Snow Induced Vacation

As I write this, Washington is being blanketed with yet another sizable layer of snow (and in case you were wondering, my street has yet to be plowed). We're going on day six of no school, no work (with the exception of a few work related conference calls and e-mails), and snow related fun all the time (including a snow photo shoot, a Korean food outing, and lots of online shopping.) It is possible that I am now fully vitamin D deficient due to the limited time outdoors, but I am thoroughly enjoying many of the other effects that this impromptu snow vacation has provided.

All My Chickens
My native Washingtonian status comes into play once again: I am used to people coming to DC and then moving away only a few short years later. This is where my informal two year rule comes in handy--if you can't commit to staying in the area for two or more years, I am going to think twice before forging a new friendship with you. NOTE: some exceptions are made, especially for people who are really cool, like to go to sleep early, don't mind doing the dishes after I cook, and/or dislike coffee.

The great thing about the snow is that nobody can go anywhere! So, even if for a few days, my dislike of folks leaving the city I love is put aside and I can bask in the joy of having so many people I like spending time with all within three square blocks of my apartment...physically unable to leave. I understand that this makes me sound like a crazy person (is this one of those times that I shouldn't share information like this on my blog?), but I am still embracing the fact that all my DC chickens in their DuPont nests.

Office of Personnel Management
This brings me to the second occurrence I am loving about the snow: every night around 6:30 or so, there is a flurry (pun intended) of activity involving laptops, iPhones (no, I still don't have one), and the local news. Will the government be open? Read: we will have to go to work tomorrow? Theories are presented ("Delayed opening?" "If DC schools are closed, will government do the same?"), text messages are exchanged ("I bet the staff meeting will be held by conference call..." "Even if the office closes, I still have to go in.") and we try to make sense of a system well beyond our control about a decision that so greatly impacts the next 24 hours of our lives.


Last night's guessing game was had around two tables in my apartment: one with puzzle pieces scattered on top of it and several friends crouched around the perimeter scouring the pile for edge pieces. The second covered in sugar cookies and brightly colored bags of royal icing for decorating. I'm sure you know where I was situated.

And the news? The federal government is closed (again) today! My 10:00 AM conference call still happened--and I took it in my pajamas.

Bake up a Storm (...or, Bake up a Blizzard to be alliterative)
Yesterday's baking fiesta included Martha Stewart's "ideal" sugar cookies and the famous Dena S.'s classic chocolate chip cookies.

For the sugar cookies, follow Martha's recipe. Don't gloss over the part where she tells you to chill the dough before cutting and baking it. This is the ONLY way to get sharp edges to the cookies and help them keep their shape (very important for decorating). Also, she is lying when she says the royal icing is optional. I see the sugar cookies as the blank canvass for decorating so don't skip that part either.


You may remember Dena from the photo shoot I did of her and her husband in Brookline a few weeks ago. Remember the cookies at the end of the shoot? Well, I tested out the recipe last night and they were GOOD. My recipe notes are in italics, Dena's are in bold.

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract *I also used almond extract, as I usually do when recipes call only for vanilla
3 cups (12 oz) all-purpose flour *If at all possible, please weigh the flour. *I used a bit more than three cups to end up with a denser cookie that didn't spread very far on the pan.
1 tsp. smallish-medium coarse sea salt *Please do not use table salt, the sea salt gives the cookies a nice flavor and hints of texture.
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 cups/16 oz of semi-sweet chocolate chips *I use Nestle Toll-House *I used Ghirardelli chocolate, 1/2 semi-sweet and 1/2 milk chocolate

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 360 degrees. Cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar until it is nice and fluffy (approx. 5 minutes on medium speed). Add both eggs and vanilla and beat for an additional 2 minutes. Add baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour until cookie batter is fully incorporated. Finally add chocolate chips until well distributed. The cookie batter should be somewhat thick. Drop about 2 tablespoons of dough or use a medium cookie scoop and plop the batter onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (I used a ice cream scoop filled 3/4 of the way full and aluminum foil as I was out of parchment.) Bake for 12-14 minutes until the edges are nice and golden brown. Remove from heat and allow the cookies to stay on the cookie sheet for an additional 2 minutes. Pick up the parchment paper with the cookies still on top and transfer to a cool non-porous surface. Allow the cookies to cool on the paper for at least 3 minutes before serving.