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An easy recipe for chocolate lovers with only three tablespoons of sugar added.  We are spending some time at our cabin in the Sierras and my sister-in-law and her family are coming to dinner. My husband is barbecuing his famous rack of lamb. Usually, I make my stuffed tomatoes with them, but as we were driving up the mountain, we bought fresh corn at a food stand. It had just been picked. So the menu changed, and we are now having corn and tiny potatoes with the rack of lamb. Everything is barbecued by the Grillmeister (master of grilling) himself. That leaves me in charge of the salad and dessert. Early this morning, the woodpecker woke me up (he thinks our cabin tastes yummy). This time of the day is the best for getting halfway decent cell phone reception, so I looked for some recipes involving raspberries. I had brought some beautiful organic ones up the mountains and even after an occasional nibble, I had some left. I came upon an old Gourmet magazine that I used as a reference. I did use their tart crust recipe, but thought it could be improved. The ganache was outstanding; I used orange chocolate and my orange marmalade. The original recipe called for Kahlua or coffee-flavored liqueur, but I used creme cassis instead. Everybody loved it and ate a lot. The mountains give you a healthy appetite.  Fast forward and I'm home again. This time, instead of using a 9-inch tart form, I made individual tarts. I also used a different crust recipe. This was simpler and less sugary. I think it complements the chocolate flavor. This is not a sweet dessert. The whole recipe has only two tablespoons of sugar in the crust, as well as the sugar that was added to the chocolate. What it does have is a strong, full chocolate flavor. It is divine! If you are a chocolate lover, this recipe Is for you. It is important that you use very good-quality chocolate. I love to cook with Lindt chocolate and I found an orange dark chocolate called theo at Whole Foods. This chocolate and my orange marmalade add a citrus taste to the chocolate ganache.  Pinecrest Lake  Our little cabin in the woods   Two weeks later, and I'm still not happy with my crust. Everybody liked it, but I'm on the search for the perfect crust. It’s the German in me. The second crust recipe was very easy to make, a little bit more flaky and complemented the strong chocolate flavor. I made the second crust one more time using the food processor and cooling the dough a little more before baking. Voila! I had a winner. I ran out of orange marmalade and used plum jam instead, and for the chocolate I used cherry-flavored chocolate with tiny pieces of almonds in them—very nice with a wonderful flavor and the tart is delicious without the raspberries. I just like to have a little nibble when I have a cup of tea. You will be able to make this tart in no time, yes it is easy to make.
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Think stuffed mushrooms with an Asian twist In the old days, when you waited for an appointment at the doctor’s office or the hairdresser, you read magazines that were nicely stacked on tables. Today, there are just a few left and you wonder about germs and almost everybody is holding their electric devices playing Words with Friends or whatever. I miss those trashy magazines and still look at them if they are available, but I also play Scrabble and Words with Friends. Years ago, I found this recipe in one of those magazines and since it was an advertisement for a Sonoma wine, I ripped out the page. Normally, I ask someone to make me a copy. I found many recipes like this that are part of my cooking repertoire. Personally, I would have never thought of this recipe and the combination of ingredients. It is delicious and has a wonderful flavor with an Asian twist to it. The water chestnuts give it a nice crunch and the ginger goes well with the pork and the shiitake mushrooms. What is there not to like?! The shiitakes act as a little bowl for the pork and is a culinary delight at any party or gathering as an appetizer. Serve it on top of salad with some crusty bread, and you have a delicious lunch or light dinner.  I use different sized shiitakes, which I think is nice for different appetites. The dipping sauce gives it a wonderful flavor. I never tried it, but you could substitute button mushrooms for the shiitake ones.
Stockholm in October  One of the town Squares in Stockholm
One day my niece took us on a lovely walk across the city. We went on a foot path above the town with some tiny parks and a great view of Stockholm and ended the walk along the river with boats that had been turned into hotels and a youth hostel. Our trip in October to Stockholm was unexpected. I loved it because I had my niece all to myself and didn't have to share her with the rest of the family. Our flight had a lay-over in Newark, New Jersey and we had a great lunch at the Grant Central Station Oyster Bar. The original one in New York City being one of my favorites. Once we arrived in Stockholm we took the Arlanda Express, the fast train to town down Stockholm. The taxis in Stockholm are not controlled and can be astronomical expansive. The Arlanda Express is clean and has wifi. We were able to walk to our hotel which was convenient located near the old part of town. On the first night, after taking a nap, we took a nice walk through the old part of town. Here you find cafes restaurants and tourist stores. It gets much more interesting and local if you walk up the little side streets . It is here that we ate the next night. The restaurant "KRIP IN" was recommended by an employer at our hotel. It served regional cooking at its best . My husband had venison, I had a delicious chanterelle salad and my niece had a chanterelle soup. We all shared a local berry desert. Another day we took the trolly to the Vasa Museum. Here you find a restored wooden war ship that sank on her maiden voyage in the Stockholm harbor in 1628. It is amazing to realize how much work and effort it took to restore this ship. I also loved the fantastic video display they had showing life around the world in 1628. In my opinion the Vasa Museum is a must see when in Stockholm . I'm sorry I missed the Pippi Longstocking Museum, Junibacken, my beloved childhood character from Astrid Lindgren. During our time in Stockholm we also visited the royal palace which is very nice except very often parts of the palace are closed if there is some sort of State function. 
The Museum of Photographs was interested . I enjoyed the Smørbrød, an open sandwich I had in the Museum cafeteria . Here we had a nice chat with the locals. It was great to visit with my niece and get to see a city I've never been to. I'm glad I decided to do this despite the long flight 
We took two boat rides, one a city tour which was very nice and we saw the outer parts of Stockholm. We took another longer boat ride to Vaxholm, a cute little coastal town in Stockholm's archipelago . It reminds me of Carmel in California . Unfortunately the bakery that was suppose to be outstanding was closed for the winter but fortunately we found a bistro with good food where we had lunch. |
WELCOME TO SUNNY COVE CHEFThank you for visiting my blog. My two passions are cooking and traveling. Traveling exposes me to a wide variety of food and experiences. I walk around cities looking for markets, restaurants, bakeries, shops, you name it, and if it is related to food you will find me there, tasting, smelling, talking to vendors, and having a great time. Categories
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