Flourless Chocolate Torte

Happy Belated July Fourth! 

My friends and I grilled food, drank beer, and hung out on Lake Washington Beach. There were fireworks going off around the neighborhood and the greatest thing of all: it was sunny!!!! 


It's supposed to be nice like this all week. I have a Golden Gardens beach trip planned for Saturday. Hopefully this will not interfere with my serger purchase. That's right, World, I am buying a serger. For sewing. I will serge most everything I own because sergers are the best. Truth.


In other news, I made food. It was July 4th after all. So while my roomie was grilling up a storm, I was in the kitchen using up the chocolate I hoard from my job. This recipe comes from the book "Make the bread, Buy the Butter." I got it off amazon.com a few weeks ago. I'll let you know how it goes. But if this recipe is any indication, it will be a great book! 


Flourless Chocolate Torte: 
from "Make the Bread, Buy the Butter" by Jennifer Reese. 


Ingredients: 
- 1/2 pound of chocolate, chopped
- 1/2 pound of butter
- 5 eggs, separated
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 tps bourbon


Directions: 

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a springform pan
2. Create a double broiler  (you can Google it if you don't know what that means). Melt butter and chocolate. Set aside. 
3. Whip egg white til stiff. (see Meringue recipe). Put in clean bowl and set aside. 
4. In the same bowl where you whipped the white, add the yolks and beat til lighter in color. Add in  sugar, bourbon, and salt. Whisk together.
5. Mix half the chocolate mixture in to yolk mixture. This will slowly bring up the temperature of the yolks. Mix in the rest. 
6. Fold the whites into the chocolate mixture. 
7. Place in pan and cook in oven for 40 mins.
8. When it's down, take out of the oven. The topped should looked a bit cracked. Let cool to room temperature. Eat as is or add whipped cream! 

Notes:

- I used a mix of 70%, 84%, and 91% chocolate because that's what was in my pantry. Which means that this is a straight-up brick of chocolate! 

- I didn't use bourbon. But now I just realized that there was Krakken spiced rum in the house. What in God's name was I thinking! 

- In other news, I didn't use a springform pan. I don't own one. I just placed this in a regular casserole dish and it was fine! 

Enjoy! 

Honey Almond Butter

I've been dying for some Almond Butter. I kinda prefer it to peanut butter, mostly because I'm a snob. Jk, actually I prefer the flavor. 


So while watching Toast (a British film about Nigel Slater, a British food writer) I decide it's bloody time to make some!  I got a cup of almonds for 3 bucks and made some. Once again, this was way easier to make than I thought. The blender was a pain in the butt (I definitely suggest using extra oil to help the process). But i n the end it worked out fine! I also added some honey for extra flavor and texture. 


Sea Salt and Honey Almond Butter 
from http://tastykitchen.com/blog/2012/04/sea-salt-and-honey-almond-butter/ 


Ingredients: 
- 1 cup dry almonds (you can get roasted as well)
- Honey
- Sea Salt
- Nut oil (optional) 


Directions: 
1. Blend the almonds in a food processor or in a blender. They blend in various stages, from chopped to fine to butter. It takes time, for sure, so be patient. Add
2. Scoop out and add to a container. Mix in honey and sea salt to taste. 


Notes: 
- The recipe I used said to use 1 teaspoon Sea Salt and 2 tablespoons Honey to start
- I used peanut oil so I opted not to use the sea salt. 
- I put it in the fridge. We'll see how it holds up. 


PS- Toast is cute. It's like if Beautiful People was placed in the sixties and instead of fashion it's food. It's on Netflix, like so many other fab British movies. I recently watched Fish Tank. Ummmghphrrrr Michael Fassbender = goooorrrrgeousssss!!! and horribly talented. A bit creepy when he has sex with a 15 year old (which is what the movie is kinda about) but still it's wonderfully good. 

Cocoa Nib Cookies

Let my 15 minutes begin!

So we've had some seriously wonderful new things pop up in the chocolate factory. We've gotten toffees, barks, stuff with almond butter and my favorite: the candied nibs! Basically they're nibs rolled around in oil and sugar and salt. And possibly crack.

I'm going to throw them in my frozen banana ice cream.

Speaking of ice cream, I'm trying my damnedest to give up on cow's milk. At least for the summer. See my allergies in Seattle are so utterly disgusting that I need either 1) get my nose replaced with a mucus filter, or 2) give up whatever is helping the production of phlegm in my system. Hence the milk.

This is especially important because I'm a singer. I also am a tour guide. And an actor. A very busy singer/actor. With allergies and swollen folds. I use my voice to make my living. I can't have swollen folds!!!!!

I'll be posting lots of recipes with goat's milk soon. Goat's milk doesn't have as much lactose, so it doesn't produce as much mucus. So I can eat all the goat's milk! And almond milk! Not so much rice milk, that's not as good.

Back to food:

I made this a while back ago when I was craving cookies. Working in a chocolate factory is great and all, but there's only so much chocolate I can eat before I want to die. But this was the perfect remedy. And I'm gonna throw in those candied suckers soon!

Cocoa Nib Cookies:
from cupcakeproject.com

Ingredients:

• 2 C all-purpose flour
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 3/4 C unsalted butter, melted
• 1 C packed brown sugar
• 1/2 C white sugar
• 1 T vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 C cacao nibs, or more, to taste

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F (165 C). Grease cookie sheets or line them with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until well blended.
4. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy.
5. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended.
6. Stir in the cacao nibs by hand using a wooden spoon.
7. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
8. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted.
9. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Notes: 
- Like I said, I'm using candied nibs eventually. I don't know how that will work with the extra coconut oil/sugar we use for candying will affect the texture. Experiments are necessary in this case. 
- I love a chewy cookie. And for anyone who watches Alton Brown, you'll know that the white-to-brown-sugar ratio is important for texture. I loved this texture so much, it might become my standard cookie base!

Read more: http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2009/03/cacao-nib-cookies-for-chocolate-lover.html#ixzz1yYQCUkT0

PS- You might also notice the new background. Yes, I changed it to rain, because I live in Seattle. It's raining right now, which means I don't have to water my garden!

Tomato Basil Frittata

Soooo I'm so far behind on sharing aspects of my life. Remember how I said I would write for 15 minutes everyday, if anything just work on writing. Well, I'm quite bad about the discipline of writing. 

In other news I have a garden to tend (full of herbs, blueberries, strawberries, salad greens, fennel, leeks, and beets. Still not sure why we have beets.) 

My job is going well, lots of chocolate and lots of people to educate about chocolate. 

Theatre is going even better. Last month I did at least 10 auditions/call-backs/dance calls. I also finished a show/started a new show/got cast in another show. I'm on a roll! Now it's time to get new audition pieces prepared, take some dance classes, and cook. All the cooking! 

I just got two fabulous new cook books and I'm hoping to begin making jams and preserves! This is my latest find: 

Mozzarella Tomato Basil Frittata

http://www.cookstr.com/recipes/mozzarella-tomato-basil-frittata

Yield : Makes 12 servings

Ingredients

• 12 large eggs
• ½ cup whole milk
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 large ripe tomatoes, peeled and sliced
• 1 pound fresh or smoked mozzarella, diced
• 2 tablespoons slivered basil leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the broiler.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the milk.

Pour 1 tablespoon of the oil into a very large ovenproof skillet, or use 2 skillets with half the ingredients in each. Place over medium heat on the stovetop and pour in the egg mixture. Scatter the tomatoes, cheese, and basil over the eggs. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

When the bottom just begins to brown, place the skillet under the broiler just until the top is set, a minute or less. Remove from the oven and use a large spatula to transfer the frittata to a serving platter. Cool about 10 minutes, cut into wedges, and serve.

Notes

Fresh ripe tomatoes and high-quality fresh mozzarella (or, if you prefer, smoked mozzarella) are the keys to the success of this recipe. A well-seasoned cast-iron skillet works extremely well.

Banana Ice Cream

Oh. My. Gosh. How did I not know about this before? Seriously, I live for things like this and I just saw it on my punch fork account.

Banana Ice Cream

1. Slice a banana
2. Freeze it for a few hours
3. Puree it (my roommate has a Vitamixer. That's the best thing we have in our kitchen)
4. Eat it. 

The fat in the banana makes it soft like ice cream! It's amazing! Add some Nutella, or peanut butter for extra flavor. Then put nibs on top. Amazing. 

So my new habit is that I get my CSA on Tuesday, do the rest of my shopping on Wednesday and Thursday I wake up and spend a few hours cooking before I go to work. It makes my kitchen really steamy before work, but it's nice enough now that I can open the windows.

Have I mentioned how dreadfully nice it is in Seattle right now? It's ridiculous. Of course, every day it's been nice I have to go to work and yesterday (my day off) it was rainy as hell. No fun there....

In other news, I have gotten lots of wonderful things in my CSA. This week I give you: Morning Glory Muffins with Grapefruit Curd. Morning Glory muffins are basically lots of veggies and fruits stuffed into whole wheat flour. Grapefruit Curd just sounded so easy to make I couldn't resist. 

Morning Glory Muffins

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup grated carrots
• 1 cup grated zucchini
• 1 medium tart apple, peeled and grated
• 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
• 1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut
• 1/3 pecans; coarsely chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line a muffin tin with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, combine flours, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and kosher salt. Whisk the dry ingredients until thoroughly combined.

3. In another bowl, combine the eggs, applesauce, vegetable oil and vanilla. Stir in carrots, zucchini, apple, pineapple, coconut and pecans.

4. Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined, but do not overmix.

5. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

NOTES:

- I didn't use the fruits or nuts mentioned. What I had on hand was nibs (we all know how I love nibs) and dried blueberries that I have from work. So good! 

Mexican Chicken and Broccoli Pasta

I've subscribed  to a website called Punchfork that I'm loving! This chicken recipe was found  there and by God, it is delicious! But since this week my CSA was broccoli, red onions, cheery tomatoes and kale. I'm sick of Broccoli Soup! So I thought, pasta!


This is kinda of a mash-up so first the chicken: 


Mexican Chicken 
from pickypalate.com


Ingredients: 

• 1/4 teaspoon McCormick Gourmet Ancho Chile Pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon McCormick Gourmet Smoked Paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon McCormick Gourmet Garlic Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon McCormick Gourmet Sicilian Sea Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon McCormick Gourmet Coarse Grind Black Pepper
• 1 1/2 lbs (fryer) chicken breast with rib meat

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Place ancho pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper into a small bowl, stirring to combine.  Sprinkle over both sides of chicken, then rub.  Heat 2 tablespoons oil in Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat.  Add chicken cooking until browned on both sides, about 6 minutes each side.  Place pot in oven and continue cooking for 25 minutes.

Broccoli Pasta 

from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
• 2 cups fresh broccoli florets
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pinch dried oregano
• 18 ounces dry penne pasta
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions: 

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, warm oil and add chicken; cook until slightly brown. Add onion and garlic to cook for about 5 minutes or until garlic is golden and onions are translucent.
2. Add tomatoes, broccoli, salt, pepper and oregano; stir well and bring to a boil. Cover and turn down heat to simmer for about 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender; drain and add back into pot. Pour chicken sauce into pot and mix well.
4. Add basil and toss well; top with Parmesan cheese. Serve.

Notes: 

- Well, obviously I didn't use the chicken in the second recipe. I just started from the onions and moved on.

- I didn't canned diced tomatoes. I had a lot of cherry tomatoes so I saved  some of the pasta water and added a bouillon cube. I also added a bit of kale.