Alecia lead a great discussion about the book Eight Flavors and also had some yummy foods for us to try with the flavors from the book. The book focused on black pepper, vanilla, curry powder, chili powder, soy sauce, garlic, MSG, and Sriracha.
We started with garlic knots.
Next we had lettuce wraps with soy sauce, garlic, and sriracha
At the end of the discussion, we had Black Pepper Brown Sugar Cookies - a recipe from the book; icing was optional.
We also had vanilla bean ice cream.
Here's the recipe for the cookies
Black Pepper Brown Sugar Cookies
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, plus more to top the cookies
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon coriander
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
Zest of one orange
Juice of 1/2 an orange (about 1/4 cup)
2 large eggs
1. In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients and spices.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, add butter, sugar, and orange zest. Using the paddle attachment, beat on medium high until light in color. Add the orange juice, and then add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. With mixer on low, add the dry ingredients slowly. Stop and scrape the bowl, then continue mixing until combined. Divide dough in half, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill at least 1 hour and as long as overnight.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a generously floured work surface and with a floured rolling pin, roll dough 1/8 inch thick. Using a pepper grinder, crack fresh pepper over the surface of the dough and then gently press the pepper in with the rolling pin.
5. Cut into desired shapes using a cookie cutter or knife. Bake on a cookie sheet 10-12 minutes, rotating the cookie sheet halfway through, until the cookies are brown around the edges. Allow to cool completely on wire racks.
Here is a link to a video to watch the author making these cookies.
