Chocolate-It's What's for Dinner

Notice the strategic camera angle? It was yet again time to feed Bertha (who will be turning 4 this year - my how time flies), and I got to thinking I really do not use her to her full potential. So I pulled out this recipe. The crust was lovely (other than that it blew out the cuts I made in the top - I think they were too deep). The sunflower seeds added some good flavor and the oats added good texture. Sourdough Boule (Adapted from King Arthur ) 1 c sourdough starter, fed (and set out for an hour or two) 1 c lukewarm water 1 1/2 t yeast 3 1/2 flour 1 c old-fashioned rolled oats (and 1-2T for the topping) 1/2 c sunflower seeds  2t salt Cornmeal for pan In a large bowl mix fed starter, water, and yeast until smooth. Add remaining ingredients. Knead until smooth (adding additional flour or water as needed*). Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise 1- 1 1/2 hours until almost doubled. Turn out dough and deflate.  Sprinkle the bottom of a Dutch oven or bak...

Steamed cake you say? Well that sounds um well not really that good huh? Well guess what it was pretty darn moist and pretty darn good. Now I wouldn't go saying WOW this is a great cake to make in the summer. I don't have to put my oven on because you are generating steam on the top of the stove to cook it.  It is pretty easy to make and it is pretty amazing that you can steam a cake. Steamed Chocolate Cake (Adapted from Milk Street ) 1c flour 1/3 c cocoa 1 t baking soda 1/2 t salt 1 c light brown sugar 2 eggs 1/2 c water 1t instant espresso powder 1/2 c sour cream 6 T butter, melted 1 1/2 t vanilla Cut a length of foil (about 18") and gently scrunch it together. Form it into a circle and place it in the bottom of a Dutch oven. Add enough water to reach about 3/4 of the way up the foil. Grease a 9" round pan and line the bottom of the with a round of parchment. Make sure it fits in your Dutch oven.  Also make sure that the lid will fit tightly when...

It was time for a rib-sticking meal again. So I dug out this recipe again . I added 1 tsp thyme and perhaps a little more garlic powder this time around and the meatballs seemed more flavorful. I also left out the Parmesean cheese which is always adds a lot of flavor.  The ground turkey was thigh meat so that could have also been where the extra flavor came from?

I had some extra mascarpone and thought about making some tiramasu but really wanted a quick and easy recipe. I ended up halving this one and it worked out well (a perfect 2 servings 😋). I had the perfect size dish. The Baileys added a nice different flavor. Tiramisu (Adapted from Nigella Express) 9t instant espresso 1 1/2 c water 1 c Baileys Irish Cream 14 oz Lady Finger cookies 2 eggs, separated 1/4 c sugar 2 c mascarpone 2 1/2 t cocoa Dissolve espresso in water in a flat dish. Add 3/4 c Baileys. Dip cookies in until moistened but not soggy. Layer into 8x8 pan for 1 layer. In a separate bowl whisk yolks and sugar until pale yellow. Whisk in mascarpone and then remaining 1/4 c of Baileys. In a separate bowl, whisk egg white (discard other one) until stiff peaks. Gently fold egg whites into mascarpone mixture. Spread half over lady fingers. Soak lady fingers for second layer. Spread remainder of mascarpone over the top. Cover with plastic wrap and chill ideally overnig...

I had found a great short rib recipe from BA so I thought I would go to them for another one. They did not let me down. Funny that it was last January that I posted the recipe and here we are again in January and I'm looking for another rib-sticking meal. Now I know that this might not be a recipe for everyone - not everyone likes balsamic vinegar (shocking I know!) Balsamic Short Ribs (Adapted from BonAppetit ) 3 1/2 - 4 lbs short ribs, English style salt/pepper 1T canola oil 2 medium onions, cut into wedges 6 cloves garlic, peeled 1t dried oregano 1 1/2 c balsamic vinegar 14 oz canned chopped tomatoes 3 c beef stock Salt and pepper short ribs. Heat Dutch oven and add oil. Brown ribs on all sides (you might need to do in batches). Set ribs aside. Pour out most of the fat. Toss in onions (add a little salt) and cook until starting to soften and brown slightly (about 10 minutes). Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add ribs back to the pan. Add oregano, vinegar, to...

These rolls might be a little parsnickity to make but they do come out quite nice and the seeds really add a lot of flavor. They are well worth the work. Pumpkin Seed Rolls (Adapted from Milk Street ) Sponge: 1/2 c rye flour 1/2 c warm water 1 T honey 2t yeast Dough: 1 c pepitas 1/2 c sesame seeds 4 T butter, cut into 4 pieces 2 1/2 c bread flour 1 c warm water 2 1/2 t salt (Kosher) 1 egg Salt for topping Mix the sponge ingredients in a bowl. Cover and let sit for about 1 hour (or until doubled). Meanwhile toast the pepitas and sesame seeds in a skillet (some of the pepitas might pop). Let cool. Reserve 1/2 cup of seeds aside. Place remainder in a food processor. Buzz until finely ground. Add butter and mix together and smooth. When the sponge is ready to go add the flour, seed/butter mixture, and water and mix until smooth. Let sit for 5 minutes. Add salt and mix again. The dough will be sticky but should not be too wet or too dry. Cover and let rise 1 hour...

Now some might say that fallen chocolate cake sounds like a souffle gone terribly wrong, but they would be terribly wrong. Fallen chocolate cake is a nice fudgey cake gone terribly right. Fallen Chocolate Cake (Adapted from BonAppetit) 1/2 c butter, cut into 1" pieces 3/4 sugar, divided (plus 2T for topping and additional for pan) 10 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped 2T oil 6 large eggs (4 of which are separated) 2T cocoa 1 t vanilla 1t salt Topping 1 c heavy cream 1/2 c mascarpone 3T confectioner's sugar Pomegranate seeds (optional) Lightly butter a springform pan and dust with sugar.  Tap out excess and set aside. Combine chocolate, oil, and butter in a heatproof bowl. Blast in 15 second increments in microwave until melted (or heat slowly over double-boiler). Set aside. Separate 4 of the eggs. In a bowl take the 4 yolks, cocoa, vanilla, salt, 1/4 c sugar, and the 2 remaining eggs and whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk in the cho...

There is no shame in using frozen blueberries (or raspberry for that matter). In the winter, it is difficult to rationalize paying so much for berries. The original recipe was for raspberries but I had some frozen blueberries and I think overall I prefer blueberries anyway so off I went... Blueberry Ricotta Cake (Adapted from BonAppetit ) 1 1/2 c flour 1 c sugar 2 t baking powder 1t salt 3 eggs 1 1/2 c ricotta 1 t vanilla 1/2 c butter, melted 1 c frozen blueberries (or fresh) Line a 9" pan with parchment paper and grease pan. In a bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl whisk together eggs, ricotta, and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients. Fold in melted butter. Fold in 3/4 c of the blueberries. Pour into pan. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 c blueberries. Bak at 350 for 50-60 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes in pan and then turn out. This cake comes together super fast and even better can be kept at room tem...

So I started out to make these Seedy Oat Crackers,  and apparently, it's very important that you follow the directions and measure correctly. Instead of using 4t, I put 4T of oil. The devil is always in the details isn't it? In an effort to make lemonade from lemons and save myself from a seed-tasrophe, I used it as a topping on a salad and guess what? It was delicious. In the spirit of Julia Child* - I meant to do that. *Julia Child always said to never apologize for mistakes in the kitchen.

I forgot about this recipe until I found the picture on my camera. I had to go and dig it out. It was so easy and so good. They recommended serving it with Bucatini, but I don't know why you would want to limit yourself when there are so many other great shapes of pasta out there. Butter-Roasted Tomato Sauce (Adapted from Epicurious ) 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes 8 cloves garlic, minced 2 anchovy fillets, minced 1/4 butter, cut into small pieces 1/2 t red pepper flakes Salt/Pepper Crush tomatoes with hands and place in 13x9 pan. Add garlic, anchioves, butter and pepper flakes. Roast in 425 oven for about 35-40 minutes - turning and tossing halfway through. It should look jammy. Mash with a potato masher or fork. Add pasta to pan and toss. You might want to thin the sauce a little with some pasta water depending how you like your sauce. Serve with Parmesan cheese. This is another quick recipe. The nice thing about it is the sauce quickly cooks while your making the...