Chocolate Cherry Sorbet with Cherry Compote

Chocolate Chip Walnut Delight Bars

12/23/2013

A cookie you can't resist

My friend, Tory, introduced me to these bars years ago. The recipe came from a 1976 Cuisine magazine and it has been in my Christmas folder for many years. The crust is buttery and has only one teaspoon of sugar which combines well with the chocolate and nutty topping. These bars are rich, so I cut them into small pieces. It's a yummy treat throughout the year. I've taken them to many events and they always have been a hit. They are easy to make and will last up to a week. I don't have a chance to freeze them because my family just eats them as fast as I can make them. But the original recipe suggests that they can be frozen for up to 6 months. Instead, I keep them in a covered container and hide them from my family.

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Ingredients:

(Makes about 50 pieces)

The crust:

1/2 cup ( 113g)softened butter
1 egg
1 ¼ cups ( 160g) flour
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
a pinch of salt

12 (365g) ounces semisweet chocolate chips

The topping:

2 eggs
3/4 (150g) cup sugar
2 cups ( 250g) finely chopped walnuts
6 Tbs. (85g) melted butter
1 1/4 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit
Grease a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan.
Preheat oven to 350° with rack in the middle.

Combine flour, baking powder and 1 tsp. sugar.
Cream ½ cup butter and sugar in a stand-up mixer; add egg and mix well. Add the flour mixture and mix until combined. Press the dough with floured hands into the well-greased baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove pan from oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the crust. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 3 minutes.

In the meantime prepare the topping. Beat the eggs for about 3 minutes on high speed in the mixer until they are thick and foamy. Stir in nuts, vanilla and melted butter.

Remove pan from oven and spread topping over chocolate layer. Bake, until set for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into small pieces. Store in an airtight container.

Guten Appetit!
Recipe from Cuisine Magazine
adapted by ©Sunnycovechef

1 Comment

French Country Pâté

12/16/2013

2 Comments

A wonderful tasty treat for special events

Every year in Santa Cruz, we have the Lighted Boat Parade the first Saturday in December to kickstart the Christmas holiday season. We are always invited to a party to watch this delightful show. Last year, I promised the host that I would bring pâté. Did I tell you that I love pâté—I mean I love that stuff! Whenever I'm in France, I buy several varieties in a charcuterie and have a picnic. There are many different kinds of pâté, some are very delicate and fine and others like the country pâté have a rustic texture. I needed an easy recipe without much fuss. Most of the recipes call for grinding your own meat and will take several days to complete. I found a recipe at epicurious.com that I liked. It is easy to make and tasted fantastic. If you can make meatloaf, you can make this pâté. I reduced the amount of bacon used in the original recipe and added small red and orange petite peppers for a little kick and color.

I use less bacon than the original recipe calls for and it is fine. I look for bacon that is thinly sliced. The next time I make this, I will add chopped pistachio nuts. This is great for a large gathering. Wrapped up, it will last for a week in the fridge. I have used it on several occasions as an appetizer. I slice my pâté very thin and sprinkle it with French truffled sea salt that my friend brought from Provence. Any coarse sea salt will do. I served it with Bavarian-style coarse mustard (but Dijon is fine), cornichons (small pickles) and crispy rye crackers. I also serve it with a baguette.

Sautéeing the onions and peppers.

Covering the inside of the loaf with bacon slices.

Chopping the bacon.

Combine the mixture well

Arranging the ham slices

Putting the weight on the páté

The finished product

I sprinkled pomegranate seeds and coarse sea salt over the pate.

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Ingredients:

(Yields 20 - 30 servings)

3/4 cup brandy

3 Tbs. butter

1 cup minced red onions

2 1/2 pounds ground pork

3 Tbs. petite sweet red peppers

1 pound or more lightly smoked bacon

3 garlic cloves, pressed

2 1/2 tsp. salt

3 tsp. fresh thyme

1 1/2 tsp. allspice

1 tsp. freshly ground pepper

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/3 cup whipping cream

1 6-ounce ham steak, cut crosswise into 1/4 inch thick strips

coarse sea salt

Directions:

Set rack at lowest position in oven and preheat to 350° Fahrenheit.
Boil brandy until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 2 minutes. Cool.
Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Add onion and peppers and sauté until soft and translucent ( but not brown) about 8 minutes.

Leave 8-10 slices of bacon to line the pan for the pâté, and chop the rest of the bacon. Combine ground pork and chopped bacon in large bowl. Using your fingertips, mix it all together until well blended. Add sautéed onion, garlic, 2 1/2 tsp. salt, thyme, allspice, and pepper to the pork mixture and stir until blended. Add the eggs, cream, and reduced brandy. Mix until well blended. I use my hands.

Line 9x5x3-inch metal loaf pan with bacon slices, arranging 6-7 slices across the width of the pan and 3 slices cut in half on each short side of pan, overlapping pan on all sides. Using your hands, lightly and evenly press half of the meat mixture onto the bottom of the pan on top of the bacon slices. Arrange ham strips over in a single layer. Top with remaining meat mixture. Fold bacon slices over, covering most of the pâté. Cover pan tightly with foil. Place pan in a larger 13x9x2-inch baking dish and transfer to oven. Pour boiling water into baking dish to come halfway up the sides of the pan. Bake pâté until a thermometer inserted through the foil into center registers 155° Fahrenheit, which takes about 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Remove loaf pan from baking dish and transfer to rimmed baking sheet. Place heavy skillet or something heavy (I use a container of broth with 5-pound weights on top). Chill overnight. The recipe says you can do this four days ahead, I did it one night ahead.

Place loaf pan with pâté in larger pan of hot water for about three minutes. Invert pâté onto a platter, discarding any fat from the platter and wipe it clean. Cut pâté crosswise into 1/2 inch (or less) slices. Wrap whatever you don't use in foil and a plastic bag and store it in the fridge. Serve with mustard, pickles and bread.

Guten Appetit!
Recipe from Epicurious.com
by © sunnycovechef.com

2 Comments

Chocolate Chip Walnut Delight Bars

French Country Pâté

WELCOME TO SUNNY COVE CHEF

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Chocolate Chip Walnut Delight Bars

French Country Pâté

WELCOME TO SUNNY COVE CHEF

​STAY UPDATED!

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STAY UPDATED!