Wish Upon A Chef

I was going to start this post out by saying how divine it would be to plunge to my death into a vat of melted chocolate, but a quick internet search of the phrase "death by chocolate" shows that it has, in fact, happened that way for someone and it wasn't a pleasant experience at all.

So instead, I'll just stick to talking about this uber-decadent flourless chocolate cake that my friends and I served as the grand finale at our cocktail and dinner pairing. We served it with the equally indulgent Coffee Margarita and all of our guests needed to be wheeled out to their car because we had rendered them unable to walk for themselves with the awesome menu. It was probably as close as they could come to dying by chocolate without actually, well, dying.

After the initial test run, it was determined that the cake held up and tasted much better when served chilled. And don't say that I didn't warn you to cut it into very small pieces ~ one 10" cake served over 20 people. If you don't heed my warning, make sure you have emergency personnel on stand-by and I'll be the first person to say, "I told you so!" because that's just what kind of person I am.

DEATH BY CHOCOLATE CAKE
　
Cake:

12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli)
4 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
1 1/2 cups butter, melted
1 3/4 cups white sugar
1/2 cup water
7 eggs

Fudge topping:

12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate (again, I used Ghiradelli or Godiva works well too)
1/2 stick of butter
1/4 cup of Kayro syrup
3 tlb of water


Note: Using good chocolate such as Ghiradelli or Godiva and real butter (not margarine) makes a HUGE difference in taste. Don’t scrimp on the ingredients, you will be disappointed.

Directions for cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 10 inch round cheesecake pan and line bottom with parchment paper.

2. Chop chocolate squares and place in a large bowl with 12 ounces chocolate chips. Add melted butter. Heat water and 1 1/2 cups sugar in a saucepan until boiling, and then pour over chocolate. Stir until smooth.

3. In separate bowls, separate the egg whites and yokes and whip separately until both bowls have become thick and creamy. Take the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and evenly distribute between the two bowls as you are mixing. Once the yolks are thick and creamy and the whites are at soft peaks, combine both of them and then add to the chocolate mixture.

4. Fold into chocolate mixture. Pour batter into 10 inch pan.

5. Place 10 inch pan in a “water bath” like you would for a cheesecake.

6. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven. Cool for 1 hour; then refrigerate for several hours.

7. After cake has been refrigerated for 3 to 4 hours, you can add fudge topping. First take the side of the cake pan off, then put a plate on top of cake and flip; then remove parchment paper. Then add your fudge topping allowing fudge to drip off the top onto the sides. Clean up the bottom of your plate as you go along to keep it looking good! (You must do this before it cools, as it gets hard & thick like fudge)

Directions for topping:

1. Melt butter, Kayro syrup and water in saucepan. Bring to soft boil.
2. Add chocolate chips after butter has melted.

Do not let it burn, turn to low heat while mixing in chocolate chips.
Once you take it off heat, keep stirring so it won’t harden, then pour onto cake.

We may still be speeding toward a few record high temperatures here in the South, but summer is now officially visible in the rear view mirror. It's over, people. Move along. There's nothing left to see here.

I struggle during the time it takes my appetite to make the transition from one season to the next, running the gamut between noshing on fruits and vegetables and gorging myself on stick-to-your-ribs hearty, heavy meals. I'm well aware that typical summer fruits and vegetable are available year round thanks to the modern means of transportation, but there's just something unnatural about eating a watermelon when the air is just as chilled as the melon.

I make no secret of liking my watermelon straight up with a pinch of salt and nothing else. No frills, no fluff, no stuff. There's no sense in messing up a naturally good thing so I'm not sure why I felt compelled to combine my most favorite summertime treat with the savoriness of Gorgonzola cheese and red onion in the Watermelon Salad featured in the August 2008 issue of Bon Appetit magazine. A reader had written in to request the recipe that she had tried at The Beach House Restaurant in Kauai, Hawaii. According to their menu, the restaurant's version of the salad includes carrots whereas BA's rendition does not. It also appears that it is such a requested recipe that it has been added to their website, probably since the BA article was published. No matter which version you try, I think you'll enjoy the combination of sweet, savory, and fresh.

Farewell Summer 2010!

Watermelon Salad
Bon Appetit, August 2008
Serves 6-8

Raspberry Vinaigrette
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
1/4 cup cranberry juice cocktail
2 tbls. balsamic vinegar
2 tbls. white balsamic vinegar
6 tbls. vegetable oil

Caramelized Macadamia Nuts
1 tbls. butter
2 tbls. packed brown sugar
3/4 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts

Salad
2-1/2 to 3 lbs. watermelon, cut into 1/2" thick triangles, rind removed
5 to 6 ounces bag or container mixed baby greens or arugula
3/4 cup Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
1/2 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced

For dressing, puree first 4 ingredients in blender until smooth. With machine running, gradually add oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill.

For nuts, melt butter in nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add sugar and stir to blend. Add nuts and stir to coat. Transfer to plate and cool. Can be made 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

For salad, arrange watermelon slices around edges of plates and toss greens in large bowl with dressing to coat. Divide salad among plates. Sprinkle with cheese, red onion, and caramelized nuts over.

This time of year not only marks the much anticipated end of the sultry dog days of summer but also the change of seasons for appetites. Menus will soon consist of the warmth of comfort foods and hearty soups and stews. Road-side produce stands and farmers markets will fold up their tents and the bounty of summer will be replaced by root vegetables and produce trucked in from far away warmer climates.

My taste buds mourn the passage of this time, wanting instead to rewind to the time when South Carolina peaches were just gorgeous blooms on a tree. Wanting to relive the eager anticipation of the juicy, sweet fruit. Never wanting summer to end.

It has become a summer ritual to stop for peaches at McLeod Farms in South Carolina on the way home from the beach and last year, I used the peaches to honor my friend. This year, I couldn't decide which direction I wanted to go and luckily I brought home enough peaches for three kitchen projects!

One of my favorite but hardly-ever-used kitchen appliances came out of hiding for the first project ~ peach ice cream. Rich, cool and creamy, it is the perfect way to say goodbye to the few remaining hot and humid summer days. As with most homemade ice creams, it is best served while still in the soft-serve stage but if you need to freeze and serve later, just let it sit out for a bit to soften up. I'm already having luscious visions of using brandied peaches next year for an over-the-top ice cream treat.

It would be a crime to let peach season pass without an old-fashioned peach pie. And let's just get one thing out of the way....I used a pre-fab pie crust because while I may be good at alot of things, making pie crusts is not one of them. I am not ashamed. I am ashamed, however, at how many pieces of this pie I ate. I had aspirations of baking a peach, cranberry, apple pie but that will have to wait until next year.

The third project was a combination peach-strawberry quick bread that was reduced to mere crumbs by my coworkers before I could even entertain taking a picture.

Unfortunately, I can't stop the passage of time or the change of seasons, but I can continue to dream up fabulous creations for next year's peach projects. I hope you'll enjoy the last official week of summer with one of these peachy delights!


Carolina Peach Ice Cream

2 1/2 pounds fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and chopped
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 pint half-and-half cream
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups whole milk, or as needed

Puree peaches with the sugar and half-and-half in batches in a blender or food processor.

In a gallon ice cream freezer container, mix together the peach mixture, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and vanilla. Pour in enough whole milk to fill the container to the fill line, about 2 cups.

Follow the manufacturer's instructions to freeze the ice cream.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Old-fashioned Peach Pie

1 (15 ounce) package pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
1 egg, beaten
5 cups sliced peeled peaches
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Line the bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie plate with one of the pie crusts. Brush with some of the beaten egg to keep the dough from becoming soggy later.

Place the sliced peaches in a large bowl, and sprinkle with lemon juice. Mix gently. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Pour over the peaches, and mix gently. Pour into the pie crust, and dot with butter. Cover with the other pie crust, and fold the edges under. Flute the edges to seal or press the edges with the tines of a fork dipped in egg. Brush the remaining egg over the top crust. Cut several slits in the top crust to vent steam.

Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 30 to 35 minutes, until the crust is brown and the juice begins to bubble through the vents. If the edges brown to fast, cover them with strips of aluminum foil about halfway through baking. Serve warm.

We've all had one of those Steven Slater kind of days.

The kids are cranky and the spouse is on your last nerve. Traffic is a bitch and making you later than normal. The boss is yelling and the next thing you know you've been hit in the head with a suitcase.

It's enough to make anyone grab a few beers and scoot down the emergency ramp, all the while telling everyone within earshot to go screw themselves. But we really shouldn't say things like "Screw you!" on this blog, now should we? (That's really just a question interjected to show my mother that I try to keep it clean. Hi Mom!)

Who can blame Steven, anyway? Alot of us wish we could quit our jobs in a blaze of glory and develop a huge fan base in support of our defiance. But unfortunately, for most of us it's out of the question to do such a bold thing.

I dedicate today's post to Steven because as I stood looking at a pint of fresh strawberries, I was perplexed as to what to do with them. Bake them into bread? Whirl them into a smoothie? Use them for salad or ice cream makings? I was just too overwhelmed to make a decision and finally I just said to myself, "Oh, screw it...just stuff 'em!"

There's no real recipe here folks ~ I just pulled the emergency chute and hoped I'd land on my feet when I whipped up a block of softened cream cheese with about a 1/2 cup of confectioner's sugar (more or less to get the consistency to squeeze through a decorator tube and have it hold it's shape) and about 2 tablespoons of orange liqueur. Cut the stem from the top of the berries so they sit flat and with a small pairing knife, cut an "X" in the bottom of the berry, taking care not to cut all the way through. Gently open the berry and pipe the cream cheese mixture inside. You may like to garnish with some finely shaved chocolate, whereas I did not because these were going to be out in the heat for a bit and I didn't want them to have a total meltdown as opposed to the "small meltdown" that Slater's mother described. The next time someone asks me for an idea of what to do with fresh strawberries, I'm going to tell them to fix 'em Slater style!

If you really want to crack up, check out this reenactment of Slater's ordeal from the Chinese viewpoint.

In the catering world, the art of selling food is all about keeping things fresh and exciting and once you've elicited the word "WOW!" from clients and guests, you know you've hit the jackpot.

I'm no longer in the business of selling food, but that doesn't mean I'm not still constantly trying to WOW my friends and family with food creations. It never ceases to amaze me what does or does not impress them. I can spend many laborious hours sweating over a hot stove and pull together a meal fit for a king and while they are appreciative, the level of enthusiasm just doesn't seem to meet my expectations. But just watch the eager stampede of approving noshers sing my praises shortly after I've presented something made by simply cleaning out the refrigerator and throwing it all together just to see what I could come up with.

It seems to be the simplest of things that get the WOW factor. For instance, some friends and I hosted a cocktail party not long ago and I had some leftover fruit from the sangria that I wound up plopping into the water and tea pitchers on the drink table. The guests weren't sure if the pitchers were for actual drinking or only for decoration and continuously expressed delight over the simple act of adding fruit.

Another thing that seems to trip the trigger of party guests is these muffuletta skewers. I ran across the original idea in a Southern Living magazine but have never followed the recipe verbatim, instead just winging it by using up bits and pieces of items that I have in the fridge at any given time. This particular time I managed to fish out some artichoke hearts, cocktail onions, olives, deli ham, pepperoni, and cherry tomatoes from my mother's garden. I combined them on a platter with Pioneer Woman's stuffed jalapenos and spent the rest of the evening basking in the glory of admiration from my friends.


The presentation is unbeatable no matter what you end up making them with and seriously, it took me like 15 minutes to pull these skewers together and cost nearly nothing. I can't help but think of this classic commercial every time I make them!




* Exported from MasterCook *

Muffuletta Skewers

Serving Size : 24
Categories : Appetizers

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
5 slices deli style ham
5 slices provolone cheese
5 slices Genoa salami
24 pepperoncini pepper
48 slices roasted red peppers -- thinly sliced
24 green olives
24 kalamata olive -- pitted
24 wooden skewer
1 bottle oil and vinegar salad dressing
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Layer 1 slice of ham, provolone cheese, and Genoa salami; tightly roll up, and slice into 4 equal pieces. Repeat procedure 5 times.

Thread 24 (4") wooden skewers with 1 of each: pepperoncini pepper, red bell pepper strip, meat and cheese roll, large pitted green olive, another red bell pepper strip, and kalamata olive.

Place in a 9x13 baking dish. Whisk together 8 oz. bottle of olive oil and vinegar dressing and 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning; pour over skewers, and chill 30 mins.

Source:
"Southern Living"