I Am... Pan Fried Aglio E Olio Cauliflower Gnocchi
Do you love Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi and are always looking for new and fun ways to cook with it? My favorite way to make it is crisping it up in a non-stick pan so it gets nice and crusty and crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside. I still haven’t tried making cauliflower gnocchi by hand because I kind of feel like it’s best made by the people who invented it. Kind of like how I definitely know how to (and have) made homemade dumplings but still prefer to buy store bought because it’s fun to have a plethora of flavors hanging out the freezer, just waiting for a dumpling buffet bonanza. Anyway, last time I posted a cauliflower gnocchi recipe I kind of got some flack for it. Apparently opening up a package of cauliflower gnocchi and cooking it isn’t really worthy of a post, according to some energy sucking vampires. I kind of get where they’re coming from, but at the same time, l actually love seeing what people make with pre-packaged ingredients. Plus cooking the TJ cauli gnocchi the way they do on the package is bunk. Please don’t follow their instructions because if you do you probably won’t like them. Oh, and this isn’t sponsored by Trader Joe’s, I just love their gnocchi. My current fave for those little nuggets of goodness, aside from cacio e pepe, is another Italian classic, aglio e olio. What is aglio e olio you ask? Translated, it’s garlic and oil. And that’s what this is. Super simple but full of flavor, low carb, low calorie. All you do is heat up some quality olive oil, infuse it with garlic to make garlic oil, then toss the crisped up gnocchi with it. Finish every thing off with a generous shower of grated parmesan and you’ve got yourself a quick and satisfying vegetarian meal. I like to add some crushed red peppers for spice too. Keep on cauliflowering friends!
Pan Fried Aglio E Olio Cauliflower Gnocchi Recipe
Store bought cauliflower gnocchi pan fried aglio e olio style with garlic, crushed red pepper, and parmesan
- 2 tbsp olive oil (divided)
- 2 cloves garlic (sliced)
- pinch of crushed red pepper (to taste)
- 1/2 package cauliflower gnocchi
- salt and pepper to taste
- chopped flat leaf parsley (if desired)
In a non-stick skillet, heat up 1 tablespoon of oil over medium high. When hot, add the gnocchi, frozen from the bag, and fry until golden brown and crispy, flipping once, about 2-3 minutes per side. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the pan.
In the same skillet, heat up the remaining oil over medium low heat. Add the sliced garlic and red pepper flakes and cook so that the garlic and pepper flakes slowly infuse the oil without crisping or burning. Add the gnocchi back in and toss.
Remove from the heat and finish with a sprinkle of parmesan and flat leaf parsley. Enjoy immediately!
I Am... Chocolate Chip Cookie Review: Maman, NYC
Bakery: Maman Date Eaten: 11/5/19 Cost: $3.75 Maman is one of Oprah’s favorite things so I had pretty high hopes. There are several Maman’s in the city, all selling chocolate chip cookies, so we went to one that was close to us, thinking that all the cookies would be consistent. The Maman we happened to be the closest to was in a Paper Source - kind of a cafe/stationary store concept. There were a couple of cookies the case, but when I ordered one, they pulled it from a warming tray. It was a good sign! The cookie was about 4 inches wide with a super thin edge to a medium-thick center. There were lots of crackles and lots of nuts, with giant bits of chocolate that looked like feves. It was dense and very chewy in the middle with very caramelized edges. Surprisingly, it wasn’t very sweet, which I kind of held against it because it didn’t really taste very chocolate chip cookie-y to me. It was kind of disappointing really because I had hyped it up in my mind but really, it was a DNF. Edge: 2.5/5 Middle: 3/5 Chocolate: 2.5/5 Cookie: 2.5/5 Taste: 2.5 Total: 13/25 Follow along as I search for the world’s best chocolate chip cookie: methodology, what makes a good cookie, and a list of all the cookies I’ve eaten, right here. [caption id="attachment_30568" align="alignnone" width="1450"] Maman's famous Chocolate Chip Cookie[/caption]
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I Am... Chocolate Chip Cookie Review: Standard Bakery Co, Portland, Maine
Bakery: Standard Bakery Co, Portland, Maine Date Eaten: 10/10/19 Cost: $1.95 I heard that this was a really good cookie in Portland and when we got to the bakery I was excited because there was a little sign right next to the chocolate chip cookies that said “fresh from the oven!” When I got the cookie (popped into a wax bag) it felt just the slightest bit warm like it just came out of the oven about an hour ago. Things were feeling promising, but when I took the cookie out of the bag, it looked pretty average: lightly golden, without much chocolate and smooth, slightly crackly surface. It was a big cookie, about 4 inches and 3/4 inch thick in the middle. The edges were crisp with a good amount of caramelization, and the middle was thick and chewy, but also kind of had a slightly cakey texture with larger crumbs. Perhaps the most disappointing part of the cookie was the chocolate which was overly sweet without enough chocolate flavor. They were chunks, so that was slightly redeeming, but there definitely wasn’t enough of them. All in all, it was a DNF (did not finish) cookie for me. Edges: 3/5 Middle: 3/5 Chocolate: 2/5 Cookie: 2.5/5 Taste: 2.5/5 Total: 13/25 Follow along as I search for the world’s best chocolate chip cookie: methodology, what makes a good cookie, and a list of all the cookies I’ve eaten, right here. [caption id="attachment_30569" align="alignnone" width="1450"] Standard Baking Co's famous Chocolate Chip Cookie[/caption]
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I Am... Chocolate Chip Cookie Review: Flour Bakery, Boston, Massachusetts
Bakery: Flour Bakery, Boston, Massachusetts Date Eaten: 10/13/19 Cost: $2.50 Flour Bakery is pretty famous in Boston. Bostonians love Joanne Chang’s baked goods, especially her banana bread. But in the literal state birthplace of chocolate chip cookies, how does hers hold up? Surprisingly well! Chang based her cookie off the classic Tollhouse and it has that same flavor, homey and sweet, but with a few twists. The cookie was on the thinner side, but thicker than a Tollhouse, maybe about 1/3 of an inch thick and about 3.75 inches wide. There were large chunks of milk and semi-sweet chocolate and the edges were more on the soft side rather than crisp. The middle was chewy and fudgy and there were distinct rings of texture, where the edges were a bit more caramelized and the middle more pale with those ripples that cookie fanatics on Instagram love. There was a nice light brown sugar flavor and it wasn’t too sweet or salty. I loved and finished it! Edge: 3.5/5 Middle: 3.5/5 Chocolate: 3.5/5 Cookie: 3.5/5 Taste: 4/5 Total: 18/25 Follow along as I search for the world’s best chocolate chip cookie: methodology, what makes a good cookie, and a list of all the cookies I’ve eaten, right here. [caption id="attachment_30564" align="alignnone" width="1450"] Flour Bakery's famous Chocolate Chip Cookie[/caption]
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I Am... Chocolate Chip Cookie Review: Jacques Torres, NYC
Bakery: Jacques Torres Date Eaten: 11/6/19 Cost: $3.50 This is the chocolate chip cookie that kind of propelled chocolate chip cookies into a fancier, not just a cookie that mom bakes after school category. There’s a 24 hour resting period and two kinds of chocolate feves. It’s not really on many people’s NYC chocolate chip cookie radar anymore because of Chip and Levain but it was a really really good cookie: I loved it. They keep them on a cake stand so it’s pretty obvious that they aren’t warm and to be honest, they aren’t that pretty, but it has a depth of flavor to it that a lot of other chocolate chip cookies don’t have. The cookie was very flat with a lot of crackles and an even color throughout. It was HUGE: crispy and chewy and but very much the same texture throughout with almost no differentiation between the edges and middle. Maybe the edges were just the tiniest bit crispier. By no means was this a soft and tender cookie, probably due to the fact that it’s made with bread flour. There were large disks of chocolate that weren’t melty but weren’t solid either. The flavor was almost perfect, not too sweet and very balanced with a distinctive caramelized brown sugar flavor. This was my favorite of the NYC cookies! Edge: 2.5 Middle: 2.5 Chocolate: 3 Cookie: 3.5 Taste: 3.5 Total: 17/25 Follow along as I search for the world’s best chocolate chip cookie: methodology, what makes a good cookie, and a list of all the cookies I’ve eaten, right here. [caption id="attachment_30566" align="alignnone" width="1450"] Jacques Torres's famous Chocolate Chip Cookie[/caption]
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I Am... Chocolate Chip Cookie Review: Slab Sandwiches and Pie, Seattle, Washington
Bakery: Slab Sandwiches and Pie, Seattle, Washington Date Eaten: 12/10/19 Cost: $3.50 When I did a quick internet search for the best chocolate chip cookie in Seattle, a lot of sites pointed me to Slab. They’re a sandwich shop but they make fresh cookies everyday, but are only open from 11-2 so plan accordingly. When I got my cookie it wasn’t warm but still pliable from the oven with the pools of chocolate glossy and melted. This was a giant, thin cookie with crisp caramelized ridged edges with a distinct golden brown edge and a slightly paler middle that had the best kind of chew. Many crackles and a generous amount of flaky sea salt sprinkled on top to contrast the sweetness. The chocolate was almost perfect: stratified in thin layers throughout and melty without being drippy. The texture was also almost perfect with that just right chewy almost underdone but in a way. Everything came together to taste like what you think a chocolate chip cookie should taste like, at least to me. A very very good cookie, both straight from the case, and a couple hours later after sitting in a cold car. 10/10 would recommend. Edges: 4/5 Middle: 3.5/5 Chocolate: 4/5 Cookie: 4/5 Taste: 4/5 Total: 19.5/25 Follow along as I search for the world’s best chocolate chip cookie: methodology, what makes a good cookie, and a list of all the cookies I’ve eaten, right here. [caption id="attachment_30570" align="alignnone" width="1450"] Slab's famous Chocolate Chip Cookie[/caption]
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I Am... Chocolate Chip Cookie Review: Chip, NYC
Bakery: Chip Date Eaten: 11/6/19 Cost: $3.50 Chip has been all over the internet with it’s crazy fun flavors (blueberry cheesecake, nutella sea salt, oatmeal apple pie) and crazy out the door line ups. They’re Queen’s answer to Manhattan’s Levain and they didn’t come to play. Huge scone like perfectly cookie scooped cookies that look like they didn’t change their shape at all in the oven. Super tall, I’m talking almost 1 inch in height and about 3.5 inches all around. There were a bunch of chocolate chips and they were large, but definitely chocolate chips and not chopped chocolate, chunks, disks or feves. A very light cookie with just a few small cracks. All the cookies at Chip are served warm and it’s definitely how they should be eaten. The edges were crisp but the inside was a touch too dry but also kind of melty. If you like shortbread, this is a good cookie for you, but it’s also kind of one note and sweet. I thought it would be gooey-er on the inside so maybe I just got a bunk one? All in all, this was a disappointing cookie :( Edge: 2.5 Middle: 2 Chocolate: 2.5 Cookie: 2.5 Taste: 2.5 Total: 12/25 Follow along as I search for the world’s best chocolate chip cookie: methodology, what makes a good cookie, and a list of all the cookies I’ve eaten, right here. [caption id="attachment_30561" align="alignnone" width="1450"] Chip NYC's famous Chocolate Chip Cookie | www.iamafoodblog.com[/caption]
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I Am... Chocolate Chip Cookie Review: Levain, NYC
Bakery: Levain Date Eaten: 11/6/19 Cost: $4 Levain, Levain, Levain. It almost needs no introduction. If you’re even mildly into food and you tell people you’re going to NYC they will inevitably ask, are you going to that cookie place?! That cookie place in question is Levain of course. They sky rocketed to crazy cookie popularity partly in thanks to Instagram and partly due to their very large 6 ounce cookies. This is a big, big cookie, irregularly shaped with lots of craggles and small cracks. Still, it was actually a touch smaller than Chips, mostly in height, probably becuase their dough slumped more in the oven. The signature chocolate chip cookie has walnuts in it, which is not something I’m a fan of, but I think they helped with the texture and monotony. The chocolate was regular semi sweet chips, nothing to write home about. The cookies are served very slightly warm, with very crispy edges. The inside of the Levain cookie was far superior to Chip: gooey and chewy with a good flavor, if not a touch underbaked. If you like an underbaked cookie, this is the cookie for you. Definitely eat it warm because after it cools off it’s not worth the calories. Edge: 2.5 Middle: 3.5 Chocolate: 2.5 Cookie: 2.5 Taste: 2.5 Total: 13.5/25 Follow along as I search for the world’s best chocolate chip cookie: methodology, what makes a good cookie, and a list of all the cookies I’ve eaten, right here. [caption id="attachment_30567" align="alignnone" width="1450"] Levain's famous Chocolate Chip Cookie[/caption]
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I Am... The Search for the Best Chocolate Chip Cookie in the World
I love chocolate chip cookies. Mike and I love traveling. One day, we were chatting about how Mike always gets the same dish every time we get udon. He always orders niku udon so he has a very deep knowledge of how it’s supposed to taste and thus knows when and where it tastes good. Inspired by that, I told him that I wanted my own niku udon. But what?! What was something that I loved that they almost always universally make everywhere in the world? I thought about it long and hard but ultimately couldn’t come up with anything. I mean, I love beef chow fun, but do I really want to eat beef chow fun everywhere – even potentially in Egypt? It was Mike who came up with chocolate chip cookies. And it was perfect! I deeply, deeply love chocolate chip cookies. And we see them almost everywhere, from humble mom and pop bakeries in the middle of America, to high end patisseries in Paris. And so, my search begins. I’m going to try to eat a chocolate chip cookie from every city we visit. I’m on a search for the best chocolate chip cookie in the world. Let me know where your favorites are and I will definitely search them out. Is it crazy to travel for chocolate chip cookies? Yes. Am I crazy? Yes, for cookies!
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I Am... Ziti alla Norma aka Eggplant and Tomato Pasta
The last few days have been exceptionally sunny and it’s making me hopeful for spring! I love winter, but I can’t wait to stop layering and not need to have my puffy coat. In an effort to remind me even more of warmer days, I made ziti alla norma because eggplants remind me of summer.
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I Am... Where to Eat Modern Affordable Shabu Shabu in Tokyo
Shabu shabu, or Japanese hot pot, is a classic dish of thinly sliced meats and fresh vegetables simmered in broth and served with a bunch of dipping sauces. Much like Chinese hot pot, everything is cooked piece by piece at the table.
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I Am... Garlicky Brown Butter Mushroom Risotto
I am creamy, I am umami filled, I am Garlicky Brown Butter Mushroom Risotto!
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