Cooking friends are the BEST friends!

I am dedicating tonight's post to my dear friend, former co-worker, playmate in the kitchen and official first "From Cook to Book" blog follower...Miss. Frances! You know I love you more than BUTTER!

She came over for a little visit before she returns for her last semester at TAMU. First, we exchanged Christmas presents. Let me tell you, she knows me very well. I got a totally cute coffee mug and matching coaster that reads, "There's nothing better than a good friend except a friend with chocolate"....AMEN! She told me she will never forget the time I said, "I don't trust people who don't like chocolate. It's just not right." I stand by that statement till the day I die. My gift conveniently came with 4 samples of Starbucks coffee. I am lucky girl.

Then we sat down and I mostly just complained about searching for a full-time job. I realized that wasn't really doing me any good and it certainly couldn't be fun to listen to. So, I suggested we get in the kitchen and see if we could conjure up some more of the pantry magic that has been flowing lately. Cooking always makes me feel better. It's the closest thing to real magic I know of.

We vacillated between savory and sweet. Finally decided that I had everything for some Pecan Sandies.  In the meantime I was hungry for a snack and noticed I didn't have any salad dressing for dipping my celery and sugar snap peas. Back to the pantry for another searching look. Eureka...I had peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, Sriracha, agave nectar and fresh garlic. Can you tell where this is leading, dear reader? Yep, you guessed it, Asian Peanut Dipping Sauce with celery. I really wished that I had some fresh ginger but hey, sometimes you've got to work with what you've got. 

For all of you who like celery boats with peanut butter, you will love this twist on the classic. It has all the balance from Asian recipes (salty, sweet, sour and spicy) paired with the crunch you love from celery. The sugar snap peas were a nice pairing with the dip as well. Hell, I can't imagine there being very many veggies that wouldn't be thrilled to dive into this simple, yet classic combination of flavors.

Now I can't really take any credit for the Pecan Sandies. We can thank Martha for the proportions. The only thing I can pat myself on the back for is recognizing that, at a minimum, all you need is butter, sugar/brown sugar, flour, salt and vanilla to make cookies. Add in some leavings, eggs, nuts, chocolate chips, dried fruit or candies and you have the basis for nearly every drop cookie in the world. I am pretty sure that I didn't need to get my degree in Pastry to know that. Right?

So here is to you, Miss Frances! Thanks for sharing my kitchen with me and for being MY inspiration tonight. I love you, darling!