Cherry Clafoutis

Last year when we were in the Drome I had my first taste of clafoutis.  It was cherry and I knew to watch out for the pits.  The French leave them in to give an almond flavor to the clafoutis.  Now that cherries are in season here in California I got the urge to make a clafoutis myself and bought myself a fancy 4 at a time cherry pitter to make the process easier.  Other than pitting the cherries, making a clafoutis is very easy.  I added some finely chopped almonds, to make up for the lack of pits, to a recipe in the Tartine Bakery's cookbook.  Clafoutis recipes vary widely.  I liked Tartine's, but the next time I made it I reduced the sugar just a bit ( from 3/4 cup to 2/3 cup) and upped the quantity of fruit a bit.  I have made it with Blenheim apricots and Len liked it even better. Feel free to substitute any stone fruit you like.

Tartine's Cherry Clafoutis

2 cups whole milk (I didn't have whole milk and used 3/4 cup skim and 1/4 cup cream)

2/3 cup sugar (I used organic) the original recipe called for 3/4 cup

1/2 vanilla bean

pinch salt

3 large whole eggs

1/3 cup plus 1 tblsp all-purpose flour

2 cups cherries, pitted (plus some chopped almonds)

1/4 cup sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 425.  Butter a 10" ceramic quiche mold or pie dish.

In a small saucepan, combine milk, 2/3 cup sugar, vanilla bean, and salt. Place over medium heat and heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar, to just under a boil.  While the milk mixture is heating, break 1 egg into a heatproof bowl, add the flour, and whisk until free of any lumps.  Add the remaining 2 eggs and whisk until smooth.

Remove the pan from heat and slowly ladle the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture, whisking
constantly. (I scraped the seeds out of the vanilla bean.)  Pour the mixture into the mold and add the fruit, making sure that it is evenly distributed.

Bake until just set in the center and slightly puffed and browned around the outside, 30 to 35 minutes.  Remove from the oven, turn up the temp to 500.  Evenly sprinkle the 1/4 cup sugar over the top.  Return to oven for 5 to 10 minutes to caramelize the sugar.  Watch carefully, as it will darken quickly.

Let cool on wire rack for at least 15 minutes before slicing.  Serve warm or at room temp.

1/4 cup sugar for topping

The clafoutis is at it's best by far the day that it is made, but it still tastes great the next day.  It would be great for breakfast, but I have resisted that.

A Pear Cake for Martha

I thought a ginger cake would be a nice thing to make for Martha and it sounded to good her. I found a few recipes that I used as a launching point and ended up with this, which was pretty good. Martha thought it was a bit too sweet, but I think that it wouldn't be too sweet for most everyone else. 

PEAR GINGER CAKE

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup brown sugar (try 3/4 for Martha)

2 cups flour (scoop and level method)

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp powdered ginger

zest of one lemon

4 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla

3 ounces finely chopped fresh ginger (use small bowl in processor)

3 to 5 peeled and chopped bosc pears

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time and then vanilla. Add fresh ginger and lemon zest. Stir dry ingredients together and add. Stir in pears. Place in buttered 9” springform pan lined with parchment at 350 for about 1 hour. Check for doneness with a toothpick after 50 minutes.

Candied Orange Peel Dipped in Chocolate

Dessert at Chez Panisse one evening we ate there included candied orange peel, yummy.  Here is the version from Alice Water's "Fruit".

Candied Orange Peel Dipped in Chocolate

5 oranges

4 cups sugar plus more for tossing

2 cups water

1/4 lb bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Cut washed oranges in half and juice them, saving the juice for another use.  Put the halves of peel in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water.  Bring to a boil over low heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Drain peel, return it to the saucepan, and cover with cold water; bring to a boil and simmer 10 more minutes.  Repeat this blanching process a third time, simmering until the peel can easily be pierced with the point of a knife.  After this third blanching, let the soggy peel cool.  Scrape out most of the white part of the peel with a spoon and slice the peel into long 1/4 inch thick strips.

Put the strips in the saucepan and add the sugar and 2 cups water.  Stir the mixture over low heat until sugar is dissolved.  Allow the peel to continue to cook slowly in the sugar syrup until it becomes translucent and the syrup is boiling in fast small bubbles; the temperature of the syrup should reach 230 degrees.

Turn off the heat and let the fruit sit in the syrup for 1/2 hour.  Drain and arrange the strips, not touching one another on a rack or baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  The next day toss them with about 1/2 cup sugar and store in an airtight container, refrigerated, for up to 6 months.

Four ounces of chocolate will cover about 60 pieces of orange peel.   Melt the chocolate gently and carefully dip the long strips into it, leaving the end of each uncoated.  Lay strips on a parchment lined baking sheet and refrigerate.

Pierre Hermé's Suzy's Cake, a very rich Chocolate Cake

I have returned from a almost a week of back to back events in Washington D.C.  The most special were Barack Obama's inauguration and Eeva's 30th birthday.  Amy and Eric hosted a dinner party and I provided the cake.   I had a couple of requests for the recipe which is slightly altered from "Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme".  This is my most requested dessert and is very easy to make.

Suzy's Cake

9.7 oz bar (275 grams) bittersweet ScharffenBerger Chocolate 70%

2 1/4 sticks (250 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup (200 grams)  organic sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup plus 1 tblsp (70 grams) all-purpose flour

1. Butter 9" round springform cake pan that is at least 2" high, line bottom with parchment paper, butter the paper, and dust inside of pan with flour: tap out excess.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees with shelf in middle.

2. Melt chocolate (Cool until just warm to touch before mixing with rest of ingredients).

3. Cream butter and sugar on medium speed for about 4 min, scraping sides of bowl frequently, until butter is creamy and sugar well blended.  Add eggs one at a time, beating about 1 min after each.  Reduce speed to low and pour in the cooled chocolate. Mix just until incorporated. Stir in flour only until it disappears into the batter.

4. Scrape batter into pan, smooth top, and place into oven.  Bake 26 to 29 min or until cake rises slightly and top has lost its sheen.  The top may crack a bit and the cake may not look entirely set in the center; when you test the cake by inserting a slender sknife into the center, the knife will come out lightly streaked with batter, which is what you want.  (This light streaking, hasn't happened for me. It is always heavy streaking for me. It is important not to over bake the cake as it will be dry. I never bake it over 29 minutes.)  Transfer cake to a rack to cool.

5. When cake has cooled, chill it in the refrigerator for an hour or two to make it easy to unmold.  Turn cake out, remove parchment, and invert cake onto serving platter so that it is right side up.  Allow the cake to come to room temperature before serving.  Serve the cake with whipped cream.  I sift powdered sugar lightly over cake, but it isn't necessary. I think it makes the cake more attractive.

The cake can be wrapped in plastic and kept at room temperature or in to refrigerator for 3 or 4 days or frozen for up to a month.

Recipes Old and New/Black Bean and Tomato Quinoa & Brandon's Chocolate Bars

I just enjoyed a weekend of eating and cycling with friends and my food contributions were my old cookie favorite Brandon's Chocolate Bars and Black Bean and Tomato Quinoa from Gourmet Magazine by way of www.Epicurious.com.  Both were big hits and the recipes were requested and so here they are.  I thought the quinoa would be better if the amount of black beans was increased just a bit, but nobody else agreed.

Brandon's Chocolate Bars

Crust:  1 cup butter

             1 cup brown sugar, packed

             2 cups flour

             1 tsp vanilla

Cream butter and sugar.  Add flour and vanilla.  Pat into 9 by 13 pan and bake at 350 degrees 15 to 20 minutes.

Topping:  3 large eggs

                  1 1/2 cups brown sugar

                  1 1/2 tsp vanilla

                  3 tblsp flour

                  3/4 tsp baking powder

                  12 oz pkg chocolate chips

                  3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla.  Beat in flour and baking powder.  Add cocolate chips and nuts. Spread topping over baked crust.  Return to oven for 25-30 minutes.  Cut into bars while still warm.

Black Bean and Tomato Quinoa

2 tsp grated lime zest

2 tblsp fresh lime juice

2 tblsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled (I omitted this)

1 tblsp olive oil (I used a bit more)

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 cup quinoa

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained (I cooked my own)

2 med. tomatoes, diced

4 green onions, chopped.

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (the original recipe called for cilantro)

Whisk together lime zest and juice, butter, oil, sugar, salt, and pepper in large bowl.  

Cook quinoa.  (For directions in orginal recipe, go to TEXT

and  type in Black Bean and Tomato Quinoa in the search box.)  Add quinoa to dressing and toss until dressing is absorbed, then stir in remaining ingredients.

The Dermatology Department Party

Fancy has asked me what we served when we hosted the derm party.  It really couldn't have been simpler and made the party relatively stress free.  The only thing that I prepared from scratch was the gravlax which was served with small slices of pumpernickel bread and baguette, along with creme fraiche as a topping.  The other things merely needed to be set out: mixed nuts, a variety of olives, four different cheeses, crackers, tapenade, ham, small franchese rolls, and mustard .  The ham was Martha Stewart/Niman Ranch from Costco.  They have had it the last 2 Christmas's at Costco and it is really good, not too salty.  For dessert I picked up four different things from Gayles:  individual chocolate peppermint cakes, little mocha mousses in chocolate cups, pecan tassies, and lemon butter snowflake cookies.   For drinks we offered San Pellogrino sparkling water, champagne, white and red wine, and beer.  I borrowed wine glasses from Martha and had stemless flutes for the champagne.  I found great appetizer plates at the Crate and Barrel outlet.  It was wonderful not having paper plates and plastic cups.  

  

Daube de Boeuf and Polenta with Teleme Cheese

This Christmas I wanted to do something other than turkey and no one much cared what I chose to cook.  I searched my recipes and came up with one for daube de boeuf photocopied from an unknown cookbook as a base.  I decided to serve it with a polenta recipe that was in the January Gourmet magazine.

Daube de Boeuf

4 1/2 lbs beef cut in chunks (I used chuck roast from grass feed beef)

4 carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds

1 celery rib, sliced

3 medium onions, chopped

6 garlic cloves, diced

1 small bunch parsley

3 imported bay leaves

several sprigs fresh thyme

1 bottle (750 ml) sturdy red wine

1/4 cup cognac (I forgot it)

olive oil

butter

1 lb mushrooms, sliced

zest and juice of 1 orange

salt and pepper

Brown beef on all sides in olive oil in heavy deep pan.  Don't crowd.  Remove from pan, add butter and when melted cook onions until translucent, add carrots and celery, and cook until soft.  Return beef to pan, add wine and herbs, orange zest and juice, cognac, salt and pepper. Bring to simmer and cook covered 3 1/2 to 4 hours until meat is tender.  Sauté mushrooms in butter and add when meat is cooked.  This is best cooked a day ahead.  Serve over mashed potatoes, polenta, or noodles

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Polenta with Teleme Jack Cheese

6 cups cold water

1 1/2 cups polenta (not quick cooking)

2 tsp sea salt

1/2 stick unsalted butter

1/2 lb teleme jack cheese, or 3/4 cup mascarpone and 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Stir together water, polenta, and salt in a heavy medium saucepan, then bring to a boil, covered.  Simmer, uncovered, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until smooth and creamy, about 20 minutes.  If mixture starts to tighten and get dry, add more water (up to 1/2 cup).  Remove from heat and stir in butter.  Pull cheese into pieces and stir into polenta until incorporated.  I did not have the teleme and used mascarpone and parmesan.  The polenta stayed soft when refrigerated and reheated well.

While we were waiting for dinner Eeva cooked Karelian pastries for us to keep us from starving.  They were delicious.  I would love it if Eeva would post the recipe for us.