Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes approx. 14

150g soft unsalted butter
125g soft light brown sugar
100g caster sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 egg, fridge-cold
1 egg yolk, fridge-cold
300g flour
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 x 350g packet of milk chocolate morsels or choc chips

1 x large baking sheet

Preheat the oven to 170C. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment.

Melt the butter and let it cool a bit. Put the brown and white sugars into a bowl, pour the slightly cooled, melted butter over them and beat together.

Beat in the vanilla, the cold egg and cold egg yolk until your mixture is light and creamy.

Slowly mix in the flour and the bicarb. until just blended, then fold in the chocolate chips.

Scoop the cookie dough into an American quarter-cup measure or a 60ml round ice-cream scoop and drop onto the prepared baking sheet, plopping the cookies down about 8cm apart. You will need to make these 2 batches, keeping the bowl of cookie dough in the fridge between batches.

Bake for 15-17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks.

Make Ahead Note: The cookies can be made up to three days ahead and stored in an airtight container. Cookies will keep for a total of five days.

Chili con Carne III: LBJ's

1 kg ground meat
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin seed
6 tsp chilli powder (more if needed)
1 ½ cups canned tomatoes
2 - 6 dashes of hot sauce
2 cups hot water
salt

Directions

1. Cook meat, onion and garlic in large pan, until brown.
2. Add other ingredients and simmer for 1 hour.

Chili con Carne II: Flatlander

1 kg lean ground beef
1 can tomato juice
1 can tomato puree
1 ½ cups chopped onion
½ cup chopped celery
¼ cup chopped green bell pepper
¼ cup chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 ½ tspgarlic powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp white sugar
⅛ tsp ground cayenne pepper
2 cups canned red beans, drained and rinsed

Directions

1. Place ground beef in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside.
2. Add all ingredients to a large kettle. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 to 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally.

Comeback Sauce

1 cup mayonnaise
¼ cup Heinz ketchup
¼ cup chili sauce (DO NOT substitute Thai chili sauce)
1 heaping teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
¼ cup light olive oil
juice of one lemon