February 2010 – Page 2 – First Look, Then Cook

Salted Chocolate Ganache Cake

Published on February 8, 2010February 9, 2010 by Dawn4 Comments

When did salt start becoming something you not only douse your savory food with, but also your sweet? Now, scientifically speaking, I know that salt does something in the baking process to make sure everything works correctly – but salt sprinkled on top of sweets is something more recent. I don’t remember when I was little eating salted caramel – or salted chocolate. I do remember loving chocolate covered pretzels though. My first taste of chocolate covered pretzels was at a store I worked at in high school. This store sold a little bit of everything – gifts, cards, jewelry, invitations, stickers, and even sweets. Every once in a while we couldn’t stand it, and we would break open a package of something delicious – for me it was even more of a treat since I was not allowed sweets at home. Those chocolate covered pretzels were my favorite – that salt with the sweetness of the chocolate was such an interesting combination. I make chocolate covered pretzels every year around the holidays (rocky rods), but for some reason when I made this cake, I thought of my first taste of salted chocolate. This recipe came from Cooking Light, and I followed it exactly. The cake was so nice and fluffy – and the frosting was perfect – just a thin layer of ganache with the salt on top made you keep coming back for more.

Ingredients

Cooking spray
2 teaspoons cake flour
5.3 ounces sifted cake flour (about 1 1/4 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
3/4 cup evaporated fat-free milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 1/2 ounces dark chocolate, divided
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon sea salt or fleur de sel

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Coat 1 (9-inch) round cake pan with cooking spray; dust with 2 teaspoons flour.

Weigh or lightly spoon 5.3 ounces flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and baking powder in a bowl; stir with a whisk. Place 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add egg; mix well. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in vanilla.

Beat egg whites with a mixer at high speed until foamy using clean, dry beaters. Gradually add 3 tablespoons sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Gently fold half of egg white mixture into flour mixture; fold in remaining egg white mixture. Grate 1/2 ounce chocolate; fold grated chocolate into batter. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 23 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on a wire rack.

Chop the remaining 2 ounces chocolate. Combine chopped chocolate and 1 tablespoon butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at MEDIUM 1 minute or until chocolate melts, stirring every 15 seconds. Spread chocolate mixture over top of cake; sprinkle evenly with sea salt. Cut into 8 wedges.

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here: Salted Chocolate Ganache Cake

Sunchoke and Potato Gratin

Published on February 7, 2010 by Dawn1 Comment

Sunchokes (otherwise known as Jerusalem Artichokes) are such an interesting vegetable. I would eat them at restaurants, but it was only within the last year that I starting cooking with them – when one week they showed up in my CSA basket. I searched the internet for recipes, and I hardly found any. I could make a sunchoke soup – but I wasn’t interested. Instead, I decided to make a gratin. I made one that was just too heavy – so the next time I tried it my own way. It was delicious – the sunchokes add such a subtle flavor to the dish, but it is perfect with the potatoes. The best part of this dish though is the shallots on top, along with the fontina cheese. I have made this dish a few times, and each time I do things just a little differently. In the recipe below, I use 1% milk – although it is also very good made with chicken broth. If you happen to see sunchokes in the market, don’t be afraid – try this recipe and you will be a big fan!

Ingredients

1 garlic clove
10 sunchokes (about golf-ball sized), sliced thin
2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
2 shallots, sliced thin
1/4 cup 1% milk
1 cup grated fontina cheese
salt and pepper

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 9×9 ceramic dish with cooking spray. Cut the garlic clove in half and rub the cut sides onto the dish. Discard garlic.

Layer the potatoes evenly in the dish covering the entire bottom. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Layer the sunchokes evenly covering the potatoes. Sprinkle the sliced shallots on top of the sunchokes – and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Pour milk all over the vegetables. Sprinkle with the fontina cheese.

Cover the dish with tin foil and bake for about 45 minutes. Take the cover off and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Make sure the sunchokes are soft – if not cook a little longer.

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here: Sunchoke and Potato Gratin

Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Cinnamon Caramel

Published on February 4, 2010 by Dawn5 Comments

One of the first “fancy” desserts that I fell in love with was a crème brûlée – that vanilla custard with the burnt sugar on top was music to my mouth. The custard was so silky smooth, I just wanted to jump right in. Many years later, I tried my first Panna Cotta. The texture was very similar to the crème brûlée, but the flavor was completely different. Instead of being on the sweet side, it was a little more acetic. In contrast to the crème brûlée, the panna cotta was stark white – it didn’t have that yellow hue that the crème brûlée had because of the egg yolks. I also starting noticing that whenever panna cotta was on the menu, it was served with a fruit compote – which is not usually my preference. Nevertheless, from time to time I would order it for dessert, and I was never disappointed – until one time…

We were at an Italian restaurant that was noted for being kid friendly (normally our kids do not accompany us when we go out, but this time they did) – usually when a restaurant is kid friendly, you are not heading into a mecca of fine dining, but still, we try to choose places that are at least decent. When we got the dessert menu, I saw the Panna Cotta, and I urged my older daughter to get it – I told her she would love it, it was like a cross between yogurt and pudding. When it arrived at the table, it looked different – almost like jello. She took a bite, and was not pleased. I took a bite – and it was jello – white jello. Whoever made it put in a little too much gelatin. It was unlike anything I had ever had before – which was a good thing.

I saw this recipe in Bon Appetit, and I was instantly drawn to it since it had a cinnamon caramel topping. Also – reading through the recipe, it seemed too simple to be true. This was my first attempt at Panna Cotta, and will definitely not be my last. It was incredible – and the caramel sauce, OH MY. This should be a staple for everyone when you need a quick caramel sauce – it came out perfect. Print this out, and make it tonight – you will thank me, I promise.

Ingredients

1 1/2 teaspoons (scant) unflavored gelatin
1 cup heavy whipping cream, divided
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon (generous) ground cinnamon

Preparation

Pour 1 1/2 tablespoons water into small bowl; sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand until gelatin softens, about 10 minutes.

Combine 3/4 cup cream and 1/3 cup sugar in heavy small saucepan. Stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves and mixture just begins to simmer. Remove from heat. Add gelatin; stir until gelatin dissolves. Cool until warm, stirring occasionally. Stir in buttermilk and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla. Divide among six 1/2-cup ramekins. Cover and refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours.

Combine brown sugar and remaining 1/4 cup cream in small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and caramel sauce is smooth. Remove from heat; stir in cinnamon and remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Take the panna cottas out of the refrigerator and run a thin knife around the edge. Take a plate and put it on top of the panna cotta, then turn it over. If it does not come out, fill a shallow dish with warm water, and let the panna cotta dish soak in it for a minute. That should help.

Spoon slightly warm caramel sauce over each panna cotta and serve.

For a printer friendly version of this recipe, click here: Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Cinnamon

Greek Chicken and Barley Salad

Published on February 2, 2010 by Dawn4 Comments

Feta cheese – yum. It is just one of the many cheeses I always try and keep in the refrigerator. I love making Greek Salads – but truly, my favorite part is the feta. When I graduated from college, I went back to Europe to travel for a couple of weeks before I started my job – my time in France my junior year gave me such a bug, that I had to go back to visit a few places I had missed. One of those places was Amsterdam. I ended up meeting a friend of mine from High School there, and we went to this Mediterranean café for dinner – I normally try to stick to the specialties of the region, but this place was packed – and the food looked amazing. I had a greek salad that night that I will never forget. The feta was so fresh and delicious, I finished off the leftovers on my friend’s plate as well – he was laughing at my determination to not waste a single bite.

I saw this recipe in Cooking Light – and it happened to win an award – how could I pass it up? The barley in the salad make it particularly intriguing to me – that is not a grain I have cooked before, although I do love it. I thought the nuttiness of the barley would go perfectly with the feta cheese – and I was right. The best part of all though was the lemon vinaigrette – use it sparingly, but boy what a burst of flavor it brought to the dish. We had some friends over for dinner that night, and it was a huge hit. I can see why it won an award.

Ingredients

Salad:

2 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon olive oil
4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth, divided
1 cup uncooked pearl barley
2 cups cubed seeded cucumber
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup cubed yellow bell pepper
1/3 cup reduced-fat feta cheese
1/4 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives

Dressing:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 garlic cloves, minced

Preparation

To prepare salad, sprinkle chicken with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Add 1 cup broth; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until done. Cool; shred chicken. Discard broth.

Bring 3 cups broth to a boil in a large saucepan; add barley. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork. Cool. Combine chicken, barley, cucumber, and next 4 ingredients (through olives) in a large bowl.

To prepare dressing, combine 3 tablespoons oil, rind, and remaining ingredients; stir well. Add to barley mixture; toss well. Cover and chill.

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, click here: Greek Salad and Barley Salad