Chocolate Pecan "Cake"

Over the years I've saved many recipes in emails. They have accumulated over the years, and now the time has come to start actually cooking some of them and deleting the ones that I don't think I'll ever want to make again. And unfortunately, this recipe falls into that category. I don't remember where I found this online so no link to the original site.

The impetus for making this recipe was that we accidentally left chocolate chips in the car in 100+ degree heat on a road trip, and when we reached home we had a bag of chocolate goo.

Nana José’s Chocolate Pecan Cake

Adapted from Patricia Jinich

Time: 50 minutes

FOR THE CAKE:

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter or pareve margarine

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate

1 cup pecans

6 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup sugar

Dash of salt

FOR THE GARNISH:

3 tablespoons grated piloncillo sugar or brown sugar

Finely grated zest of 1 lime

Juice of 2 limes (about 1/4 cup juice)

1 pint strawberries, washed, hulled and halved

1 pint blackberries, washed

Lightly sweetened whipped cream, optional.

1. For cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper and grease with 1 tablespoon butter.

2. Using a double boiler or pan over simmering water, melt together chocolate and remaining 1/4 cup butter. Set aside to cool.

3. Using a blender, chop pecans finely. Add eggs, vanilla, sugar, salt and melted chocolate mixture, blending until smooth. Pour batter into pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes; cake should be moist but not wet. Allow to cool completely.

4. For the garnish: In a large mixing bowl, combine piloncillo or brown sugar, lime zest and lime juice. Add strawberries and blackberries, and toss gently. Just before serving, toss again and spoon on top of cake. If desired, serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings.

My notes:
1. I followed the recipe for the most part. The only difference was the chocolate that had melted was semisweet, not bittersweet, so I reduced the amount of sugar. I did not opt to garnish this, but I don't think it would have changed my opinion of the recipe.

2. The resulting "cake" is not a cake. It is perhaps cake-like when it is first removed from the oven, but after it has been chilled, it is more "brownie" like-- but not really. It doesn't have the same smoothness as a brownie (understandably, as there's only 1 stick of butter). It's flourless, but not the best flourless cake I have had. Still, the DH, has made his way through it :)


Some photos:

Fudgy looking right?

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

So the hubby brought home fresh eggs. Goodness knows how he got them-- he gave me some story of his mentor's assistant raises chickens and brings raw, unpasteurized eggs to hospital to either give away or sell, and somehow he managed to acquire a half dozen. Which he of course forgot in the fridge of the hospital and so they came home several days later, and we finally got around to fussing with them a few days after that. So we had a half dozen not-so-fresh fresh eggs, and we (or I) decided to poach them. Of course. Because I love brunch, and I love eggs benedict and poaching an egg is something that would help me enjoy both of those things.

The DH was in charge of the poaching process which he did pretty well for his first attempt.

I was in charge of the biscuits. However, it was a Monday night, and though I knew I was going to be making biscuits, I hadn't really given it much thought. But in Google I trust, and so when I came across this Cheddar Bay biscuit copycat recipe, I decided to go for it. Nevermind that I've never been to Red Lobster and therefore I've never actually had the thing that this recipe promises to deliver, but I mean, come on-- Cheddar Bay? Where is that and what's the rent like there?

Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits
http://damndelicious.net/2014/02/03/red-lobster-cheddar-bay-biscuits/

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
FOR THE TOPPING
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat; set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, garlic powder, salt and cayenne pepper, if using.
• In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together buttermilk and butter. Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula just until moist. Gently fold in cheese.
• Using a 1/4-cup measuring cup, scoop the batter evenly onto the prepared baking sheet. Place into oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.
• For the topping, whisk together butter, parsley and garlic powder in a small bowl. Working one at a time, brush the tops of the biscuits with the butter mixture.
• Serve immediately.

My Notes:

1. I may have used slightly more cheese than the recipe called for. The resulting biscuit was delicious, but it perhaps didn't rise as well as it might have had I not burdened the dough with extra weight

2. Not sure if my oven actually reached 450 degrees (my oven is finicky and unreliable and I hate it. I loathe it.) and THAT's why the biscuits didn't rise so beautifully.

3. Or perhaps I should've shaped them better-- I sort of scooped and dumped the dough because these were drop biscuits and I wasn't feeling energetic enough to round them out.

4. So either because of the extra cheese or the oven, these were very undercooked. Delicious but undercooked-- they never developed that hard shell outside that biscuits should get. And so the melted butter topping just made things more soft. Delicious, but soft.

5. Great on the toaster oven reheat!

Whole Wheat Focaccia

So this weekend was rather lazy one for both of us. I worked on Saturday, and the DH has been studying all weekend for some professional exams. But nevertheless we managed to find time to cook up some delicious things-- mini quiches, veggie loaffins, channa masala, imitation spicy lentil wraps, and some focaccia bread

Here's the recipe, from Martha Rose Shulman's "Recipes for Health" column in the NYTimes:

Whole-Wheat Focaccia
This is a very easy bread and welcomes any number of toppings or fillings. Three variations on the flour mix follow the recipe; you can use more whole-wheat flour or less than is called for in this recipe, which uses half whole-wheat and half all-purpose. When I use Community Grains whole-wheat flour, a California flour made from ancient strains of wheat that is milled in such a way that it is very fine but retains all of its nutrients, I can get away with using a lot. Coarser whole-wheat flours are best used in combination with all-purpose.
2 teaspoons (8 grams) active dry yeast
1 teaspoon (5 grams) sugar
1 1/2 cups (340 grams) lukewarm water
2 tablespoons (25 grams) olive oil, plus 1 to 2 tablespoons (25 grams) for drizzling
250 grams (approximately 2 cups) whole-wheat flour
200 to 220 grams (approximately 1 2/3 to 1 3/4 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour or bread flour, plus additional as needed for kneading
1 3/4 teaspoons (13 grams) salt
1. In the bowl of a standing mixer, or in a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water. Add 2 tablespoons (25 grams) olive oil, the whole-wheat flour, 200 grams of the all-purpose flour and salt and mix together briefly using the paddle attachment. Change to the dough hook and beat for 8 to 10 minutes at medium speed, adding flour as necessary. The dough should eventually form a ball around the dough hook and slap against the sides of the bowl as the mixer turns; it will be sticky. Remove from the bowl, flour your hands and knead the dough for a minute on a lightly floured surface, and shape it into a ball.
2. If kneading the dough by hand, dissolve the yeast in the water with the sugar as directed. Stir in the olive oil, whole-wheat flour, salt and all-purpose flour by the half-cup, until the dough can be scraped out onto a floured work surface. Knead, adding flour as necessary, for 10 minutes, until the dough is elastic and smooth. Shape into a ball.
3. Clean and dry your bowl and oil lightly with olive oil. Place the dough in it, rounded side down first, then rounded side up. Cover tightly with plastic and let rise in a warm spot for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or in the refrigerator for 4 to 8 hours, until doubled.
4. Punch down the dough. Cover with lightly oiled plastic and let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, preferably with a baking stone in it. Line a sheet pan with parchment and oil generously. Roll or press out the dough into a rectangle the size of the sheet pan. To do this efficiently, roll or press out the dough, stop and wait 5 minutes for the gluten to relax, then roll or press out again, and repeat until the dough reaches the right size. Cover with a damp towel and let rest for 30 minutes. Just before baking, use your fingertips to dimple the dough all over, and drizzle on a tablespoon or two of olive oil.
6. Bake, setting the pan on top of the baking stone (if using), for 20 to 25 minutes, until deep golden brown. Let rest for at least 10 minutes before serving, or allow to cool completely.
Note: You can divide the dough in half and make 2 smaller focacce that would fit 14-inch pizza pans.
Yield: 1 large focaccia or 2 smaller focacce, 12 to 15 pieces.









My Notes:


1. I used 350 grams of KAF Whole Wheat Flour and used 100 grams of All purpose flour. I accidentally drizzled in 6 extra grams of olive oil so I ended up using up more whole wheat flour because the dough was pretty sticky.

2. I definitely kneaded the dough for the full 10 minutes. I normally skimp on kneading time when in comes to dough, but I set a timer for this one, and I think as a result the bread was very even and consistently airy throughout.

3. I used a full packet of Active Dry Yeast (I didn't measure out the grams) and it was fine.

4. We ended up slicing the focaccia lengthwise and stuffing it with olives, artichokes (we'd steamed them the previous weekend), feta, and roasted garlic. Delicious.

5. It went down pretty easily, for a healthy, whole-wheat recipe.

Apricot Quick Bread

So the in-laws visited this past weekend, and with them they brought pounds and pounds of fruit. Cherries (5 lbs), plums (1 lb), cherry plums (3 lbs),  kumquats (1 lb), tangerines (3 lbs), pineapple (2 lbs), angelcots ( 2lbs), and apricots (3 lbs). We already had our own fruit-- mangoes, necarines, apples, and bananas, so it suffices to say we are overwhelmed and the threat of rotting fruit and flies is weighing heavily on us. When I opened the bag of apricots, some of them were already starting to go. What to do? I'd already made an apricot cherry crumble just a few weeks ago, and I didn't want to go that route again. I was already plotting a pie with the cherries, so I didn't want another pie. I wanted something quick too, something I could whip up for brunch on a Sunday morning before the in-laws left. After much searching, I found this, from the Sun Sentinel website:

Easy Apricot Bread

2 cups whole-wheat flour

1 / 2 cup firm-packed light brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 / 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 pounds fresh apricots, peeled, pitted and pureed*

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 / 4 cup vegetable oil (we use canola)

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour well a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and cinnamon.

In another smaller bowl, combine the apricot puree, eggs, oil and vanilla; mix well.

Add the apricot mixture to the dry ingredients, mixing just until blended. Do not over mix. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake in the center of the oven 55 to 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool in the pan 8 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate overnight for easy slicing. Makes 16 servings.

Per serving: 143 calories, 29 percent calories from fat, 5 grams total fat, .5 grams saturated fat, 27 milligrams cholesterol, 23 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams total fiber, 11 grams total sugars, 20 grams net carbs, 4 grams protein, 168 milligrams sodium.

*Use a food processor fitted with the metal blade or a good blender to puree the apricots.

My thoughts:

1. First off adjustments. I put in a heaping teaspoon of cinnamon, and I used half a teaspoon of almond extract and one and a half teaspoons of vanilla extract. I also baked the bread in two loaves because it did NOT fit in a 9" by 5" loaf pan. It needed the full hour. I left about a half an inch of space for the bread to rise, and that was fine.

2. Overall taste? Nothing exciting. The apricot flavor was really overwhelmed by the bitterness of the whole wheat flour and then extracts. But it was soft and not very sweet, which apparently pleased the in-laws

3. It basically reminds me of a pumpkin bread-- the fruit puree is providing the moisture in the place of more oil or butter. 

4. It may be better with white flour, and perhaps with a cream cheese glaze or something to add a little more flavor or tartness.

Nectarine-Cobbler Cornmeal Upside Down Cake

Ingredients

• 5 1/2 ounces (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 medium ripe peaches (about 1 1/4 pounds), skins on, pitted, and cut into 3/4-inch wedges
• 1 cup coarse yellow cornmeal or polenta
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh lavender, or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried lavender
• 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat, using a pastry brush to coat sides with butter as it melts. Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar evenly over bottom of skillet, and cook until sugar starts to bubble and turn golden brown, about 3 minutes. Arrange peaches in a circle at edge of skillet, on top of sugar. Arrange the remaining wedges in the center to fill. Reduce heat to low, and cook until juices are bubbling and peaches begin to soften, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat. 
2. Whisk cornmeal, flour, baking powder, lavender, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat remaining stick of butter and 3/4 cup sugar with a mixer on high speed, until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl. Mix in vanilla and cream. Reduce speed to low, and beat in cornmeal mixture in 2 additions.
3. Drop large spoonfuls of batter over peaches, and spread evenly using an offset spatula. Bake until golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Transfer skillet to a wire rack, and let stand for 10 minutes. Run a knife or spatula around edge of cake. Quickly invert cake onto a cutting board. Tap bottom of skillet to release peaches, and carefully remove skillet. Reposition peach slices on top of cake. Let cool slightly before serving.

Death by Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

So I wanted to make the "Artpark Brownie" recipe from Ruth Reichl's hilarious memoir Tender at the Bone for the bookclub meeting were having to discuss the book, but life got in the way.

So, these cookies:

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 9 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, cut up
• 3 large eggs

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
• 6 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped

• Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter four cookie sheets.
• 2
  Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Melt the semisweet chocolate and butter in a double boiler over barely simmering water. Beat the eggs and granulated and brown sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until creamy. Beat in the chocolate mixture and vanilla. Mix in the dry ingredients, chocolate chips, pecans, and white chocolate.
• 3
  Drop tablespoons of the dough 4 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets. Use the bottom of a glass to flatten the cookies slightly. Bake, one sheet at a time, for 8-10 minutes, or until cracked on top. Transfer to racks to cool. Yield 24 cookies.

Link: http://www.rd.com/food/death-by-chocolate-cookies-recipe/















My Thoughts:

Beet Burger

So this weekend, we came back from a long vacation to a sparsely stocked fridge. But we did have a few beets and I knew it was time to make these beet burgers from the post punk kitchen that had caught my eye a long, long time ago.


The recipe:

1 1/4 cups cooked, cooled brown rice 
1 cup cooked brown or green lentils, cooled, drained well
1 cup shredded beets
1/2 teaspoon salt
Fresh black pepper
1 teaspoon thyme, rubbed between your fingers
1/2 teaspoon ground fennel (or finely crushed fennel seed)
1 teaspoon dry mustard
3 tablespoons very finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons smooth almond butter
1/2 cup very fine breadcrumbs

Olive oil for the pan

Peel beets and shred with the shredder attachment of your food processor, then set aside. Change the attachment to a metal blade. Pulse the brown rice, shredded beets and lentils about 15 to 20 times, until the mixture comes together, but still has texture. It should look a lot like ground meat:

Now transfer to a mixing bowl and add all the remaining ingredients. Use your hands to mix very well. Everything should be well incorporated, so get in there and take your time, it could take a minute or two.

Place the mixture in the fridge for a half hour to chill.

Preheat a cast iron pan over medium-high. Now form the patties. Each patty will be a heaping 1/2 cup of mixture. To get perfectly shaped patties, use a 3 1/2 inch cookie cutter or ring mold (I have pics of how to do it here.) Otherwise, just shape them into burgers with your hands.

Pour a very thin layer of oil into the pan and cook patties for about 12 minutes, flipping occasionally. Do two at a time if you’re pan isn’t big enough. Drizzle in a little more oil or use a bottle of organic cooking spray as needed. Burgers should be charred at the edges and heated through.

Serve immediately. But they taste pretty great heated up as well, so if you want to cook them in advance, refrigerate, then gently heat in the pan later on, then that is cool, too.

My Photos:

My Notes:

1. Used the food processor and it was clutch in shredding those beets.
2. Brown rice was good-- I didn't really wait for it to cool before I mixed it in.
3. I used several cloves of garlic and upped the amount of dry spices used and almond butter
4. The dough was very sticky and easy to mold. Made for easy cooking.
5. The DH fried them on the pan, and complied after several reminders to try for 8 minutes per side,
6. Delicious. Crunchy on the outside, but not dry on the inside at all. Not sweet. Great flavor-- I really like the fennel.
7. We doubled the recipe and had about 16 small-medium patties.