Flourless Chocolate Mousse Cake
Flourless Chocolate Mousse Cake
If you are still looking for a special dessert for Valentine’s Day this cake might just be what you are looking for. It is easy to make and impressive to serve. I decorated it with powdered sugar and chocolate whipped cream.
Flourless Chocolate Mousse Cake
½ c. each sugar and water
1 stick butter
12 oz. semi sweet chocolate
6 eggs
¼ dark rum or other liqueur
Butter an eight inch cake pan and line with parchment. In saucepan heat together water and sugar until they boil. Stir in butter and bring to boil. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until melted. Beat in eggs until smooth and stir in rum. Pour batter into prepared pan and place pan in a roasting pan. Pour boiling water into roaster to come up sides of pan 1 inch. Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 45 minutes. Cool, invert onto plate.
Serve cake topped with whipped cream and decorate with raspberries, other fresh fruit or even toasted nuts. Dense and rich this cake serves 8-10. Leftovers can be frozen.
Fresh out of the oven
Chocolate Whipped Cream
1/2 c. whipping cream
1/4 c. powdered sugar
2 T. cocoa
Combine powdered sugar and cocoa and set aside. Whip cream until soft peaks form and then beat in the powdered sugar mixture. Pipe onto desserts.
Chocolate Whipped Cream
Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
I have always been a big fan of shortbread cookies. This Chocolate Shortbread Cookie ranks up there with one of my favorite cookies of all time. Not too sweet and that wonderful crumbly texture found in all really good shortbread cookies. I finish them of by either brushing them or dipping them in melted chocolate or making a sandwich cookie by holding 2 cookies together with melted bittersweet chocolate. Fun dessert anytime. Extra nice for Valentine’s Day.
Chocolate Shortbread
1 c. butter, room temperature
3/4 c. sugar
2 c. flour
1/3 c. cocoa
1/4 t. salt
8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
Beat together butter and sugar until well blended. Mix together dry ingredients and slowly beat into butter mixture, stirring it in at the end. Roll out dough about 1/4 inch thick and cut out with cookie cutters. Re-roll scraps and cut out the remaining dough. Place on an un-greased baking sheet and bake at 325 degrees until cookies are firm around the edges, about 20 minutes. Cool on baking sheet 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool. Melt chocolate and dip cookies in it or use chocolate to hold 2 cookies together. Makes 2-3 dozen, depending on the size.
Chocolate Orange Scones
Chocolate Orange Scones
Going with the thought that there is NEVER a bad time of day for chocolate here is a great recipe for breakfast or brunch. They are not very sweet, but very tasty. Serve with butter and preserves or use for the base of a shortcake.
Chocolate-Orange Scones
1 1/2 c. baking mix, like Jiffy or Bisquick or homemade
1 T. grated orange peel
3/4 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. milk chocolate chips or 3 oz. milk chocolate, chopped
Combine baking mix and orange peel in medium bowl. Stir in cream to make a soft dough that forms into a ball in the bowl. With your hands or a 2 oz. cookie scoop form dough into balls and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Flatten slightly. You should get 8. Bake in a preheated 425-degree oven for 8-10 minutes.
Double chocolate version: Knead 3 tablespoons of cocoa into dough with the chocolate chips.
Coconut Snowballs
Coconut Snowballs
We made these in a chocolate cooking class last night. With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching I thought I’d share the recipe with you. While the recipe calls for baking a cake and cutting it into squares I prefer to bake cupcakes. That way they can be called snowballs. All too appropriate this time of year. Whether you bake a cake and cut it into squares or make the cupcakes they do need to be frozen before dipping in the chocolate sauce.
Coconut Cake Squares aka Snowballs
1 white cake, prepared and frozen solid
1 c. cocoa
1 1/4 c. sugar
2 c. water
1 t. vanilla
½ c. desiccated coconut (available at cake supply stores and some health food stores)
Cut frozen cake into small squares, or cake can be baked in regular or mini cupcake tins. Keep cake frozen until ready to use. Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients, except coconut in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil then simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely.
Using toothpicks or fondue forks, dip cake in sauce let drain a few seconds, then roll in the coconut. Can be used right away or frozen again for later use.
Won Ton Soup
Won Ton Soup
Still in the mood for Chinese food so I made a version of Won Ton Soup. I had some leftover won ton wrappers so I filled them with chicken. Simmered them in chicken stock and added spinach at the last minute. Not a traditional Won Ton Soup, but I had to work with what I had. It tasted good so that is what matters in the end.
Won Ton Soup
24 Won ton wrappers
1 c. cooked chicken
1/4 c. minced celery
1 t. soy sauce
1 t. sesame oil
4 c. chicken stock
4 c. fresh spinach
Combine chicken with the celery, soy sauce and sesame oil. Place 1 teaspoon of the chicken mixture in the center of a won ton wrapper. Moisten edges and fold in half to form a triangle. Press edges to seal. Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers. Heat stock and add the wrappers and spinach and cook until heat through and spinach is cooked, about 5 minutes. Serves 2-3.
Pepperoni Pizza Bread
Pepperoni Pizza Bread
I had a special request from my brother for this bread. He was going to watch the Super Bowl with some friends and wanted to bring this Pepperoni Pizza Bread. I was happy to make it for him. It may be too late to make this for the Super Bowl but it’s always a good time for pizza, right? I made a double batch of the dough so I would have 2 loaves. Here is the recipe.
Pepperoni Pizza Bread
3 ¼ c. flour
1 T. sugar
1 t. salt
1 package quick-rising yeast
1 c. hot water
1 T. oil
Extra oil for brushing on the dough
1/2 c. marinara sauce
6 oz. mozzarella or provolone cheese
2 oz. sliced pepperoni, about
Set aside 1 cup of the flour. Combine remaining flour with the other dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir in water and oil and gradually stir in enough flour to make a soft dough. Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Roll dough into a rectangle about 16 x 8. Brush with oil down center middle of dough. Top with sauce, cheese and pepperoni. Cut one-inch wide strips of dough from filling to edge on both sides. It will sort of look like fringe. Alternating sides, fold strips up and over the filling at an angle. Carefully lift loaf onto greased baking sheet and place at an angle. Cover with a towel and place sheet on top of a roasting pan half-filled with simmering water for 15 minutes. Bake in a preheated 400-degree for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly before slicing. Serve warm and refrigerate leftovers. Makes one loaf.
Fold dough over fillings
Note: The variations for this bread are almost endless. Some favorite combinations are ham and Swiss with mustard, roast beef and cheddar, chicken, broccoli and cheese, spinach with ricotta or feta and onions, curried veggies . You get the idea. Use your imagination and have fun. Just be careful not to overfill, or the bread will be hard to move, use fillings that aren’t too runny and always use cold fillings.
If you want to use regular yeast use warm, rather than hot water. After kneading cover dough and let rise 45 minutes. Punch down and assemble as in original recipe. Cover with a towel and let rise until dough looks puffy, about 40 minutes. Bake as directed above. These breads can also be frozen.
Curried Coconut Sauce
Curried Coconut Sauce
Since I had some leftover coconut milk from making peanut sauce the other day I wanted to use it in a sauce. I looked around my fridge and pantry to see what was available and came up with this sauce. I had some carrots and other veggies and added them to the mix along with some curry powder. I ended up having some of the sauce with roasted chicken. Very tasty.
Curried Coconut Sauce
2 T. oil
1/2 c. chopped shallots
1 1/2 c. sliced carrots
1 c. chopped sweet pepper
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 qt. vegetable stock- or use whatever you have
1 1/2 c. coconut milk
2 tablespoons curry powder
salt to taste
Heat oil in a medium saucepan and saute the shallots until tender. Add the veggies and cook a few minutes more. Add the stock and cook on medium high heat until most of the liquid has cooked off. Add the coconut milk and curry powder and puree until smooth. Add salt, if needed. Serve sauce with pasta, rice, meats or cooked veggies.
Chicken with Curried Coconut Sauce
Won Ton Appetizers
Won Ton Appetizers
For a recent Chinese New Year dinner I was in charge of appetizers. I ended up using won ton wrappers for 3 different dishes. I made Sesame Spinach, Honey-Ginger Chicken and Crab Rangoons. I wrapped each of them up differently so they would look nice on the platter and be easier to identify. Serve with assorted dipping sauces and soy sauce.
Sesame Spinach Triangles
oil
1 small onion, chopped fine
12 oz. fresh spinach, cooked, chopped and drained or 1 (10 oz.) box frozen spinach, thawed, cooked and drained
1/2 c. chopped water chestnuts
2 T. oyster sauce
2 t. sesame oil
1 t. hot sauce
won ton wrappers
Heat oil in skillet and cook onion until tender. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining ingredients, except won ton wrappers. Adjust seasonings, if needed. Allow mixture to cool. Place 1 tablespoon of the filling in the center of a won ton wrapper. Moisten edges with a little water and fold over to form a triangle. Press to seal edges. Place filled triangles in 375 degree oil and fry for about 2 minutes or until golden.
Honey Ginger Chicken Won Tons
1 c. cooked diced chicken- I used thighs
1/4 c. minced celery
1/4 c. mayo
2 T. honey
2 T. dried minced onion
1 T. hoisen sauce
1 t. fresh grated ginger
salt and hot sauce to taste
won ton wrappers
Combine all ingredients, except the wrappers, and mix well. Place 2 teaspoons of filling in the center of each won ton wrapper. Moisten edges with a little water. Fold in 2 corners to meet in the middle. Starting at one of the remaining corners fold up and over and form into a roll. Press to seal edges. Fry in hot oil ( 375 degrees) for 1-2 minutes or until golden brown.
Crab Rangoons
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 (6 ounce) can crab meat, drained and flaked
2 green onions with tops, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon light soy sauce
won ton wrappers
Combine all filling ingredients and chill until ready to use. Place 2 teaspoons of filling onto the center of each wonton skin. Moisten the edges with water and bring 2 corners together. Bring the other 2 corners up and press all together to seal. Press all seams to seal. It should look like a little bundle. Fry in hot oil until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes.
Sesame Spinach Triangles
Honey Ginger Chicken Won Tons
Crab Rangoons
Peanut Dipping Sauce
Peanut Dipping Sauce
I had a special request for this recipe. We were doing an Asian dinner for Chinese New Year and needed an assortment of dipping sauces. This one is super easy and requires no cooking. I made a single batch but should of made more as it went fast.
Peanut Dipping Sauce
1/3 c. peanut butter
1/3 c. coconut milk
1/2 t. crushed red pepper
1-2 cloves garlic
1 t. fresh grated ginger
1 t. soy sauce
Dash hot red pepper sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth.
Note: If you want to use this sauce on pasta thin it with 1/3 cup of vegetable stock.
Sweet and Sour Chicken
Sweet and Sour Chicken
I have to admit to loving all things sweet and sour. Sometimes the color of commercial sweet and sour sauce is off putting to me. I like my own better. It’s not hard to make. With Chinese New Year here I seem to be making more Asian meals lately. I made this chicken for dinner the other day and made extra sauce to take to an Asian dinner last night.
Sweet and Sour Sauce
1/2 c. vinegar
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. pineapple juice
3 T. ketchup
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. cornstarch
1 t. dried minced garlic
1-t. fresh grated ginger
Hot pepper flakes to taste
In saucepan combine all ingredients. Cook over medium heat, stirring as mixture gets hot, until sauce begins to bubble. It will also get much clearer. Boil gently 1 minute, stirring constantly before removing from heat. Makes 1 1/2 c. Keeps in the fridge for a couple of weeks.
Sweet and Sour Pork or Chicken
1-2 lbs. boneless pork or chicken
1 egg
1 t. cornstarch
1/4 t. salt
1 t. soy sauce
Additional cornstarch for dredging
2 T. oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and sliced thin
1 sweet green pepper, seeded and chopped
1 sweet red or yellow pepper, seeded and chopped
1 20 oz. can pineapple chunks, drained, reserving juice for sauce
1/2 c. almonds, optional
1 recipe sweet and sour sauce (see note)
Cut meat into cubes and place in bowl. Combine egg, 1-t. cornstarch, salt and soy sauce and pour over the meat, stirring to coat. Allow marinating at least 1 hour in fridge.
When ready to cook, heat 1T. oil in large skillet or wok. Sauté onions on high until tender. Add carrots and stir fry 3 minutes. Add peppers and sauté 3 minutes more. Remove to bowl and stir in pineapple. Dredge the meat in additional cornstarch and sauté in remaining oil until browned and when juices run clear when pierced with a fork.
Meanwhile, combine sauce ingredients in a saucepan and heat to boiling. Return vegetables to pan with meat and almonds, if adding, and add sauce to desired amount. There is usually extra sauce for a later use. Serve over rice, makes 4-6 servings.
Note: If you make the sweet and sour sauce ahead of time it will get runny when reheated if made with regular cornstarch. Either use modified cornstarch (Clear Gel ) or make sauce just before using. You may also want to use only some of the sauce and save the rest for another use.
Sweet and Sour Sauce
