Chocolate: Penne Pasta with Chocolate and Anchovies

Another creative food thought from Chef David Rocco.

From Denny:  Continuing along in a chocolate recipe week is another delightful unusual and savory chocolate recipe from Cooking Channel's Chef David Rocco.  In this recipe he paired some chili pepper heat with very dark unsweetened chocolate. This chef does so love to push the status quo boundaries when it comes to food! He noted too that to add the fresh parsley at the end of the dish as you serve so it will not overcook and lose its bright flavor and color.


Penne al Cioccolato con Anchovies: Penne with Chocolate and Anchovies

From:  Chef David Rocco

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 20 min

Level: Easy

Serves: 4 servings


Ingredients:

1 pound/450 g penne rigate pasta
3 tablespoons/45 ml extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 dry chile peppers, crushed
8 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
2 cups/457 g chopped finest quality plain dark chocolate (at least 70 percent cocoa)
1/2 cup/114 g finely grated bread crumbs
Small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Directions:

Cook the penne in a pot of boiling salted water. While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce.

To make the sauce: In a saucepan heat up the olive oil. Gently saute the garlic, add the chile peppers, and anchovies. Cook until the garlic is golden and anchovies have somewhat dissolved. Then add the chopped chocolate. When the chocolate has completely melted, stir in the bread crumbs.

Drain the pasta just before the 'al dente' stage and add to the saucepan. Add the chopped parsley and mix well for a few seconds so that the pasta and the sauce are well amalgamated or combined. Serve the dish immediately.



*** For more savory and sweet chocolate recipes from Chef David Rocco:
 

Candy: Almond Brittle - The best combination ever invented: almonds and chocolate. Enjoy this chef recipe of a few ingredients.

Chocolate: Chocolate Risotto - Enjoy a rice pudding style dessert made with chocolate.

Appetizer with Chocolate: Sauteed Shrimp Drizzled with Chocolate - Check out this unusual dish employing chocolate as a spice.

Chocolate: Beef Stew With Chocolate - This Chef David Rocco is on a roll with awesome savory recipes using dark chocolate as a star ingredient.

Drink: Chocolate Martini - A chocolate martini, with the glass rim coated with fresh pear and shaved chocolate, for that perfect sip.



*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, 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!

*** Come by for a visit and check out my other blogs:

The Social Poets - news, politics
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Appetizer with Chocolate: Sauteed Shrimp Drizzled with Chocolate

Check out this unusual dish employing chocolate as a spice.

From Denny: This Cooking Channel is as mesmerizing as Food Network where you can park on the couch and watch endless great cooking shows in succession. Sooner or later you have to force yourself to get up and start posting all your favorites! :)

The beauty of Italian food is its simplicity and easy to create. Using the freshest ingredients and only a few spices it's pretty amazing what tasty dishes you can create to please the whole family.

Well, this week Chef David Rocco got adventurous and wanted to prove you can use chocolate in more than just sweets. It can be used in savory recipes - and it just so happens I've been on the hunt for savory dishes employing the use of dark chocolate. We all think of Mexican cuisine and ancient Mayans using chocolate in savory dishes but certainly not Italian. When Chef Rocco went to the open air market in Florence, Italy, where he resides, the local fishmonger was shocked he would consider pairing chocolate with seafood, especially shrimp. In a word, she thought he was a bit crazy.

Daring to push the borders of the status quo is what I like to see in the food arena, especially when it's done with so few ingredients like Chef Rocco's recipes.  He prepared this dish for a Chocolate Theme Party and it was served as an appetizer.


Gamberi al Cioccolato: Shrimp with Chocolate

From: Chef David Rocco

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 25 min

Level: Easy

Serves: 4 servings


Ingredients:

1 cup/229 g chopped finest quality plain dark chocolate (at least 70 percent cocoa)
1/2 cup/118 ml milk
3 tablespoons/45 ml extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 pound/450 g shrimp, peeled and deveined
Salt
1 cup/240 ml white wine
Small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped


Directions:

Combine the chopped chocolate and milk in a stainless steel bowl. Rest the bowl over a pot of simmering water, making sure that the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted.

In a frying pan, heat up the olive oil and saute the garlic until soft. Add the shrimp and cook until the shrimp are pink and just opaque. Add the salt and wine, and let reduce. Then add the parsley. Plate and drizzle with melted chocolate.


*** Check out more savory and sweet chocolate recipes from Chef David Rocco:

Candy: Almond Brittle - The best combination ever invented: almonds and chocolate. Enjoy this chef recipe of a few ingredients.

Chocolate: Chocolate Risotto - Enjoy a rice pudding style dessert made with chocolate.

Chocolate: Penne Pasta with Chocolate and Anchovies - Another creative food thought from Chef David Rocco.

Chocolate: Beef Stew With Chocolate - This Chef David Rocco is on a roll with awesome savory recipes using dark chocolate as a star ingredient.

Drink: Chocolate Martini - A chocolate martini, with the glass rim coated with fresh pear and shaved chocolate, for that perfect sip.



*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, 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!

*** Come by for a visit and check out my other blogs:

The Social Poets - news, politics
The Soul Calendar - science, astronomy, psychology
Visual Insights - photos, art, music
Beautiful Illustrated Quotations - spiritual quotes, philosophy
Best Spiritual Posts
Poems From A Spiritual Heart - poetry
The Healing Waters - health news
Dennys People Watching - people in the news
Dennys Food and Recipes
Dennys Funny Quotes - humor

Cake Tuesday: Bobby Flays Awesome German Chocolate Cake

A special cake for celebrations and the holidays! Recipe and video.

From Denny: We love the Food Network at our house and often watch Bobby Flay on his show "Throwdown!" You get to find out what other people are cooking throughout the country as well as view a trained chef figure out how to match their recipes. It's a friendly "show-off cook-off" and always entertaining. Chef Bobby Flay has compiled his best - and most popular - recipes from the show into a new cookbook called "Throwdown!"

Here's a bit of cake trivia: Did you know that German Chocolate Cake is not from Germany? It's actually named after Sam German because he was the guy who created the type of distinctive chocolate baked into the cake. Technically, says Chef Flay, it should be called German's Chocolate Cake. Well, oops, too late, Bobby. America calls it German Chocolate Cake.

This recipe is a great idea to serve for the upcoming holidays. OK, since it's chocolate I'd serve it year 'round since chocolate seems to make the most mundane suddenly special... :)







Bobby Flay's German Chocolate Cake with Coconut-Pecan Cajeta Frosting

Makes: one 4-layer cake

Ingredients:

Chocolate Cake:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon fine salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the cake pans
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutchprocess cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups firmly packed light muscovado sugar
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups strong brewed black coffee, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract


Frosting:

1 3/4 cups whole milk
1 3/4 cups unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup goat's milk or additional whole milk
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Seeds scraped from 1/2 vanilla bean
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, cold
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1⁄8 teaspoon fine salt
2 teaspoons coconut rum (optional)
1 1/4 cups coarsely chopped pecans, toasted
1 1/4 cups sweetened shredded coconut


Ganache:

1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Coconut Whipped Cream (recipe follows), for serving
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut, toasted, for garnish
1/4 finely chopped pecans, toasted, for garnish


Directions:

To bake the cake, position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to
325°F. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the cocoa powder and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, add the muscovado and granulated sugars, and whisk until the sugar has dissolved. Add the coffee, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla extract, and continue whisking until smooth and just combined.

Divide the batter evenly between the 2 prepared cake pans, and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 40 to 45 minutes. Let the cakes cool in the pans on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Then invert the cakes onto the wire rack and let cool for at least 1 hour before frosting.

To make the frosting, combine the milk, coconut milk, and goat's milk in a small saucepan, and bring to a simmer over low heat. Keep warm while you prepare the caramel.

Combine the sugar and 1/4 cup water in a medium saucepan over high heat, and cook without stirring until a deep amber color, 8-10 minutes. Slowly and carefully whisk in the warm milk mixture, and continue whisking until smooth. Add the vanilla seeds and corn syrup. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until the sauce is reduced by half and has the consistency of a caramel sauce, about 55 minutes.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter, vanilla extract, salt, and rum (if using). Transfer the sauce to a medium bowl and stir in the pecans and shredded coconut. Let the frosting cool to room temperature, stirring it occasionally, before frosting the cake.

To assemble the cake, slice each cake in half horizontally. Place 1 cake layer on a cake round, and spread one-third of the frosting evenly over the top. Repeat to make 3 layers, and then top with the remaining cake layer, top side up.


Coconut Whipped Cream:

1 1/2 cups heavy cream, very cold
1/4 cup cream of coconut, such as Coco Lopez
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar or granulated sugar
1 teaspoon coconut rum
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


Directions:

Combine all the ingredients in a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and whisk until soft peaks form.


*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, 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!

*** Come by for a visit and check out my other blogs:

The Social Poets - news, politics
The Soul Calendar - science, astronomy, psychology
Visual Insights - photos, art, music
Beautiful Illustrated Quotations - spiritual quotes, philosophy
Best Spiritual Posts
Poems From A Spiritual Heart - poetry
The Healing Waters - health news
Dennys People Watching - people in the news
Dennys Food and Recipes
Dennys Funny Quotes - humor