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Archive for December, 2010

Dec 31

Chocolate Dump-It Cake


If you’re from around these parts, you know Cafe Latte in St. Paul on Grand and you know their delicious chocolate layer cake. Well, this recipe for chocolate cake has to be quite similar to theirs – same chocolate intensity with a dense yet spongy texture. I opted to cook the full batch in a 9″ cake pan, cut it in half and do a layer of icing in the middle, then on the top and around the sides. It made a great cake for Frank’s mother’s birthday, serving a party of 16-20.

Chocolate Dump-It Cake
New York Times Cookbook, Amanda Hesser

For the Cake
2 cups of sugar
1/4 pound unsweetened chocolate, chopped
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup water
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon cider vinegar (I didn’t have cider vinegar, so used champagne vinegar)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Icing
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups sour cream, at room temperature

1. To make the cake, heat the oven to 375 degrees. Place a baking sheet on the lowest rack to catch any drips when the cake bakes on the middle rack. Mix together the sugar, unsweetened chocolate, butter and water in a 2 to 3 quart saucepan, place over medium heat and stir occasionally until all of the ingredients are melted and blended. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

2. Meanwhile, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir together the milk and vinegar in a small bowl (it will curdle, but that’s okay). Grease ad flour a 9 inch tube pan (I used a spring-form pan).
3. When the chocolate has cooled a bit, whisk in the milk mixture and eggs. In several additions, and without overmixing, whisk in the dry ingredients. When the mixture is smooth, add the vanilla and whisk once or twice to blend.

4. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and set on a rack (this cake has a tendency to break in half – if you have an extra set of hands, enlist him/her). Let cool completely.

5. To make the icing, melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler, then let cool to room temperature. Stir in the sour cream 1/4 cup at a time until the mixture is smooth.
6. You can ice the cake as is, or cut it in half so that you have 2 layers, and fill and ice it. There will be extra icing whether you have 1 or 2 layers.

Dec 30

Leg of Lamb with Potato Gratin

I would call this a $10 mistake, $10 being the price of the lamb. In a moment of feeling like I needed to try a new piece of meat to cook, I picked up leg of lamb at the store, found a recipe in The New York Times cookbook, and gave it a whirl to end up with a very overdone, not browned, chewy leg of lamb. The recipe itself is good, but I opted to make a 1 pound leg of lamb versus the typical 6 or 7 pound lamb most recipes (with advice on cooking it) call for. Most likely, there is good reason to cook the leg of lamb at a higher weight versus the little piece I picked up. However, in my novice attempt to make the lamb, the potatoes turned out great, and I highly recommend following this recipe, in which you place the lamb on the potatoes for the cooking – the juices from the lamb give the potatoes a great flavor. If the occasion arises to make a smaller piece of lamb, I will cook it at a slightly higher temperature, and for only 20 minutes, then pull out and let rest for 15 while the potatoes keep cooking in the oven.

Leg of Lamb with Potato Gratin
New York Times Cookbook, Amanda Hesser

For the Gratin
4 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and very thinly sliced
2 teaspoons salt
4 cups whole milk
Freshly ground black pepper
Handful of minced parsley (I do not like parsley, and omitted)
6 large garlic cloves, finely minced

1 leg of lamb (about 6 or 7 pounds), at room temperature
Salt and freshly ground pepper

For the Herb Crust
2 tablespoons finely minced thyme
2 tablespoons finely minced rosemary
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup very fine fresh bread crumbs

1. To make the gratin, bring the potatoes, salt, and milk to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally so the potatoes do not stick to the bottom of the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring from time to time, until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Season with pepper. Remove from the heat and set aside.

2. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Sprinkle half the garlic (and here the parsley if you keep to the recipe) into a large oval gratin dish, measuring about 16 by 10 inches. Spoon the potato and milk mixture into the dish and sprinkle with the remaining (parsley and) garlic.
3. Carefully trim the fat from the lamb. Season with salt and pepper and place the lamb on top of the potatoes. Roast, uncovered, for about 1 hour (about 8 to 10 minutes per pound). Do not turn the lamb.

4. Meanwhile, combine the ingredients for the herb crust. After the lamb has roasted for about 45 minutes, sprinkle with the herb mixture. When the internal temperature, tested with an instant-read thermometer, reaches 130 degrees, remove from the oven. Let rest for 20 minutes before serving.

Dec 23

Dorie Greenspan’s Gougeres

I picked up Dorie Greenspan’s “Around My French Table” cookbook on a whim, partially to get a better hold of what french cooking is through the eyes of an accomplished cook and baker, and because I loved the way she wrote her recipes. Her introduction to a recipe often begins with where and when she first tasted the dish and always has good side notes on how to add or subtract ingredients to change up the recipe, suggestions on what to serve with it, and how to store (which I so appreciate because I am still in the dark about how to keep most perishables). Her recipe writing is the style I love, that anticipates a little fear half-way through (“Is this right?!”) and with detail that includes what the texture should be like along the way, and what to look for to keep on course.

This recipe for Gougeres is the first of the book, under “Nibbles and Hors d’oeuvres” and if you’re going to need a simple side carb for tomorrow’s holiday meal, I would recommend this one. It’s a flaky biscuit meets popover with the bite of cheese. I made the whole batch and froze what I didn’t need in a plastic bag and found that when I’m on my own for a meal, popping in a few of these for 12 minutes while soup heats (or cottage cheese is poured in a bowl), makes an easy and tasty addition.

Gougeres
Dorie Greenspan, Around My French Table

Ingredients:
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup water
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup all purpose flour
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups coarsely grated cheese, such as Gruyere or cheddar

Directions:
Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 425. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.

Bring the milk, water, butter, and salt to a rapid boil in a heavy bottomed medium saucepan over high heat. Add the flour all at once, lower the heat to medium-low and immediately start stirring energetically with a wooden spoon or heavy whisk. The dough will come together and a light crust with form on the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring – with vigor – for another minute or two to dry the dough. The dough should now be very smooth.

Turn the dough into the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or into a bowl that you can use for mixing with a hand mixer or a wooden spoon and elbow grease. Let the dough sit for a minute, then add the eggs one by one and beat, beat, beat until the dough is thick and shiny. Make sure that each egg is completely incorporated before you add the next, and don’t be concerned f the dough separates – by the time the last egg goes in, the dough will come together again. Beat in the grated cheese. Once the dough is made, it should be spooned out immediately.

Using about 1 tablespoon of dough for each gougere, drop the dough from a spoon onto the lined baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches of puff space between the mounds.

Slide the baking sheets into the oven and immediately turn the oven temperature down to 375 degrees. Bake for 12 minutes, then rotate the pans from front to back and top to bottom. Continue baking until the gougeres are golden, firm and yes, puffed, another 12 to 15 minutes or so. Serve warm or transfer the pans to racks to cool.

She recommends kir, champagne or white wine as a typical beverage served alongside when in Burgundy, where this is always served at restaurants. To freeze and store, form the mounds on a baking sheets and when they are solid, lift them from the [parchment or silpat], place in airtight plastic bags, and freeze.

Dec 12

Blizzard of 2010 = Shoveling & Russian Tea Cookies

It was an exciting, cold, back breaking weekend in Minneapolis. In total we got hit with 17.5″ of snow in 24 hours, ranking the fourth largest snow storm in the Twin Cities’ history. In my lifetime, I’ve witnessed two of these largest snow storms – the last one was in 1991 dubbed the “Halloween Blizzard” dumping 36″ over a four day span. The snow started falling the night of Halloween and I remember it well because that was the year (I was 9), I dressed as a bunch of grapes, meaning my mom blew up two dozen purple balloons and attached them via string to a purple sweatsuit. By the time I got home, I was a bunch of raisins. The snowfall left everyone unable to leave their home unless they had cross country skis, which over this weekend, we saw again. Last Friday when the predictions came in to get 12″-20″ of snow, I ran to Target, Pet Smart and the grocery store to get ready for two full days of being house bound. While some meals were uneventful (on Saturday, Frank and I took turns every couple of hours to maintain the shoveling), I did make Russian Tea Cakes, a childhood holiday cookie favorite. But first, here are some pictures of the backyard and neighborhood to get a sense of being snowed in.

The animals, couped up with nothing to do but stare out the window.


Russian Tea Cookies
Adapted and modified from Bon Appetit, 1990

In a mixer, cream on high speed 2 sticks of butter until fluffy. Add 1/2 cup of powdered sugar until mixed, then add 1 teaspoon of vanilla.

Once incorporated, add 2 cups of flour, a dash of salt and once thickened and dough-like, add 3/4 cups of finely chopped (toasted) hazelnuts.

Refrigerate for at least one hour, up to 12 hours. To bake, turn oven to 375 and begin rolling dough into 1″ balls. Bake for 8 minutes, or until the bottom of the cookie is slightly golden brown (do not overcook – these cookies are better undercooked). Set aside to cool for about 5 minutes, then roll in powdered sugar. Roll them again in powdered sugar once they have thoroughly cooked, before storing in air tight container.

Dec 1

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A Mustache for my Beverage, Please

These POP’S ‘STACHEs would make such a fun hostess gift, or party favor for your guests! 8 unique clip-on mustache beverage identifiers to a pack.

Dec 1

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Wardrobe Challenge: Check out 30 for 30

The lovely Miss Elisabeth Carr from mission:closet gave Minneapolis Hunter a shout out yesterday. Thanks Elisabeth! And for those of you who haven’t started following her fashion blog, please head over and follow her latest project, which I am so impressed by, the 30 for 30 remix. Read more

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