Archive for the ‘Eating, Drinking, Merriment’ Category
C Is for Chocolate
My mother’s birthday was the 2nd and I sent her a box of these chocolates. Then Scott happened to see a Vosges store in O’Hare when he was in Chicago a couple of weeks ago so he stopped in to pick up a box so we could try them for ourselves.
Let me just tell you, if you have a chance to try these truffles, do yourself a favor and get them. They’re weird, but delicious.
18-21/31 | January 2010
18/31 – Too lazy to cook. A late night dinner of salad.
19/31 – The the gods, he got it working again. Taking out the RAM chips and reseating them was what did it. Boogie was the overseer.
20/31 – Bread really doesn’t get more yummy than this.
21/31 – He always beats me. Damn him.
M Is for Mmm
And also for make ahead.
Chocolate chip cookies, scooped out onto a parchment covered sheet pan and ready for the freezer. When they’re frozen, I just toss them all into a zipper bag and keep them frozen. A very easy method for keeping cookie dough around, and I’m not faced with dozens of baked cookies all at once.
Warm Chocolate Cakes
When I asked Scott what he wanted for his birthday dinner, he immedately said pasta, with my homemade meat sauce. Almost as an afterthought, he threw in, “And something chocolate.” That made me groan inwardly a little, because, bi-weekly bread-baking notwithstanding, I actually don’t really like to bake all that much. It’s usually so fiddly, with so many steps. Fortunately, my October issue of Everyday Food arrived a day or two later and saved me.
As soon as I saw these Warm Chocolate Pudding Cakes With Caramel Sauce, I knew I had Scott’s birthday dessert. The best thing about them, to me, is that the ingredients list is so short. Another great thing is that the recipe only makes four, and since you make them in ramekins, they’re portion-controlled. No temptation to cut a bigger piece. Even so, they were fairly filling and if I make them again, I think I’ll use my smaller ramekins and try to eke out six smaller cakes.
The recipe calls for homemade caramel sauce, which I had every intention of making. At the last minute, however, I decided to just go with a bottle of store-bought caramel sauce we had in the pantry. Not as good, but less work. And I think the photo makes it pretty obvious that I went with Reddi-Whip and not homemade whipped cream.
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold butter, cubed, plus more, room temperature, for the ramekins
1/3 cup sugar plus more for the ramekins
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped – because I am lazy, I used Guittard semisweet chocolate chips, weighed out on my scale
2 large eggs, plus 2 large egg yolks
1/4 cup all- purposed flour (spooned and leveled)
1/2 teaspoon salt
- Pre-heat oven to 350. Butter four 6-ounce ramekins – mine were 8-ounce, which is why the cakes didn’t go over the rim of the ramekin – and lightly coat with sugar, tapping out the excess. Combine the butter and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and nuke for about a minute, until melted. Stir until smooth.
- Whisk together sugar, eggs, egg yolks, flour, and salt in a large bowl. Add the chocolate mixture and whisk to combine. Divide the batter evenly between four ramekins and place the ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
- Bake until center of cake is soft but not wet when pressed, 27-30 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes. Serve warm, topped with caramel and whipped cream.
So easy, and so yummy. One of my favorite things about these cakes is how pretty the browned sugar on the rims of the ramekins looks, so I liked them served in their ramekins. You could certainly plate them, but I think they would lose something that way.
Cheddar and Apple Puffs
I forgot all about these puffs until just now. I remember making them for Mabon a few years ago, and they were delicious. Some just commented on a photo of that Mabon dinner on Flickr, which reminded me of these puffs. I had to immediately dig out the recipe. These may be on the docket for this weekend.
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup flour
1 cup chopped apples
2 tsp. baking powder
Beat eggs well, add milk. Add flour, sifted with baking powder and salt. Add cheese and apples; mix well. Drop by spoonfuls into hot deep oil at 375 degrees. Fry until golden brown. If desired, apples may be omitted and puffs served with applesauce. Makes 24 small fritters.
