Where did the day go?

When you are busy in the kitchen, the day just seems to fly right on by. I got quite a few things accomplished though so that's good. Since tomorrow is the last Wednesday of the year that Jeff will be in the office, I needed to come up with a couple things for him to bring into the Wednesday Treat Day for his co-workers. I also had to get a bunch of other stuff done and prepped for later in the week. Thankfully I have the extra time during the day this week for stuff or I don't think I would ever get done!

I made two items for tomorrow, I'll show you one tonight and post the other tomorrow when I have a little more time. We are also looking to see if these will get voted into the cookie gifts that we are sending out. The one featured tomorrow will most likely be sent along from Jeff's reaction. Tonight's offering is Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate cookies. This is kind of a spinoff from the Caramel Filled Chocolate cookies.

Instead of filling the dough balls with a premade candy, I used a peanut butter/confectioners' sugar combo. The chocolate dough is soft but not sticky when you are working with it. The chocolate cookies have a hint of peanut butter in the dough itself, but when you reach the peanut butter center both flavors combine into a perfect match. Since you gently flatten each ball with a glass dipped in sugar it leaves a nice sparkle and ensures an even cookie.


For dinner, I used a cut of beef that we were pretty unfamiliar with. Steak, Sun-Dried Tomato, and Mozzarella Couscous Salad uses flank steak and I have never cooked it before. It is a pretty lean cut if trimmed well and quite flavorful. I marinated the steak with just salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce before cooking. After cooking to a medium rare, we let the steak rest for about 10 minutes before cutting it.

The only thing that was going in my head at that time was "Cut against the grain, against the grain!" I've heard that so many times when watching people make it on TV that I was nervous we would mess it up! Mixed with couscous, fresh mozzarella and sun-dried tomatoes this was a pretty quick and very flavorful dish. We ate this slightly warm, but certainly make it ahead of time and chill in the fridge for a very quick meal. I served spicy and crispy hash browns that are formed with a biscuit cutter, then baked in the oven until golden.

Recipes

Peanut Butter filled chocolate cookies
Spicy and Crispy Potato Hash Browns
Steak, Sun-Dried Tomato, and Mozzarella Couscous Salad