Simple Chocolate Truffles (Cook's Illustrated Recipe Test)

We previously wrote about another recipe we tested out for Cook's Illustrated, Spaghetti al Vino Blanco.  That one turned out pretty well, so I was pleased when a couple weeks back we received two more recipes to test out.   We haven't gotten around to trying one of them out, but last weekend I made the other one:  Simple Chocolate Truffles

The goal for this recipe was "a truffle that was easy to make and had a deep, pure chocolate flavor."  The technique seemed straight-forward enough:  Melt some high-quality baking chocolate (I used Ghiardelli Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Bars), stir in some corn syrup, vanilla extract and cream until glossy and pudding-like, then stir in some butter, pour it into a pan lined with parchment paper, then refrigerate for awhile.  Afterward, you cut the chocolate into 1-inch pieces, roll them into balls, then roll the balls in a mix of Dutch process cocoa and confectioner's sugar to coat.  Shake off excess coating and refrigerate them in an airtight container to serve later.  The recipe directions were clear, but it was a bit of a pain trying to line a small baking dish with enough parchment paper to overlap the sides of the dish, and then to keep that flat while pouring the chocolate mixture into the dish atop the parchment paper.

The results were mixed.  I thought the truffles were good, but not what I'd call great.  We both loved the rich, chocolate flavor of the ganache filling, but Juli at first found the cocoa coating a bit too bitter, though she eventually grew to like it.   Still, while I can't say the directions or techniques were difficult, I found the process more work than warranted by the results.   Plus, honestly, the finished truffles don't really look very attractive.  

The finished Truffles

They'd probably look better with a different kind of coating, which may or may not impact my overall impression, but I think I'd still consider these truffles a bit more trouble than they're worth.  I'm planning to post about this on the Cook's Illustrated Facebook page, and I'll be interested in hearing what some of the other recipe testers had to say.

Garlic-Ginger Green Beans

We've been getting some green beans from our CSA, so last weekend I decided to come up with a green bean recipe.  After considering various options, I decided to go for a mix of Asian flavors, something not uncommon for me.  I wanted the green beans to be flavorful, and to have a little bit of heat.

The result was quite good.  Sweet, savory and somewhat hot, with the sesame oil providing a bit of nut flavor.  Fast, easy and tasty... what's not to like?

Our lunch on Saturday was something of an odd mix - these green beans, Jalapeno Cheeseburgers and our Basil, Feta and Tomato Past Salad - but the various flavors and dishes went pretty well together.  I generally prefer to pair similar cuisines - Indian curries with naan, for example - but this lunch demonstrates that mixed cuisines can also go well together.

Garlic-Ginger Green Beans

yield = 4 servings
2                tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1                tablespoon rice wine
2                teaspoons minced garlic
1                teaspoon sugar
1/2             teaspoon chili paste
1                tablespoon vegetable oil
1                pound green beans, ends trimmed, snapped in half
1/2             cup water
1                tablespoon Asian (dark) sesame oil
6-8            scallions, thinly sliced
1                tablespoon peeled, grated fresh ginger

Combine soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, garlic and chili paste in a small bowl.  Set aside.

Heat one tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat until shimmering.  Add green beans and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned in some spots (about 3 minutes).  Add the water, stir and cover the pan.  Reduce heat to medium and cook until the beans are more tender than crisp (about 10 minutes). 

Uncover and cook until most of the water has evaporated.  Clear a spot in the middle of the skillet.  Add the sesame oil and heat one minute, then add the scallions and ginger.  Cook about 1 minute, stirring constantly, then stir the ginger and scallions into the green bean mixture. 

Stir the soy sauce mixture and add it to the pan.  Cook, stirring constantly, until the liquid is almost evaporated.  Serve hot.

Maxie's Restaurant and Lounge

Recently Jeffrey and I decided to to indulge a craving for steak.  It's WAY too hot to barbecue, and we were already in West Des Moines on an errand. I wanted to go to the excellent El Chisme, but Jeffrey reminded me that Thursday is Farmer's Market Day in Valley Junction, and that we'd have to fight crowds of people to get there.

So we went to another West Des Moines favorite, Maxie's Restaurant.  I've taken my son there plenty of times, but it was Jeffrey's first visit.  Usually I just have a hamburger steak meal, but this time we went a little more upscale.  I ordered the Steak De Burgo, and Jeffrey got a Surf/Turf plate.

We got salad to start.  Lettuce is just iceberg, but the ranch dressing is thick and very good. 

The bread was warm, but the butter was so cold as to be unspreadable.  Can't really fault them for that in this heat, and the pats melted quickly enough on the warm bread to make that just a very small inconvenience.



Most entrees come with a spaghetti side, which we thought was nothing special.

We both ordered our steaks medium rare.  Jeffrey though his was TOO rare.  Mine was likewise more rare than I would have preferred, but the meat quality was so high that I didn't even think about returning it to the kitchen.  I'm wondering if maybe restaurant's rareness scales have changed?  It seems like the current "medium rare" is more like what I would have called "rare" in years past.  This isn't the first restaurant that this has happened at, so probably I'll have to start asking for "medium" rather than "medium rare".



Jeffrey's meal



I enjoyed my Steak De Burgo, although I would have liked it much better had the chef used fresh herbs rather than dried.  The onion rings were excellent, as always.



My meal



In short, this was an okay meal, and I was glad not to have to help cook at home or wash dishes in our overheated kitchen.  I would much rather be eating Jeffrey's cooking, though.  I am so ready for cooler weather!

Note from Jeffrey:

Although my steak was more rare than I requested, one can't fault the quality of their meat, which is excellent.

Maxie's is located at 1311 Grand Avenue, West Des Moines, IA.  Their hours are 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and 4:30-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and 4:30-10 p.m. Friday; and 4:30-10 p.m. Saturday.  They are closed Sundays.  Their number is (515) 223-1463.  They get busy sometimes, so you might wish to call for a reservation. 

Jalapeno Cheseburgers

This past weekend, I was in a mood for burgers, and I also wanted to use some of the wonderful hot peppers we've been growing, so I tossed together a new recipe:  Jalapeno Cheeseburgers.   They turned out great:   Lots of flavor with just a bit of mild, pleasant heat.  Juli and I both enjoyed them for lunch, and we had the leftovers for lunch the next day.   They were almost as good warmed up in the microwave as they were fresh off the grill.

I used fully ripe, red jalapenos in these burgers.  The red jalapenos impart a more complex, mellow and slightly sweet flavor than you get with green jalapenos, but burgers with green jalapenos would still be great, just in a different way and with a bit more heat.   Either way, you'll end up with a tasty, very memorable burger.

As usual, I used Cabot extra-sharp cheddar, which is our go-to cheddar cheese.  Big bricks of this cheese are available at Wal-Mart stores, and while the Cabot cheddar is a bit more expensive than your basic supermarket cheddar, the difference in flavor is more than enough to make up for the slightly higher cost.

Jalapeno Cheeseburgers

yield = 4 servings

1 1/2               pounds ground chuck (85% lean) beef
3                     ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1                     large (or two small) jalapeno peppers, seeded
                          and finely minced
1                     teaspoon ground cumin
1/2                  teaspoon minced garlic
1/2                  teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1/2                  teaspoon Mexican oregano, crushed
1/2                  teaspoon table salt
1/4                  teaspoon onion powder
4                     hamburger buns, sliced
                       lettuce leaves and tomato slices to garnish
                          (if desired)

Add the ground beef to a large bowl, breaking it up to increase surface area for seasoning.  Add the cheddar cheese, minced jalapeno, cumin, garlic, pepper, oregano, salt and onion powder and mix the ingredients with your hands.  Separate the meat mixture into four even-sized portions.  Form one portion into a ball, then flatten it into a patty.  Press the center of the patty down with your fingertips, leaving an indentation.  Repeat with the remaining portions of the meat mixture.

Prepare the grill for medium-hot, direct heat.  When the coals are ready, cook the burgers for 4 1/2 minutes on each side for medium-rare.  Transfer cooked burgers to a plate, cover with foil and let them rest for a couple minutes, then serve.   Serve on buns, topping each burger with lettuce and tomato or other toppings of choice. 

Texas-Style Blueberry Cobbler (from Cook's Country)

The current (August/September 2011) issue of Cook's Country featured a recipe that looked too good to not try.   The recipe in question, Texas-Style Blueberry Cobbler, was so obviously wonderful, and the pictures so mouthwatering, that the editors chose to feature that dessert on the cover. 


Photo from CooksCountry.com

 Having made it, I can now say that this cobbler is every bit as delicious as it looks on that magazine cover.

Most cobblers feature lots of fruit under a biscuit or crumb topping.  This version is quite different.  As the recipe author, Rebeccah Marsters, describes it, "in the Hill Country region of central Texas, the same word applies to a very different dessert, one with a moist, tender interior and a crisp, craggy top.  As the cobbler bakes, the fruit (which starts out on top) sinks and forms juicy pockets throughout."  Though Texas cobbler is more often made with peaches, this version features blueberries to delicious effect. 

Technique-wise, this is pretty simple to make.  The berries are coursely mashed along with a touch of sugar and lemon zest, some butter is melted directly in the baking dish by placing it in the preheating oven, then the batter is poured directly atop the hot, melted butter.  The berries are then dolloped atop the batter, the whole thing is sprinkled with more sugar and lemon zest and then it's tossed into the oven to bake for about 50 minutes. 

The baked cobbler is nicely golden-brown on top, and more heavily browned (and pleasantly crisp) along the edges, thanks to the melted butter.

My cobbler didn't end up looking quite like the one shown in the magazine illustrations.  Instead of a craggy crust with valleys of blueberry filling, the filling in mine mostly sank to the middle and bottom of the pan, with the top having completely covered the filling in all but a few spots.  I'm not sure why this happened - perhaps it has something to do with the kitchen having been so hot - but it didn't take a thing away from the flavor.  This was easily the best cobbler I've ever had.  It is wonderfully moist and rich, full of buttery and fruit flavors.  Served up with some vanilla ice cream, it made for a wonderful dessert, one I'm certain to make again.  I'll probably give it a try with some other fruit, too, including peaches. 

Fiestaware for the Iowa State or University of Iowa fan

Fiestaware, that iconic American dinnerware, is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year with a new color:  the beautiful Marigold.  I don't generally buy into collector mania, but Fiestaware makes me weak in the knees!

I started my addiction right after I bought Grandma's house.  I should explain that I bought the house furnished, more or less.  The beds were full-sized, a shock after sleeping in a queen-size bed for years, and there was a terribly uncomfortable sofa and end-tables left from the early 1960's, and...a single piece of Fiestaware. 

It was a pitcher, in a sunny bright yellow that could have been produced anywhere from 1936 to 1969.  I fell in love with the deco lines of the piece, and was excited to find that Fiestaware was still being manufactured.  I picked my first dishes , 4 place settings of  pastel yellow and 4 place settings of apricot, based on the crazy colors of the 50's-style countertops, shown here:



Dig those crazy fried egg squiggle-splats!

I was immediately hooked on the cheerful colors, and I have tried to have at least one piece in every color that followed the pretty pastels I started with, with a few exceptions:  I don't have the rare "exclusive" colors lilac or sapphire, and I never bought anything in the colors I considered gloomy, like pearl gray, heather, or chocolate.

Back to the present!  Marigold is a beautiful color, and very aptly named.  If you're from Iowa, you'll know that Iowa State University colors are cardinal and gold, and University of Iowa colors are black and gold.  So....wouldn't these be perfect for a get-together celebrating your favorite team?  [Please forgive the floral tablecloth and use your imagination.  A plain black or red cloth would look spiffy, I think!]



Scarlet and Marigold Fiestaware

Black and Marigold Fiestaware



Grown-Up Chicken and Stars Soup

We're getting a lot of squash from the CSA, so I put together this soup to use some up. 

Grown-Up Chicken and Stars Soup

 Makes 4-6 generous servings

1 tablespoon olive oil
12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into small bite-size pieces
1/3 cup finely chopped shallots (or onions)
32 ounces chicken stock (I used Rachel Ray's)
5.5 ounce can of apricot nectar
1 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, halved, seeded, and cut into small bite-size pieces
1 cup stelline (mini star) pasta
1 teaspoon ground cumin seed
3/4 teaspoon sweet curry powder
2 medium zucchini, halved, cut lengthwise and cut into medium bite-size pieces
black pepper
additional sweet curry powder, optional

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven.  When the oil is hot, add the chicken and shallots and cook just until shallots are tender. 

Add chicken stock, apricot nectar, butternut squash, stelline, cumin and curry.  Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cook covered for about 5 minutes. 

Add the zucchini, cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes, or until butternut squash is completely cooked. 

At the table, season to taste with black pepper and just a dash of the additional curry powder, if desired.

We served the soup with Bacon Lettuce Tomato sandwiches, and it was delicious!