Happy Valentine's Day Dammit: Milk Chocolate Soufflé for the Soul

Milk Chocolate Love

Some years Valentine's Day, in all its syrupy-sweet glory, is a natural extension of the fantasmagoric love-fest your life is.  Other years - like this one - it's just another snowy day in what was a pretty crap-tastic, cold, February week.  I sound bitter.  Here's why:

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Top 4 Crappy Things That Have Happened Lately

A Brief, self-thrown-pity-party-filled explanation in list-form

1. Two weeks ago I sprained my foot pretty badly by falling down two of the smallest, most-not-injury-worthy steps into the garage.  Roman was still strapped into his car seat and had to listen to me whimper and moan on the garage floor for several minutes (he was kind of freaking out) until I managed to hobble over and unstrap him.  Crutches, an air cast, ridiculous amounts of Ibuprofen, and two weeks later it's still refusing to fully heal.  I can't even walk up and down stairs comfortably, much less chase Roman or go skiing.  Such a pain.

2. A few days after the epic sprain, I discovered an epic-failure: our beloved pet, Frankie the Betta fish, has a severe case of dropsy and is currently in week # who-knows-how-long-it-took-me-to-notice of a long and inevitably drawn-out death.  I spent an afternoon looking up humane ways to euthanize fish - for which Matt made fun of me mercilessly - only to wuss out and settle on changing his water in order to "make him more comfortable" (whatever that means).  I literally wake up every morning expecting to find him floating upside down and I tell myself I worry because I'm afraid Roman will be upset, but really - it'll be me crying at the backyard funeral.

3. Earlier this week I gently (if that's possible) dropped my iPhone, the way I have a hundred other times.  Naturally, my decision to get the $3 silver-glitter-covered-cover decided to slap me in the face at that very moment and the front of the phone completely shattered.  As stupidly inane and ungrateful as it sounds to complain about, it just pisses me off to have to get a new one and tether myself a further 2-years to AT&T (which is, in and of itself, an irrational reaction as I had no intention of leaving AT&T).

4. Yesterday, I spent a lot of time making individualized Valentines and sprinkle-filled, pink, rice krispy treats painfully (literally) cut-out into heart shapes for Roman's entire pre-school class, only to be told by his teacher when I picked him up today that they "didn't have time to hand his Valentines out."  All this while Roman sweetly complained, "Mommy!  I didn't get to give my friends their treats." [Insert adorable pouty face by Roman and not-so-adorable annoyed face by Mom].

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Ok, ok, it's not that I don't want to celebrate.  Really, I just need something to remind me of the simple pleasures in life - breathe some warmth into the cold Denver winter, and even soothe my whiny little soul a tiny bit.  Something to show me the silver linings.

Lucky for me, Matt is cooking me a special, romantic dinner tonight.  I'm not sure what it will comprise of but I know this much: it will taste great!

I know this because dinner pretty much always tastes great when I'm being cooked for, but also because Matt so rarely cooks that I honestly believe God has bestowed him with some sort of permanent beginner's-luck-thing.  His food is always awesome - no matter how randomly or haphazardly prepared.

The only thing I'm responsible for tonight, besides this awesome Valentine's gift I found for Matt at Target, is dessert.  I wanted to make something special, kind of fancy, but not over the top in terms of work, time-commitment or flashiness.

Enter the Bon Appetit Milk Chocolate Soufflé.

There's something magical-sounding about the world soufflé - to "puff" or "blow up" (but prettier sounding) in French.  I think it will bring a fun but somewhat dramatic air to the closing of the dinner, without going too far into the realm of wannabe-chef.  I mean, how seriously can you take milk chocolate, even if it is gourmet and even if it is in a beautifully puffed up soufflé?
 
Which brings me back to the week-long pity party I've been holding for myself and the fact that I need to stop taking that - and myself - so seriously too.  So in the name of milk chocolate's levity, here are all the silver-linings to the above-mentioned Top 4 Crappy Things That Have Happened Lately:

The Silver Lingings

the milk-chocolate-y levity in the situation

1. The Ankle
I totally got pampered by both Matt and Roman for almost an entire week.  Roman learned that he can indeed use his stool to get the milk out of the fridge, and Matt learned that the house really does go to crap pretty quickly when the invisible cleaning fairy is out of commission :)

2. The Dropsy
Part of me believes that Frankie's demise might be karma coming to slap me in the face.  I'd been complaining a LOT lately that it's a lot of work to keep a large fishbowl clean.  I wouldn't be lying if I actually did briefly (ever-so-briefly!) wish Frankie might die soon.  So, in a way, even though it sucks to lose our only pet - I'm secretly pleased that I can de-clutter my counter and stop the bowl-cleaning madness for a while.

3. The iPhone
Oh yeah, I got an iPhone 5 today.  *sheepish grin*

4. The Rice Krispy Treats
I now know that the "raspberry" color combo on the back of neon food coloring is bullshit.  It turns an ugly mauve-y purple color.  Never again.  I also got to snack on the leftover, rather cute rice krispy hearts.  And for once, I rather enjoyed the sprinkles.

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Milk Chocolate Soufflé for the Soul

Using the Bon Appetit Recipe, copied below 

Makes 8 Servings

waiting to be baked

The original recipe also includes a Nougat whip to dollop on top of the soufflés.  It all seemed too rich for me so I didn't make the nougat whip and, instead, served this with plain homemade whipped cream.

Ingredients
12oz high-quality milk chocolate (such as Lindt, Green & Black, or Valrhona), choppedpped 
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream 
2 large egg yolks 
Pinch of salt 
6 large egg whites, room temperature 
2 tablespoons sugar
Butter & sugar for ramekins 

The finished product.

Method
1. Butter eight 3/4-cup soufflé dishes; sprinkle with sugar, tilting cups to coat completely and tapping out any excess. Arrange prepared soufflé dishes on large baking sheet.

2. Combine chocolate and cream in large metal bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water and stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

3. Remove bowl from over water. Stir egg yolks and salt into chocolate mixture.

4. Using electric mixer, beat egg whites in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add 2 tablespoons sugar, beating until semi-firm peaks form.

5. Using rubber spatula, fold 1/4 of beaten egg whites into chocolate mixture to lighten. Fold remaining egg whites into chocolate mixture in 2 additions.

6. Divide chocolate mixture among prepared soufflé dishes, filling dishes completely.  

DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled.
  
7. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F. Bake soufflés on baking sheet until puffed and tops feel firm, about 16 minutes if at room temperature and about 18 minutes if chilled.

Serve soufflés immediately, passing whipped cream alongside.

 Happy Valentine's Day Dammit. :)

This post has been brought to you by How do you do - a freaky, fascinating, former #1 hit in the 70s that I'm obsessed with.   Thank you Mouth & MacNeal.

Forgettable Shrove Tuesday; Memorable Baked Pancakes.

In all its Shriven Glory.

 I always forget about Shrove Tuesday.  How could I not when it is so obviously overshadowed by the infinitely more exciting Mardi Gras and Carnival?  Who wouldn't prefer gorging on Cajun food or dancing in Rio to being "shriven?"  Even with Papa Ratzi resigning in a somewhat foreboding reminder of of the Lenten season being upon us, I can't help but want to celebrate, pull out the marks, have a last hurrah of sorts.

I also forget Shrove Tuesday because, as a more somber holy day, I tend to associate it with my time in England.  In England it's known as Pancake Day (see my brief classicized homage here) - a time to use up the larder's contents before the fasting of Lent.  "What better way than to make pancakes (or, technically, crepes in the case of Britain)?" said nobody, ever. :) 

Well, they're not gumbo, that's for sure (And I even had my act together and put a batch of my wonderful gumbo in the freezer for the occasion!).  And did I mention I even bought Roman a Mardi Gras mask!?  But the other day I received the random newsletter I still get from the lovely deli / gourmet food store I used to frequent in my London Days: Melrose & Morgan.  And in it was contained a recipe for something I'd never really tried before (gasp!): baked pancakes.


My curiosity was sufficiently stirred.  And since Matt is in Florida for most of the week (back in time to make me Valentine's Dinner though :)), I figured we'd go with pancakes for dinner tonight.  Roman was thrilled.  As was I - with the result, that is.

It's fitting that a British deli should post this recipe - the result is like a flatter, eggier, more crepe-y Yorkshire Pudding.  I loved it.  I'd recommend making more than one as Roman and I greedily split one together and I could easily have had more.  But then I'm a bit of a piggy.

This recipe comes from David Eyre and was published in the infamous Essential New York Times Cookbook from back in 1966.  Can't wait to get my hands on the 2011 reprint.
The recipe is currently featured on the Melrose & Morgan webpage, but I'll copy it below as I'm certain it will be gone soon enough as we move onto other exciting, seasonal goodies.

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David Eyre's Baked Pancakes

Makes 1 large pancake (crepe) to share

I'd make more if I were you. :)

You'll note that the ingredients are also listed in grams and milliliters, as is the British custom.  I would take this moment to recommend that you use this as an opportunity to go out and buy a cheap but accurate kitchen scale.  Weighing ingredients in baking and pastry is something that should not be undervalued.  Significantly more accurate, therefore guaranteeing consistency over time.  Just my two cents. :)

Ingredients
80g (a little less than 1/2 cup) Plain flour
120ml (1/2 cup) of milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Freshly grated nutmeg (optional, but do it)
Pinch of salt
30g (2Tbsps) butter

For serving:
2 Tbsp icing sugar
Juice of half a lemon


Method

Preheat your oven to 425F (220C).

Mix all ingredients except butter, icing sugar and lemon juice in a bowl.  Do not over-mix.

Melt the butter in a 12-inch (or 10-inch, in a real pinch) pan.

Once melted, pour the batter and place in the oven for exactly 10-12 minutes (or until the edges are golden).

DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN until the time is up!


Sprinkle with icing sugar and lemon juice.  Serve warm with jam or maple syrup.

Yum.  I feel shriven. :)

A Salt & Pepper Meal for the New Year.

Excuse me for crassly stretching the limits of the metaphor, but this part of January - the New Year, if you will - is a lot like a roast chicken.  The simplest of things and yet, in some ways, the most complex of foods to perfect.  Done badly, it can ruin your appreciation of the roast bird, making it, like other simple pleasures, a basic and ubiquitous bore.  Done well, it can exemplify and even elevate all that simple things can be to life.  It's a blank canvas - all the possibilities that linger before us.  It's clean, straightforward, unadulterated - as of yet.  It's the New Year dreams ahead, made delicious by a little salt and a little pepper.

Perhaps it's just coincidence, perhaps it's the cold weather and the appeal of a hot roast on a winter's Sunday afternoon, but for the past couple of years Matt always seems to ask me to make him a roast chicken right around this time.  And for the past couple of years, I've always made this particular recipe, my go-to-utter-perfection-simple-roast-chicken (courtesy of Thomas Keller, see last year's homage).  For whatever reason, I tend to fight the idea of having a roast chicken when first presented with it - oh what a bore, don't want to bother, why not some nice salmon, blah blah blah.  But I always end up giving in.  And then, as soon as I enter the kitchen with that simplistic, holistic culinary purpose, I'm whisked away by the excitement of making such a downright easy meal that I know will be both utterly simple and utterly delicious.
 
The reason I love this meal I make is because it tears away all the pretentious over-workedness of many modern recipes.  It's a salt & pepper kind of meal.  All you need is a chicken, an oven, salt & pepper and you're good to go.  Yes, sometimes I embellish the side dishes (for example, this year I added anise seed to the potatoes), but at its core, there's nothing flashy or difficult about this meal in its entirety.  Except for the salad, everything is cooked in cast iron skillets in the same oven.  And it's all ready at the same time, accompanied by a simple white wine (Sauvignon Blanc is my preference).  It makes the day and sets the tone for the rest of January, a month that can either drag on or usher in with joy. 
 

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The house smells like heaven.  You find yourself enthralled in the easy but purposeful sprinkling of coarse salt & pepper over the newly dried chicken skin.  No oil, no butter, just heat, salt & pepper and a chicken.  And 60 minutes later your beautiful chicken is transformed.  You can baste at the end.  You can add the Thyme for a little spice.  But you don't have to - it would be the best chicken you ever had straight out of the oven.

the cook's prize

You've roasted potatoes with lemon slices, you've made a simple salad with lemon juice and oil as dressing and copious amounts of grape tomatoes marinated in fresh garlic and basil.  You've basted the chicken and greedily tried to share the cook's prize with your husband.  The wine is chilled, the table set, and you sit down.  You eat.  You feel full and happy, picking at bits of crunchy skin after already eating your fill.  Everyone is rosy-cheeked and happy - even the three year-old - with more light than dark left in the day (and the chicken).  

And that's when you know: this is what a meal should do.  In all its uncomplicated glory it should unite.  It should spark mutual appreciation and enthusiasm for life among the young and old, sitting together, sharing such a meal, in animated conversation, toasting bravely to life's inevitable joys and travails - the salt and the pepper of our existence.

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Recipes
To serve a family of 4

Preheat oven to 450F / 232C

The Chicken (4-5lbs)
Rinse and Dry thoroughly.
Salt & Pepper copiously (inside).
Truss tightly.
Dry again.
Salt & Pepper copiously (outside).
Bake in cast iron skillet (no oil or butter) for 55-65 minutes.
Baste with own juice, sprinkle thyme lightly and baste again.
DONE.

The Gravy
Whisk flour slurry into pan juices. Add wine.  Reduce. Skim fat. Salt & Pepper.  Serve.

The Potatoes (4 large)
Peel and chop.
Slice lemon thinly.
Mix potatoes, salt & pepper, lemon, oregano (anise seeds too?) and generous amount of canola oil. 
Bake in separate cast iron skillet next to chicken for 45 minutes, mixing occasionally.
Salt & Pepper.
DONE (at the same time as chicken).




The Salad
Chop grape tomatoes.
Chop garlic (3 cloves).
Chop basil.
Mix with lemon juice and olive oil.
Salt & Pepper.
Add mixed greens and serve.
DONE.

Spring & Easter 2012: Bone Marrow Tacos

Easter Flowers and Marrow Tacos

So I've been MIA.  No big excuse, just life going along with a million things to do.  Roman turns 3 in just a few days!  We've got his party coming up and my mom and stepdad arrive tonight for a week-long visit.  Add to that the impending move to Denver, random scattered family birthdays / my watercoloring and my new addiction to Prison Break and there is precious little time left to blog.  No big deal, though, as the lull in activity has left me with more than enough food for sharing, albeit a little late.

So, Easter (yes, I am that behind). We got to host a few family members at our house for Easter this year, which was really exciting as it's really the first time we've gotten to do that, well, ever.  I decided to plan a full-on Greek Easter Menu and had lots of fun doing it.  I used my Greek cookbook go-to The Foods of Greece by Aglaia Kremezi as well as her Greek menu posted on Epicurious.com from several years ago.  Then I got so into her food that I also ordered her other book The Foods of the Greek Islands.  The menu came out to be perfect for a group of 5 adults and one child.  It also really took me back to my Grecian adventures throughout the years, and I always appreciate revisiting those if only in nostalgic flash-backs.  In the making of said Greek foods I also made some delicious marrow tacos.  I know, most of you non-marrow-eating-freaks probably think I'm a freak for eating it.  Too bad.  Your loss. :)

Here's the menu in list form.

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Brenda's Nearly-Ideal Greek-Inspired Easter Menu

because Easter just feels Greek to me 

Starter

Magiritsa: Greek Easter Soup

This soup is not for the faint-hearted.  I love offal and this is particular soup has an "offal" lot of it (boom-boom-crash!). :)  The swirling in of the egg-lemon (avgo-lemono) sauce at the end makes the broth so fresh and delicious, as do the fresh herbs.  Oh and I definitely recommend adding the rice.  Such a great starter.

Main

Leg of Lamb Stuffed with Feta & Dandelion Greens

I've made this stuffed leg of lamb for Easter two or three times now and it has converted several non-lamb-eaters.  It is so freaking good and so fail-safe.  Even Matt's Gramma, who was concerned about her salt and fat intake was so happy with it because of the inclusion of dandelion greens.  Very little prep work to do with it and it's quite impressive looking.

Side

Roasted Potatoes with Garlic, Lemon & Oregano

Actually, I used Cat Cora's recipe and modified with Oregano instead of Thyme (Church-Style Roasted Potatoes), but this recipe is equally good.  I also steamed some green beans and tossed those in with the potatoes at the last minute in a cast-iron skillet.

I used baby russets and peeled them for that extra finesse.  Delicious.

Bread

Easter Bread

This was so much fun to make!  The sweet-dough recipe from Bon Appetit is amazing and can be applied and used in so many ways.  Plus, the bread is a real eye-catcher with the whole eggs in it.  Mine were all very bright color which made it a great centerpiece as well.

My next recipe to try with this dough is this amazing Cherry-Almond Focaccia! I'll have to wait until fresh-cherries are in season.

Dessert

Fresh Cheese & Honey Tart from Santorini served with macerated strawberries and basil

This is a light version of a cheesecake with a really interesting crust made with beer, oil and flour.  Very nice spring-time dessert and it paired perfectly with the basil strawberries. :)

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Also in preparation for Easter, Roman and I kept busy making special Easter treats for

everyone.  In the spirit of Mexican confetti eggs, I cut a hole in and blew out a dozen eggs,

little hands filling
little eggs 

dyed them and then filled them with goodies (with Roman's help).  We used nuts, dried

fruits, small chocolates and some jelly beans so that the eggs had a slightly more adult feel.  I then served them as a little after-dinner-but-before-dessert treat.  They were so much fun to crush open - like little mini pinatas. :)

Overall, it was a wonderful celebration, full of good food, laughter and a fair-share of sugar-meltdowns thanks to the Easter Bunny.  We took a walk on the beach at the Eastern Promenade after eating and then came home for dessert - Gramma brought her Italian Ricotta cheesecake, which is one of my favorite desserts so I was very happy.  I was left with a certainty that I'd made the right choice in creating a Greek-inspired menu as it was very different (and yet semi-familiar) for Matt's Italian family, and also provided everyone with a talking point.  Here's my freaky little recipe for you to share in some of the Easter goodness.

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Marrow Tacos

Serves 3-4

One of the things on the menu that took a little more work than anticipated was the Magiritsa - a Greek Easter Soup traditionally served on the Saturday night before Easter.  It is a light stock flavored with the offal of the lamb and Avgo-Lemono Sauce, one of my all-time favorite Greek things.  The original recipe called for Lamb neck, liver, tripe & even head.  Wouldn't you know it, after calling 3 different butchers I was basically laughed at for thinking that anybody would have / keep or even want those pieces of meat.  Whole Foods was able to supply me with lamb leg bones and a lamb neck.  I got beef liver, and couldn't find tripe, so that had to do. 

One of the beauty of leg bones is the wonderful marrow they have inside.  Growing up it was one of my favorite parts of eating soups and stews like Mole de Olla - having a marrow taco.  You quickly toast a corn tortillas, squirt and spread lime juice all over one side, spread the little delicious nugget of marrow on it and then sprinkle with salt and devour.  So delicious, so simple and so nutritious (although, marrow is a little fatty).  Mmmmmm.  Such a commonly wasted delicacy!

So as I made the stock for the Magiritsa, I took the marrow out to include in the soup itself, but saved a couple of choice bits for myself for some pre-Easter marrow tacos.  So delicious.  Try them out. :)

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Ingredients

4 large Lamb or Beef Marrow Bones

6-8 corn tortillas

1 lime, halved

salt & pepper to taste

Method

1. You can roast the marrow but I usually just boil it to get a stock out of the deal at the same time.  Then you can make soup AND tacos :)  Boil until the marrow looks opaque.  Then lift the bones with tongs and using a chopstick or the back side of a fork, pull the marrow out, attempting to keep it in large chunks.

2. Toast your corn tortillas on a comal or directly on the flame of a gas stove.  Don't leave them so long that they turn into tostadas, but I like some charred bits on mine.

3. Take a lime half, squeeze over the tortilla as you cup it in your hand, and spread using the lime.  Add some marrow and spread.  Salt and pepper as needed.  Eat while still hot!

Feliz Navidad! Merry Christmas!

Romolph wishes you a Merry Christmas & Happy 2012!