Category: featured recipes

1. Tuesday, May 15

   Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

   Before I get into today’s post, I want to address those of you out there who read “banana cake” and thought, “Eh, doesn’t really sound like something I’d be that into.” Trust me, it is. I was skeptical myself before I took my first bite…but seriously, this cake is heavenly. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way…

   

   Yesterday was my sister’s birthday. She’s kind of in love with the banana cake from Icing on the Cake, so I was planning to get one for her little party we threw last night. And then the saddest thing ever happened (okay, maybe not ever, but certainly when it comes to birthday cakes it was!). I called to order the cake yesterday morning only to discover they are closed on Mondays. Noooooo!!!! Since we were all craving the cake, I decided I would just have to make one myself and hope that it even paled in comparison to the one we would be missing.

   

   I started digging around the Internet for banana cake recipes. I found one on Food.com that looked more than promising. The person who posted the recipe said it was the best banana cake ever…and one of the commenters said that to say it was the best banana cake ever was an understatement. Sounded good to me!

   The cake was awesome. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still going to go to Icing on the Cake because it’s always better when someone else makes the cake for you, but seriously, the cake I made last night TOTALLY hit the spot. And now, if we ever move, I won’t have to mourn the loss of banana cake from my life…I’ll be able to whip one up if I need to!

   

   On a side note, this cream cheese frosting was PERFECTION. My sister said next year I could just stick the candles in a mound of that frosting and she’d be happy. Done and done.

   Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
   From Food.com, with modifications and notes from me
   - 1 1/2 cups ripe bananas, mashed (Jane note: mash the bananas REALLY WELL…no lumps!)
   - 2 teaspoons lemon juice
   - 3 cups flour
   - 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
   - 1/4 teaspoon salt
   - 3/4 cup butter, softened
   - 2 1/8 cups sugar
   - 3 large eggs
   - 2 teaspoons vanilla
   - 1 1/2 cups buttermilk

   Frosting
   - 3/4 cup butter, softened
   - 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
   - 1 teaspoon vanilla
   - ~3 1/2 – 4 cups powdered sugar

   Preheat oven to 300°.

   Grease and flour a 9 x 13 pan or two 9-inch round pans. (Jane note: For the round pans, I actually had some leftover batter – you want to fill the pans up about halfway – the cake grows when cooking)

   In a small bowl, mix mashed banana with the lemon juice; set aside.

   In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

   In a large bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter and 2 1/8 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in 2 tsp vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Stir in banana mixture.

   Pour batter into prepared pan(s) and bake in preheated oven for about 45 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and cakes are lightly browned.

   Remove from oven and place directly into the freezer for 45 minutes. (Jane note: if you are making two rounds, let them cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, pop them out of the pan onto cooling racks, THEN put in the freezer. The original recipe claims this immediate freezing step will make the cake very moist…I also like doing this because then my cake is ready to be frosted more quickly.)

   For the frosting, cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high speed until frosting is smooth. (Jane note: the recipe calls for 3 1/2 cups of powdered sugar…I used a bit more butter and I didn’t measure the sugar as I added it – just kept adding until it was the right consistency.) Spread on cooled cake.

   

   Posted by Jane Maynard at 3:31 pm   14 Comments
   Categories: fab faves, featured recipes, Recipes, sweet things

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2. Friday, April 27

   Grandma Wallin’s Bulle

   

   My Grandma Wallin was a wonderful cook. A reluctant American, she never stopped eating and cooking like a Swede, despite living in the United States for the last 45+ years of her life. Many of my memories of her are centered around food. Amazing ham for Christmas Eve dinner, rice pudding with a hidden almond for dessert. Swedish meatballs for Sunday dinners. Cheese and hard bread every single day of her life. Despite all these food memories, my strongest by far is of cardamom bread. Officially called vetebröd, our family calls Swedish cardamom bread “bulle,” which means “roll” or “bun” in Swedish. Every time I taste cardamom, no matter what dish it is in, I immediately think of my grandma and her bulle.

   

   Grandma Wallin served bulle pretty much every time we saw her. My memories of Grandma’s bulle involve buns that looked like cinnamon rolls, but flavored with cardamom rather than cinnamon. I remember one time when I was around 9 years old she came to visit and baked a batch, specifically making a cinnamon version for me. I laugh when I think that I would have asked for cinnamon bulle since I always liked the cardamom version anyway. Crazy 9-year-old Jane.

   My mom has continued the tradition of making bulle, especially at Christmastime. While the little rolled buns remind me of my grandmother, the beautiful braided version of the bread reminds me of my mom and Christmas. Since I’ve been married and have started a family of my own, I always make bulle on Christmas Eve so we can have it Christmas morning. Like my mother, I braid the dough.

   

   I was thinking about my grandmother’s version of the bread the other day, so I gave my mom a call to find out how Grandma Wallin made her bulle. My mom started to describe the process for making the braid. I stopped her and said, “Yeah, I know how to do that. That’s how I’ve always done it. How did she make the buns?” My mom laughed and said, “She switched to the buns when she was older. My memories of her bulle are of the braids!” While we both had the same Grandma Wallin bulle memories, it was funny to us that the shape of her bread was so different in our minds.

   I was talking to my sister about these memories the other day. She’s nearly nine years younger than I am, so her memories are not always the same as mine. When I was telling her about how my recollections of Grandma Wallin’s bread were similar but different from our mom’s, she laughed and said, “I always thought that Grandma made cinnamon rolls…but now that I think about it, I’m certain it was bulle. I never even realized those buns were the same as the braided bread Mom makes.” I love that one type of food in the same family can have such different associations for the different family members.

   

   As I write this, I have a batch of bulle baking, the familiar scent filling our home. I am delighted that my daughters love bulle as much as I do. I look forward to teaching them how to make the bread and then watching them one day make it for their own children. It remains to be seen what shape of bulle they will associate with me and ultimately make themselves!

   Please share your own family food memories! Would love to hear them!

   Note: I’ve shared the vetebröd recipe previously, but I’ve only ever made the bread into a braid. This was the first time I made bulle into buns like my grandma did and they turned out deliciously. I’ve tweaked the recipe a bit here to tailor to the bun shape. If you want to try your hand at the braid, click here!

   Bulle (aka Vetebröd, Swedish cardamom bread, in bun form)
   Makes 48 buns…I promise you can eat them all.
   - 2 1/2 cups milk
   - 2 cakes compressed yeast OR 2 packets active dry yeast OR 4 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
   - 1 cup sugar
   - 8 cups sifted flour
   - 1 cup melted butter
   - 1/2 tsp salt
   - ~3 tsp ground cardamom
   - 1/2 cup or so of butter, melted
   - Sugar
   - Powdered sugar
   - Milk

   1. Scald milk and cool to luke warm. Crumble yeast in bowl: add 1/2 cup luke warm milk and stir until yeast is dissolved. Add remaining milk and 1/4 c sugar. Beat in 3 C flour and continue beating until smooth. Cover and set aside to rise until double in bulk, 3/4 – 1 hour.

   2. Add remaining sugar, 1 cup melted, cooled butter and salt. Add about 1 1/2 teaspoons of the cardamom and 4 1/2 C flour to yeast mixture. Place remaining 1/2 C flour on board or pastry cloth for kneading. (I let the KitchenAid do the kneading, so add 5 cups of flour at this point if you are going to do the same.)

   3. Turn out dough and knead until smooth and elastic. (If you are using the KitchenAid to knead, use the dough hook and knead for 10 minutes or so on low.) Place dough in greased bowl. Cover with cloth and let rise until double in bulk, 3/4 – 1 hour.

   4. Divide dough into four even pieces. Roll each piece out into a rectangle, about 15″ x 20″. Brush rectangle with butter, then sprinkle evenly with sugar and cardamom (dividing the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons of cardamom between the four rectangles…it may be more than that). Roll the dough up so you end up with a 20″ long roll. Slice off pieces so you end up with 12 pieces per rolled rectangle. Place rolls in buttered muffin tins. Let rise until double in bulk, 30-40 mins. Brush with egg. Bake in moderately hot oven (400 degrees F) 12-15 minutes, until tops and bottoms are golden.

   5. Drizzle rolls with glaze (see below).

   Vanilla Glaze
   - 1 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar
   - 1/2 tsp vanilla
   - Milk or half-and-half or light cream

   Whisk sugar and vanilla together. Stir in enough milk/half-and-half/light cream to make drizzling consistency (a little goes a long way!).

   Posted by Jane Maynard at 6:05 am   15 Comments
   Categories: featured recipes, musings, Recipes, sweet things

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3. Wednesday, April 18

   Homemade Enchilada Sauce {Red}

   I’ve had a hankering for enchiladas lately. Normally I go with the creamy chicken enchilada recipe that I love so dearly, but this week I felt like a more traditional enchilada. And I wanted to try something I’ve never done before…make the sauce from scratch. I’ve always either bought a sauce packet or enchilada sauce in a can, but I got to thinking yesterday…homemade enchilada sauce would probably be pretty easy to throw together. It was!

   

   After some poking around the Internet, I discovered that most enchilada sauce recipes are pretty much the same, so I just did a variation on what I found. I really really liked how the enchiladas came out! Nate and Anne (my sister who recently moved to town) agreed it was very tasty. No more packets and cans for me…I’ll definitely make the sauce from scratch from now on!

   

   I stuffed last night’s enchiladas with pinto beans, cheese, grilled chicken, and sauteed bell peppers and onions. I just couldn’t stop myself from adding more and more stuff! Of course you could keep them more simple, but, I’ve gotta say, that combo was mighty fine.

   

   Also, if I may, I do believe that I made the best guacamole ever last night. How do I do it?

   

   Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce

   From Jane Maynard

   - 1-2 cloves fresh garlic, minced or pushed through a press

   - 2 tablespoons finely diced onion- 1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil

   - 2 tablespoons flour

   - 2 tablespoons chili powder

   - 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce

   - 1 1/2 cups water

   - 1/2 teaspoon cumin

   - salt to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon)

   - cayenne pepper to taste (if desired…I left it out last night for the girls, but we agreed this sauce would be SO good all hot and spicy!)

   Heat about 1 tablespoon of the oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Sautee onions until translucent. Add the rest of the oil, garlic, flour and chili powder. Stir constantly and cook for 3-5 minutes over medium heat. Add tomato sauce, water, cumin. Simmer over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes. Season with salt and cayenne pepper (if using).

   

   Posted by Jane Maynard at 3:49 pm   26 Comments
   Categories: featured recipes, main dishes, Recipes

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4. Wednesday, April 11

   Lemon Cheesecake

   As I mentioned when I shared our Easter feast plans, I wanted to make a lemon dessert for Easter. I decided to give lemon cheesecake a go because, you know, if you’re not going to have chocolate for dessert, it’s probably a good idea to get cream cheese involved somehow.

   

   I did a quick Internet search and found a recipe on AllRecipes that sounded pretty simple and yummy. I was right. It was simple and mighty delicious! There are a few steps to the process, but nothing complicated or difficult, I promise!

   One big plus for me with this recipe is you don’t have to cook the cheesecake in a water bath. Now, I know that cooking cheesecake in a water bath makes for more even baking, but I can’t ever get a tight enough seal with tinfoil wrapped around my springform pan, so it just stresses me out. I did NOT use a waterbath for this cake and, I’ll admit, my edges have a bit of a different texture than the center of the cake…but who cares?!?! The whole thing tastes AWESOME, so I personally don’t think it matters.

   

   Another plus to this recipe? You don’t have to worry about the cake cracking because you pour a sour cream layer on the top anyway. It’s great! And mine didn’t even crack to begin with, so double bonus.

   Here’s the recipe! Enjoy!

   Lemon Cheesecake
   Adapted from a recipe on AllRecipes – I made it ‘lemonier’ and cut the nuts.

   Jane note: I used all the zest and juice from two lemons for this recipe. So, if you get two lemons, you’ll be all set!

   Crust:
   - 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
   - 1/4 cup sugar
   - 1/3 cup butter, melted (Jane note: next time I’m going to try 1/2 cup butter)

   Filling:
   - 4 eight-ounce-packages cream cheese (32 ounces total), softened
   - 1 1/4 cups sugar
   - 4 eggs
   - 3 tablespoons lemon juice
   - 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
   - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

   Topping:
   - 2 cups sour cream
   - 1/4 cup sugar
   - 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
   - 1 tablespoon lemon juice
   - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

   In a bowl, combine crumbs and sugar; stir in butter until evenly distributed (I used a small whisk, a fork would work too). Press onto the bottom of a greased 10-in. springform pan; set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar well until smooth (I used my KitchenAid mixer with the paddle attachment). Add eggs, beating on low speed just until combined. Add lemon juice, peel and vanilla; beat just until blended. Pour into crust. (Quick note – I was doing a lot of reading about cheesecake before I prepared this recipe. You want to make sure the cream cheese and sugar are very well blended, no lumps. But once the eggs are in, you want to mix slowly and just until combined to avoid adding in air. Both of these techniques prevent the cake from cracking while cooking.)

   Bake at 350 degrees F for 55 minutes or until center is almost set. (The center 2-3 inches should be just set and maybe look a little underdone when you pull it out. My whole cake was a little jiggly but you could tell visually that it was set, especially around the edges.) Remove from the oven; let stand for 5 minutes. Combine sour cream topping ingredients; spread over filling. (I had some leftover topping, just fyi…if I had used it all, I would have overflowed the pan.) Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

   Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen (this helps keep the cake from cracking as it cools); cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight. Remove sides of pan. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before slicing.

   I didn’t care about putting the cake on a serving platter, so I kept it on the springform pan and put the sides back on with foil across the top to store in the fridge.

   

   Posted by Jane Maynard at 10:54 am   6 Comments
   Categories: featured recipes, Recipes, sweet things

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5. Friday, March 23

   Spinach Mushroom Panini with Feta

   Yesterday I shared my friend Natalee’s apple ham panini with you. Now it’s time to talk about the second panini flavor she shared with me, which was equally delicious.

   

   Enter the spinach mushroom panini with feta. This is a nice vegetarian option that is full of flavor. There’s a little prep work involved, but it’s still easy, I promise! And the flavors are all just so yummy together. Mmmmmm. Natalee made these paninis for our friend Ana, who is a total foodie. Ana said it was the best panini she ever had. Now that I’ve set your expectations really high…whoops…here is the recipe!

   Spinach Mushroom Panini with Feta
   From my friend Natalee
   - around 2 tablespoons of olive oil
   - Sliced mushrooms (8 or 10 ounce package)
   - Small bag of spinach (6-10 ounces or so)
   - Crumbled feta cheese
   - Salt and Pepper
   - Sliced bread of your choice

   Sautee the mushrooms in olive oil in a large sautee pan, until moisture is released and mushrooms are cooked through. Add spinach, tearing up the leaves a bit as you add them to the pan (if you feel like you need another swig of olive oil added to the pan, go ahead and add it). Cook until spinach has wilted, then add feta to taste – we found adding a lot of feta was better. Sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper, to taste, and stir.

   Use mushroom mixture as filling for the panini and cook paninis as you normally do, in a press or with two frying pans.

   Posted by Jane Maynard at 7:55 am   6 Comments
   Categories: eat less meat, Eat Well. Heal the Planet., featured recipes, main dishes, Recipes

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6. Tuesday, March 6

   Ina’s Banana Granola Coconut Muffins

   You can trust today’s recipe for two reasons. #1: My friend Amy made these muffins and shared the recipe with me. Amy is an amazing cook. Amy knows good food. Amy always finds the best recipes. #2: It’s an Ina Garten recipe.

   

   I haven’t made this recipe myself yet, so I don’t have much to say except that it is DELICIOUS. These muffins were SO GOOD I just had to photograph them (thanks for being my hand model, Ana - J.P. Prewett would be proud) and share the recipe with you.

   

   I’m trying not to think about how many of these muffins I ate. It was like I lost all self-control. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

   Banana Granola Coconut Muffins
   (Ina calls these Banana Crunch Muffins, which is cute, but my more descriptive name is guaranteed to reel you in, so I went with it. Sorry, Ina.)
   From Ina Garten
   - 3 cups all-purpose flour
   - 2 cups sugar
   - 2 teaspoons baking powder
   - 1 teaspoon baking soda
   - 1/2 teaspoon salt
   - 1/2 pound unsalted butter, melted and cooled
   - 2 extra-large eggs
   - 3/4 cup whole milk
   - 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
   - 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (~2 bananas)
   - 1 cup medium-diced ripe bananas (~1 banana)
   - 1 cup granola
   - 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

   Optional: (Jane note: Amy did NOT include these ingredients and I’m glad she didn’t. The muffins were seriously perfect they way she made them, so I will just skip these when I make them. Although, topped with shredded coconut might be acceptable. )
   - 1 cup small-diced walnuts
   - Dried banana chips, granola, or shredded coconut, optional

   Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

   Line 18 large muffin cups with paper liners.

   Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the melted butter and blend. Combine the eggs, milk, vanilla, and mashed bananas, and add them to the flour-and-butter mixture. Scrape the bowl and blend well. Don’t overmix.

   Fold the diced bananas, granola, and coconut into the batter. Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling each 1 to the top. Top each muffin with dried banana chips, granola, or coconut, if desired. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly, remove from the pan, and serve.

   Jane note: I ate these muffins fresh out of the oven and then later on after they’d cooled. WAY BETTER fresh out of the oven. If you are able to resist eating the whole batch when they have just finished cooking, be sure to heat up the leftovers in a toaster oven at 200 degrees for 5-10 minutes. It will be worth it, trust me.

   Posted by Jane Maynard at 10:18 pm   9 Comments
   Categories: featured recipes, Recipes, sweet things

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7. Thursday, March 1

   Anne’s Pumpkin Squares

   My sister Anne has moved to our town! We haven’t been closer than 800 miles to family since we moved to California, so having a family member just one mile away is soooo exciting for us. My girls are especially ecstatic and are planning their first sleepover at Auntie Anne’s apartment on Friday!

   

   Anne’s Twitter and Blogger profiles state the following: “I’m night blind but I make the best pumpkin squares you’ve ever had.” Well, after years of reading this every time I visited her blog, I decided it was time to have Anne prove herself. First, we made her drive around at night without her glasses on. Then, we made her throw together some pumpkin squares. Okay, scratch that first part, but I did beg her to make pumpkin squares last night and she happily obliged.

   And I think they might have been the best pumpkin squares I’ve ever had. Especially hot out of the oven…be still my chocolate-loving heart. And yeah, yeah, they’re pumpkin. I stand by the fact that pumpkin can be enjoyed at all times of the year, even if the leaves on the trees aren’t turning orange and falling to the ground.

   

   Anne, we’re so happy you’re a Californian now. (And, don’t worry, it’s not just because of the pumpkin squares…although those certainly don’t hurt!)

   Anne’s Pumpkin Squares
   From Anne Wallin, adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe
   - 2 C all purpose flour
   - 1 Tbsp. cinnamon
   - 1 tsp. baking soda
   - 1/2 tsp salt (if using un-salted butter, 3/4 tsp)
   - 1 C butter
   - 1 1/4 C sugar
   - 1 large egg
   - 2 tsp. vanilla extract
   - 1 1/2 C pumpkin puree (sometimes Anne adds more, but no more than 2 cups)
   - Bittersweet chocolate chips (about 1 or 2 cups, depending on how much you like chocolate)

   Whisk flour, cinnamon, soda and salt together and set aside. Cream butter and sugar in mixer until well-mixed. Beat in egg. Add vanilla, mix. Beat in pumpkin puree so it looks lumpy and sort of curdled. Mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

   Spread in 9×13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes – the edges will pull away from the side and the toothpick should come out clean (with maybe a crumb or too on the toothpick).

   Posted by Jane Maynard at 11:03 am   13 Comments
   Categories: featured recipes, Recipes, sweet things

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8. Tuesday, February 28

   Twice-Baked Potato Casserole

   My CSA has had Yukon Gold potatoes recently. Before we get to today’s recipe, let us first ponder on just how delicious Yukon Gold potatoes are. Mmmmmmm…

   

   In an effort to mix things up with all the soft foods I’ve had to eat lately, I wanted to do something a little different with this week’s batch of potatoes.

   I don’t know about you, but I love twice-baked potatoes. But, honestly, scooping the hot baked potato out of its skin is one of my least favorite kitchen tasks. The potatoes are always super hot and I invariably break some of the skins. As I was eating mashed Yukon Gold potatoes with the skins mixed in the other day, I had a revelation…as cute as twice-baked potatoes are, if you just mash the skins in with the potato and make a casserole out of it, it would be easier to prepare and probably taste just as good.

   

   And so the twice-baked potato casserole was born! A bit easier to prepare than its classic counterpart and easier to serve to a crowd. And, the casserole version did taste just as good. Hypothesis proven correct! Enjoy!

   Twice-Baked Potato Casserole
   - 1.5 pounds yukon gold potatoes (other bake-able potatoes will work, too, but yukon golds sure are yummy!)
   - 1/2 cup warmed cream
   - 2 tablespoons melted butter
   - 1/3 cup sour cream
   - 1 teaspoon salt
   - 1/2 teaspoon pepper
   - ~1 cup shredded cheddar or cheddar-jack cheese
   - sliced green onions (optional)

   Poke a few holes in your potatoes, wrap in foil and bake in a 350-degree oven for about an hour, until easily pierced by a knife. Leave the oven on.

   Mash potatoes with the skins ON in a bowl by hand. Add cream, butter, sour cream, salt and pepper. Mix and mash some more! Spread in a 1-1/2 quart casserole dish. Top with cheese. Bake for about 10-15 minutes, until cheese is all melted. Top with sliced green onions if desired.

   

   Posted by Jane Maynard at 10:28 am   12 Comments
   Categories: featured recipes, Recipes, side dishes, the goods

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9. Wednesday, February 15

   Pots de Crème au Chocolat

   Despite my busy day yesterday (p.s. Owen does not have an ear infection, which is good…but he is still grumpy!), did you really think I would let Valentine’s Day pass without whipping up some sort of chocolate decadence?

   

   Last night, after the kids were in bed, dinner was done and Nate and I had another Breaking Bad episode under our belts (romantic, eh?), I ventured to the kitchen to make pots de crème au chocolat. Our friends Ana and Tom made these a few weeks ago when they had us over for dinner. (p.s. Ana and Tom are not only fabulous cooks, they are both hilarious. I wish I could eat dinner at their house every night. Hint, hint, Ana.) The dessert was pretty much divine and, after Ana assured me it was easy to make, I decided to give the recipe a go.

   

   Ana was right. They were in fact easy to throw together and required only a few ingredients. My kind of cooking.

   If you’ve had pots de crème au chocolat before, you know what they’re like. {Delicious.} If you haven’t, it’s sort of like the custard in crème brûlée, only chocolate flavored. This chocolate dessert is rich yet still kind of light. And, if you’re not feeling up to the task of using and washing 20 bowls to make Julia Child’s mousse au chocolat, this is a great alternative – not quite so thick and rich as the mousse, but still delicious. I mean really – can you go wrong with cream, chocolate and eggs? Nope, you can’t.

   

   Pots de Crème au Chocolat
   A mish mosh of two Williams Sonoma recipes and comments from Ana Haymore
   - 1 cup heavy cream
   - 3 ounces semi-sweet (or bittersweet) chocolate, chopped
   - 3 egg yolks
   - 1/4 cup sugar
   - 1 teaspoon vanilla
   - 4 pinches of salt (I’m sure I could give you an actual measurement, but I did four pinches, so there you go)

   Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

   Heat cream in a saucepan over medium heat until small bubbles appear around the edges, stirring occasionally. Remove from the stove and stir in the chocolate until melted. Let cool while you do this other stuff…

   Whisk together egg yolks and sugar in a bowl for about 5 minutes. You want the eggs to be pale yellow. Just keep whisking. The more the merrier. (I had Nate do this last night…what a whiner, by the way. Oh wait, I mean, he was such a sweetie to do this for me and didn’t complain once! I suppose you could get out a hand blender…but a little wrist exercise never hurt anyone, right?)

   Slowly stir the chocolate cream into the egg mixture. Stir in the vanilla and the salt.

   Pour the chocolate mixture through a fine sieve into 6 ramekins, dividing evenly. Place ramekins in a 9×13 baking dish or pan. Pour boiling water around the ramekins in the 9×13 pan, 1 inch deep. Cover the ramekins and dish with foil.

   Bake for around 20 minutes, until the edges are set but the chocolate still trembles a bit (I cooked mine a minute or two too long and they still came out fine).

   Let cool on a wire rack. The Williams Sonoma recipes say to refrigerate for at least four hours and up to 2 days before serving…but we also have eaten them right after they’ve cooled but still sort of warm and they were delicious.

   Posted by Jane Maynard at 10:36 am   6 Comments
   Categories: featured recipes, Recipes, sweet things

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10. Tuesday, February 14

    Any Excuse to Eat Chocolate…Happy Valentine’s Day!

    You know I’m always looking for a good reason to eat chocolate. One might say I have a problem. Whatever. Chocolate is good for the soul.

    

    I was hoping to whip up something chocolatey for a post today, but Owen isn’t feeling very well and we’re heading to the doctor in a bit. (I’m sure he’s fine, no worries…probably an ear infection, poor little guy!) Even though the day is not going as planned, I can’t leave you completely chocolate-less on Valentine’s Day! So, I’m reposting a recipe from a few years ago.

    

    Oh how I wish I had time to make these truffles today. THEY ARE SO GOOD. I think that’s really all I have to say. Have a Happy Valentine’s Day!!

    Scotch Truffle Hearts
    Recipe contributed to the Scharffen Berger book Essence of Chocolate: Recipes for Baking and Cooking with Fine Chocolate by Alice Medrich. From the book: Since we began Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker, Cocolat founder Alice Medrich has been a constant help, ready to lend a hand with everything from bean tasting to recipe tasting. We’re especially honored to have Alice’s chocolate recipes in our book because both of us are fans of her chocolate confections, which she first began selling in Berkeley in the 1970s. These chocolates have a thin dark shell around a decadently soft center, underscored with the warmth and fragrance of a single-malt Scotch. Alice recommends that you mix this ganache gently with a spatula rather than vigorously with a whisk. Because the chocolate coating is not tempered, the hearts must be stored in the refrigerator to keep them from discoloring or blooming. Enjoy them cold, right from the refrigerator, or let them sit at room temperature for a half an hour or so, to bring up the flavors of the chocolate and the Scotch.

    - 7 ounces 62% semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
    - 1 cup heavy cream
    - 2 tbsp. single-malt Scotch
    - 12 ounces 82% extra dark chocolate, finely chopped
    - 2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)

    Line an 8X8 inch 2-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, overlapping the top slightly, and set out a fine-mesh strainer.

    Place the 62% chocolate in a medium bowl and set aside.

    In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate, and stir gently with a heatproof spatula until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Do not whisk or splash the mixture by stirring too briskly, or the texture of the chocolates will be cakey and granular. Add the Scotch and stir just to incorporate. (Jane note: I left out the Scotch b/c I didn’t have it on hand and they came out very delicious just the same!)

    Strain the ganache into the prepared pan. Tilt the pan to level the ganache. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.

    Transfer the pan of the ganache to the refrigerator to soften for 20 minutes. Choose a baking sheet of dish that will fit in your freezer and line it with parchment paper.

    Place a sheet of foil about 12 inches long on your work surface. Remove the ganach, using the foil that you used to line the pan to help lift it. Invert it onto the clean sheet of foil. Peel the foil from the bottom.

    Using a 1 1/2-inch heart-shaped cutter, cut out hearts as close together as possible to avoid excessive amounts of scraps, and transfer to the prepared pan. (Jane note: I found a set of heart cutters for fondant made by Wilton at Michaels – the hearts were 3 sizes, which was helpful in making a lot of hearts with little scraps. The leftover chocolate I rolled into round balls to make a more traditionally-shaped truffle.) If the ganache becomes too soft to work with, cover with plastic wrap and return to the freezer to harden.

    

    Once all of the hearts are cut, cover with plastic wrap and freeze until very hard, at least 4 hours or overnight. (At this point the hearts can be placed in a an airtight container and frozen for up to 2 months.)

    TO COAT THE HEARTS: Choose a baking sheet or pan that will fit in your refrigerator and line with parchment paper.

    Melt the 82% chocolate and stir until smooth. Cool to 100-105 degrees F. (Jane note – I melted the chocolate over a double boiler. The chocolate was quite warm and took some time to come down in temperature. At 109 degrees it started to harden, so I would recommend working with it around 115 degrees – I had no problems with it melting the truffles.)

    Put the bowl of melted chocolate next to the prepared baking pan.

    Remove the hearts from the freezer one small batch at a time. Place a heart in the center of the bowl of chocolate and, using a dipping fork or table fork, flip it over and push it under the surface of the chocolate to coat completely. Slip the fork under the center and lift the heart out of the chocolate, tap the fork on the side of the bowl so any excess chocolate drips back into the bowl, and then wipe the bottom of the fork on the edge of the bowl and set the heart on the prepared pan. Repeat with the remaining hearts. (Jane note: These directions were spot on and it was actually pretty easy to do if you follow them.  I did need to zap the dipping chocolate twice in the process to remelt it a bit.)

    Use a small fine-mesh strainer or shaker to dust the hearts with the cocoa. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or until the chocolate has hardened. (Jane note: the chocolate hardened FAST…so if you’re going to put toppings on (cocoa, powdered sugar, decorative sugar crystals, sea salt) you gotta get them on there quickly!)

    The hearts can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Makes 30-36 hearts.

    Posted by Jane Maynard at 12:01 pm   3 Comments
    Categories: fab faves, featured recipes, Recipes, sweet things

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