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.

Cassoulet & Company

Little did I know that fateful day when I chose to try my hand at cassoulet that I was stepping into the middle of a centuries-old French controversy about it's origin. (Controversies in France are passed on like old linens and armoires from generation to generation a La Cousine Bette)  Three cities in southwestern France- Toulouse (lard, mutton, Toulouse sausage, duck or goose), Castelnaudary (pork, pork rind, sausage, occasional goose), and Carcassonne (mutton and the occasional partridge) -  all claim to be the originators of the dish. Though truth be told, it was probably a thrifty housewife or innkeeper who cobbled together a hearty white bean-based dish with odds and ends of meats left over in the larder.

Canal du Midi

Funnily enough, prior to the advent of the Picky Eater, old Dr. Hal and I once toured through the Languedoc, stopped over in these very villes, and spent several days following the course of the Canal du Midi by car from vineyard to vineyard. Those dim recollections from the distant past must have spurred my interest, as I do vaguely recall eating cassoulet for lunch in one of those quirky only in Europe restaurants run by a cooperative of housewives. Though this time, quelle horreur! I was, proposing to make a vegetarian version.

Dan's cassoulet- lusciously earthy!

With surprising synchronicity, across the continent my compatriot in cooking and dear college friend, Danial Elliott, was developing his own (non-vegetarian) cassoulet adaptation, based on recipes from Saveur & Julia Child. I love Dan's recipe because you get all the delicious richness of a meaty cassoulet without laboring for the proverbial three days, as is expected for an authentic traditional style dish. In fact, by soaking the beans a day ahead, I managed to make both recipes simultaneously in an afternoon. To further gild the lily, Dr. Hal insisted on roasting some duck legs for an extra soupcon of gluttony in our meat version. Drink a hearty peasant wine from southwestern France with your cassoulet similar to the Clos La Coutale 2010 from Cahors that Dan and I both enjoyed at our geographically distant tables.

And what would my personal ideal cassoulet be? I would propose a hybrid of the two recipes- use the vegetarian but add about 2 lbs. of sauteed pork shoulder cubes and a pound of my favorite Aidell's chicken sausage with basil & roasted garlic, also sauteed.

For dessert, try a thin slice of David Lebovotz's rich but not heavy Chocolate Pain d'Epices, accompanied by a dollop of creme fraiche, sour cream, or vanilla ice cream. It's spicy flavors hold up after the cassoulet without making you feel bilious.

Meat (left) & Veg (right)

Les Grandes Cassoulets

Prepare the white beans, which work the same way for either version-                                                   1 lb. pound Rancho Gordo cassoulet beans, or other dry white beans, such as Great Northern
1 medium onion sliced
1 large herb bouquet made up of
8 parsley sprigs, 4 garlic cloves,
1/2 teaspoon thyme and 2 imported bay leaves,
all tied in washed cheesecloth (recommended- otherwise you have to handpick the herbs out of the beans after they're cooked)
1 Tb salt, or to taste

Pick over the beans to remove any debris, wash and drain them, place in a large pot, cover with water and soak overnight. Or, if thinking far enough ahead to soak the beans overnight just isn't on your bandwidth, use the Julia Child approved quick soak method:
After you have washed & drained the beans, put them in a large pot and cover with water. Bring the beans to a boil and let them boil for exactly 2 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, cover it, and let the beans sit for exactly one hour.

Wrapped bouquet garni containing parsley, thyme, garlic, bay leaves

When the beans have finished soaking, drain and cover them with water by two inches. Bring them to a simmer and add the onion and herb bouquet. Simmer slowly, partially covered, until the beans are just tender, about 1 1/2 hours, adding boiling water if needed to keep the beans covered at all times, and about 1 tablespoon of salt to taste near the end of the cooking. (Beans may be cooked up to 3 days in advance then refrigerated. Reheat them just to a simmer before proceeding with the cassoulet or reheat the whole casserole together in a low oven, as described below.)

Assembling the meat cassoulet- note the crispy duck legs & thighs.

for Traditional Meat Cassoulet
Prepare the meats:
Olive oil
Salt
2 onions, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 lb. pork butt, cut into 1" pieces
1⁄2 lb. pancetta, cut into 1/2" cubes (caution: pancetta may be salty! If in doubt, simmer it in water for 10 minutes.)
1 large herb bouquet made up of 8 parsley sprigs, 4 garlic cloves, 1/2 teaspoon thyme and 2 imported bay leaves, all tied in washed cheesecloth
1 14 oz. can whole peeled canned tomatoes
1 cup white wine
2 cups chicken broth
1 lb. pork sausages
2 cups bread crumbs
1 Tb finely chopped garlic
2 tbsp. chopped parsley

Optional: 2 - 2 1/2 lbs. whole duck legs

Heat 2 Tb. olive oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the pork cubes and brown on all sides, for about 8 minutes. Add the pancetta, and cook until it has rendered its fat and is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Drain off all but 2-3 tbsp. of the cooking fat and reserve it for later. Add the onions and carrots, and cook until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.  Add the herb bouquet to the pan with the tomatoes, and cook until liquid thickens, 8–10 minutes. Add the wine, and cook, simmering quickly, until it is reduced by half. Add the broth, salt if needed, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook, uncovered, until the liquid has thickened, about 1 hour. Discard the herbs, and set the dutch oven aside.
Brown the sausages in 1 Tb of the reserved fat until nicely browned, about 8 minutes. Cut the sausages into 1" pieces.
If you choose to add the duck legs, brown them skin side down in a saute pan, turn and continue cooking 4-5 minutes more, then roast them in a 300 degree oven for 20-30 minutes, until fully cooked.
To assemble the cassoulet:
Warm a 4-quart casserole by immersing/filling it with hot water for 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the beans from their liquid, but reserve the liquid. Arrange a third of the beans in the bottom of the casserole. Cover them with half of the pork and pancetta mixture and half the sausages. Repeat with another layer of beans, then the remaining meats. End with a layer of beans, coming to within about 1 inch of the rim of the casserole. Ladle the pork cooking liquid plus as much bean cooking liquid as needed to just cover the beans. Mix the breadcrumbs, garlic, and parsley together and spread the mixture over the top of the beans, pressing it down lightly. Drizzle the reserved cooking fat over the breadcrumbs.
Cooking the cassoulet:**
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Set the casserole on a rack in the upper third of the oven. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until the  breadcrumb topping has crusted and browned lightly.  Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking 15-30 minutes or more until the bread crumbs are nicely browned and the cassoulet is heated through.
** If you have prepared the cassoulet ingredients ahead, and are reheating from the refrigerator, Julia Child suggests in Julia Child & More Company that it is best to slowly reheat the casserole in a 325 degree oven for an hour and then proceed with the "official" final baking. This technique works for both versions.

The beans are the stars of the veggie version.

Vegetarian Cassoulet
Deb Perlman of Smitten Kitchen adapted this recipe from the March 2008 issue of Gourmet. I used a New Orleans-style brown roux to give this cassoulet additional richness and depth of flavor. In contrast to the traditional method of making roux, which requires mega-minutes of constant stirring, preparing the roux in the oven is a no-brainer that needs minimal supervision. The tablespoon of Dijon mustard stirred in at the end nicely neutralizes any too "tomato-ey" taste and adds a bit of tanginess.

Oven Brown Roux (from Alton Brown)

4 oz vegetable oil

4 oz flour

Cassoulet vegetables
1 lb. white beans, soaked and cooked as described above
3 medium leeks (white and pale green parts only)
4 medium carrots, halved lengthwise and cut into 1-inch-wide pieces
3 celery ribs, cut into 1-inch-wide pieces
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 Tb olive oil
6 Tb brown roux (preparation instructions below)
1 large herb bouquet made up of 8 parsley sprigs, 4 garlic cloves, 1/2 teaspoon thyme and 2 imported bay leaves, all tied in washed cheesecloth
1 19-ounce can diced tomatoes, with their juice
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 quart stock (vegetable or chicken if you're not rigidly vegetarian)
1 Tb (or to taste) Dijon mustard
Salt & pepper to taste

Garlic crumbs
4 cups coarse fresh bread crumbs from a baguette
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup olive oil

For the roux:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Put the vegetable oil and flour into a small oven proof casserole and whisk together to combine. Place the casserole on the middle shelf of the oven, uncovered, and bake for 1 1/2 hours, whisking 2 to 3 times throughout the cooking process.

Make the cassoulet:
Prepare the white beans as described above.
Halve leeks lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces, then wash well and pat dry.

Heat the 2 Tb of olive oil and 6 Tb of roux in a large heavy pot over medium heat and add the leeks, carrots, garlic, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened and golden, about 15 minutes. Stir in the beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, and the herb bouquet. Then add the stock, and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are tender but not falling apart, about 30 minutes. Remove the herb bouquet and add the mustard and salt & pepper to taste.

Finish the cassoulet:**
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Mash some of beans in pot with a potato masher or back of a spoon to thicken the broth. Reheat the cassoulet and transfer it to a warmed oven proof casserole. Mix the breadcrumbs, garlic, and parsley together and spread the mixture over the top of the beans, pressing it down lightly. Drizzle the 1/4 cup olive oil over the breadcrumbs. Set the casserole on a rack in the upper third of the oven. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until the  breadcrumb topping has crusted and browned lightly.  Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking 15-30 minutes or more until the bread crumbs are nicely browned and the cassoulet is heated through.
** If reheating cold ingredients, see note under baking the casserole for the meat version.

Pain d'Epices au Chocolat
from The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz
Note: I made 1 1/2 recipes which baked up quite prettily in just 25 minutes in two of my tres chic 5-cup capacity French loaf pans. Melt the chocolate & butter together before you do anything else, and it will be sufficiently cooled by the time that you need it.
Makes one 9" round cake

7 Tb butter, cut in chunks plus more to grease the pan
7 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/4 c. flour
3 Tb unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 tsp whole anise seeds (I was skeptical, but they added a flavorful but subtle touch)
2 large eggs (room temp)
2 large egg yolks (room temp)
1/4 c honey
2/3 c sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Butter a 9" round cake pan, line the bottom with a piece of parchment paper, and butter the parchment. Dust the bottom and sides of the pan with flour or cocoa powder and shake out the excess.

In a double boiler or large heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter together, stirring until smooth. Let cool to room temperature.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and ground spices. Stir in the anise seed.

In the bowl of a standing mixer (OK to use portable, but tedious) whip the eggs, yolks, honey, and sugar until thick like a mousse, about 5 minutes on high speed. (This is the secret process that keeps the cake from baking up to a brick-like consistency. Fold by hand with a rubber spatula a third of the whipped egg mixture into the chocolate and butter, then fold the chocolate back into the remaining egg batter until just throughly mixed.

Add the dry ingredients one-third at a time, sprinkling them on top of the chocolate batter and folding them in until just incorporated.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the cake feels barely set in the center, but still moist.

Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Turn the cake out of the pan and cool completely on a rack. When cool, wrap the cake in plastic and let it stand at room temperature for 24 hours to allow the flavors to develop.

Mother-Daughter Chard Challenge

The Picky Eater was home on furlough for a few weeks recently and was cooking in overdrive, trying  to take advantage of all the great summer produce. One Sunday we were entranced by the baby chard offered by a vendor at our farmers market, which led her mother to conceive of the Chard Challenge. We purchased a double bag of chard and were off to the races, as it were, with a week of green & purple tinged leaves flying around the kitchen.

While it may be true that my daughter is a certified picky eater, the chard challenge provided ample evidence that her mother is a certified picky cook. While the Picky Eater whipped up a delicious white bean and chard soup with ease, her mother ran through three different recipes and used up about 6 pounds of chard, not to mention quantities of onions, eggs, butter, etc, and countless hours of her time before she got it what she thought of as right!

So, let's start with the Picky Eater's recipe, which will provide good hearty eating from now until next spring. Just be sure to cook the beans a little longer than she did- apparently she likes them crunchy, not soft and toothsome, as her parents (and the rest of the world) do.

Roasted tomato sauce
5 medium tomatoes
1 shallot (peeled)
5+ cloves of garlic (peeled)
Salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roast the tomatoes, shallot and garlic until they have caramelized and slightly shriveled about 40 minutes. If the garlic or shallots get really dark before the tomatoes are done, pull them out so they don't burn.  Chop the lot up with a mezzaluna or food processor (if doing it by hand, remove large bits of skin), add more salt if you think it needs it.

Infinitely tastier than something from a can!

White Bean & Chard soup  [dorm substitutions in brackets]
Makes 4 servings

1 carrot
5-6 cloves of garlic
1 rib of celery
1 teaspoon olive oil
4 sundried tomato halves
1/2 pound white beans
Enough water / stock to cover plus 2"
1/2 chard bundle, stems removed

Chop the carrot and celery up fine, then saute them and the garlic cloves (left whole) in olive oil over low heat until they are soft and slightly fragrant.  [If you're working with limited facilities, I suggest buying dried vegetable flake and substituting about 1/2-1 tablespoon and adding that when you add the beans.]

Add the beans, chopped tomato mixture, and stock / water (I use one can Swanson's chicken stock and add water until it's the right height) [powdered stock or bouillon cubes work well if you make them 1/2 the concentration the directions say].  Simmer (BARELY and UNCOVERED) until the beans are the consistency you like (creamy but not mushy or crunchy).  If necessary (depending on the saltiness of your stock) add additional salt after ~1.5 hours of cooking, when the soup starts to smell like beans and not like vegetables.  You may need to add more liquid, just keep it from going completely dry.  Relax.  This is really flexible.

When the beans are just about done, chop the chard leaves into long strips.  When the beans are actually done, add the chard ribbons and stir around until wilted.  Remove from heat. [Let cool, ladle into 4 plastic bags and freeze.  You can reheat it over the next 2-4 weeks for dinners]

Nothing to it, right? Prepare yourself for my travails.

I started with the "Torta d'Erbe" from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. It used a yeasted pastry crust, which only required a quick rise, no pre-baking, and was less rich than a traditional pastry dough. Filling ingredients were chard, sorrel, scallions, parsley, ricotta, eggs, milk, gruyere cheese ... I was good on everything but the sorrel and ricotta, so I decided to omit them and go for a quiche style filling.  Cross checked the recipe against a Leek & Swiss Chard Tart from Smitten Kitchen.  So far, so good.  Crust rolled out like a breeze, filling went together, no sweat. Popped it in the oven.

Looked like a photo from Bon Appetit coming out of the oven. Took a couple of bites.... disappointment! Soggy bottom crust more or less ruined everything else, and the chard had an unappealingly strong metallic taste. Should I try it again- pre-bake the shell? Paint the bottom using Dijon mustard or beaten egg white as a sealant? Forget it? Time to move onward and upward.

Spent more time marking recipes in Veg Cooking for Everyone while waiting to pick up Picky Eater at dance class. Couldn't decide which to go with. The Picky Eater suggested trying a variation on a giant spinach, mushroom and ham turnover (Pantin aux epinards, Simone Beck) in From Julia Child's Kitchen that I had reminisced about making in the distant past. Okay, let's try it with the yeasted pastry and chard. Had some Canadian bacon to substitute for the ham. Stop at the grocery for a couple more pounds of chard and extra gruyere. Make the pastry, cook the chard, make the onion flavored bechamel, saute the mushrooms with the ham and cooked chard. Roll out the pastry into a 12" x 18" rectangle. Spread out the filling (which is looking a little meagre.) Seal, brush with egg wash, and bake the tart.

Pantin unfolded.

Kitchen looks like a disaster area.

Looks impressive coming out of the oven. Proof (or lack thereof) is in the eating- filling to pastry ratio is too slight, as expected. Chard still tastes tinny. Time to admit defeat? Never!

A little more filling would have been nice.

Guests coming over for dinner on Sunday. Another chard opportunity. What about gnudi, aka gnocchi verdi from Canal House Cooking vol. 7, substituting chard for spinach and serving with tomato sauce in lieu of sage butter? Splurge on artisan whole milk ricotta. Dig some homemade tomato sauce out of the freezer. Prepare mixture the day before. Poach immediately before serving. YES!! They don't disintegrate during cooking, the tomato sauce is light and doesn't mask the flavor of the gnudi, which isn't metallic. Wish I had chopped the chard more finely. Success at last!

Gnocchi aka Gnudi Verdi
Love the word gnudi! It refers to the fact that these are basically a ravioli filling standing on their own, not encased in a pasta prison.
Adapted from Canal House Cooking volume 7 byMelissa Hamilton & Christopher Hirsheimer
Serves 4-6

This dough must be refrigerated 3 hours or more (overnight) before cooking. Once you have the chard prepared the dough comes together very quickly.

2 pounds fresh chard leaves
1 1/2 cups (16 oz) whole milk ricotta
1 Tb melted butter
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Salt & pepper 6 Tb of flour

4 Tb additional butter, melted
Grated Parmesan
Fresh tomato sauce (recipe below)

Cut away the leaf sections of the chard from the stalks, and discard the stalks, Wash the chard leaves in a colander without shaking dry, and place them in a large saucepan. (The water clinging to the leaves is enough to cook the chard in.) Cook over medium heat until just tender. When cool, squeeze the chard  dry by the handful over the colander. Finely mince and place in a large bowl.

Mix together the chard, ricotta, 1 Tb melted butter, Parmesan, and eggs with a rubber spatula. Season to taste with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Sift the flour through a sieve into the chard mixture and use the spatula to mix it just enough to incorporate the flour. The dough will seem soft and a little sticky.

Refrigerate in a covered container for at least three hours, or make it the day before and refrigerate overnight.

About 20 minutes before serving heat the tomato sauce over low and keep it warm. Fill a wide pan with water to a depth of about 3 inches. Season the water with salt and bring it to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Adjust the heat to keep the water barely simmering. Fill a measuring cup with cold water and pull out two tea spoons. Retrieve the chilled gnudi dough. Dip the spoons in the water and use one to scoop up some dough. Use the other spoon to shape the dough into an oval dumpling shape aka quenelle. Hold the spoon in the simmering water for a second and the gnudi will slide off and sink to the bottom of the pan. Cook 6-10 gnudi at a time until they float to the surface and feel firm, about 4-5 minutes. Hold the gnudi in a buttered & covered casserole in a warm (250 degree) oven until they are all cooked, serving as soon as possible.

To serve, smear a generous spoonful of warm tomato sauce on the bottom of a flat soup dish. Attractively arrange 3-5 gnudi on top, drizzle them with a little melted butter, and toss on a sprinkling of grated Parmesan and a bit more salt and pepper.

Forming / poaching the gnudi.

Fresh Tomato Sauce
(from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison)
Makes 2 1/2 cups

3 pounds ripe tomatoes, quartered
3 Tb chopped fresh basil or 2 tsp mixed dried Italian or Herbes de Provence
Salt & pepper
2 Tb olive oil

Put the tomatoes in a heavy saucepan with the herbs. Cover the pan and cook the tomatoes over medium-high heat, keeping an eye on them to sure that they don't scorch. When they have broken down, after about 10 minutes, remove from the heat, cool slightly, and briefly puree the tomatoes in a food processor. If the sauce is not as thick as you want, return it to the pot and cook over low heat, stirring often until it is the desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the olive oil.

Freezes nicely.