Peanut Power

The first thing that I learned to bake were cookies. Double batches of cookies. Double batches of peanut butter cookies. Double batches of peanut butter cookies for my dad.
I love to bake cookies.
I love to bake cookies for other people. A dozen cookies might be the perfect gift and it might be the way that I get out of my desk/office job. YEP, I could make cookies for everyone. I have found the perfect peanut butter cookie recipe after years of "research." Three batches later and several tasters agree, this might be the best so far.
I of course made my pops a big batch of fresh peanut butter cookies for fathers day - what else does he need - really? They were a hit. I have won over many hearts with the standard "Cronk" recipe, I have tried rolled peanut swirls with a ribbon of peanut butter, or the standard with a chocolate "kiss" on the center of baked cookies, but I have finally landed on a peanut winner.
J can eat peanuts like he was from the south and actually knows that peanuts grow under ground as like us born and raised on raspberries and salmon know that salmon is better bbq'd than in croques..... So he loves his peanut butter cookies just as much as my dad but J prefers them not too sweet - with a good peanut taste. Folks here we go - the cookie to win the hearts of every nut lover.......

Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies

Adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook
Makes about 2 doezen cookies
Prep time: 5 minutes

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
16 tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter (softened)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup extra crunchy peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup dry roasted salted peanuts, ground fine in a food processor

1. Preheat oven to 350 degress
2. Whisk the flour, salt, soda, and baking powder together and set aside.
3. Beat the butter and sugars together in a large bowl ( preferably with an electric mixer for 3-6 minutes) until light and fluffy. Beat in the peanut butter until fully incorperated, about a minute. Beat in the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time, until combined, about 30 seconds.
4. Slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Mix in the ground peanuts until incorperated.
5. Working with 3 tablespoons of dough at a time, roll into balls and place on parchment-lined baking sheets spaced about 2 inches apart. Using a fork, flatten the cookies making a crosshatch design. Bake until the edges are golden and the centers have puffed and are beginning to deflate, about 10-12 minutes.
6. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes - eat warm or let cool on wire racks.

Recipes - a call for help

I vividly remember sitting down with my Grandma Cronk one afternoon and thumbed through her collection of cookbooks. We are talking COLLECTION! At the time I had no idea the wealth of knowledge - concerning nothing but cooking - that occupied shelves and shelves in her house. This one particular afternoon, she guided me through some of them, I wasn't that impressed at the time - until now. If I could snap my fingers right now, I would be in my Grandma's kitchen, sitting at the table, reading random old cookbooks right now. It was a history lesson, a lesson on the real roles that we embark on everyday - how to feed ourselves and the ones we love.
The single cookbook that I wish I could get my hands on was one that was from The Great Depression - I think - or was it just a really SIMPLE cookbook. I am talking how to cook anything and use it all. I won't  go into the bits and pieces that are slipping my mind, I just would love to get my hands on it. Grandma - that afternoon left a big warm spot in my heart for cookbooks.
I have my very own shelve devoted to cookbooks. I do pour over the Internet daily to find new recipes, ideas and inspiration but it will never - EVER - replace a hard bound cookbook in my house. I am one of those geeks that might be know to read cookbooks before I go to bed..... 
I am running into a fatal flaw in my cooking adventures in the kitchen. I love to have dinner parties, I am saying that people come over ever weekend for food and drinks. I want to keep it this way and have a life outside my kitchen and potlucks get kind of old after a while. So, I try recipes here and there, new exciting things, out of cookbooks (I seem to trust my blogs more because they usually are a bit more honest when critiquing a recipe and it is such a community that no one that I follow would throw out for everyone to see *gasp* something that tastes really really... lame!) and they are horrible. Guests have been faced to "enjoy" a new baked chicken recipe and really bland appetizers. BLAH! I don't waste my time, money and energy making something that tastes like nothing or something that needs a cup of ketchup or any condiment to hide the flavor and I want people to come back.
I want quick time tested recipes that I know are crowd pleasers. Is this too much to ask?
So - what do I do? I need some way of archiving my recipes - a recipe box! If I could just get my hands on my Carol's (my fault for never being there as her last belongings were being divided up among family and friends - but if someone has a few cookbooks of hers that they  have no interest in, I know of a great home for them!) recipe box - that would save me all the work.
I am making my own recipe box. A collection of my favorite recipes, handwritten on paper, in the kitchen and the go-to for mid week dinners and the BBQ that needs a few sides, not to mention the perfect chocolate chop cookie and toffee recipe for the moments of weakness.
What do you do to keep up on all your favorite recipes? I need some ideas!

Blog Aid 2010: Haiti

I follow A LOT of foodie blogs, hardly a day does not go by that I don't catch up on all my favorites. I will drop what I am doing and be whisked away to a kitchen across the country or across the world and see what they have cooked, baked or mixed. I LOVE it these days. I feel as if I am discovering this underground culture, a group of peers all talented and incredibly passionate about food, writing and which creates this strong community that supports its self. I aspire to reach the level of beauty and creativity that many of these people/sites produce.

This was in network proved to be strong and thoughtful with the amazing feat of creating a beautiful cookbook in three weeks with the proceeds going to Haiti. Julie Van Rosendall from Dinner with Julie is the brain child behind it all. It was released last night and this morning, I had to support such an effort and such a worthy cause. It is the least I can do. ALL of the proceeds from the cookbook will go directly to the Red Cross and Doctor’s Without Borders to assist in their efforts in Haiti. But it gets better: Both West Canadian Printing AND Blurb are matching the dollar amount of the proceeds raised, to TRIPLE those dollars going to Haiti. AND until February 12th, the Canadian government will match that!!!! So, we have the potential to raise quite a bit of money here.
It’s a POD (print-on-demand) system, meaning the books are printed and shipped as they’re ordered and arrive at your doorstep in about 8 days. You can purchase yours in softcover ($25US) HERE or as a hardcover ($50US) HERE.
For more on the book, including a complete list of contributors, click HERE.