The Most Bomb Chocolate Ganache. Ever.

This recipe was passed to me from my Mama, an extraordinary chef and purveyor of many sweets. She has perfected this chocolate Ganache so it is so incredibly easy to make. I am now starting to get requests for it. Like I said, it's the most bomb.

What you'll need:

1 C. Granulated Sugar
1 C. Heavy Cream
1/4 C. Butter
1/2 C. Cocoa
1/4 Tsp. Salt
1/2 Tsp. Vanilla

Are you ready for the magic? Yes?

Well, begin by stirring the SUGAR into the CREAM and let it sit until it dissolves.

Melt the BUTTER in a medium saucepan on LOW heat.

Whisk in COCOA until it is nice and smoothThen, slowly stir in the SUGAR/CREAM mixture. Num Num Num.

Add the SALT and VANILLA

Now, whisk all ingredients until smooth with the heat still on LOW. The most important part is now. Are you listening? 'Cause this is really important and the secret to the most bomb Ganache. Ever. Do NOT bring this to a boil, but just before. Keep stirring and stirring and when you see baby bubbles on the edge you are ready. (about 10 minutes) This is what gives it the most subtle caramel flavor, so yum!


Then, SERVE on top of ice cream, cake, marshmallows, nuts, popcorn, pancakes, toast...you get it. Or, you can COOL, pour into jars and REFRIGERATE. When you're ready to use it, just nuke it for 45 seconds and boom, Ganache is ready! Or, you can just eat it out of the jar like fudge...I do tend to notice the Mister stealing little spoonfuls here and there!

*NOTE: if you would like to use this as a cake frosting, double the butter and let set a bit once you are finished. As it thickens it can be poured perfectly onto a cake!

Fresh Veggie + Soba Noodle Salad

I found this recipe in Sunset magazine, but couldn't find the daikon radish. I thought jicama might make a nice substitute, but couldn't find that either. But even without them, it still tasted GREAT.

What's in it:

8 oz. dried soba noodles

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tbsp. mirin (I had to look this up: it's a rice cooking wine, like sake

but with less booze)

1 tbsp. rice vinegar

1/2 tsp. sugar

1 English cucumber, halved and sliced

1 medium carrot, cut into 2-inch matchsticks

1 chunk daikon (about 6 oz.), cut into 2-inch matchsticks

4 green onions, sliced diagonally (in retrospect, I would only use one. I could still taste the onion the next morning)

How to make it:

1. Cook soba as package directs. Drain, cool, and pat dry with towels.

2. Mix soy sauce, mirin, vinegar, sesame oil, and sugar in a small bowl.

3. Combine noodles and veggies in a large serving bowl. Pour half the dressing over noodles, tossing well to coat. Serve with remaining dressing on the side.

Serves 12, takes 30 minutes.

My version turned out like this, and Andy added sesame seeds and red pepper flakes to the sauce for a little kick:

Source: Sunset magazine, September 2010 issue, pg. 96, submitted by Kate Washington.

Caprese Salad with Avocado

This spring weather gets my tastebuds all riled up for something fresh. I hope to pull most of this from my own garden in a few months, so it has even more flavor the next time around.

What's in it:

baby romaine lettuce

fresh basil leaves

avocado

sliced tomato

fresh, sliced mozzarella

Dressing:

balsamic vinaigrette

olive oil

sesame seeds

Mix dressing, toss salad, buon appetito!

PIE: Apples, Green Chiles, Cheddar Cheese, Walnuts, and more!

Howdy folks! The pie I made tonight is worthy of all of your kitchen tables! And a high percentage of this blog's readership has access to the real kinds of green chiles, the ones that don't come in a can, so I feel it is my duty to provide a recipe for their delectable use.

I do not have a picture to share, but this recipe came from the NY Times, so check out this link for a pic.

I made this pie and called it dinner, and chips and salsa made a great appetizer!

There are three parts: crust, filling, and topping.

1. CRUST (make at least two hours in advance of cooking the pie)
1 1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese (I like sharp and aged!)
5 tablespoons ice water, more as needed

In a food processor (probably OK to do by hand, too - don't be intimidated!) combine flour and salt. Add butter a little bit at a time, until the mixture is crumbly. Put mixture in a bowl and mix with cheese. Add ice water one tablespoon at a time until the dough just holds its shape. Make it in a ball shape, wrap loosely in plastic wrap, and flatten into a disc. This needs to be chilled at least an hour in the fridge - I left mine for three days, and I imagine you could freeze it as well.

(NOTE: I found that a slightly larger recipe would have made a better size crust in my standard pie dish. I bet it would be OK to just add a bit more flour, butter, etc to this end. Or, you could double the recipe and freeze the leftover crust for other things. Cheese sticks, anyone?)

Roll out dough on a floured surface. Most people would use a rolling pin but I get by with a pint glass! Place the crust in the pie dish and chill until baking-time - at least an hour!


2. FILLING
4 or 5 apples, any kind you prefer (I like a mixture)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup green chiles (or more, if you like! I like!)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp allspice (didn't have it, used clove instead)
1/2 cup white sugar (I used slightly less, it made me feel better)
1/4 cup brown sugar (ditto)
1/4 cup cornstarch (I used flour)

Slice apples any way you like, with or without skins, and toss with lemon juice and chiles.
Separately, mix all the rest of the ingredients (the dry ones), and then combine everything.


3. TOPPING
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1/2 cup brown sugar (again, less is OK too)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (you guessed it, I used less!)

Mix the first three ingredients together. Toss with melted butter until clumpy.

4. PUT IT ALL TOGETHER

Grab the pie crust out of the fridge, spoon the filling into it (make sure to get all the goopy stuff out of the bowl and on top of the apples!), and then cover evenly with topping.

Preheat oven to 400. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn down to 375 for another 40 mins or so - until the telltale bubbles appear around the edges. Now, my topping and even apple slices turned blackish and got crispy, which worried me, so I eventually turned the heat down to 350, laid aluminum foil over the top, and generally fretted about it. However, the dish is sneakily savory, and the crispy brown parts fit the bill in the end, so don't worry too much. A little crispyness is good, like a nice roasted chicken.


Definitely eat this one hot. With ice cream, perhaps? Or with some carrot-y, fennel-ish salad? I don't know what to call it, but I had a second helping tonight and ended up unable to go to bed at bedtime...good thing, because I realized I had time to post this recipe!

hugs,
Ali

Carrot Ginger Soup

I don't like cooked carrots. I usually don't like carrot soup, but this one is delicious... and easy to boot. This picture is not of my carrot soup, but don't all carrot soups kind of look the same? You get the idea.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. Carrots
4 cups water
1 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 c chopped onions
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp freshly grated ginger
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3-4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup lightly toasted cashews/walnuts (optional)

This recipe is 4 easy steps:
1. Peel carrots and chop into bits... smaller for faster cooking time, but size doesn't matter. Boil in water (whatever quantity you want for the soup) until tender.
2. Saute chopped onions in butter for a few min. Add garlic, ginger, cumin, and cinnamon and saute all together until everything is nice and soft, but not burnt (obviously).
3. Blend the carrots (with their cooking water) in batches with the onion mixture.
4. Add salt and lemon juice to taste. I'll use at least 1/2 a lemon, but usually more.

The lemon juice is SUPER important and is what makes this soup so tasty. The acidity balances the sweetness of the cooked carrots that is distasteful to people like me. Also, I've never added the nuts, so I can't vouch for how they will work with the flavor/texture, but I added it in since it was part of the original recipe given to me.

Enjoy!

Carrot Cake

i love a good carrot cake in the spring! this recipe came to me from a roommate i had while in college. it was her grandmother's recipe, therefore it is measured by volume (not grams, my norm). with a little tweaking, it is truly the best carrot cake i've had. thanks, cora's grandma!



cake ingredients:
4 eggs
3/4 c vegetable oil
1 8oz can of crushed pineapple including juice
3 1/2 c finely minced carrots (i prefer to use a food processor and dice them into what resembles a coarse meal. if you insist on grating them, cut back to 3 cups)
1 1/4 tsp vanilla
2 c all-purpose flour
2 c white sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
*optional: pinch ginger, pinch cardamom
**optional 3/4 c pecans

frosting:
3 c powdered sugar
1 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 c butter, softened
1 1/4 tsp vanilla

pecans for decoration

1. preheat oven to 350 f. grease pan (this recipe makes one 9 x 12 pan, two 8" rounds, or one 10" round)
2. beat eggs and oil until combined. add sugar and beat lightly. add vanilla.
3. mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices together.
4. add flour mixture to egg mixture until combined. now add pineapple and carrots. if you insist, this is the time you'd add some chopped pecans, but i don't reccomend it. first of all, there's already enough going on. secondly, a lot of people are allergic to nuts. on the other hand, as the saying goes: sometimes you feel like a nut.
5. pour batter into prepared pan and bake for about 45 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean.
6. cool (on a rack! on a rack! comes out easy if you wait for the pan to be cool enough to handle without mitts but not stone cold! then cool to room temp!).
7. frost. the above frosting recipe makes enough for a 9 x 12 cake but not enough for two 8" rounds stacked. a double recipe makes enough to generously frost two 10" layers stacked.

people who had never met a carrot cake they liked have been observed eating two slices of this! people who can't stand vegetables have eaten this cake and not uttered a false word! truly, a great cake. of course this is delicious as a cupcake and can masquerade as a muffin if left a la naturel. and, when it seems as if your garden has been invaded by zucchini-zilla, substitute the carrots for zucchini and you have a fantastic zucchini cake. if you go that route, try subbing out the oil for applesauce...you won't be disappointed!

Oeuf a la coque, Mouillettes a l'Artichaut

picture taken from Chocolate & Zucchini

Soft-boiled egg with Artichoke Bread Fingers

This dish comes from my favorite cook book, "Chocolate & Zucchini," by Clotilde Dusoulier, which was inspired by the blog of the same name. I love this cookbook not only because the recipes are always spot-on but also because she always includes a nice background on whatever dish you're about to make, which makes everything feel more personal. This particular recipe is for a nice light dinner. The basic ingredients are all smooth, savory textures and flavors which blend really nicely. It's easy to make, perfect for a last minute thing, and it's delicious! {It serves about 4.}

Ingredients:

4 extra-fresh high-quality large eggs, at room temperature (or the shells may crack as you lower the eggs into the simmering water)

One 6-once jar marinated artichoke hearts, well drained

.25 cup fresh goat cheese

about 4 ounces fresh baguette (or thick slices of peasant-style bread)

Fresh or dried thyme

Freshly ground pepper

Instructions:

1. Fill a medium saucepan with enough hot water to cover the eggs. Bring the water (without the eggs) to a gentle boil. Lower the eggs cautiously into the water with a slotted spoon. When the water boils again, lower the heat so that the water is just simmering, and cook for 4 minutes.

2. While the eggs are cooking, puree the artichokes and goat cheese in a food processor until smooth. (This can also be used as a spread of a dip for a quick appetizer; it will keep for a few days.)

3. Slice the baguette horizontally as you would for a sandwich. Toast it and spread with the artichoke mixture. Cut into fingers, thin enough to be easily inserted into the egg. Sprinkle with thyme and pepper.

4. Drain the eggs and sit them snugly in eggcups (shot or cordial glasses work will, too). Serve with the bread fingers.

Eating Instructions:

Tap the egg gently with a knife all around the point top, and slice off the "hat" you have thus loosened. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the inside of the hat and into the egg. Scoop out the inside of the hat with a spoon and eat that first. Take one mouillette, dip it in the egg, and eat the yolk-coated end. Repeat until all the bread has been consumed. Go back to your good old spoon. and scoop out the bits of egg white that remain. Enjoy the unique sound and sensation of the spoon scraping against the shell. Lick your lips, and drop the hat into the empty eggshell for good luck.

Again, thank you to Chocolate & Zucchini for this recipe {I didn't write it}

Bon Apetit!

Radicchio Salad with Blood Orange, Hazelnuts, and Parm

Although radicchio has a bitter flavor, especially raw, the sweet citrus and hazelnuts really balance this salad nicely. Love the color combination too. Yum.

What's in it:

blood orange

radicchio

butter or red lettuce

hazelnuts

parmigiano cheese

olive oil

white wine vinegar

salt + pepper

How to make it:

Dressing: Grate zest from orange, and mix with olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper. If you have another orange, you can add some juice here too.

Salad: Toss radicchio (cut into 2-inch pieces), lettuce, and hazelnuts in dressing. Peel blood orange and cut crosswise into 1/4 inch sections (wheels or triangles); add to top of salad. Grate fresh parmigiano cheese over top et voila!