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...


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.


Green Rice and Spice

Green rice and white asparagus.  Yes, a decidedly different dinner!

We tried out th Bamboo Green Rice tonight.  Way fun!  Taste is a bit difficult to describe...  definitely "rice" but an almost tea-like flavor from the bamboo.  Besides looking great, it tasted great.

I grilled a pork tenderloin and topped it with a fresh mango salsa...  Diced mango, minced jalapeño, minced onion, minced red pepper, cilantro, parsley, a squirt of lemon, salt & pepper.  I don't recall the variety of mango other than it's from Mexico and very yellow when ripe.  It had just the right amount of sweet and tart flavor.

The white asparagus was topped with diced tomato mixed with a bit of adobo sauce from a can of chipotles in adobo.

And Victor baked off the last of the brioche dough.

This batch of dough has definitely gotten a work-out.  I made it last Friday for hamburger buns on Sunday.  I made cinnamon apple rolls with it - twice - and then tonight's sesame braid.

I'm going to have to get another batch going soon.


Steaks with Strawberry BBQ Sauce

Whaddaya do when you have a 4-pound container of Strawberries?!?  Why...  ya make Strawberry BBQ Sauce, that's what ya do!

I came up with a recipe for Strawberry BBQ Sauce a while back (I did a Root Beer BBQ Sauce, too!)  and decided it was time to make it, again.  It's super easy.

Im think that this summer I'm going to experiment with different fruits.  I'll bet peaches would work really well with a different vinegar.

Strawberry BBQ Sauce

  • 2 pounds strawberries, hulled and roughly sliced
  • 1 small bell pepper, diced
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2 8oz can tomato sauce
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup lingonberry vinegar
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 2 tsp liquid smoke
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp chipotle powder
  • salt and pepper

Add strawberries, onion,  and bell pepper to saucepan and cook until strawberries release theiur juices and peppers and onions soften.  Add spices and cook well.

Add  brown sugar and then lingonberry vinegar.  Add tomato sauce and remaining ingredients.

Bring to boil and then simmer.

Blend everything with an immersion blender until smooth.

Continue simmering until thickened.

And the no-knead bread dough makes great dinner rolls, too.

But while this was all yummy and good, I have a feeling I'm going to be paying another buck tomorrow.....

Time for some serious salads.


Friday Weigh-In

Well...  it was too good to last.  Two weeks of effortless (albeit small) weight-loss turned into reality this morning.  I gained a half-pound.

I saw it coming.  I'm actually surprised it was only a half-pound.  I was not a good boy this week.    I haven't been eating breakfast which starts the non-stop munching when I get to work.  Self-control is not in my vocabulary on days like that.

So...  it's a half-pound reality check. It cost me a buck, too.

The weather has turned warm and we're finally starting to see produce that's at least grown in the United States.  (I just refuse to buy out-of-season produce from New Zealand or wherever.)

So...  Here's to being a better boy this week!


Chicken, Figs, and Rice Cakes

Tonight was a wild combination of flavors and textures.  Creamy, cheesy rice cakes with a crunchy exterior, sweet figs atop corn meal and floured chicken, and buttery caramelized brussels sprouts.  And another loaf of fresh-baked bread. Yep.  this was a fun one!

The rice patties were something I was thinking of for a couple of days.  Last night I had Victor save the leftover black rice because I had an idea for tonight.  (Just so y'all know, we have an equal distribution of work in our home.  If I cook, Victor cleans up.  If Victor cooks, Victor cleans up.  It's a great system!)  But I digress...

Breaded Rice Cakes

  • 1 cup cooked whole grain rice (brown, black, whatever)
  • 1/2 cup uncooked white rice
  • 1/2 cup uncooked wild rice
  • 1/2 cup onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 cups broth
  • 4 oz creamy cheese
  • bread crumbs
  • salt and pepper

Cook onion in a pat of butter or olive oil until translucent.  Add garlic and quickly saute.  Add rices and 2 cups broth.  Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add remaining cup of broth, return to boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer about 15 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in cheese.  Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper, if desired.

Use a 1/4-cup ice cream scoop and scoop out portions and drop into bread crumbs.  Form into cake, place on plate and repeat.

Brown in a hot pan with a splash of olive oil.

I used a Saint Vernier cheese that really was out of this world good.

The chicken was really simple.  I mixed a bit of flour and corn meal together and coated the chicken and then browned it on both sides.  Into the oven it went at 450° for about 10 minutes.  (The oven was already hot from the bread.)

I happened upon some fresh figs last week, and although I have a general rule about buying fruit out of season, I picked up a few, anyway.  What's a rule if you can't break it now and again?!?  I made really simple caramelized figs.

Caramelized Figs

  • 8 fresh figs
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • pinch cinnamon
  • pinch cloves

Stem the figs and place them upright in a pot.  Add sugar, vinegar, and spices and let sit over night.  Next day, simmer over very low heat for about 4 hours, shaking pot now and again.  This is where a burner diffuser really comes in handy. (Thank you, Ann and Julie!!!)

Place in a container and pour sauce over.

The brussels sprouts were just sliced in half and quickly steamed, and then sauteed with a splash of olive oil, salt, and pepper.

And we had more fresh bread.


Blood Orange Chicken

I picked up a bag of blood oranges yesterday without a clear idea of what I wanted them for.  They looked good, the price was right. I bought 'em.

They called to me all night and this morning I decided a blood orange chicken was just what we needed for dinner.  And I was right!

Blood Orange Chicken

  • 2 chicken breasts
  • 3 blood oranges
  • 2 pieces candied ginger, minced
  • 3/4 cup sherry
  • 3/4 cup chicken broth
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • crushed ginger snaps

With veg peeler, peel thin strips of peel from 1 orange.  Slice in thin strips.  Set aside.  Juice two oranges and separate the third into segments.  Set aside.

Flour chicken breasts and brown in hot olive oil.  Remove chicken and add sherry to pan.  Reduce by about half.

Add juice and reduce by a third.  Add chicken broth and bring to boil.

Add minced candied ginger and  the orange peel strips, and then add chicken breasts back into pan.

Place pan in hot oven and bake about 30 minutes.

When chicken is done, remove from oven,  Plate chicken.  Add blood orange segments to pan and thicken pan juices with a bit of cornstarch mixed with cold water.

Spoon sauce over chicken and top with crushed ginger snaps.

I made whole grain black rice and :::drum roll, please::: canned creamed corn.

Yes, you read that correctly.  Canned creamed corn.  I was at the grocery store on Monday and saw it on sale for 39¢ a can.  I bought two. I honestly can't remember the last time I had canned creamed corn.  It's been a really long time.  And it didn't disappoint.  There's three kernels of macerated corn in a sauce of sugar and modified food starch.   Not exactly high on the nutrition list, but what the hell.  I need to fall off my soap box every now and again.

It's just one of those guilty pleasures.

We also had more of the rye bread.  It lasted three days - not bad for a fresh loaf of bread.

We'll have real vegetables tomorrow.


A New Year Date

I was speaking with a woman yesterday about dates.  She was saying how much she absolutely loved them, and then said she stuffs them with parmesan cheese, wraps them in bacon, and bakes them.

My mouth started watering, I got weak in the knees.  I knew that 24 hours were not going to pass before having them, myself.  And I was right - it was less than 20!

I've always liked dates, but I've never gone totally out of my way to bring them home or do anything with them.  They've always been part of the realm of so many foods, so little time...  That is about to change, especially since Victor said that he absolutely and totally loves dates.  The things ya learn after 15 years...

So, armed with my package of Medjool Dates, a wedge of parrano cheese (an Italian-style cheese that is actually produced in the Netherlands!) and a package of Niman Ranch bacon, I went to work.

The timing could not have been better.  We're off to the bro-and-sis-in-laws for dinner today and Marie said "bring something, if you want".  We had the ingredients right here.  We didn't have to go to the store.  And... well.. we had to try them before giving the to people, right?!?

The dates all had pits, but a pair of needle-nose pliers took quick work of that!  Really.  I pitted 30 mdates in just a couple of minutes.

I cut small sticks of cheese and stuck them into the date.  Wrapped a half-strip of bacon around, and secured with a toothpick.

Into a very hot 450° oven for 15 minutes.

WOW!  They were good!  In fact, we were thinking that they might be too good to share and we could eat them all ourselves.  In the end, we chose the high road and will be bringing them with us to dinner.  It's only twelve and a half hours into the new year.  Way too early to be selfish!


Pork Chops and Repurposed Cranberry Sauce

12-2-pork

'Tis the Season to See Red!  And Green!

While we have gone through most of the Thanksgiving leftovers, there was a goodly amount of Cranberry Blackberry Sauce that was just asking to be reworked into another meal.  I answered the plea tonight!

The original sauce was actually pretty basic:

Cranberry Blackberry Sauce

  • 1 bag cranberries
  • 1 cup blackberries
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup sherry

In a heavy saucepan combine the cranberries, blackberries, sugar,water, and the sherry. Simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until the cranberries have burst and the sauce is thickened. Cool and refrigerate.

As I said, pretty basic.

Tonight, I heated about a cup of the sauce, added a heaping tablespoon of grainy Dijon mustard, and used it as a sauce over pork chops!

The pork chops were thick-cut, browned in a  skillet and then finished in a hot oven.  I added salt and pepper.  That was it.

The simple pork chops went perfectly with the sweet and tangy sauce.

Buttered asparagus and a wild rice and brown rice mixture finished off the plate.  For the rice, I sauteed a shallot, added a half-cup of wild rice and a half-cup of whole grain brown rice along with 2 cups of chicken broth.  Simmered for 45 minutes.

Victor made a rustic pear tart that we all ate before I could get a picture.

Suffice to say, it was really good!


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.


Roasted Pork Loin

10-19-pork-loin-1

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.

10-19-pork-loin-2

It cooked up in about an hour.

10-19-pork-loin-3

Plates were cleaned in about 10 minutes!