My Favorite Recipes

Anything rich with chocolate is always a show stopper at a dinner party. This rich cake is only made richer by pouring a velvety chocolate ganache over this rich cake. This is our go to desert for our wine food pairing that we donate for charity. Its paired with either a great desert wine, or taste it with a great Cabernet Sauvignon.

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 bar (10oz) Scharffen Berger 70% bittersweet chocolate
• 6 eggs
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/8 cup brown sugar
• 3/8 cup cake flour
• 3 Tbl finely grated toasted almonds
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Procedure

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Butter the sides and bottom of an 8-inch or 9-inch spring form pan.  Line the bottom with parchment or waxed paper and flour the pan.

Melt the butter in a double boiler. Chop the chocolate into coarse pieces and add to the butter. It should not get much hotter than 115 degrees F. Set aside.

Separate the eggs and beat the sugars into the egg yolks until just mixed. While the chocolate is still warm, whisk the egg mixture into it, then stir in the flour and the almonds. If the combined mixture has cooled, warm it over low heat, stirring constantly, until it is barely warm.

Warm the egg whites slightly by swirling them in a bowl above a gas flame or over hot water (the whites will beat to a greater volume when warmed). Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites and beat until they look creamy and form rounded peaks. Spread the egg whites over the chocolate mixture and fold them together quickly without deflating the whites.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the cake is completely set around the sides, but still has a soft and creamy circle, about 6 inches across, in the center. The cake will rise and crack around the edge and separate from the softer center. The center should wiggle just slightly when you shake the pan gently.

Cool thoroughly in the pan.

To serve the cake, turn it out, peel the paper off the bottom, and drizzle with chocolate glaze (see note) or sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar. The cake keeps very well, if not iced, for three or four days. Do not refrigerate or freeze, just cover the pan with foil until ready to use.

Note

• 8 ounces Scharffen Berger 62% semisweet chocolate
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons sweet butter

Heat the chocolate, cream, and butter in the top of a double boiler. Stir gently until the mixture is completely melted and smooth.  Use lukewarm as a pourable glaze or let stand until thick enough to spread like frosting.  If using as ganache, chill in refrigerator to desired consistency.

This first time I made this soup, I made it for a wine food pairing that we donated for charity.  after tasting during the cooking process, I thought it was too salty, too gritty, too thin, too thick.  You get the picture, so I tinkered with the process until I thought it would pass the minimum taste test.  During the dinner, the soup was the favorite thing of the entire meal and they wanted more.  It just goes to show you that you should taste while you cook.

Ingredients

• 1 lb dried yellow peas
• 8 cups of water
• 1 Tbl Butter
• 1/2 lb salt pork, all one piece
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 stalk of celery, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1 tsp Savory, dried
• salt and pepper to taste

Procedure

Wash and sort peas, looking for any dirt or stones (rare).  Melt butter in a large pot and sweat onion, carrot and celery until soft. Add peas, water, parsley, salt pork, bay leaf, savory and 1tsp of salt.  Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer until peas are tender, about 2 hours, adding more water if needed. Discard the bay leaf.
Now comes the fun part, determining the type of soup you want to serve. Want a thin soup with chunks?  Serve as is, just add salt and pepper to taste.  Want a thicker soup?  Puree a few cups of the soup in a blender and return to the pot, add salt and pepper.  Want a thick soup?  Puree all the soup and add salt and pepper.  Soup too thick?  Strain and then add some cream, then season with salt and pepper.  See, its easy to make one recipe and easily make it the kind of soup you want it too be.

Bobby Flay calls this the Mesa Grill Steak Sauce. I call this the best sauce to serve with a grilled steak. The nice thing is it doesn’t require any cooking, just mix and serve.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/4  cup prepared horseradish, drained
• 1 1/2 Tbl honey
• 1 Tbl dijon mustard
• 1 Tbl pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbl ancho Chile powder
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Procedure

Whisk all the item together and refrigerate for an hour or so. Bring to room temperature before serving.