Blue Cayenne

I’m a sucker for a clever recipe name and the name for this dense chocolate cake is clever indeed. This great little cake could easily become a staple in your cooking repertoire.

If you are a chocolate lover this would be a great Valentine’s Day dessert. After all, to quote Charles Schulz:

“All you need is love. But, a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.”

I adapted this recipe from one posted on an Australian site,  delicious. . The link to that recipe appears at the end of this post. You will note that the ingredient quantities are listed in metric measurements. I got out my trusty scale and the cake came together quickly.

The recipe calls for a tablespoon of rum or brandy. You could leave that out but that would be no fun. To be perfectly honest, I couldn’t really taste the brandy flavor in my cake, so I poured myself a generous glass of brandy to accompany the cake. Worked for me.

I served my cake with fresh raspberries but I think a scoop of French vanilla ice cream would be a spectacular accompaniment, too. I sprinkled ground walnuts over my cake.

Recipe:

The Cake

250 grams dark chocolate (chopped)
65 grams unsalted butter (chopped)
3 eggs (separated)
45 grams ultra-fine sugar (caster sugar)
75 ml heavy cream
1 T. dark rum or brandy
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1/4 t. cream of tartar

The Ganache 

225 g. dark chocolate (chopped)
88 g. unsalted butter (chopped)
300 ml heavy cream
1/8 C. corn syrup

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Prepare a 12-inch springform pan by greasing it and covering the bottom with a layer of parchment paper.

Using a double boiler or a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and the butter. Stir to combine. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Combine egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until the mixture thickens and takes on a pale color. Add cream, brandy (or rum), vanilla and cooled chocolate to mixture.

Put egg whites and cream of tartar into a clean and dry bowl and beat until soft peaks form. Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture using a metal spoon. It is better to mix the beaten whites in gradually in three or four additions. You want to fold the egg whites in gradually and carefully to keep as much air in the mixture as possible to keep your cake light.

Transfer your batter into your springform pan. Use a spatula to spread the batter evenly in the pan.  Bake for 25 minutes. When the cake is done, you should be able to insert a toothpick into the center of the cake and have it come out clean. Cool your cake (in the pan) on a wire rack.

To make the ganache, melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler (or a bowl set over simmering water). Stir the melting mixture until the chocolate and butter are smooth and incorporated. Remove the melted mixture from the heat and set aside while you heat the cream and corn syrup in a separate pan. You want the cream and syrup to heat thoroughly, just to the point before it would boil.

Pour the cream and syrup mixture into your pan of chocolate and stir it to mix. Put this mixture into the refrigerator for 30 minutes (or until it thickens).

Remove the sides of the springform pan from the cake. Frost and enjoy. I sprinkled some finely-ground walnuts on the top of my cake.

Cook’s Notes:  I made my superfine sugar by blitzing granulated sugar in my Vitamix blender. You can find superfine sugar in the market, however. I used Trader Joe’s dark chocolate in my recipe. My ganache was fairly warm when I put it into the refrigerator. It took longer for it to thicken.

Here is the link to the original recipe:

http://www.delicious.com.au/recipes/little-black-dress-chocolate-cake/62e403f0-623e-43d4-817f-acfc951b61bf?current_section=recipes

A long time ago in a galaxy as close as a whisper there was a full and creamy salad dressing other than Ranch.  No. Really.

It was called Roquefort and it was wonderful.

I have been making this Roquefort dressing for about forty years. Here is my all-time favorite creamy Roquefort salad dressing recipe.

Recipe:

1 8-ounce package cream cheese (chilled and cut into chunks)
1/2 C. mayonnaise
1/2 t. garlic salt
1/2 C. milk
4 ounces Roquefort (cut into 1-inch cubes)

Directions:

Use the knife blade in your food processor. Put cream cheese, mayonnaise, and garlic salt into your food processor bowl. Pulse until these ingredients are smooth. Gradually add the milk with the processor running.

Add the cubes of Roquefort cheese to the bowl and mix in your processor until the dressing is smooth.

Chill.

Cook’s Notes: I like my dressing a bit chunky. You can control the texture of the dressing in the last step of the recipe for pureeing the mixture for a shorter or longer time depending upon your preference.

You can use bleu cheese in this recipe…if you must.

This also makes a wonderful dip for crudités. You can add a bit more milk to make the dressing a bit thinner.

This dressing is also wonderful on a baked potato.

I’ve been craving Indian food again. Usually those cravings begin at 12:01 a.m. on Monday mornings and end around midnight the following Sunday night.

When we traveled in India, I joyously discovered a new world of cooking. Who knew that you could enjoy light and fluffy steamed rice cakes called idlis served with spicy lentil sambar and coconut chutney for breakfast? There were the long and leisurely lunches of dals and naans and pickles followed by elegant dinners of curries and biryanis.  And then there was the carrot halwa and the kesar pista ice cream.  And…

One of my fondest memories of India and food was the day we were “stuck” in Cochin in a seemingly-never-ending monsoon downpour. Nothing to do but read Dominique La Pierre books about India, eat trays of sweets and drink absolutely extraordinary pots of spicy masala tea.

Exposure to the glories of Indian food and cooking changed my cooking forever.

Now, I’m lucky to live forty-five minutes away from a vibrant Indian community on Pioneer Boulevard in Artesia. Little India, as that community is commonly called, is packed full of adventure–Indian markets brimming with Indian spices and more dals than you would ever think existed, shops filled with brilliantly-colored saris, over-the-top jewelery shops and sweet shops . And the the restaurants!  My favorites are Rajdhani and Udipi Palace, both on Pioneer Boulevard. Rajdhani serves a never-ending prix-fixe meal of Gujarati foods where servers hover and refill your plate until you beg for mercy. There is even a button on the table that lets you summon more food. (No kidding.)  Udipi Palace is a paradise of South Indian delicacies–idlis, dosas, uttapam and on and on. If you are in the mood for a food adventure, Artesia’s Little India will exceed your expectations.

Here is the Indian dish I decided upon for today. It first appeared on my Facebook screen via David Lebovitz’s amazing food blog from Paris. Lebovitz reprinted the recipe from a very interesting new cookbook titled Far and Near by Heidi Swanson. I just added her book to my collection. Don’t let the recipe’s exotic name scare you off. This is an easy dish to prepare and one that is easy to adjust for your spice tolerance.

Recipe: Vaghareil Makai (Spiced Indian Corn)

2 small red chiles (stemmed and seeded), I used a large seeded Jalapeno.
2 medium garlic cloves (peeled and sliced)
One 2-inch piece of fresh ginger (peeled and sliced)
1/4 t. ground turmeric
3/4 t. sea or kosher salt
2 T. clarified butter (I used a Trader Joe’s brand)
1 1/2 t. yellow, black or brown mustard seeds
3 C. fresh corn kernels
1/2 C. roasted peanuts
1 C. chopped cilantro
Lemon juice to taste
2 T. toasted sesame seeds
Cayenne Pepper
Yogurt
Chopped cherry tomatoes

Directions:
In a small food processor or with a mortar and pestle, grind the chiles, garlic, ginger, turmeric and salt until you have a paste. Set aside.

Melt clarified butter in a large skillet. Add in mustard seeds and cook for a minute or so until seeds begin to pop. (Be careful, if you get the oil too hot the seeds can leave nasty little burns as they pop out of the pan.Use a pan lid as a shield the first time you work with bursting mustard seeds.)

Add in the fresh corn kernels to the pan with the mustard seeds  and stir and cook for a few minutes until corn kernels begin to soften.

Add the roasted peanuts, half the chopped cilantro and as much of the chile paste as you want. The original recipe called for adding half the paste but, my chili meter is set on high and I added it all. Cook for a couple more minutes and taste. You can add more paste and salt at this point if you want. I found no need to add extra salt, but I did add about 1/3 t. of cayenne pepper here.

Give the dish a generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice and garnish with toasted sesame seeds, a dollop of tangy yogurt, chopped fresh cilantro and colorful chopped cherry tomatoes.

Serve and enjoy. This dish pairs well with fluffy basmati rice and can, of course, be served with a multi-dish Indian meal.

Here is the link to Liebovitz’ post about this dish:

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2015/09/vaghareli-makai-spicy-indian-corn-recipe/