Monday, August 24, 2009

Hazelnut Crunch Cake




Hazelnut Crunch Cake with Mascarpone and Chocolate
Recipe courtesy: Giada De Laurentiis, Everyday Italian



This is not only the best dessert that I have ever made - I think it one of the best desserts that I have EVER had! It was that good. Served to company after an evening Italian dinner party where I served antipasto, Lasagna Rolls ( Giada's recipe too), fresh tomatoes and basil, grilled asparagus and watermelon with balsamic vinegar, basil and feta. Try it, you will love it too!

While this recipe seems lengthy, in reality most of the time consuming part can be done ahead. I baked the cake a day early, cooled completely, and placed in plastic bas. I made the "crunch" ahead too. Let cool completely and placed in an airtight tin. (Cooks note: to get the brown cover off the hazelnuts, I used a paper towel and rubbed them after browning, came off very easily and you don't want the brown shells marring this beautiful cake).

Prep Time: 1 hr 0 min
Inactive Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 30 min
Serves: 8 servings

Ingredients
Cake:
1 box chocolate cake mix

Crunch:
1 cup (about 4 1/2-ounces) hazelnuts, toasted and skinned
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup water

Filling:
2 (8-ounce) containers mascarpone cheese, room temperature
1 cup cream
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:
1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon orange zest

For the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter and flour 2 (8-inch) cake pans. Prepare the cake mix according to package instructions. Divide the batter between the 2 cake pans and bake according to package instructions. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

For the Crunch:
Place the toasted nuts close together in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir the sugar mixture until dissolved. Bring to a boil and let cook until the sugar is light brown, about 8 minutes. Let the bubbles subside then pour the caramelized sugar over the nuts. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator and let the sugar nut mixture cool until hard, about 30 minutes. When the sugar nut mixture is hard and cool, top with another piece of parchment paper and pound into small pieces, or place the sugar nut mixture on a cutting board and cut into small pieces. Set aside.

For the filling:
Put the mascarpone cheese, cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla into a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer whip the cream mixture to soft peaks. Fold the Crunch mixture into the whipped cream.

For the topping:
Place the chocolate, sugar and zest in a food processor. Process the mixture until the chocolate is finely ground.

To assemble the cake:
Put 1 cake on a serving plate. Top with 1-inch of the whipped cream crunch mixture. Top with the second layer of cake and continue frosting the entire cake with the remaining whipped cream crunch mixture. Sprinkle the top and sides of the cake with the ground chocolate. Serve.

Buon Appetito!

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Stuffed Pepper Casserole


Going to a Polish Festival today, Sweetest Heart of Mary, one of the oldest Parish's in Detroit, and probably the oldest Polish Church in the City. So in honor of this I am preparing a Stuffed Pepper Casserole, derived for the yes! section of the 8/16/2009 Sunday Free Press.


Ingredients

2 Large bell peppers, chopped, (I used some yellow, orange and green, had in the fridge)
1 large onion chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
1 can diced tomatoes with liquid
1 1/4 lb. ground chuck
1 cup white rice, cooked
1 T olive oil
6 oz favorite cheese (I used Parmesan and Mozzarella)

Cook rice, let rest
Saute beef in a large pan until brown, remove beef and drain off excess fat
Add olive oil to empty pan, add chopped peppers, onion and garlic, saute until soft 5-7 minutes
Mix the beef, rice vegetables, tomatoes and half of the cheese in a large bowl.
Place mixture in a large, (9x13), casserole dish, cover and cook at 350 for 30 minutes, uncover, add the remaining cheese and cook for 15 additional minutes.

Bon Appetit!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Salmon in Pastry Crust


Had a pie crust leftover from my Blueberry Galette, can only eat so many blueberries. I was looking for a new salmon recipe and came across this and adapted it totally for dinner last night. I did not use the asparagus as shown, found pix after I made.

Ingredients:

Round refrigerated pie crust, purchased rolled up.
8 oz. Salmon Fillet
2 T unsalted butter
Pesto Sauce
1 egg, beaten
Butcher Salt
Preheat oven to 425.
Lay out the crust on a non-stick pan. Spread the crust with the softened butter.Place the salmon towards the front of the crust. Pour pesto sauce, to taste, over the salmon and fold the crust over the top of the fish. Carefully cut off the excess. Crimp the edges to seal.
Cut the remaining dough in to decorative shapes, I cut out little fish, and place on the top of the crust.
Brush all with the egg.
Sprinkle top with the butcher salt.
Bake in 400 degree oven until crust is browned.
Bon Appetit!

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin


Brought out my 1940's Fanny Farmer, Boston School of Cooking cookbook and looked for a pork tenderloin recipe which I had defrosted.

Very easy and simple and I made it even more so.

Took a whole tenderloin, cut in half then butterflied each half and pounded slightly to flatten and even out.

Then made a stuffing, Fanny Farmer said take some ingredients, apples, celery, etc. and make a stuffing. So I took an apple, some celery, prunes and some cooked cous cous and mixed to together with some S & P and spread over one half of the tenderloin. Then I simply laid the other piece on top, sprinkled with S & P.

Roasted in 440 oven for 12 minutes, then reduced to 300 for 7-8 more, sliced and served with steamed asparagus and a cous cous salad, comprised of the same stuffing mix, just a lot more cous cous and some vinaigrette dressing, (just a touch for some flavor) tossed with slivered almonds for a crunch. Excellent.

Bon Appetit!