The Mystique of the Flourless Chocolate Cake

For better or worse, occasionally a concept gets stuck in my brain, and like a puppy with a new chew toy, I can't seem to let go of it until I have almost shaken the life out of it. This is the case at the moment with that most chic of French cakes, Le Chocolat sans farine. These cakes contain elements guaranteed to terrorize the novice baker- chocolate to melt without seizing, no leavening except beaten eggs, and huge self-doubt about when the cake is baked enough. With three strikes like that, as well as a long personal history of pancake flat unleavened cakes of all persuasions, venturing down the flourless cake path seemed pretty foolhardy, especially when you factor in the cost of messing up two-thirds of a pound of chocolate.

BUT, recent success with several chocolate mousse products encouraged me forward, as did two events just crying out for a French chocolate cake- Passover (no flour allowed!!) and a vintage wine dinner with 1970 Fonseca port to accompany the dessert and the admonition from Dr. Hal that the cake had to be chocolate, but not too sweet.

After serious study of the infinite variety of chocolate cake options- butter or cream? semi-sweet, bittersweet or unsweetened chocolate? coffee? liqueur? steamed or baked? I selected David Lebovitz's "Racines Cake" from Ready for Dessert. Mr. Lebovitz introduces this cake with what I believe is an apocryphal tale of discovering the recipe written on the wall of the mens room in Racine's, a Parisian restaurant, ordering it off the menu for dessert, and finding it so delicious that he went back to the bathroom with pen and paper to copy down the recipe.  Don't you agree that I have the right to be a little skeptical, I mean have you ever seen a recipe written on the wall of a restaurant bathroom?? Even (or especially) in Paris?

But the cake's various hurdles- making faux expresso with my drip coffee cone, beating the yolks until they are "light and creamy," folding the melted chocolate and butter into the yolks instead of the yolks into the chocolate as the recipe stated, messing up about 3 eggs trying to separate them, using an 8" pan instead of the 9" which was specified - were overcome and the results, baked just to a tender but non-collapsible firmness were truly "magnifique!" Try to locate the cocoa nibs for topping the cake- they make a really nice crunchy contrast to the cake's smooth creaminess.

Our vintage wine dinner hostess contributed a delicious cherry sorbet flavored with hints of citrus and almond that was a wonderful accompaniment, as was Dr. Hal's precious port. (He may disagree, in fact I'm sure that he does, but in my book the port accompanies the dessert, not vice-versa.)

In the coming weeks I will experiment with more cakes of this genre, building up to an attempt to overcome one of my biggest cake baking disasters, Julia Child's "Reine de Saba." Stay tuned.

Racines Cake
(adapted from Ready for Dessert by David Lebovitz)

8" or 9" springform pan
Cocoa powder for dusting the pan

10 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup salted butter, plus 2 Tb to butter the cake pan
1 Tb freshly brewed expresso (I made super strong drip coffee)
1/2 tsp vanilla
6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1/4 cup, plus 2 Tb sugar
2 Tb cocoa nibs (Scharffenberger makes them)
Powdered sugar, optional, for dusting the cake

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Adjust one rack to the upper half of the oven. Butter the bottom and sides of the springform pan and lightly dust it with cocoa, shaking out the excess.

Melt the chocolate and butter, along with the expresso in the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water. When the chocolate has melted, remove the top pan from the heat, stir to smooth out the butter and chocolate, add the vanilla, and let it cool down for a minute or two.

While the chocolate is melting, whip the egg yolks and sugar in a stand mixer bowl with the whip attachment at medium-high speed until the mixture just starts to "form the ribbon." (When it seems that the eggs might be thickened enough, with the mixer off, lift the beater out of egg mixture and see if it is thick enough to make a ribbon as it lazily drips back into the bowl- that's the ribbon.)

Gently fold the beaten egg yolks into the cooled chocolate mixture.

Egg White ALERT!! Egg whites will not "mount" properly if the bowl, beater, or spatula are anything but immaculately clean and dry. If you only have one whip beater for your mixer, be sure to wash and dry it thoroughly before beating the egg whites. If you only have one mixer bowl, make sure that it is also clean and dry after folding the egg yolks into the chocolate.

In a second clean and dry mixer bowl, use a cleaned and dried whip attachment to whip the egg whites on low speed until they begin to hold their shape. Add the remaining 2 Tb of sugar and whisk the egg whites on high speed until they hold soft peaks.

Stir one-fourth of the egg white into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then fold in the rest of the beaten egg whites. Fold only until there are no visible streaks of egg white. Do not overfold!

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and then sprinkle the top with the cocoa ribs. Bake the cake until it feels like it is just barely set in the center, about 25 minutes.It should not feel too firm.

Let the cake cool in the pan, covered with a clean dishtowel, on a rack, until it is completely cool.

Run a knife around the sides of the cake to loosen, then release the sides of the pan and dust the cake with powdered sugar if you like.

Serves 6-8. This cake is best served the day that it is made, but will keep for up to two days at room temperature.

To really gild the lily, add a scoop of cherry almond sorbetto to each slice of cake, and enjoy with a 1970 port if you happen to have one kicking around in your wine collection.
Cherry Almond Sorbetto
So easy, and SO GOOD!

1/2 cup  fresh orange juice (from 1 large navel orange)
1 lb  frozen pitted dark cherries (Bing)
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract

Combine all the ingredients in food processor or blender and run until almost smooth, just leaving some of the fruit texture.
Transfer the mixture to a freezer container, cover & freeze for at least 4 hours or up to 4 days.

The Great Picky Eater Caramel Cake!

The Picky Eater was home for spring break this week, and started getting a little bored but motivated after watching countless episodes of her new fave "The Great British Baking Show." She baked a spectacular cake which did her mother proud. Her being her, she followed her proclivities as an aspiring chemist to veer off recipe into unknown baking territory; this time with great success. (Sometimes not so much.)

Date, Mirin & Pear Caramel Cake
This was adapted from a gorgeous recipe, "Whiskey Date & Buttermilk Cake with Salted Pear Caramel Buttercream"courtesy of the blog Adventures in Cooking (the Dec 21, 2014 post) My modifications?  I don’t like buttercream, so I omitted that and just made the caramel.  I was also making this for four people, one of whom was me and one other of which was on a diet, so I scaled it down to 2 layers, not three.  It was still plenty tall.

Cake Part
4 ounces dates, cut in half and pits removed
Scant ¼ cup booze of your choice*
2 cups buttermilk
2 ¾ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon allspice
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Pear Caramel
¾ cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons water
1 pear, cored and minced
¼ cup unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream (I just used milk because I couldn’t be bothered to buy cream)
¾ cup brown sugar
Pinch of fleur de sel to finish (optional)

OPTIONAL—whipping cream and pear (or apple) jam, custard, cream cheese, chevre, honey.  See notes on filling.

Boil the dates and (selected booze) in a small saucepan for ~10 minutes, until the dates look soft and most of the liquid has been absorbed.  Set aside to cool, and then chop roughly using a mezzaluna (or blitz in the food processor, but I like rustic date bits and not needing to clean the food processor).  Combine with the buttermilk and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease two 8-inch cake pans.  Line the bottom of the pans with circles of parchment paper.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice.  Set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or by hand with a spatula and some muscle) cream together the butter and both sugars until smooth.  Add the eggs one by one and mix well after each addition.

Remove the bowl from the mixer (if using) and add the ~1/3rd buttermilk, 1/3rd flour, carefully folding by hand.  Continue until all combined.  It is easy to overwork the batter using the machine.

Split the batter between the cake pans and bake until golden brown and set in the middle.  Our instant-read thermometer read 205ºF in the middle, and came out with no batter clinging to it.  This took 45 minutes, but our oven is notoriously slow.  The original recipe suggests 25-35 minutes.  When done, allow to cool for ~10 minutes before flipping them out of the pans and reflipping onto a wire cooling rack.

While the cake is baking and/or cooling, prepare the caramel.  Bring the minced pear, water and sugar to a boil over medium high heat until pale golden brown in color.  Add the milk/cream, butter, and brown sugar quickly, off the heat, while stirring continuously.  Heat this mixture over medium-low heat until it boils, keep at the boil for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat.

NOW.  What to do next.  What I did is fill the cake with caramel (trying to get lots of pear bits) and poured most of the remaining caramel over the top.  While this tasted excellent, it was determined to be structurally insufficient.  There are a variety of possibilities that I think would work well, which are listed below.  Some are more… uh….. involved than others.

Possible fillings:

• The aforementioned buttercream, but come on.  Gross.

• Make a pastry cream or custard and blend some of the caramel into it

• Spread with pear jam and then whipped cream

• Fill with cream cheese/chevre blended with honey

• Just do what I did

• Skip the layering bit and make a 1-layer cake.  

When done filling, cover the surface with the pear caramel, allowing it to run down the sides slightly.  If you want, sprinkle the top of the cake with a pinch of fleur de sel (but just a pinch, you’re not aiming for a salted caramel flavor). 

An interior view

Whatever you choose, the cake will be moist, spicy, and absolutely delicious.  The Daddy proclaimed it “actually very good” before launching into a Paul Hollywood impression inspired by my Great British Bake-Off streaming marathon.

*I used mirin, because it’s the only liquor in the house that actually belongs to me.  Mirin is an exceedingly sweet Japanese cooking wine, usually used to add the sweetness to Teriyaki and things like that.  If you are going to buy it, look closely at the ingredients.  A lot of stuff marked as ‘mirin’ is just watered down corn syrup.  The good stuff contains nothing but fermented rice.

Other possible flavouring agents include Cointreau, Armanac, Whisky (as in the original recipe), Cognac, Rum, and orange juice cut with water.  Personally I think the mirin-date combo was excellent.

Picky Eater Picks: Best Dessert Awards 2015!

We've watched the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards, so to fill the void until they announce this year's Pulitzer and Nobel Prizes, we present the Picky Eater's Best Desserts for 2015. This year saw us evaluating a slightly more global crop of candidates, including entries from Paris, Amsterdam, Pittsburgh, New York City, Charleston (South Carolina), and San Francisco.
Unfortunately, our home baking efforts lagged sadly behind, and the pickings were pretty slim in those categories, but we do what we must do....

Hard to choose which biscotti you want at Enrico's; best take one of each!

Best New Cookie
Commercial: Biscotti from Enrico's Biscotti Company, 2022 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA With twenty-seven varieties, including black pepper walnut, coconut chocolate chip, and even a doggie treat flavor, this PGH institution does it all when it comes to biscotti.
Homemade: Chinese-style Almond Cookies
This is a mash-up of recipes from Emily Lucchetti's Stars Desserts and an old Sunset magazine. They rated pretty high on Dr. Hal's cookie taster monitor. The dough needs to chill for an hour before baking.
Chinese-style Almond Cookies 
1 cup (1/2 lb.) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
3/4 tsp almond extract
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup raw almonds
+ 24-26 additional whole raw almonds
1 egg yolk
1 TB milk
1/4 cup sesame seeds

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spread the 1 cup of raw almonds out on a rimmed baking pan. Bake until nicely toasted, about 7 minutes. (Toasting will take longer if they come directly from the freezer as mine usually do.) Cool slightly, then chop about medium size. Set them aside for the moment.

In a medium size bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.

Beat the butter and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add the whole egg and almond extract. Beat to blend. Stir in the flour and chopped almonds. Refrigerate the dough for at least one hour. (Overnight is okay.)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Form the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, flatten slightly, and place 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets.

In a small bowl beat the egg yolk and milk together. Brush each cookie with the egg wash, sprinkle the top with sesame seeds, and press a whole almond into the center.

Bake the cookies 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned, switching the cookie sheets halfway through baking (if you are using more than one.) Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack with a spatula to finish cooling. Makes 24-30 cookies.

Two out of three are award winners- front: Chocolate Salami, center: Chocolate Scotch Shortbread,
back: forgettable Chocolate Loaf Cake

Best New Cookie- Chocolate: Chocolate Scotch Shortbread Cookies from Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts. These were part of my annual Holiday Bake-a-thon with my friend Robert. They have deep butter and chocolate flavors, and are not too sweet. Stashed away in the freezer, I stealthily ate one a day, and managed to gain five pounds over the winter break.
Chocolate Scotch Shortbread Cookies
2 cups flour
1/2 cup strained unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup (1/2 lb.) unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees

Cream the butter in the bowl of a mixer. Add the vanilla, sugar, and salt and beat to mix. On low speed (or by hand) add the flour and cocoa, beating only until the mixture holds together. Form the dough into a ball and flatten slightly.

Flour a rolling pin and 12"x12" piece of parchment paper. Roll the dough to an even thickness of 1/2" (no thinner) on the floured paper. Flouring a plain shaped cookie cutter (round or square) each time, use it to cut out the cookies, cutting them as close to each other as possible. Place the cookies 1 inch apart on parchment paper lined cookie sheets.

Press the dough scraps together and roll out again to cut more cookies. Refrigerate the sheets of cookies for about 10 minutes, to firm before baking. Prick the cookies three times in a vertical row in the middle, going all the way through the cookie each time. (Instead of pricking the cookies, you can use a cookie stamp to decorate them. I found a gizmo (the "Brigitte Message on a Cookie Cutter") that allows you to form words in the center of a rectangular cookie cutter.)

Bake the cookies for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cookies are firm to the touch. Reverse the cookie sheets halfway. Don't let them burn, as this will make them bitter. Cool the cookies on a rack.  These keep and mail well. Makes 35-40 cookies.

Best Presentation- Desserts

Restaurant: Tied between the Chocolate Souffle Cake with pistachio butter, concord grape must, burnt meringue, olive oil, and sea salt from Cure (Pittsburgh) chef Justin Severino's dinner at the James Beard House in Greenwich Village

and the mignardises at Restaurant Jules Verne on the 2nd level of the Tour Eiffel, Paris.

Nothing like a view of the Seine to elevate an already amazing meal!

What exactly are mignardises? To quote Saveur magazine, "Mignardises are usually an artful arrangement of confections like gemlike pâtes de fruits or tiny macarons; a tradition that dates back to 18th-century France. Miniature sweets were de rigueur then--once pastry chefs had finished their work for the day in their brick ovens, they placed small treats inside to bake in the low, residual heat; the name mignardise comes from the Old French word for 'precious' or 'cute.'"

Homemade: The Picky Eater's Apple and Pistachio Frangipane Tart- does food get more attractive than this?

And here's her recipe:

Pâte sucree  (from the Use Real Butter Pear Frangipane Tart)

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup confectioner’s sugar

1/4 tsp sea salt

8 tbsps unsalted butter

1 egg yolk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp whipping cream

 Place the flour, sugar, salt and butter in a food processor and pulse until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add the egg yolk, vanilla, and whipping cream to the dry ingredients. Pulse again until it resembles wet sand. 

Place the dough (it may be totally crumbly) onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Using the plastic, gather the dough into a ball and press it together into a disc. Wrap with the plastic and refrigerate the dough for at least an hour. 

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Roll the dough out to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured work surface. Press the dough into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, prick tart shell all over with a fork. Place the tart pan in the fridge for 30 minutes. Set the tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, until the pastry turns a pale golden brown. Let it cool until ready to use.

Pistachio Frangipane (from Tartine 3) and is.... kind of....involved....

Make a Pistachio Nut Milk, as follows:

1 3/4 cups raw pistachios

3 cups cows milk (I used 1% since that's what we always have)

2 T sugar

1/4 t fine salt

I skipped the overnight infusion, because time was short, and just blitzed the pistachios in the food processor until super über fine and stirred them into the milk.  It looked very green.

Then, you use the nut milk to make a pastry cream.  You only need half the nut milk though, so, either make double the pastry cream or half the nut milk.  I had to do the math, you do too.

Nut Milk Pastry Cream

2 cups pistachio nut milk

1/4 t fine sea salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 T cornstarch (maybe a tad more?  My frangipane was a little runny at the end)

2 large eggs

4 T unsalted butter, at room temperature

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and eggs until smooth.  Heat the nut milk until just under the boil, and slowly pour 1/3rd of the hot milk into the egg mixture.  Pour the egg-milk mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the milk and whisk until it's the thickness of lightly whipped cream (~2 min).  Do not boil or it will curdle.  Strain and let sit until ~140F/60C, and then add the butter in four pieces, whisking until smooth.

FINALLY you get to make your frangipane!

Pistachio Frangipane

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room T

2/3 cup finely chopped raw pistachios

1 large egg

1 egg yolk

4 t cornstarch

3/4 cup Nut Milk Pastry Cream (again, not all of it.  The recipe should make 2 1/2 cups. Chad Robertson thinks you need to practice your math)

zest of one lemon

4 t orange liquor (optional, mom had Cointreau around so I used it)

Beat the butter and the powdered sugar on low speed to combine, and then increase the speed to medium and beat until smooth and creamy.  Scrape down and add-- everything else.  Beat until evenly incorporated. Keeps for 2 days in the fridge

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Fill the parbaked pastry with frangipane and slice 3-4 apples thinly with a mandoline.  I used a variety I had never heard of from the farmer's market.....

Arrange the slices in a spiral, keeping the slices directional (the top and bottom of an apple are shaped differently, so keep them the same direction) and with the peel side showing.  Really doesn't matter, but it looks pretty.  

Bake for 25-30 minutes until the frangipane sets and stops being too jiggly.  If the crust starts to darken, cover the tart with tin foil.

Take numerous photos for instagram and feed to hungry college students!

Most Entertaining Confectionary Display

Another tie between

Aux Merveilleux de Fred

Fred's shops in Paris, the provinces, London, and now New York City(!), boast a unique marketing tool- his meringue, whipped cream, and shaved chocolate confections are assembled in the front window of the shop, visible to passersby, and a natural draw to enter and purchase!

and 

Michel Chaudun; 149 Rue de l'Université, 75007 Paris

One of THE Masters of the Chocolate Universe. This 100% chocolate egg cum portmanteau speaks louder than words

Best Candy or Confection

Commercial: Caramels from Gaby et Jules Patisserie, 5837 Forbes Avenue in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, PA. As you step into Gaby et Jules, Pittsburgh fades away and you feel transported to a patisserie in a French suburb where miraculously the employees are friendly and speak English. On our last visit there, the Picky Eater went way off her usual low fat, low sugar diet and indulged big time. And it was worth every calorie!

Homemade: My version of last year's best commercial chocolate confection- Dude Sweet's Chocolate Salami, the Picky Eater edition.

Ellin & Robert’s Chocolate Salami (Vegan!)

Makes 4-5 

1 c  homemade (or store bought) marzipan- 

made from

7 oz. almond paste

1 ½ c powdered sugar

1 ½ TB light corn syrup

1-2 Tb cold water

(This will be more than 1 cup, use the remainder for more salami or another recipe. Marzipan will keep, refrigerated, for several weeks.)

1 c melted bittersweet chocolate (about 10 oz)

1 tsp vanilla

½ c toasted, skinned, and chopped hazelnuts

½ c toasted almonds, chopped

½ c dried figs, chopped in small (about 1/8”) pieces

½ c dried, pitted dates, chopped in small (about 1/8”) pieces

½ c cocoa nibs

additional powdered sugar for coating finished salamis

Make the marzipan-

Put the powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. With the mixer on low, add the almond paste 1 tsp. at a time and continue beating until the mixture is crumbly. With the mixer still running, add the corn syrup, beat until incorporated, and then add the water. With the addition of the water the marzipan will hold together with the consistency of sugar cookie dough.

Stir the melted chocolate, marzipan, and vanilla together in a bowl until well combined. Add the nuts, dried fruits, and cocoa nibs. Mix until evenly incorporated. (The mixture will be very stiff and you may need to mix it with your hands.)

Refrigerate 30-40 minutes until somewhat firm. Scoop about one fourth of the mixture onto a piece of parchment paper and use parchment paper to roll it into a cylinder, tapering the ends to make a salami shape about 1 ½” thick and 6-7 inches long. Continue with the remaining dough. Place on a plate or tray and refrigerate. Before serving, roll the salami in sifted powder sugar, randomly brushing some off  to  simulate the appearance of a real salami. Wrap in brown parchment paper and tie with string to give as a gift. Should keep, well wrapped and refrigerated for 3-4 weeks.

Best Legendary Cake: The Ultimate Coconut Cake from the Peninsula Grill, Charleston, South Carolina. We are staying at a hotel across the street from the Peninsula, and in a fit of extracurricular gluttony, I bought myself a late night to-go piece of their 12-layer coconut cake. My reaction: "Very Southern." You can find the authentic recipe (for a 6-layer version) on Martha Stewart's website, if you're feeling ambitious. I myself will wait for another trip to Charleston.

Maida Heatter Lifetime Achievement Award

Since the 1970's Maida Heatter, a.k.a. "the Queen of Desserts," has been making the world a sweeter and more chocolaty place. She is the author of nine classic dessert cookbooks, including the James Beard Award-winning Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts.  Ms. Heatter is a member of the James Beard Foundation Hall of Fame. An octogenarian, she continues to bake joyfully from her home in Palm Beach, Florida.

This year's award, Homemade division, goes to .....

I went a little wild with the candy decorating this year!

Faye's Carrot Cake !!!!

Faye Celayeta was the “Auntie Mame” in my life. She lived in San Francisco in the 1930s, 40s, & 50s; had an apartment on Russian Hill,  knew everyone there was to know, and went everywhere there was to go. In the 1950s, Faye had a cooking show on KPIX, and I remember watching her as a child. She always said that she replaced the test pattern. 

This cake has graced countless events in our family- weddings (mine included), birthdays (most recently for my 64th- sadly these days I have to bake my own birthday cakes), bar mitzvahs, maybe even a few funerals.

2 c. flour

2 c. sugar

2 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

2 t. cinnamon

4 eggs

1 c. oil

4 c. grated carrots

1/2 c. chopped nuts

8-10 walnut halves

Preheat oven to 350°.

Stir together the flour, sugar, soda, salt, and cinnamon. In a large mixer bowl, beat the eggs until frothy, then slowly beat in the oil. 

On low speed, stir in the flour mixture, stirring until smooth. Hand mix in the carrots and nuts.

Pour the batter into 3 greased & floured 8” round cake pans, or a 10” tube pan. Bake 25-30 minutes in 8” pans, and about 1 hour in a tube pan.

Cool on a rack 10 minutes, then turn out to cool completely on racks. Fill and frost with cream cheese icing (below). Decorate with walnut halves.  Serves 8-12.

Cream Cheese Icing

4 Tb butter, softened

6 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 1/3 c. powdered sugar

1 t. vanilla

Blend the butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar, continue beating until smooth and creamy. Stir in the flavoring(s). Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before frosting the cake.

It is with great sadness that I must announce the loser in the category 

Worst Dessert of the Year:

From cookbook author Dorie Greenspan, this Gingerbread Bûche de Noël was a huge disaster! It tasted really awful and almost ruined our Christmas dinner. . So, readers beware, there are many accolades from serious foodies for this dessert, but don't believe everything you read (or see- from my photo this baby looks like it's pretty tasty- NOT!!)

Goopy Italian meringue icing, insipid cake, lackluster filling- BLEH!

A Surfeit of Burgundies

For decades Dr. Hal has frequently declared, "My wife only drinks good Burgundies." He's got that right, but the truth of the matter is that his dictum applies to food as well as wine. And so, a recent craving for gooey, cheesy gougeres led me to a most pleasant imaginary sojourn in the province of Bourgogne which resulted in a somewhat extravagant dinner in the Burgundian style accompanied by a pair of outstanding vintage wines from the wine cellar that's really a walk-in temperature controlled insulated plywood box in the garage.

I have been to Burgundy twice, the first time on a wonderful bike trip circa 1979, and the second time on my first "grandes vacances" with Dr. Hal in 1989. Needless to say, I'm ready to go back any time! While the basic bones of Burgundy, the hills and vineyards, look very much like the Napa valley, only in Burgundy do you turn a corner to encounter a medieval chateau (real not faux) or a priceless Northern Renaissance altarpiece tucked away in an old hospital. But at the moment I was just touring inside my head, and it was time to hit the road!

My first stop on this culinary journey was a 1957 guide to the foods of France- Bouquet de France: An Epicurian Tour of the French Provinces authored by the founder and long-time editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine, Samuel Chamberlain. Mr. Chamberlain also illustrated this impressive tome, which I picked up in Caliban's, a used bookstore in Pittsburgh. It once belonged to a lady named Joan M. Kaplan, whose name is stamped on the cover in gold. Mrs. Kaplan, wherever you may be, please know that your book has found a happy home! While I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the fantastic meals awaiting anyone touring Burgundy by car (I imagine a sporty little two seater roadster), the recipes were not too appealing.

So, I moved on to Mireille Johnston's The Cuisine of the Rose: Classical French Cooking from Burgundy and Lyonnais (1982). I considered attempting some classic Burgundian dishes- Escargots Bourguignonne ( I don't think so!), Jambon Persille, Coeurs a la Creme, Coq au Vin. Thinking about these recipes helped shape my preliminary menu, but with a vegan dinner guest coming, I had to move away from the preponderance of butter, cream, and cheese which seemed to be listed as ingredients for every recipe. As Dr. Hal volunteered to devise his own Boeuf Bourguignon, I was left to round out the meal to my own, and our vegan guest's satisfaction.

The results of further rifling through my collection of French cookbooks was this
Menu -
Les Gougères
Grill-Braised Boeuf Bourguignon
Potatoes Savoyarde
Beans Maitre d'Hotel
Salade au Chou
Mousse Au Chocolate

Wines-
- 1999 Vincent Girardin Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru, Cote de Beaune (white)
The white was really very good, even after 14 years.
- 1997 Domaine Chandon de Briailles Corton-Bressandes Grand Cru, Cote de Beaune (red)
The red, while good, had faded some and would have been better a few years ago.
Sadly, both of these are now really too expensive to contemplate purchasing, the curse of very small production and a worldwide market. (Commentary by Dr. Hal)

Les Gougères
I can remember the first time I ever ate a gougere. It was from a bakery in Beaune, as big as my fist, crisp and brown on the outside, unctuously egg-y and cheese-y within.

1 1/2 c. whole milk + 1/4 c. for brushing the puff tops
1/2 c. butter
1 1/3 c. flour salt
Tabasco
pinch nutmeg
6 eggs
1 Tb Dijon mustard
2 1/2 c. coarsely grated Swiss (i.e. gruyere) cheese

Preheat the oven to 425°.

Heat the milk and butter together until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat and add the flour all at once. Cook for about 2 minutes – until the mixture forms a ball and comes away from the sides of the pan.

Off the heat, beat in the salt, a few drops of Tabasco and the nutmeg. Beat in the eggs two at a time, making sure each two are completely blended before added the next ones. Stir in two cups of the cheese and the mustard.

Butter a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper. Form heaping teaspoonsful of dough about 3 inches apart. Brush the tops with milk and put a bit of grated cheese on top.

Bake about 20 minutes, do not open the oven door during this time. They are done when they look puffed and golden brown. Serve warm. Makes about 30 puffs.

Grill-Braised Boeuf Bourguignon a la Dr. Hal
In the first French Chef episode, circa 1963, Julia Child makes a Boeuf Bourguignon, and you may recall that it is featured as a daunting recipe in the movie Julie and Julia.  Boeuf Bourguignon is actually a pretty simple recipe- you brown the beef, braise it in red wine, add onions and mushrooms, thicken the sauce, and serve.

It seemed like another candidate for the grill-braised approach, which I have written about for short ribs.  The idea is to grill the meat first over high heat, giving it a serious browning without added fat.  next the meat is braised in a covered BBQ, oven, or on the stovetop, the sauce is thickened, accompaniments are added, and it is then served.

The French Chef recipe uses salt pork or bacon for lardons in the stew.  They are rendered first and their fat is used to brown the meat.  The grilling does not require additional fat, but some pork product is needed to enrich the flavor.  A  smoked pork chop,weighing about ½ lb, makes a fine substitution.  Though smoked, the flavor is very subtle and does not overwhelm the recipe.  The original recipe also calls for 18-24 small fresh white onions, which must be individually peeled.  This is by far the most tedious aspect of the recipe and is replaced here by frozen onions, which are great.

While certainly in Burgundy a Pinot Noir would be used for the cooking wine, I don’t think this is the best choice, as a suitably hearty Pinot would be quite expensive.  An alternative choice would be a fairly big Zinfandel or something in the Rhone wine family, a Syrah or Grenache based wine.  This matches better to the heartier flavors from the grilling and they are not priced as dearly.

Thus we have for the meats:
½ lb smoked pork chop
3 lbs boneless beef chuck
¾ bottle of hearty red wine
1 can beef broth
1 ½ Tb tomato paste
3 cloves mashed garlic
1 bay leaf
½ tsp thyme
salt and pepper

Cut the beef chuck into strips about 1.5” wide and 1-1.5”thick.  These will be grilled then cut into individual chunks for the stew.  Try to make the cuts when possible along the natural edges of the muscle, and cut away any extra fat or silver skin.  Salt and pepper the meat and grill it  over high heat for a couple of minutes on each side, or until the surface is significantly browned.  Try to brown as many sides as possible.  When done, transfer the meat to a cutting board and finish cutting it into individual chunks, around 1-1.5”.

Cut the pork off the bone into lardons about ¾ -1” long by ¼”x ¼”.  Brown these using a bit of oil in the pot that is going to be used to braise the stew, I use a large cast iron pot, but any heavy covered casserole, large enough to hold the ingredients, will be fine.  I suspect that an enameled pot is probably traditional.

Add the grilled meat, the wine (about ¾ of a bottle or so, leave yourself a glass), and the other ingredients to the pot.  The idea is to have the combined braising liquid to almost cover the meat.  Bring the stew to a simmer on the stovetop. It can then be cooked on top of the stove over low heat or in the oven at 325 degrees for 2-3 hours, until the meat is very tender but not completely falling apart.  The temperature needs to be regulated so that the braising liquid is just at a moderate simmer, with some steam bubbles evident.

Preparing the onions and mushrooms.
1 lb white mushrooms
½ Tb olive oil
1 ½ Tb butter
¼ tsp salt

1 package (14 oz) frozen small onions
1 Tb butter
about 3 Tb water
½ tsp salt

Clean and cut the mushrooms into halves or quarters depending on their size.  Heat the butter and oil in a large sauté pan until the butter begins to stop foaming, then add the mushrooms and salt.  Continue over medium high heat until the mushrooms are browned and most of the moisture has evaporated.  Set aside.

Put the frozen onions, along with the butter and water, in a sauté pan and heat until boiling.  Cover the pan so that the onions can steam until mostly thawed, about 3-4 minutes.  Remove the cover and let the remaining water evaporate, then continue sautéing over medium heat until the onions start to brown, about another 5-10 minutes total.  Set aside.

When the meat is done, remove it to a separate bowl.  If there is a significant amount of extra fat in the broth, it can be skimmed off, but this is not really necessary.  If there seems to be too much liquid and its flavor seems thin, it can be reduced over medium high heat to make a richer sauce.  If there seems to be too little liquid, extra beef stock can be added.

Boeuf Bourguignon components- onions, meat, sauce & mushrooms

Thickening the sauce.
3 Tb butter
3 Tb flour

Cream the butter and flour together in a small bowl with a rubber spatula or a fork.  Heat just the braising liquid in the pot to the simmer.  Whisk a few spoonfuls of hot braising liquid into the butter-flour paste until all lumps are gone, then gradually add the mixture to the pot of braising liquid.  Whisk the sauce until the thickener is fully combined and the sauce has thickened.  Add the meat, onions, and mushrooms and bring the stew back to the simmer, stirring occasionally. Correct the seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste.

The stew is ready to serve or it can be reheated later.  It can also be cooled, refrigerated and reheated in a day or two with no ill effects.  It can also be eaten cold from the refrigerator for breakfast, again with no ill effects.

Vegan-esque Stove-Top Potatoes Savoyarde
Adapted from The Way to Cook by Julia Child
I've had bad luck with these layered potato gratins- even when I parboiled the potatoes in advance my gratins always seemed to end up soupy and raw. This delicious specimen turned out to be an exception to the rule, it was perfect!. To please our vegan dinner companion I used olive oil, vegetable broth, and left his portion sans cheese. Made me feel like a chef reborn!

3 cups thinly sliced onions
2 Tb olive oil
2 1/2 lbs. boiling potatoes
2 cups vegetable broth
big pinch of dried herbs de provence or a mixture of dried basil, thyme, and oregano
1 large clove of garlic, pureed
Optional: 1 1/2 cups grated Swiss cheese

Over medium heat saute the onions in the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan large enough to ultimately hold all the onions and potatoes. Stir occasionally and cook until they are limp and tender, about 10 minutes or so. Remove the onions to a bowl.

While the onions are cooking, peel the potatoes and cut them into slices 1/8" thick. To avoid brown ugly potatoes, drop the slices into a bowl of cold water as you do them.

Add one cup of vegetable broth, the dried herbs, and the pureed garlic to the frying pan and bring it to a boil. Add the potatoes and onions, making rough layers as you do. Season well with salt and pepper and add enough broth to come two thirds of the way up the potatoes-onion mixture. Cover the pan and simmer for 15-20 minutes, watching to make sure that the liquid doesn't boil over, or until the potatoes are tender and the broth is almost all absorbed.

Just before serving, reheat the potatoes on medium-low and sprinkle some or all of the top with the Swiss cheese. Put the pan under the broiler, about 4-5 inches from the element, and broil until the cheese is nicely browned.
Serves 6

Beans Maitre d'Hotel
You can make this tasty bean dish with your own home cooked or canned beans. I had some exotic Rancho Gordo "Vallarta" beans festering in the cupboard that were begging to be cooked. Described as "Super rich heirloom bean originally from Jalisco, Mexico, now a favorite among Napa's best chefs." You could use any bean that you have festering - Julia C. suggests black beans, Great Northerns, navy beans, cannellini, pinto, etc. Find detailed instructions for cooking beans in my post Cassoulet & Company.

3 cups cooked beans or two cans of your beans of choice
2 large cloves of garlic, pureed
3 Tb olive oil
1/4 - 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
handful of fresh chopped parsley and/or other green herbs (basil, oregano, thyme)
salt & pepper

If using canned beans, drain them in a colander, rinse with hot water, and drain. Briefly saute the garlic in the olive oil in a saucepan. Fold in the beans, let them heat through, and gently stir in the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving toss in the chopped parsley or herb mixture. Serves 4-6.

Salade au Chou
An improvised mix of Napa cabbage, Japanese watermelon radishes, roasted cauliflower, and Dijon mustard vinaigrette

Mousse Au Chocolate Ambassade d'Auvergne
Adapted from Bistro Cooking by Patricia Wells.                                                                                   The Ambassade d'Auvergne is an old time Paris restaurant that specializes in the cuisine of it's namesake region, the Auvergne, which is located to the southwest of Burgundy. Pardon the liberty taken here, but this mousse is like eating the world's most delicious chocolate bar, but even better, because it's nice and creamy too. I was trepidatious about adding the orange liqueur because I don't like my chocolate flavors interfered with, but found that the small amount of liqueur served to intensify them without tasting "orange-y."

8 oz. bittersweet good quality chocolate (Lindt, etc.), broken into pieces
3 Tb orange liqueur (Grand Marnièr or Cointreau)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
8 Tb (4 oz) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
8 large egg yolks
1/2 c. sugar
5 large egg whites

Place the chocolate, orange liqueur, and vanilla in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Stir until melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, and allow to cool until lukewarm. The mixture may seem to "seize up" at the beginning, but will smooth out as you continue to mix the butter in.

Love that ribbon!

Combine the egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat, gradually increasing the mixer speed to medium high, until thick and pale yellow, and form the "ribbon." (Whites are stiff enough to make a ribbon trail from the beater that holds its shape.- See photograph.) Be patient, this can take a while. Next beat in the chocolate mixture while it is still warm. If necessary (only one mixer bowl), transfer the chocolate-egg yolk mixture to a large mixing bowl.

Wash and dry the stand mixer bowl until totally clean and dry, otherwise the egg whites won't whip properly. Place the egg whites in the clean mixer bowl. Beat the whites until they are stiff but not dry.

Stir one-third of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Do this slowly and patiently. Do not overmix, but be sure that the mixture is well blended.

Pour the mousse into a large serving bowl (1 1/2-2 quart capacity). A plain white soufflé dish looks "very French." Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate the mousse for at least 6 hours before serving. Makes 8-10 servings.

The Hunt For Jewish Food: SF Bay Area

The Zaslavsky family in Philadelphia c. 1915. My grandmother is the little girl on the left.

I have been drawn out of my blog posting lethargy by a recent bout of food sleuthing. Tasked (by myself) with producing a mini bar-mitzvah buffet extravaganza for my mother's extended family in Modesto, I was soon on the hunt for local sources for Jewish & Yiddish foods. The occasion was a reception in honor of the publication of the McHenry Museum and Historical Society Stanislaus Stepping Stones magazine issue dedicated to the history of my mother's family, the Zeff nee Zaslavsky clan who have lived in Modesto since about 1918.

My grandmother was the second of nine children, and the colorful, larger than life stories of her and her siblings were the stuff of my childhood- there was my grandmother, who never learned to drive after a mishap in the 1930's when she took husband Sidney's car out unaccompanied and ended up crashing through the front window of the ice cream shop four blocks down the street. Maurice, the surgeon, who met his wife Margaret, also a physician, when he was a patient at UCSF with a grievous back infection (before antibiotics) and she was the resident who took care of him. Uncle Willie, the Superior Court judge and friend of Earl Warren who married us. Aunt Sue, the aspiring actress who made Tallulah Bankhead jealous during an audition and forgot her cancan panties the day that the family came to watch her perform in the Cavalcade of the Americas at the 1939 World's Fair in San Francisco.  Uncle Sam, her twin, who used to dance up the wall shouting "Look everybody, I'm Fred Astaire!" Uncle Babe, war hero, successful businessman and my father's golf buddy. Sadly, I never knew my great grandmother Pesse, who was the light of my mother's life. She passed away in 1942 from an adverse reaction to anesthesia during surgery.

My great grandfather Ben Zeff, his second wife Vally, and most of their children and grandchildren.

Sophisticated as the foodie scene may be around here, the Bay Area, unfortunately is known for its dearth of delis. So, it is with great pleasure that I share my menu, the sources that I discovered, and a few Zeff family recipes.

Best Sources:
Corned Beef, Pastrami, Corn Rye Bread, Chocolate Babka: 
Wise Sons Deli   3150 24th Street, San Francisco, CA 94110  (415) 787-3354
Runner-up: Corn Rye & Chocolate Babka-
Your local Trader Joe's, believe it or not! Know that the Chocolate Babka is stocked seasonally.                                                                      
Smoked Salmon:
Bi-Rite Market   3639 18th St,  San Francisco, CA 94110-1531  (415) 241-9760; 2nd location- 550 Divisadero St., SF (415) 551-7900
Salmon is cold smoked in-house
Runner-up:
Spence & Co. Nova Lox at your neighborhood Whole Foods.
Kosher Salami:
Hebrew National at Draeger's Markets (San Mateo, Menlo Park, Los Altos & Danville)
Smoked Turkey, Pickled Herring, & German-style mustards:
Dittmer's Gourmet Meats & Wurst-Haus   4540 El Camino Real, Los Altos, CA 94022,
(650) 941-3800 Don't get all excited when you see their corned beef and pastrami; it's made from top round and is way too lean! And make them slice the turkey for you fresh.
Runner-up: Pickled Herring- Blue Hill bay brand on sale in 26 oz. jars at Costco
I was able to order challah and bagels from these sources through my local grocery store which was much appreciated, as it cut down on the last minute running around.
Challah:
Esther's German Bakery  987 N. San Antonio Rd., Los Altos, CA 94022  (650) 941-4463
Esther's also delivers to groceries in San Francisco and on the Peninsula, and sells at local farmers markets, listed on her webpage.
Bagels:
House of Bagels   5030 Geary Blvd., San Francisco, Ca (415) 752-6000
Also House of Bagels-Mountain View located at 1712-D Miramonte Ave, Mountain View, CA, 94040 (650) 694-4888
These bagels have that tough water bagel crust and a soft interior, delicious with cream cheese!
Izzy's Brooklyn Bagels   477 S. California Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94306  (650) 329-0700
Izzy's bagels have a softer and squishier exterior. Best fresh from the oven!
Overall, best stocked Kosher foods department:
Mollie Stone's Markets (Nine locations in Marin, San Francisco & on the Peninsula)
Fresh matzo, frozen chicken schmaltz(!), Kosher meats, chocolates, etc. etc. Where Bay Area families who actually keep kosher shop.

The buffet table

Recipes

To delve further into the history and many delights of Jewish cuisine, consult The Book of Jewish Food by Claudia Roden, winner of the James Beard Foundation Cookbook of the Year award. So fun to look up a recipe and read that your mother's version is "Ukrainian style," which was exactly where the family emigrated from.

Jewish Chopped Liver
You either love it or you hate it. I hadn't cooked chicken livers in over twenty years and found them to be a little disgusting, but the results won raves from happy eaters.

3-4 hardboiled eggs, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup rendered chicken fat (schmaltz) (See Note)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 pound chicken livers, trimmed
1 cup flour
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Matzo, for serving

In a very large skillet, melt the butter and 1/4 cup of the chicken fat. Add the onion and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and just starting to brown, about 10 minutes.

Wash the liver, drain well, and pat dry on paper towels. Combine the salt and pepper with the flour in a pie plate. Dredge the livers in the flour mixture and add them to the skillet. Cook over moderately high heat, turning occasionally, until barely pink inside, but crusty on the outside, about 8 minutes.

Put the hardboiled eggs in the bowl of a food process and process until crumbly and put them in a medium-size mixing bowl. (You can also hand chop them.) Scrape the livers into the bowl of the food processor and let cool slightly.  Pulse until the livers are finely chopped but not completely smooth. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of chicken fat and pulse to combine. Season to taste with more with salt and pepper.

Transfer the chicken liver to the bowl with the eggs and gently stir together. Taste again for salt and pepper. Press plastic wrap onto the surface and refrigerate until chilled, about 45 minutes. Serve with the matzo.

Chicken Schmaltz
Trim the raw chicken skin and fat from chickens before roasting and save it in the freezer until there is enough to render.

Put the fat and a little water in a small saucepan and cook slowly (1 ½-2 hours, depending on the quantity). Throw in a sliced onion and cook the schmaltz until the onion and cracklings are light brown. Cool the schmaltz and then strain it into a jar while it is still liquid.

Sourcing schmaltz: You can buy commercially made chicken schmaltz at stores that carry Jewish and Kosher foods. In the Bay Area you will find it in the freezer section of Mollie Stone’s Markets.

Pickled Herring in Sour Cream
Not my favorite, but they were swiping the bowl clean! Excellent on corn rye.

2 12-oz. jars pickled herring, either whole fillets or in chunks
2 cups sour cream
1 red onion, thinly sliced
Pepper, to taste

Drain the pickled herring in a colander. Place it in a bowl and stir in the sour cream and onion. Add black pepper to taste. Refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend. Makes 4 cups.

The dessert table: kugel, mandelbrot, babka, nut strudels, and honey cake.

Lokshen (Noodle) Kugel

12 oz. wide egg noodles, parboiled (slightly undercooked, 5-7 minutes) and drained
1 cup large curd cottage cheese, full fat (if you can find it; otherwise use farmer's cheese or full fat small curd cottage cheese)
1/3 cup sugar
4 Tb salted butter, melted, plus more for greasing the baking dish
4-6  eggs, well beaten
1 tsp.vanilla
1-2 tsp. cinnamon
¼ cup white raisins

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Mix all the ingredients together and bake in a well buttered baking pan. (You can use any size pan as long as the pudding is at least 2 “ high.)

Bake the kugel for about 45-50 minutes or until it is lightly browned on top.

Mandelbrodt 
Jewish biscotti! To minimize crumbling, slice the long loaves into individual cookies while they are still warm. These taste sort of lousy until they have had their second baking.

3 eggs
1 c. sugar
½ c. salad oil
½ c. (or more) toasted almonds, coarsely chopped
½ t. vanilla
3 c. flour
2 ½ t baking powder
whole raw almonds

Beat the eggs, add the sugar, and then the oil. Mix in the chopped almonds. Sift the dry ingredients together, and add them to the egg mixture. The dough should be wet, but firm enough to form loaves. (Add a little additional flour, if needed.)

With floured hands, form three long narrow loaves (1 ½’ high x 2 ½” wide) 2” apart on greased cookie sheets.  Push raw whole almonds, with points parallel to the width, into the dough at 1” intervals.

Bake in a 350° oven for 25-30 minutes, or until lightly brown on the edges. Immediately cut into 1” wide slices by cutting between the almonds on top. Turn the cookies on their sides, and return to the oven and bake again until lightly browned, another 20-25 minutes. Makes 3-4 dozen cookies.