Chocolate truffle tart

An easy dessert that looks fancy, and a chocolate lover's heaven. It's basically a chocolate ganache in a chocolate pastry crust. I've seen a lot of versions of this recipe, but this one (from Favorite Brand Name Best-Loved Chocolate Recipes) is the only one I've made. I guess I've never seen a reason to change... :)

In the bowl of a mixer, thoroughly cream together

1. 6 T butter, softened
2. 1/2 c sugar

Add the following ingredients, and mix until a soft dough (finally!) comes together:

1. 2/3 c flour (softer is better, e.g. White Lily)
2. 1/2 c ground walnuts
3. 1/3 c cocoa powder

Press into an ungreased 9" removable-bottom tart pan (or a pie plate, if you don't have a tart pan) and bake 12-14 minutes in a preheated 350F oven. Cool completely on wire rack, but leave it in the pan.

Heat to a bare simmer

1. 1 1/4 c heavy cream
2. 1/4 sugar

Remove from heat and add

1. 12 oz (~2 c) semi-sweet chocolate chips*
2. 2 T fruit jam, such as seedless raspberry

Let stand ~5 minutes to soften, then whisk until smooth. Cover and chill about one hour, until somewhat thickened but not yet solid. Beat with a hand mixer until color lightens. (This incorporates some air and makes the texture softer and lighter.) Spoon into cooled crust and chill until firm. Serves 12 to 16; keeps several days in the fridge, covered. Fresh raspberries, halved strawberries, whipped cream and vanilla ice cream all make nice accompaniments.

* Such as Ghirardelli 60% Cocoa, my favorite for all sorts of baked goods.

"Indonesian" peanut chicken

I don't think this is in any way authentic (it comes from Betty Crocker's Bridal Cookbook, for goodness sake), but it sure is tasty. The thick peanut sauce is great over rice too. While you could easily do 4 breasts with this recipe (the original was written for a 3lb broiler-fryer), I like to make sure there's plenty of sauce to go around.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and let sit at room temperature for up to 30 minutes before beginning; the salt dehydrates the surface, which will improve browning. Then, in a hot skillet over medium-high heat, brown

1. 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, in
2. 2 T peanut oil (canola, vegetable, whatever)

It'll probably take 4-5 minutes on each side, depending on how hot your pan is. Remove chicken and keep warm (it'll finish cooking later). Add a bit more oil if necessary, then soften

1. 1/2 c chopped onion
2. 1/4 c chopped red bell pepper (or green, or leave it out)

In a small bowl, whisk together

1. 1/3 c peanut butter
2. 1/4 c chili sauce*
3. 1/2 c water

Doing it this way makes it easier to get smooth. Add peanut butter mixture to the skillet and stir to combine; add more water if the sauce is too thick for you, up to 1 c total water. You can also add some cayenne pepper for heat; or you could have blackened some dried chiles in the oil with before the onion went in. Katy and I prefer this one non-spicy, though. Now return the chicken to the skillet and simmer covered until cooked through. Serve sauce over chicken and rice, and top with

1. crushed/chopped peanuts
2. fresh-squeezed lime juice

I include extra lime wedges on the plate, too.

* Chili sauce is available in the oriental foods section of many grocery stores (for instance, H.T. Traders Red Chili Dipping Sauce). Mine has a clear red gelatinous base with tiny chunks of stuff suspended in it, and it's sweet and very mildly hot. Don't confuse this with the American ketchup-like condiment made by Heinz, and please don't confuse it with the uber-hot Thai chili (garlic) sauce that looks like tomato sauce with chile seeds in it. A quarter cup of that stuff will burn your tastebuds right out of your mouth...

Refrigerator flatbread

I love fresh, hot bread with dinner, but it's just not an option on a normal workday -- who has 3+ hours of lead time for dinner? This recipe has two advantages, though. First, the dough is made ahead and waits in the refrigerator until you're ready to bake it, up to about a week. Second, it's cooked on the grill, so there's no waiting to heat the oven and baking stone. Since I have no grill at my apartment, I cook it in a grill pan over the stove.

This bread is great on its own or dipped in herbed olive oil. It's a natural parner for hummus, and it makes a good pizza crust too (especially for grilled pizzas). You could even slice a flatbread open and stuff it with some kind of filling. It's about the most versatile bread recipe I know.

The ingredients and basic procedure come from Bobby Flay's Boy Gets Grill; the slow rise is my modification, inspired by Peter Reinhart.

In large mixing bowl, combine

1. 1 1/2 c warm water (below 110F or you'll kill the yeast)
2. 1/2 t instant yeast

If using active dry yeast instead, wait 10-15 minutes for it to proof; otherwise, immediately mix in

1. 9.5 oz (2 cups) King Arthur unbleached all purpose flour

Use the paddle on your mixer; mix for about 1 min on low speed once everything is together. Cover the mixer with a towel and let rise until doubled, 1-2 hours (usually 1). Briefly mix in

1. 1/2 t salt (kosher or sea)
2. 2 T olive oil
3. herbs and spices, if desired (?)
   

These aren't added initially because salt slows the yeast growth and oil can interfere with gluten formation. I think this would be a good time to add herbs or spices if you wanted (black pepper or rosemary, maybe?). Many of them actually boost yeast growth, but a few can inhibit it. (Read more in Shirley O. Corriher's CookWise, a book everybody should have.) Now swap the paddle for the dough hook and add another

1. 9.5 oz (2 cups) King Arthur unbleached all purpose flour (that's 19 oz or 4 cups, total)

Knead with the dough hook until bread is smooth and plastic, about 10 minutes. It should stick to a small spot on the bottom of the bowl, but not come up the sides. Add a little flour if it does, or a little water if it doesn't stick at all.

Now, you could leave it on the counter another 2 1/2 hours and then procede straight to shaping. But instead I transfer it to a plastic container sprayed with non-stick spray (or lightly oiled), and I shove it in the fridge. Here it can sit for at least 12 hours, and up to a week. The container needs a cover that will let gas escape so pressure doesn't build up; aluminum foil or plastic wrap is fine. I prep this dough as I'm making dinner, and by the next morning it has almost doubled in size again, ready to use. As an added bonus, the long slow rise develops all sorts of nice flavors you just don't get from an hour or two on the counter top.

The recipe makes enough for 4 flatbreads. When you're ready to bake, remove a portion, shape into a ball and then flatten into a disk. Stretch it like pizza dough, either tossing in the air or poking with your finger tips on the counter. If you can't stretch it as thin as you'd like, let it relax for 5-10 minutes and try again. It needs to sit, covered loosely with plastic wrap, until the dough comes to room temperature and has puffed up a bit. To speed things up, I put it on a non-insulated cookie sheet over a pan half full of hot tap water, which gets it ready to cook within 30 minutes. Hmm, just enough time to get the rest of dinner together...

Heat your grill (pan) to medium or medium-high heat. Brush or spray the top of the bread with oil, and sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Flip that side onto the grill, and then oil and season the other side while the first one cooks. The top of the bread will develop bubbles as it cooks; once the bottom has some nice char marks and is lightly golden, it's ready to flip. It's pretty hard to screw the cooking part up -- if the outside looks like something you'd want to eat, the inside will be fine.

Chocolate Orange Rice Pudding

I fell in love with rice puddings in Toledo, Spain, where Katy and I had a wonderfully cool arroz con leche in a small but blissfully air conditioned restaurant -- Toledo is hot in August. The traditional version is scented with lemon peel and stick cinnamon, so it keeps its pure white color. Since this version is dark brown anyway, the ground cinnamon doesn't hurt its looks, and means you need one less unusual ingredient.

I cooked up this version in honor of Katy's birthday, since she's a chocoholic and especially loves those chocolate oranges they sell around Christmas. To give credit where it's due, the recipe is based on largely on one from Saveur magazine's Tex-Mex special issue, with inspiration from Maricel Presilla's complicated but intriguing version. The combination of spicy peppers and chocolate is one I've had several places; the heat does something to really bring out the chocolate flavor. The idea of a carmelized "brulee" topping came from Bakus in Durham, which I wrote about earlier.

While you could easily make it with leftover Uncle Ben's from last night's dinner, the shorter grain rices release more starch and hence give a stickier, creamier pudding. This can also be adapted back to a non-chocolate version, by using only 1/4 + 1/8 c sugar (since there's no chocolate bitterness to counteract) and lemon zest instead of orange. Obviously, omit the chocolate and cayenne pepper.

In a medium sauce pan, bring to boil (covered) 1 cup water, and add

1. 1/2 c short- or medium-grain rice

Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is tender and all liquid is absorbed. Add in

1. 1 c whole or reduced-fat (not skim) milk
2. zest of 1/2 orange (1 long strip if possible)
3. 1/4 t ground cinnamon
4. 1/16 t cayenne pepper (optional)
5. 1/4 t kosher salt
6. 1/8 c cocoa powder
7. 1/2 + 1/8 c sugar

Cook, stirring very frequently until thickened. Keep in mind that it will thicken more as it cools, so stop a bit short of where you want it. Remove from heat and stir in

1. 1 t vanilla extract

At this point, you can chill it in an ice bath or go ahead and put it in ramekins and put it in the refrigerator. You could stir in some semisweet chocolate chips once it's cool, too, for a double-chocolate version. When you're ready to serve, sprinkle some

1. light brown sugar

on top of each pudding and carmelize with a torch or the broiler. (Propane torches are about $20 at the hardware store for a nice big one.) Serves 4.

Holiday Traditions II: Potato-Sausage Casserole

Christmas dinner I can take or leave, but Christmas brunch is a tradition. This is one of two casseroles we always make, and for many years my Gudda kept this recipe a secret. But now that she can't make it anymore, it seems a shame to hide it from the world.

Combine:

1. 1 lb. bulk pork sausage, browned and drained (if doubling recipe, go 50:50 mild to hot)
2. 1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup
3. 3/4 c milk
4. 1/2 c chopped onion
5. 1/2 t salt
6. 1/4 t pepper

In a greased 2 qt casserole, make two layers each of sausage and

1. 3 c raw potatoes, hash brown cut*

Bake covered at 350F for 1 hr. Sprinkle with

1. 8 oz shredded Cheddar

and return to oven until cheese is melted. Garnish with parsley.

* Raw shredded potatoes are often available in the refrigerator case around the holidays. If you can't find any, either shred your own or thaw some frozen ones.

Holiday Traditions I: Grandma Zales' Corn Casserole

Every family has foods that make an appearance at the holidays, and this is one of my favorites from the Davis clan. We don't know who Grandma Zales was, since this recipe came out of some old newspaper or magazine. But her casserole is wonderful!

In a casserole, mix:

1. 2 (12 oz) cans corn, such as Green Giant Niblet (drained?)
2. 2 eggs
3. 3 T minced onion
4. 1/2 t salt
5. 1/4 t pepper
6. 1 t baking powder
7. 1/3 c light cream or half & half

Top with:

1. squares of uncooked bacon
2. shredded sharp Cheddar

Cover and bake at 350F for 55 minutes.

Flour of all trades, master of none

The more baking I begin to do, the more I feel there's no place in my kitchen for "all purpose" flour. Like most all purpose things, it's not particularly good at anything -- not enough protein for bread, and too much for biscuits. So instead, I'm going to try to keep two flours: King Arthur unbleached all-purpose (which, despite the name, is closer to a bread flour) and White Lily. The King Arthur is good for breads and breadings, where you want high protein content (for strength and for browning, respectively). The White Lily is good for biscuits, cakes, and pastry, where you want to avoid developing much gluten. We'll see how this scheme works out.

On the subject of flour, I've realized there's a lot of variation in whole wheat flours. I had a bag of Hodgson's Mill "stone ground" whole wheat hanging around, and the two things I baked with it turned out different (read: worse) than when I'd used King Arthur whole wheat, which seems to have much finer particles. I've seen in the King Arthur's catalog that they have a "white whole wheat", which supposedly tastes and bakes more like white flour but still has all the good fiber of whole wheat. I'll be excited to try it...

Navy bean salad at Bakus

Katy and I had the best New Year's dinner, at a tapas bar on 9th St (www.bakus.us). Though it's gotten mixed reviews, we loved the slightly Americanized yet still Spanish-gourmet plates. We had pork in a fig-sherry-cream sauce, apple wedges with almonds slivers and creamy cinnamon dressing, and fried plaintain slices with goat cheese. We shared a chicken breast entree that paired tomatoes and spinach with apples and raisins, which was a much better combo than I would have thought. But my favorite was the bean salad that accompanied the cheese plate: it could stand in for a potato salad any time. Via our kind waitress, the chef said there were 10 ingredients, which I can mostly remember:

1. navy beans
2. chorizo sausage (presumably Spanish style, not Mexican)
3. red (bell) pepper
4. onions
5. olives (black or green?)
6. cilantro
7. cumin
8. olive oil
9. lemon juice
10. salt & pepper

I haven't worked out the proportions yet, but I'll post it here sometime if I do!

Come to think of it, this would make a nice hummus too. Maybe I'll try that some time...