For our niece’s two boys to munch on, chocolate chip cookies from a recipe by Williams-Sonoma Taste blog, and for Saturday night’s dessert, Spanish Almond Cake.
 
The individual zucchini frittatas are a “vintage” recipe from the long gone, Gourmet Magazine. For the recipe you’ll need olive oil, zucchini, salt, pepper, fresh chives, Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and eggs. This recipe comes together quite easily and is very delicious. I make these frittatas in a 12-cup muffin pan, which yields a ½-cup frittata. It’s an adequate portion size when you add bacon or breakfast sausage as a side.  The chives and cheese give the eggs a wonderful flavor and the zucchini add some texture to the filling.
 
Although I have quite a collection of chocolate chip cookies recipes, I made a recipe from Williams-Sonoma’s Taste blog, The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies. The recipe has ½ cup light brown sugar and six tablespoons of white sugar, 1-1/4 cups flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, ½ cup butter, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 2-1/2 cups of semisweet chocolate chips. Initially the recipe seemed like a less sweet version of Tollhouse cookies. I did reduce the amount of chocolate chips to just one cup as 2-1/2 seemed excessive in proportion to the other ingredients.
 
After baking, my husband and I did a taste test and thought they were good, but cakey. I made another batch, but doubled the ingredients; that’s when I realized some ingredients were very close to the original Tollhouse recipe. Did you know that ¼ cup of sugar is equivalent to 4 tablespoons?  When the sugar is doubled, its ¾ cup, same as the Tollhouse recipe.  Another taste test resulted in both my husband and I agreeing this recipe didn’t meet our expectations of the “perfect” chocolate chip cookie.
 
Although I was very busy prepping for our company, I did find time to try a new recipe, Grilled Hanger Steak. The steak was on special last week at my local ShopRite. The hanger steak had a simple marinade and was served dressed with a tangy herb-caper sauce.
 
For the recipe you’ll need soy sauce, olive oil, fresh lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, fresh ground black pepper, hanger steak, capers, fresh parsley, fresh oregano, fresh garlic and red chili flakes.
 
The first six ingredients comprise the marinade for the steak. The meat only has to marinate for one to two hours, but I did mine longer.
The directions instruct you to grill the steak at a very low temperature, 250°. Although two of the three grill burners were off and the third lowered, I wasn’t able to get the required low temperature. Undeterred, I used both my timer and instant read thermometer and pulled the steak off the grill when the internal meat temperature reached 130°.  I then covered the meat and let the carry over cooking raise time the internal temperature to 140°.
 
While the steak cooked I prepared the herb sauce consisting of chopping capers, parsley and oregano, fresh garlic (I used microplane for fine mince), lemon juice, olive oil, red pepper flakes, black pepper and salt. Once the meat rested, my husband thinly sliced the steak against the grain for tender slices. I dressed the meat with the sauce before serving.
 
What a delicious meal! The meat was perfectly cooked, slightly pink in the center. The meat was moist and tender, the sauce complimented the meat perfectly; it was simple and mouthwatering. I recommend that the next time you find hanger steak on sale, give this recipe a try.

Individual Zucchini Frittatas with Pecorino and Chives
Gourmet Magazine, March 2003
 
Serves 6 (main course)
Active Time: 25 minutes
Start to Finish: 25 minutes
 
1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 medium zucchini (1 lb. total), halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ cup chopped fresh chives
1-1/2 ounces finely grated Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano (3/4 cup)
10 large eggs, lightly beaten
 
Special Equipment:
A nonstick muffin pan with 6 (1-cup) muffin cups
 
DW Note: I used a muffin pan with 12 (1/2 cup) muffin cups and sprayed with a non-stick cooking spray for easy release.
 

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Heat oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté zucchini with salt and pepper, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 4 minutes.
• Whish chives, zucchini, and ½ cup cheese into eggs. Divide mixture among oiled muffin cups and bake in middle of oven until tops are puffed and set, about 14 minutes. Remove pan from oven and turn on broiler. Sprinkle frittatas with remaining ¼ cup cheese and broil 3 to 4 inches from heat until cheese is melted and tops are golden, 1 to 2 minutes. 

Grilled Hanger Steak
By Stephanie Rapone and Tasting Table Staff
Updated January 31, 2022 5:09 PM
From the website Tasting Table.
 
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4
 
Ingredients
¼ cup soy sauce
½ cup olive oil, divided
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, divided
1 ½ pounds hanger steak (similar size pieces)
3 tablespoons capers
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
2 garlic cloves
¼ teaspoon red chili flakes, or more to taste
 
Optional Ingredients
Vegetable or canola oil, for oiling the grill
 
Directions

1. Combine ¼ cup of soy sauce, ¼ cup of olive oil, ¼ cup of fresh-squeezed lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon of garlic powder, and 1 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper in a zip-top bag. Place the steak into the bag. Seal the bag, then massage the steak a bit so it's covered with the marinade. Transfer the steaks to the refrigerator, and let them marinate for 1 to 2 hours.
2. Take the steaks out of the refrigerator, and remove them from the bag. Blot the steaks with paper towels to soak up the excess marinade. Let the steaks come to room temperature while you preheat the grill to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. Turn off the burner on one side of the grill, or if using charcoal, move the coals to one side of the grill. Clean the grill with a grill brush. Using tongs, dip a paper towel in vegetable or canola oil, and wipe the grill.
4. Lay the steaks onto the grill, and keep an eye on the temperature to make sure it stays at a constant 250 degrees.
5. Cook the steaks until the internal temperature of the steak reaches 10 degrees lower than your target finished temperature. For example, a medium doneness has a final temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit, so take the steaks off the grill when they hit 130 degrees. A thin steak will take less time to reach the targeted internal temperature, so check the steaks after the first 7 minutes.
6. While the steaks are cooking, make the herb-caper sauce. Rinse and chop the parsley and oregano. Measure the herbs after you chop them (¼ cup of parsley, 1 tablespoon of oregano), and add them to a mixing bowl.
7. Rinse 3 tablespoons of capers, roughly chop them, and add them to the bowl with the herbs. Use a micro grater or garlic press to paste the 2 cloves of garlic, and add the paste to the bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, ¼ cup of olive oil, ¼ teaspoon of red chili flakes, and ¼ teaspoon of black pepper. Stir well and taste. Add salt and/or chili flakes as needed. Set aside.
8. Remove the steaks from the grill, and turn the heat up on the grill so it's very hot for searing the steaks. Once the grill is hot, put the steaks back on the grill, and sear them for 3 to 5 minutes per side until they're just under your targeted internal temperature (140 degrees for medium).
9. Let the steaks rest for 5 min before slicing, and serve with the herb-caper sauce.

The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
From the blog “Williams Sonoma Taste”
 
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups (6 1/2 oz./200 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup (1 stick/4 oz./125 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (3 1/2 oz./105 g) firmly packed light brown sugar
6 Tbs. (3 oz./90 g) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups (15 oz./470 g) semisweet chocolate chips*
  
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
 
In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and mix on low speed until blended. Slowly add the flour mixture and mix just until incorporated. Switch to a wooden spoon and stir in the chocolate chips.
 
Using a small ice cream scoop or heaping tablespoon, drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the dough mounds 2 inches (5 cm) apart.
 
Bake the cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until the bottoms and edges are lightly browned and the tops feel firm when lightly touched, 10-13 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Makes 10–12 cookies.