Sweet Treats For Your Sweetie

 What can end a perfect home cooked Valentine's Day meal? A perfect homemade Valentine's Day dessert. Carry on that special meal vibe with something sweet , rich and decadent. It's the perfect end for  an at home candleight dinner for two.

Yossi Arefi, cookbook author and creator of the popular blog Apt 2B Baking Co. gave recipes for three mouth watering desserts in yesterday's New York Times Food section. There are peanut butter hot fudge sundaes , a chocolate souffle cake and a chocolate Earl Grey creme brulee. They're perfect  endings for whatever you plan for your romantic dinner. The sundaes can finish a homemade pizza or spaghetti and meatballs dinner. The sauce is a silky mix of Dutch process cocoa powder, brown sugar, heavy cream and chopped bitter sweet chocolate. DO NOT use chcoclate chips because they have stabilizers that will make the sauce grainy. Half a cup of creamy peanut butter is added along with the chocolate when the cream mixture has simmered . As for assembling the sundae. Ms. Arefi suggests using a clear glass dish or even a drinking glass to show off the layers of hot fudge, ice cream and whipped cream. The fudge should go in first and then the ice cream. Don't use one that will overpower the fudge's flavor. Chocolate or vanilla will work fine. Layer on whipped cream sprinkles and of course top with a cherry.

End a more sophisicated meal with either the chocolate souffle cake or the chocolate Earl Grey creme brulee. Keep in mind these also make for lovely enders for a Saturday night in or a Sunday lunch. The chocolate souffle cake has bittersweet chocolate and espresso in it. Again don;t use chocolate chips but chopped dark chocolate for a smoother, silkier texture.Dark rum is added too. This is a flourless cake, but rich with butter and eggs. The butter and chocolate are melted together in a bain marie or double boiler first. The  four egg yolks and one whole egg. are also added to thisThe whites are added in later. It's then pured into a buttered pan and baked at 350 degrees Farenheit for about twenty-five to thirty minutes. Cocoa powder is dusted over the cooled cake. For a somewhat easier teaat. think the creme brule. Whole cream is simmered and then Earl Grey tea bags are added to this . Granualted sugar is also added along with chopped dark chocolate  As this simmers, whisk  three large egg yolks. Slowly stream in the chocolate mixture until thoroughly blended. Pur this into buttered ramekins. Then place the ramekins into a pan halfway filled with boiling water. Cook for half an hour in a 300 degree Farenheit oven. Let cool. When they're ready to serve sprinkle on a thin layer of sugar and lightly  torch with a kitchen blow torch.Serve immediately.

These are perfect desserts for a romantic night in. They're decadent and rich in chocolate and flavor. Make them for that special someone.

The Best of The Year

Was 2019 a good year food wise? It was the year Beyond Beef hit our tables and palates We found ourselves trying different foods and rediscovering the classics. There were some good restaurants and wand much loved recipes that made 2019 special. Maybe it was a very good year.

That was the idea of today's New York Times Food section. Many of the contributors and even readers weighed in about this last year of the teens. Pete Wells, the paper's restaurant critic. If you're in New York for the holiday season, please try some of his recommendations. Odo is one of his three star favorites. This is a kind of fusion restaurant that features soba waffles and Wagyu beef burgers (there's also veggie and chicken ones too).There's also a sushi bar at this trendy Flatiron District eatery. Another three star fave is Rezdora , creation of famed chef, Stefano Secci, who spent time working for another famed chef, cerebral experimentalist  Massimo Bottura. Mr Wells raves about the interesting uovo ravioli which spurts egg yolk when you cut into them and the handmade maccheroni al pettine, that's raked with a comb , made that way to have the sauce adhere to the pasta. It too is in the Flatiron  District. Another fusion restaurant, Llama San is the third three star eatery which nods constantly to Peru and Japan. nThe star dish is the nigiri, a hand rolled ball of rice with a duck breast draped over it. Another three star is Benno, created by Jonathan Benno, which features such lush dishes as risotto with truffles along with caviar and lobster dishes.

Home chefs also had their favorite recipes. The top number one dish was the vinegar chicken with crushed olive dressing. Alison Roman came up with this turmeric laced chicken baked on a sheet pan. Crushed Castelvetrano olives make up the sauce. Samin Nosrat gives us the second most popular ,a thrice (!!) washed salad that has five different kinds of lettuce and a honey, garlic, and Dijon dressing. It was inspired by  Via Carota, Insalata Verde. Pork lovers nominated the pork chops in lemon caper sauce which is also spiced with thyme and parsley. A Hawaiian dish, Huli Huli made it to number four. It originated in 1954 when a Honolulu businessman, Ernesto Morgado served a group of farmers chicken that had been marinated in teriyaki sauce. The sauce has been updated to include ketchup, soy sauce, and light or dark brown sugar. Garlic and ginger give it spice and bite as it's grilled for half an hour on a hot barbecue. It's worth dragging out the grill for this tasty dish.If you prefer a more indoor dish, then try number five, creamy chickpea pasta with spinach and rosemary. Alexa Webel created this blend of chickpeas, heavy cream, garlic, shallots and spinach. The chickpeas are browned first , and then half are removed   to break down and thicken the sauce. It can top either spaghetti or bucatini.

Was 2019 a good year in food. Yes. There are some good eateries and recipes out there that will definitely please the palate. Visit these three star restaurants  Cook these top five dishes. Enjoy what made this year a good food year.

A Spring Diet

Spring is the time for all things green - and that includes diets. It's time to shed those heavy winter dishes and think lighter and brighter. Embrace low calorie meals and a different way of eating during the warmer days.

The colder months leave us wanting heavy, gravy rich meals. This is fine. because we need more energy in shoveling snow and just dealing with frigid temps. However now that some areas are hitting sixty and  even seventy degrees , it's time to serve lower in calories foods. Luckily Spring ushers in asparagus season. One serving is only thirty calories. Asparagus is delicious when it's dressed with melted butter, sliced hard boiled eggs and Parmesan cheese. However these amp up the calories and fat. What you can do is try a low calorie cheese and margarine. As for the eggs you can scoop out the yolks if you want and just chop up the egg whites.Artichokes are also big right now. It's tempting to stuff them with oil soaked bread crumbs and mozzarella however think lighter. Imagine dipping the leaves in a refreshing lime vinaigrette where fresh squeezed limes sub in for lemons. Add some oregano or  dried cilantro for some zing. This makes a nice appetizer for early season barbecues. Dandelion greens are also in season. These can easily be picked from your yard and turned into zippy salad. Remember to wash them very well because every creature in the neighborhood could have sniffed them or worse.

Spring is the time of foraging. One of the biggest woodland  harvests right now is fiddlehead ferns. These are a dieter's dream with only ten(!) calories a stalk. Many will balk, wondering what the flavor will taste like. Not to worry. Fiddleheads have a flavor that's that some compare to asparagus, broccoli or green beans. Try them sauteed in margarine and chopped garlic. They're the perfect foil to grilled chicken or salmon. Ramps are also growing right now and they're ready for the picking. They have an onoin-y taste and again, think of them as a great side to chicken or fish. The Spring season is the start , not just of the growing season but also the grilling season. It's tempting to throw a steak on the coals and just feat. Yet the average eight ounce steak has close to a whopping five hundred calories, more if you brush it with any kind of butter.Opt for salmon instead which is only about two hundred and thirty calories. Even better are scallops with only eleven (!) calories for each one. You could even afford to brush them with butter.Serve them with morels , a wild mushroom that can be foraged. These tasty forest nuggets are only ten calories a mushroom. It's an elegant dinner , full of substance , but light and airy.

Warmer weather means a change of diet. Think chicken and fish, along with the greens of the season. It makes for a wonderful, and healthier change of pace.

Tasty Tarts

One of the most delicious and versatile baked treats to make is a tart. It's an elegant alternative to cake and pie, always looking perfect on a dessert table. One of the best aspects of any tart recipe is that you can make one or a dozen with basically the same recipe.They all are mouthwatering , with their glazed crusts  and rich fillings of fruit, cream or ganache.

A tart is basically a topless pie with usually a short crust.meaning it has a lot of shortening or lard in the recipe. Many professional and home bakers will sub in butter for a richer flavor and more crumbly crust. The pastry has been around since the medieval period, starting off with more meat than fruit fillings. The French quiche , German zweibelkuchen or onion pie and Swiss Gruyere pie are savory forms of it. Most tarts are now either custard or fruit filled. The truest form of tart is probably the English custard tart.It has a rich egg yolk filling, sort of similar to the Italian zabaglione.Any home chef can easily make them and also personalize them too. They can add in a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg. or do a dusting of toasted coconut or toasted almonds on top.A Gallic variation is the tarte aux flan, a creamy one that has the light Spanish based custard as a filling. fruit tarts are a great way of using the fruits of the season. Nothing beats the sweet and tangy flavor of both apple and pear tarts.

Are tarts easy to make? They may seem complicated with all their steps but they're can be made by any novice home baker. The  star of any tart is the crust. This is what makes it extraordinary. If it's too soggy, then the whole thing is gloppy.The preliminary steps are similar to making a regular pie crust.The dough should be chilled, anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour The crust should be rolled out to an even thickness and then placed into a two piece tart pan.Remember the dough is supposed to be tender so don't worry if there's tears. These can be mended.If it's baked without the filling then prick the sides and bottom with a fork to prevent shrinkage. Don't do anything if the tart is to be baked with a filling.Luckily tart crust can be made with gluten free flour Tarts can also be made with almond or any ground nuts too. Beginners should start off with the simple custard tart and then work their way up to fruit and ganache filled ones.

Tarts are an elegant alternative to pie. They are easy to make for any home baker, who wants a classier dessert with no fuss. These fit the bill perfectly.

Bouillabaisse A Different Kind of Seafood Dish

August has two great harvests right now - seafood and vegetables. Combine them together to create a Southern French classic bouillabaisse. This rich , briny soup is a perfect dish to make for a late August supper or party. It has the appeal of both freshly caught fish and crustaceans along with just picked produce.Not only that , bouillabaisse can be tailored to everyone's tastes.

This classic dish originated in Provence and is comprised of actually two dishes. The first is the actual seafood itself and true Marseillaise one will have conger eel, sea robin, John Dory, bream along with monkfish and sea urchins. The fish would be washed in seawater and then added to a mix of vegetables and spices. The second part is the rouille which is an egg yolk beaten with olive oil,garlic and saffron and served with the fish and broth.It's smeared on waiting crusty hunk of French bread and then the bouillabaisse is poured over it.

For an American style bouillabaisse, use mussels, sea bass and shrimp. You can also throw in lobster if you wan t or oysters for some variation. Use your garden harvest of tomatoes and leeks along with potatoes for the vegetable part. Garlic and saffron are the biggest must haves for this because they represent the flavors of Southern France. You can also use bouquet garni for taste as well. Most recipes from Julia Child to the Food Channel all include the rouille which is again just a simple mix of egg yolk, olive oil and lemon juice. Some recipes call for chili peppers or parsley to give it more flavor. What you want to do with it is up to your tastes. Once made smear on slices of crusty French baguettes, then place the bread in the bowls. Pour the soup over it to cook the rouille and to have it mix with the seafood.

This is the time to enjoy August's twin harvests of seafood and veggies. Their flavors alone are amazing, together they're perfect together, complementing each other perfectly.Why not combine them in this French classic sure to be a crowd pleaser.

Making The Impossible

Even though I've made Eggs Benedict before I always see it as a challenge. Why, you ask? it should be easy. It's not .It's poaching eggs, microwaving fake bacon along with whipping up Hollandaise sauce and toasting the English muffins.There's four cooking processes at once acting here and it all has to come together to form one perfect dish.

Funny how individually the four techniques are the easiest in the world.Yet combined - it has to be a strict ballet with every step orchestrated to go with the next.Poach the eggs to long and the yolks will solidify. Leave the muffins in the toaster too long and wind up with a burned mess. Don't whisk the sauce too much and yuck - lump city. That's why I meet this dish with trepidation.

I can't spend too much time on today;s entry. I have a whopper of a dinner to prepare. Making Eggs Benedict may seem simple enough. Yet it's more complicated than roasting or baking.
Wish me luck

Mayonnaise A Sandwich’s Best Friend

Now that it’s picnic season , it ‘s time to look at that hot weather staple -mayonnaise. It’s been used to liven up sandwiches and add creaminess to all sorts of salads for a long time now. Surprisingly enough it’s easy to make and one of our oldest condiments. Mayo has been around for over 250 years and let’s face, it’s here to stay.

It was the Duc of Richelieu ‘s chef who created mayonnaise in 1756 to celebrate the victory of the French in Mahon.in Minorca. It could also come from moyounaise form the old French word moyeu which means egg yolk. The creamy sauce, a mix of mustard , egg yolks and olive oil, was served with cold meat such as chicken. In 1912it was mass produced from Richard Hellman’s New York deli and a variation Miracle Whip was introduced in 1932. Mayo can be easily made at home. It requires yolks some mustard and oil to be whisked to a creaminess in a bowl.

Store bought mayo is good too and you can add to it. After all French , Thousand Island, Ranch and Russian dressing all have mayo as a base. If you’re craving a thick dressing, then add two tablespoons of ketchup to mayo and voila you have French dressing. Throw in some minced pickles, relish, some herbs and a dash of mustard and you have Russian. Looking for something for your sandwiches? Add some garlic and a tablespoon of olive oil and you have aioli sauce, perfect for a tomato and cheese on a baguette. My favorite is mayo mixed with dried tarragon and then added to chicken chunks or deviled chicken.
It‘s soon to be the season for Mayonnaise. You can make your own or buy it for some added dash to your outdoor feasts this summer of 2009. It gives an added smoothness and moistness to any food, from salads to sandwiches.