Cocoa-Rubbed Steak with Bacon-Whiskey Gravy

Photograph by Anna Williams

For the steak:

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Kosher salt
3 1-pound New York strip steaks (about 1 1/2 inches thick)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

For the gravy:

4 strips bacon, diced
1 leek (white and light green parts only), finely chopped
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whiskey
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper


Make the steak: Mix the cocoa powder, both paprikas, brown sugar, cayenne and 2 teaspoons salt; rub on the steak and bring to room temperature, 30 minutes.

Make the gravy: Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring, until crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove to paper towels with a slotted spoon; set aside. Add the leek to the drippings and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute.

Remove the skillet from the heat. Add the whiskey, then return to medium heat; if the alcohol ignites, let the flames die out. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth and bay leaves. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until the mixture is reduced by one-quarter, about 8 minutes. Whisk in the heavy cream and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the gravy coats a spoon, about 7 minutes. Stir in the butter, reserved bacon and parsley; season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat, about 3 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon butter; when it melts, add the steak and sear until a dark crust forms, about 8 minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes. Season with salt. Slice and serve with the gravy.

Recipe from Food Network Magazine, 2012

Candy-Bar Cake

Photograph by Kat Teutsch

For the cake:

1 12-ounce frozen pound cake
3 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 to 4 tablespoons milk
1 1-pound box confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup salted roasted peanuts
2 cups dulce de leche

For the coating:

10 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces


Assemble the cake: Trim 1/2 inch off the short ends of the pound cake, then trim the domed top to make it flat. Stand the cake on its side and slice in half horizontally to make two equal-size rectangles.

Microwave the chocolate in 30-second intervals, stirring until melted. Beat the butter, 3 tablespoons milk and the confectioners' sugar with a mixer. Beat in the melted chocolate. Add more milk, if needed, to make the frosting spreadable.

Lay the cake rectangles on a rack set on a rimmed baking sheet. Spread some of the frosting on one short end of each cake and press together to form a long rectangle. (You can slide a thin piece of cardboard under the cake for moving to a platter later.)

Spread the remaining frosting on the cake in a 1-inch-thick layer, making the edges slightly higher than the center. Smooth the top and sides with an offset spatula. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.

Mix the peanuts and dulce de leche in a bowl.

Remove the cake from the freezer. Spread the peanut mixture on the frosting in a flat, even layer. Freeze until the dulce de leche is firm, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the chocolate coating: Microwave the chocolate and butter in 30-second intervals, stirring, until melted and smooth.

Pour the chocolate on the cake and spread it evenly over the top and sides with an offset spatula. Freeze until the chocolate cools slightly, 6 to 8 minutes.

Starting at a short end of the cake, dip the edge of an offset spatula into the chocolate at an angle and gently pull up, repeating along the top of the cake to create a wave pattern. Chill 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe from Food Network

How To Chocolate-Coat Anything!

1 lb finely chopped semisweet or milk chocolate
2 teaspoons shortening


Temper chocolate with shortening (On the Stove):

Finely chop 1lb chocolate. Combine three-quarters of the chocolate and 2 teaspoons of shortening in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. (Don't let the water touch the bowl.) Melt the chocolate wand bring it to 100 degrees, stirring, then place the bowl in a larger bowl of cold water; stir in the remaining chocolate until melted (the temperature should drop to about 82 degrees). Place the bowl back over the simmering water. Bring dark chocolate to 90 degrees, and milk or white chocolate to 88 degrees. Rewarm to 90 or 88 if the chocolate cools and becomes too thick for dipping or pouring.

Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper and mist with cooking spray.

Dip the food in the tempered chocolate using your fingers, a slotted spoon, or a skewer; the the excess drip off. Place on the prepared baking sheet and let set at room temperature, 30 minutes (set but still soft) to 4 hours (fully hardened).

Recommended things to coat:
Dried Apples, Cheddar Cheese, Cheerios, Orange Segments, Large Shredded Wheat, Corn Chips, Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers, Gummy Worms, Saltines, Banana Chips, Melba Toast, Red Licorice, Popcorn, Doughnut Holes, Bacon, Grapes, etc.

Chooclate Four-Layer Cake

Photograph by Pernille Pedersen

For the cake:

Cooking spray
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (sift, then measure), plus more for dusting
2 cups hot strong coffee
1 1/2 cups natural unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
4 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the ganache:

1 1/2 pounds bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3 1/3 cups heavy cream

For the bark:

4 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
4 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped
8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Directions

Prep the pans: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Fold a large sheet of parchment paper in half; put a 10-inch-round cake pan on top. Trace the cake pan, then cut out the circle to make two rounds of parchment. Spray two 10-inch cake pans with cooking spray; fit a parchment round into each. Spray the pans again, then dust with flour and tap out the excess.

Make the batter: Pour the coffee into a liquid measuring cup or bowl; whisk in the cocoa powder. Put the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer; mix with the paddle attachment on low speed, 1 minute. Add the eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla and 2 cups water; beat on medium speed, 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low; beat in the coffee-cocoa mixture in a slow stream until combined. The batter will be thin.

Bake the cakes: Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Bake until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Let cool in the pans on a rack, 10 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto the rack to cool completely. Place each cake on a 10-inch cardboard cake circle (this helps stabilize the layers as you move them around), wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

Make the ganache: Pulverize the bittersweet chocolate in a large food processor. Bring the cream just to a boil. With the motor running, pour the hot cream through the feed tube; process until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl and set in a bowl of ice water. Chill, stirring often, until the ganache is cool but not stiff, about 20 minutes.

Make the bark: Microwave the white chocolate in 15-second intervals until two-thirds melted; stir to fully melt. Scrape into a zip-top bag and seal. Put a plastic sheet protector on each of 2 baking sheets. Snip a corner of the bag; pipe thin lines of white chocolate over the sheets.

Refrigerate the baking sheets until the white chocolate is set, about 10 minutes, then repeat the process with the milk chocolate, piping thin lines over the white chocolate. Refrigerate until the milk chocolate is set.

Melt the bittersweet chocolate in the same way, then spread over the white and milk chocolate lines using an offset spatula. Refrigerate until hard, about 30 minutes.

Peel the sheet protectors off the chocolate and break the chocolate sheets into shards of various sizes.

Slice the layers: Put one cake on a cake turntable. Position a long serrated knife against the side of the cake, about halfway down. Slowly rotate the turntable so the knife slices the cake in half horizontally. Don't move the knife much-let the rotation of the turntable do the work. Repeat with the other cake to make 4 layers; transfer each to a cardboard circle. (If you don't have a turntable, carefully slice the cakes in half on a cutting board.)

Frost the cake: Transfer half of the ganache to a bowl and whisk until light brown and fluffy. Place one cake layer (still on a cardboard circle) on the turntable; spoon one-third of the whipped ganache on top. Rotate the turntable to smooth the ganache with a long spatula (or just assemble and frost on a cake plate). Repeat to sandwich all 4 cake layers with whipped ganache. Spread all but about 1/2 cup of the unwhipped ganache over the top and sides of the cake.

Decorate the cake: Press the chocolate bark against the sides of the cake, using small dollops of the remaining ganache to help the pieces stick, if necessary.

Recipe by Ron Ben-Israel

Beet Cake with Bourbon Sauce

Cake:

3 medium beets, boiled
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon


Custard:

3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk, warmed
3/4 cup heavy cream, warmed
3 tablespoons bourbon or whiskey
Sweetened whipped cream, for serving


MAKE THE CAKE:

Peel and chop 2 of the beets, then puree them in a mini food processor. Peel and shred the remaining beet.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter a 10-by-15-inch jelly roll pan and line it with parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar at high speed until tripled in volume, about 5 minutes. Beat in the oil and zest. Fold in the pureed and shredded beets, then gradually fold in the dry ingredients. Spread the batter in the prepared pan, smoothing the top. Bake the cake for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.


MAKE THE CUSTARD:

Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a saucepan. In a stainless steel bowl, whisk the yolks and sugar until thickened. Whisk in the warm milk and cream. Set the bowl over (not in) the simmering water and whisk over moderate heat until the custard is very thick, about 8 minutes. Chill the custard in an ice bath, then stir in the bourbon.

Cut the cake into squares and layer with the custard. Top with whipped cream; serve.

Food and Wine, 2012

Braised Pork with Cherry Gravy

4 pounds boneless pork shoulder, tied
Salt and freshly ground pepper
7 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 celery ribs, coarsely chopped
2 carrots, coarsely chopped
3 large onions, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 cup dry red wine
6 cups chicken stock or broth
1 cup dried sour cherries
2 large fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
2 large leeks, white and pale green parts, sliced crosswise 1/2 inch thick
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup grated young pecorino cheese
1/4 cup chives, cut in 1/2-inch lengths


Preheat the oven to 350°. Season the pork with salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven, brown the pork in 2 tablespoons of the oil. Remove the pork; pour off the fat. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil to the pot. Add the celery, carrots and 2 onions and cook over moderate heat until golden, 15 minutes. Add the tomato paste, wine and stock; bring to a boil. Add the pork and cherries, cover and braise in the oven for 4 hours. Cool. Refrigerate overnight.

Skim the fat from the liquid and remove the pork. Boil the gravy until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, 25 minutes. Strain the gravy into a saucepan and season with salt and pepper. Untie the pork; slice into 6 medallions.

In a skillet, mix 2 tablespoons of the oil with the fennel, leeks and remaining onion. Cover and cook over moderate heat until softened, 7 minutes. Add the cream and simmer until thickened, 10 minutes. Add the cheese and chives, and season with salt and pepper.

In nonstick skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the pork and brown well. Serve with the gravy and vegetables.

Recipe by Michel Nischan, Food and Wine, 2012

Garlicky Potatoes, Green beans, and Cauliflower

1 pound fingerling potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled
Salt
3 cups cauliflower florets
1 pound green beans
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon spicy pimentón de la Vera (hot smoked Spanish paprika)
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar


In a large pot, cover the fingerling potatoes with 2 inches of salted water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to moderate and cook until the potatoes are almost tender, about 8 minutes. Add the cauliflower florets and green beans to the pot and simmer until tender, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile in a small skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic and cook over low heat until golden brown, about 1 minute. Add the pimentón and a large pinch of salt and remove from the heat.

Drain the vegetables well and transfer to a serving bowl. Season with salt and drizzle with the garlic oil. Sprinkle with the vinegar, toss well and serve.

Notes, Topping variations:

- Sauté capers in olive oil with chopped red onion and fresh thyme.
- Sauté minced fresh lemongrass in vegetable oil with garlic chives and chopped basil; finish with a splash of soy sauce.
- Sauté shallots in olive oil; add white wine vinegar and cream and simmer until thickened. Add chopped fresh tarragon.

Recipe by Jose Andres, Food and Wine, 2012

Roast Chicken Thighs with Lentil Stew

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 slices of thick-cut bacon, diced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 quart chicken stock or broth
8 garlic cloves, plus 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 medium carrot, halved lengthwise
1 small leek, white and pale green parts only, halved lengthwise
1 large green bell pepper, quartered
1 cup green lentils
1 thyme sprig
4 large chicken thighs (2 pounds)
Salt
Pimentón de la Vera
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar



Preheat the oven to 450°. In a large saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the bacon and cook over moderate heat until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the stock, whole garlic cloves, carrot, leek, bell pepper, lentils and thyme and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a baking dish, drizzle the chicken with 1 tablespoon of oil and season with salt and pimentón. Roast on the top rack for about 40 minutes, until cooked through.

Discard the thyme sprig from the lentils. Transfer the garlic, carrot, leek and bell pepper to a blender. Add 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid and puree. Drain the lentils and return them to the pot. Stir in the pureed vegetables.

In a small skillet, heat the remaining 1/4 cup of oil. Add the chopped garlic and cook over low heat for 1 minute. Add 1 teaspoon of pimentón. Scrape the mixture into the lentils and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the vinegar and season with salt. Serve the lentils in bowls topped with the chicken.

Recipe by Jose Andres, Food and Wine, 2012

Baked Broccoli Ravioli

1 cup packed basil leaves
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Salt
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 1/2 pounds broccoli, cut into 2-inch florets
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup fresh ricotta
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons freshly grated pecorino cheese, plus more for serving
1/2 pound fresh lasagna sheets


Blanch the basil in boiling water for 20 seconds. Drain and rinse under cold water; squeeze dry. In a mini food processor, puree the basil with 1/2 cup of the oil. Season with salt and transfer to a small bowl.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the broccoli, 1/2 cup of water and the butter, cover and cook over moderately low heat until tender, 10 minutes. Let cool. Coarsely puree the broccoli in a food processor; transfer to a bowl. Stir in the ricotta and 1/4 cup of the pecorino and season with salt.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Using a pasta machine, roll the lasagna sheets through the thinnest setting. Cut the sheets into twelve 4-inch squares. Cook the squares in the water until tender, 2 minutes. Drain, pat dry and rub with oil to prevent sticking.

Preheat the oven to 425°. Coat a large, shallow baking dish with oil. Place 2 heaping tablespoons of the filling into the center of each pasta square. Fold the squares into triangles; arrange in the dish. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of the pecorino. Bake on the top rack for 10 minutes, until the cheese starts to brown. Drizzle with the basil oil and serve, passing more cheese at the table.

Recipe from Food and Wine, 2012

Roasted Potatoes and Haddock Puttanesca

Photograph by Jonny Valiant

yield: 4 servings
active: 30 minutes
total: 45 minutes

3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 garlic cloves, sliced
4 anchovy fillets packed in oil, drained
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes and their juices, coarsely puréed
1/4 cup halved, pitted oil-cured black olives
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt plus more
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus more
1 pound fingerling potatoes, halved
8 ounces haddock or halibut fillets, cut into 1 1/2" cubes
1/4 cup halved caper berries or 1 Tbsp. drained capers, rinsed
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley


Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a medium pot over low heat. Add garlic and anchovies; cook, stirring frequently to break up anchovies, until garlic is soft but not browned, 3–4 minutes. Add red pepper flakes; cook until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add tomato purée, increase heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, 15–20 minutes. Stir in olives; simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Arrange racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 425°. Place a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet. Toss 1 Tbsp. oil, potatoes, shallots, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper in a large bowl to coat. Spread in a single layer on prepared rack. Roast on top oven rack for 18 minutes. Keep in oven.

Place fish in an 8x8x2" glass baking dish. Drizzle with remaining 1/2 Tbsp. oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on bottom oven rack and roast with potatoes until fish is just opaque in center, potatoes are golden brown and tender, and shallots are crispy, about 7 minutes longer.

Place potatoes, shallots, and fish on a platter in an even layer. Spoon 1 1/2 cups puttanesca over (reserve remaining sauce for another use); garnish with caper berries and parsley.

1 serving contains:
Calories (kcal) 325.9
%Calories from Fat 38.1
Fat (g) 13.8
Saturated Fat (g) 2.0
Cholesterol (mg) 32.6

Recipe from Bon Appetit