Chasing Nuts

I am a cook and most people who have tasted my cooking are gracious enough to tell me that my cooking is not bad, some would even say it is above average. One thing on my side is that I am always using the best tools I can get my hands on. For most of the kitchen tools I use in my cooking I have researched for many hourse and spent some times weeks tracking down the best and most high rated item. Unfortunately this is not the case for my stove!

The stove came with the house and it does have one redeeming quality, it is a gas stove. For people who have cooked on gas you will know what I am talking about. The stoves oven is where I really have problems. It would seem that day-to-day the temperature control knob has nothing to do with the real oven temperature. If there was just a simple offset then I could work with that. I am not the smartest guy but can usually remember if an oven is 25 or 50 degrees hot.

For an example of my oven challenges I only need to look at today. I baked a cake at what was supposed to be at 350 and then roasted a chicken at what was suppose to be 450. To bake the cake I ended up setting the dial at 250, when just a few days ago I set the dial at 400 to get 350. Then a few hours later when it was time to make dinner I had to set the oven to 500 to get 450. To top it all off I have to check the oven about every 10 minutes because the oven will just swing 200 degrees at a time. I know this because I have a nice Kitchen-Aid oven thermometer that I have calibrated with my infrared laser digital thermometer, did I mention I am a nerd.

I think I may move up my timetable for a new oven, perhaps I will spend my tax refund on a fancy new Viking stove.

I know a few people that read this have talked about cooking more then once and thought I would share this old family recipe for eggnog cookies that I love.

Hardware:
Stand Mixer
Cookie Sheets
Measuring Cups
Measuring Spoons
Silicon Spatula
Cookie Cutters
Rolling Pin

Software:
2 Cups Sugar
1 Cup Shortening
4 Large Eggs
4 tsp Baking Powder
2 tsp Baking Soda
1 Cup Whole Milk
1 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Vanilla
6-7 Cups Flower

Cream the sugar and shortening the mixer. Then add all the wet ingredients. Mix slowly for 1 minute. Next start adding the flower a little at a time until you get a thick firm but not dry dough. Now you have to chill the dough for 2 hours in a refrigerator.

Role out to a 1/8 - 1/4 inch or and make you cookies. Bake at 400 degrees for only 7 minutes.

Frosting for the cookies

2 tbsp Shortning
2 tbsp Butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

Combine and and whip with mixer at low, until mixed, and then high speed. Once mixed you can add food coloring.