Undone By Food

Frank Bruni's appearance on Charlie Rose aired Friday, Sept. 19th (http://charlierose.http.internapcdn.net/charlierose/091809bruni.wmv). Throughout the seemingly sincere interview Frank discussed his new book, Born Round, and his career as food critic for the New York Times- a highly respected position he held since April 2004 and one he recently abandoned. Frank talked about balancing his health and weight in light of his chosen profession and past struggles with food (i.e., during childhood classmates teased that his initials stood for Fat Boy rather than Frank Bruni; resounding fears of weight gain followed the end of his high school swimming career and resulted in bulimia). Like many before him, Frank's answers to American's obsession with food (he candidly stated to Charlie, "We all eat too much.") are exercise and portion control. Exercise is his "down payment" for eating as much as he likes to eat, and given his history, I believe him when he says it's a lot. In my opinion, one of the most memorable lines from the interview (aside from comparing a picture of himself at 275 lbs. to Jabba the Hutt) was- "I want to enjoy and love my food but I don't want to be undone by that food."

I wholeheartedly agree with the notion that exercise is a key factor in maintaining a comfortable, healthy weight. It is a necessary component on days like today- days where I want to pig out on multiple heaping spoonfuls of cookie dough and Oversized Almond Chocolate Chip Saucers (recipe below). If any food can "undo" me- these almond flavored cookies, with their crispy outer edges and gooey chocolatey center, come dangerously close.


Oversized Almond Chocolate Chip Saucers (yield, approx. 7 5.5 oz saucers)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup almond flour
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 sticks unsalted butter
2/3 cup light brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsps almond extract
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup slivered almonds
Preparation:
1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a medium sized bowl whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a mixer with a paddle attachment cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs and almond extract and continue to mix until smooth.
4. Gradually add in flour mixture and mix until a smooth dough forms.
5. Stir in chocolate chips and slivered almonds.
6. Form oversized balls of dough (each weighing 5.5 oz) and bake 15 minutes or until edges are a crisp brown but center is still light and gooey.