Chocolate: My new frontier

Let’s be honest…chocolate is not a new frontier for me. I LOVE CHOCOLATE…probably more than is actually acceptable. But hey, it’s a love that started when I was little helping my mom in the kitchen. I always helped because I was rewarded with the beaters from the stand mixer (and I didn’t get salmonella…knock on wood).

However, I haven’t done much cooking with chocolate. In general, I haven’t done a lot of baking. But in an effort to be more domestic (and in reality because I enjoy being in the kitchen so much), I’ve started trying new dessert recipes.

For Thanksgiving, I was tapped bringing a dessert. I (obviously) wanted to do chocolate and settled on a dark chocolate tart with a gingersnap crust. Initially, the recipe called for using crystallized ginger on the top of the tart, but not everyone in my family is a fan. So I swapped out the crystallized ginger and subbed in fresh raspberries and made a red raspberry sauce to go along with it. If I do say so myself, it’s pretty much to die for. The chocolate I used was actually bittersweet and the raspberry sauce cuts the richness just enough and really balances the flavors. Unfortunately, I don’t have any photos, but when I make it again, I’ll be sure to post.

Another epicurious recipe.

Dark Chocolate Tart with Gingersnap Crust
Crust:
8 ounces gingersnap cookies (about 32 cookies), coarsely broken
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Pinch of salt

Filling:
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 large egg yolks
1 large egg
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped crystallized ginger

For crust: Preheat oven to 325°F. Finely grind gingersnap cookies in processor (yielding 1 1/2 to 1 2/3 cups). Add melted butter and salt; process until moistened. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom and up sides of 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Place pan on rimmed baking sheet.

For filling: Combine finely chopped bittersweet chocolate and heavy whipping cream in heavy medium saucepan. Whisk over low heat until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove saucepan from heat. Whisk egg yolks, egg, sugar, flour, ground black pepper, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Very gradually whisk chocolate mixture into egg mixture until smooth and blended. Pour chocolate filling into crust.
Bake chocolate tart until filling puffs slightly at edges and center is softly set, about 30 minutes. Transfer to rack. Sprinkle chopped crystallized ginger over top. Cool tart in pan 20 minutes. Gently remove tart pan sides and cool tart completely. DO AHEAD: Chocolate tart can be made 1 day ahead. Cover tart and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Cut tart into thin wedges and serve.

Red Raspberry Sauce

• 2 12-ounce packages frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed, with juices
• 1 cup sugar

Preparation

Purée raspberries with juices and sugar in processor until smooth. Transfer mixture to strainer set over bowl; press on solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids in strainer. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Adventures in Cooking pt2

Well more appropriately, this would be more adventures in baking.

As my most limited area of baking/cooking is baking bread, Ben constantly strives to teach me new breads. This week: Challah. Now Ben’s aunt makes some of the best Challah I’ve ever had, so ours doesn’t compare (especially since our oven is extremely finnicky), but we gave it a go and it wasn’t half back.

My Challah’s were a little over-cooked thanks to an over-excited oven (even after attempting to adjust for the hotter than actual temperature). With the exception of a thicker than desired crust, the challah was pretty delicious.

We paired it with numerous topping found amongst other items in the fridge, including (but not limited to), honey mustard, spreadable goat cheese, etc.

Another recipe courtesy of epicurious

2 teaspoons (6 grams/0.2 ounce) instant yeast
About 3 1/2 cups (475 grams/16.8 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (60 grams/2 ounces) warm water
3 large eggs, plus 1 for glazing 

1 1/2 teaspoons (8 grams/0.3 ounce) table salt
1/4 cup (55 grams/1.9 ounces) vegetable oil
1/4 cup (85 grams/3 ounces) mild honey or 1/3 cup (70 grams/2.4 ounces) granulated sugar

Mixing the yeast slurry
In a large bowl, whisk together the yeast and 1/4 cup (30 grams/1.1 ounces) of the flour, then whisk in the warm water until smooth. Let the yeast slurry stand uncovered for 10 to 20 minutes, or until it begins to ferment and puff up slightly.
Mixing the dough
Whisk the 3 eggs, salt, oil, and honey (measure the oil first, then use the same cup for measuring the honey — the oil will coat the cup and let the honey just slip right out) or sugar into the puffed yeast slurry until the eggs are well incorporated and the salt has dissolved. With your hands or a wooden spoon, stir in the remaining 3 1/4 cups (445 grams/15.7 ounces) flour all at once. When the mixture is a shaggy ball, scrape it out onto your work surface and knead it until smooth, no more than 5 minutes. (Soak the mixing bowl in hot water now to clean and warm it for fermenting the dough.) This dough is very firm and should feel almost like modeling clay. If the dough is too firm to knead easily, add a tablespoon or two of water to it; if it seems too wet, add a few tablespoons flour. 

The dough should feel smooth and very firm but be easy to knead.
Fermenting the dough
Place the dough in the warm cleaned bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. (Or, the dough can be refrigerated right after kneading, them removed from the refrigerator to finish fermenting up to 24 hours later.) Let the dough ferment until it has at least doubled in bulk, about 2 hours, depending on the temperature in your kitchen. (If the dough has been refrigerated, it may take an extra 30 to 60 minutes to ferment.)
Shaping and proofing the dough
Line one or two large baking sheets, depending on how many breads you are making, with parchment paper or oil them. Divide the dough into two 15-ounce(430-gram) portions for loaves, one 1 1/2 pound (680-gram) portion for a large loaf and three small pieces for rolls (the easiest way to do this without a scale is to divide the dough into quarters and use one quarter for the rolls and the rest for the large loaf), or fourteen 2-ounce (60-gram) portions for rolls. To make a New Year’s spiral*, roll each portion into a long, even strand, preferably sheeting it out first.

For each portion:

For a flat spiral, make a very loose spiral of dough on the prepared sheet, starting at the center and winding the dough around, leaving space between the loops, and tuck the end of the strand under.

For a high-rising spiral, wind the dough tightly around on the prepared sheet, without leaving any space between the loops, and be sure that the last loop is bound with a bit of tension. This will force the dough to rise in the center as it is proofing and especially during the oven rise.

If you would like to make the bird’s head, before making a long strand, pull off and shape a small round from the dough. Set the round on the spiral, using a little water to help it stick. When the dough is fully proofed, pinch out a beak shape and use your finger to push in dimples for eyes, or use raisins or currants for the eyes.

Cover the loaves well with plastic wrap. (At this point, they can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours.) Let them proof until tripled in size, about 2 hours (or up to 3 hours if the loaves were refrigerated).

Meanwhile, 30 minutes before baking, arrange the oven racks in the lower and upper third portions if using two baking sheets, or arrange one rack in the upper third position if using one sheet, and remove any racks above them. Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C/gas mark 3). If desired, you can preheat one or two baking sheets to double with the baking sheet(s) the loaves are in. Beat the remaining egg with a pinch of salt for glazing the breads.
Baking the loaves
When the loaves have tripled and do not push back when gently pressed with your finger but remain indented, brush them with the egg glaze. Bake rolls for about 15 to 20 minutes, the 15-ounce (430-gram) loaves for 25 to 35 minutes, or the 1 1/2-pound (680-gram) loaf for 35 to 45 minutes, until very well browned. After the first 20 minutes of baking, switch the loaves from front to back so that they brown evenly; if the large loaf is browning too quickly, tent it with foil. When the loaves are done, remove them from the oven and let cool on a rack.

*According to the Encyclopedia Judaica, the New Year’s spiral is a shape with a Ukranian origin, originally a bird shape with the center of the spiral culminating in a bird’s head: “The bird’s head symbolizes the phrase in Isaiah 31:5 ‘As birds hovering, so will the Lord of Hosts protect Jerusalem'” — which helps to explain why this spiral shape would be called a faigele, “little bird” in Yiddish.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/printerfriendly/My-Challah-235867#ixzz1BS1Di89a