Daring Bakers February Challenge: Chocolate Valentino (Flourless Chocolate Cake)

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan as the challenge.

This cake recipe is yummy, easy to make, and best of all requires only three ingredients!!!!

Chocolate Valentino

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 25-40 minutes

Pan Needed: 6-8" Springform pan

Serves 8

Ingredients:
16 ounces (1 pound) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
5 large eggs, separated

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often. (Note: the water should never boil when you do this, or the pan becomes too hot to hold while you stir. Just bring it to a nice simmer.)

2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling, butter your springform pan and line with a parchment circle. Then butter the parchment.


3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium bowls. (Note: I always pop my bowl and mixer beaters into the freezer for a few minutes before I add egg whites.)

4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).


5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.

6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.


7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter.


8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F.

9. Bake 25-40 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F. Note: If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will look wet.

10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

11. Allow the cake to cool another 20 minutes or so before you cut into it. Otherwise you'll be dishing up what looks like a Molten Lava Cake (unless a flowing chocolate center rocks your boat!).

12. Serve with fresh whipped cream, ice cream, or decorative items of your choice.

Some Labanese Yummies

I just had to post about these Lebanese yummies!

Because tonight I enjoyed a wonderful Lebanese dinner at the home of my good friends, Leo and Amy. Two of my new favorite dishes, shown above, are Rolled Grape Leaves and Koosa Mihshee (stuffed squash). Though both dishes are made with the same beef/rice filling, they each offer up a unique finished flavor. 

Following are directions on making the filling, as well as both dishes. Leo learned the recipes from his mom (which he tweaked, as creative cooks tend to do!). He says his mom cooked up weekly Lebanese dishes for him and his gaggle of brothers and sisters. Lucky him!


MEAT/RICE FILLING

INGREDIENTS

*1 lb. raw ground round (or hamburger)
*1 c. uncooked rice. Use Uncle Ben's parboiled rice
*1 onion, chopped fine
*1 small can tomato paste
*minced garlic
*fresh parsley
*bottled or fresh lemon juice
*cinnamon

1) Soak the rice in lemon juice for about 15 minutes, until it swells. You can dilute the lemon juice with water, if you like, but the lemon juice adds a nice zing to the rice. ;-)

2) Pour off the lemon juice.

3) Combine the rice, onion, and tomato paste. Add fresh parsley, minced garlic, and cinnamon to taste.

4) Add this to the meat and mix well.

5) Refrigerate until ready to make rolled grape leaves or stuffed squash.

ROLLED GRAPE LEAVES

INGREDIENTS

*meat/rice filling above
*1 large jar grape leaves
*tomato sauce

1) Remove the grape leaves from jar.

2) Place on flat surface, with the point of the leaves facing away from you.

3) Lay a log of the meat/rice mixture across the leaf, parallel to the bottom edge. The strip should but thicker than a cigarette, but not as fat as a cigar. The rice will swell as it is cooked, which is why you don't want it too thick.

4) Roll the bottom edge of the leaf toward the tip, folding in the sides, so that the filling can't escape.

5) Find a lidded pot big enough to accommodate all of the rolled grape leaves.

6) Cover the bottom of the pot with crinkled foil, extra grape leaves, or a rack. This will keep the leaves from scorching on the bottom of the pot.

7) Stack the rolled grape leaves in the pot, crisscrossing the layers, so that air can circulate around them freely.

8) Pour fresh or canned tomato sauce over the grape leaves.

9) Place a plate, upside down, over the top layer. The pressure of the plate will keep keep the leaves from unrolling.

10) Cover the pot with the lid and simmer for about 45 minutes. To check doneness, carefully remove the plate with tongues. Remove one of the rolled grape leaves and cut off a bite. If the rice is soft, the leaves are done!



KOOSA MIHSHEE

INGREDIENTS

*meat/rice filling above
*tomato sauce
*allspice
*cinnamon
*12 fresh zucchini or summer squash, or brined koosa (found in Lebanese markets). Just know that the brining makes the koosa a bit less tender than using the fresh -- though still delicious!

1) If using fresh zucchini or summer squash: Use only small squash. Rinse squash in cold, salted water. Cut off stem tips and gently hollow out centers of squash using long corer. Leave about 1/8-inch thickness.

2) If using brined koosa: Rinse the squash thoroughly in cold water to flush out the brine. Remove stem and hollow out with a long corer, if not already prepared.

3) Stuff the meat/rice filling loosely in the squash, using your finger. Leave about 1/2 to 3/4 inch of space at top, to allow for expansion of the rice as it steams. (Note: these are brined koosa, which is why they look so wrinkly.)

4) Cover bottom of pot with a rack or crinkled foil to prevent squash from scorching. Cover the bottom inch or so with tomato sauce. Sprinkle in cinnamon, allspice, and salt to taste.

5) Stand the squash in the sauce on their ends, so that the stuffed ends are facing up.

6) Pour more tomato sauce over the squash, amply covering them.

7) Cover with lid, bring to boil, and steam for about 30 minutes, or until squash is tender.

Yes, this is a lot of effort. But it's so worth it, especially since you'll probably have leftovers!!

Chickens Deserve More Respect!

I've always wanted to know how a chicken lays an egg. Today I found out. Here's what I now know without a doubt: Chickens do NOT get enough respect for what they do for us on a DAILY basis!!!

Wanna see what I mean? Then watch this YouTube video which shows a chicken making a deposit, (very) up close and personal. 

NOTE: do not watch this video if body functions make you nauseous, or if you've just eaten! You might make a deposit of your own!!!

And Now a Reminder for Restaurant Sanitation

So, have you seen the recent CNN video in which a Texas woman complains to the reporter that a dead mouse was included in her dinner order? (And at no extra charge!)

Pretty gross, huh?

I don't know about you, but if I found a small, dead mouse glistening in the sauce of my entree, I'd be screaming too. Especially if the restaurant manager then accused me of planting said mouse! 

Of course, the woman in the video could have done so...but it seems far-fetched given that the reporter then shared that the restaurant in question routinely fails its health inspections. 

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my.

But I can top that. Here in Buffalo, one of our local Chinese restaurants was recently nabbed for skinning a deer in its kitchen!! 

An alert person, cell phone camera in hand, captured the carcass being dragged in the back door, then wasted no time in alerting the city health inspector. Ironically, this restaurant also repeatedly fails its health inspections. And it's still open, if you can believe that people still frequent it.

Just gag me already. But not with mice, lice, and deer ticks!

This kind of contamination leaves me queasy. But the bigger threat to public health (YOURS and MINE) walks into restaurants every single day: in the form of germ-toting waiters, dishwashers, and cooks. (And managers!)

Seriously, if these peeps aren't coughing on our burgers, carting our water glasses around by the lip, or using the same knife to cut up both the lettuce and (raw) chicken that's in our order of chicken salad, then they're simply not bothering to wash their hands.

I have witnessed waitresses exit the ladies room without turning on the tap, cooks who reuse aprons they've tossed carelessly on the ground, and kitchen staff who don't sanitize after taking that last drag on their beloved cigarette.

Sigh. It's enough to make you not eat out.

But no one wants the restaurant industry to tank, including me. There are plenty of ship-tight restaurants out there with nary a sanitation issue. So let's reward them by keeping them in business. And may the Sanitation Gods watch over you!