green and black

I had no idea this cookbook even existed, but I discovered it today, and I want it! Green&Black's makes my favorite chocolate, which Ben will buy for me on occasion. And everyone knows that along with my obsession with food and cooking and eating, I have an equal obsession for chocolate and desserts and chocolate desserts (Dinner isn't complete without dessert - though I have been known to turn down dessert once or twice). In any case, for a girl who loves Green & Black's chocolate, this book would be perfect for me. I wonder if they sell it at Barnes&Noble. (They do! It just looks not as pretty without the white cover).

Nhan, Don't Read This!

I was really bummed on Saturday because Ben had hopped an early flight to San Diego to give a presentation at this SPIE conference. He's going to be gone for a week, and I probably won't get to talk to him much because of the time difference and the fact that he'll be very busy with the conference and I have this ridiculously early old person's bedtime. Anywho. . . I was feeling down and had noticed that my roommates picked up the mail (but not all of it) and I had a package waiting for me. YAY! I love getting mail!

My favorite person in the whole world, Nhan, whom I've known since my freshman year of highschool, sent me a present that he picked up in Viet Nam (Side note: I was really bummed when I went home for Christmas this year because I didn't get to see him. He left for Viet Nam a couple days before I flew in, and he didn't come back until the day after I had left). I haven't seen him since July, and I don't get to talk to him as much as I would like, so I was really surprised and excited to get something from him. He sent me these really cool orange plates. I love them. They're in my favorite color, and they're from my favorite person.


So. . . I decided that I'd send him something to show my gratitude. I made these "black and white" meringue cookies to send off to him. I have kind of a love-hate relationship with meringues. Sometimes I love them because they're light and airy and sweet and awesome, if they come out just right. I hate them because they're so fragile and I always seem to burn them or not get them cooked all the way, and they sometimes tend to stick to my teeth or the inside of my mouth. They probably hate me; no love on that side of the relationship. In any case, I made a ton of these little cookies, but most of them burned on the bottom and had to be trashed. Luckily, there were just enough good ones to pack up in a box and send off to Nhan. I hope he likes them. And I hope he doesn't read this before they get to him, that would ruin the surprise.

HHDD #10: Mascarpone Orange Cheesecake

Here's my entry for Hey Hey, It's Donna Day #10 - Theme: Cheesecake. It's an altered recipe from the Zesty Lemon Cheesecake I had the other day when Ben and I went to A Chef's Kitchen.

Crust

Ingredients:
1 lb. ginger snaps, ground into fine crumbs using a food processor
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 stick + 2 tbsp butter, melted






Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Combine all ingredients to get a coarse, crumbly mixture. Press into the bottom and sides of a 10" springform pan. It is not essential that the crumbs go all the way up the sides of the pan. Bake in oven for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool while you make the filling.

Note 1: Here's a trick I got from Chef John. He said to turn the bottom of the springform pan upside-down when putting it together. This will prevent what he calls a "rim effect" which makes the cheesecake more difficult to cut later on. However, this also allows for butter to seep out more easily, so I also lined the outside of the pan with a layer of foil and then placed it on a cookie sheet while baking.

Note 2: I actually made the crust the night before and let it sit in a cool oven until I had made the filling. However, I meant to get up early to make the filling, but ended up over sleeping. I didn't get to make the filling until the afternoon, so the crust has been sitting in the oven for a whole day. This doesn't appear to be a problem though.

Filling:

Ingredients:
2 lb cream cheese
8 oz. mascarpone
4/3 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
3 large eggs
zest and juice of one orange
50 ml Contreau
1 tbsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine cream cheese, mascarpone, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Blend on medium until smooth and creamy. Mix in eggs, one at a time, on low speed. Add in remaining ingredients. Pour filling into prepared crust. Bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes or until the interior reads 165-170 degrees F on an instant read thermometer. Let cool to room temperature. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Note 1: It's important that all the ingredients for the filling are at room temperature. This makes it easier to mix everything together, and it prevents you from adding any more air into the filling.

Note 2: Chef John said that to prevent cracking, you can try baking with the oven door slightly ajar. But, he also mentions that the best way to prevent cracking is to just let it happen and cut the cake just right so that you don't notice it when serving or cover it with a garnish.

Note 3: At 375 degrees F, it took a really long time for my cheesecake to finish baking; I think upwards of about an hour and a half. I also turned the the oven off for the last 10 minutes of baking, and let the cheesecake sit in the oven with the door slightly ajar for about 10 minutes before pulling it out to cool.

The Garnish: Chocolate Candied Orange Peel

Ingredients:
3 large oranges
3 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
water
semisweet or dark chocolate, melted (optional)

Cut the peel on each fruit into quarters. Pull the peel off in these quarter sections, reserve fruit for something else. Slice peel into 1/4 inch-wide strips. Place peels in a saucepan with salt and cover with cold water. Boil 15 minutes, pour off water and add fresh water. Boil 20 minutes. Change water again and boil another 20 minutes. Drain and cover with 2 1/2 cups sugar and 1 cup water. Simmer, stirring constantly, until all the syrup has boiled away. Do not let the peels scorch. Spread on wax paper. Roll peels in remaining sugar. Let dry.

Store in an airtight container for one week at room temperature or frozen for one month. You can also dip the peels in melted chocolate and let them harden on wax or parchment paper.

Last note: I found that the cheesecake was perfect alone, or maybe with a little whipped cream. The candied orange peel was much sweeter than I imagined that it would be, so dipping it in dark chocolate would help balance the sweetness.

God Bless You Please, Mrs. Robinson. . .

Today, Starbucks is holding their Second Annual Coffee Break, between 10am and noon. Now, I don't particularly like the drip coffee that they brew in the shops, but it's free. How could I say no to that? Actually, it took a little coaxing from Karen for me to actually go and get it. It was taking away from the time I was spending trying to start the introduction to my thesis, and it was a little bit of a drive to the nearest Starbucks. But. . . now that I'm back, it was well worth it.

I have to say that I like making drip coffee at home and adding my favorite flavored creamer in it, but something about that way they serve it at Starbucks just doesn't do it for me. First off, they don't have flavored creamers - you have to pay extra for flavor shots, and that would have completely defeated the purpose of FREE, so I stuck with sugar and half&half for this cup. The one thing that made up for the fact that the Breakfast Blend isn't that great was that they were giving away free samples of their pastries at the Starbucks at Coliseum Central. I went with the blueberry muffin and the tazo chai bar. I would have taken more, but they limited it to only two per customer.

Other things I encountered on my adventure:

• Shiny chrome spinners on a Chrysler mini-van
• Mrs. Robinson - Simon and Garfunkel
• Four F-22s taking off from Langley AFB

Better than being in the audience on Food Network!

Last night, I took Ben out to this place that we've been meaning to go to for quite some time now. It's called A Chef's Kitchen. It's the brainchild of John and Wanda Gonzalez. John started off cleaning dishes in a restaurant at age 14. In his culinary career, he worked as a line cook at the Ritz-Carlton in Tyson's Corner and soon became head chef there. He and Wanda decided to open their business (in Williamsburg, VA) after watching Emeril on Food Network and deciding that it was unfair that not everyone in the audience was able to taste the food. Thus, A Chef's Kitchen was born!

This month's menu was delicious, and I wish I had the money to go all the time. I think I can settle for once every other month, for a special occasion or with someone special. Luckily, they give us copies of all the recipes and good tips on how to prepare everything. Also, all the wine in the store (no matter where it comes from) is only $10. I went home with a really tasty Hillinger Pinot Grigio from Austria. Ben really liked the Dolium Malbec from Argentina, but I didn't care too much for it. Another great thing about the store is that they sell great spices that I can never find in a regular grocery (and sometimes not even at Medik's). Oh... one more thing before I get to the menu, John told us about this great Spanish grocer called La Tienda. They sell stuff online and ship, but they are also local. I'm gonna check it out soon-ish. Here's the rundown of the menu:

Soup Course: Early Spring Pasta Fagiole Soup with Baby Arugula and Oven-Dried Tomatoes

This was great. The pasta was cooked perfectly, and it could probably be a hearty meal all in itself if it were a bigger portion. The balance of flavors was spectacular, and it was surprisingly easy to make. This was pared with the Pinot Grigio, which was also an awesome match.






Salad Course: Asparagus and Artichoke Salad with Toasted Walnut-Parmesan Vinaigrette and A Chef’s Kitchen Skillet-Baked Corn Bread

The asparagus was great, but the artichoke was a little too much for me. The dressing seemed really easy to make (and alter to my own tastes and flavors), so that was a plus. Oh, and the corn bread was delicious! I definitely need to invest in a good cast iron skillet now. I'll make corn bread all the time.





Seafood Course: Pan-Seared Diver Sea Scallop with Truffled Rutabaga

John pointed out to us that a lot of pan-seared scallops that you see on TV or in restaurants are dredged in flour. So, in fact, it is not the scallop that is getting seared, but the flour on the outside. He said the trick is to get your pan super hot so that you won't need to dredge the scallop in flour. The scallops had just been picked up fresh that morning from a man in Norfolk. Just a simple salt and pepper will be all the seasoning you need.

This was my first time eating rutabaga, and it tastes surprisingly similar to cauliflower. I like that. The green ring is an infused oil, and a sprinkle of finely diced red pepper finished the dish. This dish was paired with a wine I didn't care too much for, so I didn't take note of what it was called.

Meat Course: Mixed Grill of Certified Hereford Beef Filet, New Zealand Lamb Rack and Homemade Chorizo

I don't care how much it costs, Hereford Beef is the best. If you don't know much about Hereford Beef, click on the link and you'll be sold. It was so juicy and tender. The lamb was also cooked perfectly. Oh, and the homemade chorizo. . . EXCELLENT! I am going to make some and put in my freezer so that I can have it any time I want. The meat course was served on a bed of sauteed butternut squash. Sam (the sous chef) just sauteed it with some olive oil, salt, and cayenne pepper. This dish was paired with the Dolium.



Dessert Course: Zesty Lemon Cheesecake with Candied Medjool Date Chocolates

The dessert was a little on the lemon-y side, but still very good. And the Medjool Date was spectacular. John told us that this recipe was something that he's had for decades. That they always used to make it when he worked at the Ritz-Carlton, and the executive chef before him took the recipe with him to a restaurant he opened out in Colorado. He also gave us some great tips on how to make the crust and change it up from lemon to orange cheesecake.

I was starting to lose hope that I wouldn't get a cheesecake done for HHDD #10, but I think I'll be able to pull some inpiration from this one.

In addition to the wine, I ended up purchasing this nice big box of Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt that should last a year (or so) and a 2.5 oz. container of La Chinata smoked paprika, which I've never cooked with before, but only because I couldn't find it in the store. I'm excited to start cooking these recipes and just trying out new things with what I learned from this class. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is in the area (traveling or visiting), and I'll probably return to this place a few times while I'm down here.

Oh, one last thing, Sam and John both mentioned that a really good conical strainer is a must have in the kitchen. Direct quotes:

- "It makes everything taste good."
- "It costs some ungodly amount I won't tell you."

Here's one similar to the one that they were using: Chinois with Stand. Smaller, and probably not as expensive, but still does the trick.

Soup in a Minute!

I finally made the soup I had planned on making a few days ago, and it was. . . hmm. . . Let's just talk about it for a minute. The recipe was for Peruvian Sopa a la Minuta, taken from a Whole Foods recipe card I've had for quite a while. Since I was cooking for just me (with leftovers), I cut the recipe down by half. I also added crushed red pepper flakes while I was browning the meat, for that extra kick, and a sliced jalapeno pepper while it was simmering to get it a little more spicy. I think what it lacked most was salt, or at least more seasoning. I think some paprika would have been good. In any case, I ate it, and it was a bit bland, but good.

Peruvian Sopa a la Minuta

Ingredients:
.5 lb ground beef
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 medium yellow potato, 1/2" cubes
1 jalapeno pepper, sliced
1 bay leaf
1/2 tbsp ground cumin
2 c beef broth
1 c water
1/4 lb capellini or angel hair pasta

Bring a pot of water to a boil.

Season meat with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Brown meat in a medium sized sauce pan over medium-high heat. Remove to a plate and discard all but one tablespoon of fat. Sautee onion, bell pepper, and garlic for 4 minutes. Add potato, cumin, salt and pepper, and saute for another 2 minutes. Add broth and water, bay leaf, and jalapeno pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes. In the mean time, add pasta to boiling water and cook until al dente (about 6 minutes). Add browned beef to soup, and continue to simmer for a minute or two. Serve soup over pasta in a large bowl.

I'll feed you if. . .

. . . you move some furniture for me. :)

Wasn't sure what I wanted to make for dinner last night, but it wasn't soup. So that's day 2 of not making the recipe I have ALL the ingredients for. It was a red meat kind of day, but not beef. Ben came over to (help me) move my new used couch from the garage to my bedroom (on the third floor). The couch is made of solid wood and is extremely heavy. Needless to say, I wasn't much help. Luckily, I live with two other guys who are always willing to lend a hand. In any case, I felt that since he was doing this for me, I should make him a pretty decent dinner. I usually make pretty decent dinners, but this had to be a little something extra. Enter stage left. LAMB CHOPS! I had never made lamb chops before. The last time, Karen made them and we ended up smoking up the entire apartment and the hallway. I found a recipe online for Parmesan Herb Lambchops, and I thought it would pair well with these onion potato cakes I read on Fancy Toast. They turned out alright, but I don't think I cared for the potato cakes too much. The lamb was good, though. I didn't have many vegetables on hand, so the dish looks rather dull (like cardboard), unlike Martha's beautiful picture. -->

You can find the recipe online at the links above. It's just like making Chicken Parmesan, only you use lamb instead of chicken, and you also add a layer of chopped mint and parseley before dipping the lamb in a beaten egg. Easy as pie!