Category: food

Here’s what the Husband and I will be having for dinner tonight: a slow-roasted pork shoulder smothered with mango salsa. This recipe comes from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa Parties! cookbook. I love Ina Garten; her books are cheerful and she seems to truly have fun in the kitchen. Actually, this book played a peripheral role in my food epiphany, which occurred while I was skiing to a restaurant in Colorado. But that’s another story.

Ina pairs this cooked salsa with herb-y grilled shrimp skewers, which is a fantastic match. When rubbed over a pork shoulder or tenderloin and slow-roasted in the oven, the salsa cooks down to a sticky, intense and almost jam-like texture.  Also delicious on the side with brined, then grilled pork chops or chicken. Or grilled salmon. That’s right: in Chicago we’re on the brink of summer. So make some salsa and start your grills!

Mango Salsa

2 T. olive oil

1/3 c. scallions, diced OR 1 c. yellow onion, diced

2 t. garlic, minced

2 t. ginger, minced

2 ripe mangoes, chopped

1/3 c. orange juice, freshly squeezed if possible

2 t. brown sugar

2 t. jalapeño, minced

kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

2 t. fresh mint, minced

Sauté olive oil, onions, ginger in a large pan over medium-low heat until onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or so. Add the mangoes and reduce heat to low, cook for 10 minutes. Add the OJ, sugar, salt, pepper, and jalapeño and cook until the liquid is reduced, about 10 more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the mint.

Makes 2 cups. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 10 days. And while you can serve it chilled, it’s most delicious served warm or at room temperature.

With rare exception, I don’t make fancy desserts. I’m not a decorator by any stretch and I always judge a dessert by its taste, not its presentation. But there are times when looks matter, and sometimes a homey cake is too, well, humble. Whenever I’m looking for an elegant dessert, I make this simple chocolate tart. The filling is chocolate ganache, which takes 15 minutes to make (this includes scrubbing out the food processor bowl). The crust is pâte sablée.

Together you have the winning combination of velvet and crunch. Not too sweet. Very rich. I don’t usually serve this with anything but coffee, but if you must, go for slightly sweetened whipped cream and a couple of raspberries. Small slivers will do, so a 9-inch tart can serve 12 with a bit left over for breakfast. Come on, you’ve done it, too.

Chocolate Tart

You will need a fully baked, cooled tart crust. I always use pâte sablée.

Chocolate ganache is simply equal parts of cream and chocolate melted together, with a knob of butter added at the end. The trick to perfectly smooth ganache is not to overdo the stirring, as you want the least amount of air incorporated into the mix. I’ve found the food processor does double-duty here, both chopping the chocolate and blending in the hot cream.

chocolate ganache in the food processor:

Drop 8 oz. bittersweet chocolate (the best quality you can afford) into the food processor and run until all pieces are finely chopped. Stop the machine. Pour in 1 c. heavy cream, boiling (I usually nuke it to the boiling point). Let sit for 1 minute. Process until satiny smooth. Add 2 oz. softened unsalted butter. Pulse until butter is incorporated.

Pour into tart crust, chill for 1 hour. Serve at room temperature!

Here is a shot of my Valentine’s Day present. I’ve been wanting this baby for ages! The Husband is so good to me (swoon).

When used as a filling for tarts, frangipane puffs up a little during baking and turns golden brown. This is also the happy discovery inside an almond croissant, for which I would walk over crushed glass if it meant I could have one right now. Here’s a recipe to fill a 9-inch tart. For the record, it’s pronounced “FRAN juh pain.” When you’re talking about the flowering shrub, you get to say “fran juh PAN ee.”

Frangipane

1 c. sliced almonds (blanched or not)

1/2 c. sugar

generous 3 oz. unsalted butter, at room temperature

pinch of salt

1/2 t. Brandy

1/8 t. almond extract

1 large egg

– Blend 1/8 c. sugar and the almonds in the food processor until the almonds are finely ground.

– Using a stand mixer with the paddle, beat the butter until smooth and creamy. Add the remaining sugar and beat. Add the almond mixture and beat. Add salt, Brandy, extract and beat. Add the egg and beat until fluffy.

– Stores for a week in the fridge, or freeze (you’ll need to re-beat it before using).

This isn’t the all-American flaky pie crust. Strictly translated, pâte sablée means “sandy paste.” When baked, pâte sablée gives you a crumbly, sandy, shortbread-cookie-like crust that works beautifully for tarts. Sweet and rich, it is the perfect foil to a dark chocolate ganache filling or a simple mix of berries.

Pâte Sablée

scant 5 oz. unsalted butter, cold

1/2 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

pinch of salt

1 egg yolk, beaten, at room temperature (separating the egg when it’s cold is easier)

– Cut the butter into small chunks and put it in the freezer for at least 10 minutes.

– In the food processor, combine sugar, flour, salt. Remove the lid and add the butter chunks. Pulse until the dough looks like streusel: big bits, little bits, not uniform. Pulse in the egg yolk. Just a few more pulses until the dough starts clumping together…and stop! Overworking will yield a tough crust. Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap, gently gather in any stray floury bits, and wrap up, pressing the dough into a disc shape.

– Chill for up to 5 days. Well-wrapped, you can also store the dough in the freezer.

– When ready to bake, press the dough into a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Be gentle. The trick is to shape the dough to the pan while maintaining the delicious crumbliness. Pop the pan and crust in the freezer for a good 20 minutes (or more) before baking.

This is one of my favorite desserts to bring. You know, like to someone’s house. As in, “what can I bring?”

I’ve been making this tart since it was featured on the cover of Bon Appetit in 1997. Whether for Thanksgiving, birthdays for non-cake eaters, fancy dinner parties, individual tartlets for a picnic…it always looks and tastes delicious. Over the years I’ve tweaked the recipe from the original and now just use my standard pâte sablée for the crust and a basic frangipane for the filling.

Make a double batch of both the crust and the filling and store (separately) in the freezer. You’ll have a quick, elegant dessert to throw together at the last minute. The frangipane works well with pears, apricots, or plums, too. And don’t skip the part where you brush on the apricot jam: this is the fun part of fussy. You’ll end up with a gorgeous dessert. Go ahead, put it on a pedestal.

French Apple Tart

1 recipe for Pâte Sablée, chilled

1 recipe for Frangipane, at room temperature

2-3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, quartered and thinly sliced

1 T. sugar

1 T. Calvados or appropriately-flavored liqueur such as Grand Marnier, Drambuie, Amaretto, or Licor 43

1/4 cup apricot jam

– Toss the apple slices with the sugar and booze, allow to sit for about 30 minutes.

РPreheat oven to 325F. Press p̢te sabl̩e dough into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Be sure to create a thick edge all the way around the sides. Chill the crust in the freezer for 15 minutes before baking.

– Spread the frangipane into the chilled crust. Drain the apples and arrange in a concentric circle, overlapping slightly. Bake for around 50 minutes, until the apples are tender, the crust is slightly browned, and the frangipane has puffed and turned slightly golden. If the apples start to brown during baking, cover loosely with foil.

– Remove tart to a cooling rack. Warm up the apricot jam in a little saucepan or the microwave. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a small bowl. Gently brush the apples and crust with the apricot syrup.

– Serve when cooled. It’s best on the day you’ve made it, but the tart will keep for a day: cover and refrigerate, but be sure to serve at room temperature. If you feel like gilding the lily, serve with a little vanilla ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream….just cut the slices a little smaller.

Along with a box of delicious homemade cookies, over the holidays a friend gave us 2 little jars of chocolate-peanut spread from, well, Spread, a restaurant in San Diego.

The dark chocolate peanut version (No. 14) has made a few appearances with my afternoon snack of toast and coffee. A delicious combination.

For some reason I waited until today to break out the other one, white chocolate pretzel (No. 73 ). Forget the toast: this one just needs a spoon. It’s criminally good. I’m eating it as I type. Don’t know if I can stop.

On New Year’s Eve, the Husband and I attended a fabulous potluck dinner (replete with optional 80s themed attire and a not-for-kids gift exchange). Naturally, we brought dessert. Because it’s a long night, I thought it would be fun to get people up and moving around rather than serve dessert at the table. Because there was going to be a crowd, I made everything self-serve and where possible, in individual portions. And it was a success! People grazed and nibbled between after-dinner gift grabbing and midnight toasting. Snaps to Matt for the awesome photos.

Here’s what I made:

1. Tiny dark chocolate whiskey cupcakes, inspired by a December NY Times article about the brilliant holiday tradition of pairing booze with cake. The Husband made me a stencil taped to a paper clip to create the star design.

Tiny dark chocolate whiskey cupcakes (makes 48)

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. kosher salt

5 oz. unsweetened chocolate (use a good one)

1/4 c. instant espresso powder

2 T. (generous) unsweetened cocoa powder

1 c. whiskey, plus more for sprinkling and a belt for the chef

1 T. vanilla extract

1/2# unsalted butter, softened

2 c. sugar

3 eggs

– Line mini cupcake pans with papers (or butter and flour a tube pan, 2 loaf pans, or paper for 12 regular-sized cupcakes). Preheat oven to 325F.

– Melt the chocolate in the microwave or in metal bowl over simmering water; let cool.

– Put espresso and cocoa in a 2-cup glass measuring cup and add enough boiling water to make 1 cup, mix til combined. Add whiskey and vanilla and let cool.

– Sift together flour, salt, and soda in a small bowl.

– Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat butter until fluffy. Add sugar and beat until very fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. Beat in melted chocolate. Scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure all ingredients are combined.

– On low speed, beat in a third of the whiskey mixture. When liquid is absorbed, beat in half of the flour mixture. Repeat alternating additions, ending with whiskey. Most things do. Scrape batter into prepared pan(s) and smooth the top. Bake until a cake tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean (tiny cupcakes are done in 15 minutes, the tube pan takes about 1 hour).

– Transfer cake to a rack. Unmold after 15-20 minutes and brush warm cake with the extra whiskey. Brush it again if you like things boozy. Be sure the cake is absolutely, completely cool before sprinkling with powdered sugar. Wrapped tightly, this cake freezes well…but needs to be brought to true room temperature to get the full effect of the booze+chocolate combo.

2. Truffles infused with dried-cherry balsamic syrup, using a recipe found on Design*Sponge, which is about as addictive as the truffles. These are so easy and so decadent.

Truffles infused with dried-cherry balsamic syrup

8 oz. dark chocolate, chopped (as always, spring for the best you can afford)

¼ c. heavy cream

pinch of salt

2 T. balsamic vinegar

8-12 dried cherries

½ c. cocoa powder (don’t even think of using Hershey’s)

– Heat the cherries and vinegar in a small saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain, reserving the liquid. Save the cherries for nibbling with a stinky and/or creamy cheese or as an addition to a salad of bitter greens (seriously intense, seriously good).

– Heat the chocolate and cream in a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir gently until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in cherry-balsamic syrup. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside until firm enough to shape. This can take a couple of hours…I usually make the truffle mixture in the morning and then roll them at night or even the next morning. If you’re in a hurry, chill the mixture but not too much! You want something that feels slightly harder than Play Doh, because the heat from your hands will melt things once you start rolling. But too much refrigeration can leave you with a rock-solid chunk.

– To shape the truffles, scoop out a small nugget with a teaspoon and quickly roll between your palms to form a ball. I prefer truffles that are small, one-bite size. Roll them into the cocoa powder. That’s it! Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks (as if).

3. Pound cake with macerated strawberries and whipped cream, an old favorite. Reports of a post-midnight “incident” involving the whipped cream have not yet been verified.

Pound cake with macerated strawberries and whipped cream

for the cake:

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1/2# unsalted butter, softened

1 c. sugar

4 eggs at room temperature

2 t. vanilla extract

– Preheat oven to 325F. Butter and flour a loaf pan.

– Whisk together flour, powder, and salt.

– In a stand mixer with the paddle, beat butter and sugar until super fluffy, at least 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla. Scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure all ingredients are combined.

– Add the flour mixture all at once and beat at low speed until just combined. Don’t overdo it! Use your rubber scraper to blend in the stuff from the sides and bottom of the bowl.

– Scrape into the pan, smoothing the top. Bake for until a cake tester comes out clean, at least an hour. If the top browns to quickly, loosely cover the pan with foil. Let the cake cool on a wire rack until cool, then unmold. This cake freezes well.

for the strawberries:

2 pints strawberries

2 T. sugar

2 T. balsamic vinegar

– Rinse, hull and quarter the berries. Toss with sugar and balsamic. Let sit up to an hour. Drain the liquid into a small saucepan. Simmer until slightly thickened. When cool, pour the syrup back over the berries.

for the whipped cream:

1 c. heavy whipping cream

1 t. vanilla extract

2 T. powdered sugar

– Beat it all in a large bowl with a whisk until thick and slightly stiff. Ideally, the bowl is chilled. If your arm gets tired, ask Kyle to help you.

4. Coffee panna cotta made in individual demitasse cups. Usually I make panna cotta in custard cups and unmold them right before serving. This version works well, too, with the coffee syrup at the bottom of the cup adding a nice surprise. The blue and white paper on the table is by Snow & Graham.

Coffee panna cotta

1/4 c. strong coffee (a shot of espresso works well)

1/4 c. sugar

– Combine coffee and sugar in a small saucepan and simmer until syrupy, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a glass measuring cup and allow to cool. Pour into 6 demitasse cups, distributing evenly.

1 t. gelatine

1 T. whole milk

– Sprinkle gelatine over milk in a small bowl and allow to stand for a few minutes, until it’s puckery.

1 c. table cream

1 c. whole milk

1/3 c. powdered sugar

1 t. vanilla extract

– Combine cream, milk, sugar, vanilla in a saucepan and heat to boiling. Remove from heat and whisk in the gelatine mixture. Transfer to a glass measuring cup, llow to cool. Pour into the demitasse cups and refrigerate at least 6 hours or be smarter than I was and chill these babies overnight.

A couple of nights ago, I was making a galette of rutabaga and sweet potato. To get the vegs sliced thin enough to develop the desired crusty surface, I pulled out my mandoline…which has a slider and grabber contraption that keeps one’s fingers away from the blade. Not wanting to waste anything, I decided to shave down an especially lumpy rutabaga without the mandoline’s slicer housing thingy until it would fit. In other words, I freestyled on the sharpest implement in my kitchen.

Surely you can guess what happened next:

It hurt and bled like the dickens. Luckily, the Husband found the finger bit (and the nail!). Safely ensconsed in a tourniquet-tight bandage and rubber glove, I rinsed off the rutabaga slices and proceeded with dinner preparations. Happy to report that the galette was delicious.

Root Vegetable Galette

3# root vegetables, peeled and very thinly sliced

(potatoes, rutabagas, sweet potatoes,parsnips–alone or combined–all work well)

1/4# melted butter (you may need a little more)

2 T. fresh thyme, chopped

salt & pepper to taste

– Preheat the oven to 400F, placing a well-seasoned cast iron skillet in the oven to heat up. Pour half of the melted butter into the skillet. Layer in the sliced vegetables in concentric circles, overlapping slightly, to make a single layer. Drizzle with butter and sprinkle with thyme, salt, pepper. Make another layer, again drizzle and sprinkle.

– Lightly butter a sheet of foil and lay on top of the vegetables. Using a heavy pan (another skillet works well), press down on the foil. Bake the galette –with the additional pan on top–for around 30 minutes or until the edges look browned and the vegs have softened. Remove from the oven and allow to sit around 10 minutes.

– When ready to serve, remove additional pan and the foil. Lay a plate or serving platter that’s slightly larger than the cast iron skillet over the top. Holding the platter to the skillet, flip over to turn out the galette onto the platter. Wear your oven mitts! If any crunchy slices have go astray, just patch in. Garnish with thyme sprigs and cut into wedges to serve.

A friend visiting from out of town was in need of grown-up pursuits, far from nursery or playground. I took her to The Violet Hour, truly the most civilized bar in Chicago. The chill/luxe atmosphere of flickering candles, high-backed chairs, and low-lit chandeliers fosters quiet conversation. Which is the perfect vibe for savoring the outrageously delicious cocktails. People, this place is serious: they make their own bitters. And they won’t let you in unless there’s a chair for you. Go early, there’s usually a line after 7.