1. Roasted Almond and Dark Chocolate Pancakes with Caramel Maple Syrup (Adapted from King Arthur's Zephyr Pancake Recipe)
Makes about Ten 8" cakes, but you can certainly make them smaller, I just really like the impact large pancakes have.
- Ingredients :
- 3 Egg yolks, room temp (use the whites for something else, like meringue)
- 3/4 cup Heavy Cream, room temp
- 1 1/4 cups Whole Milk, room temp
- 4 tbl. Butter, melted and cooled
- 3 tbl. Granulated Sugar
- 1 tbl. Lemon zest
- 1 1/2 cups AP Flour
- 1 tsp. Baking soda
- 2 tsp. Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1/4 tsp Fresh Nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 cup Large Chunks Dark Chocolate, chilled (60% - 75% Dark)
- 1/2 cup Fresh Roasted Almonds, roughly chopped (I buy raw almonds and roast them myself in batches to ensure maximum flavor. Roasting - preheat oven to 325 F, spread out amount of Raw Almonds you like to use on a baking sheet. Make sure each nut has space around it. Pop in the oven for 8 minutes, stir around, bake for about 5 mins longer. Turn off oven, and leave in for about 10 - 15 mins. You want them to sound hollow and be crisp and toasty.)
- For Syrup :
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 2/3 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/4 cup Grade A Maple Syrup
- pinch fine sea salt
- Procedure :
For cakes :
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together yolks, cream, milk and butter. Whisk in sugar until dissolved, and add in zest. Set aside.
In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking soda and powder, salt and spices.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet, stir until just combined.
Preheat an oven to 200 F for holding pancakes warm, if necessary.
Heat a lightly greased griddle or skillet with a neutral oil, like grapeseed oil. Once ready, mix in the chocolate and almonds to batter, evenly incorporate and drop 2/3 cup full's of batter onto skillet. Gently spread into circles. Cook for about 3 minutes on first side until bubbles rise and burst. Flip and cook for another 3 minutes.
Make sure the heat isn't too high on the griddle or else you might burn the chocolate. Put made pancakes on baking sheet covered with tin foil and hold them warm in the oven while you complete the rest of the batter. They should be thick and fluffy! Top them with a dab of butter and a good slog of the syrup and enjoy in a beautiful place in the world.
For syrup :
Start this before making the batter and cakes, it takes about 35 minutes.
Combine cream, sugar and syrup in a medium saucepan, stir to dissolve sugar over a medium heat.
Increase heat and boil, then reduce to a medium simmer, watch it as it can burn, but we want it to reach a caramel color, it will reduce also to about a 2/3 cup. Stir as needed.
Once thick and caramel colored, about 35 minutes, remove from heat and stir in salt. Serve over top of cakes warm.
(This recipe can be easily doubled if you desire more syrup! )
1. Lemon-Garlic Roasted Cauliflower with Toasted Pine Nuts, Thyme and Golden Raisins (Joy K Jenkins)
Ingredients:
1 large head cauliflower
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon zest
Juice of 2 lemons, about 1/2 cup
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3/4 cup fruity extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon thyme leaves, just de-stemmed, not chopped
1/2 cup golden raisins, soak in sweet white wine, completely covered
3/4 cup toasted pine nuts
fresh cracked pepper and sea salt, to taste
extra virgin olive oil for coating sheet tray and drizzling
1 scallion, thinly sliced on bias for garnish
1/4 cup bread crumbs, toasted in olive oil until golden brown for garnish
Procedure:
Combine zest, garlic and oil, let steep for 30 minutes.
Preheat Oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with tin foil, and brush evenly with olive oil.
Separate al the flowerettes of the cauliflower into bite size pieces, about 1 - 2 inches long. In a large bowl toss together the flavored oil, thyme, drained raisins, toasted pine nuts, sea salt and pepper. If needed add extra oil if all of the cauliflower is not evenly coated. This will ensure that each piece roasts evenly. Spread out onto prepared sheet tray. Bake for 40 minutes, should be fork tender, slightly browning, Remove from oven and toss with lemon juice.
Place cauliflower into serving dish drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and garnish with scallions and toasted bread crumbs.
Serve room temperature or hot.
Tart Recipe :
1. Lemon Curd Tart (Adapted from Les Petits Farcis, Nice, France, in Gourmet May 2008)
Crust/Shell:
1/4 cup toasted organic almonds, with skins (cooled)
3/4 cup AP flour
1/4 cup confectioners sugar, or powdered sugar
Generous pinch of fine sea salt
6 1/2 tablespoons sweet butter, cut into cubes
1 large Organic Egg yolk
if needed, 1 tablespoon iced water
Lemon Curd:
2 whole organic eggs + 2 organic egg yolks
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 heaped tablespoon fine grated lemon zest
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
6 tablespoons sweet butter, in small cubes
Procedure:
Crust - Finely chop almonds. Place in bowl of food processor with flour, confectioners sugar and sea salt, pulse until well incorporated. Add 1/2 the cold butter, pulse 4 to 5 times until incorporated, then add the other half of the cold butter. Pulse 3 - 4 times until incorporated, should look a little like wet sand. And the yolk and tablespoon of ice water if needed, pulse until combined. The Dough will be quite soft and a little wet. Wrap in plastic and let rest for about 10 minutes in fridge.
Using a 9 inch round fluted tart pan with a removable bottom, press the dough in all around the sides and bottom evenly. I use a piece of plastic wrap over the top to help spread the dough evenly with my fingertips. Place pan back in fridge for 30 minutes before baking.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425 F.
Bake for about 11 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown all over. Remove from oven and let cool on rack for at least 30 minutes.
Curd - Whisk together the eggs and yolks. Slowly wish in granulated sugar. Separately, whisk together the lemon juice and cornstarch to remove any lumps. Add cornstarch mixture to egg mixture along with lemon zest. Whisk to combine and pour into a non reactive medium sauce pan.
Over medium heat, bring mixture to boil, whisking constantly, should take about 5 minutes to reach a boil if not sooner. Let boil for 2 minutes, this will cook off any cornstarch flavor that may remain and ensure the proper consistency of the curd.
Remove from heat and whisk in butter until very smooth.
Pour into bowl and cover with plastic wrap, making sure to place plastic directly on top of the curd in order to prevent it from oxidizing.
Assembly - Remove crust from tart pan gently, place on service platter of your desire. Spoon curd into the shell and smooth with an offset spatula.
Serve with in 4 hours of filling crust. Otherwise, crud can be made 2 days ahead, and crust can be made 1 day ahead.
