WHITE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE WITH RASPBERRIES

THIS is one of the most delicious cheese cakes. I've made it with and without berries (use black cherries and you have a white chocolate black forest cake - without the cake). I've even spread apricot glaze on top of the cooled cheesecake and allowed to cool once more before covering it completely with dark chocolate ganache. No matter how you serve it, the secret is in the cheesecake itself. It shouldn't be over-baked because you want that creamy buttery texture to dominate. Serves 8.

Pre-heat the oven to 350º

Grease a 7-1/2 inch spring form pan with butter and line the outside of the pan with a double layer of aluminum foil.

In a food processor mix:

1 package Philadelphia cream cheese

1/4 cup sugar

Process until smooth and then add

the zest of one lemon

the juice of one lemon

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1/2 tbs. corn starch

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/8 tsp salt

Process ingredients until everything is very smooth. 

Melt 5 oz. of white chocolate in a double boiler and add that when you add 1-1/2 cups sour cream. Process until smooth.

Pour the mixture into the cake pan and place in a large, deep baking pan and fill half way up the side with boiling water.

Place it in the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 45 minutes and turn the oven off. Leave cheesecake in the oven to cool (about an hour or so).  Take the pan out of the foil lining and place on a plate and refrigerate overnight.

Just before serving, take 2 pints of raspberries and arrange on top of the cheesecake. Dust with confectioner's sugar and serve.

FRENCH ONION SOUP

ONE OF THE FUNNIEST moments in the film Julie & Julia is when Stanley Tucci (Paul Child) walks up the kitchen steps to find Meryl Streep (Julia) chopping and crying over a mountain of onions and having to leave the room. You won't need a mountain but you definitely will need a mild peak of them to make this onion soup.

 

During these trying times, self isolation and quarantine can only go so far. We're now on day 30 something with no light at the end of the tunne. and, while not wanting to be the bearer of bad tidings, people (friends, family, people we actually know) are dying. To top it all off, after a day or two of 60º+ weather, it's cold again, with high winds bringing a bite in the air. 

And so, to avoid baking, we must turn to another type of comfort food: soup! And what better soup to make than the famed and storied Onion Soup au Gratin.

I've made this soup many times over the years and if it's to be done well it must be done from scratch. No cheating.

There is a rather lengthy entry on stocks which I wrote in 2013 that can be found here:

https://paoloknows.blogspot.com/2013/07/beef-stockconsomme.html

BASIC DARK BEEF STOCK

4-5 pounds beef bones (I save mine in the freezer from steaks, ribs, etc., and add fresh ones from the butcher)

1-2 beef shanks

One large onion, peeled and diced

3 carrots, peeled and cut into medium dice

1 large leek  (white part only) chopped, save the green part of the leek for later

4 stalks celery peeled and cut into large dice

1 tbs. extra virgin olive oil

Heat the oven to 400º 

Place vegetables, bones and shank(s) on a lightly greased chef's roasting pan and roast the bones and shanks for about 1-1/2-2 hours. Turn the ingredients a few times during roasting. The shanks should be browned and the marrow softened and shrinking from the bone. 

Removed bones and vegetables and place in a very large stockpot. Degrease the pan with a splash of white wine and pour some water into the roasting pan and place on the stove over medium heat. Scrape off as much of the remains from the bottom as you can and then pour that into the stockpot as well. Fill the pot with cold water (about 4 gallons) and set over moderately high heat. Bring to a boil and immediately lower the heat and skim off any scum while it simmers. Once you have removed the scum, add:

1 large onion studded with cloves
2 medium-sized tomatoes, chopped

and cover the pot and simmer anywhere from 2-4 hours.

While the stock is simmering, make a bouquet garní as follows:

One can make a bouquet garní with cheesecloth, OR you can make one with the wide green leaves of the leeks.

3 sprigs fresh thyme

5-6 large leaves fresh sage

1 whole stem fresh rosemary

4-5 sprigs fresh flat Italian parsley

8-10 whole black peppercorns

1 bay leaf

Take two of the flattened green leaves of the leek and place them flat on a cutting board. Place all of the herbs, the bay leaf, and the peppercorns on the leeks and start to roll the leaves to contain the herbs. Cover these two leaves with two more leaves of the leek so you have a nice circular package. Take some kitchen twine and tie the bundle at the far ends like a log. It doesn't matter if some of the herbs are protruding at the open ends. The twine will keep everything in place (I sometimes use wide rubber bands that I have saved from asparagus or broccoli bundles, which work perfectly for this). 

Add the bouquet garní to the stockpot. At this poin, I often add 2 cubes of Knorr or Maggi beef bouillion and then cover and continue to simmer for several hours. I sometimes let it simmer on the stove overnight to intensify the flavor of the stock.

At this point, you will have a delicious liquid. Once cooled, strin through a large china cap strainer lined with cheesecloth. Discard the bones and the vegetables. You can use the stock immediately or store and freeze some for future use. You will need at least half the liquid for the onion soup.

For the onions:

Peel and slice about 3-4 pounds of onions. It is easier to cut the onion in half and slice very thin slices. 

1/2 stick butter
6 tbs. Olive Oil
A very large skillet or frying pan to hold all the onions.
A large simmering stockpot filled with beef broth

Heat the pan over moderately high heat and melt butter and oil. Add the onions and saute for 2-3 minutes to coat them thoroughly with the butter mixture. Sprinkle some salt and pepper over them, stir and cover. Lower the heat somewhat and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Without burning the onions, continue to cook covered for another 40 minutes. About half way through, add 1/2 tsp. sugar and continue to cook. Uncover the pan after 40 minutes and continue to cook, stirring often. The onions should turn very brown and reduce a great deal. 

Sprinkle 2 tbs. flour over the onions and stir gently to incorporate. Add a splash or two of Madeira, stir gently and immediately pour all of the onions into the stock pot. Add 2 cups dry white wine and bring to the boil. Once the stock is boiling, turn the heat down to simmer partially covered and cook for at least one hour. After an hour, check for seasoning and add:

1/4 cognac or brandy

Cook for another hour or so, or even overnight. Allow to cool, refrigerate if possible (it always tastes better after refrigeration). Reheat before composing soup dishes for serving.

You should have 16 slices of toasted baguette slices ready at hand as well as:

16 slices mild Provolone
16 slices Gruyere or Emmanthaler cheese
1/2 cup grated Grana Padano

Have 4 soup cups/dishes each lined up and ready for assembly on 2 roasting pans. Fill each bowl with the soup. Add the bread slices and place two slices of each cheese on every bowl and sprinkle with some of the grated cheese.

Place on two racks of a preheated 450º oven for 20-25 minutes. The cheese should be completely melted and have golden brown crusts around the edges. Sprinkle a little finely chopped parsley on each bowl and serve immediately.

I know that the steps are many, but it really isn't a lot of work considering the length of time it takes cooking itself on the stove. The prep work truly isn't that much, and if you plan ahead and start on Monday, the soup on Friday will be outrageously delicious and worth the wait.

Bon appetit!

TARTE AU CITROEN

I MADE this tart a few months ago. It was a big hit. The dusting with confectioner's sugar with a stenciled form (in this case, the Sword of Santiago) is dramatic and never fails to elicit a gasp or two when presented at table! You know who you are!

The pastry dough (pate sucre):

4 cups flour

2 sticks cold butter, cut into pieces

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg and 1 egg yolk beaten

Put all contents into the canister of a food processor and pulse until everything is mixed and then turn the machine on until the dough becomes one mass and rolls around the sides of the canister collecting all bits and pieces. The canister should be fairly clean around the dough.

Put the ball of dough on a floured surface and with your hands, smear the dough a bit at a time to flatten it out. Roll it up back into a ball and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (I make the dough the night before or several hours before I'm going to make the tart.

 

Roll out the dough on a floured surface. You want the dough to be much larger than the tart pan. When the dough is about 1/8 inch thin, roll the dough around the rolling pin and lift and unroll it over a 9-1/2" tart pan. Trim the edges and press the doughly firmly but gently into the pan without breaking the surface. Gently prick the dough with the tines of a fork. Cut a piece of parchment paper into a round piece big enough to lift out of the pan. Place the paper in the tart pan over the dough and pour about 2 cups dried beans or rice into the parchment insert. Bake in a 450º oven for about 15 minutes. You want the edges to be slightly golden. Take out of the oven. Remove the paper with the filling and allow to cool. 

Lower the oven temperature to 300º

For the filling:

 

3 eggs

2 egg yolks

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1-1/2 cups heavy cream

the grated zest from one lemon

6 tablespoons lemon juice (about 3 lemons)

confectioner's sugar

 

Whisk the eggs in a bowl and add the sugar and mix for 2-3 minutes. The mixture should turn pale yellow. Beat in the lemon zest, juice and the cream.

 

Pour lemon mixture into the tart pan and bake in the oven for about 45 minutes. The custard should be set. Let cool to room temperature and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. Place a stencil design of your choice in the middle of the tart and sprinkle confectioner's sugar over entire surface. 

 

There are several variations to this recipe. You can make it with limes or oranges. And if you really want to gild the lily and enter the shocking world of sugar, you can decorate it with slices of candied oranges! 

Ou la la!

SICILIAN SESAME & ANISE COOKIES ("SCIMINO")

SINCE everyone is apparently baking their heads off during the quarantine, I thought I'd put my two cents in with an easy and very delicious solution to cookies and milk (or coffee) to last you at least a day or two, depending on how populated your house is. 

I usually make these cookies for Christmas. However, baking them for special occasions is always a welcome treat. In this case it was a Leap Year birthday party for a true Leap Year baby right before all the pandemix [sic!] began.

These cookies aren't fancy like some of the other Sicilian confections I bake. They are simple and unassuming batons of cookie dough, actually, covered in toasted sesame seeds and flavored with anise. They are sturdy and dense, but make no mistake, they are totally delicious. Eaten alone or  dipped into a cup of espresso or cappuccino, they hit the spot.

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

4 cups sifted flour
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup butter
2 eggs slightly beaten
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. anise extract

1/2 cup milk
1 Tbsp. anise Seed, ground semi-fine

3 cups toasted sesame seeds for coating (more if necessary)

Bring milk to the simmer (170º), take off heat, add anise seed and anise extract, cover and allow to steep for 30 minutes, cool and refrigerate overnight. 

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until little dots of butter appear (like a pie crust), add beaten egg, vanilla, gently stir in milk. Mix well until a mass of dough forms; I find doing it with your hands is easiest. You could use a mixer with a dough hook or a food processor but the butter reacts differently and isn't as good.

Shape cookies into round balls and stretch into elliptical forms (batons). Dip the cookies, one at a time, in a bowl of cold water and roll in the sesame seeds. You may have to wash your hands periodically to scrape off any wet dough that sticks to your palm. Place on greased cookie sheets about 3/4 inches apart. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. All ovens being different, it may take longer to bake and it also depends on how crisp or crunchy you want your cookie to be. I look for a serious browning on the edges of the cookies and, of course, the intense aroma of licorice perfuming the air. 

Let cool completely on a cooling rack before serving. These cookies freeze very well but mine never last long enough for that. 

Makes several dozen. 

EGGPLANT FANS

I FIRST came upon this recipe in Richard Olney's Simple French Food". I have made it many times over the years and it is always a huge hit either at a sit down dinner or a buffet. It is one of life's more plentiful concoctions. 

 

Preheat the oven to 450º

Lightly oil a very large roasting pan or grating dish (12x17)

4-6 small eggplants

3 large plum tomatoes, core removed, sliced lengthwise and very thin

2 small onions cut in half and sliced very thin

5 cloves garlic smashed

4-6 marinated artichokes

1/3 cup small black olives

2 whole bay leaves

4 sprigs of fresh thyme scattered on top before baking

Salt and pepper

Cut the eggplants lengthwise. With a small knife, cut slices flat side down from the top to the bottom without separating the slices from the stem. It is important to keep the fans connected to the stem, otherwise they won't fan out properly. Set aside.

Slice the tomatoes very thin. 

Strew the garlic and the onions all over the bottom of the pan. Make a fan with a tomato slice inserted into each slice of eggplant and place each one on top of the onions. You should have 8-12 fans. 

Cut the artichoke hearts in half and fill in any gaps between the fans and around the pan. Do the same with the olives. Insert the bay leaves and the herbs over the fans and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Press down to make one even surface. Drizzle some olive oil over the entire surface. I also use the marinating oil from the artichokes. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 1-1/2 hours, however, turn the temperature down to 375º after 20 minutes. After an hour and 15 minutes or so, if the eggplants are still firm and the tomatoes haven't shriveled (every oven is different), uncover and bake for another hour or so checking periodically for shrinkage and/or burning.

Allow to rest covered for about 15 minutes and serve. It can also be served tepid or room temperature. It is divine as a leftover the next day!

Bon appetit!

 

 

MOVING ON . . . CHOCOLATE PAVLOVA

I PROMISED some recipes so let us begin.

Let's start with the Chocolate Pavlova.

I first saw this on one of Nigella Lawson's shows. I adore meringue, as can be seen from the several other entries on this blog about Pavlovas and meringue. A Pavlova is usually white and can be a single disc of mountains of beaten egg whites or multi-layered with a variety of fillings: whipped cream with berries, with passion fruit, with lemon curd or a combination of whatever takes your fancy. The chocolate Pavlova is no different except its darker and because of the nature of chocolate, fairly limits the possibilities of combinations. I wouldn't, for instance, use strawberries or blackberries or any kind of citrus curd with chocolate (candied orange peel dipped in chocolate, yes!). In any event, this recipe demonstrates only one variant of a very versatile dessert. What I can and will say here is this: the chocolate Pavlova as seen below is perhaps the most divine and glorious dessert I have ever made or eaten. One, two, even three servings of this will never be enough as gluttony rules!

I'm including the link to Nigella Lawson's site on the Food Channel because she can express herself so much better than I can.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nigella-lawson/chocolate-raspberry-pavlova-recipe-1973184

FOOD PORN II - SAVORY

As I promised, here are some photographs of some of the savory dishes which I hope will inspire some of you in the kitchen. 

Carciofi ripieni (for recipe click on link below)
https://paoloknows.blogspot.com/2016/09/nonnas-stuffed-artichokes_35.html

 

  

Fennel and Beet Salad with Gorgonzola

French Onion Soup

Eggplant Fans

FOOD PORN

In the interest of being versatile and a little entertaining I’m going to try to amuse you today with just photographs of food; desserts actually. The recipes will follow eventually, I promise. We need a little fluff to lighten up the mood! And what better way to do it than with some dolce!

Let’s start with a Chocolate Pavlova with Raspberries and Cream! 

And then move on to a Creme Caramel! Click on link and scroll down for recipe:
(https://paoloknows.blogspot.com/2016/05/entertaining-ii-easter-feast.html

How's this for a mirror glaze!?

Shall we continue with and Apple Charlotte? Click on link for recipe:
https://paoloknows.blogspot.com/2017/03/apple-charlotte.html

 

We just keep getting fancier and fancier! Cheesecake with Raspberries:

And finally: Tarte au Citroen

MIDNIGHT AND LENTILS

It's well after midnight and rather balmy outsde. A cool 56º with a mild wind. 14th street is empty with only the occasional passing bus. Even the homeless guys who sleep on the steps of the Salvation Army are absent from the scene. It's an odd sensation.

I had to go to the hospital this morning for a CAT scan and I rode the bus up Madison and then back down Fifth Avenue. Madison Avenue was strangely populated near Mt. Sinai with multiple gatherings of people scattered piece meal along the sidewalks and there were gaggles of cars and taxis humming their way up to Harlem. Not so Fifth Avenue. It was desolate from the Met straight down to the Village. It's an odd sensation seeing 57th and Fifth without people. Even odder seeing Bergdorf's, St. Patrick's  and Saks completely shuttered. Rockefeller Center was devoid of humanity and barricaded. Ralph Lauren's flagship stores on Madison had very elegant, custom-made, white painted boards covering every glass surface facing the street. These are the strangest times in which we live. It's enough to suppress any appetite but curiously, it hasn't. Everyone I know is baking something almost every day. I decided to live vicariously by binge watching (again!) the Great British Baking Show so I wouldn't bake myself. That hasn't stopped me, however, from putting on a few pounds.

So let's talk about lentils; anything, really, to take our minds off of the realities of our day and age.

I first read about pasta with lentils in a cookbook by Lorenza de Medici. I've made this unsuspecting dish several times and have always been astonished by the depth of flavor - not to mention the texture - such an innocent little legume can impart on the palette. What's more, they are extremely good for you. I often make the recipe below without the pasta and eat it by itself. It can be a very satisfying repast for one on a cold winter's night. What follows, though, is, I think, one of the best ways to eat it with people round the table.

You can make the lentils a day ahead or reserve one cup of the lentils for this dish to be used at a later date. I find it tastes better the next day after it's been refrigerated. 

To prepare the lentils, rinse one cup lentils with cold water and let drain in a sieve. Once cooked you should have twice that amount by volume.

Make a soffrito of one small onion (minced), one small carrot finely diced, and about 1/4 cup minced celery. Mince on clove of garlic.

Saute the soffrito and the garlic in some olive oil over moderately high heat. Add the lentils to coat with the olive oil and then add 1/2 half cup roasted cherry tomatoes and about 1/4 cup white wine or vermouth. Let that reduce before adding 2 cups boiling chicken stock. bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for about 35 minutes or until tender. You can check on the lentils periodically and smash the tomatoes into the mixture so they melt away. Correct seasoning with salt and pepper.

Cook the pasta (farfalle, rigatoni, penne,gemelli, etc.) according to the instructions in lots of salted water. A half pound of pasta should be enough for 4 people as a first course. Reduce the cooking time by 2 minutes since it will be baked in the oven.

Drain pasta. Put a little olive oil in the casserole, add the pasta and toss and add the lentils, 1/2 cup heavy cream and 5 tbs. parmiggiano. Mix well and sprinkle some bread crumbs on top and put in a 400º oven and bake uncovered for 20 minutes. 

Serve immediately.

Buon appetito!

 

20-MINUTE PASTA

We all need some diversion right now. With the escalating numbers and dire instructions to stay at home, pandemic or not, we are trying to find things to occupy our minds and our time. I wrote about memories yesterday, so I'll continue to reminisce with a more recent story. 

I was chatting with an old friend about pasta the other day and wrote down a few thoughts on getting something on the table in no time at all. Of course, you have to have an arsenal of ingredients at the ready for however you want to create this dish - the possibilities are endless - but it's also about the time involved. One needn't fuss to make something extraordinarily delicious, yet simple. 

The conversation began over a pasta recipe in the food section of a California  newspaper callled "caprese", which wasn't a salad in the conventional sense; it was a bastardization of yet another magnificent Italian creation (think pesto and how it's inappropriately and incorrectly put on anything). I told her she'd be hard pressed to find ANY Italian, no matter how adventurous, eating mozzarella, basilico and sliced raw tomatoes with pasta. As a rule, and even though I love it, Italians don't eat pasta cold. Anyway, here is my go to recipe for pasta with roasted cherry tomato sauce that has endless variations and iterations. 

I roast cherry tomatoes whole in a cast iron skillet at 375º. I toss them (in the pan) with about 2 tbs. EVOO, a good helping of Kosher salt, 8-10 grinds of the black pepper mill, and a generous shake of powdered rosemary and thyme (which I grind myself from dried herbs). Roast for 1 hour or until they start to wrinkle, caramelize and take on a deep red hue.

I make enough to last me at least 4 or 5 days. (At least 2 pounds)

To make the spaghetti:

I allow 80-100 grams per person (4 oz. = 118 grams on the scale) so a pound per 4-5 people as a main course or a side dish. I have found that one helping of this is never enough FOR ANYONE.

The sauce can be made while the pasta water is heating up and the pasta is cooking. You'll need some of the pasta cooking water. Always use plenty of water in the pot and add a handful of Kosher salt to the pot when it starts to boil before adding the pasta.

1 shallot (or a small onion)
2-3 cloves garlic
3-6 anchovies (optional and to your taste)
red pepper flakes (more or less depending on how picante you want it)
1 cup toasted cherry tomatoes
Vermouth or White wine
Basil leaves cut into chiffonade

Saute the shallots, garlic, anchovies and pepper flakes together. Add the tomatoes, smash them into the sauce and add a good splash of the Vermouth or white wine. Let that cook and meld together. Add the basil. Continue to cook over low heat until it forms a dense mass. At this point, you'll need to start adding a little of the pasta water. Set your timer according to the directions on the pasta box. Two minutes before the pasta should be done, add 1/4 cup of pasta water to the sauce. Raise the heat and bring to the boil. Just before you are ready to drain the pasta, add a little more pasta  water, correct seasoning, if necessary. Make sure the sauce is thick and bubbly and add the pasta directly into the pan with the tomatoes. Toss with a pat of unsalted butter and serve. Cheese, of course!

I know there are many steps, but trust me, you can make this dish in 20 minutes. TOPS! Someone with only a very little bit of expertise should find this a piece of cake! I like to have a mise en place ready to go when I put the pasta water on the fire.

Variations: black squid ink pasta with this sauce spiced up with more hot pepper flakes, more garlic of course and seafood (squid, shrimp, scampi, lobster, etc.)

Linguini or cappelini or even rigatoni or gemelli (with tuna OMG!) I have made this sauce and added chopped slices of leftover breaded eggplant and added a dollop of sour cream to the sauce just at the end to make an improvised Pasta alla Norma! Another Sicilian twist: add a handful of roasted pine nuts and golden raisins to the sauce while cooking and dress the finished product with bread crumbs instead of cheese. This is particularly appropriate with pasta al sardo (sardines). 

One can use pancetta or guanciale as well. I have given up meat for Lent so it's sort of vanished from my lexicon at the moment, but rest assured, meat will be back on the menu next week!

Buon appetito!