Matters of Taste

Savoring the Seabourn Spirit......Again

The sad, and unbelievable, tale of the cruise ship Costa Concordia just won't go away.  More than a dozen passengers are still unaccounted for. The captain, a stereotypical “how-cool-am-I?" dude if ever there was one, keeps popping up on the evening news. And the expression “Get back on the boat, dammit,” barked by an Italian coast guard officer at the dithering captain, is destined to live on in infamy. (Loosely translated, it will forever mean “Quit whining and do your job, jackass.” )

Analysts claim the incident could impact the cruise industry's ability to attract passengers for 2012 cruises, saying that, in particular, first-time cruisers are re-thinking their plans.

But the whole kerfuffle has had the opposite effect on me, bringing back memories of the amazing  Seabourn Spirit cruise I took two years ago, and inspiring me to sign up for another.

For decades I had avoided cruises. I get seasick. I don’t like crowds. I’m terrified in water that’s over my head. But, we hadn’t even cleared the waters of Venice and I was already a convert.

For starters, there was the captain….Magnus Bengtsson, a huge Scandinavian bear of a man, handsome, erect, an imposing presence, friendly but with a no-nonsense reserve. This guy inspired confidence, big time. No one is ever going to bark “Get back on the boat, dammit” to Captain Bengtsson.

The accommodations were wonderful, about 100 spacious suites (meaning no more than about 200 people on a cruise) with sitting areas, huge windows, well-stocked bars and fresh fruit and flowers. (Other Seabourn ships are larger; some offer terraces off the rooms.)

The itinerary was great, too. Hvar, Croatia; Puglia, Taormina, Lipari Island, Sorrento and Rome, Italy. 

And the food?  Awesome. Every night I was blown away by the elegance of the cooking, the fresh, bold flavors, the stylish presentations. I marveled that Chef Bjoern Wassmuth could pull this off in the middle of the Mediterranean when most restaurant chefs can’t get it together on land, with dozens of purveyors at their beck and call.  

Among the highlights of our dinners: Chilled Corn & Lemongrass Soup (flecked with lobster salad and spicy shrimp oil) that tasted as if the corn had been snatched from the field moments before; grilled filet mignon with fresh chanterelles and a parmesan flan that practically floated off the plate; Crispy Corn Crusted Prawn with fennel slaw and romesco sauce; Jumbo Scallops on Potato Shallot Cake, with granny smith apple slivers, pistachios and a lemony vinaigrette; meringues, tarts and sublime homemade ice creams like those pictured here.

Among my favorite desserts were the "parade” of crème brulees – basil, white chocolate pistachio, and orange blossom; and a Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Bombe with Toasted Marsmallow and Honey Caramel Sauce that is reason enough to book another Seabourn cruise.

In addition to the ship’s dining room, the Spirit features the outdoor Veranda Café where top-notch breakfasts are served each morning and a “theme” restaurant is staged each night as an alternative to

the main dining room; and a top-deck Sky Grill for burgers and other grilled specialties. Seabourn prices, which the Website today says start at about $2,000 per person, are all-inclusive. That means all food and beverages, 24/7, and all activities, save for select shore excursions. One afternoon while we were anchored in the Gulf of Squillace,  Chef Bjoern offered a cooking class for guests. Aided by a wise-cracking crew member, the affable German-born chef  whipped up al dente porcini risotto, flecked with bits of dried truffles that had been plumped in Port wine; and an ethereal lemon mousse made with yogurt, orange zest and Grand Marnier.

Here’s the recipe for the mousse,  adapted slightly (food editors simply can’t leave anything alone) and converted from Chef Bjoern’s metric measurements.

SEABOURN SPIRIT YOGURT LEMON MOUSSE with ALMOND BRITTLE & CRUSHED RASPBERRIES

2 cups heavy cream

2 cups whole milk

3 egg yolks

2/3  cup sugar

1 sheet gelatin, softened

1 teaspoon orange zest (the grated, colored part of an orange)

2 tablespoons Grand Marnier

1 ½ cups plain yogurt

Almond brittle, for garnish

Crushed fresh raspberries, for garnish

In a heavy saucepan, heat the cream and milk together slowly, being careful it does not come to a boil. In a bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar with an electric mixer until pale  and fluffy. Pour 1/3 of the hot cream mixture into the egg mixture and whisk constantly until incorporated. Pour the egg mixture into the remaining cream/milk in the pan and stir over very low heat until it starts to thicken. Add orange zest and Grand Marnier, stirring constantly until the mixture coats the back of a spoon.

Remove from heat.  Add the softened gelatin to the hot mixture and stir until completely blended.

Strain mixture through a fine sieve, then cool mixture on a bowl of ice cubes and water. Add the yogurt and whisk until completely blended. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Serve in tall parfait glasses or form into “egg” shapes and set on dessert plates. Garnish with crushed almond brittle and crushed raspberries.

Serves 4-6.

 

 

Best of 2011 – Bites, Bottles, Books, Burgers, Boites & More

The year is just 10 days old and I’ve already discovered a wine I can’t live without, and a butternut squash bread pudding, served as an entrée, that is sure to be one of my go-to dinners of 2012.

More about them below.

But before we get any further into the New Year, it’s time to share the best of 2011, a remarkable food year that included everything from the Poquito Picante cocktail (at NYC’s Yerba Buena) and the Pepe Bianco (white clam pizza with bacon and onions at Boston’s Coppa) to shrimp ‘n grits in Charleston and a whopping cut of meat called Stinco de Vitello, enjoyed at a mountain hut high in the Dolomites.

Starting next week, I’ll highlight the most delicious meals I lucked into while traveling in 2011, as well as my favorite restaurants, most memorable hotel experiences, dynamite destinations, captivating cocktails and best new cookbooks of the year. Please come back and  check it out.

OK. Back to the bread pudding. Or, to be more precise, the Pumpkin Panade. That’s what Miami chef Michael Schwartz called it when he shared the recipe with the Wall Street Journal a couple of weeks ago. “Panade is just a fancy name for stuffing,” Schwartz was quoted as saying in the paper’s Slow Food Fast column. It’s a rustic French dish that involves stale bread, stewed onion, broth and shredded cheese.

I made it last night and served it as entrée alongside a large green salad dotted with goat cheese and toasted hazelnuts. But the beauty of this thing is that you can serve it as accompaniment to meat (it’d be great with braised pork loin, grilled chicken breasts or even the Thanksgiving turkey) or jazz it up with slivers of prosciutto or chunks of Applegate Fire-Roasted Red Pepper Chicken & Turkey Sausage (a staple in my kitchen; available at Whole Foods) and let it shine as entrée. (The photo is by Justin Walker for The Wall Street Journal.)

It's easy.  Saute sliced onion, toss in crushed garlic and cubed pumpkin or butternut squash and cook for about 15 minutes. Add the fragrant mix to chunks of stale bread, fresh herbs and grated Fontina cheese. Moisten it all with hot chicken broth and a bit of heavy cream, then pack it into a gratin dish, top with grated Pecorino or Parmesan and bake ‘til bubbly.

Here’s the recipe from The Wall Street Journal.

Cook-For-A-Day at the C.I.A.

The Culinary Institute of America, the prestigious non-profit culinary academy that opened in Hyde Park, New York in 1946, is renowned for turning out such superstar chefs as Todd English, Charlie Palmer, Grant Achatz, Rocco DiSpirito and Anthony Bourdain.

So it was with a sense of wonder and “what-the-heck-are-we-doing-here?” bemusement that my mother, my sister and I arrived at the Napa Valley branch on a recent sunny Saturday for a hands-on “Tastes of the Napa Valley” cooking class. (The school now has campuses in St. Helena, CA, San Antonio, TX and Singapore in addition to the Hyde Park property.)

We arrived mid-morning and joined seven other adventurers in one of the CIA’s massive professional kitchens. After listening to chef Sandy Dominguez explain the drill–- everyone works with a partner, wears a toque, grabs hot pan handles with a dishtowel, and cleans up as he goes -- we set to work. 

The personable Chef Sandy circulated among all the students, offering encouragement and sharing tips. (She showed how to easily remove the seeds from a messy pomegranate by submergin them in water and scooping seeds out with fingertips; and demonstrated a cool way of cleaning a hot grill with an old facecloth rolled and tied with string and dipped in vegetable oil.)  But, for the most part (and much to my amazement) she turned us loose with a stack of ambitious recipes, including Quinoa Croquettes; Mussels Steamed in White Wine with Romesco Sauce and Grilled Bread; Curried Sweet Potato Skewers with Curried Onion Dipping Sauce; and Lavender Shortbread. And she reiterated our goal: All dishes on the buffet table in 1 ½ hours.

And again to my amazement, the “students” performed impressively. No one in the group --- a  mother-son combo, a mother-daughter combo, a newly married couple, a mother of a CIA professional student, and my mother, sister and me --- had any training to speak of. I was probably the most proficient cook in the bunch, having covered cooking classes and restaurants for the San Diego Union-Tribune for 25 years. But even I felt challenged by the thought of whipping up Grilled Lamp Loin with Pomegranate Syrah Sauce (with toasted and ground coriander seeds, and bruised mint!) and Jeweled Couscous in a strange kitchen in under 2 hours. And my poor sister, Marcia, pictured right with chef Sandy Dominquez, had to create Olive Oil Crackers from scratch, and had her first run-in with a massive, man-eating Robot-Coupe in the process.

But, sure enough, the buffet table (pictured below) was laden and lovely at the appointed hour; the food was fabulous; and the cooks-for-a-day were giddy with the excitement of their accomplishments. 

Though cooking and learning at the C.I.A is a very serious business, the school does offer occasional classes for what they call “enthusiasts,” that being, euphemistically, someone with more enthusiasm than talent or commitment.

There are all-day classes, five-day “Boot Camp” adventures, two-day specialties such as BBQ Boot Camp, two-hour demonstration classes, and two-hour hands-on “food explorations” that end with a buffet of all the dishes cooked. I think it’s an ideal way to round-out a visit to California’s wine country; it’s also a great holiday gift idea.

Here are a couple recipes from our “Tastes of the Napa Valley” class to whet your appetite for a hand-on adventure of your own.

 JEWELED COUSCOUS

Serves 8

1 cup dried couscous

1 ½ cups water

½ cup fresh orange juice

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon orange zest

2 teaspoons kosher salt

¼ cup black currants

1 red pepper, seeded and diced

3 scallions, thinly sliced on the bias

¼ cup golden raisins

2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, minced

Place the couscous in a large bowl. In a small sauce pan bring the water, salt and butter to a boil, then  pour the mixture over the couscous and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for 10 minutes.

In another bowl, add the orange juice, orange zest, currants, red pepper, and golden raisins, and let them soak until plump.

Uncover the couscous and add the raisin mixture and fluff it with a fork, making sure to blend out the lumps.

To serve, place on a large platter and garnish with the scallions and minced parsley.

 

WILD MUSHROOM PATE

Makes enough to fill a 3-cup mold or dish

5 tablespoons butter

½ cup chopped shallots or green onions (white part only)

1 ¼ pounds thickly sliced fresh wild or cultivated mushrooms

2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic

2 teaspoons curry powder, or to taste

½ teaspoon ground cumin

1 cup toasted cashews, preferably unsalted

2 tablespoons toasted nut oil, such as walnut oil, or olive oil

2 tablespoons finely chopped mixed herbs such as parsley, chives and/or basil

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

 

Heat the butter in a large saute pan over moderately high heat. Add the shallots, mushrooms, garlic, curry and cumin, and saute until mixture is just beginning to brown and all liquid has evaporated.

While mushrooms are cooking, add the cashews to a food processor and process until finely chopped. Add oil and continue to process to make a paste or butter. Add the mushroom mixture and process until smooth. Stir in the herbs and zest and season  with salt and pepper. Place in a 3-cup mold or other ceramic dish. Can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Allow to return to room temperature before serving.

 

The Good News about the San Diego Black-Out: BLT Chicken

When the lights went out last week, I was just about to hop in the car to pick up our son Nicholas at the airport. It was the start of a festive weekend, with both sons home and several family birthdays to celebrate. I had planned a special dinner for that Thursday evening, with a spinach-beet salad, an elaborate new chicken dish, and a giant baked cookie cake with candles.

Fat chance.

The normal 20-minute drive to the airport took an hour and fifteen minutes, thanks to clogged intersections and clueless drivers. The trip home took over two hours. The sun was setting as we pulled into the driveway and I sprinted into the kitchen to get as much prep done as possible before total darkness descended.

With six big flashlights and a GE Fluorescent Lantern stationed strategically on the countertops and beside the stove (our Wolf gas range was operating), Nicholas and I set to work. The spinach salad was a “go” –-- he cooked the beets in water spiked with orange juice, crumbled the goat cheese, and made a snappy vinaigrette with shallots and orange zest.

But the planned chicken dish was too complicated. So, in the last wisps of daylight, I quickly  thumbed through Rozanne Gold’s cookbook “Radically Simple,” in search of a chicken creation that I could make, basically, blindfolded.

BLT Chicken with Cumin Seed & Lime Mayonnaise was a huge hit.  It was easy enough to pound and marinate the boneless chicken breasts, then cook them on my Scanpan stove-top grill.  The “salad” of crisped bacon, romaine and halved cherry tomatoes was very do-able-in-darkness, too.  Ditto the “zesty” mayo topping.

We ate in our garden surrounded by a dozen real candles and a bunch of the battery-operated LED pillar candles that Costco sells. (I bought a load of those things because they’re cheap and, I think, very romantic. Little did I know I’d need them to navigate around my own house during nine hours of moon-less blackness.)

Dinner wasn’t ready ‘til close to 10, and by then I had abandoned the fantasy of making a birthday cake. Instead, I turned to a package of Nestle Ultimates Chocolate Chip Cookies, which we attempted to cook on a cookie sheet on our backyard gas grill.  They weren’t the prettiest cookies – those closest to the heat source were scorched – but they tasted great, and with yet another candle stuck in one of them, they conveyed the appropriate birthday wishes.

Here’s the recipe for BLT CHICKEN. Gold’s book has dozens of equally delicious and easy dishes that are even easier when you can see what you’re doing. It’s available at Amazon.com. 

By the way, an ordinary kitchen mess becomes a mega mess when you're operating by candles and flashlight. We left it 'til morning.

BLT CHICKEN WITH CUMIN SEEDS & LIME MAYONNAISE  

Serves 4

1/3 cup mayonnaise

Grated zest and juice of one large lime

4 large boneless chicken breasts, skin-on

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 large garlic cloves

5 ounces thick-cut bacon

2 large ripe tomatoes, cut into ½-inch pieces

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

6 ounces baby romaine, cut into 1 ½-inch pieces

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Salt and black pepper, to taste

 

Preheat the broiler. Stir together the mayonnaise, lime zest, 1 teaspoon lime juice, and pepper. Set aside. Toss the chicken with the olive oil, 2 tablespoons lime juice, and garlic pushed through a press. Add salt and pepper and broil, skin side down, several inches from the heat, for 3 minutes. Turn and broil 5 minutes longer, until the skin is crispy.

Meanwhile, cut the bacon into ½-inch pieces. Cook in a large skillet over medium heat until the fat is rendered, 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cumin and cook 3 minutes over high heat. Add the romaine and vinegar and cook until wilted. (I like it still somewhat firm.)Add salt and pepper. Serve the chicken topped with the lettuce mixture and a dollop of lime mayonnaise.

 

 

Aaaaaaah, Aperol!

In contrast to the Wall Street Journal’s burger story last weekend, which made me crave an all-American treat that I probably can’t get my hands on for several weeks, the paper's recent article about “sophisticated summer cocktails” told the story of the European-style aperitifs that I am happily sipping here in Vienna, Austria.

Readers of this blog already know all about Aperol, the Italian aperitif that’s made from rhubarb, gentian flowers, bitter orange and tree bark. I’m crazy about the stuff which I discovered years ago while hiking in Italy’s Dolomite mountains.  The Aperol Spritz -- club soda and Prosecco with a splash of rosy Aperol -- is popular with Italians and Austrians who even sip it mid-morning at the cafes surrounding the open-air markets here.

The WSJ article also raves about St-Germain, a trendy French liqueur made from Alpine elderflower blossoms that “tastes somewhere between pear, lemon, grapefruit, passion fruit…and heaven.”

Both aperitifs pack a lot of flavor into a few precious drops, which means the resulting “cocktails” are light, refreshing and low in alcohol, which means, in turn, you can drink more of them! (For even lower alcohol, skip the Prosecco and use just sparkling water or a flavored San Pellegrino water.)

Just grab a bottle of either, pour about a teaspoon into a stemmed glass, add a splash of Prosecco or other sparkling wine, plenty of sparkling water, and, as the Journal says,  “…presto, you've fixed yourself one of the easiest, continentally suave summer drinks one can whip up in less time than it takes to remember Berlusconi's first name. (It's Silvio.)"

Don’t miss the WSJ story. You’ll love the recipes.

Flipping (Over) Burgers

Now that’s what I call Bad Timing

I’m on an airplane, heading for Vienna, Austria and drooling over today’s Wall Street Journal article, “Flavor-Bomb Burgers.”

Sure, I’m excited to be going back in the land of Wienerschnitzel, fried chicken and pastries drenched in schlagsahne (whipped cream). But, right this minute, I am craving chef Michael Schlow’s chuck-brisket-hangersteak burger (pictured here), topped with crispy fried onions and horseradish-lemon mayo.  (I’ve long been a fan of Schlow’s Radius restaurant in Boston.)

The story has me reminiscing about the great burgers I’ve eaten recently, most notably at Nine-Ten in La Jolla (where it’s topped with aioli and soft chunks of Pt. Reyes blue cheese, and at Whisknladle (also La Jolla) where a top-notch patty is crowned with a fried egg. Frankly, I’d kill for either one of those right now.

Check out the fun Wall Street Journal story. It includes some mouth-watering recipes (such as char-grilled lamb burger with feta and cumin mayo) that YOU can make at home while I can only dream about the ultimate all-American feast for the next few weeks

Having a Ball......with Red Velvet Cake Mix

Even after 30 years writing about food and drink, I manage to learn something new every day. And much of the time, that’s thanks to my kids.

Take, for example, my recent encounter with Red Velvet Cake Balls. Maybe this is old news to you. Maybe you already knew about these luscious blobs of tinted buttermilk cake, cream cheese frosting and thick chocolate ganache.
But I was completely entranced when my son’s friend Katie showed up at his apartment with a large baking sheet crowded with dozens of the still-gooey globes.
It was Ben’s Cinco de Mayo party. I helped him ready the buffet table with carnitas, taco shells, guacamole, chips and salsa. But my contribution to the fiesta paled when Katie arrived with the glistening cake balls.
Twenty-eight years in the trenches as newspaper food editor and I had no idea how one would go about baking a round cake. Did you have to pour batter into a rounded muffin pan and glue two halves together with frosting, or what?
 
Katie shared her source with me -- Bakerella.com, a fascinating Website with great photos, easy-to-follow recipes and over-the-top inspiration for Cake Balls, Cupcake Pops, Balls and Bites. There’s also a Pop Shop where you can purchase candy molds, coatings, sticks, etc. and the enticing cookbook, “Cake Pops,” released last year and also available at Amazon.com for $11.97.

(This photo of precise, professional Cake Balls is from the Bakerella Website; the Cinco de Mayo desserts were larger and drenched in tons of melted chocolate.)

I was completely blown away by the recipe and directions for Red Velvet Cake Balls. .
For starters, you bake a regular red velvet cake, from scratch or packaged mix.Then…
1. Crumble the whole cake into a bowl. (Whaaaat?)
2. Using your hands, mix in a load of cream cheese frosting (homemade or packaged. (Whoa!)
3. Roll the mixture into balls, place on a cookie sheet and chill.
4. Drench in classy chocolate ganache or foolproof microwaved chocolate “bark.” (Wow!)

The result is super moist, super chocolatey, super fun.
You can follow Bakerella’s recipe on-line....or invite Katie to your next party.

 

Oh, Oh, Oh, Oregano

Forget Kim Kardashian’s “signature” perfume, and the new scent with the SayWhat? name: “Juliette Has a Gun.”  The fragrance that has totally hypnotized me is that of sun-dried oregano from Mt. Taygetos in southern Greece.

I’m sure I’m not the only who who tends to think of oregano as a mundane herb that sits for too long in the spice drawer and gets trotted out pretty much just for pizza. But a friend recently brought me a package of whole branches of dried oregano, imported by Optima Foods. The aroma was intoxicating and made me crave foods that are natural sidekicks for the herb.

For starters, I ordered barbecued chicken pizza from our local Pizza on Pearl and loaded it up with the crushed leaves. Two nights later I made homemade pizza with grilled sweet onion and zucchini, tomato sauce, mozzarella and a blizzard of oregano. I also did a vinaigrette with red wine vinegar, mild olive oil, minced garlic and enough oregano to transport me to the Peloponnese when I closed my eyes. The next night: lamb meatloaf seasoned with…yeah, you get the picture.

We spend lots of money on fancy ingredients and look for inspiration in trendy cookbooks. But, in fact, sometimes all we need is a very simple ingredient harvested and handled with care. (By the way, oregano from Sicily and Calabria is also pretty wonderful.)

Mt. Taygetos oregano is available on-line at many sites, including ChristosMarket.com. I’m guessing it’s also in many supermarkets. A large bunch costs about $3.

For a fabulous bruschetta, rub toasted slices of country-style bread with the cut side of a clove of garlic. Spoon fresh ricotta cheese (preferably room temperature) on top and season with a bit of coarse salt and freshly ground pepper. Sprinkle generously with dried oregano leaves that you’ve crushed in the palm of your hand. Drizzle with some good olive oil.

Pre-Pre-Gaming

Is there such a thing?

I mean, can one start drinking two weeks before a night out instead of the customary two hours?

This week I experimented with the concept by making myself a Poquito Picante, in anticipation of visiting that cocktail’s birthplace – Yerba Buena restaurant in New York City – later this month.

What’s so hot about a Poquito Picante, you ask? I wondered the same thing when our son Ben called one morning from his home in New York City raving about the “awesome” cocktail he had discovered the night before.  The New York Times seems to be of a like mind, calling the restaurant’s cocktail list “a knock-out” and adding that “everything tastes good while sipping a Poquito Picante… (Photo by Rebecca McAlpin for The New York Times.)

The Web site Metromix.com also sang the praises of the PP at YB in a post entitled “New York’s Spiciest Cocktails.”

“A textbook handling of heat in a cocktail: the subtle spice adds body and texture, rather than sharpness or pain, and serves as a distinct flavor before giving way to other notes, like the cucumber’s freshness. A fire that warms rather than burns you.”

And apparently the Poquito Picante isn’t the only thing worth raving about at Yerba Buena (which has two locations, on Avenue A in East Village and Perry Street in the West Village). Our other son, Nicholas, visiting his brother from Seattle, also sang the praises of the eatery’s pan-Latin food, including to-die-for renditions of “coffee-glazed pork belly” and “tamarind-glazed duck confit,” a modern way of saying ropa vieja. 

I hate being left out of the party. That’s why Yerba Buena will be the first stop on my trip to New York next week. Stay tuned.

Here’s the recipe for the Poquito Picante to hold you over ‘til you, too, can visit Yerba Buena.

Ingredients:
6 to 8 cilantro leaves
2 slices of cucumber with skin
3 slices of seedless jalapeño
¾ ounce fresh lemon juice
¾ ounce simple syrup
½ ounce Cointreau
2 ounces gin

Gently muddle cilantro, cucumber, and jalapeño with lemon juice. Add remaining ingredients. Shake well and double strain through fine mesh strainer.
Garnish with a dry chili pepper or a small bird chili.

--

My "Date" with Tyler Florence

I rarely make desserts at home, so it took a serendipitous alignment of the fates for me to discover Tyler Florence’s sensational   over the weekend.

#1. I had just bought a package of dates for the “Mediterranean plates” my husband makes for breakfast every morning. #2. I happen to be flipping through Florence’s new cookbook “Tyler Florence Family Meal” when the page fell open to the pudding photo. And, #3, we had invited friends to dinner on Saturday night.

 

A half hour before they arrived I figured, What the Hey, and out came the electric mixer and a carton of eggs. Not only is this one of the most scrumptious creations ever, but it was ridiculously easy to make, and damn healthy too (there’s just ¼ cup heavy cream involved….the dates and egg whites create the moisture and richness).

Here's the recipe. But there are so many good-sounding dishes -- Haute Dogs with Tarragon Mustard or Asparagus Risotto with Black Truffle and Poached Egg, anyone? -- you might just want to buy the book. It's available at Amazon.com for $20.

 

WARM AND CRUSTY DATE PUDDING

Serves 8

6 ounces pitted dates, about 2 cups

3/4 cup water

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

6 large egg whites

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 1 1/2 quart souffle dish with non-stick spray. (I schmeared  the dish with butter.)

Put the dates and water in a pot over medium-low heat. Cook and stir for 10 minutes until the dates are very soft. Transfer the softened dates to a food processor and puree until smooth. Add the sugar and vanilla, puree again until well-blended. Scoop out the puree into a mixing bowl. Sift together the cocoa powder and flour and add to the date mixture. Fold using a rubber spatula; combine gently until well mixed.

In a mixing bowl, whip the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites into the date mixture.

Pour the batter into the coated souffle dish, spreading it evenly with a spatula. Bake on the middle rack for 25 minutes until the outside is just set. Cool to room temperature. Shake some confectioners' sugar on top and serve.