Julia Child Dinner #2

Another wonderful dinner tonite with my JC conspirators. S made a kick-ass chicken foie with homemade aspic (yes, I said homemade). She also whipped up a delightful garlic butter and served both with a rosemary bread. Heavenly to say the least. I made beef short ribs braised in red wine, served with roasted vegetables and mashed potatoes. R made the kid friendly dish of chicken meatballs with pasta that the kids went crazy for. N completed the nite with a beautiful dessert composed of layered meringue with layers of almond and kirsch buttercream and topped with chocolate buttercream. To top it all off, there was an amazing show hosted by all the children that involved singing, music, camping/fishing scenes, a limbo line, and a tent.

               S's Foie de Volaille en Aspic (Chicken Livers in Aspic) and garlic butter

                                                      N's dessert!

Going to bed happy and full!

Maida Heatter's Palm Beach Brownies

We are still snowed in and spending lots of time in front of the fireplace.  After looking through my pantry, I decided to bake up some brownies to satisfy my sweet tooth--my need to have a little something something after meals. I took out my go-to brownie recipe and decided to try something new on second thought. I had been doing some research on Maida Heatter and apparently she became famous on brownies; specifically, her Palm Beach Brownies. So I decided to give her recipe a try. The result: sinfully fudgy, almondy brownies that don't disappoint. I had to give most of them away so I wouldn't eat them all because with a glass of milk, one can do a lot of damage. I'm not a brownie connoiseur but these particular brownies taste the best the next day or after having several hours of rest after they come out of the oven. The almond extract comes through in every bite. The walnuts are of course optional but highly recommended.

Recipe adapted from Maida Heatter's Palm Beach Brownies

Preheat oven to 425F.

13 x 9 inch pan

8 oz. unsweetened chocolate

2 sticks unsalted butter

2 generous cups of walnuts

5 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/4 tsp salt

1 TBSP + 1 tsp instant espresso powder

3 3/4 Cup sugar

1 2/3 cup flour

Melt the chocolate and butter in the top of a large double boiler over hot water on moderate heat or in a small, heavy saucepan on low heat, stirring occasionally. When combined, remove from heat and set aside.

Break the walnuts into pieces if necessary, trying to keep them fairly large. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs with the vanilla and almond extract, salt, espresso and sugar at high speed for 10 minutes. On low speed, add the chocolate mixture and beat only until mixed. Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the nuts.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 35 minutes, reversing the pan from front to back once to ensure even baking. At the end of 35 minutes, the cake will have a firm crust and the edges may be very dark.  MUST cool or refrigerated for several hours before serving.

Pistachio Cherry Tart

I love reminiscing about friends--especially lifelong ones. So when I was recently going through my photo stack, I couldn't help but think about my friend B who I went to pastry school with in Paris. We loved this tea house I lived close to called Mamie Gateaux that had the most amazing desserts and ambiance. Among my favorites was a Pistachio Cherry Tart that was out of this world. I couldn't resist trying to replicate it today. For the crust, I used a sweet pastry dough. For the filling, I made an almond cream with pistachio paste and dried cherries. Such a great flavor combination. Such good memories!

Puffy Popovers

We are snowed in. Utterly and completely. Being stuck in the house is a great excuse to clean the house, organize, and of course, daydream. As I was staring at the tree tops filled with puffy snow, I couldn't help but think of popovers and a recipe I had been wanting to try. So this morning, at 7 a.m. sharp, I sat up and declared to myself that I was making popovers for breakfast. This recipe is so easy it's almost criminal. Not only that but it will fulfill any donut fantasies that you may have with probably 1/100th of the fat of a regular donut. This was also the perfect excuse for me to try out a package of coconut sugar that my sister, J, had just sent me last week from California. I am a coconut sugar convert now! It's made from the flower nectar of the blossoming coconut palm and the minimal process it takes to make has a minimal impact on the environment. The taste of it is amazing also -- a little caramelization and nuttiness. I preferred rolling the popovers in just plain coconut sugar. If you can't get your hands on coconut sugar, the sugar/cinnamon concoction is very delicious as well.

Puffy Popovers
recipe adapted from David Lebovitz' recipe from NY Times and Maida Heatter's Great Book of Desserts

2 TBSP melted butter
3 large eggs
1 Cup 2% milk, or whole milk
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 cup flour

topping:
softened or melted butter
coconut sugar

1. Brush melted butter in popover mold or I used a regular sized muffin tin mold.
2. Preheat oven to 400 F.
3. In a mixer with the whisk attachment, combine the butter, eggs, milk, salt, sugar and mix.
4. Add the flour and mix well.
5. Using a ladle, fill each mold 1/2 or 2/3 the way high.
6. Bake 20-25 minutes or until your popovers are puffed and nicely browned.

Once out of the oven, the popovers should come out of the molds quite easily. Cool on a wire rack. After a couple of minutes, brush a popover with some softened or melted butter and roll it around in the coconut sugar. Eat immediately.

If you do not have coconut sugar, then combine:

2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

and roll in this sugar instead.
Makes 10 popovers.

who wouldn't think of a popover while staring at this tree??!!