Flourless chocolate cake

This one is from Epicurious. Probably the most successful flourless cake ever! We were tempted to put some extra liqueur or something in it, but it's not necessary -- is delicious just as it is.

(Okay, maybe next time I'll give in and add a teeny bit of espresso... :) But that's it!)

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Flourless-Chocolate-Cake-14478#ixzz201IUbqzl

4 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

3/4 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder plus additional for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375°F and butter an 8-inch round baking pan. Line bottom with a round of wax paper and butter paper.

Chop chocolate into small pieces. In a double boiler or metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolate with butter, stirring, until smooth. Remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat and whisk sugar into chocolate mixture. Add eggs and whisk well. Sift 1/2 cup cocoa powder over chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Pour batter into pan and bake in middle of oven 25 minutes, or until top has formed a thin crust. Cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes and invert onto a serving plate.

Dust cake with additional cocoa powder and serve with sorbet if desired. (Cake keeps, after being cooled completely, in an airtight container, 1 week.)

Erdbeerbowle

Steve made this on a warm summer evening. Absolutely brilliant.

Champagne
Strawberries
Fresh basil
(a tiny bit of) Cointreau
Sparkling water

Slice/chop the strawberries, and pile them into a pitcher. Chop and add basil leaves. Top with a whole bottle of champagne. Place in the fridge and let it all soak together for an hour or two.


When ready, add a very small dash of Cointreau or other orange liqueur (really, not much -- don't want to make it too rich). Alternatively, a little fresh squeezed orange, or a couple of orange or lemon slices, will probably also do. Just something to give it a little bit of citrus.

Serve topped with sparkling water. Ahhhh!

Protip: this is another recipe that is most delicious when kept simple. We tried to get fancy and try variations with brandy and other liqueurs, and the best version always turned out to be just this basic one. Simple and fresh!

Chopped salad

This is my new standby:

Lamb's leaf lettuce (aka mâche, aka Feldsalat, aka Nüsslisalat, aka corn salad)
Arugula (aka rocket)
Cherry tomatoes
Avocado

1/2 Orange

Walnut oil

Balsamico

Salt and pepper

(optional) Other nuts: walnuts or almonds or ..

Pile the lettuces together (lamb's leaf and arugula) in about equals parts on a large cutting board. Open an avocado and scoop the meat out onto the pile. Use a giant knife to chop it all together until it's in soft, moist, fork-sized chunks. Scrape into a bowl. Halve the cherry tomatoes and toss together with the salad. Toss with a dressing of: fresh squeezed orange, walnut oil, a dash of balsamico, salt and pepper. Optionally sprinkle with some other nuts.

I've tried variations of this where I try to add more herbs (mix in fresh basil, or add tarragon or italian herbs or something) but it really is best just as simple as it is!

Variations:
+ Goat cheese instead of avocado (both at the same time is good, but tips the scales toward rich, rather than fresh. Depends on what you're going for!).
+ Spinach instead of the other greens. If you use spinach, strawberries might also be a nice addition.

Sage walnut pesto

1 part fresh parsley
1 part fresh mint
4 parts fresh sage

walnut and/or olive oil

2 garlic cloves
walnuts, toasted
parmesan
lemon juice (optionally also a little zest)
salt

Toast the walnuts: place in a pan and toast on medium-high heat for a few minutes, until nuts are fragrant and starting to slightly brown.

Blend herbs and oil in food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients at will, to preferred taste and consistency.

Serve with:

Ricotta on toast
Prosciutto on toast
Slathered onto fish and baked (so simple, SO GOOD)
Roasted squash
A spoon

Mexican style beer braised pork

• Pork shoulder 
• lard 
• onion 
• garlic 
• dried chilis 
• coriander 
• cumin 
• salt, pepper 
• cinnamon 
• dash cloves 
• oregano 
• thyme 
• bay leaves 
• beer 
• orange 

1. Acquire a large chunk of pork, ideally with bone still in (for better flavor). Shoulder is good. Butt is probably also good, or any other large cut. 
2. Brown the pork on medium to high heat, using some lard if it's a really lean cut. Remove meat. 
3. In the same pot, reduce heat, add a little more lard if necessary, and saute chopped onion, garlic, chilis. 
4. When soft, add spices and continue to cook for another minute or two. 
5. Return meat to pot, add herbs (oregano and thyme), a whole bottle of beer, and a juiced orange. I usually just crush the orange flesh and throw all of it in there, minus peel. Top up with enough water to cover the meat about half way. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. 
6. Simmer for at least 6 hours. Occasionally turn, and add more water as necessary. 
7. When the meat is tender enough to remove bones (after at least 4 or 5 hours), remove them, and continue cooking. 
8. When meat is falling apart, increase heat a bit until juice completely reduces and is soaked into the meat. Might have to pay some attention in this last 20 mins or so, stirring to prevent meat from burning. 
9. At this point, if you don't mind an extra step, you can slide the meat into the oven and broil it for a minute or two until it's crispy on top. Or maybe just continue to cook it on the stovetop in its own juices, until it gets crispy on the edges. This is the traditional last step for carnitas. I haven't tried it, yet, though, am usually too hungry to bother! 
10. Serve with corn tortillas (homemade is the *best*), fresh guac, salsa, and fresh cilantro.

Ethiopian recipes

I need to learn to make more Ethiopian food. So good! Found this little blog, maybe will give these a try: http://ethiopianfood.wordpress.com/recipes/ These look good, too: http://www.ethiopianrestaurant.com/recipes.html Also, nice looking spice mix: http://www.food.com/recipe/berbere-200366 Now just to find an injera supplier in Switzerland...

More fish soup

I've been making this one a lot lately...

Cod, salmon
Tiny shrimp

Butter
White wine

Leek
Yellow onion
Celery root (or celery stalk or celery seed)
Carrots

Thyme
Oregano
Parsley
Red chili
salt
pepper

Chopped tomato
Bay leaf
Optional: fresh chopped basil and cilantro
Wild rice, or Milk + flour for thickening
Lemon

Saute vegetables in butter (leek, onion, celery, carrots). Add spices and herbs and stir them in a bit so they soften. Add water, white wine, shrimp, tomato, and a bay leaf. If you feel like fresh basil and cilantro, add it now. If you're going with wild rice instead of milk, add the rice now, too. Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer. *Secret ingredient alert*: a teaspoon of sugar at this point is surprisingly effective for bringing out the other flavors... shhhh!

Rice option: Let the rice cook until tender (30 mins or so).

Milk option: simmer for 30 mins or so to let veggies cook and flavors blend. Then mix a little flour in a glass with cold milk, and pour into soup to thicken. Simmer another few mins.

Final 5-10 mins: Add the salmon and cod, and let it gently poach just until cooked.

Remove from heat and serve with lots of lemon juice!

Palak paneer

This one requires getting ahold of some paneer: you can usually get it at international food stores (asian, indian, etc). I think I saw it at Trader Joe's once, too, so maybe it's becoming more mainstream in the States. :) 

• Oil for frying, or ghee 
• Paneer 
• Lots of greens + Mostly spinach + Optionally: mustard greens, fenugreek leaves + Optionally: fresh mint, fresh cilantro 
• Onions 
• Chilis 
• Ginger 
• Tomato 
• Garam masala (for example, like so.) 
• Coriander 
• Cumin 
• Yogurt or cream 
• Lemon 

Fry paneer in a little oil on high heat, until golden and kind of soft and spongy. If you've never fried paneer, don't be shy! It would probably burn before it melted, so don't worry about it melting all over your pan. Just turn up the heat and go at it. Make sure it gets soft on the inside and golden/crispy on the outside. You really don't want hard paneer. 

Remove paneer, turn down the heat, add a little more oil. Saute spices, onion, chili, ginger. *Pro tip*: optionally puree these in a food processor before adding to the pan. Makes for good texture and even flavor distribution. 

Once the other veggies are soft, add greens and chopped tomatoes and let them cook down to mush. Add a little yogurt or cream: enough to give it a good consistency, but not so you'd make it cream-based. At this point, you can puree it all to give it a smoother texture. 

Add salt, pepper, and any additional spices to taste. I usually find myself adding more garam masala at this point, and often extra cinnamon or extra chili powder. Just spice it until you like it. 

Add back the paneer, and let it all simmer a little longer to heat the cheese and let the flavors blend. 

Top with lots of generous squeezes of fresh lemon before serving. Serve with rice.

Lemon poppy seed cake

I don't usually like cake. But this turned out pretty good! Nice 'n' moist, and lemony. 

Wet

• 3/4 cup white sugar 
• 1 c butter 
• lots of vanilla 
• 3 large eggs 
• 1/4 cup milk 
• squirts of lemon juice 

Dry 

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 3 tablespoons (30 grams) poppy seeds 
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest 

Mix wet as usual, but be sure to: add eggs one at a time, and add the lemon juice after everything else is mixed together (to avoid curdling the dairy -- it also emulsifies, though, so that helps!). 

Mix together dry. Add dry to wet in batches, beating well. You can add the lemon zest to the dry first, or add it as a final step after everything is beaten together. 

Butter and flour a loaf pan. Bake 350 F / 175 C for 40 - 50 mins (time varies a lot. Just watch it!)