Victor in the Kitchen

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I just love the fact that Victor likes to watch cooking shows while I'm at work on Saturday - Saturday dinner is always so much fun!

But before he started dinner, Victor made a flourless chocolate cake to bring up to his sister's house tomorrow.

The recipe came from Tyler Florence and he's made it before - the first time for my birthday last year.  It is really good.  Rich and decadent - just as a chocolate cake should be!

Flourless Chocolate Cake

  • 1 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
  • 1 stick unsalted butter
  • 9 large eggs, separated
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
  • 1/4 cup strong black coffee
  • 2 cups heavy cream, cold
  • Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan.

Put the chocolate and butter into the top of a double boiler (or in a heatproof bowl) and heat over (but not touching) about 1-inch of simmering water until melted. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar in a mixing bowl until light yellow in color. Whisk a little of the chocolate mixture into the egg yolk mixture to temper the eggs – this will keep the eggs from scrambling from the heat of the chocolate; then whisk in the rest of the chocolate mixture.  Add the coffee and mix well.

Beat the egg whites in a mixing bowl until stiff peaks form and fold into the chocolate mixture. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until the cake is set, the top starts to crack and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it, 25 to 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes, then remove sides of pan.

Serve at room temperature dusted with confectioners’ and the whipped cream.

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Dusted with powdered sugar and served with whipped cream, it will be the star of the show!

And speaking of shows, Rachael Ray made a really simple ricotta pasta dish that Victor decided he wanted to try tonight.

It could not have been easier.  It came from her quick meals series.  Cooked pasta mixed with ricotta.  That's pretty much it. Victor added maybe a tablespoon of sour cream to the cooked and drained pasta, stirred in a cup of ricotta and added some sundried tomatoes and shredded parmesan cheese.  Oh - he first drizzled the cooked pasta with garlic-infused oil.

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Damn, it was good!

And - we had breadsticks made from refrigerated pizza dough.

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He also brushed them with the garlic-infused olive oil.

I love Saturday!


Chicken and Stuff

Today's dinner is brought to you by a recipe I vaguely remember from a magazine (Bon Appetit?!?) once upon a time...  It was for  shredded Brussels sprouts and sliced mushrooms fried and then simmered in heavy cream.  Just my kind of healthy vegetable!

We had both the Brussels sprouts and the mushrooms in the 'fridge, plus some chicken breasts, so I thought maybe a chicken, Brussels sprout, mushroom stroganoff-type thing would be good - sans the heavy cream!  It was.

My first thought was to serve it over a wide noodle.  Then brown rice.  Then - realizing rice will last in the cupboard longer than potatoes in the basket - I decided mashed potatoes would be the perfect accompanyment!  They were.

In a hot skillet, I added a bit of olive oil and sauteed the thinly-sliced Brussels sprouts until browned.  I then added the mushrooms and browned them, as well.  I put them into a bowl and browned the sliced chicken breasts.  Everything went back into the pan with a splash of white wine.

When the wine cooked down, I added about a cup of sour cream and a scant teaspoon of Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and garlic.  I let it simmer while I smashed the potatoes.

It is a rare ocassion that I will peel potatoes.  I like the skins, I like the texture.  I pretty much hate perfectly-smooth mashed spuds.  It's probably one of the main reasons I loathe instant mashed potatoes.  This was not one of those rare ocassions.  Lumpy potatoes with just a tad of butter and (non-fat) milk.

Perfection.


Chili Dogs

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Hartmann's frankfurters, doctored-up Hormel chili, English cheddar, and Maui onions on whole wheat buns.  Gastronomic heaven.

These are some of the best old-fashioned, skin-on hot dogs I have had since moving east.  (Schwartz in San Francisco is what I grew up with!)  They have flavor and texture.  Not that melt-in-your-mouth-mushiness of  the national brands.  Easily 1/4 pounders.  And canned Hormel chili.  What can one say that hasn't already been said?

Back when Victor was traveling a lot, chili dogs were my mainstay.  There's just something about them that really appeals to me.

I think my favorite form of food is county-fair/street-vendor.  Don't get me wrong...  Starched white linen with heavy silver and drinking Clos du Mesnil or a Roederer Cristal from a simple  Riedel glass is quite nice.  But it's not quite the same as biting into a burnt hot dog and having mustard and onions oozing out everywhere!

But I want a good hot dog.  I don't want a "gourmet" hot dog.  I don't want lemongrass or chipotles added to them.  And I definitely don't want a damned turkey dog.  I want a hot dog.  Preferably from a company that's been making them the same way for a hundred years.

Hartmann's is relatively new in the business - 1961, I think - and while that's a lot younger than I am, they at least seem like they've been around for a lot longer.  (Schwartz has been around since 1911 - decidedly older than me!)

I have a couple of their Hungarian smoked sausages in the freezer awaiting another gastronomic adventure.  I should probably do something other than just put them on a bun, though...

I'll have to give this some thought...


Stuffed Peppers

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Okay - this one was good, if I do say so, m'self!

Peppers stuffed with ground beef, onion, the bell pepper that I cut off the top, a bit of Italian seasoning and salt and pepper -- and the secret ingredient?!?  :::drum roll, please:::

A half-ball of burrata.   Burrata, you say?!?  What is burrata?!?

Classified as a "spun" or "pulled curd" cheese, burrata's uniqueness lies in the buttery texture of the cheese's center: "Burro" means butter in Italian.

The outside of these decadent balls is a wrapped skin made from stretched sheets of mozzarella paste. The mozzarella paste is stretched into rectangles

3 x 5-inches and air is blown into it to make a sac.This gives the exterior a soft, springy texture. The soft, buttery center is made from fresh cream and

shredded pieces of mozzarella called stracciatella. The sac is then tied with a blade of grass and has the shape of a chubby pear.. When you bite or cut

into burrata, the cream oozes out irresistibly. It is as though you are tasting three different textures and flavors all at once - the sweetness of the cream, the

shedded mozzarella with a touch of acidity, and the more complex and cheesy outer layer.

It is every bit as decadent as it sounds - and oh, so good!

I put some of the raw beef mixture in the pepper, then the burrata, then more beef and a drizzle of sauce on top.  Into a 375° over - covered - for about an hour.  And then served with papardelle pasta and more of Victor's homemade sauce.

It was really good.


Chicken (Noodle) Soup For The Soul

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There's something about a hot bowl of soup that just does the body good!

I had half of a chicken in the freezer (no idea what I did with the other half!) but it was just what I needed to make dinner.

This was pretty basic - not a lot of herbs and spices and exotic flavors.  Chicken and a few vegetables - and noodles.  Sometimes, it's nice for the simple flavors of the foods themselves speak.

Into the pot went a chopped onion and a bit of olive oil.  Then the half chicken and 2 quarts of chicken broth. (A quick soup - not an all-day simmer!)  2 bay leaves and a bit of garlic.

When the chicken was done, I pulled it out to cool and added 3 carrots, 3 stalks of celery, a handful of fresh green beans, and some angel hair pasta I cooked on the side.

I then shredded the chicken, and back it went into the pot and everything was heated through.

A bit of bread on the side and dinner was served.

And there's pumpkin pie in the 'fridge.....


Triple Play Pumpkin

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First things first.  Dessert.  I was in the office installing the new Windows 7 on a couple of the computers and Victor headed into the kitchen to bake a pie for dessert.  Since I was already planning a leek and pupkin tart and pumpkin risotto, it really was going to be a pumpkin trople play!

I love this time of year!

He used the same recipe as the last pie:

Perfect Pumpkin Pie

  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups fresh pumpkin puree (or 1 can pumpkin puree)
  • 1 can (12 fl. oz.) evaporated milk
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1 unbaked 10″ pie shell

Preheat oven to 425°. Beat eggs, sugar, maple syrup, and spices in large bowl. Add pumpkin and mix well. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

Pour into pie shell. Bake at 425° F. for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F.; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.

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Why mess with success?!?

While that was baking (and while the computers were updating) I headed into the kitchen to start the tart.

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This idea came from La Cucina Italiana magazine.  It was actually a leek and carrot tart that I changed just a bit.  This makes 4 individual tarts or one 9" tart.  I was originally going to go down and buy a couple of individual tart pans this morning but the computer store opening at 11 won out over the kitchen store - in the opposite direction - opening up at noon.  I made it in a deep 9" pan and baked it at 350° for about 45 minutes.

Leek and Pumpkin Tart

Dough

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp blanched slivered almonds
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1 tbsp ice water

Filling

  • 2 cups pumpkin puree
  • 1 large leek (2 cups sliced)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 oz Spanish blue cheese
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 cup corn
  • salt and pepper, to taste

For the pan

  • butter
  • breadcrumbs

Dough:  In a large bowl, combine flour and salt.  Add butter and mix until incorporated.  Add almonds and egg yolks; mix until dough resembles coarse meal.  Add in ice water; knead until dough is smooth.  Form dough into a ball, press into a disk, cover with plastic and refrigerate until firm - about 30 minutes.

Filling:  Slice and clean leeks.  Heat 2-3 tbsp olive oil in skillet.  Add leeks, salt and pepper, to taste, and saute until softened, about 5 minutes.  Set aside.

Mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, cheese, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper.

To assemble:  Butter 4 fluted tart pans with removable bottoms (or 1 9" tart pan).  Sprinkle with breadcrumbs, making sure sides are well-coated.

Roll out dough and cut to fit bottom of tart.  Cover dough with leeks, then top with pumpkin mixture.  Sprinkle with corn, and dust with paprika.

Bake at 350° for 25 minutes for individual tarts and 45 minutes for a larger tart.

Cool slightly, remove from pand and serve hot or at room temperature.

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Crust on bottom, with crumbs.

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Leeks are cooked and ready to top the crust.

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Pumpkin filling is ready.

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Ready to serve.

The risotto was another variation on a theme.  The inspiration recipe was Risotto alla zucca con mostardi di Crimona, amaretti e salvia fritta.  I generally don't use recipes for risotto.  They're broth, rice, cheese, and whatever...  But it is fun to read the magazine and get ideas.  (My idea for this one was to not follow the recipe!)

I'm rather surprised I didn't take any pictures of the risotto cooking!  I must be losing my tough, or something...

Pumpkin Risotto

  • 2/3 cup arborio rice
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/4 pound mushrooms, diced
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 3 cups hot chicken broth
  • 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
  • 1 cup crumbled Mexican queso fresco
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Saute onions. mushrooms, and garlic in butted until well-cooked.  Add rice, stirring and coating with butter.  Cook until rice begins to brown.  Add about half the broth and cook until absorbed.  Add additional broth 1/2 cup at a time, until it is all absorbed and rice is tender.  Add pumpkin and heat through.  Add cheese and mix well.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

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Dinner was a lightly-breaded chicken breast that was browned and then finished off in the oven with a bit of the crumbled Mexican cheese.

The tart was tender and creamy with the rich flavor of leeks and just enough hint of the blue cheese (any cheese would work in it - I just happened to have the Spanish blue on hand).  The risotto was excellent - and there's enough left of both for lunch tomorrow!

And for the computer geeks out there... Both computers are running just fine after installing the upgrade from Vista. (I didn't do the clean install.)  Even though I backed everything up, not a file or program was out of place with the new operating system.  And things do seem to be working a little smoother...


Dinner Is Served

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There's just something about having dinner awaiting you when you come home from work...  It's pretty darn special.

I came home today to find a pot of sauce simmering on the stove, a half-dozen sausages simmering along with it, and water boiling for gnocchi.  What a perfect way to end the week.

It almost doesn't get any better.

After our pumpkin-break, I think tomorrow may see not one, but two different pumpkin dishes. Three, if I do a pumpkin dessert.

Life is good.


Pierogi and Pumpkin

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It's the All-Pumpkin, All-The-Time channel!  Just be the 4th caller with the correct answer and you, too, could...

Ooops...  I got carried away, there.  Pumpkin can do that to me.

In my (seemingly) never-ending quest to find new and/or different uses for pumpkin puree, I definitely thought a pasta sauce of sorts should be in the running.  Trouble was, I didn't feel like pasta tonight.  I did have some pierogi in the 'fridge, though, and they are always good (and only 250 calories for FOUR of them!)

They were potato and spinach, we had spinach in the freezer, pumpkin and walnuts go with everything...  I had a plan.

I browned a handful of chopped walnuts in a pat of butter, added a cup of pumpkin puree and some chicken broth to thin.  Salt and pepper.  That was it.

That was the second sauce.  The first one I threw away.  The above really was what I was looking for, but I had some leftover tomatillo sauce from the other night, so I thought I would see if I could rework it into a pumpkin sauce.  It didn't work, and it would have taken too much work to make it work.  It wasn't worth the effort, especially because it really wasn't what I wanted in the first place.  Live and learn?  I doubt it.  Down the drain.

A petit pan-fried steak finished the plate.

And to finish us, a pumpkin pie in a bowl!

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Here I made my basic pumpkin pie recipe and added an oatmeal and maple topping.  Into 8oz souffle cups and into the oven for about 30 minutes.

And what pumpkin treat will tomorrow see?!?

Stay tuned.


Pork, Pumpkin, and Apples

I knew this morning that I was making pork chops with a pumpkin sauce of some sorts.  It wasn't until this afternoon that I figured apples should play a part, as well.  And Elizabeth brought me in some baby sweet potatoes from her garden.    Sweet and savory.  Mentally, dinner was done.

The weather is absolutely gorgeous.  Perfect for the contractors out there fixing the dry rot and the painters painting the house.  We could not have planned this any better.  But painters and contractors mean everything is in disarray.  And I hate disarray.  But somewhere out there, there is a grill - and a grill and beautiful weather means grilled pork chops with pumpkin and apples.  It's a rule.

Pumpkin Apple Sauce

  • 1/2 cup shallots, chopped
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 2 small apples, cored and sliced
  • shot of dark rum
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Wilt shallots in a bit of olive oil.  Add apples and brown a bit.  Add sugar and spices.  Add pumpkin and rum.  Heat through.

Check thickness of sauce and add chicken broth to thin to desired consistency.

On the pork chop, I sprinkled a bit of garam masala, garlic, boonie pepper (for heat), and salt and pepper. Cumin and cinnamon in the pumpkin and apples called for a bit of an Indian flair.

I oven-roasted the sweet potatoes with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper.  They didn't need anything else!  Steamed broccoli finished the plate.


Fairytale Pumpkin Puree

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Okay...  I've been looking at this guy for a week, now.  It's a beautiful decoration and all, but I'm thinkin' it's time for some pumpkin action.  Time to get serious.  Time to eat!

So...  out came the big ol' sharp knife and to work I went.

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These pumpkins have the most incredibly orange flesh.  I scooped out the seeds, cut them up a bit, and proceeded to get them onto sheet pans.

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I placed them on sheet pans, added some water to the pan, covered them with foil, and put them into a 350° oven for about 2 hours.  They were really thick hunks of pumpkin.

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I had two sheet pans like this.

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Out came the food processor and I started scraping and pureeing.  I didn't use any seasonings at all.  I want to be able to use the puree for both sweet and savory dishes.

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I have no idea how many cups that bowl holds, but two cups of pumpkin puree makes a 10" deep-dish pumpkin pie.  I have enough puree to make more than three pies!  Or thirteen pies, I think!

Tomorrow, after it is cold, I'm going to portion it into two-cup bags and freeze it.

For a mere $6.99, I think I'm set for the season!


Con-Fusion

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The sopitos the other night were so good, I thought we needed a replay.  But I didn't want to go Mexican, again.  I had seen Debbie''s post about a Mushroom Ragu Pasta and was inspired to do something a bit different.  I had chicken and I had mushrooms.  I had the shells.  I had an idea...

We also have lots of dried porcini mushrooms in the cabinet.  They're one of those things that I would buy, put in the cabinet and then forget about - and then buy, again.  After bringing home yet another container last month, I collected all of them and put them all into a quart mason jar where I can keep an eye on them.

But I digress...

I was looking for a bit of a creamy chicken and mushroom filling, without being, well... creamy.  (As in the heavy cream I would usually use to make such a thing.)  I decided that diced onion, diced crimini mushrooms, and diced chicken along with porcini mushrooms (and their soaking liquid) and a few herbs and spices would work really well in a corn cup if I just thickened it a bit with some cornstarch.

I also came really close to buying some fresh cranberries to make a cranberry sauce to go on top of the chicken and mushrooms.  And then I remembered we had LOTS of lingonberry preserves at home that would work even better.

Side story:  There's a small upscale grocery store in San Francisco called Andronico's.  They make (or, at least used to make) a fantastic smoked turkey sandwich on a whole wheat sourdough french roll with spicy-hot mustard, mayonnaise, and lingonberry preserves.  One of the best sandwiches in the known universe!

I knew the flavors would work here...

So...  I diced some mushrooms, onion, and chicken, sauteed it in a bit of olive oil, added some garlic, salt, pepper, and a bit of poultry seasoning, and cooked it all down.  I added the liquid from the mushrooms - maybe a cup - and when it was boiling, added a bit of cornstarch to thicken.

Into the cooked sopes it went, and then topped with the lingonberries.

It was really, really good!

I love sweet/savory combinations and this really worked well.  The sopes have a rich corn flavor and crunchy/chewy texture that - while very unique and with a decidedly Latin flavor - matched very well with a very non-Latin filling.  I can see a lot of uses for these - just about anything that could go atop a puff pastry shell would work.

The gastronomic wheels are spinning!


Roasted Pork Loin

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It has been a while since I put a pork roast into the oven.  Quite a while.  I buy them all the time - and then cut them up into chops to grill or stuff.  Just haven't put one in the oven.  It takes a bit of commitment - there's a lot of meat that needs to be consumed - but it can't be done by two people in one (or even two) sittings.  I'm committed (as opposed to being committed, which some people I'm sure think is long overdue)!

This was a fun recipe - maple syrup and champagne garlic mustard for the glaze, celery, apples, onions, and potatoes cooking along with the pork, and an apple juice and apple cider vinegar reduction to cook it all in!

Roast Maple Mustard Pork

  • 1 4lb pork loin roast
  • 3 apples, cored and sliced
  • 1 red onion, cut in 8ths
  • 4 stalks celery, sliced
  • 1lb potatoes
  • 3 cups apple juice
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 3 tbsp mustard

Preheat oven to 350°.

Brown pork loin in olive oil and place in oven-proof pan large enough to hold all ingredients.  In pan used for browning pork, add 3 cups apple juice and reduce to 1 cup.

Place apples, onion, celery and potatoes around pork.  Pour reduced apple juice over.

Mix maple syrup and mustard and brush onto pork loin.

Using a thermometer, bake in oven until internal temperature reaches 150°.

Thicken pan juices with a bit of cornstarch, if desired, for a sauce to go over the pork.

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It cooked up in about an hour.

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Plates were cleaned in about 10 minutes!