Dark Chocolate Ganache Frosting

So I made this really crappy cake. It looked so promising, too. The funny thing is, I was trying to prove something with this cake. I was trying to prove to Bobby that a cake made from scratch is better than a cake mix. Instead I proved his point. Although I still don't actually believe that. But this was a major flop. The frosting, however, was culinary magnificence. It was so good. It was like whoever wrote this recipe said, "Let's take a chocolate truffle and spread it all over the outside of a cake." It was amazing. So I'll tell you what I'll do next time: I'll buy the store bought dark chocolate fudge cake mix and I'll put this on top. It will be decadent and impressive, but also a snap to make!

Dark Chocolate Ganache Frosting
Ingredients

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, bring 2 cups heavy cream, 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon salt to a boil. Remove from heat; add 1 pound bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped, and let stand, without stirring, for 1 minute. Whisk just until combined. Refrigerate, stirring occasionally, until spreadable, about 1 hour.

Pan Fried Chicken with Basil Pasta and Parmesan Cream Sauce

Anyone who knows me very well knows that I love to talk about food. If I hear you've been to a really good restaurant, I want to hear all about what you ordered- about any creative sauces, what it came with, how it tasted, how it was presented. The more details the better. Sometimes I get inspired to try something at home. Well, my mother-in-law and I were on the phone recently while I was using my new pasta machine to make basil pasta. That reminded her of something she ordered at the Cheesecake Factory that she loved called Chicken Bellagio. All she had to see was Parmesan cream sauce and she had me. Here is the recipe for what we came up with at home.

It's true- I bought a pasta maker. It was a major workout just rolling those noodles out, so I'm wondering if I need to add more water to the dough. They were so good, though!

Here is the recipe from my friend Marianne. She taught a great class on how to make your own noodles!

Homemade Pasta

2 cups flour
1 egg
1/3 cup water

Stir together; knead into a smooth ball; divide into pieces small enough to handle; roll out by hand or with a pasta machine; cut into noodles. You may either dry them at this point to cook later, or drop them into boiling salted water and cook. (Watch them though. They won't take as long to cook as store-bought noodles). For basil (or spinach): puree basil with some of the water and add to the mixture. You'll have to play with the amounts to get it right.

Pan-Fried Chicken with Basil Pasta and Parmesan Cream Sauce

4 chicken breasts, cut in half and pounded to 1/4 inch thick
butter
olive oil
1 1/2 c flour
1 T salt
2 tsp black pepper
fettucine noodles (store bought or homemade, basil noodles would be best - I used half plain/half basil)
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups cream
1/2 c milk
1/2 cup coarsely chopped basil
4 oz. prosciutto
Parmesan cheese

Combine flour, salt, and black pepper in a shallow dish. Dredge chicken in the mixture, shaking off any excess. In a large, nonstick, ovenproof skillet, add 3 Tbs of olive oil - enough to coat- and saute chicken in batches over medium-high heat for about 2-3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and crisp. When finished, transfer the skillet to a preheated oven at 350 degrees. Cook for approximately 10-15 minutes or until cooked through. Cook pasta. While pasta is cooking, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a sauce pan. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Add cream and milk and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, until it thickens. For last three minutes of cooking, add a handful of Parmesan cheese and coarsely chopped basil. Chop prosciutto into small pieces. Mix pasta, cream sauce, and prosciutto together. Serve pasta with chicken.

White Chocolate Berry Tart

I made this dessert for a party I went to the other night. I loved it and I think it will replace this recipe that I've been making for years. The raspberries are such a nice surprise as they are folded into the white chocolate mousse. I only had one basket of strawberries, so I thinly sliced them and arranged them on top of the mousse, then brushed an apricot jam glaze over the strawberries. The recipe calls for 3 oz of milk chocolate that you brush over the hot crust, but I totally forgot about that because our sweet neighbor lady came by for a visit. Isn't she cute? We love Zerada.

White Chocolate Mousse and Berry Tart

adapted from epicurious.com

Yield: Serves 8

Crust
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
4 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 egg yolks

3 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped - I totally left this part out on accident

Filling
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1 1/4 cups chilled whipping cream
7 ounces white chocolate

1 1/2-pint basket fresh raspberries
2 1-pint baskets strawberries, halved
2 ounces imported white chocolate for curls (optional)

For Crust:

Combine flour, sugar and salt in large bowl. Add butter and cut in using fingertips or pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Beat egg yolks to blend in small bowl. Pour yolks over flour mixture and stir with fork to combine. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate 30 minutes. (Dough can be prepared 3 days ahead. Keep refrigerated. Let dough soften slightly at room temperature before continuing.)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out dough between sheets of waxed paper to 14-inch round (scant 1/4 inch thick). Peel off top sheet of waxed paper. Using second sheet of paper as aid, invert dough into 11-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Carefully press into pan. Trim and finish edges, patching any holes with scraps. Freeze until firm about 15 minutes.

Line crust with aluminum foil and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until sides are set, about 23 minutes. Remove beans and foil and continue baking until crust is golden brown, piercing bottom with toothpick if crust bubbles, about 12 minutes. Remove from oven. Immediately sprinkle chocolate over crust. Let stand until chocolate melts, about 4 minutes. Using back of spoon, carefully spread chocolate over bottom and up sides of crust. Cool.

For Filling:

Measure 1 tablespoon water into heavy small saucepan; sprinkle unflavored gelatin over and let stand 5 minutes to soften. Add 3/4 cup whipping cream and stir over low heat until gelatin dissolves. Add 7 ounces white chocolate and stir until melted and smooth. Transfer to medium bowl. Refrigerate until cool but not set, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Whip remaining 1/2 cup whipping cream in medium bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold whipped cream into white chocolate mixture. Fold in raspberries. Spoon filling into crust. Refrigerate until beginning to set, about 30 minutes. Arrange strawberries atop filling, cut sides down and points toward edge. To form optional white chocolate curls, slide vegetable peeler across white chocolate. Garnish tart with chocolate curls. (Tart can be prepared 6 hours ahead. Refrigerate.)

Fourth of July Weekend 2010

July 3, 2010

We had so much fun with the pie and cupcake contests last year that we decided to go for it again. This year we did little tiny cherry pies. I found the idea online. We bought little tin cupcake wrappers so that they would look like pie tins. We used a white cake mix, and then the girls and I spooned a little cherry pie filling on top. The lattice crust is just fondant with a little brown food coloring mixed in. I used my "crinkle cutter" from the Pampered Chef to get the fluted edges. I mixed a couple of recipes together to make this caramel apple pie. I don't even have the recipe for it because I never wrote it down! I also didn't even taste it because I had to give one pie for judging and one for the auction. I copied the idea for the crust from the July cover of Martha Stewart Living.

The girls took first place again! I was actually surprised. I was more impressed with some of the other entries. But the girls were very excited, and we had a great time.

It was fun to have their picture in the paper with the girls' friends Corinne and Rae. My pie didn't place. Maybe another reason I didn't bother to write down the recipe. Maybe it wasn't very good!


That night we heard fireworks outside and we got to watch a very impressive display at our neighbor's from our very own deck.

July 4, 2010

On the 4th, Franny and Sophie and I got up and headed to the Farmer's market to get some fresh corn and check out the car show. It wasn't as fun without Bobby, but he and baby Claire decided to stay home and sleep in.

Later we hit the parade and scored a ton of free candy and we got to see some friends.

Then we went home for hot dogs, watermelon, and corn and then we watched the city fireworks from the church parking lot. It was a great fourth of July!

Brown Sugar-Pecan Shortbread Cookies

It's been nearly a month since I made these cookies and I'm afraid blogging about them this morning was a bad idea. Kind of dangerous. I want to eat some right now and it's only 8:07 AM!

These taste great by themselves but I spread a thin layer of cream cheese frosting on them, making them even more indulgent. Now I'm going to spend the rest of the day craving them. I hope you're happy! ;)

Brown Sugar-Pecan Shortbread Cookies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 salt
pinch of ground cloves (I left this out.)
2 sticks (8oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup finely ground pecans

Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt and cloves.
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is very smooth. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the dough. Don't work the dough much once the flour is incorporated. Add the pecans and give the mixer a couple of turns, just to get the nuts into the dough.
Using a rubber spatula, transfer the soft, sticky dough to a gallon-size zipperlock plastic bag. Put the bag on a flat surface, leaving the top open, and roll the dough into a 9-x-10 1/2-inch rectangle that's 1/4 inch thick. As you roll, turn the bag occasionally and lift the plastic from the dough so it doesn't cause creases. When you get the right size and thickness, seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible, and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or for up to 2 days.

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
Put the plastic bag on a cutting board and slit it open. Turn the firm dough out onto the board (discard the bag) and, using a ruler as a guide and a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1 1/2-inch squares. Transfer the squares to the baking sheets and carefully prick each one twice with a fork, gently pushing the tines through the cookies until they hit the sheet.
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The shortbreads will be very pale- they shouldn't take on much color. Transfer the cookies to a rack.
If you'd like, dust the cookies with confectioners' sugar while they are still hot. Cool the cookies to room temperature before serving.

Frost with a cream cheese frosting if desired.

Black Bean Salad

This was delicious!! I've made it twice and the second time I ate the whole batch for lunch. I've been craving a big bowl of fresh . . . whatever and this really hit the spot. I used fresh corn since it's available right now. One ear of corn cut from the cob and cooked in my cast iron pot with some butter and olive oil.

Black Bean Salad

adapted from Simply Recipes

Ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) can of black beans, thoroughly rinsed, and drained (or 1 1/2 cup of freshly cooked black beans)
• 1 1/2 cups frozen corn, defrosted (or fresh corn, parboiled, drained and cooled)
• 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
  
• 1 fresh jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
• 1 tomato, seeded and chopped
• 1 avocado, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks
• 1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
• 2 Tbsp lime juice (about the amount of juice from one lime)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Make sure to rinse and drain the beans, if you are using canned beans.

In a large bowl, combine the beans, corn, onions, jalapeno chile peppers, tomatoes, avocado, cilantro, basil, lime juice and olive oil. Add sugar and salt and pepper to taste. (The sugar will help balance the acidity from the tomatoes and lime juice.) Chill before serving.

Serves 6 to 8.

Have fun at work, Dad.

I'm not feeling so hot tonight. I am ready to climb into bed, but I have to get this written down first. It's nothing major- chills, sore throat, achiness... Franny has noticed and has been really sweet, asking me how I'm feeling, telling Sophie to leave me alone, etc. Bobby is on call this weekend and we were happy to have him home with us since about 10:00 this morning. Well, the pager went off about 8:15 PM. Bobby was saying goodbye to the girls and Franny said, "Have fun at work, Dad. We'll take care of Mom." It was the sweetest thing. After that she came in to the room I was laying down in and kind of tip-toed over to see if I was still awake. She brushed her fingertips down the side of my face and looked at me sympathetically. Then she kissed her fingertips and rubbed my arm that was outstretched across the bed. I was so touched by her concern. After that it got very quiet. I called out from the bedroom I was in and asked what they were doing. Franny said, "I'm just waiting for Sophie to finish her treat." Then a few minutes later I heard them walk into their room and shut the door. A few minutes after that, I was able to drag myself into their room, where I discovered that Franny was taking it upon herself to put her and her sister down to bed so that I wouldn't have to get up. Sweet girl.