Chocolate-It's What's for Dinner

In N Out Burger  I know this is a huge debate about who is the best - In N Out, Fatburger, Shake Shack. I thought I would weigh in on this since I recently made two trips out to LA and was able to taste them. Fatburger In N Out wins for me hands down. Fatburger was good and their fries were tops. In N Out is a little weak on the fries but their burger is excellent and their chocolate shake is perfect. Shake Shack, which I only recently went to because I'm sorry I'm not waiting in a huge line for a burger, was good, but I think their burger was slightly tougher and not as juicy. I didn't sample the fries there but they did look good. Their chocolate shake was nice but was a little shy on the chocolate flavor. So now my dilemma is how do I get In N Out burger when that is a West Cost thing and I live on the East Coast? I guess I will have to settle for Shack Shake and try to go when the line is short - which I did luck out with this time.

Now if you are going to name your cake this, you had better make sure all you i's are dotted and your t's are crossed (well maybe not the i's since there are none in the title). I'm not sure that I would call this the world's best. It was tasty but I would have liked if the cake was a tad bit moister. The recipe said that the chocolate ganache was optional. In my mind that excludes you right away from being the world's best. Come on when is chocolate ganache optional?? It also suggested espresso cinnamon mascarpone cream. That would have been nice but I didn't have any mascarpone so I went without the cream. I don't think that would have changed my opinion anyway. World's Best Chocolate Cake ( NY Times ) I followed the recipe straight up (shocking I know!) I did not have self-rising flour so I used the 1 3/4 c +1T flour and 2 3/4 t baking powder). I don't think that made the cake any drier because it looks exactly like the picture on the web...

I gave this sourdough bread another whirl. This time I made it in my dutch oven. I baked it with the lid on and then pulled the lid off for about 15 minutes or so at the end. It had great flavor. Sorry I forgot to take a picture of it cut. Look at those beautiful bubbles. I let it rise overnight about 10 hours. I really must get a better razor to slash the top! I think it worked much better in the dutch oven.

Truth be told (like I'm going to lie?? What is with that saying? Other times I'm lying?) I'm not sure about that this one. It was good, refreshing but a little too thick. I think it needs to be thinned a little. Chilled Coconut Corn Soup (Adapted from Epicurious ) 2T coconut oil 1 onion, finely chopped 1 1/2 t chopped ginger 1/4 t tumeric 6 ears corn, kernals removed,  cobs reserved 1 potato, cubed 14 oz coconut milk 1t lime zest 1 1/2 c water  2 T lime juice salt/pepper Cilantro or parsley garnish In a large pot heat oil, onion, ginger, tumeric and salt until onion is translucent (10 minutes - at least). Break corn cobs (if necessary) and add to pot with corn, potato, coconut milk, lime zest, and water. Bring to boil and lower to simmer. Cook about 20-25 minutes or until potato is tender. Discard corn cobs. Puree soup until smooth. Add salt/pepper. Let cool and chill for 2 hours. Serve with lime juice and garnish with parsley or cilantro. (Take the ch...

I know I've been a bit MIA lately. It's not that I haven't been eating or cooking.  I've been busy. I went to California twice for work related things. I have to report on that too. I had some fantastic meals there. But until I get to that (if ever)... I thought I might be able to get a little smokey-ness into the clams if I used the grill to cook my clam sauce. I'm not sure that it really worked but it did come out delicious. 1 T butter 1 shallot, minced 4 clove garlic, whole 2 dozen small clams* 1 - 1/2 c white wine salt/pepper 1lb linguine 2 T parsley, chopped Parmesan cheese Start to cook pasta in boiing salted water. Place cast iron dutch oven on grill (or on stove top). Let it heat up a little and then add the butter. When it's almost melted add shallots, garlic, and a good pinch of salt.  Cook until fragrant. Add clams and pour enough wine so that the clams are almost covered. Close lid of grill or cover with pot lid. Let cook about 3-4 ...