Lazy Le Mont Blanc

Happy New Year everyone!

I don't know about you, but this holiday season has been busy busy busy!  Holiday parties, school activities, and then some much needed family time has kept my family on the go for the last few weeks. 

This Saturday is La Befana, which is the evening before the day of the Epiphany.  In Italy, the night before the Epiphany,  La Befana comes.  The short version of this Italian tradition is this: Befana is an old woman that flies down the chimney and brings treats/small gifts to the good children, and coal to the naughty ones to celebrate the eve before the wise men brought the gifts to Jesus.  You might be thinking, "isn't that what Santa does?"  Italians will argue with you that there is a major difference. Trust me ... don't fight the Italians on this one.  Just accept that you get to leave the lady some cookies and wine and enjoy the extra goodies. 

When the Epiphany is over, my husband is going back to work, Laela back to school, and I will be starting Italian lessons (yay! finally!  I'm going native!)  What's ridiculous, is that I'm most looking forward to my Italian lessons so that I can take some of the cooking classes that I found that are taught by super cute Nonna's who speak Italianglish.  I want to really understand them so that I can share what I learn with you all...and so I can eat more lasagne...

Speaking of lasagne, I had the BEST lasagne the other day.  My buddy Sandro made lasagne that was so good, if I were dropped in a vat of it, I'd eat my way out.  Seriously.  When he forks over the recipe, trust me, I'll be making it for you all!

Until then, let me share this little nugget...

We went to dinner at a friends' house for Christmas.  I was feeling a bit lazy, but I had promised a posh dessert.  What did I make, might you ask?

The lazy person's Le Mont Blanc.

Lazy Le Mont Blanc

You'll need:

• 4 oz good quality chocolate, finely chopped (I used dark chocolate, 50% cocoa- use whatever you have on hand, or what you prefer)
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 10 medium sized meringue cookies (I made my own, feel free to use packaged.)
• (1) 1lb jar of vanilla infused or plain chestnut puree/spread

Instructions:

*The Nigella Express book that I found this recipe in calls for semisweet chocolate and 2 meringue nests (approx. 3in diameter each, from a packet).  I felt that Nigella would understand my lack of desire to traipse out into the rain to switch up from my chocolate choice. 
           As for the meringue, I had just made budino di cioccolato.  Since I had the leftover egg whites, I whipped up an easy meringue.  First of all, heat your oven to 375 degrees farenheit.  In a metal bowl, I whipped 3 egg whites until they had light peaks.  Then I beat in 1tsp cream of tartar and 1/8 tsp salt.  Once stiff peaks were formed, I gently and gradually beat in 3/4 cup of sugar.  Once a stiff meringue (a whitish-silver, smooth textured mixture, that when you pull up on your beater, the mixture leaves a point- like a peak- is what you'll be looking for) is formed, you can be fancy and put the mixture into a piping bag and swirl them into circles, or you can use a spoon to plop them onto the baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  Place the meringue cookies into the oven.  Turn the oven off.  Do not open it for two hours.  The longer you leave the cookies in the oven, the crunchier they'll be!  Easiest. Cookie. Recipe. Ever.  And people will think you're a rock star for being able to make a fantastic meringue.

Now, back to business...

• Get out 6 pretty glasses, or one pretty serving bowl. 
• Sprinkle the chocolate evenly among the 6 glasses, or evenly in the serving bowl.
• Whip the cream and vanilla.  Once it has formed the consistency of whipped cream, crumble meringue (I saved 6 for topping the mont blanc, but you don't have to), and gently fold it into the whipped cream. 
• **A note on folding.  You are not folding clothes, and it is not the same as folding dough.  If you mix it, the whipped cream will get watery.  You want to gently scrape the sides of the bowl, and gently, gently, swirl in the meringue.  This is not one of those things that you have to get perfect, or that you have to make sure everything is evenly distributed.  Put down the OCD for a minute, and just let it be.
• Evenly distribute and spread the chestnut cream/puree in the glasses.
• Top with cream and a meringue if you have extra, or are feeling fancy.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Meringue Layer Cake

I'm going to tell you straight up, this is not your Mama's strawberry shortcake.  It's better.  Like, 'he's going to ask you to marry him after eating this' kind of good.  And trust me, I will warn you, once you eat this cake, there is no going back with normal old shortcake ever again.

No, this cake is not low-fat, but it is a fantastic treat.  It is much, much easier than it's fancy meringue exterior let's on, and is a hit at family dinners and parties.  Make the cake, screw the extra calories that day, and enjoy!

Nigella Lawson's Strawberry Meringue Layer Cake

You'll need:

- 1 cup all-purpose flour

- 3Tb cornstarch

- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

- Scant 1/2 cup very soft unsalted butter

- 1 cup granulated sugar

- 4 eggs

- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

- 2Tb milk

- Scant 1/4 cup slivered almonds (I skipped the almonds bc Ky is not a fan)

- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

- 1/2 pint strawberries

Instructions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 450-degrees fahrenheit

2.  Line, butter and flour two 9-inch springform pans. (I used two 9" cake pans because our springform pans are in storage.  They worked out fine.)

3.  Combine the flour, cornstarch and baking powder in a bowl.

4.  Separate the eggs and beat the yolks into the butter and sugar, saving the whites to whisk later.  Gently fold in the measured-out dry ingredients, add the vanilla, and then stir in the milk to thin the batter.  Divide the mixture between the two prepared pans.

5.  Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form, then gradually add the remaining sugar.  Spread a layer of meringue on top of the cake batter in each pan, and sprinkle the almonds evenly over.

6.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, by which time the top of the almonds-scattered meringues will be a dark gold.  Let the cakes cool in their pants, then spring them open at the last minute when you are ready to assemble the cake.

7.  Whip the cream, and hull and slice the strawberries; that's to say, the bigger ones can be sliced lengthwise and the smaller ones halved.  Invert one of the cakes on to a plate or cake stand so that the cake crumb is uppermost.  Pile on the cream and stud with the strawberries, letting some of the berries subside into the whipped whiteness.  Place the second cake on top, meringue upward, and press down gently, just so secure it.

8.  If you've got any more strawberries in the house, hull and halve them, and serve them in a dish on a table to eat alongside.

Serves 8.

**You can also use other types of berries if you prefer.

In Case You Were Wondering...

I've been a very busy lady!  Here are some of the yummy things I"ve made lately.

Homemade honey wheat bread:

I have a newfound respect for people that make bread from scratch for a living.  Kneading for ten minutes!  For two loaves of bread!  My arms felt like jelly afterwards!  But you know what?  It's the best wheat bread I've ever had, and I think I'm going to make bread every week now.  Buff arms here I come!  (Oh wait, I carry around a 30-pound toddler...already have those...well, a little extra never hurt!)

Last Friday, my best friend Juice needed 24 creme brulees for his dance instructor's birthday party.  I topped them with homemade whipped cream and served them with a side of sugar-crusted mango tossed in lemon juice.  I forgot to get a photo of the mango salad...but here are some photos of the creme brulees:

I made some steamed sweet potato slices as a side for dinner the other night.  I melted some butter, brown sugar and cinnamon in a ramekin and drizzled it over the sweet potatoes.  Yum!



Last Saturday I whipped up some killer breakfast sandwiches.  I toasted my homemade honey wheat bread and filled them with simple cheesy scrambled eggs and crispy bacon.

Lastly, here's a cake I made for my Daddy.  He's officially a pilot!

The cake was 2 layers of chocolate and one layer of vanilla, filled and iced with vanilla buttercream, and topped with my favorite candy from Canada, Coffee Crisp!

I'll be sharing more of my baking and cooking adventures next week!  Have a great weekend!!

Thanksgiving Prep and Some Chocolate Heaven

I don't know about you, but for us, the holidays mean houseguests.  For Thanksgiving, my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law are coming to stay, and they LOVE chocolate.  It must be genetic or something, because my husband is a chocoholic too.  When I saw this recipe, I knew my husband would swoon over this, so, as I said in my last post, when I made this and he loved it, I felt like it would be wrong to not share it with you guys, as well as our family when they visit.

As promised, here's the amazing chocolate pudding recipe from my Nigella Express cookbook (pg 311).  Best part?  The whole shabang, including the whipped cream, takes less than ten minutes to make.  And yes, you can eat it hot!

Budino Di Cioccolato

Ingredients:
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1/3 cup cocoa
2 Tablespoons boiling water
2 egg yolks
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
2 oz dark chocolate, finely chopped

1. Put the kettle on to boil water, and warm the milk and cream together either in a saucepan or the microwave.
2. Put the sugar and cornstarch into another saucepan and sift in the cocoa.  Add the 2 tablespoons of boiling water and whisk to a paste.
3. Then whisk in the egg yolks, 1 at a time, followed by the warmed milk and cream, then the vanilla extract.
4. Scrape down the sides of your pan and put it on the heat, cooking and whisking for about 3-4 minutes until the mixture thickens- if it helps, think of a consistency like mayonnaise.
5. Take off the heat and whisk in the finely chopped chocolate before pouring into 4 small cups or glasses each with a yield of about 2/3 of a cup.
6. Cover the tops of the cups with plastic wrap laying it directly on the pudding to stop a skin from forming, and then refrigerate once they are cooler.  Make sure they are not still fridge-cold when you serve them.  You can add a blog of cream on top if you like.

I made a bit of whipped cream for this.
Here's how you make it:

Whipped Cream

Pour some heavy cream into a bowl (a half cup or so- you don't have to be exact).  Grab your trusty mini whisk and whisk your cream until you start to see the swirls stay in the cream, and you can make soft peaks (kind of like when you're making meringue, but not quite as thick).  You don't want to overbeat it, otherwise you'll have butter instead of whipped cream.  Whisk in a splash of vanilla and touch of sugar (I didn't want to have it too sweet since the dessert is so decadent) and you're ready to top your pudding!

I hope that everyone has an amazing holiday!  Try to remember that it's your family, and even if they make you crazy, they're just happy that they don't have to deal with the stress of cooking!

*Tips on how to not go crazy on Thanksgiving:

• Use the Good Eats Turkey Recipe.  It really is the best one.  It shortens your cook time.  It makes a juicy turkey, and it really is simple to make.
• If you're like me, and you get on a Martha Stewart bender, give someone in your life permission to stop you if you're going too far.  Kyle stopped me from making brie and chive biscuits and a few other things because he knew I wouldn't be able to enjoy the time with family, and let's be real, that's what this entire day should be about.  It shouldn't just be me sweating in the kitchen!
• If your family has something that you make, that you can make with your eyes closed, then make it.  Even if Martha Stewart's celery root potato mash looks amazing, if you make the best mashed potatoes ever, don't reinvent the wheel when you've got a million things to do.
• The trick to getting everything out warm is this.  First, the things that you cook on the cooktop should either be reheated on the cooktop about five minutes before the turkey is done.  The turkey is going to need time to rest, so when you take out the turkey, you can pop in the things that you need to bake (mac and cheese, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole and if you're making rolls, make them last).  Also, remember that you can cook most things in the casserole on the stovetop, and that they can set in the casserole dish in the oven quickly if most of the work is done for you.  (For instance, I think canned green beans are gross, so I use fresh ones for my casserole, and cook them in cream of chicken soup with fresh herbs.  Then I pop it in the oven with the onions on top so that it gets yummy crispy golden brown.)
• Before you cook one thing, make an ingredient list of EVERYTHING you're making.  Make sure you have everything you need so that you don't have to run around like a maniac and stress yourself out.  (I've done this, it stunk, I'm sure you've done it too.  Save yourself the trouble and really list out your recipes.)
• Designate a "cocktail maker".  I don't even mean for everyone else, I mean for you!  We're having wine and hot toddy's at our Thanksgiving, and my husband is on call to keep my toddy's coming!  If you don't drink, that's fine, just make sure you have someone to help you out when you need it- be it an errand runner, water glass filler, baby watcher...  You may be Superchef, but it doesn't mean you shouldn't have a minion, I mean assistant, for the day.

Happy gobbling!