Chocolate Bouchons (Bouchons Au Chocolate)

These small brownie-like cakes are named for their shape, which resembles a cork (bouchon). They are very rich and chocolaty, baked with the chocolate chips in the batter, and dusted with confectioners’ sugar. Bouchon uses 2-ounce fleximolds and serves smaller bouchons. You can also use 3-ounce (2-inch to 2-1/2-inch diameter) timbale molds for larger cakes.

Bouchon by Thomas Keller with Jeffrey Cerciello (Artisan, 2004).

Ingredients:

• butter & flour for the timbale molds


• ¾ cup flour, (3 1/2 oz)


• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder


• 1 teaspoon kosher salt


• 3 large eggs


• 1-½ cups sugar, plus 3T


• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract


• 24 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly warm


• 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, such as Valrhona Equatoriale (55%) chopped into pieces the size of chocolate chips


• confectioner's sugar

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (BAKE) F. Butter and flour 12 timbale molds. Set aside.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, and salt into a bowl; set aside. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in another large bowl if using a handheld mixer, mix together the eggs and sugar on medium speed for about 3 minutes, or until very pale in color. Mix in the vanilla. On low speed, add about 1/3 of the dry ingredients, then 1/3 of the butter, and continue alternating with the remaining flour and butter. Add the chocolate and mix to combine. (The batter can be refrigerated for up to a day.)

Put the timbale molds on a baking sheet. Place the batter in a pastry bag without a tip, or with a large plain tip, and fill each mold about 2/3 full. Place in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. When the tops look shiny and set (like a brownie), test one cake with a wooden skewer or toothpick. It should come out clean but not dry (there may be some melted chocolate from the chopped chocolate). Transfer the bouchons to a cooling rack. After a couple of minutes, invert the timbale molds and let the bouchons cool upside down in the molds; then lift off the molds. (The bouchons are best eaten the day they are baked.)

To serve: Invert the bouchons and dust them with confectioners’ sugar. Serve with ice cream if desired.

NOTE: Can spray molds with Pam/flour combo.

NOTE: Sifted cocoa and flour into baggie...

NOTE: Poured chocolate mixture into 8c measuring cup in which butter was melted and combined with chopped chocolate.

NOTE: Two soup spoon to fill each mold.

NOTE: Can bake at 325 degrees (CONVECTION)

NOTE: Makes 30 - 36.

(Serves 12)

Known for his celebrated restaurants — The French Laundry in Napa Valley and Per Se in Las Vegas — chef Thomas Keller has been called one of the world's top chefs. His latest eatery has just opened in New York's Time Warner Center. It's called Bouchon Bakery, and many of the recipes can be found in his cookbook, "Bouchon." Keller was invited to appear on “Today” to share some of his trade secrets. Here’s one of his recipes:

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Cheese Pita

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs


• 1 large carton small curd cottage cheese


• 1 to 2 cups shredded cheese


• 2 Tablespoons butter


• 1 package frozen spinach, thawed and drained


• salt


• pepper to taste

Directions:
Prepare a buttered glass dish ( or individual ramekins) and preheat oven 350.

Beat eggs together, mix in cottage cheese, butter, flour, spinach. Salt and pepper.

Bake at 350, or until brown on top, about 45 to 60 minutes.

May be frozen before baking. Adjust baking time -- can go from freezer to oven.

NOTE: Can add red peppers or other vegetables, chopped. Do not need spinach. Can use an assortment of cheeses but nothing stringy like swiss.



(Serves --)



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Blue Dog Cafe Wheat Berry Salad

Ingredients:

• 3 cups wheat berries, (see note)


• 2 cups lima beans, frozen (10 ounces)


• ¼ cup walnut oil


• ¾ cup canola oil


• ⅛-¼ cup sherry vinegar


• 1 cup dried cranberries, or currants


• 1 cup walnuts, chpd


• 2 cups celery, diced


• 1 cup scallions, chopped


• salt


• pepper

Directions:
In a large saucepan cover berries with water; cook al dente. Drain. Cook limas al dente; drain. Combine walnut oil, canola oil and vinegar; add to warm berries and limas. Toss. Soften dried fruit by soaking in water, if needed.

When bean mixture has cooled, add dried fruit, walnuts, celery and scallions; toss. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

NOTE: Try using less canola oil and more vinegar.

NOTE: Used tarragon vinegar and sherry.

NOTE: Substituted lentils for limas.

(Serves 6)



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Ann Silliman's Benne Biscuits

Ingredients:

• ½ pound sharp cheese, grated


• ¼ pound butter, softened


• ½ teaspoon salt


• pinch red pepper, generous


• 1 ¼ cups flour


• ½ cup benne seeds, roasted to light brown

Directions:
Cream cheese & butter; knead flour, salt & pepper into creamed mixture. Knead benne seeds into dough. Roll; cut w/small cookie cutter.

Sprinkle w/fine salt

Bake 350d (325d convection) until dry but not too brown -- 15 - 20m.

NOTE: Used Kitchenaid to cream cheese & butter -- then switched to dough hook to knead in flour, salt & pepper. Then added benne seeds. Be sure to get them evenly distributed. Dough i very pliable and easy to work with. Put in fridge and pinched off dough to roll.

NOTE: Double recipe made about 300 with small, scalloped cutter. Used 5/16" dowel rod.

NOTE: Used silpat and 2 gray "non-stick" sheets -- double recipe made 4 pans of 70 - 80 each.

NOTE: Is coarse salt better than fine for sprinkling?

(Serves --)



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Ann Schapiro's Cream of Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons butter


• 3 tablespoons flour


• 1 teaspoon salt


• ¼ teaspoon dry mustard


• dash cayenne pepper


• 1 quart chicken stock


• ¾ pound mushrooms, chopped


• ⅓ cup sherry


• ½ cup heavy cream, scalded


• cream, whipped


• slivered almonds, toasted

Directions:
Melt butter in deep saucepan; blend in flour, salt, mustard, & cayenne. Gradually add stock. Cook, stirring constantly until thickens & boils. Add mushrooms. Reduce heat; simmer 40m. Strain out mushrooms (they can be used for other recipes). Stir in sherry & cream. Top each serving w/spoonful of whipped cream & almonds.

NOTE: Might want to use some mushroom broth... also added dried shitakes and portobellos.

(Serves 4)



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Abby Mandel's Boule de Neige

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate


• 2 teaspoons dry instant coffee, espresso if possible


• 1 cup sugar


• ½ cup water, BOILING


• 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature


• 4 eggs


• 1 tablespoon dark rum, or cognac


• 1 cup heavy cream


• 2 tablespoons sugar


• 2 teaspoons Cognac, or rum or vanilla

Directions:
Boule:

Begin with an ovenproof mixing bowl with 6-8 cup capacity; it may be glass, pottery, or metal and should preferably be deep and narrow rather than wide and shallow (I use a stainless steel bowl 2.5" high with an inside diameter of 7"). To line bowl with foil, turn the bowl upside down, tear off a 12" square of foil; center it over the inverted bowl. With your hands, press down all sides all around to form the foil into a bowl shape. Then remove foil, turn bowl right side up, and place foil into bowl. Press firmly into shape (careful not to tear).

Break up the chocolate a bit; place in Cuisinart fitted with metal blade along with sugar and coffee. Turn machine on and off several times to start the processing; then let machine run until chocolate is finely chopped. With the machine running, add the boiling water through the feed tube all at once and process until the chocolate is melted. Add butter in small pieces through feed tube; process until melted. Add eggs and rum or Cognac; process about 15 seconds until well-blended. Pour into foil-lined bowl. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes.

Remove from oven; the top will be puffy with a hard, cracked crust. Let stand in bowl until cooled slightly; it will shrink more in the center forming a hollow in the center which should be eliminated. The following directions seem unusual, but follow them. A few minutes after the dessert comes out of the oven, place a piece of waxed paper on top of the bowl, touching the dessert. With your fingertips, press down on the edges of the paper to flatten the raised rim of the dessert (the crust will crack -- that's all right). Repeat several times while dessert is cooling in order to flatten the top as much as possible.

When dessert is cool, cover airtight; refrigerate overnight or freeze for several days. A few hours before serving, when you are ready to mask it with whipped cream, remove the covering. Invert onto a flat cake plate.

Neige:

You will need pastry bag with medium star tip, In chilled bowl with chilled beaters, whip the cream until it holds a soft shape; add sugar and flavoring. Continue to beat until the cream hold a definite shape. Turn into pastry bag -- cover with small rosettes, touching one another.

Traditionally a Boule de Neige is decorated with a few crystallized violets or rose petals.

NOTE: I use more heavy cream to ensure coverage.

NOTE: Can try "stabilized" whipped cream recipe.

NOTE: Freezes well.

NOTE: Can freeze covered with whipped cream rosettes -- defrost carefully in order not to mar design.








(Serves --)



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Chicken Marbella

One of the finest dishes ever to come out of the Silver Palate Cookbook, this chicken marbella is first marinated in oil, vinegar, capers, olives, prunes, and herbs, then baked with added brown sugar and white wine. While prunes and capers might seem like an odd combination, when cooked together with chicken they create a delectable sweet and sour, savory flavor. The original recipe calls for the chicken pieces to be marinated all night. We found that marinating for 5 hours worked fine.

Ingredients:

• 2 chickens, 2 1/2 lbs each, quartered, bone-in, skin-on


• ½ head garlic, peeled and finely puréed


• 2 tablespoons dried oregano


• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste


• ¼ cup red wine vinegar


• ¼ cup olive oil


• ½ cup pitted prunes


• ¼ cup Spanish green olives, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges (8 cups)


• ¼ cup capers, with a bit of juice


• 3 bay leaves


• ½ cup brown sugar


• ½ cup white wine


• 2 tablespoons Italian parsley , fresh, finely chopped

Directions:
1 In a large bowl combine garlic, oregano, salt and pepper to taste, vinegar, olive oil, prunes, olives, capers with caper juice, and bay leaves. Add the chicken pieces and coat completely with the marinade. Cover and let marinate, refrigerated, several hours or overnight.
2 Preheat oven to 350°F.
3 Arrange chicken in a single layer in one or two large, shallow baking pans and spoon marinade over it evenly. Sprinkle chicken pieces with brown sugar and pour white wine around them.
4 Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, basting frequently with the pan juices. Chicken is done when thigh pieces, pricked with a fork at their thickest point, yield clear yellow juice (not pink).
5 With a slotted spoon, transfer chicken, prunes, olives, and capers to a serving platter. Add some of the pan juices and sprinkle generously with parsley or cilantro. Serve remaining juice in a gravy boat.

Serves 5.

NOTE: Made with 8 large boneless Fresh Market breasts -- cut into 6 pieces each -- olives from Fresh Market also -- marinated in teal square tub -- double recipe -- serves 8 - 10.

(Serves --)

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/chicken_marbella/

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