Coaching Cooking

If you’re looking for a Valentine’s dessert, I’ve got the one for you. I have made Paula Deen’s chocolate bundles more times than I can count. They’re easy and tasty and really impress, looking like you worked harder than you actually did. …

What to do
Set the oven to 350 degrees. Starting off with a puff pastry sheet that is room temperature, I make smaller bundles than Paula, cutting the sheet into 9 equal squares. And instead of Hershey’s kisses, I use Nestle’s Treasures dark chocolate truffles, which you should go ahead and unwrap—one for each square. Also, crack an egg into a small bowl and whisk in a teaspoon of water for a wash. Then on a floured surface, roll each pastry portion out a little to make the square about 4-5 inches. Brush a bit of the egg wash on the inside, place the candy in the center, then pull up the sides and twist to close. Then place on a cookie sheet with parchment paper and brush the top with the egg wash. Repeat all squares then bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. (Paula calls for longer, but these bundles are smaller and don’t take as long.)

I usually serve these with fresh whipped cream with vanilla. Though the last time, I did make the ganache from the recipe, and it was oh so good.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Valentine’s dessert, Paula Deen, chocolate bundles

I had blueberries, raspberries, and red currants that needed to be used, so I got online to find a recipe for a tart, thinking to make use of the quiche pan I got when returning one of two salad spinners I received for Christmas. However, the rustic berry tart I found on Eating Well sounded tasty, in addition to being healthier than many other versions. The crust was made partially from whole wheat flour, and there wasn’t too much butter or sugar called for.

I followed the recipe rather closely, except for a few things. I didn’t have the pastry flour called for and used brown sugar instead of white. And I found there was no need for the warmed jam because the tart was pretty bubbly, with the juices nearly running over. But my use of the somewhat sour red currants made for an even tart-er tart and not the best thing ever. When I served a slice a couple nights later with some light Häagen-Dazs vanilla bean, it was much yummier indeed. The sweet ice cream made for a nice contrast as it melted over the warm tart.

rustic berry tart, Eating Well

A few weeks ago, I had the good fortune to score an invite to a chocolate tasting. A free chocolate tasting in a hip bar with Moet & Chandon’s Dolce champagne to go with the chocolately goodness. It was an excellent evening. The tasting was organized by a company called Chocolate Dividends. Here’s a quick pic of us after the tasting. We tried so many different chocolates and it was really fun to try and guess the different flavor profiles of the chocolates. It was also very difficult to separate out the different flavors. The tasting came with a booklet that included flavor profiles for chocolates from around the world that included flavors like cinnamon, smoke and hummus (I tried really hard, but I could barely taste that one). I also had some great conversations with Andrea, the chocolatier at Mirabai Chocolates. She is so passionate about chocolate and she made some wonderful truffles for our final chocolate tasting that included a chocolate with bergamot (the key ingredient in Earl Grey tea) and a chocolate truffle with basil. This particular truffle really blew me away because it tasted like a pizza truffle. Believe me, it was actually really delicious with the best flavors of chocolate and pizza together in a sweet-salty-tangy trifecta of flavor. See where the magic happens at Mirabai right here.

So, one that note, I set out to find some other amazing candy companies. A new candy store is opening in New York City (which really doesn’t help me at all, but the website is totally fun with great music). Check out Papabubble, a candy store that has branches in Tokyo, Amsterdam and Barcelona and now NYC. Now I have to go to New York just to see the delicious and beautiful sugar candies!

Finally, I have to give a shout-out to Donnelly Chocolates and Richard Donnelly in Santa Cruz, CA. This is a place that I can definitely travel to on my own (with my lovely Prelude). We had Donnelly truffles at our wedding and they were, by far, one of the most fabulous desserts that I have consumed in my foodie life. We chose the raspberry truffles and the caramel macadamia nut truffles. My uncle was visiting from Saudia Arabia and he drove down to Santa Cruz on the premise of checking on his house in Carmel. Yeah, right. I know he was just going for the Donnelly chocolates of which he bought about FOUR boxes. You can’t have too much of a good thing, sometimes.

Happy Halloween! Wishing you candy dreams and no nightmares!!

**Stay tuned for my review of Chez TJ…a local restaurant that just garnered 2 Michelin stars…I’m looking for all treats and hopefully no tricks (or some good foodie tricks!).

Sometimes you want to eat s’mores and you can’t get out into nature to properly suffuse yourself with sugar amidst leaves and stars. So grab some household items, set down a flame-retardant place mat and eat s’mores while watching your favorite movie (and occasionally drop s’mores on the floor…nothing more lovely than a gooey marshmallow on your rented carpet….yeeeha).

Living Room S’mores

Ingredients:

1 bag of large-size marshmallows
skewers (metal or bamboo)
1 box of graham crackers
2 chocolate bars (try Hershey’s or fancier stuff like Lindt or Scharffen Berger)
1 shallow bowl
4 tea light candles

Directions:

Pick a safe place for living room s’mores like a low coffee table. Place the tealights in the center of the shallow bowl. Break the graham crackers and chocolate into bite-size pieces. Place the marshmallows in a bowl. Put all s’mores ingredients on a tray and place on the coffee table next to the “fire” a.k.a. tealights in a bowl. Light the tealights (you can do more of these “fires” so people don’t have to wait). Toast the marshmallows to desired doneness and eat immediately. This dessert is best served with a movie that is not too intense so you can actually notice when the marshmallows catch on fire (from experience, I was watching a particularly engrossing episode of–what else–the Gilmore Girls and ended up with flaming ball of marshmallow death that I had to sacrifice on the side of the “fire” bowl).

Enjoy!

***This one goes out to Jane who is fighting for her life in the hospital…hang in there, woman. We want to eat s’mores with you in the future…

Purple-hued, red-hued, gorgeous jewel-toned berries are inextricably part of my summer feasts. I love their sweet-tart taste and they are so easy to pair with lots of great foods. Last night we celebrated our one-year wedding anniversary with triple chocolate mousse cakes (thank you, Jean-Yves Charon!) and framboise.

Simple recipes:

Berry Sundaes:

Ingredients:

2 cups of mixed berries (blackberries, sliced strawberries, whole raspberries, blueberries etc.)
1 quart of vanilla ice cream
Framboise sauce (see recipe below)
4 sprigs of mint

Directions:

Choose some pretty bowls to show off the beautiful colors of the berries (try glass bowls or bowls in a solid, bright color such as orange to offset the colors of the berries). Scoop two generous scoopfuls of ice cream into each bowl. Sprinkle the sundaes with a 1/2 cup of berries per bowl. Drizzle the framboise sauce on top and serve with a few sprigs of mint. Serves 4. Enjoy!

Framboise Sauce

Ingredients:

1 cup of framboise (try Bonny Doon’s before it disappears! Put in coupon code: Alan for a 5 percent discount!!)
2 tablespoons of water
1 cup of fresh raspberries

Directions:

Cook the ingredients together over medium-low heat until the mixture boils. Mash the berries with the other ingredients in the pan and reduce this mixture to a 1/2 cup. Remove the framboise sauce from the heat. Strain the sauce in a fine mesh strainer over a glass bowl. Cool and serve with ice cream, berries or pound cake and whipped cream.