the chocolate is smooth and slightly cooled; stirring makes it glossier.  Drizzle 1/2 of each cookie with just enough chocolate to coat it.
Hope you enjoy :)
Much love to you all
 ~Marie

10 comments:

Amber said...

He is quite the chef, I'm so impressed that he remembered the cheese & lettuce on the sandwich! He looks so darling with his new haircut! I love shortbread cookies, but I've never made any myself, I'll definitely have to try this recipe!

Unknown said...

What a sweet little haircut! Alasdair loves to play with the toy food and kitchen at mother & toddler group, so I'm thinking he'll need one of those kitchens like your little chef has for his birthday in the summer!

Must try out those cookies too!

Elizabeth said...

Ha! You made me laugh so hard mentioning how he throws his dishes like an Italian chef and how he keeps his cleaning crew busy :P

Oh he looks just so adorable with his new haircut!!! Winston really misses playing with him. He still plays with his little pot that you gave him and he loves to bang it with things!

Little Ezra is getting so big! He looks so cute in his blue pajamas.

And those cookies were delicious! You forgot to mention that you had to help me with them :)

Love you so much!

Anonymous said...

I love the pictures of your sweet boys!!

We have the very same kitchen as that, glad you're cooked for by your little chef! Such fun!
Dawn x

Danielle said...

This was a great post!!!! I loved the idea of him throwing his puts and pans too, that was hysterical! Nothing like a little people kitchen to bring out the creativity!!!
Love you!!! I'm gonna try out that cookie recipe!!

Homeschool on the Croft said...

I love the haircut - love it. And the shortbread looks yummy. (Yummy doesn't even touch what that scrummy looking wee man is like ;) x

Pam said...

Oh my goodness, I almost missed this one... didn't realize it was here. I saw the Etsy shop post.. which I enjoyed and then came back and this one was here since yesterday! What a crack up.. Dad has got to get home so I can show him all these pictures. I loved the "Italian Chef" description too. It made me laugh so hard. Also, loven seeing baby Ezra so cute. And Love the new haircut on Zane. The kitchen is adorable. What a great set. The cookies are making my mouth water.

What a Wonderful World said...

Marie, those boys are too cute! I love Zane's new hair cut too! Love you!

Pam said...

I just had to come back for another look. It made me laugh all over again. Such a cute post. Those Grandbabies are soooo cute. I can't get enough.
Love you,
Mom

Mamajil said...

all of my kids and now my grand daughter have so many hours of fun with their play kitchen!! Loved seeing what your master chef had whipped up :)

the shortbread looked so yummy....we will have to give it a try....there was a sweet old lady at our church long ago that use to make the kids shortbread as a treat...she moved away closer to her children so its been many years since we have had homemade shortbread cookies....

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