FONDANTS CHATAIGNE GANACHE AU CHOCOLATE

Tender Chestnut Bundlet Fondants with Chocolate Ganache


FOR THE BOYS


Is it Spring yet? If they can’t bring me snow then it might as well be spring. I glance out the window and up into the steely skies and wonder if it is as chilly out as I imagine it is or is it only cold inside this old, rambling apartment? We are still eating soup every single night for dinner, and how cozy it is! The young dudes have a surprising three week vacation so are here at our house every single day working, working, working late into the night. I love the noise and bustle, the chatter of youthful voices, the bouncing excitement of Marty as he attempts hourly to insinuate himself into the all-male crowd. JP and I enjoy a salad at noon then sneak into the kitchen in the early evening to prepare our soup and cheese platter (are we Old Folks now?), making a quick getaway, leaving the kitchen open to the guys. Bowls of spaghetti with pesto, hunks of cheese and entire loaves of bread fuel their young bodies and minds, the clatter of silverware, pots and pans and laughter drowned out by the music blaring from the tiny kitchen radio perched atop the shiny red shelves. Happy is this mother when she hears the rush of the tap water and the cheerful jabbering as the young dudes wash the sink full of dishes, leaving a clean kitchen for me to find the following morning.

And three complete weeks of a houseful of twenty-somethings means that I can bake and bake to my heart’s content. I peek my head around the corner of the bedroom door and ask “Cake?” as three pairs of eyes turn towards me and light up! The fourth pair of lovely brown eyes rolls heavenward in annoyance and disgust at his mother once again pushing cake and cookies at his friends, yet aren’t the rest of them thrilled with the offerings of dessert and snack? I push open the door and walk in unasked, unannounced, platter of cookies or cakes held aloft as Marty prances around my feet, and simply place the plate on the edge of the desk, smile and leave. They glance nervously in Clem’s direction, wondering if they can partake and enjoy without his disdain, without feeling as if they are abetting the opposition, in cahoots with his baking mom, stepping over into enemy territory. Yet hours later after they have all packed up and headed home, I go to collect the cake platter and find it empty. “Was it good?” I wonder aloud. “Yes,” he answers grudgingly, loathe to admit that what I have baked was enjoyed by one and all, including himself.


I have said it before and I stand by my former statements: I am not one who enjoys making tiny things: cookies are my bane, and no matter how much I love grabbing a handful and nibbling on a stack of great, moist, chewy cookies, one after the next, while curled up with a good book, the making of them is highly overrated: It is hard, time-consuming work demanding an entire afternoon with nose stuck to the oven window, the most unforgiving of all baked goods. Those, like myself, who are easily distracted or wildly undisciplined multi-taskers are hopeless cookie burners. Cupcakes are not my piece of cake, truth be told, fussy and feminine, less enticing than a thick slice of cake where all the dense, moist, chocolaty goodness is there for all the world to see, offering itself up to you openly, unfalteringly, not coy like the cupcake all wrapped up in a paper casing, hidden under an overpowering slather of icing, never giving you the choice of how much you are allowed to eat. Yet…yet, once in a while the right recipe comes along or just the situation in which a tiny this or an individual that is somehow just perfect! Tiramisù molded in perfect rounds and served up on single dessert plates, one per person, is sexy indeed, giving each guest the feeling of luxury and being pampered by the offering of something so gorgeous, rich and voluptuous, so personal. Single glasses of thick, creamy puddings, panna cotta or crème brulée are delightful, grab one out of the refrigerator any time, day or night, and indulge without disturbing the others. And individual tiny Bundlet cakes, the most attractive shape like something royal, popped out of the pan, baring itself and all of its goodness to the world unhampered by paper wrappings and drizzled with a sensuous draping of velvety smooth, glistening chocolate ganache. Now that is worth the effort!

So as the boys work, I bake and I tiptoe into the room where they are working in a haze of youthful energy and passion and carefully and silently place a platter of meltingly smooth fondants before them. A fondant is simply a cake so moist and tender that it melts in the mouth, so light and ethereal it disappears in a flash, fading into a sweet afterthought. The chestnut flour gives these cakes a rather strange yet intriguing, addictive, nutty yet deeply earthy flavor, a perfect pairing with the deep bittersweet chocolate ganache, subduing the sweetness of the cake just so, adding a chocolate zing to the chestnut just so, making a wonderfully luxurious, absolutely intense, complex, irresistible combination.


My individual Chestnut Fondant Bundlets and mini-cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache are just perfect for this month’s Monthly Mingle, created by our own lovely, talented Meeta of What’s For Lunch, Honey? This month hostess with the mostess is my wonderful friend Astrid of Paulchen’s Foodblog and her theme is Small Bites… just like my cakelets!



I would also love to share this with Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice for Magazine Mondays. This recipe is based on Fondant Châtaigne-Chocolat found in French Saveurs février 2011.

If you haven’t decided on that special dessert to offer your beloved on Valentine’s Day, I have two wonderful ideas on Huffington Post Food, a luxurious, sexy Tiramisù and a rich, decadent Flourless Chocolate Truffle Torte. Two amazing ways to say « I Love You ».


FONDANTS CHATAIGNE GANACHE AU CHOCOLATE
Chestnut Fondant Bundlets with Chocolate Ganache

Makes 12 mini Bundt cakes + 24 mini cupcakes
- or – 24 mini Bundt cakes – or – 24 cupcakes

(5.3 oz,150 g) chestnut flour
1.8 oz (50 g) cake flour
7.7 oz (220 g) sugar
¼ tsp salt
7 oz (200 g) unsalted butter
4 large eggs, separated
7/8 cup (200 ml) milk
Butter for greasing the tins, paper casings for lining muffin tins

Chocolate Ganache:

3.6 oz (100 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
½ cup (125 ml) heavy cream

Prepare the ganache by bringing the heavy cream to a boil in a small saucepan and then pouring it over the chopped chocolate in a heatproof (Pyrex) bowl. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted and perfectly smooth. Leave to cool at room temperature.

Prepare the Chestnut Fondants:

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Generously butter the Bundtlet tins and line the muffin tins with paper casings.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, removing from the heat when the butter is almost but not quite melted. Stir off of the heat until all of the butter is melted. Put aside to cool a bit.

In a large mixing bowl bowl, sift the chestnut flour with the cake flour then stir in the sugar and the salt. Whisk to combine.

Add the egg yolks to the dry ingredients and whisk, adding the butter as you blend. Add the milk and whisk until everything is well blended.

Using an electric mixer or beaters with very clean beaters, whip the whites until stiff peaks hold. Using a spatula, fold the beaten whites into the chestnut cake batter in thirds until the whites are completely blended in and no white chunks are visible. Do not overfold or you risk breaking the whites and losing the air.

Carefully fill the tins with batter filling up almost but not quite to the rims. To make this easier, you can either use a soup ladle or pour the batter into a large glass measuring cup with a spout or lip.

Bake the Bundlets for 20 minutes until puffed, set and just golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes or so in the tins before carefully lifting or turning them out onto cooling racks to cool completely.


Before serving, drizzle the cooled chocolate ganache (thick but still pouring consistency) over the Bundlets and cupcakes.


If you prefer, you can fold about a cup (100 g) of mini chocolate chips into the batter instead of glazing with the ganache.

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PORTUGUESE CREAM TARTLETS

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

You've got to accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
And latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In-Between

You've got to spread joy up to the maximum
Bring gloom down to the minimum
Have faith or pandemonium's
Liable to walk upon the scene

-Johnny Mercer

30 days hath September, April, June and November… and jolly old December has 31 and here we find ourselves not only at the end of another month but standing at the end of another year, on the cusp of a new one, looking out over the sill into darkness slowly fading into light. We each of us tend to get just a little too sentimental, a tad too nostalgic when stirring up the Ghosts of the Year Past, and I promised myself stoutly that I would not. I would rather look back at 2010, revisit my accomplishments and mishaps, marvel at the opportunities grabbed at with success and ponder over those opportunities boggled, and generally discuss my foibles with a sense of humor and a good laugh rather than shedding a wistful tear. Truth be told, 2010 was rather an amazing year for me both personally and as a blogger and writer, so as I look back over the past twelve months I smile and clap my hands as I revel in the positive, focusing on the good while attempting to shrug my shoulders and laugh off the mistakes or the chances I let slip by. As the old song goes “accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative….”


The snow still alludes me and the days are gray and cold, something eerie hangs over the world hidden by the mist and shrouded under steely skies, but the briskness in the air as we step outside revivifies me, the iciness that fills my lungs and nips at my cheeks startles me awake after the drowsy warmness inside has lulled me into a dreamy stupor, and suddenly I feel alive again as, arm entwined in arm, we walk down the street and wander through the abandoned town, abandoned to ski chalets and blazing fires or simply the chance to huddle together inside amongst their loved ones as the vacation days and the old year wind down, happier to be quietly at peace after the rambunctious, noisy holidays. JP shivers and laughs at how cold it has become as I tug harder on his arm and drag him along, thrilled to be out, satisfied to be happily alone with him surrounded by the silence of the empty streets. We still, after all these years, so enjoy each other’s company and have the power to make each other laugh out loud, on and on, over and over again, wondering if our silliness is normal for such a pair of staid, respectable, old people such as we. Together we step over the threshold and into the new year, boldly pushing our way in on winged feet, hoping, nay insisting upon taking the bull by the horns and making 2011 our year, a year of success and dreams, adventure and excitement! Like the baker lining up plain old white flour, grainy sugar, mud-colored vanilla and dark bitter chocolate, measuring precisely, stirring and blending gently yet with firmness and vigor and creating a masterpiece, a confection sweet, luscious and beautiful, have we decided to take all that we have experienced and learned along the way, the contacts that have stepped into our paths, the skills we have honed, the confidence built up throughout the year and combine them all, tenderly, carefully folding them together, stirring, shaping, simmering, spicing them with the friendships made, the love and encouragement, flavoring it with the advice gratefully accepted and the sweet opportunities offered and create something exciting, a delicious concoction, a delightful 2011. Like the icy cold weather, it invigorates me, excites every brain cell, every inch of my body and stirs me into action, pushing me along a wind-blown, sometimes blustery and obscure, sometimes bright and clear path into the future.


Never one to toot my own horn, I prefer not to list my brilliant accomplishments or ogle in wonderment at all that has come my way in 2011 as bloggers, and I, are wont to do at the end of a year. Anyone who reads my blog or follows me on Twitter or Facebook knows all that I have done in the year past, my achievements and my projects, all of which I am extremely proud, and can peruse my Published Articles page as they wish, a bit at a time. But I would like to take this opportunity to thank a few of the wonderful people that have done so much for me, have supported and encouraged me, given me opportunities, presented me with exciting challenges, worked on projects with me, believed in me and inspired me to work ever harder, bolstered my confidence, advised, corrected, shared and always kept me laughing. And with whom I enter this New Year full of hope and pleasure, full of endeavors, projects and plans for grand adventures. And because of whom I am truly a better person:

Deeba, my twin sistah and inspiration in all things baking, together with whom I have kept the MacTweet fires burning, offering a warm space and an inviting, laughter-filled virtual kitchen for everyone who wishes to bake French Macarons together. Meeta, Jeanne, Ilva, three amazingly talented, smart and rip-roaringly funny women, and the extraordinarily tight-knit group we have formed in order to create From Plate to Page (along with other interesting projects), the workshop borne of a common vision, our passion for what we do and the desire to share both with other food bloggers. All three are my inspiration, my support system, my creative and personal sounding board, and truly family. The great folks at Huffington Post Food, Arianna, Colin and the team, who have offered me an incredible opportunity and an exciting challenge, who support me and give me the freedom to express myself on that amazing platform. Lael for introducing my blog to Saveur.com and since becoming a great friend and forming our own “buddy system” on this great adventure we call writing. There were also a few others who, by mentioning me in interviews as a favorite blogger, by featuring my blog on their website or by simply adding me to their impressive blogroll, have really boosted my confidence and motivated me to keep writing, keep working, keep reaching for the stars. My sincere and boundless gratitude to each and every one of you.

On a more personal note, JP and I had a fabulous, romantic, gastronomic week together this Spring in the mountains outside of Clermont Ferrand, Lyon and Annecy. We also spent a month in Florida, joined at my mom’s by Clem & Simon, both of whom have become fine young men. My Spice Sisters and I succeeded in meeting up in London this past year not once but twice, the second time a fabulous all-girl weekend which also involved meeting up with a roomful of friends and bloggers! Together we created an evening Skype Cinema event, the first of many evenings spent with great friends, drinking wine, eating pizza and watching a film even though we are spread out over several countries and time zones! And I have truly made some amazing friends this year, some with whom I am in contact every single day and their tweets, private messages and e-mails make me smile, laugh, forge ahead into the unknown and often scary world, their confidence in me making me shine! Ah, the magic of the internet!


JP took off a few days this week, a time to resource and a time to spend together, tête à tête, in the coziness of our own home. He cooked and I baked, each to our hearts’ content, we ate out as we pleased, we watched crazy, silly movies just to end the year with a good, hearty laugh, and we discussed the year past and the year to come. We toasted each other and the dreams we have for 2011 and feel that maybe we are actually on our way. As this post sees in the new year, a new decade, I wanted to wish my dear readers a truly magnificent 2011 filled with happiness and good health and I would like to begin this new year with something truly sweet and very special: Portuguese Cream Tartlets, my way. Tiny cinnamony puff pastry cups cradling a rich, silky, elegant cream caressed with a touch of vanilla and a hint of nutmeg and dusted with pale silvers of almonds. Although a tad underbaked, these tartlets were the perfect, creamy, voluptuous, sumptuous, delicious dessert.


New Year is always a time of partying and celebration with friends and family. But on a personal and professional level it is also a time of reflection and evaluation; of planning and regrouping; of refreshment and renewed inspiration. And it is in this reflective spirit that we have decided to ask each one of the four From Plate to Page workshop presenters to look back at 2010 to tell us what they feel they have achieved; as well as forward at 2011 to share with us some of their goals for the coming year. The series kicks off with Ilva, the talented photographer behind Lucullian Delights and Ilva Beretta Photography.


PORTUGUESE CREAM TARTLETS
Although a combination of several recipes, the cream filling was based on one found in the December 2010 issue of delicious, so I would like to share this with Ivonne of Creams Puffs in Venice for Magazine Mondays.

2 x 13 oz (375 g) packages of frozen puff pastry or the equivalent quantity of homemade (I believe I had closer to 22 oz (650 g) homemade, the recipe can be found here.)
2 – 4 Tbs cinnamon sugar (1/2 - 1 tsp ground cinnamon for every 2 Tbs sugar)

3 large egg yolks*
¼ cup + 2 Tbs (75 g) sugar
2 Tbs cornstarch or corn flour
1 cup (250 ml) milk (I used 2% low fat)
¾ cup (200 ml) heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 – 2 Tbs slivered blanched almonds
Powdered/confectioner’s sugar for dusting

* Reserve the whites in a clean jar for Macarons!

Butter a 12-cup muffin tin.

If using frozen or packaged puff pastry:
Thaw the puff pastry if frozen. Halve each sheet in half lengthways and then place one half of each sheet on top of the other so you have two stacks. Press and roll together and, if need be, roll each double sheet to the size of a sheet of notebook A4 paper.

If using homemade puff pastry:
Slice the dough in half, placing one half on top of the other and roll the dough out to the size of two pieces of notebook A4 paper placed side by side. Slice the rectangle in half so you have two pieces, each the size of one piece of notebook A4 paper.

Dust each sheet of thinly rolled out dough with cinnamon sugar, as generously as you like and place with the long side facing you (the wider sides are going from left to right, perpendicular to your body). Roll each sheet up tightly to form a two logs and neatly slice off each messy end. Slice each log into 6 even pieces, about 1 ¼-inch (3 cm) each. Pile the leftover pieces on top of each other, press together into a stack, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for another use.


One at a time, place the pastry pieces cut side up in between two squares of parchment paper having first lightly dusted the paper as well as the top of the pastry piece (so each side is dusted). With the palm of your hand, gently press the piece almost flat before placing the second piece of parchment on top. Roll out the pastry into thin 4-inch (10 cm) rounds then carefully press into each cup in the muffin tin. The edges do not have to be even; these look better as a more rustic dessert. When all the pastry pieces are rolled out and fitted into the muffin tin, place a piece of plastic wrap over the whole tin and refrigerate for 30 minutes while you prepare the filling (the 30 minutes allows the dough to rest and is a necessary part of the puff pastry process).

A lovely swirl of cinnamon sugar!

Prepare the cream filling:
Gently whisk the egg yolks with the sugar, cornstarch and the milk in a medium-sized saucepan until blended and smooth. Cook gently over very low heat, whisking constantly, for 5 minutes until thick like custard. Remove from the heat, quickly stir in the cream, the vanilla and the nutmeg. Transfer the cream to a bowl or glass/Pyrex measuring cup, cover with plastic, pushing the plastic down to touch the surface, and allow to come to room temperature as you wait for the puff pastry’s 30 minutes rest period to be up.

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

Remove the muffin tin from the refrigerator, remove the plastic wrap (of course!) and evenly divide the cream filling between the pastry shells. The filling should almost come up to the top of the shells. Sprinkle the slivered almonds around the outside edges of the cream filling, making sure they stick to the filling.


Bake in the preheated oven for 20 – 25 minutes until the pastry shell is golden (my husband would have preferred that I had left mine in until the shells were a deep golden color) and the cream filling is set but slightly wobbly (again, my husband asked me the next time to allow the surface to form more of a skin and color a bit, but that is personal preference). Remove from the oven and allow the tartlets to cool in the muffin tin for 5 – 10 minutes before removing them carefully from the tin to a wire rack to cool completely.


The Portuguese Cream Tartlets can be eaten at room temperature or chilled. Dusted with powdered sugar, of course.

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ORGEAT PANNA COTTA WITH MIXED BERRY JAM

MAGAZINE MONDAY and a TALE OF THE STRANGE & UNUSUAL


Opposites attract? Of course they do. My husband and I have so much in common, our sense of risk and adventure, our tendency to shun all extraneous human contact and huddle together unsullied by the outside world, our passion for art and food and books and travel and history. Same sense of humor, same critical eye, same dreams and aspirations (mostly). But where opposites come into play, we do often part ways and on one very important point never the twain shall meet. Eating. Oh, don’t get me wrong, we both love to eat, are both fascinated by flavors and textures, ingredients and perfection. We both love to discover new cuisines, new restaurants, new wines. But we split right down the middle when it comes to the unknown.

You see, my husband has a culinary sense of adventure that bypasses even mine. The odd and the unusual intrigue him where they make me hesitate. The completely unknown draw him like a moth to the flame while I shudder and run. Yes, of course, we always order our favorite dish at the same restaurants every time: we go to Félix for the best Steak Tartare in the world, tender chunks of steak – no ground hamburger for us, thank you very much, the perfect balance of flavors, rich and luxurious, tangy with mustard and the bite of capers, the snap of onion and as peppery as you please. And served with fabulous hand-cut fries, thick and meltingly smooth on the inside, crispy and salty on the outside. In the mood for a döner kabob? We always head straight for the same stand. But he has a taste for culinary adventure that makes me shiver. If he sees something on a menu with an unusual name or a strange main ingredient, he invariably orders it. As the waiter strolls away I’ll lean over and ask, “what is it that you ordered?” and he’ll casually shrug his shoulders and say “I don’t know. I’ll see.” Traveling through foreign lands he will press his finger against the page of the menu when our order is taken, rarely if ever asking for precisions, and take his chances, all in the name of curiosity. Market and even supermarket visits find him dumping armloads of canned and packaged goods into our basket, each one stranger and more curious than the next, because he wants to try whatever is strange and uncommon. Or unknown. Or he will proudly place one of these selected items on our kitchen table and exclaim, delight glowing in his eyes, “I have to try this!” Ooooh, not me, thanks! I prefer the tried and the true or, well, at least the recognizable and the known. And he’ll taste. And he’ll eat and drink whatever he’s purchased and whatever he’s ordered. And only when it is gone, clean plate club, will he comment.


And this is how we ended up with a bottle of Sirop d’Orgeat. JP truly hates to go grocery shopping. Oh, not the market; if it isn’t crowded he loves marketing. No, I’m speaking about supermarkets, hypermarkets, those huge enclosed spaces, sometimes of dubious hygienic quality, filled with disgruntled, harried customers, couples or families oblivious to anyone or anything around them, huge, lumbering shopping carts that invariably find themselves being pushed into the back of your legs, and row upon dizzying row of consumer greediness and waste, all of those items that have little or no gastronomic or nutritional value whatsoever but are merely there to tempt the buyer into spending his or her hard earned cash on something that one could and, according to my husband, should do without. The glaring overheard lights, the lack of fresh air and the sometimes zoo-like cross-section of human life absolutely drives him mad. He’s been known to abandon nearly full shopping carts in the center of supermarkets all across France and simply walk out and go home. I’ve seen him break out into a sweat, break out into hives and break out into the worst humor since Frankenstein while standing in one of these supermarkets. I, on the other hand, simply adore these meccas of surprise and delight. I can spend an inordinate amount of time combing through the housewares section, I love seeing what new flavors of this product or that has appeared on the shelf, I love the ethnic and foreign foods and I absolutely love the satisfaction of coming home and being able once again to fill up my cupboards and refrigerator. So those Saturday mornings when I can drag him (kicking and fighting and complaining) on one of these twice-monthly shopping excursions, he will hand me over the shopping cart and the list and wave me off, saying “I will come and find you after I have found and chosen 5 strange and unusual things.” And he will wander off into the distance, singing to himself, happy in this contest he has created for himself, safe in his own private bubble.


Today, I am hosting Magazine Mondays for my wonderful friend Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice. For years and years, magazines have been our luxury; too expensive to subscribe to all those that we love, our magazine purchases have been limited to train stations and airport terminals, our guilty pleasure, reading material for a long voyage. But last year I took the bold decision to subscribe to the French Saveurs Magazine (and soon to be joined by the American Saveur), and both JP and I love them! I have made it a point to cook or bake at least one delicious thing from each issue, if not more. And strangely enough, a recent issue of Saveurs magazine had two recipes using Sirop d’Orgeat, Orgeat Syrup. JP drinks ice cold glasses of water spiked with Orgeat Syrup all summer long and simply loves the almondy flavor. I have never tried it. I selected for my entry for this week’s Magazine Mondays a Panna Cotta flavored with Orgeat Syrup and served with a Quick Fruit Jam from the July-August 2010 issue of Saveurs.


This is one fabulous Panna Cotta! We are Panna Cotta freaks; okay, to put it more politely, we are Panna Cotta connoisseurs. We adore it. But once too often we have eaten a rubbery or a floury Panna Cotta in this restaurant or that and so I decided to start making it at home. And Panna Cotta turns out to be one of those elegant, sophisticated, luxurious desserts that is surprisingly simple and quick to make. This recipe from Saveurs is simply one of the best I have ever made, silky smooth texture, it slides over the tongue like a cloud leaving in its wake a delicate sweet cream flavor kissed by almond thanks to the Orgeat Syrup. Topped with this quick and simple mixed berry jam – I used a half cup of frozen blueberries and raspberries that I had left in the freezer in place of the magazines recommended summer strawberries - and the tang of the very berry mixture was fabulous spooned up and eaten with the delicate panna cotta. This is most definitely a dessert to try. I will now use this basic Panna Cotta recipe and try it with other flavored syrups. Although, I may stay away from anything strange and unusual my husband may happen to suggest.


And here who has joined me for this week’s edition of Magazine Mondays:

Lynn of I’ll Have What She’s Having made Candied Lemon Slices from the March 2005 issue of Martha Stewart Living.

Tina of Life in the Slow Lane at Squirrel Head Manor made Beef Stroganoff from the March/April 2010 issue of Cook’s Illustrated.

Allyson of Retorte made Asian Pork Burgers with Hoisin Mayo from her latest issue of Food Network Magazine.

Mary of bonbons et chocolat.com made Boston Cream Cupcakes from February 2009 issue of Martha Stewart Living.

Stacey of Views From My Window made two recipes this week : Spiced Lemon Cake and (wow!) a Peanut, Caramel and Chocolate Tart, both from the October issue of Martha Stewart.

Jan from Kitchen Heals Soul made an Unusual Celery and Pear Bisque from the November 2010 issue of Bon Appétit.

Sue from Couscous & Consciousness made Olive & Herb Fish Parcel from the August 2004 issue of ABC Delicious Magazine.

Thanks to all of you for cooking along with Magazine Mondays! So thrilled I could host this event that I love participating in. Thanks, Ivonne!

Please visit their blogs and see what delicious delights they have cooked up! And please hop over to Ivonne’s Magazine Monday page and see how you too can cook with us on Magazine Mondays, too!


PANNA COTTA AU SIROP D’ORGEAT, CONFITURE DE FRUITS EXPRESS
Orgeat Syrup-flavored Panna Cotta with Quick Mixed Berry Jam
From July-August issue of Saveurs

Serves 4.

For the Panna Cotta:

2 cups (500 ml) heavy cream (UHT is perfectly fine)
2 Tbs + ½ tsp (35 g) sugar
2 Tbs Orgeat Syrup
1 tsp (4 g) powdered gelatin

Place the heavy cream, the sugar and the syrup in a medium saucepan. Sprinkle the powdered gelatin over the top and gently stir it in with a fork or whisk. Allow to sit for 5 minutes to soften the gelatin. At the end of the five minutes the gelatin will look like tiny yellow translucent splotches on the surface.

Place the saucepan over low heat and slowly and gently whisking, allow the mixture to heat up just to the boiling point. Watch carefully as this only takes a few minutes. Once it starts to boil (it may just foam around the edges), remove from the heat and, whisking, make sure that the yellow spots have disappeared completely: this means that the gelatin has completely dissolved.

Very carefully pour the hot liquid into 4 serving glasses (I use a soup ladle). Cover the glasses or bowls with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator – ideally over night – to firm up.

If using frozen fruit for your Quick Berry Jam, place the berries in a bowl to defrost. Once defrosted, place the bowl in the refrigerator overnight so they are ready for cooking about a half an hour or so before serving the Panna Cotta.

Before serving, prepare the Mixed Berry Jam:

½ cup total frozen fruit and the juices that have accumulated from defrosting *
2 – 4 tsps sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
Squeeze of lemon juice

* I used half frozen blueberries and half frozen raspberries

I played this part by ear, or rather by taste. Saveurs calls for 250 g fresh strawberries, 1 cup (200 g) sugar, 1 lemon and 1 split and scraped vanilla bean but as I had no fresh berries nor did I choose to use a precious vanilla bean for this, I made do with what I had and I am glad I did because it was fantastic!

Place the defrosted berries and their juices in a small saucepan with about 2 teaspoons of granulated sugar, a dash of vanilla and one small squeeze of lemon juice. Cook slowly over very low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until all of the juices have cooked down and the jam is thickened. You can leave it a bit more on the liquid side if you like. Add more sugar to taste along the way, if desired. Once cooked to the desired consistency, simply remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature before dividing between the Panna Cotta glasses. I topped each Panna Cotta with only a tablespoon of the jam as I didn’t want to completely drown out the very delicate flavor of the Panna Cotta and it was perfect. The rest of the Mixed Berry Jam I used to top some of the Riz au Lait I had made the day before (recipe to follow soon).

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ESPRESSO BROWNIES WITH SPIKED RICOTTA SWIRL

BROWNIEPALOOZA AND THE PRODIGAL SON RETURNS


My eyes snap open as the remnants of dreams evaporate like dust in the darkness. I am wide awake much too early and as I lie in the warmth of my bed in the obscurity I am suddenly aware of the eerie calm and I realize how this city sleeps alongside of us, still snuggled up in a star-studded haze at six a.m. No trucks rumble through the streets, no gaggles of teens chattering like magpies clatter across the cobblestones on their way to school, no voyagers scurry across the square on their way to the train station. All the city seems to be asleep. Or else tiptoeing on velvet slippers so as not to wake my still slumbering men.

And I smile to myself as I realize that we are a family again, all tidily tucked up asleep under one roof, the four of us, and it comforts me. Simon arrived home yesterday from New Orleans, tall and lanky, face brushed by sideburns, with nothing more than a backpack strapped to his twenty-year-old back for his 3-week stay. Nonchalant and casual as always, he gives us each a hug, wrestles with Marty until his embarrassment and the sudden blush of redness on his cheeks dissipate, then he slides right into the household as if he has never left. Clem, on the other hand, shows an excitement that he rarely allows to bubble to the surface and he tumbles out of his bedroom office to giddily greet his little brother, proffering his hand and prattling on and on a mile a minute, verily gushing over his sibling, his face glowing with happiness. Stranger things have yet to be seen.

But as Simon collapsed into bed and passed out from exhaustion from the long journey, the house was all a-bustle with activity. Friends we haven’t seen for two years came for lunch, arriving a short time after Simon disappeared into his bedroom. Their own son, one of Simon’s closest friends, trailed in after them, even taller, lankier and more nonchalant than ours. We began catching up over bowls of olives, marinated artichokes and spicy accras as poor Léo, all alone without Simon, stared off into the distance, wondering why he had bothered coming. But miracles do happen, and it soon came out that he, like Clem, was now studying architecture, so instead of heading back home he was speedily welcomed into the conclave of young dudes in the back room, architectural students all. Finding common ground, they chattered and laughed happily among themselves.


And thanks to JP, lunch was a success. Normally, for some strange reason, some uncontrollable urge takes over whenever I know that guests are coming for a meal. I comb through cookbooks and invariably put together an impossible menu comprised solely of dishes that I have never made before, all time-consuming and last minute. I, of course, end up panicking, rushing and ruining everything. And twist myself into a bad mood on top of it all. This time, JP and I sat down ahead of time and planned the menu together from beginning to end. No home-baked bread, no first course, just a fabulous, flavorful oven-baked chicken that was placed in a marinade the night before and only had to be breaded and tossed into the oven with an armful of fingerling potatoes right before the guests arrived. Dessert was my luscious Lemon Charlotte, also prepared a day or two ahead of time. JP ran out first thing Sunday morning (as I did the final leg of house clean up) and bought bakery bread and an array of nibblies for l’apératif. And wine. Smooth sailing, indeed.

Rarely has our home been so alive! The four “grown ups” in the diningroom, the four architecture students in the kitchen; the food was delicious and abundant, enough for everyone to enjoy this hearty lunch. The noise of talking rose above the clatter of knives and forks, laughter resonated from room to room. At one point Raymond, our friend, intrigued by the animated conversation, the vivacity coming from the kitchen, sidled up to the doorway, finger pressed to his lips, to listen in, wondering that his son could so easily slide into the bonhomie of the group. He soon disappeared completely only to be discovered a few minutes later with the guys, hobnobbing congenially with the young dudes. I pulled out the tray of Lemon Charlottes from the refrigerator amid the brouhaha, the stacks of plates, empty serving dishes and restless bodies and began divvying out the goods to a roomful of ooohs and ahhhs. And dessert was served and savored. And in no time at all, the young men hustled back to the computer room (overheated and wreaking of young men, if I may say so) leaving the adults alone in a quiet space and me facing an impressive amount of cleaning up to do.


And where do these brownies fit in? Rich and decadent, I have been forgoing baking brownies since Simon went away as husband and I have been avoiding these calorie-laden goodies and Clem’s friends clamor for my macarons. But somehow or other I’ve been bitten by a peculiar craving and have pulled my cookbook of Brownies by Linda Burum off the shelf and have gone on a Browniepalooza. And no ordinary brownies will do, no siree! I began by baking Amaretto-infused Amaretti Brownies made special by the addition of ground Italian amaretti cookies and folding in light and airy whipped egg whites, which lend a meltingly smooth, ethereal quality to a super moist, chocolate-rich confection. Adult indeed; this is as comforting as it gets! Elegant and sophisticated, the Amaretti Brownies with Amaretto would feel right at home at any dinner party. I then selected another amazing Brownie, a dense, chewy espresso and Amaretto brownie with a rum and Amaretto-spiked ricotta cheesecake swirl.

Absolutely fabulous, this crowd pleaser pleased them all! I asked the young dudes to taste and give me their honest opinions before posting on my blog. The pan rapidly disappeared only to turn up, half empty, in the back bedroom cum office where they gather. Fingers were licked, smiles spread across young faces and the brownies were pronounced absolutely delicious. I grabbed the pan and scarpered with whatever was left to serve with coffee after lunch. Which I did. Flavorful and elegant yet scrumptious and satisfying, these brownies are a riot of flavors, the heady scent of rum and Amaretto, the kiss of cinnamon, chocolate touched by the earthiness of coffee, the sweet lightness of ricotta cheese, all melding together into a mellow yet astonishing luxuriously fragrant brownie.


As all good times must come to an end, this party finally did as well. And as I find myself standing before a sinkful of dishes, humming and smiling to myself, I am thankful for the family and the friends that I have, and I find that I don’t mind the washing up as I usually do. My frazzled, bleary son straggles into the kitchen and plops down beside me in a jet-lagged haze and starts to chat and as we nibble on the last chunks of brownie sitting among the crumbs on the plate I find that life can actually turn out to be pretty darn good.


The good news is: our first From Plate to Page Workshop is sold out. The other good news is that you can already register your interest for the second From Plate to Page Workshop provisionally scheduled for Autumn 2011 in Italy. We are blown away by the excitement and interest this workshop has generated and thank you all for your support!


I will be hosting Magazine Monday on November 15 for Ivonne of Cream Puffs in Venice and I am very excited! To participate, you simply need to find a recipe in one of your many magazines you have spread around the house, cook or bake that recipe and then post it on your blog. Send an e-mail to either me or Ivonne (see how to here) with your name, blog name and blog url, the url of the link to your Magazine Mondays post, the title of the recipe and the magazine the recipe is from before November 15, the day I will be posting the round up!


ESPRESSO BROWNIES with SPIKED RICOTTA SWIRL
Adapted from Brownies by Linda Burum


Rum-Amaretto Ricotta Filling:

1 cup (250 g) ricotta cheese
2 tsps rum *
1 tsp Amaretto or brandy *
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
3 Tbs (45 g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
1/3 cup (65 g) sugar
1 large egg
4 tsps cornstarch

* the alcohol may be replaced with 1 tsp vanilla extract and ½ to 1 tsp almond extract to taste.

Place the ricotta in a wire strainer over a bowl and allow to drain for one hour. Skipping this step may add that extra liquid to the mix and create a soggy brownie.

Remove the ricotta from the strainer and place in a medium bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Beat with an electric mixer only until smooth. Don’t worry if there remain “crumbs” of ricotta.

Espresso Brownies:

Rum-Amaretto Ricotta Filling
5 oz (150 g) good quality semisweet chocolate (I used a dark, slightly bitter dessert chocolate 70%)
6 Tbs (90 g) unsalted butter
¾ cup (95 g) flour, spooned lightly in a measuring cup and leveled
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup (135 g) sugar
2 tsps Amaretto or brandy *
2 tsps dry instant espresso powder

* the alcohol may be replaced by 1 tsp almond extract

Once the ricotta has drained for one hour and the Rum-Amaretto Ricotta Filling has been prepared, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter an 8-inch (21-cm) square brownie pan.


Cut the butter into about 4 large chunks and coarsely chop the chocolate. Place the butter and chocolate in a heavy-bottomed saucepan or in a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Place the pan over very low heat and, stirring, melt the two together until the chocolate is almost completely melted. Remove from the heat and continue to stir the mixture vigorously until completely melted, only returning the pan briefly to the heat if the remaining chocolate doesn’t melt. The mixture should be completely smooth and creamy. Allow to cool.

Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl and whisk or stir to combine.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with an electric mixer until light and thickened. Add the vanilla and sugar and beat for 2 minutes, then beat in the Amaretto and espresso powder. Beat in the melted chocolate-butter mixture gradually and then finally beat in the dry ingredients.

Pour 2/3 of the Espresso Brownie batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Pour the Rum-Amaretto Ricotta mixture evenly over the Espresso Brownie batter in the pan. Pour the remaining Espresso Brownie mixture over the Rum-Amaretto Ricotta mixture and very gently and carefully try and spread it out just so it isn’t clumped up. The brownie mixture is much thicker and firmer than the ricotta mixture so be gentle so as not to mix the two together. Now marble the brownies by cutting through the batter with a sharp knife quickly from side to side adding a large zig-zag in the other direction.


Bake the brownies for about 35 minutes or until puffed (the top may be a little cracked in places) and just set. A tester inserted halfway between the center and the edge will come out clean. Allow to cool on a cooling rack for 2 hours then cover with aluminum foil and allow to set ideally overnight or at least for several hours to allow the flavors to mellow.

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