3M's Orange Macadamia Nut Cookies

I'd like to begin this week's post with a happy belated birthday shout out to two of my favorite people (and they happen to share a birthday!):  D2 and 3M.  I hope they enjoyed their birthday, even if the usual Admissions Day holiday did not give them a long birthday weekend this year.

One awesome thing about working where I do is being able to work with friends from small kid time (okay, "small" might be pushing it, but I mean pre-legal driving days).  Up until this school year, one of my small kid friends worked just around the corner from me.  It was great to have someone I could trust so close by.  I could get a quick answer to a work question or I could count on a sympathetic shoulder to cry on.  This year, 3M has a new work location, and while I'm happy for her, I'm selfishly sorry for myself.  I can't grumble too much because she still takes all my calls, and she promised to have lunch with me when the craziness of beginning a new school year dies down.  I'm still waiting for that day, but we are still less than a month into the school year.

In our younger days, 3M and I shared meals together at restaurants in Hilo and Seattle.  We've even spent Thanksgiving together.  Like me, 3M has a pretty good memory, and we might be the only 2 people I know of who can remember the submitter of recipes from an old 4-H cookbook.  Both of us like cookbooks, and as we get older, many of our conversations focus on what foods we plan to prepare for occasions.  Naturally, we share samples and trade recipes. 

I got this recipe from 3M years ago and finally got around to trying it.  She said her aunt gave her mom the recipe, and this has been a favorite cookie of hers.  And I know why.  3M and I both like hard cookies.  Soft and chewy cookies are not our style.  While I'm more for a snapping-hard cookie, 3M tends to like cookies which are buttery and melt in the mouth.  After years of baking cookies, I'm convinced that the melt in the mouth part comes from powdered sugar and cornstarch.

In addition to being absolutely delicious, this cookie is great for gift-giving.  If you use a disher, you can make cookies of uniform size which stack nicely in a plastic bag.  Pssssttt. . .Christmas will be here in 139 days, so it's never too early to practice!

click on recipe title for printable recipe

3M's Orange Macadamia Nut Cookies

     4 c flour

     2 c powdered sugar, sifted

     1 c cornstarch

     2 c butter

     1 c chopped macadamia nuts

     2 egg yolks

     1 tbsp orange zest

     4 tbsp orange juice

     granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, stir together flour, powdered sugar, and cornstarch.  Cut in butter until coarse crumbs form.  Stir in nuts.  Combine egg yolks, orange zest, and orange juice.  Add to flour mixture, stirring til moistened.  If mixture is too dry, add more orange juice, a teaspoon at a time (up to 2 tablespoons).  Using a #60 disher (about 1 tbsp), scoop dough onto an ungreased baking sheet.  Flatten to 1/4" using a glass which has been dipped in granulated sugar.  Bake 12-15 minutes until golden brown.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

And while I didn't say much about D2 in this post, let me assure you...no need to be feeling too sorry for her.  She is sporting a new macbook air!

Party Food: Ogo Salad

I'm feeling rather thankful the holiday party season is over, but perhaps I'm just a tad more anti-social than most people.

The family party on New Years Day was an endless affair.  I started my day before 6 am because I had so much to do.  Guests didn't arrive until after noon (the time I said we'd eat).  The last guest left a few minutes before midnight, so its accurate to say I had a full day.  I think I'm going to lay low from any parties for a few months. . .its going to take a while for me to recover anyway.

If you are a party animal or still in party season mode and need a dish to contribute, might I suggest ogo (seaweed) salad.  Ogo salad is welcome at any party in Hawaii, and most markets sell ogo year-round.  I think Marukai sells the best ogo, but since I don't always travel to Honolulu for work anymore, I usually just buy ogo from KTA.

This is the "salty" type of ogo.  Sometimes I'll make a sweet-sour version.  D1 prefers that, but I grew up on what we called "ogo kimchee", so when I'm jonesing for ogo, I'll go for the salty/spicy type first.   If you are allergic to or just don't care for the taste of dried shrimp, just leave it out.  The salad will be fine without it.

printable recipe
Ogo Salad

     1/2 lb ogo, cleaned, blanched and chopped

     2 tbsp sesame oil

     1/2 c shoyu

     1 clove garlic, crushed

     1 chili pepper, minced

     2 tomatoes, diced

     1/2 sweet onion, minced

     1 stalk green onion, sliced

     2 tbsp dried shrimp

     1 tbsp macadamia nuts, chopped (optional)

Combine sesame oil, shoyu, garlic, and chili pepper.  Toss with prepared ogo.  Add tomatoes, onion, green onion, dried shrimp and macadamia nuts.  Marinate overnight.

BTW, as far as the new years day party food went, I think some people should be banned from food preparation.  We had the ever-undercooked teriyaki meat sticks.  Even a 10-year old knew the meat wasn't cooked, so it blows my mind as to how adults can think its cooked.  After seeing the teriyaki sticks, I wasn't gonna chance the yakitori kabobs either.  I stuck to things that I knew were cooked well.

Mom wanted a family pic so The Help, with Dus' help, set up all his lights and reflectors by the khasy bamboo outside.  Unfortunately, he was working against daylight, as people were still in the coming-going mode.  He managed to take a pic of every family, but by then, D1 went off with Mr. Dependable.  The Help spent even more time processing the pics so each family could take home a cd of pics.  I was going to post a pic of the family, but I opted for one with two of my favorite people instead. . .nyuk nyuk.  Actually, they were the only ones willing to pose.  Most people ran inside to eat dinner and watch some bowl game.