Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sometimes basic is best.
I had a yen for a chocolate chip cookie tonight. A plain ol' chocolate chip cookie. No cocoa powder, no melted chocolate, no oatmeal, peanut butter, walnuts, coconut, or anything else. A chocolate chip cookie.
I did make monster-sized chocolate chip cookies, however. I can only be so traditional, ya know...
Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 sticks butter
- 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 1/2 cups chocolate chips (16 ounces)
Preheat oven to 375°.
Mix together flour, baking soda, and salt.
Beat together butter and sugars in a large bowl with mixer at high speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time to butter mixture, beating until creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low and mix in flour mixture until just blended, then stir in chips.
Use 1/4 cup disher and scoop 6 cookies onto each parchment-lined sheet pan. Flatten cookies slightly and bake 13 - 15 minutes.
Makes about 24 cookies.
And I only ate 2 cookies! Self-control is a remarkable thing!
Flourless Chocolate Cake
Victor made dessert. Tyler Florence's Flourless Chocolate Cake.
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°. 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.
My stomach is smiling.
Expanding, but smiling.
Raspberry Scrippelle
I've gone from never hearing about a crepelle or scrippelle in my life to getting several sweet and savory recipes in a matter of a couple of weeks.
The first came from La Cucina Italiana magazine - a Raspberry and Apple Crepe, and the second from Lidia Bastianich's latest book Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy.
I knew after making Lidia's Crepelle with Spinach that the crepes would be wonderful as a sweet as well as a savory.
Tonight was the night to put it to test.
This is definitely in the category of "Wing-It Recipes".
I made the crepes from Lidia's recipe, cutting it in half.
For the filling, I took about 3/4 cup of ricotta and mixed it with a teaspoon of sugar and about a tablespoon of marsala.
I spread a heaping tablespoon of filling into the center of each crepelle and sprinkled on fresh raspberries and then folded them into quarters.
For the topping, I mixed about a half-cup of sour cream with a teaspoon of sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla. I topped each plate with some, added more raspberries, and then sprinkled cocoa powder on top.
They are thicker than a French crepe which is good for holding up to the fillings and folding.
I see a lot more possibilities.....
Leftovers
We don't get a leftover backlog very often, because when we have them, Victor usually eats them for lunch. Alas, he's been looking to lose that elusive 10 pounds and has been eating a bit lighter... cottage cheese and fruit and that sort of fun summer stuff. Great for him, but hell on my dinner planning. I mean, there's just no way I can continue to make new stuff if there's old stuff backing up in the 'fridge.
So... those pork chops are on hold for one more night. Tonight was a revisit with the Mexican Spaghetti Pie and a nice salad. It's great to see those tupperware containers get emptied out.
Part of the salad was leftovers, also - the last of the Corn and Barley salad from Sunday. The rest of the salad was random odds and ends from the vegetable bin. It's getting a good clean-out, as well.
And really, this is what cooking is all about. Taking stock of what you have and making a good meal out of it. It's not that difficult to grab a recipe, go to the store and buy the exact ingredients you need, and come home and make it. It's also not that difficult to open the 'fridge and create something with the odds and ends already in the house. My thought process has always been the worst thing that can happen is I throw it all out and call for pizza.
Well... while I do admit there have been a few things I probably won't make again, I've never had to call for pizza.
And dessert is a bit of a leftover, as well. Fruit Cobbler Victor made last night.
It was great... Cinnamon biscuits atop peaches, pears, blueberries... a bit of a clean-out-the-'fridge-dessert to begin with!
Leftovers are my friend.
Yum.
Chocolate Cherry Cookies
I'm not exactly sure how I went from Clafouti to Chocolate Cookies. Sometimes things just happen, I guess. And as I sit here with chocolate and cherry and more chocolate, I think I'm glad it took the turn it did. These are some pretty good cookies! The original recipe comes from the Northwest Cherries website.
Chocolate Cherry Cookies
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 48 sweet fresh cherries, pitted
- 6 oz bittersweet chocolate
- 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
Heat oven to 350°.
Combine flour, baking powder, and cocoa. With electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until well blended. Add egg and vanilla. Beat until well combined. Gradually beat in flour mixture.
Scoop dough into 1-inch balls, placing 1/2 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Press cherry into center of each cookie.
In small pan over low heat, combine chocolate and condensed milk; heat until chocolate is melted. Spoon about 1 teaspoon chocolate mixture over each cherry. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until done.
Cool and enjoy.
They are even better than they sound - and they sound fantastic!
The cookies are slightly cakey, with a sweet cherry burst, and that creamy dark chocolate finish.
I've already eaten four of them. I think I have room for one more...
OMG Chocolate Ice Cream
Okay. I'm officially out of my mind. I just made a chocolate ice cream that is something like 1200 calories per cup. Probably more. 90 grams of fat. Per cup.
I'm out of my mind.
But I'm not crazy. It was so rich - and I do mean so rich - I could only eat half a cup. Me. The ice cream king of the universe. The guy who can polish off a pint of Ben and Jerry's without batting an eye.
Half a cup.
I used a Dutch process cocoa powder and a 72% dark chocolate. It was rich, creamy, decadent, ultra-chocolaty and absolutely fantabulously good.
Half a cup.
600 calories and 45 grams of fat.
I'm thinking it was worth it.
OMG Chocolate Ice Cream
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup half and half
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp espresso powder
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 8 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 1/2 cup mini peanut butter cups
Combine heavy cream and half and half over medium-low heat.
Combine the sugar, cocoa, espresso powder, eggs, and egg yolks in a medium bowl; beat until thickened.
With the mixer on low speed, add about a cup of hot cream to the cocoa mixture in a slow, steady stream and mix completely.
Stir the chopped chocolate into the saucepan with the hot cream.
Stir the egg mixture into the hot cream.
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens.
Transfer the chocolate mixture to a bowl and stir in vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap placed directly on the surface of the chocolate mixture, and refrigerate until completely cooled.
Pour the chilled custard into the freezer bowl, and mix according to manufacturers instructions.
Add the peanut butter cups during the last few minutes of mixing.
'In Flanders Field' Poppy Seed Cake With Lemon Glaze and Strawberries
I'm actually old enough to remember WWI Veterans selling real poppies with real ribbons and cards that read...
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row...
We all memorized the poem as kids. But those ancient-to-me veterans didn't sell them around Memorial Day - Flanders Field was all about Armistice Day - Veteran's Day. November 11th. It's an almost forgotten holiday. Not much is closed. It's certainly not a paid holiday for 99% of the population. (It made the Uniform Monday Holiday Act in 1968 and the 4th Monday in October was designated Veteran's Day, but was it removed in 1975 to its original November 11th date.)
But I digress...
This cake was in Thursday's Philadelphia Inquirer and Victor was going to make it, but I beat him to the dessert punch with the Raspberry Banana Tart.
So he made it for us, today. I'm glad he saved the paper. It was really good!
'In Flanders Field' Poppy Seed Cake With Lemon Glaze and Strawberries
Makes 10-12 servings
- 3 1/2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Scant 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 pound (two sticks) unsalted butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
- Rind of two lemons, zested or grated fine
- 1/2 cup fresh poppy seeds
- For the glaze:
- Juice of two lemons
- 2/3 cup sugar
Optional Memorial Day garnish:
- Fresh strawberries, washed, hulled, and sliced (leave two or three perfect berries)
- Whipped cream
- Fresh mint
- Small American flags
1. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a bundt or tube pan by greasing and flouring.
2. Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
3. Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until creamy and smooth, scraping the bowl from time to time to ensure complete mixing. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add a third of the flour mixture and a third of the buttermilk and mix until the flour is just incorporated. Repeat twice more, adding the rind with the last bit of buttermilk, scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl, and mix until the batter is smooth.
4. Bake in the center of the oven for 40 to 50 minutes until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for about a half hour and invert onto serving plate.
5. Mix the glaze ingredients together and brush onto the cake while it is still warm.
6. Garnish with small American flags and serve the berries on the side, or use them to fill the hole in the center of the cake.
Per serving (based on 12): 482 calories, 7 grams protein, 71 grams carbohydrates, 45 grams sugar, 20 grams fat, 112 milligrams cholesterol, 276 milligrams sodium, 1 gram dietary fiber.
So... the timing of the Flanders Field reference may be a bit off, but the cake certainly wasn't. It's real good.
Raspberry and Banana Tart
This months La Cucina Italiana magazine has a series of recipes on raspberries. And a full-page picture of a raspberry and banana tart.
Now, I have no idea what makes a raspberry and banana tart Italian, but, after looking at the picture, I didn't really care. I wanted to make the tart.
So I did.
Either they're growing their bananas smaller over there in Italy, or their 9 1/2 inch tart pans are bigger than ours, because I couldn't get the same number of concentric circles, but it hardly mattered. It was good!
Raspberry and Banana Tart
La Cucina Italiana Magazine
Ingredients
DOUGH
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- Pinch salt
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cold, cut into
- small pieces, plus more for greasing pans
- 2 tablespoons cold water
PASTRY CREAM AND TOPPING
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
- Pinch fine sea salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 bananas
- 1 cup raspberries (about 5 ounces)
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: a 9 1/2-inch tart pan with removable bottom
Instructions
FOR DOUGH: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Add butter and rub mixture between fingers until it resembles coarse meal. Make a well in center, add water and mix together to form a dough. Knead dough 3 to 4 times, flatten into a disc, wrap in plastic and chill for at least 1 hour.
FOR PASTRY CREAM AND TOPPING: In a bowl, vigorously whisk together egg yolks, sugar and salt until thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Add cornstarch and whisk until smooth.
In a medium saucepan, bring milk to a boil over medium heat; remove from heat.
In a slow and steady stream, whisking constantly, add about 2 tablespoons hot milk to egg mixture, then, whisking, add remaining milk. Pour mixture back into saucepan, return to medium heat and, whisking constantly and vigorously, bring to a boil. Cook, whisking constantly and into the edges of the pot, until mixture is thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat, whisk in vanilla and let stand for 5 minutes.
Transfer Pastry Cream to a clean bowl, immediately cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a crust from forming and chill until cold, about 1 hour. (Pastry Cream can be made up to 1 day ahead.)
Butter tart pan and dust with flour.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to a 12-inch round. Fit dough into prepared tart pan, pressing into edges. Prick bottom of dough all over with fork and chill until firm, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oven to 400º with rack in middle.
Line tart pan with parchment paper, leaving at least a 1-inch overhang. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until edges are pale golden, about 10 minutes. Remove parchment and weights; continue to bake until bottom of crust is pale golden and edges are beginning to brown, about 5 minutes more. Cool shell completely on wire rack.
Fill shell with pastry cream and spread evenly. Peel bananas and slice crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces. Arrange banana pieces and raspberries in alternating concentric circles.
NOTE: Finished tart can be refrigerated, loosely covered with plastic, for up to 1 hour.
It was just what I wanted.
Buttermilk Cake with Blackberries and Beaumes-de-Venise
How often do you have buttermilk, blackberries, oranges, and Beaumes-de-Venise in the house at the same time? I'm usually one out of four, maaaaaybe two out of four right after shopping. But four-for-four?!? Never.
Until today. The stars aligned correctly and dessert was made!
I had a pint of buttermilk that really needed using this week so I went to Epicurious to see about a buttermilk cake. I had the ingredients for a buttermilk pie, but I was in a cake mood.
Scrolling through the recipes I saw a buttermilk cake with blackberries and knew I had my winner. And OMG! I had all the ingredients - including the sweet muscat wine! (It's actually been taking up space in the 'fridge for a while, now...)
Time to get to work. The recipe called for a 9" round layer pan, but I used an 8" square. Otherwise, I followed the recipe verbatim.
The cake itself is excellent. Tender, moist, just dense enough - and lots of flavor. The wine syrup adds a great flavor, and blackberries... Really... how bad can blackberries be?!?
This is one I shall think of again. It really rocks!
The recipe comes from Gourmet Magazine circa 2001.
Buttermilk Cake with Blackberries and Beaumes-de-Venise
- 2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
For topping
- 3/4 cup Beaumes-de-Venise or other white dessert wine
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 1 (3- by 1-inch) strip fresh orange zest
- 1/3 cup seedless blackberry preserves or 1/2 cup blackberry preserves with seeds, strained
- 4 cups fresh blackberries (1 1/2 lb)
Make cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F.Line bottom of a buttered 9- by 2-inch round cake pan with a round of wax paper, then butter paper.
Sift together flour, baking powder and soda, and salt. Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then, with mixer at low speed, beat in all of buttermilk until just combined. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, mixing after each addition until just combined.
Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing top, and bake in middle of oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then run a thin sharp knife around edge of cake to loosen. Invert onto rack, then slide cake onto a cake plate.
Make topping:
Bring wine, 3 tablespoons sugar, and zest to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil until syrup is reduced to about 2/3 cup, 1 to 2 minutes. Discard zest.Reserve 2 tablespoons syrup and pour remainder slowly and evenly over cake (cake will absorb syrup).
Stir together reserved syrup, preserves, and remaining tablespoon sugar in small saucepan and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, about 1 minute (it should be the consistency of a thick syrup). Put blackberries in a large bowl, then pour preserves mixture over berries. Gently stir berries with a rubber spatula to coat, then pour over cake, mounding blackberries on top.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Cupcakes
I am finally using these way-fun cupcake holders! I first saw them on Trevor's blog and knew I had to get some. I picked them up at Fante's on 9th Street in South Philadelphia for a couple of bucks. They are not free-standing. You need to still put them in a muffin tin, but they pop right out!
I made a basic yellow cupcake and frosted with Chocolate Buttercream. The recipe makes about 16 cupcakes, but I divided it into 12 and baked about 6 minutes longer.
Yellow Cupcakes
- 2 cups cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 350° and line 16 muffin cups with paper liners.
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in milk and vanilla until just combined. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, beating until just combined after each addition.
Divide batter among muffin cups and bake in middle of oven about 20 minutes.
I was just slightly neurotic about filling them - not wanting any batter on the "wings" (neurotic?!? MOI?!?) - so I used a pastry bag without a tip. Worked like a charm.
Same with the icing.
They're yummy!
Salads and Chocolate Pudding
It's hot outside. That means salads inside. Lots of salads. We have a work-friend of Victor's staying with us tonight, so he asked yet another friend to join us for dinner tonight. These three are triple-trouble. What a hoot!
Grilled marinated chicken atop salad greens, blanched green beans, fava beans, broccoli and cauliflower, hard-cooked eggs (NOT left over from Easter!) tomatoes, mushrooms, black grapes, blueberries, and a mango dressing. I also reworked last nights rice into a rice salad.
And a small loaf of homemade whole wheat bread.
And chocolate mousse. Valrhona chocolate mousse.
With raspberries.
It's a basic cornstarch pudding base with whipped cream folded in, with crushed raspberries and additional Valrhona chocolate chunks.
Yum.
Valrhona Chocolate Pudding
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- pinch salt
- 3 cups whole milk
- 6 ounces Valrhona chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine the cornstarch, sugar, espresso powder, and salt in a heavy pan. Slowly whisk in the milk. Place over low heat stirring well. After about 10 minutes, when the mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of the spoon, add the chocolate. Continue stirring for about 2 to 4 minutes, or until the pudding is smooth and thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
Cover with plastic and cool completely.
For mousse, whip 1 cup of heavy cream with 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tbsp cocoa powder, 1/2 tsp espresso powder, and 1/4 cup sugar until stiff. Fold into chilled pudding.
Yellow Cake Is calling
I do love cake. It's one of my most favorite things - besides pies and cookies. And ice cream. Let's face it, dessert in general is my most favorite meal.
I decided a yellow cake was in order for tonight. It's been a while since I made one. I reached for my Better Homes and Gardens standby and then decided I wanted something else. I quick search on Epicurious brought up more variations than I wanted or needed. I went for one of the first ones listed.
Whenever I go to Epicurious, one of the first things I do is read the comments people leave about the recipes. It's absolutely amazing what some people will write. My favorites are always the folks who didn't follow any instructions, substituted half the ingredients, and then state it was the worst recipe they had ever made. (Well, duh.) Or the pompous folks who will go to a hollandaise sauce recipe and then expound for pages on how evil butter and eggs are. (Uh... this ain't Vegan Times...) They're just silly. This particular recipe had over 100 comments - and a lot of them were about how dry the cake was and how quickly the cake baked - nowhere near the 45 or so minutes of the recipe. I'll bet that not one of them used the 8" pans the recipe calls for.
Of course, I didn't either. I did use 8" pans, but I used 8" square pans. We all know from math class that an 8" square has more volume than an 8" circle. And since I knew from the beginning that I was changing things, I adjusted accordingly. It's not brain surgery.
Moist Yellow Cake
Epicurious | August 2004
Ingredients
- 3 cups (330 g) cake flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (8 ounces or 230 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups (454 g) granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups (10 fluid ounces or 300 ml) buttermilk
preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter and line with parchment paper two 8x2-inch (20x5-cm) pans. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. Cut up the butter into 1-inch pieces and place them in the large bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment or beaters. Beat for 3 minutes on MEDIUM-HIGH speed until the butter is light and creamy in color. Stop and scrape the bowl. Cream the butter for an additional 60 seconds.
4.Add the sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add the eggs one at a time.
5. Reduce the mixer speed. Stir vanilla into the buttermilk. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk. Mix just until incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 15 seconds longer.
6. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a knife. Lift up the pan with the batter, and let it drop onto the counter top to burst any air bubbles, allowing the batter to settle.
7.Center the pans onto the lower third of the oven and let bake 45 to 50 minutes or until the cake is lightly brown on top and comes away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
I doubt I shall be winning any awards for neatness in cake-slicing this week, but I don't care. What it lacks in picture-perfectness, it more than makes up for in taste.
It was good. No matter what they wrote.