Bob's Your Uncle Meatballs

 

Turkey Meatballs (aka Bob’s Your Uncle), courtesy August Foodie Pen Pal.

We are in the grip of perpetual darkness and rain and simple comfort food is the answer.  My August Foodie Pen Pal, Lindsay, sent a recipe for Turkey Pesto Meatballs.  I’ve never tackled meatballs from "scratch" but I had great success with this.  I say scratch but the only tricky bit was getting the jars opened.

 

My Yield:  24 meatballs

I substituted Pecorino for the parmesan.  (There’s enough parmesan in the pesto.)
Any sauce will do.
I skipped the salt, too.

 

Adapt at will.  Perhaps next time it will be homemade pesto, crumbs and sauce.  (Once my fingers thaw out that is.)

 

 

 

Wellington Boot Soup

My dear man, how did you know?

We are the only people that rake leaves.

Spinach soup?  That’s not very seasonal.

It was on sale.  Besides I’ve grown so many damn onions.  I like soup.  When I was younger, my family took soup at every meal. But back then, it was more like water soup.  We’ll see what we can do with crab. Speaking of the old country, fancy a drop of the old medicinal?

See you in ten.

 

 

Simple Spinach Soup

For 4 persons.

 

2 oz butter

1 onion, sliced

8 C spinach, torn

2 oz flour

1 C stock

2 C milk

2 TBSP 35% cream

1 TSP nutmeg

salt & pepper, to taste

 

 

Sautee onions in butter.  Don’t brown. 

 

Add spinach and cook further five minutes. 

 

Add flour and stir well.

Add stock and stir.

Add milk and bring to boil.

Add nutmeg and simmer 20 minutes.

Season to taste.

Puree.

Serve with fresh cream.

 

Celebration Soup

 



Parsnip, Potato & Onion w/ scallop, horseradish cream

 

For 2 persons

1/8 C 35 % cream
1/8 C 2% milk
1/4 C grated horseradish

Bring to boil, simmer, cool, whip.

1 TBSP butter
1/2 lb parsnip
1/4 C diced potato
1/4 C diced onion
2 C stock (I had pheasant stock leftover)  [Don't underestimate a pheasant.]

Sautee vegetables, add stock, simmer 25 minutes.  Puree.

2 scallops

Seer 3 mins per side.  Pat dry. 

Dress with whipped horseradish cream and chives.

 



Celebration Cocktail~Happy Thanksgiving

Frederick is back;  just in time for Thanksgiving. We dusted off a couple of glasses and sat down for the full story.  Mrs. F back in two days.

For two persons.

SHAKE & STRAIN:

1oz brandy, 1/2 oz lemon juice, 1/2 oz simple syrup, 1 oz guava & mango juice

TOP EACH FLUTE w/: 

3oz Brut rose or your choice of sparkling wine

Eat local!

fresh peas straight from Frederick's garden;
you can stop buying the Peruvian asparagus!

So that's where they went?

Sulking would be a more accurate description.  But four weeks of it?

Apparently she’d eaten all thirty pieces of his stuffed morels.  I wondered why things had gone quiet.

These were no ordinary morels.  Frederick had to cross international borders; meaning a passport renewal.  He hates having his picture taken.  The MOT close ups are the reason he doesn’t drive anymore.

The pleasure of tromping through woodland in search for the elusive fungus outweighs the inconvenience of a double chin.

You were wondering where the evidence was?  Mrs. F. knows.

Garlic and crab stuffed morels.  Thirty pieces of gland aching delight.

Who amongst us could resist?

What does that leave us with?  Zucchini. 
To be continued.

 

 

Asian Night

Asian Mary

Combine 1 TBSP salt, sesame seed and wasabi powder.

Rim glass with lime and dip in dry mix.

Fill highball with ice, 1 CUP tomato juice, 1 TBSP wasabi, 1 TSP Tabasco, ½ TSP Worcestershire; 1 oz lemon juice; garnish with sesame and a skewer of star fruit

(All recipes for 2 persons)

SOME OF THE THINGS YOU'LL NEED

Thai Wraps

Head lettuce leaves

1 garlic clove-minced
1 TBSP grated ginger
green chili sliced
1 shallots, sliced
¼ cup tofu, sliced
½ carrot, finely cut into strips
2 shitake mushrooms, sliced
1 egg
¼ cup red cabbage, shredded
1 spring onion
1 cup bean sprouts

1 TBSP lime juice

1 TBSP soy
1 TBSP fish sauce
1 TBSP oyster sauce

Fresh basil

¼ cup roasted peanuts, chopped

2 TBSP oil

 

Heat oil, add garlic, ginger, chili, shallots; fry one minute

Add tofu, carrot, mushroom, sauces; cook additional minute
Fry egg; add bean sprouts
Wrap in lettuce leaves; top with basil and peanuts

Cheat of the Week

 

Miso Soup & dumplings courtesy of T & T dumplings and Fuchu Miso
(We did chop a green onion so that’s something at least.)

 

Japanese Curry

 

And why is it Japanese?  On account of the turmeric.  This spice has been in the news a lot lately.  Fabulous health benefits.

6 chicken thighs

¼ CUP oil
½ CUP onion
¼ CUP grated apple-remove peel

1TBSP Japanese seasoning*

½ TBSP chopped garlic

½ TBSP chopped ginger

1 ½ TBSP flour

1 CUP chicken stock
2 CUP spinach
2 TBSP fresh coriander

Sear chicken & reserve.

Add onion, apple, seasoning, ginger & garlic.  Cook for 1 min.
Stir in flour, cook for 2 min.
Add stock in batches; bring to boil
Simmer 5 min; add chicken and cook 10 min.
Remove from heat.
Add spinach and coriander.
Serve with rice or noodles.

(Paired with Kronenbourg 1664-wheat beer w/ citrus and coriander.)

 

*Japanese seasoning

 

1TBSP turmeric
½ TBSP ground coriander
½ TBSP ground cumin
½ TSP ground cardamom
¼ TSP cinnamon
¼ TSP ground ginger
1/8 TSP fresh pepper
1/8 TSP cayenne
1/8 TSP ground cloves
1/8 TSP ground fennel

 

 

Easy Rice Pudding

 

¼ CUP basmati rice
4 CUPS milk
1/3 CUP sugar
Pinch of salt
1/4 TSP cinnamon
1/4 TSP ground cardamom
1/4 CUP broken pistachio

Cook rice, milk and sugar on low heat for 2 ½ hours

Add salt, cinnamon and cardamom
Top with nuts.

Editor's note:
This turned out very well and worth the over two hour wait.

 

 

Asparagus is not a noodle.

 

The fetal position is for babies, not vegetables.  Don't kill your asparagus.

Please try to aim for a cooking time of no more that 3 minutes.  Once cooked, your veg should resemble the spear in the lower half of the plate.  Taste and texture still intact.

Asparagus is not a noodle. 

In the garden, with flats on.

Nestled under the tree with the second half of the Fizz.  Perfect afternoon of shoulder weather.  The solo bass lines were quite hypnotic.  It had been steadily playing for the last hour which meant the kitchen was closed for the day. Music is welcome in the garden as long as it's the right kind of music.   I would throw Bach’s solo cello into the mix. There was a rustle in the shrubbery; I traded one chair for another and charged my glass.  We swapped notes on the canoe; in the same spot as before.  Some people erect fencing, others merely lean watercraft against a shed.

A chair was no match for my host and he sank down onto a puffy cushioned divan.



Everything looks so well manicured.  We've often wondered about that.

I like order with the vegetables and chaos with the flowers.  My wife is the opposite but she cannot cook. This is why she is not allowed anywhere near my kitchen.  I would never find anything.  Don't let her near yours. 

And the grass?

Chamomile.

Oh, like the book.

Book?

The Chamomile Lawn.

Never heard of it.  My wife tells me you cook.  Do you cook or merely think you can cook?

I like a complicated recipe.  It doesn't always like me.

Complicated is never worth the stress. Simple is good. People have no appreciation for the amount of work you’ve put into a dish.  Remind me to give you some asparagus before you go.  If you can handle the asparagus, we’ll see about mushrooms.

 

Savoury Bread & Butter Pudding

 

 

 

For 4 persons.

 

1/2 TBSP butter

1/2 lb asparagus, chopped

2 onions/shallots

5 CUP bread loaf chunks

1 CUP grated cheese-divided in two portions

1/4 CUP fresh parsley

5 eggs

2 CUP milk

1 TBSP mustard

 

Saute asparagus and onion for five minutes.

 

 

In a greased pan, combine bread cubes, cheese portion, half the vegetables and parsley.*

 

 

Whisk eggs, milk and mustard.  Pour over bread mixture.

Let stand one hour.

Top with second portion of cheese.

Bake 350F for 45 mins. 

 

*We found  that the components were too clustered together and would opt for a layering of ingredients versus trying to combine them all at once.  Then add liquids.

A vigorous whisk is required for the mustard to blend.

Brunch

Smoothie

For 2 persons.

1 1/2 CUP peaches (frozen will do at this time of year)
3/4 CUP greek yogurt
1/4 CUP milk
1 TBSP honey
2 oz peach liqueur
1 oz fruit wine (we used Southbrook Framboise)

Blend first five ingredients
Divide between glasses
Float 1/2 oz Framboise each glass


Huevos Rancheros

There is no one "recipe" here; more putting together components of your choice. 

For 2 persons.

Prepare tomato salsa first

2 TBSP vegetable oil
1 onion diced
3 garlic cloves minced
1 jalapeno diced  (or whatever 'hot' pepper you can get your hands on)
1 TBSP tomato paste
5 ripe tomatoes chopped

2 teaspoons ground cumin (remember the mortar and pestle from last Fall?)
handful of chopped cilantro & oregano
1 tsp sugar

Saute first six ingredients for 10 mins
Add remaining and simmer a further 10 mins
Cool

"Filling"

1 TBSP oil
1 CUP black beans
1 chili pepper diced
1 tsp cumin
2 eggs
4 cooked skinless/boneless chicken thighs, sliced & kept warm
1 CUP grated cheese
1 CUP guacamole  (we took our cheat here; you're allowed one per menu)
4 tortillas-warmed or fried

Saute first four ingredients 'til heated through

Prepare eggs anyway you want
Top tortilla with chicken, bean mixture & cheese
Top w/ second tortilla, egg, a liberal serving of salsa and guacamole

DON'T PANIC ABOUT THE LOOK OF THE THING
If you prefer, present the components 'Cobb' style (rows)

 

Banana/Coffee/Toffee Bread

 

 



 

 



Because who needs to make three different kinds of cake when you can make one?


3 ripe, mashed bananas
½ cup coffee, room temp

2 CUP flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ tsp nutmeg

½ cup butter-melted, room temp
¾ CUP sugar
2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla
½ CUP Skor toffee pieces or Skor bar
¼ CUP banana chips, broken

Spray loaf pan.

Preheat oven to 350F
Stir bananas with coffee
Whisk flour, baking power & soda, salt and nutmeg

Beat butter with sugar and add eggs, one at a time, beating well

Add dry ingredients to liquid portion and add half toffee pieces

Add to pan
Sprinkle top with banana chips and remaining toffee pieces

Bake 45 minutes

Cool 10 minutes in pan

Don't forget about Fiddleheads!

If you want it done right, do it yourself.

Ask him if it was worth the sixteen hours he spent in the toilette.

Oh, it speaks. 
Did you not enjoy your salad? Yes?  Then my dear, it was worth it.

 

 

All this talk of morels and you run the risk of forgetting about this other spring favourite, the fiddlehead.

 

Saute with butter and garlic.

OR

Blanch and cool in an ice bath.

Sprinkle with sea salt, lemon juice & olive oil.

With Spring Comes Morels

Are we finally entertaining Ontario Spring?

It was last June when I wrote about morels.  I pawned something in order to buy a few ounces.  In the midst of Spring cleaning, I unearthed the following Globe & Mail supplement from 1998.

 



 

Back in '98, I remember thinking what a decadent list of recipes.  The presentation was lovely and I looked forward to creating these dishes.  Here we are some fifteen years later and time to finally make a start.  Have to justify hoarding it for so long.



A certain someone is currently out of town and I anticipate a gift of the Gods upon his return.  Am I as invested in this fine mushroom as I think I am?

Frederick-Afternoon Tea

Took afternoon tea with the pair and decided a plate of Welsh scones would be a safe dish. No fear of going wrong with this.  People are particular about scones.  They can vary from lead to clay.  The Welsh don't disappoint.

A cool room on a hot day.
Well worn leather chairs.  I found out later how well travelled they were. I sunk into one.
Nobody ever sits in a chair, do they?  They are always hanging about the edge looking constipated.

I have been watching you.

Not something one is accustomed to hearing over a cup of tea and pastry.

Of course, I'd been watching the house, too.  But I didn't tell them that. Probably didn't have to.

Cups and saucers.  Refrained from looking at the underside.  Where have I seen this pattern?
Not one but two teapots-his and hers. He favours loose, she's the Bag Lady. It's her little joke which Frederick does not find remotely amusing.

Smoked salmon, pate and a cheese board. Delicious.

You are sleeping better these ...?

A bell went in the kitchen and off he went.

We won't see him again, today.  Meringues.  She whispered the word.
I think we're all sleeping better these days, no?  Everyone says so.  Frederick is such a snob about tea.  I can't stand it.  Give me a bag, any day. He really is the most tiresome little man. I only stay for the cooking.
More scones?

Mousse for Dummies and Other Earthly Delights

Recognizing my anxiety over achieving a mousse that sets and stays fluffy, I was presented with a no-fail recipe by the man himself. 

 

not quite ready for prime time...before dropping them on the floor...

For 2 persons.

1 egg yolk
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup 35 % cream, divided
150g good quality 70% chocolate

Whisk yolk, incorporate sugar and whisk again 'til fluffy.
Heat 3/4 cup cream. Don't boil.
Pour one half cream into egg mixture and stir.
Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan.
Simmer 5 minutes 'til thickened.
Break up your chocolate and melt in cream.
Chill 1 hour.
Whip 3/4 cup cream and combine with cooled chocolate mix.
Dress to taste. I used cream and Easter eggs.

Tres simple, even with someone standing over your shoulder.



Poor Knights of Windsor  (sourced from the Dairy Book of Family Cookery, UK, 1983)

What you're striving to achieve here is something that resembles garden variety French Toast with a twist.

For 2 persons.

4 slices basic sandwich bread
1/2 cup milk
1.5 oz caster sugar
1 TBSP sherry
1 egg yolk
2 oz butter
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Slice off the crusts.
Combine 1/4 cup milk, 1 oz sugar and sherry; stir.
Dip bread in mixture and drain slices over a wire rack.
Beat egg yolk and 1/4 cup milk.
Dip bread into this second mixture and fry in butter.
Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

Notes:  DO NOT USE THIN SLICE BREAD; this will result in a soggy nightmare. We had a 50/50 result. 

A Taste of the Sun

Elizabeth David~A Taste of the Sun 
Penguin 2011

Barely into Spring; already looking ahead to local summer produce. Nothing better than a good browse through other people’s bookcases for inspiration. Borrowing from Frederick’s shelves this week.  A Taste is a collection of essays that appeared mid 20^th century covering such topics as outfitting your kitchen, outdoor dining, history of dining and dessert.

Classify this under rapid read.  

It goes without saying that the book is a bit of a throwback; women are not the only sex in the kitchen and toasters have become so commonplace that you may ask what could we possibly add to the subject?  The whipping of cream with the whisk held between the palms leaves something to be desired.  I’d tire long before the whisk.  But, David’s material is timeless; offering a no nonsense approach to food.

Ask yourself, what is my strength? Sweet or savoury?  Buy accordingly. A simple but quite practical philosophy.  Gadgets are great, if you’re going to use them.  Amen. I’m in complete agreement with David’s need to get organized, plan, shop, prep and prep again. To quote: Don't hamper your cooking and waste time and materials through lack of the right tools for the job.

David recommends roughly seventeen types of essential bakeware, saucepans and frying pans.  In the case of an omelette, it’s all about presentation and you need the appropriate sized fry pan.  Emphasis on plating. No higgledy-piggledyness.

There is a chapter on toast, naturally falling under the English section.  The joy of buttered toast and celery.  Does toast approximate fine art?

Like the idea of abolishing Bisto in favour of wine.  Remembering that alcohol found its way into all five courses of a recent dinner of mine (the sherry laced borscht was rather nice).

I was in raptures with the final section, dessert.  Detailed descriptions of 17^th and 18^th century high tables.  Leaves us in awe of what households used to achieve without a Cuisinart.  Some good book suggestions to look for from early cooks of the big houses. 

There is a little dig at the English for only focusing on Christmas week to celebrate the love of food.   Of course we've all come along way since then. The focus in this desserts essay is fools and syllabubs, something I have yet to master.

Recipes accompany each section of Italian, French and English essays.  Zucchini three ways (which seemed to be grossly overcooked), pasta,  potted meats, and double cream!

Next time I have that portion of mascarpone left, going with Pasta Shells.

Devote all the time and resources at your disposal to the building up of a fine kitchen.

It will be, as it should be, the most comfortable room of the house.

Truffle Pig

 

Energy bar of a different kind. Hagensborg Chocolates. Made in Canada.

Mentioned the P, B & J in a previous post (delicious!).  This one is Mocha.

Milk, mint, bubble gum and so on.

Nicely presented.

 

 

 

Bumble Bars

 

Went rummaging through the organic section at the local grocer.

Flax and sesame seed, almond, brown rice syrup, cane juice, sea salt, vanilla, cinnamon.

Thin bars resembling tightly packed bird seed.

Just enough sweetness to hold things together.

 

 

I like a chewy bar. This is not something you can sink your teeth into.

Slight aftertaste that lingers.

Energy bar for the cubicle as there is a tendency to crumble.

Will try the other flavours out of curiosity, but will also wait for a sale, like this one.

 

NB: Keep the dental floss handy.

 

Made In USA so I haven't scored any points for eating locally.



 

 

Frederick-an introduction-after the cat

I took a few steps back and was mortified to see divets.  I offered up the spoon.  Apologies didn't seem quite enough.

Come with me. He turned and walked to the house.  Considering his height and girth, he moved fast.

Was that Wagner?  He took three glasses from the cupboard and poured a snifter of armagnac.  A woman appeared in the archway. Frederick's wife-tall, flaming hair, clad in a striped leotard and platform shoes. Wagner was abruptly silenced.

What are we drinking to this time? 

We drank to the end of cats and the pre-dawn departure of our neighbours.  How long will it be before that canoe finds a home?

Common ground, at last?

Cheat of the Week

All was quiet across the alley this weekend so it was cheat mode Sunday morning. 
Christian Potier’s Sauce Hollandaise.  Available at fine foods stores.

Sauce in a pouch, but microwavable too. There are three 50ml pouches and each serves two very nicely or if you’re like me, keep the lot for yourself.

This is nice light texture and colour.  None of the dreadful egg yolk look you get in a road side diner.  Ten seconds in the microwave or simmer pouch for five minutes.  Gone are the days of whisking and sieving.  Well, not quite;  I’ll still go scratch for a main dish like Benedict or whenever time permits.  But this is a rather nice treat for a quick Brunch when the house is cold you really don’t want to stand at the stove endlessly whisking. This is about efficiency in the AM.

Two slices of lightly toasted rye.  Two eggs, scrambled.  Contents of one pouch. Add a pot of Darjeeling and you are all set. 

Side Plates-not just for bread

"Could we get some bread over here?"

Over and over, people cry out for bread.  Then more bread.
Little thought is given to the fact that at least one course is soon to follow.

The Hamilton Spectator's food critic, Kislenko, was disappointed to find that on his latest review, the restaurant presented side plates but no bread.

Most on line reviews take restaurants to task for not providing baskets of bread.  No fault can be found with the restaurant so they pick up on the bread thing.

There is no obligation to provide bread before the meal. 
Consider the style of the restaurant.  Is it likely they would serve bread?  If risen dough doesn't fit with the menu, why would it suddenly show up with the cocktails?  Perhaps bread makes up part of the entree?

A side plate is merely part of a proper place setting and its presence should in no way be taken as proof that bread is on its way.  The side plate is there as a part of a whole.  The plate may house the napkin. It is somewhere to put your accompaniment. It is there to serve as a repository for anything cast off the plate-frilly bits of parsley, skin, a bone; perhaps an olive pit.  It's like a bib for the table.

Knife rests are not commonplace. While the plate is normally on the left (assuming a right handed diner), feel free to use the plate as a knife (or fork) rest.  Better the knife on that plate than gumming up the tablecloth.

The side plate is essential to a table whereas bread is not.

Cafe de Paris

PREP. PREP. PREP. 

It cannot be said enough.  Prepare your ingredients and have everything on the counter ready.

Frederick has a French bias.  He alluded to the French Resistance but I can't imagine it was his war.  He won't tell me his age, so it is entirely possible. 

There is a framed article hanging in his kitchen on Antonin Careme-father of le grand cuisine. Frederick's wife said she wouldn't be caught dead wearing Empire waists.  She's heard one lecture after another on the superiority of the French cuisine. 

"It's not the complexity, but the simplicity of it all that makes it so."  Or so he says.

 

On my travels this past summer I picked up a mint condition second hand At Elizabeth David's Table. Ms. David had a touch of the curmudgeon in her.  Does David pass muster in F's kitchen?  The editor of Table feels that David has not been given her due.  Frederick feels we've heard more than enough on this grand dame of the kitchen. 

 

Partridge was initially suggested, but it's been an age since the last roast pheasant so faisan it was.  "Brevity is my forte." was Ms. David's motto.  Her recipes are short and to the point so I've taken the liberty of elaborating just a wee bit.

One has to start a meal right.  Gin and Pernod work the appetite effectively on their own so why not combine the two?

 

 

 

cafe de paris

2 oz gin

1 tsp Pernod

1 tsp cream

1 egg white

shake and strain to martini glass; delicious

Notes from F:  Pernod should be drunk with a little cold water to cloud it.  Don't sully it with creme and eggs!


scallops with pancetta & white wine

 

 

 

 

I like three scallops per person.  David calls for two chopped scallops but this looks like a pile of stuff on the plate as opposed to nicely presented scallops and dressing.



 

For every two servings:

 

scallops; rinse & pat dry

1 TBSP flour

fresh pepper to taste

2oz pancetta, chopped

1 TBSP butter

1 large shallot, chopped

1/3 C white wine

chopped parsley to finish

 

Sautee shallot in butter 'til translucent.  Add pancetta. Cook 'til crisping up.  Sprinkle scallops with flour.  Cook 4 min per side.  Remove from pan and keep warm.  Add wine; low boil 'til thickened.

 

I sauteed a little baby bok choy to use as a bed or accompaniment and a bit of colour.

 

Notes from F:  give the pancetta room and time to cook; we're not setting it on fire but cubed pancetta is an unusual texture; finely dice to ensure crisping.

 

 

pheasant with chestnut sauce

 

Chestnut sauce (make ahead)

 

½ lb chestnuts

3 TBSP butter

2 celery stalk

one slice bacon

6 TBSP port

6 TBSP water

Conservative sprinkle of salt

2 TBSP stock OR 35 % cream

Buttered parchment paper

Score chestnuts and roast in 350F oven for 15 mins.  Shell and skin.  Chop into quarters.

Sautee celery, bacon and when tender and crisp add chestnuts, port, water, salt.

Cover and cook for 30 minutes.

 

Roast pheasant in parchment paper, one side for 20 min; second side for 15 mins at 375F then right side up for 20 mins (I gave it  10 extra minutes)

 

Reheat sauce adding cream or stock. 

 

Go with stock as reheating addition. The sauce has a good colour but with the addition of cream, it turned a sickly purple; BUT with further cooking browned nicely

 

Notes from F.~ pay attention to the weight, adjust time accordingly;  allow for extra roasting time; nothing is gained from prolonged parchment cooking; wrap bird in bacon for moisture

Buy good quality bacon.

As chestnuts cook, break them down to smaller pieces.

Don’t let the sauce boil its gut out with the lid on; simmer, simmer, simmer!

Don’t forget to check the inside of the bird for neck, kidneys, etc;  roast the heart for the stock or to garnish the breast!

 

 

 

Good luck on your quest for a pheasant.  Do plan ahead and get a reputable butcher to order one in for you unless you happened to be out in farm country and see one grazing in a farmer's field.

 

pommes de terre l’echirlete  (aka roast potatoes)

½ lb new potatoes

Chicken stock to cover

2 garlic cloves

1 TBSP animal fat

Simmer potatoes in broth. Finish by roasting in bacon fat and minced garlic.

Notes from F:  fat should be hot!

 

 

 



 

 

 chocolate pots (from the delightful Jamie Oliver)

 

 

1 C 18 % cream

7 oz  70% chocolate-broken into pieces

2 yolks

3 TBSP brandy

1 TBSP butter

2 TSP butter

Heat cream ‘til just about on the boil.  Let cool a couple of minutes and incorporate chocolate.  Stir ‘til smooth.  Beat in yolks and brandy. 

Cool.

Beat in butter ‘til smooth.

 Suggested serving to pour into espresso sized cups or other vessel.

Notes:  used 85 % cocoa second time around; received lecture on why not to go any higher than 70 %

The brandy does the job of the other 15% taste-wise

A dollop of whipped 35 % wouldn’t go a miss if you find it too strong!

Original recipe notes that separation can occur if you add the butter too early; it’s your best judgement on gauging the correct temperature; if in doubt, leave a minute longer.  For some reason mine worked.

 

Pouilly Fuisse for the table. Dry but doesn’t suck the life out of your mouth.

Frederick extra: Pouilly comes from Pouilly sur Loire, a small town on the East bank of the Loire.  Lots of fine vineyards in Pouilly and Sancerre which sits opposite.  (I was spared the details on the romp through a vineyard with a fine young mademoiselle.  I have the cognac to thank for that.)