Oreo Truffles

This could be the single most important post during my Great American Bake Sale campaign--the secret to Mary's Oreo truffles.  Mary will be making around 300 of these decadent treats for the bake sale at The Butcher and Larder on May 7th.

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Sounds like...

I woke up this morning with a headache and a smile as seemingly distant memories of the previous night flooded back to my mind.  It was a night of rustic, locally-inspired dishes paired with great wine, great wine, and even better company.  All food came from a morning trip to one of the greatest farmer's markets in the country, Green City Market, and new premier local butcher, The Butcher and Larder. 

The evening started out with pork rillettes and a terrine of beef spotted with hidden treasures of liver accompanied by a savory blueberry mostarda.  The rich charcuterie was washed down with my favorite beer for such dishes, Monks Cafe Flemish Sour Red Ale.  Next, was a follow up salad course worthy of its own post, micro greens tossed with fresh shallots, wild mushroom conservas; tossed with a vinaigrette of the leftover mushroom oil, sherry vinegar, capers, dijon mustard, crack of pepper, and seasoned with truffle salt.  The entree was a highlight of the night as it was the first time anyone could notice the music that had been looping for the previous few hours; a whole chicken braised in a ragout of pork belly and trotters.  But my proudest achievement was dessert, scratch profiteroles.  

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Been Caught Stealing

Tati's Chocolate Chip Cookies (halved in video):

• 2.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1.5 sticks unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 lg eggs
• 2 tsp good vanilla
• 10 oz bittersweet chocolate cut into chunks or bittersweet chips

1. Preheat an oven to 350 Dg.
2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together.
3. In a seperate bowl, whisk the butter and sugars together.
4. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, in the butter/sugar bowl.  Then add vanilla.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet.
6. Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts if any.
7. Using a 1/4 cup measure, place the dough on the lined baking sheet.
8. Bake for 15-18 minutes, switching the pan positions halfway through for even baking.
9. Cool completely on the baking sheet.  The center of the cookies should be soft and puffy.
10. Devour.

Chocolate Souffail

There comes a time in a man's life where it pays off to have a large muscle imbalance between his two arms.  It's for this time, where all those long hours of one handed work pay off.  Sure I go to the gym regularly, but if it weren't for ultimate frisbee building a strong throwing arm, I never would have survived the [egg] beating.

Five minutes for a stand mixer, 15 for hand-held.  After 20 minutes with a whisk, I realize that I can't compete with today's technology.  Don't think the eggs and sugar have tripled in volume- almost looks like they've lost some.  Not a good start to warm chocolate souffle cakes with cardamom cream.

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The Melding Pot

Two reasons for this post.  The first includes an adventure where one of my seniors ended up melding two of his sauce pots together trying to make a double broiler, and the second is that all the guys out there need to focus on their inner chocolatier for next month.

"But eventually after some time left on the stove, the pots fused together. Since I'm the man of the house, I was given the task to seperate the pots. I started with my medium strength and just like a peanut butter jar, I failed to pry them free. Gradually I increased the force, added a hammer, a few grunts, and alas, I was able to break the handles and admit defeat."

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