Chocolate Quiz for your intellectual nourishment

From Denny: These folks over at flyerchocolate.com are real characters.

Take their quiz "for your intellectual nourishment." And I thought I had the corner on being cheeky...! :)

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From their recipe section, salivate over these chocolate darlings:

WARM FLYER CHOCOLATE CHEESE CAKE
by Chef Jen Neil

Provence Restaurant, Cape Coral, FL

Number of Servings: 12

Preparation Time: 45 minutes

5 eggs

2/3 C sugar

10 oz. Flyer Gold Plane 4 Fine Dark Chocolate with a Touch of Milk

2/3 C butter

1/3 C sifted flour

2 tbs bittersweet cocoa powder

2 oz. favorite liquor

Pinch of salt

Raspberries

1. Using a Kitchen Aid type appliance or egg beaters, combine eggs and sugar in a bowl and whip for approximately 20-30 minutes.

2. Over a double-boiler melt chocolate and butter together.

3. Once egg/sugar mixture is ready, slowly add the flour. Mix thoroughly. Turn machine off and scrape all sides and bottom of the bowl.

4. Mix again and add the cocoa powder, liquor and salt.

5. Spray individual mold, soufflés or muffin tins with a heavy coating of Pam.

6. Fill molds half way; add two raspberries, then continuing to fill the rest of the way.

7. Bake in a 375 oven for approximately 8-10 minutes

8. To serve, invert the cake onto a plate, garnish with fresh raspberries and whipped cream.

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FLYER CHOCOLATE MOUSSE


by Chef Claude-Alain Solliard

Seppi's Restaurant, New York, NY

Number of Servings: 8

Preparation Time: approximately 45 minutes, allow at least three hours in refrigerator before eating

16 oz. Flyer Gold Plane 4 - Fine Dark Chocolate with A Touch of Milk

1 pt. of heavy cream

4 egg whites

1 oz. orange liqueur

double boiler, whisk, spatula, individual serving cups or one large bowl

1. Slowly melt the chocolate in a double boiler and stir as needed to prevent burning. Turn heat down or off after initial melting and continue to stir until smooth.

2. Whip the cream to a soft, thick peak.

3. Whip the egg whites to soft peak.

4. Add one-half of the egg whites to the chocolate using a whisk until the egg whites are evenly mixed into the chocolate.

5. Using the spatula, fold in the remaining egg whites and the whipped cream into the chocolate until well-mixed and very smooth. The mixture should now be all the same color and filled with air.

6. Place the mixture into serving cups or the large bowl and then into the refrigerator for at least three hours until it has cooled and set.

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FLYER DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE!

(Flyer Chocolate Cheese Cake With Chocolate Mousse)

by Chef Claude-Alain Solliard

Seppi's Restaurant, New York, NY


Number of Servings: 8

Preparation Time: 45 minutes + baking and cooling time


The Cake

8 oz. Philadelphia cream cheese

¾ lb. cottage cheese

¼ cup sugar

2 whole eggs

4 oz. Flyer Gold Plane 4 Dark Chocolate

2 tsp. vanilla extract

The Crust

1 oz. butter
8 oz. Graham cracker crumbs

The Mousse


4 oz. Flyer Gold Plane 4 Dark Chocolate

6 oz. heavy cream

1. To make the crust, melt the butter in a pan and thoroughly mix in the Graham cracker crumbs.

2. Place the butter and cracker mixture evenly in a 9 in. spring-form or cake pan.

3. To make the cake, slowly melt the chocolate in a double boiler.

4. While the chocolate is melting, add the cream cheese, cottage cheese, sugar, eggs, and vanilla to a mixing bowl and thoroughly blend with an electric mixer until smooth.

5. Quickly add the melted chocolate and mix in very quickly to avoid clumping.

6. Place the batter in the baking pan with the crust and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

7. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool for 30 minutes.

8. Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours or until cold and top with the mousse.

9. To make the mousse, slowly melt chocolate in a double boiler and stir as needed to prevent burning. Turn heat down or off after initial melting and continue to stir until smooth.

10. Whip the cream to a soft peak.

11. When the chocolate has cooled but not begun hardening, fold in the whipped cream, 1/3 of the cream at a time.

12. Smoothly and evenly spread the mousse over the cooled cheesecake and place in the refrigerator until the mousse has set.

Recipe: Garlic Cheese Grits

Photo by Daniel Greene @ flickr of garlic cheese grits with a huge grilled pork chop and green beans!

From Denny: Yet another easy recipe for the weekend! This from an aging cookbook from 1984. Quick! Digitize it before the paper disintegrates! :)


Garlic Cheese Grits

From: Talk About Good! Cookbook


Ingredients:


1 cup grits

4 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

1 roll Kraft garlic cheese

1 stick butter (Denny: I like to clarify my butter for taste and less cholesterol)

2 eggs, well beaten

¼ cup milk

Salt and pepper to taste


Directions: Cook grits in water with salt added. After grits are cooked, add one roll Kraft garlic cheese. Break in pieces and add 1 stick of butter, 2 eggs well beaten, salt and pepper to taste, milk. Put in a casserole (1 ½ quart) and bake 40 minutes to 1 hour at 300 to 350-degrees F.

Variation: Separate eggs and fold in 2 stiffly beaten egg whites before putting in casserole to bake.

Funny Chocolate Quote

From Denny: Of course, when someone threw this talented chef some lemons he made an awesome chocolate cake! Wouldn't you like to invite this guy to come bake at your house this weekend?!

"When life hands you lemons, throw them back and demand chocolates." ~ unknown

Photo of lemon chiffon chocolate cake by stu_spivack @ flickr

Heidi Klum's chocolate-flavoured lips

From Denny: I told you we don't have to give up chocolate to be beautiful! I have it on the highest authority: model Heidi Klum who is quite a fun character.

"Heidi Klum uses chocolate-flavoured lip balm to satisfy her sweet cravings.

The German supermodel often longs for chocolate cake from her homeland, but has discovered a secret weapon to curb her desires.

She is quoted as saying: 'I love chocolate. I have a chocolate lip gloss that tastes like a German chocolate cake. It is very good. It tastes so good that I constantly have to lick my lipstick off and re-apply.'

Heidi isn't the only supermodel who has confessed to secret cravings."

Louisiana Culture: Sicilian Tradition of St. Joseph's Altar

Louisiana Culture: Sicilian Tradition of St. Joseph's Altar: "This is a lesson from hundreds of years ago, still celebrated today, of what it is to give to others even when you are in your time of need. The act of gratitude has been with us for generations. 9 recipes."

By Denny Lyon

From Denny: I started out writing this for the blog to give out the recipes and before I knew it I was researching a centuries old tradition of gratitude that turned into a full blown article!

Cool link to a virtual St. Joseph's Altar where you can give virtual food offerings, read a blog, offer prayers for loved ones, learn the history of the tradition and much more.

It's a good story about how even when we think we don't have much it's important to remember others who have less. Louisiana has always been about sharing food generously with others and creating recipes to share too.