Candy: Almond Brittle

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

From Denny:  Learning to work with cooking sugar as it gets hot akes a little effort yet is well worth it for the end result - almond brittle nirvana! :) This is for regular almond brittle.  I figure anything almond deserves a drizzle of chocolate after it cools to kick it up a notch - but you may enjoy it just like it is.


Croccante: Almond Brittle

From: Chef David Rocco

Prep Time: 5 min

Inactive Prep Time: 30 min

Cook Time: 15 min

Level: Difficult

Serves: 4 servings


Ingredients

3 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
5 cups almonds
Butter, for greasing cookie sheet


Directions:

In a saucepan, add the sugar and cook on high heat. Continue to stir until the sugar begins to sweat and liquify. Add a bit of water to help, if necessary. Continue to cook until the sugar turns into a deep rich brown color.

Add the almonds and mix well. Cook for a few minutes, making sure the almonds are fully coated. Remove the almonds from the heat and quickly pour and spread the hot almond-sugar mixture onto a buttered cookie sheet to the desired thickness.

Let cool for 30 minutes before breaking it into smaller pieces.



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


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

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

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

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

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

Here's a wonderful Italian cookie recipe from another chef:

Chocolate-Hazelnut Smooches: Baci D'Alassio




*** 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

Chocolate: Chocolate Risotto

Enjoy a rice pudding style dessert made with chocolate.

From Denny: How many times have you made risotto only to wonder how good it would be with chocolate? Here's your chance as Chef Rocco shows us how easy it truly is to do. Lately, this chef has been exploring how to use chocolate in savory dishes too, employing chocolate as a spice. Be sure to check out the links at the bottom of this post to enjoy more of this chef's creativity.


Risotto Al Cioccolator: Chocolate Risotto

From: Chef David Rocco

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time: 30 min

Level: Intermediate

Serves: 4 servings


Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup arborio rice
4 cups of milk
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup bittersweet chocolate, finely grated
Walnuts for sprinkling, quartered


Directions:

Similar to a regular risotto process, melt the unsalted butter in a hot pan and add the rice. Stir for about a minute or until the rice is translucent. Pour a cup of milk into the pan and stir until the milk reduces. Add the sugar and stir continuously. As the milk evaporates, add another 1/2 a cup of milk to the rice and continue stirring. Repeat this process until the rice is at the 'al dente' stage.

Add the chocolate to the rice, and stir until the chocolate has melted and the milk has reduced to a creamy consistency.

Serve the dessert immediately in cups and finish with a sprinkle of walnuts on top.



*** Check out more of Chef David Rocco's sweet and savory recipes for chocolate:


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

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

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

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

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

Chocolate: Beef Stew With Chocolate

This Chef David Rocco is on a roll with awesome savory recipes using dark chocolate as a star ingredient.

From Denny: This has shaped up to be Chocolate Week at this blog! :) I've been hunting some great - and easy - savory dishes to make with dark chocolate. This week I stumbled upon Chef Rocco with the same sense of adventure employing chocolate as a spice.

Too often, especially we Americans, think inside the Godiva chocolate box when it comes to using chocolate in our cooking. I've often wondered what we could do with chocolate - minus the usual suspects paired with it: milk, cream and sugar.

Besides, the health community is always telling us to eat more dark chocolate because of the health benefits. But who really wants to be found day after day nibbling on a huge hard bar of messy cooking chocolate? Now, is that terribly original? Savory recipes using chocolate are the best answer to give us variety and explode our imagination!


Spezzatino di Manzo al Cioccolato: Beef Stew with Chocolate

From:  Chef David Rocco

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 1 hr 45 min

Level: Easy

Serves: 4 servings


Ingredients:

5 tablespoons/74 ml extra-virgin olive oil
4 ounces/114 g smoked pancetta, cubed
Flour, for dredging
2 pounds/900 g stewing beef, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 fresh sage leaves
3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked
Salt
1 cup/240 ml sherry
4 cups/941 ml vegetable broth
2 cups/457 g chopped finest quality plain dark chocolate (at least 70 percent cocoa)


Directions:

In a saucepan, heat up the olive oil. Add the pancetta and cook until the fat has been rendered down.

Place the flour in a shallow bowl or dish. Dredge the beef in the flour, shake off any excess flour, and add the beef to the hot pan. Sear the beef, stirring well so that all sides are browned. Add the sage, thyme (without the stem), and salt, to taste, to the saucepan. Deglaze the pan with the sherry and stir to pick up any brown bits. Once the sherry has reduced, add a couple ladles of vegetable broth and let reduce. Continue stirring and add the chopped chocolate. Once the chocolate has completely melted, add a few more ladles of vegetable broth.

Allow to cook for 1 hour on medium heat, adding more vegetable broth, if necessary.


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

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.

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

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

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

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
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

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