Therapy, In the Form of Food

 

Yes, it's true.  Food can be a comfort in some trying times, and it's been well-documented that a good meal can lift one's spirits. Cookbook authors Lisa Lucas and Debrianna Mancini, who wrote That Time We Ate Our Feelings, stopped by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about their work and some delicious desserts that helped pull them through some less than ideal episodes. Among them, the Queen For a Day Three Layer Chocolate Mousse cake. It's a triple layer mousse based dessert that combines dark chocolate, along with semi-sweet chocolate chips and whipped cream. How sweet it is!

1st Layer

• ▢6 tablespoon butter cubed
• ▢7 oz bittersweet chocolate chopped
• ▢¾ teaspoon espresso powder
• ▢1.5 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢4 eggs
• ▢⅛ teaspoon salt
• ▢⅓ cup packed brown sugar I used dark

2nd layer:

• ▢2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• ▢5 tablespoon hot water
• ▢7 oz semi-sweet chocolate chopped
• ▢1.5 cup cold heavy whipping cream
• ▢1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• ▢⅛ teaspoon salt

3rd Layer

• ¾ teaspoon powdered gelatin
• ▢1 tablespoon water
• ▢6 oz white chocolate chopped
• ▢1.5 cup cold heavy whipping cream

• Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.
• Butter a 9" round springform pan. Set aside.
• Separate egg yolks and whites. Set aside.
• In a double boiler, melt chocolate, butter and espresso powder, whisking until smooth. Cool slightly for 5 minutes.
• Add egg yolks and vanilla extract and whisk until well combined.
• In a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer, whip egg whites with salt for 30 seconds, or until frothy. Add half of the brown sugar, sprinkling it over the frothy whites. When the sugar is well mixed in, add the remaining half. Whip until soft peaks form. It can take from 1 to 3 minutes. Keep checking your peaks.
• Whisk in ⅓ of whipped whites to chocolate mixture. Do not whisk vigorously. Be gentle. Whisk just until the mixture lightens in color. Switch to a rubber spatula and gently fold in the rest of whites, until no streaks remain.
• Carefully pour the chocolate mixture into prepared pan. Smooth the top out.
• Bake the cake for 15 to 18 minutes (center should spring back when gently pressed ).
• Leave the cake in the springform and cool completely, at least 1 hour. It will collapse. You can cover cooled cake and refrigerate overnight.

Second layer:

• In a small bowl, mix together cocoa powder and hot water. Set aside to cool slightly.
• In a double boiler, melt chocolate. Cool 3 to 5 minutes.
• In a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer, whip cream, sugar and salt at medium speed. Whip for 30 seconds. It should slightly thicken. Increase the speed to high and whip the cream until soft peaks form. It should happen quite fast ( 20 to 30 seconds ) so do not walk away. Set aside.
• Whisk cocoa powder mixture with melted chocolate until smooth. At first it will look like your chocolate seized but keep whisking. It will come back together and be smooth.
• With whisk, fold in ⅓ of the whipped cream into chocolate mixture to lighten it. Switch to a rubber spatula and gently fold in the rest of the whipped cream, until no streaks remain. It is important or the mousse won't set right.
• Spoon the mousse over cooled cake layer. Tap the form on your countertop 3 times to get rid of any air bubbles. Smooth the top with a spatula. Wipe the inside of the pan with a paper towel from any mousse smudges. Refrigerate the cake for at least 15 minutes so the mousse can set.

Third Layer:

• Sprinkle gelatin over water in a small bowl. Quickly stir with a small spoon. Set aside.
• Place white chocolate in a large mixing bowl.
• In a small saucepan, heat up only ½ cup of cream until boiling. Remove from heat. Add gelatin and stir until completely dissolved.
• Pour the cream and gelatin mixture over white chocolate. Let sit for 20 to 30 seconds, then whisk until smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Stir occasionally. It should slightly thicken.
• Whip the remaining cream at medium speed for 30 seconds. Increase the speed to high and whip until soft peaks form, about 15 to 20 seconds.
• With whisk, fold in ⅓ of the whipped cream to chocolate mixture. Do not whisk vigorously. Gently, until all smooth. Switch to a rubber spatula and fold in the rest of the whipped cream into your chocolate mixture, until no streaks remain.
• Spoon the white chocolate mousse over the semi-sweet chocolate mousse. Smooth the top out.
• Chill the cake for at least 2,5 hours.
• When ready to serve, run the knife around the cake in the pan. Remove sides of the springform.
• For clean cuts, use dental floss or warm but dry knife.
• Decorate slices with chocolate curls. Serve.

Italy, British Style

   

You can be forgiven if you think that most Americans have the view that Italian food is all pizza and spaghetti. It's not. In fact, there are so many variations of what's being cooked over there, no restaurant could possible serve it all! And that's where one woman from Great Britain takes on the task of trying to explain it. Vicki Bennison wrote the cookbook Pasta Grannies. She takes on Italy with a fresh eye for what's new and different and guides the kitchen chef through the various forms of authentic Italian cooking. She stopped by Tonia's Kitchen with a recipe for Lemon Pesto, which is a fresh, light offering from the island of Procida, just off the coast of Naples. Reflecting its seaside culture, Vicki told Tonia she uses lemon peel, lemon juice, a little sugar, almonds, parsley and basil to create this treat!

• 3.5 oz boxed spaghetti per person
• 3 large organic lemons, ideally from Procida
• 0.2 cup lemon juice (from about 2 lemons) 
• 0.4 oz flat-leaf parsley (or basil) 
• 0.2 oz mint 
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 pinch of dried chilli flakes
• 0.2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1.8 oz Italian pine nuts (or walnuts)
• 3.5 oz Parmigiano Reggiano (or pecorino), grated

1. Start by peeling the lemons; you only want the skin. A great way to remove the pith from the peel is to use a filleting knife, which has a flexible blade. Anchor the peel pith side up with a finger, then with the other hand press and slither the knife horizontally under the pith (away from your fingers, please), leaving the zesty skin. Chop the rinds finely. Strain the lemon juice to remove pips.
2. Rough chop the parsley, mint and garlic and blitz all these together in a food processor with a pinch of salt, the chilli flakes and the oil until smooth.
3. Roughly chop the nuts, add them to the mix and blitz again until you have a rough pesto paste.
4. Add half the cheese and give it a quick zhuzh. Taste for acidity and, if needed, add tablespoons of water to adjust.
5. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the spaghetti for the time indicated on the packet. In the meantime take a large salad bowl and dollop in the pesto. Dilute with a ladle of hot pasta water to make it more of a sauce.
6. Drain your pasta, keeping some of the pasta water. Toss the pasta with the pesto, adding in the rest of the cheese and adding more hot pasta water if necessary so the sauce coats the spaghetti. Serve immediately. This should be on your regular recipe roster! 

More Sopas Please!

You won't stop asking for them once you try them! Jesse Valenciana, who wrote the new cookbook, Birrias, stopped by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about some of the recipes in his book, which given the title, are centered around birria stew. But one thing that goes very well with birria is the Sopa, which Jesse says is a a little deep-fried corn disc that is soft in the middle. Jesse says he uses jalapenos, white onions, lime and cilantro to make these, which apparently are quite addictive!

You Might Have Heard The Name...

The name is Birria, and the name of the new cookbook is Birrias. So what is it? Long a staple of Mexican cuisine, Jesse Valenciana, who is the author of the book, stopped by Tonia;s Kitchen to talk about the origins of the authentic birria, and how it evolved. Jesse told Tonia it goes back to days when goats roamed the Mexico countryside, and were considered something of a nuisance. That's because they ate a lot of the crops. Birria, says Jesse, is a slow-roasted stew consisting of goat meat. As times evolved, it was made with beef. In his book, Jesse says there are number of recipes for birria, with just about any kind of protein you can think of!

2 lbs. short rib

6 dried chile guajillo

2 dried chile ancho

2 garlic cloves

1 large onion, chopped

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 clove

¼ cinnamon stick

1 Tbsp. beef bouillon

3-4 cups beef broth

2 bay leaves

2 Tbsp. oil

Salt and pepper

onions, cilantro, and lime, for garnish

Optional: Warm tortillas for making birria tacos

Equipment

Large cast iron pan

Large Dutch oven (5-quart or larger)

To make the chile base:

Heat large cast iron pan to medium/high heat.

Toast the chiles for 1-2 minutes, turning frequently to make sure they don't burn. Transfer the toasted chiles to a heatproof bowl.

Saute the onion until the it begins to brown.

Add 1 cup boiling beef broth to the heatproof bowl, allowing chiles to soak for 5 minutes or until pliable.

Remove the chiles from broth (reserve the broth for the next step), then remove all the seeds and veins from the chiles.

Add reserved broth, chiles, onion, garlic, oregano, thyme, clove, cinnamon stick, bouillon, and bay leaves to a blender. Blend until smooth and set aside.

To make the beef:

Chop chuck roast into 2" cubes. Generously season all sides of chuck roast and short ribs with salt and pepper.

Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in large cast iron pan. Brown chuck roast and short ribs on all sides, but do not cook all the way through. Transfer meat to a Dutch oven.

Add your chile base and the remaining 2-3 cups of beef broth to the Dutch oven. Use enough beef broth to submerge the beef. Stir to combine.

Bring the Dutch oven to a simmer and cook over medium heat for at least three hours, but up to five. The meat should be tender enough to fall apart using a fork.

Remove bones and gristle from the cooked beef. Reserve the broth for dipping purposes, if desired. Serve the finished beef with tortillas, cilantro, onion, and lime.

MexiPoix Relish (Mexican Mirepoix)

Makes approx. 20 oz.

Ingredients

1 large white onion, finely chopped

1 cup pickled jalapeno slices, finely chopped

½ cup packed cilantro, finely chopped

Juice of 1 lime

Salt, to taste

Instructions:

In a bowl, combine onions, cilantro, pickled jalapenos, lime juice, and salt. Mix until well incorporated. Serve on tacos, sandwiches, salads, and more

Peas, Give This Dish a Chance

  

You'll be glad you did! Number one it's delicious, and number two, it's authentic Italian. Susan Gravely, who wrote the new cookbook Italy on Plate, stopped by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about a wonderful recipe for Pea and Shallot Crostini that came to her book by way of Frances Mays, who's the author of under the Tuscan Sun. Susan loved it so much, she worked together with Frances on this latest writing project, with Frances even providing the book's forward. As to the Crostini, Susan says she sautés the peas and shallots together to keep the peas crunchy. If you're entertainment, your guests are sure to say more, peas!

Pea and Shallot Crostini 

4 shallots, minced 

2 cups peas, shelled 

2 tb extra virgin olive oil 

3 tb chopped mint 

2 tb mascarpone cheese 

salt and pepper to taste 

French baguette, sliced about 1/2 inch thick, and toasted. 

In a medium saucepan, blanche the peas for two minutes.  In medium pan over medium heat, mix shallots, blanched peas and saute in the olive oil until peas are barely done and shallots are wilted, about four minutes.  Stir in the mind, mascarpone, salt and pepper. 

Chop coarsely in food processor and spread onto the bread slices.