Chocolate Pots de Crème

Chocolate Pots de Crème
Adapted from: Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes by David Lebovitz

Ingredients:
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (60-72% cacao)
2 cups half and half
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
6 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract


Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Set six 4- to 6-ounce ramekins in a roasting pan.

Put the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. In a medium saucepan, heat the half and half, sugar, instant espresso powder, and salt until hot (not boiling though), stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour the hot half and half mixture over the chocolate and whisk until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Let cool until tepid, then whisk in the egg yolks and the vanilla.

*If the mixture looks at all grainy, whisk well or pureè in a blender until smooth.

Transfer the custard mixture to a large measuring cup or pitcher and divide evenly among the ramekins.

Fill the roasting pan with warm water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and bake until the perimeters of the custards are just set and the centers are still slightly jiggly, about 35 minutes.

Transfer custards from the water bath to a wire rack and let cool.

Serve slightly warm or at room temperature, garnished with a small amount of whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Fudgy Chocolate Layer Cake with Coconut Frosting

Fudgy Chocolate Layer Cake with Coconut Frosting

Adapted from Food & Wine an entire year of recipes 2006
and Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes by David Lebovitz

Ingredients:

Chocolate Cake
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened dutch process cocoa powder, sifted
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
3 large eggs
2 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup hot coffee

Filling:
1 1/4 plus 1/4 cup 2% or whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons cornstarch
5 large egg yolks
1 cup dried unsweetened shredded coconut (find this in the bulk section of your market)

Rum Syrup:
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons dark rum

Whipped Cream:
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/4 cups dried unsweetened or sweetened shredded or large flake coconut, toasted


Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 325F. line the bottoms of three 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Spray the cake pans and the parchment paper with vegetable oil cooking spray.

In a the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the sugar with the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk the buttermilk with the eggs and the vanilla extract. In another small bowl, melt the butter in the hot coffee.

Using a stand mixer, beat half of the buttermilk and egg mixture into the dry ingredients at low speed. Beat half of the coffee mixture into the batter, then scrape down the bowl. Beat the remaining buttermilk and coffee mixtures into the batter until they are incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans, dividing it evenly, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until the cakes are springy to the touch. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto a rack to cool completely. Peel the parchment paper off the bottom of the cakes.


To make the filling, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, warm the 1 1/4 cups milk with the sugar and vanilla.

In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and the remaining 1/4 milk until completely smooth. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks until combined.

When the milk-sugar mixture is hot, stir the cornstarch mixture to recombine, then whisk it into the saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. While whisking constantly, pour about one-third of the hot thickened milk into the egg yolks, then scrape the yolk miture into the saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pan, just until the mixture begins to boil (it will be very thick). Pour the mixture into a clean bowl. Stir in the 1 cup coconut, cover, and refrigerate until chilled.

To make the syrup, warm the water and the 1/2 cup sugar, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat, add the rum, and let cool to room temperature.

To assemble the cake, place one cake layer on a serving plate and brush with the rum syrup. Evenly spread half of the filling on top of the cake layer. Cover it with a second layer. Brush the second layer with the rum syrup; spread the remaining half of the filling. Place the final cake layer on top and brush with the rum syrup.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate the cake for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.

To make the whipped cream and finish the cake, in a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, whisk the cream until it just begins to hold its shape. Whisk in the sugar and the vanilla until stiff; don't over beat.

Using an icing spatula, spread the whipped cream evenly over the top and sides of the cake. Cover the top and sides of the cake with the toasted coconut by sprinkling coconut on the top of the cake and pressing some around the sides with your hands.

Holiday Sugar Cookies

Holiday Sugar Cookies

Yield: Approximately 36 medium size cookies

Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons pure vanilla
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Preparation:
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla and heavy cream. Mix until smooth. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to the egg and cream mixture. Mix just until well incorporated; do not over mix.

Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness between two pieces of parchment paper. Refrigerate flattened dough for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350F. Peel Parchment paper off topside. Flip and peel other parchment sheet. Cut into shapes and place cookies 1 inch apart on parchment lined cookie sheets.

Bake 12 to 14 minutes until bottoms and edges are light brown. Cool. Decorate with royal icing.


Royal Icing

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons meringue powder (found in special baking stores and online)
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (about 1 pound)
3 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons clear vanilla

Preparation:
Beat all ingredients at low speed for 7 to 10 minutes until icing forms peaks. This recipe makes a stiff royal icing. Water can be added to make a thinner icing- the consistency for flooding is like thick paint. Stiff icing is used for cooking borders/outlines while thinner icing is used to fill-in border areas.

Icing hardens when dry.

Apple Tart with Apricot Glaze

Apple Tart with Apricot Glaze

Adapted from: The Greyston Bakery Cookbook via the kitchn Free-Form Apple Tart

Yield: one 9-inch Tart


Tart Dough
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
3 ounces cream cheese, cold

Apple Filling
Ingredients:
2-3 large apples (about 1 pound) such as Rome Beauty, Jonagold, Granny Smith, Pippin, Gala, Cortland, or Winesap
2-4 tablespoons brown sugar, depending on sweetness of apples
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted (optional)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/4 cup Apricot Glaze (see below)

Apricot Glaze (Makes about 1/2 cup)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup apricot preserves
2 tablespoons water or orange-flavored liqueur such as Cointreau or Triple Sec


Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray 9-10 inch tart pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.

Place flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times to combine. Add the butter, and pulse until pieces are the size of peas. Add the cream cheese, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbles.

Turn out the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap; use the plastic to help bring the dough together into a ball. Flatten to form a disk, and wrap well with plastic. Chill the dough for at least 1 hour and up to 1 day before using.

On a large wooden cutting board (preferable to a stationary work space), roll out the pastry dough to a 12" circle. (If the dough splits or becomes too soft to work with, transfer the board with the dough to the refrigerator and chill for 5 to 10 minutes.) Carefully transfer to tart pan. Cut excess dough from edges of pan.

Pierce the bottom of the dough with a fork and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Peel, core, and quarter the apples, then slice them into 1/8” or smaller wedges (a mandolin works well here). In a medium bowl, gently toss the apple slices with the sugar and almond extract. Neatly arrange the slices, overlapping as you go, in two lengthwise rows in the tart shell. Sprinkle or tuck the almonds among the apples and dot the top of the tart with the butter.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and apples have some color. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool to a warm temperature.

In a small pan, warm the Apricot Glaze then brush it over the top of the warm tart. Serve warm.

In a small saucepan, bring the preserves and water (or liqueur) to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, or until thickened. If the preserves contain large chunks of fruit, transfer the glaze to a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Strain the glaze through a mesh sieve into a small bowl, pressing the glaze with the back of a large spoon or rubber spatula to extract as much liquid as possible. Use while still warm.

Chicken Stuffed with Sundried Tomatoes, Olives, and Goat Cheese

Chicken Stuffed with Sundried Tomatoes, Olives, and Goat Cheese

Adapted from: Confections of a Foodie Bride
Yield: 2 Servings

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 chicken breasts
4 Tbsp herb goat cheese
2 Tbsp chopped Kalamata olives packed in oil (5-7 large olives)
1/4 cup rough-chopped sundried tomatoes, (drained if packed in oil)
Salt
Pepper

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 425. Heat olive oil in an oven-safe saute pan over medium-high.

Using a pairing knife, cut a pocket in each chicken breast, cutting as close as possible to the edges but taking care not to puncture all the way through. Spread 1 Tbsp goat cheese in the pocket and then spoon in half of the olives and tomato jam. Repeat for the second chicken breast. Season the tops with salt and pepper. Place top down in the skillet and cook for 3 minutes, until nicely seared. Flip chicken, remove from heat, and pop into the oven for 10 minutes to finish cooking through. Top with remaining goat cheese, any remaining chopped olives and tomatoes. Serve.

Beer Can Chicken

Beer Can Chicken

Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients
1 4-pound whole chicken
2 Tbsp olive oil or other vegetable oil
1 opened, half-full can of beer, room temperature
1 Tbsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp chopped thyme
1 Tbsp chopped rosemary
1 Tbsp black pepper

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350F

Remove neck and giblets from cavity of chicken, if the chicken came with them. Rub the chicken all over with olive oil. Mix the salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary in a little bowl, then sprinkle it all over the chicken.

Make sure the beer can is open, and only half-filled with beer. If you want, you can put a sprig of thyme or rosemary in the beer can. Lower the chicken on to the open can, so that the chicken is sitting upright, with the can in its cavity. Place the chicken in a roasting pan.

Cook 1 hour. After an hour, check the chicken every 15 minutes or so, until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 160°F - 165°F. The total cooking time will vary depending on the size of your chicken. A 4 lb chicken will usually take around 1 1/2 hours. If you don't have a meat thermometer, a way to tell if the chicken is done is to poke it deeply with a knife (the thigh is a good place to do this), if the juices run clear, not pink, the chicken is done.

Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes. Carefully lift the chicken off of the can. If it gets stuck, lay the chicken on its side, and pull out the can with tongs.

Red Wine Balsamic Grilled Chicken

Red Wine Balsamic Grilled Chicken

Adapted from: Good Things Catered

Ingredients:
4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
1/3 c. red wine
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp honey
1 tbps lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp dried mined onion
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp fresh thyme
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

Directions:
Pound chicken breasts down to uniform thickness throughout
Whisk remaining ingredients together to make marinade. Allow chicken to marinade for at least 1 hour.
Remove chicken from marinade. Grill chicken on medium-low heat about 5 minutes then flip and cook until cooked through.

Top with fresh thyme as garnish, if desired.