LtDan'sKitchen.com

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Forzen Tri-chocolate Terrine

This recipe is adapted from Maurice Ferré's (a pastry chef at Maxim's in Paris) Terrine. Terrines are usually made with meat but this version is made with chocolate, three different kinds to boot, and resembles or should be technically classified as a semifreddo. An essential equipment needed to make this dessert includes a porcelain mold but a metal baking pan (loaf pan) that measures 12x3x3 or something similar will do. You can also prepare individual servings and make the terrine in ramekins. It usually requires 2 loaf pans for the recipe given below. Served with a mint custard sauce, it is a wonderful dessert for these hot summer nights. It is akin to eating frozen chocolate mousse since the components are quite similar (chocolate, eggs, and heavy cream) except for the ratio of ingredients and the freezing process. I'm not a big fan of mint so when I make this dessert, I skip the mint and opt for a mix of vanilla and Kahlua liqueur instead.

This dessert is made up of three components made the same way except for the use of three different kinds of chocolate. You also have to take into consideration that there is the issue of the cooling process in between layering the terrine. It is best to follow this step although the combination of two different kinds of chocolate terrine layers in a marbled effect does not seem such a bad idea at all which is what happened in this case. I got impatient as I had to go somewhere while trying to get this completed so I dumped the third milk chocolate layer over the white chocolate layer in what I hope will look like a mod design. I've also made this with just two layers and it worked equally well. However you want to make it, just make sure that you be patient and follow the last essential freezing step once the terrine have been completed to ensure that it does not fall apart when served. Even at it's frozen state, they start to soften in minutes which makes it even more delicious. Believe me, you'll never want to eat ice cream again after trying this one out.

*Chef Maurice Ferre's Frozen Tri-Chocolate Terrine - Adapted

4 oz each semisweet/white/milk chocolate

9 tbsp heavy cream

6 eggs

6 egg whites

9 tbsp unsalted butter

3 tbsp sugar

1. Using a pastry brush, lightly oil the sides and bottom of the mold

with canola oil and line the bottom with wax or a parchment paper.

If using a metal baking pan, brush with oil and line with clingfilm

leaving room for the edges to fold over and cover the top of the pan.

2. Cut the semisweet chocolate into smaller pieces and melt in a

double broiler. Meanwhile, on another pot, bring 3 tsbp of the cream

to a simmer. Whisk into the melted chocolate.

3. Whisk in 3 egg yolks into the chocolate mixture one at a time. Add 3

tbsp of butter and whisk until melted into the warm mixture.

4. In a separate bowl, beat 4 egg whites into stiff peaks. Add 1 tbsp

sugar and beat for 20s more until it turns glossy. Fold in the chocolate

mixture and pour into the mold and level flat.

5. Freeze for 30 minutes. Do the same for the white chocolate then the

milk chocolate.

6. Once the top layer has been poured into the mold, fold the clingfilm

over or if using a mold, top with a cutout of wax or parchment

paper. Freeze terrine for at least 6 hours or until firm.

Mint Custard Sauce

1 bunch mint leaves

2 cups milk

1/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch

1. Rinse and crush the mint leaves. Add to the milk in a heavy-based

sauce pan. Heat until it simmers. Strain the milk into a bowl and

discard the leaves.

2. Whisk the egg yolks with the cornstarch and add in the infused milk

reserving about 1/2 cup of the milk.

3. Return the custard to a pot and cook over medium heat until it

almost comes to a boil. Continue cooking until thickened enough to

coat the back of the spoon. Stir in the reserved milk and restrain the

custard sauce into a bowl. Let cool in the fridge.

To serve the terrine, if made on a mold, dip the mold in a roasting pan filled with hot water for 10-15 seconds. Peel off the top liner and invert into a serving dish. Peel off the bottom liner. The mint custard sauce is served on the side. If made with the baking pan, dip the pan in hot water and peel off the top plastic layer and invert the terrine on a serving plate. Peel off the clingfilm and serve as directed above. As an alternative, you can make the custard with 1 tsp vanilla and 1 tbsp coffee liqueur which you add once the custard has cooled.

* Willan, A., Perfect Chocolate Desserts, DK Publishing Inc., New York: 1997

Chocolate, Oatmeal or Peanut Butter

I cannot believe this is my first post on cookies but it definitely is. So to make up for the delay, I'm presenting three cookie recipes. The first recipe was adapted from the back of an oatmeal canister which I've managed to make my own by changing a few of the ingredients which is a good thing since I don't really remember what brand of oatmeal this recipe came from. The second offering is a cookie I first baked for a friend and I have loved it since then. The recipe is actually from Dave Liebovitz's blog, My Life in Paris so I'll leave most of the details to him, him being a pastry chef. Last but not least is a gluten free cookie taken from the Food Magazine cookbook from back home. This flourless cookie defies all odds in terms of taste and texture you will be amazed at how simple it is to make them.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie

Oatmeal cookies are I think one of the most versatile cookies ever discovered and that is a good thing. I have a friend, Fatima or was it Maribel, who makes the best oatmeal cookies when I was in high school. It was a treat to get one from them by just being persistent (read: begging like hell). I never asked for the recipe nor will they have parted with it come to think of it now that the discovery of this innocuous recipe at the back of the oatmeal canister I bought a long time ago seemed like a godsend. For those who do not like raisins, you can easily swap it out with chocolate chips, nuts or almost anything you like.

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp milk

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 cups quick cooking oatmeal

1 cup raisin

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add the eggs, vanilla, and milk.

Mix well.

3. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Add to the

butter mixture. Mix well.

4. Stir in oatmeal and raisins.

5. Using rounded tablespoons, spoon drops of dough onto prepared

cookie sheet, placing them 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 -10 minutes

or until edges are light brown. Do not overbake.

6. Let it stand for 5 minutes on the baking pan before removing to wire

racks to cool.

As an alternative, you can substitute the raisins with 1 cup chocolate chips or peanut butter chips or 1 cup raisins and 1 cup chopped nuts of choice.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Back in the early 90s, Chips Ahoy! became the new toast in town that everyone who was anyone had a bag of Chips Ahoy! in their person much like carrying a tiny dog as a status symbol in Hollywood at the preset time. For me who was on a fixed allowance, I had to save up for a couple of weeks before I could even splurge on one bag and boy were they good. Or was is just a matter of convincing myself that anything imported must be good! When I went to the US for graduate school, I got over them really quickly as they were just everywhere and the novelty value I had for them just went away. Poof!

I seldom bake chocolate chip cookies and the most fun I had with them was watching an episode of Friends when they tried to recreate a recipe that was found in the back of the Nestle Toll House packet, unbeknownst to them. Then along came Dave Liebovitz and I finally found a chocolate chip cookie recipe that I'm actually not adverse to making for myself. This cookie is just delicious!

*Peanut Butter Cookies - Adapted

The last offering in the cookie post is a gluten free cookie. Made only with peanut butter, eggs, sugar and nuts, it is amazing how this cookie actually does not fall apart in your hands. It reminds me of M&M's' mantra, "Melts in your mouth, not your hands." Word of caution though, cool the dough prior to baking. It tends to get too wet when warm so a cold cookie dough keeps them from turning into a pancake in the oven. The cooling process after baking is also essential so it is best if you have two baking pans for this cookie.

2 c creamy peanut butter

2 cups brown sugar

4 eggs

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped peanuts (or walnuts)

1. Preheat oven at 350°F

2. In a medium bowl, combine peanut butter, sugar and eggs. Mix well
using a wooden spoon until smooth and well blended.

3. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

4. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls, two inches apart on a lined cookie
    sheet. Bake 13-15 minutes or until lightly browned on the edges. Let
    cool on the cookie sheet for five minutes before transferring to a
    wire rack. Let cool completely.

5. Store in airtight containers to keep from getting soggy.

Note: Cookies look soggy coming out from the oven. Allow to set for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a cooling rack. A wooden cutting board also works well for these soft cookies.

* Best of Food Magazine, ABS-CBN Publishing, 2001

Addendum: The peanut butter cookies in the post look raw but they are perfectly baked. I used an organic peanut butter so it was a lot wetter than I anticipated. I've made this with Jiff peanut butter and it came out perfectly. I'll rebake a small batch soon to allay any concerns you may have.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Melon and Prosciutto Antipasto

We drove around the Beartooth Highway to celebrate the summer weather. The whole drive took about 9 hours total and half the time, you climb up to an elevation of around 11,000 ft among the most beautiful scenery in Montana and Wyoming. Along the way, we stopped by the town of Columbus to have breakfast at McDonalds. It has been a year since I last ate at the Double Arches so it was high time I paid a visit. Next stop was Red Lodge City. It is one of the bigger cities dotting the road to the Beartooth Highway and we always stop due to a candy store, the Candy Emporium, that we always visit. As always, I had my fill visually but I have managed and I always try to not buy anything when we go to that place. Another surprise that met us was the amount of bikers in town. They have an event with bikers from all over the country much like Sturgis but smaller in scale.

The view going up was beautiful as it was early enough in the summer and everything was green. The rivers were swollen due to the spring thaw. At the top, alpine flowers dot the alpine prairie lands coloring the landscape with bursts of yellow, purple and white. Snow still abounds in most of the higher peaks it felt like summer will never quite make its presence felt up there.

On the way down, we stopped by a lake to have lunch and take a break from the drive. We packed a simple lunch since we were going to be rushing back to town but I managed to buy a pack of prosciutto at the Red Lodge City which would be a perfect pair for the cantaloupe I packed for a healthy snack. It just goes to show that you can be on the highest peaks and a good lunch is never too hard to pack. This antipasto is quite easy to make since all you need are slices of cantaloupe and thin slices of prosciutto that you drape over them. The saltiness of the ham enhances the sweetness of the fruit and results in a perfect pairing. It is definitely a refreshing appetizer along the banks of an alpine lake on a warm summer day.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Sautéed Asparagus

Asparagus is one of my favorite side dishes to accompany any meat dish that is braised, roasted or baked. To me, it packs enough crunch but has a very unaffecting flavor that it stands out on its own and yet complements the dish you serve it with to maximum effect. Its mild bitterness actually acts like a palate cleanser in between bites and that I think is why this vegetable is one of my favorites. Of course, it has some downsides as well but it is more of a personal gripe about a certain person who loves this vegetable but I cannot fault the asparagus for something it did not do so we'll let it pass.

There are certainly many ways to cook asparagus but I think the simplest way is to sauté it. I learned part of the cooking process from Michael Chiarello who uses this vegetable quite a bit especially when he roasts vegetables as a side dish. That is actually another recipe in the works right there. However, for now, let me share with you a simple way to cook asparagus. I tend to cook this very last minute off the sauté pan. So if I’m having multiple courses, I do the sautéing part prior to serving the main dish I’m pairing it with.

Sauteed Asparagus

2 lbs asparagus spears

2-3 cloves garlic, sliced thinly crosswise

2-3 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp unsalted butter

Pinch of red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper

1. To prep the spears for cooking, take one end of the spear and with

your other hand, hold on to the middle part of the spear. Bend until

the spear breaks on its own at the weak spot. This will vary for

every spear but it will usually snap quite easily so no need to figure

out where this spot is. Discard the tough end (unless you want to use

it to make a stock).

2. Fill a big pot with water and bring to a boil. Add 1 tbsp salt and drop

in the spears. Cook them for about a minute or two until they just

turn bright green.

3. Take them out of the pot and shock them by dropping the spears

into an ice/water bath. This will stop the cooking process and

preserve the bright green color of the spears.

4. Once cooled, take out the spears, drain and dry on a paper towel

and set aside. If you are not cooking them straight away, store them

in the fridge.

5. On a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the

garlic and slowly cook them until they turn a light golden brown

color. Add the red pepper flakes and the asparagus. Toss the spears

to coat them with oil. Season with salt and pepper and cook them

just until the spears are all warmed through, about 3-4 minutes. Add

the butter and toss them one last time. Serve right away.

Rice Pilaf

Rice pilaf has been a highly requested side dish that unfortunately has been relegated to the “It’s too easy to make I really don’t know how to explain it!” category. I have gotten comments about how I cook my rice and my response is always the same, “I’ve been cooking rice since I was 12 years old, it is just something I do well.” Being Asian, it is almost sacrilege to not learn how to cook rice perfectly without the aid of a rice cooker. Our family never had one until I was in high school since it became the fad then. I hate to admit it but it does make your life simpler but I’ve never really felt the need to buy one when I left home since I was taught how to cook rice the old school way.

The way we cook rice back home is a bit different. For one, our rice variety is verging on the sticky side and my Dad is very particular on how his rice is cooked. It has to be sticky enough and yet, not mushy that it resembles a rice pudding or something close to becoming one. Rice pilaf on the other hand has to be cooked a certain way where the individual rice grain is distinct from the rest of the bunch and yet, be soft without the gritty aftertaste of an uncooked rice. I’ve managed to figure out how to cook rice pilaf using brown, basmati and regular long grain rice and so far, my technique has never failed me. I hope you master this technique as well to full effect. I prefer my pilaf on the bland side to be paired with a rich main dish but you can tweak my recipe to suit your tastes. Just make sure to keep the grain and liquid ratio similar.

Rice Pilaf with Herbs de Provence

1 medium onion, diced

¾ tsp herbs de provence

3-4 tbsp olive oil

½ cup white wine

2 cups hot low sodium broth

2 cups hot water

2 cups rice (white long grain, basmati or brown)

Salt and pepper

¼ cup chopped parsley (garnish)

1. Sauté the onions in a medium pot (non-stick is best) over medium

heat until translucent. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Add the herbs and sauté for a minute or two. Add the rice and cook

until the rice grains have absorbed all the oil. You may need to add

more oil if needed.

3. Add the white wine and let it simmer for about a minute.

4. Add the hot stock and the hot water and increase the heat to

medium high. Make sure that the liquid is about an inch above the

level of the rice. Cook uncovered until it starts to boil.

5. Once the liquid starts to boil, lower the heat to medium and let the

broth boil off until you have barely just enough liquid covering the

top layer of the rice. Decrease the heat to low and cover the pot.

6. Let the rice steam cook for about 30 minutes. If the broth oozes out

when you cover the pot, remove the cover and leave it open for

about five minutes before covering the pot again.

7. When the rice is cooked, fluff it with a wooden spatula and add in

the herbs and mix well. Serve immediately.

Braised Stuffed Cabbage Rolls - Polpette di Verza

I've been making cabbage rolls for some time now although I haven't made them in a while and I cannot seem to find a reason why. It was not until I saw an episode of Lidia's Italy and she made her own version of cabbage rolls that I remembered this dish. My recipe from one of my cookbooks includes cooked rice and ground pork in the stuffing while Lidia's version of Braised Stuffed Cabbage Rolls uses soaked bread and Italian sausages. It might be a good time to try her version for a simple dinner I'm preparing with friends this weekend.

I served this dish as a starter course and it was quite tasty. I wasn't sure how it was going to taste because midway through the cooking process, I had the concern that the sauce was tasting more like sauerkraut and not stuffed cabbage rolls. It was an unfounded concern however as the final result was actually quite good. A bit different, but maybe that is not a bad thing after all. Served with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of chopped parsley and grated Grana Padano, it was like eating a combination of soup and wrapped meatballs.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Skillet Braised Chicken Bundles - Fagottini di Pollo

I was watching Lidia's Italy last week (not a big surprise since the show is on DVR) but she made two dishes that I decided to both cook this weekend. One of them, the Skillet Braised Chicken Bundles is a step up from a similar dish my cousin taught me a long time ago. She made this chicken casserole where you the wrap chicken pieces with bacon, layer them in a baking pan then you add some sliced mushrooms, a can of cream of mushroom soup, about a cup of water and bake covered with foil at 350F for about an hour or until the chicken pieces are cooked. It was simple and delicious and a time saver I might add.

This version of Lidia has a more Italian slant but the idea is quite similar. It is definitely a bit more involved but the flavors are really wonderful and the extra time needed to prepare this dish is definitely worth it. I served it with rice pilaf and sauteed asparagus (the recipes will be posted quite soon ) and all in all, it was a wonderful dinner meal. I followed the recipe quite religiously except that during the baking process, I transferred the bundles with the concentrated sauce in a baking dish and topped with the cheese at the very last minute prior to serving.

Recipes

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Monday, July 11, 2011

Sunday, July 10, 2011