The Gift of Food

So my last post was gifts for the cook.  These are food gifts for the cook and the baker.  Sometimes people just hedge on spending that extra money for something better quality or cool to have.  So here are a few ideas.  Things I certainly enjoy.

If you read my blog, ever, you know that this is the only vanilla I use.  Nothing else tastes like it, and although it is a little pricier, it is worth every penny.  The vanilla paste is a wonderful treat for someone who makes their own ice cream, meringues, whipped cream...It is basically all those little vanilla bean specks in a sugar based suspension.  It keeps a long time, much longer than vanilla beans, which tend to dry out.  It really eliminates scraping the bean, and there is no waste.

Seasoning your food is paramount.  Maldon sea salt crumbles perfectly on your salads and meat.  And tellicherry pepper is all I would ever put in my grinder.  I never believed there was a difference, but there is.  Truffle and Salt is an expensive addition to a pantry, but nothing tastes as decadent as truffle.  It is amazing sprinkled on pasta, potatoes, even popcorn.  Finally, the tin of Potlatch Seasoning.  We sell out of it often, and for good reason.  It is terrific on salmon, but also makes a yummy sour cream based chip dip and season your chicken with it before you make chicken salad and wow...whole new level of flavor!

My dad buys Hot Rocks in bulk.  We all get them.  It is a chunky salt and pepper mixture with a little lemon in there as well.  It is so good on a steak!  The little jar on the right comes from the St. Helena Olive Oil Company.  It is a darling package with some great herbs inside.  Just add a great olive oil and dip your bread.  I also sprinkle it on pasta.

The baker in your life will thankyou for any of these. Instant espresso powder enhances anything chocolate, but also can bring a great coffee flavor to baked goods without adding any additional liquid.  This is my favorite brand.  Some are very bitter, almost burnt tasting.  The Pernigotti cocoa is something I talk about frequently, it just beats anything from the grocer.  Lyle's Golden Syrup is delicious and beats out corn syrup every time.  And local honey is a gift everyone would love.  Honey has many benefits, and local honey is shown to help with seasonal allergies.  I also love that I support a local bee keeper.

I have sung the praises of Captain Rodney before.  These are usually found in a specialty store, and are fun additions for the holidays.

If your food lover doesn't have a Trader Joe's and you do, here are some suggestions.  I stock up when we go to Nashville.  The nut selection is vast, and priced very well.  Almond meal, raw almonds, sliced almonds, pistachios (out of the shell) and macadamias are some of my favorites.  The white balsamic is my everyday vinegar, I buy 4 bottles at a time.  The peanut butter cups?  Delicious.  I bought them in August and they have been in hiding for 3 months.  I treat myself to one every week or so.  They also usually have some good special chocolate things for the holidays.  I just love this store.  Wish we had one in Memphis....hint hint hint.

So certainly there are lots of other great food items, but this is a good start.  A change from the classic olive oil, bottle of wine or Christmas candy route.  So head and out and make your food lover happy.  You may reap the rewards of your gift as well!  So what are you waiting for?  Shop, and maybe someone else will cook!

Ingredient: Cocoa

I know, preach, preach, preach. But here's the thing. If you want delicious food, you have to start with delicious ingredients. Period. End of story. There are tricks, short cuts and money saving tips, but some things have to be done in a certain way to achieve the best result. So I decided I am going to try and demystify some of these ingredients that you should know about.

Today is cocoa. I was baking my go-to decadent Espresso Brownies that I have been making for years. The recipe is from Williams Sonoma and were part of a cooking class I taught there. They are fairly easy to make and are a show stopper in their simplicity and their sheer chocolate decadence. So when I jumped to the WS website to get the recipe for this party, I read the reviews. And everyone was 5 stars and just crazy about them. And then, one poster gave it a poor review and said she used Hershey's cocoa, not Dutch processed. Fail. And my post was a little terse. (Good ol' WS edited it, my poison pen needs editing sometimes). And I am not wanting to sound witchy, honest. So I thought maybe not everyone knows there is a difference between natural cocoa and Dutch-processed cocoa, (beside price) I can teach the difference! At least to my loyal few. So what is the difference? Let's talk about cocoa. Natural cocoa is made by removing all of the cocoa butter from the cocoa liquor. Then this dry cake is ground to a powder. It is very bitter on its own, and therefore is used only in baked goods. The acid content is so high, it can actually be used as a leavening. This is what Hershey's and Ghirardelli cocoas are. There are many recipes that call specifically for this type of cocoa. It is lighter in color and is always baked or cooked. You wouldn't dust a dessert with this cocoa or roll truffles in it. You can see the darker, deeper cocoa on the left is Dutch-processed, the cocoa with the reddish tint is the natural cocoa. Dutch-process cocoa is natural cocoa that has been treated with an alkaline solution to reduce the natural acidity, thereby reducing the bitterness. This makes the cocoa darker and smoother. Traditionally these cocoas were imported and of course my favorite is Pernigotti. It's Italian (just like me), is found at Williams Sonoma (just like me), and has been around since 1860, so it is just about a hundred years older than me. It has a hint of vanilla which adds to the mellow flavor and I would never substitute anything else! Obviously the process is Dutch based, so there are Dutch brands available as well.

A well written recipe will tell you natural cocoa or Dutch-processed. You need to follow the recipe, because as you have heard time and again, baking is one big chemistry experiment. Acids and bases have a part in the baking process. If you peruse some high quality baking cookbooks, you will find good bakers have preferences in cocoa, many I have never heard of but would love to try. The thing to watch for is whether it is natural or Dutch and don't interchange the two.

So here is the recipe that spawned this post. And if the Hershey baking poster came here to find out who SweetiePetitti was telling her not to skimp on ingredients, welcome, and I hope you will try Dutch-processed in the recipe. I promise you will have much better results. And many thanks to one of my favorite baking books In the Sweet Kitchen by Regan Daley. I garnered much of my cocoa knowledge from her.

Chocolate Espresso Brownies
Ingredients:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process
cocoa powder
3 Tbs. instant espresso powder
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 oz. semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 eggs
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Generously grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder and salt into a bowl; set aside.

In a small, heavy saucepan over low heat, combine the butter and chocolate and heat, stirring occasionally, until melted, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and brown sugar until blended. Gradually stir in the chocolate mixture until blended. Stir in the vanilla, then add the flour mixture and stir until blended.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the edges pull away from the sides of the pan and the center is springy to the touch, about 25 minutes. I bake at a lower temperature and for less time because I use convection bake. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool.


For the glaze:
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp. instant espresso powder
4 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
Pinch of salt
16 chocolate-covered espresso beans (optional)

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the cream and espresso powder and heat, stirring, just until the powder is dissolved and bubbles start to appear around the pan edges. Add the chocolate and salt, remove from the heat and stir just until the chocolate is melted. Let cool to room temperature.

Using a small offset spatula, spread the cooled glaze over the cookie in a thin layer. Refrigerate until the glaze is set, about 30 minutes. Cut into 1 1/2-by-2 1/2-inch bars or 2-inch squares. Top each bar with a chocolate-covered espresso bean. Makes 16 bars.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Collection Series, Cookies, by Marie Simmons (Simon & Schuster, 2002).

So, what are ya waiting for? Go get BOTH kinds of cocoa and bake!!!

The Doctor's Favorite Cookies

My mom is a brown noser. Yep, I said it. In her late 60's, (not the 1960's) she went back to college to get her BA in Creative Writing. And you know how parents always tell their kids to engage their professors, make sure they know your name, go visit them during office hours? Well she took it a step further. She would bake cookies for her teachers. So these poor unassuming college professors are there to critique her plays and essays and they are derailed by the wafts of Pernigotti Cocoa and Madagascar Vanilla, toasted almonds and walnuts. Are you surprised she was an A student? Teachers everywhere wish they were lucky enough to have a student like her! Of course, I may be exaggerating a little as she is a published author and a playwright lucky enough to have seen her work on stage. She walked across the stage at the Tropicana Dome to receive that diploma right at her 70th birthday!

She has an on going eye problem that frankly hasn't slowed her down a bit, but is the elephant in the room, so to speak. Her specialist for her eye problem is an amazing physician. I have accompanied her on more than one occasion and love, love, love this man! He has the bedside manner a patient could only dream of their physician having, he is engaging and spends a great amount of time covering her concerns. Although she is regular in his office, he never treats her appointments as routine. And he looks like he jumped off the pages of GQ. The man can flat out dress, all the way down to the ink pen. (I covet things like ink pens).
So one day, she decides to bring the nice doctor some chocolate biscotti. It seems that the perfect doctor maybe isn't so keen on sharing. This happens when grown men are given possession of chocolate cookies, homemade, in the presence of a multitude of women. He just didn't want to start a cat fight with my mom's biscotti. I think it was pretty smart of him personally. But oh, now that he's had a taste of them, don't ya know he wants more! So she went back this week, biscotti in tow. And the relief of the doctor, when she told him she baked another batch for his staff! Whew! No more sneaking the cookies around. And here is the recipe. Seriously worth hiding from others. But the caveat. Don't even bother making these with grocery cocoa or grocery vanilla. They would never pass the test. Yep, I work there, nope they do not pay me to endorse. I just like really good stuff and I promise you, there is no substitute for the vanilla and cocoa found at Williams Sonoma. So, get the ovens preheated. We're baking!

Chocolate Biscotti

Combine and set aside, sifting is always a good idea...
2 1/4 C flour
1 tea. baking powder
1/2 tea. salt
1/4 c Pernigotti Cocoa (Williams Sonoma)

Cream:
1 1/2 C sugar
1 stick unsalted butter (room temp),
2 large eggs, (room temp)
1 tea. Madagascar vanilla (Williams Sonoma)

Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture, add 1/2 cup chopped nuts that have been lightly toasted and or add mini chocolate chips. You can add espresso powder for a mocha taste, almond extract if you like that flavor. It is a great cookie to try new ideas with!

On parchment paper on baking sheet, shape into 2 logs, 2 1/2 inches wide x 9 1/2 long x 1 inch high and bake at 350 degrees about 35 minutes. Cool about 30 minutes. Slice into 1/2 inch slices and put on large wire rack (so they toast on both sides) for 10 minutes. Cool before storing.

Ooh La La...Bouchons!

Wow. It's so hot, it sizzles. Articles in the Times, both LA and NY, responsible friends sending them to me asking, "Can YOU Bouchon?" I explore our own food section every week and had never come across the bouchon, it had to be on the wire, why not in our paper? Maybe it wasn't Southern, wasn't fried, required special equipment, whatever, but I know lots of people who would love to eat these, and a few may possibly go to the effort of baking them from scratch. And then at Williams Sonoma, the mix. Horrors. I know the mix is good, it is Williams Sonoma for Pete's sake. But the question was, could I, possibly bouchon?
Bouchon is French for cork, and the finished cake should resemble one. It is the brainchild of Thomas Keller, the genius behind French Laundry in the California Wine Country. Bouchon is the name of the bakery and he started it primarily to bake bread for his restaurants. I guess one day he decided he needed a signature bouchon dessert. I'm guessing, but it would make a sweet story. These little cork cakes are pretty hard to describe in writing, but have quickly turned legendary.
First the molds. We sell a silicone mold at the store that bakes 12 at a time, but Lori, the sweet sis she is, sent me the recipe from the LA Times and bought me the real French molds at Sur La Table.
The fluted are by far prettier, but proved to be unworthy. More on that later. They are really called timbale molds and are about 3 oz.
The recipe from the LA Times is pretty easy and straightforward. The batter can be made and then chilled if you can't bake all the "corks" at one time. But beware, one taste of that batter and Whoa! it is killer. I used my bittersweet Guittard chocolate, (only about 6 pounds to go), and of course Pernigotti Cocoa. I also used some aged vanilla from Nielsen Massey that was a gift from a friend. 10 year old vanilla is wonderful and more fragrant than you can imagine. After I mixed up the batter, I divided it between 2 disposable pastry bags.
The theory was that each bag would have to fill 6 timbales. The recipe said to butter and flour the molds, but I decided to spray them with Bak-klene. It is great stuff and washes off with soapy water. I baked them at 350 convection for about 22 minutes. They smelled fabulous and were super shiny on top. A few had cooked over and formed a sort of crust. I cooled them as directed, and the basic ones slid right out and looked oh, so cork like. The fluted, well, not so successful in the release, and you can't really see the design with that dark chocolate. Next time, 2 batches of 6 with the solid molds. A dusting of powdered sugar, and wow! I CAN bouchon, they look just like Keller's. So, now YOU bouchon, get in there and cook!

Adapted from Bouchon by Thomas Keller

3/4 cup (3 1/2 ounces) flour

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, melted and just slightly warm

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, such as 55% Valrhona, chopped into pieces the size of chocolate chips

Butter and flour for the timbale molds

Powdered sugar

1. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder and salt.

2. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the eggs and sugar on medium speed until thick and pale in color, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix until incorporated.

3. With the mixer on low speed, add about one-third of the dry ingredients, then one-third of the butter, and continue alternating with the remaining flour and butter. Add the chocolate and continue to mix to combine. (The batter can be made up to this point and refrigerated, covered, for up to one day.)

4. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 12 timbale molds. Set aside.

5. 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 two-thirds full. Bake the bouchons until the tops are shiny and set (like a brownie), and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out moist but clean (there may be some melted chocolate from the chopped chocolate), 20 to 25 minutes.

6. Transfer the bouchons to a cooling rack. After a couple of minutes, invert the molds and let the bouchons cool in the molds. Remove the molds and serve, or store until needed (the bouchons are best eaten the day they are baked).

7. To serve, invert the bouchons and dust them with powdered sugar. Serve with ice cream, if desired.

Each of 12 servings: 453 calories; 5 grams protein; 46 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams fiber; 30 grams fat; 15 grams saturated fat; 113 mg. cholesterol; 116 mg. sodium.

Okay...I KNOW...pretend you didn't read it. 453 calories. YIKES! Are they worth it? Well, yes. The Williams Sonoma mix is about half the calories, but honestly, just not as rich as the real thing.

Grandma's Brownies

Doesn't that sound fabulous? The brownie you remember your Grandma making? The problem here is twofold: One, I really don't remember my Grandma making them, my mom did and called them Grandma's, does that make them my great-gramdma's? And two, they aren't brownies at all. It's Texas sheet cake. Sadly, like many of my childhood favorites, it wasn't exclusive to the Petitti/Rohlik family. But that's okay, it is a very popular dessert and I have garnered many fans with this recipe.

The recipe is pretty easy, and other than buttermilk, most of the ingredients are on hand for the casual baker. And, I promise you'll find that buttermilk is a great ingredient to have on hand as well. Use it in pancake mix, marinate chicken in it, make real Ranch dressing...just to name a few.

The cake is a light, cocoa cake, very thin in a jelly roll pan. The star is the frosting! Soooo good! I made the recipe without nuts, but a cup of chopped pecans in the frosting or dropped on the moist frosting is a great addition. Paula Deen makes a version of this with a little more butter (surprise, surprise!) and she bakes it in a 9X13. It is delicious any way, but I love the sheet cake. It's a small, thin dessert with the richest frosting! Chill them and it turns into a small, thin dessert with fudge on top! And of course a sheet pan or jelly roll, makes a lot of servings. And yes, there is a difference in the sizes. A jelly roll pan is smaller at 15X10X1 a sheet pan is 18X13X1. Either pan will do, just keep an eye on your baking time.

Grandma's Brownies
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup strong coffee or water + 1 T instant coffee
1/4 cup dark cocoa (I like Pernigotti from Williams Sonoma)
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt

Frosting
1 stick unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons dark cocoa
1/4 cup milk
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine flour and sugar in bowl. In a saucepan, combine butter, shortening, coffee and cocoa. Stir and heat to boiling. Pour cocoa mixture over the sugar and flour and mix well. Add eggs, buttermilk, baking soda and vanilla. Mix well until smooth. I use a hand mixer.
Pour into greased pan, (no Pam, use Baker's Joy). Bake at 400. It will take anywhere from 15-25 minutes depending on the thickness. You will see the cake set.

During the last few minutes of baking, prepare frosting. In a saucepan heat butter, cocoa and milk to boiling. Stir often. Turn off heat. Mix in powdered sugar and vanilla with electric mixer until frosting is smooth. Add nuts now or later if desired. Pour warm frosting over hot cake.