Mocha Buttercrunch Pie

Adapted from The Frog Commissary Cookbook
 
Kayte made this for a December birthday gathering tonight, and it was a big hit.

CRUST
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup cold butter
3 tablespoons finely chopped chocolate, sweet or semisweet
3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons water
FILLING
1/2 pound soft unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
4 teaspoons instant coffee
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
4 eggs (Kayte used pasteurized)
 
TOPPING
2 cups very cold heavy cream
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon instant coffee
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
OPT. Grated chocolate or chocolate curls

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine the flour, salt, and brown sugar.  With a pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter.  Stir in chocolate and nuts. Mix the vanilla and water and add to crumbs.  Combine mixture with your hands. With floured fingers, push the mixture into a 9" pie shell, covering the bottom, sides, and rim. Bake for20 minutes. Cool completely.

FILLING
In an electric mixer, cream butter until fluffy and smooth. Add sugar, coffee, and vanilla, then beat until smooth. Add melted chocolate and again beat smooth.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating for several minutes after each addition. Spread the mixture into pie shell. Chill several hours. (At this point, the pie can be wrapped and frozen. Defrost in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours.)

TOPPING
Just before serving, whip together the cream, coffee, powdered sugar, cocoa, and vanilla until stiff enough to hold a shape. Spoon into a pastry bag fitted and cover the top of the pie with the topping.  Garnish with grated chocolate or chocolate curls. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serve with a wafer-thin mint ;-)

Cheddar Cheese Risotto

From Donna- adapted from Nigella Lawson

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 baby leeks or 2 fat scallions, finely sliced
• 1-1/2cups risotto rice
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 4 cups hot vegetable stock
• 1 cup chopped Cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives

This is the first of my holy trinity of cheese-rich comfort foods. There is just something about melted cheese, that perfect goo, that seems to soothe the soul and bolster the body.

This might seem odd to Italians (one of the reasons it is not in the Hey Presto chapter) but it works beautifully: The starchy rice and the sharp cheddar are the perfect counterpoint for each other.

I make this, too, on days when I need to escape to the kitchen and have a good, quiet, relaxing and mindless 20 minutes staring into the middle distance and stirring. I heartily recommend it. 

 Instructions:

1. Melt butter and oil in a medium-sized pan and cook the leeks or scallions until softened.
2. Add the risotto rice and keep stirring for about a minute, then turn up the heat and add the wine and mustard, stirring until the wine is absorbed.
3. Start ladling in the hot stock, letting each additiona get absorbed as you stir before adding the next one.
4. Stir and ladle until the rice is al dente, about 18 minutes, then add the cheese, stirring it into the rice until it melts.
5. Take the pan straight off the heat, still stirring as you do, and then spoon into warmed dishes, sprinkling with some of the chopped chives.

Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a starter

Smokey BBQ Brisket

Originally from Williams family friends Betty and Wade Wampler
 
It's snowy, cold and Christmastime.  So we'll be home long enough for the long baking time of this Williams family favorite. 

The original story: Once, on a ski trip to Switzerland with the Wamplers, Liz put the brisket in the oven, then left to do some skiing with Bob.  As sundown approached, they decided to ski down the other side of the mountain into Austria.  Halfway back up the slope, the rope tow quit, stranding them on the wrong side of the mountain, in the wrong country!  In those days before cell phones, they shelled out a small fortune for taxi fare to get home and salvage the brisket and arrived to find that the Wamplers had already gotten the management to let open the condo and turn off the oven.  The brisket was, by all accounts, wonderful.

Ingredients:
5 lb beef brisket
garlic salt to taste
onion salt to taste
celery salt to taste
3 tbsp Liquid Smoke
1-2 bottles BBQ sauce (Note from Tony: a “tomatoey” sauce is best, but make sure it’s not too sweet)
rolls (hoagies work best, given that brisket is sliced into strips)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 275°. 

Place brisket in a shallow pan.  Season, then sprinkle with Liquid Smoke.  Cover with foil and bake for 5 hours.  Remove from oven and pour off any liquid, since it will be mostly Liquid Smoke.

Chill brisket.  Get oven back to 275°. Cut brisket in slices a bit less than 1/4” thick, and layer them  in a pan, covering each layer with BBQ sauce.  Cover with foil and cook for 1 hour.  Serve on rolls. 

Serves 8-10

Sopa de Tortilla - Chicken Tortilla Soup

My first encounter with tortilla soup was at a Qdoba near Scott A.F.B..  Tony--who has a reputation for going out of his way in search of good eats--literally drove miles out of the way on a return trip from Springfield, and it was well worth the trip.  This isn't the Qdoba recipe, and in fact I don't remember what internet site I pilfered it from.  But we have served it before at GFS, and served it up to Donna last night, and it has the ring of comfort-food.

Heat over medium/high heat: 

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Saute for about 2 minutes:

• 1 small onion, chopped

Saute for another minute:

• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped

Put in pot and stir:

• 2 qt. chicken broth
• 1 c water (boil cilantro stems in this first, if not boiled with chicken)

• 1/2 cup of white rice, uncooked

Once the pot is simmering, add:

• 2 large or 3 medium cooked & shredded chicken breasts, boiled or (better) grilled w/hardwood & southwest rub

Add to pot and simmer for 30 minutes or so, until flavors meld:

• approx. 1 cup cooked black beans (canned are okay)
• approx. one cup corn (fresh, frozen or canned) 
• about 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons chile powder (I used 5 t ancho and 1 t chile)
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano (approx 3 tablespoons chopped, if using fresh)
• 2 jalapenos seeded and finely diced (I used 1, 'cause it was huge)

While the soup is simmering, cut into thin (1/8 of an inch or thinner) strips:

• 3 corn tortillas

Heat oil on medium/high heat and fry tortilla strips until they are golden and crispy.  Remove and drain on a paper towel.  When the soup is done simmering, ladle it into 4 large bowls, 6 medium ones or 8 small. Sprinkle equal portions of cheese on the top of each one, then add equal handfuls of the tortilla strips to each.  Serve with:

• 1 c grated queso quesadillla (or cheddar)

Serve immediately, as the tortilla strips will become soggy quickly.

Makes 4 large servings or 8 smaller ones.

Terri's Baked Lasagna

Another FamSup with Terri's famous lasagna today, to celebrate Portia's return for Thanksgiving break.  Since it's a family favorite, and because I now cook almost exclusively from web recipes, it was time to get this on the blog.

Terri, adapted from Nika Hazelton’s Pasta Cookbook

Ingredients:

12 ounces ground beef

3 T oil

1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1 can (28 ounces) tomatoes pureed

1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste

1/3 c water

1 1/2 t dried basil

1 t oregano

1 t sugar

salt

1/4 t freshly ground pepper

1 bay leaf, broken

2 c (1 pound or 15 ounces) ricotta

1/4 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus 1/2 cup for topping

1 egg

1/2 t salt

1/4 ground pepper

lasagna noodles (1 box-will have left over)

4 c mozzarella

Instructions:

Brown beef  in a pan  large enough to hold all of the sauce ingredients.  Drain and set aside

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in same pan, add onion and garlic.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 8 minutes.  Stir in the meat, tomatoes, tomato paste, water, basil, oregano, sugar, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and bay leaf and bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours.

Combine the ricotta, 1/4 cups Parmesan, egg, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl; set aside.

Bring 3 quarts water to boil in large pot.  Add 1tablespoon salt, then add lasagna noodles gradually, so that water continues to boil.  Cook noodles until barely tender, about 5 minutes.  Drain, rinse in cold water, Toss gently with some oil to prevent noodles from sticking

Line bottom of a buttered 13x9 inch baking pan with noodles.

Spread with half of the ricotta mixture.

Sprinkle evenly with half of the mozzarella.

Spread with half of the sauce.

Top with noodles to cover.

Evenly layer the rest of the ricotta, mozzarella, and sauce.

Sprinkle the top evenly with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. 

Bake in preheated 375-degree oven for 45 minutes. 

Remove and let stand 15 minutes.

…I never knew how to make Lasagna until I tried this recipe, now apparently it is “one of the best”, Thank you Nika!!!!!

Makes 1 13x9 inch pan and serves about 8 people.

Grilled Sirloin with Peppercorn Butter and Merlot Sauce

Adapted from The Common Grill Cookbook, by Craig Common

The Common Grill in Chelsea, MI was a go-to spot for Sam and Donna when they were living in Michigan with the vulture-sized black flies and 18-foot snowdrifts (at the same time, some months).  They gave me a copy of this cookbook.  Everything I’ve ever made from it was as delicious as it was caloric.  I took the opportunity to add it to the blog because a) I only cook from online recipes now, and b) because I intended to serve the dish for dinner the Little Black Dress Party widowers gathering at my place for dinner this coming Friday.


Ingredients:
4 12 oz. N.Y. steaks, trimmed
 
PEPPERCORN BUTTER
l/2 cup merlot wine
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
pinch dry mustard
4 tablespoons butter, softened
pinch cracked peppercorn blend
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
pinch kosher salt
 
MERLOT SAUCE
4 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
3 cups merlot wine
4 cups good chicken stock
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, finely chopped

POTATO LEEK CAKES
1 lb. baking potatoes
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch black pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup leeks, finely chopped, sautéed in butter
2 tablespoons butter

Instructions:

Peppercorn Butter

1.  Combine merlot, shallot, vinegar, fresh herbs, and dry mustard in a medium saucepan, then boil over medium heat until liquid is syrupy (approximately 15 to 20 minutes).  Remove herb sprigs and cool.
2. Add the butter, cracked peppercorn blend, mustard and salt to cooled butter mixture, then blend thoroughly. 
3. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Merlot Sauce

1.  Mix softened butter and cornstarch together into a paste.  Set aside. 
2.  Heat oil in large saucepan.  Add the garlic and saute 30 seconds. Add the vinegar and merlot.  Heat sauce to just under a boil and continue cooking until liquid reduced by ¾, about 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Add chicken stock, return to just under a boil and reduce by ¾ again.  Straithen return to saucepan.    
4. Stir in the cornstarch mixture and whisk in until thoroughly blended.
5. Add fresh thyme and cook for 3 minutes or until sauce begins to thicken.  Cool.

Potato Leek Cakes

1.  Boil water in a large stockpot.  Add potatoes and boil for 15 minutes.  Remove from hea and cool for 10 minutes.
2. Drain potatoes and rinse with cold water.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Peel potatoes and grate them into a large bowl.  Add beaten egg and leeks, then stir gently.  Shape into four patties.
4. Heat butter in a skillet over medium heat and cook patties until golden, about 4 minutes.

Steaks

1. Cook steaks and place on a serving plate.  
2. Pour ¼ cup of sauce over each steak, then put 1 tablespoon of the butter on top.   
3. Serve with Potato Leek Cake and roasted asparagus.

Serves four.