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Romancing The Chocolate: Cookies: Spiced Chocolate Macaroons: From Denny: Do you like spice cookies but crave the addition of chocolate? This cinnamon and chocolate pairing also happens to improve as the cookie ages. What could be better than that? A stale cookie that tastes great! :)
The cookie also contains the background dark note from a hint of cloves like I like to use in my morning stovetop cooked oatmeal. There is nothing like the pairing of cinnamon and cloves to add richness to a dish whether sweet or savory.
Romancing The Chocolate: Chef Recipe: Chocolate Tart with Caramel and Cream: From Denny: Everyone who enjoys a chocolate tart every time they can, raise their hands. Yeah, I thought so - sisters of the soul. I sure order it from the La Madeleine restaurant or other local bakery whenever it shows up in the display case. It's like a little piece of heaven in one tiny spot - a rich little chocolate pudding, a dollop of cream and some pie crust, simply divine.
This is a New York chef recipe from the famous restaurant Aureole. Chef Christopher Lee uses Sicilian sea salt to enhance the sweet creamy richness of the indulgent chocolate dessert.
He also includes the unlikely addition of the chocolate malt Ovaltine to the bittersweet baking chocolate.
Romancing The Chocolate: Cookies: Vanilla Rich Chocolate Chip: From Denny: This is basically your standard chocolate chip recipe but with the difference of lots of extra vanilla extract to punch up the intensity. They should probably rename these cookies to Intense Vanilla Chocolate Chip Cookies.
This recipe is from McCormick, the company we usually think of for spices. Turns out they have quite an extensive recipe collection!
These cookies use light brown sugar along with white sugar. We like dark brown sugar at our house and reduce the white sugar by half. But hey, we are living in Louisiana where we like the molasses taste of dark brown sugar.
We bake and cook a lot with the cane syrup produced here. Steen's cane syrup is a lot like black strap molasses in that it is an intense taste but much sweeter, just perfect for baking or making an awesome barbecue sauce. I find it a bit too strong to pour onto pancakes. Of course, my Cajun husband thinks it's awesome on pancakes and waffles. :)
From Denny: Chef Mario Batali is rolling out a simple easy to do Easter dinner. He is also rolling out a new TV show in September of this year where he and a few friends discuss food and pop culture. It sounded like the name of this new show is "The Chew." If it's as good as his serial food show he and Mark Bittman and Gwyneth Paltrow did on Spain it should be a joy to watch - and learn.
On the Good Morning America set Chef Batali treated us to an Italian style Easter meal where the Italians love to celebrate the food of the season. If you enjoy potatoes as much as cheesy pasta, then his Pastiera dish is for you. Even vegetarians can enjoy this meal for the side dishes with cheese and eggs.
As usual Chef Mario has everything simplified so you can enjoy your holiday. Take a look at this wonderful grilled lamb dish.
Recipes Featured:
Butterflied Leg of Lamb with Garlic, Rosemary and Mint Agnolotti Alla Primavera Asparagus Milanese Pastiera
Mario Batali's Butterflied Leg of Lamb with Garlic, Rosemary and Mint
From: Mario Batali Servings: 8 Difficulty: Easy Cook Time: 30-60 min
From Mario: The vin santo in the marinade helps the meat develop a tasty char on the outside, like a steak. Cook it medium-rare, or even
medium; unlike a butterflied beef tenderloin. For example, a
butterflied leg of lamb always has some thicker and some thinner
parts, which is actually a good thing—it means that when the meat
is cooked, there will be something for everyone, some
medium-rare, some medium, some a bit more done.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup vin santo
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
18 garlic cloves, peeled and bashed a bit with the side of a
heavy knife
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
One 4 1/2 to 5-pound boneless leg of lamb, butterflied and trimmed
of excess fat (or one 7- to 8 pound bone-in leg, boned,
butterflied, and trimmed)
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves
Directions:
Combine the olive oil, vin santo, mint, 6 of the garlic cloves,
the salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.
Make 12 small incisions in the fatty side of the lamb and insert
one of the remaining bashed garlic cloves and some of the
rosemary into each slit. Put the lamb in a large baking dish and
pour the marinade over, turning to coat. Let stand at cool room
temperature for 1 hour, or cover and refrigerate for at least 12
hours, or overnight; turn the lamb occasionally as it marinates.
If the lamb has been in the refrigerator, bring it to room temperature. Preheat a gas grill or prepare a fire in a charcoal grill.
Remove the lamb from the marinade, draining it well, and pat dry. Pour the marinade into a small bowl. Place the lamb on the grill and cook, basting several times with the reserved marinade, for 10 to 12 minutes, until well charred on the first side. Turn and cook, basting several more times, for 10 to 12 minutes longer, or until well charred on the second side; the internal temperature should register 130°F for medium-rare. Transfer the lamb to a carving board and let it rest for 15 minutes.
Carve the lamb into 1/4-inch-thick slices and serve immediately
Agnolotti Alla Primavera
A Deliciously Cheesy Dish
From: Mario Batali Servings: 4 Difficulty: Moderate Cook Time: 30-60 min
From Mario: This is a versitile dish. If you do not want to make agnolotti from scratch, you may substitute 1 pound of prepared stuffed pasta from your favorite high-quality purveyor, such as "Eataly."
Ingredients:
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium Spanish onion, cut into 1/8-inch dice
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
3/4 cup grated Fontina cheese
9 tablespoons fresh goat cheese
3 tablespoons fresh marjoram leaves
3/4 cup finely chopped Italian parsley
3/4 cup teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper
1 recipe basic pasta dough, rolled to thinnest setting on pasta machine
6 quarts low-sodium chicken broth, homemade preffered
1 bunch fresh ramps, trimmed and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-reggiano cheese
Directions:
Bring 6 quarts of chicken broth to a boil and add about 2 tablespoons salt.
To form the agnolotti, drop heaping teaspoons of filling down one side of each pasta sheet at 3-inch intervals. Fold the pasta over the filling, pressing the dough flat between the lumps of filling. Using a pastry cutter, cut half-moons using the fold as the flat side of the moon.
Drop the agnolotti into the boiling chicken broth and simmer rapidly until tender.
From: Mario Batali Servings: 4 Difficulty: Easy Cook Time: 1-30 min
When the asparagus crops first come in April this is one of the most popular dishes to celebrate the freshness of Spring. The Italians think of biting into the runny yolk of the egg as a symbolic reminder of Spring's delicious vitality we almost forget over a long and cold winter.
Ingredients:
28 medium asparagus spears
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 large eggs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Directions:
Bring about 4 quarts of water to a boil and fill a large bowl with ice water. Trim the hard ends of the asparagus spears and drop the spears into the water. Cook 70 seconds. Remove with tongs and refresh in the ice bath. Drain and set aside.
A cheesy warm potato dish Easter tradition in Italy
From: Mario Batali Servings: 4
Difficulty: Easy Cook Time: 30-60 min
"Are you looking for a different potato dish for your Easter dinner? Try Mario Batali's Pastiera, it's easy and tasty." - Good Morning America
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons pomace olive oil
4 pounds potatoes, washed and peeled
1/2 cup plus 1-1/2 cups breadcrumbs
2 bunches chopped fresh parsley to yield 1/2 cup
1/4 cup virgin olive oil
1 cup grated pecorino
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a 2 to 3 quart earthenware casserole with 2-inch to 3-inch sides, smear 4 tablespoons olive oil to cover.
Slice potatoes 1/4-inch thick and toss in a mixing bowl with 1/2 cup breadcrumbs and season well with salt and pepper. Mix remaining breadcrumbs with parsley, oil and pecorino. Put one layer of potatoes and breadcrumbs on bottom and sprinkle with 3 to 4 tablespoons breadcrumb and cheese mixture. Continue layering until dish is full and top with remaining breadcrumb-cheese mixture. Place in oven and cook 1 hour, or until potatoes are very soft and top is golden brown.
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From Denny: Finding a lot of funny things about the Easter bunny for Cheeky Quote Day over at The Social Poets was totally crazy! I went looking for funny Easter quotes, only to find very few. What I did find were plenty of late night show "top ten lists" and funny videos. This is a sampling of the funnies. Be sure to check out the full post for lots more grins and how to dye your own boiled eggs the way it was done before it became commercialized.
Check out this kid friendly music video of the Easter Bunny Rap to give you a smile:
Since Easter morning involves the giving of lots of chocolate, please abide by these "important" rules:
The Rules Of Chocolates
If you get melted chocolate all over your hands, you're eating it too slowly.
Chocolate covered raisins, cherries, orange slices and strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want.
The problem: How to get two pounds of chocolate home from the store in a hot car. The solution: Eat it in the parking lot.
Diet tip: Eat a chocolate bar before each meal. It'll take the edge off your appetite and you'll eat less.
A nice box of chocolates can provide your total daily intake of calories in one place. Isn't that handy?
If you can't eat all your chocolate, it will keep in the freezer. But if you can't eat all your chocolate, what's wrong with you?
If calories are an issue, store your chocolate on top of the fridge. Calories are afraid of heights, and they will jump out of the chocolate to protect themselves.
Money talks. Chocolate sings.
Chocolate has many preservatives. Preservatives make you look younger.
Why is there no such organization as Chocoholics Anonymous? Because no one wants to quit.
Put "eat chocolate" at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you'll get one thing done.
Chocolate is a health food. Chocolate is derived from cacao beans. Bean = vegetable. Sugar is derived either from sugar beets or cane, both vegetables. And, of course, the milk/cream is dairy. So eat more chocolate to meet the dietary requirements for daily vegetable and dairy intake.
Check out the full post of the latest Cheeky Quote Day from The Social Poetsfor more grins and how some Easter traditions got started from the beginning:
*** THANKS for visiting, come back often, feel welcome to drop a comment, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers - and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!
From our friends over at the high-toned The New Yorker magazine come funny chocolate cartoons! They don't have embedding enabled and use links to go to their site. These are just 20 second shorts and very amusing!
From Denny: From my rose garden to yours this year! Louisiana is in full bloom and the worst of pollen season is finally done. These are Tiffanyroses. They practically glow from within with the golden hearts and the light perfumed scent is absolutely DIVINE!
Happy Easter to all! May this be a wonderful time of spiritual renewal for you whatever belief system you hold in your heart...
For more wonderful Easter photos from flickr friends and a few special ones of my own, check out the photo blog: Visual Insights.
From Denny: From my rose garden to yours this year! Louisiana is in full bloom and the worst of pollen season is finally done. These are Tiffanyroses. They practically glow from within with the golden hearts and the light perfumed scent is absolutely DIVINE!
Happy Easter to all! May this be a wonderful time of spiritual renewal for you whatever belief system you hold in your heart...
For more wonderful Easter photos from flickr friends and a few special ones of my own, check out the photo blog: Visual Insights.
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