Dark Chocolate Custard
This started out as a recipe for chocolate creme brulee…I’ve made enough changes (and skipped the crusty sugar topping part) that I feel this is my own creation. And it is divine and so, so easy.
Dark Chocolate Custard
1 ½ c. whipping cream
½ cup half-and-half
4 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
5 egg yolks
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons sugar
Double pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 300.
Bring cream and half-and-half to a boil, whisking constantly so it doesn’t burn. Stir in chocolate and stir until melted and smooth, remove from heat. Whisk yolks, sugar, and salt in a large bowl, temper with chocolate mixture once or twice, and add rest of chocolate, whisking continually. Divide into 4 oz ramekins (you’ll probably need 5 or 6 of them). Place ramekins in 9×13, place in preheated oven, fill 9×13 with water about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake 50-60 minutes. Chill in the fridge 30-40 minutes (still will be warm in the center) or overnight if you prefer a more set, more rich pudding. Serve with whipped cream and strawberries.
Corn and Zucchini Summer Salad
Several years ago I copied this recipe down from the blog Say Yes to Hoboken but I can’t find it anywhere in her archives to link back to, so I decided to re-post it here because this is probably my favorite summer salad, it is super easy, and only takes a few minutes to throw together. (This is pretty unlike me, I don’t typically re-post recipes in full, or “adaptions” because I think the person who originally posted it should get the credit or site stats or whatever. But, as I can’t direct you to the original posting, I’m only half-way breaking my own rules. I didn’t make this up, but I absolutely love it and hope you do too.)
Corn and Zucchini Summer Salad
4 ears corn with kernels sliced off
2 medium-sized zucchini, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 TB olive oil
½ cup feta cheese (or more if you love feta)
Salt and pepper to taste
1-2 TB dill (I use dried because that’s what I have)
1-2 teaspoons dill pickle juice
Slice the kernels off the corn, dice the veggies, sprinkle with as much feta as you like (that ½ cup up there is really merely a suggestion), and season to taste. The addition of dill pickle juice is mine, but the vinegaryness really brightens up this salad. This keeps for a day or two in the fridge before the feta gets all slimy and the veggies soggy, but you will probably want to devour the whole thing in one sitting.
I have added cilantro, a little jalapeno, and lime juice (instead of dill and dill pickle juice) and made this a little bit Mexi with equally delicious results. You could also probably add some shredded chicken or turkey or pork if you wanted to bulk this up for a meal (although I’ve eaten it as is for a meal and felt completely satisfied).
Makes 6 servings as a side, however I will often make a half batch of this and eat the whole thing for dinner. Because I can.
BLT Salad
Last weekend J-Mo and I were driving home from a family reunion where I mostly ate pasta salad, hamburgers or pulled pork, Diet Dr. Pepper and his Mom’s famous Monster Cookies. Let me tell you, I was SUPER healthy (my own doing, I purposely ignored the healthier options at any given meal because I was on vacation). On the way home I started craving vegetables and salad and all things fresh and delicious. I started dreaming about it out loud, and this BLT salad was born. And let me tell you, it is delicious and the variations are endless. I opted for grilled chickpeas instead of croutons and cherry tomatoes instead of large ones because I had them in the fridge. Rooting around I discovered the last of the Parmesan cheese and decided to throw it in as well as a garnish because it seemed like a good addition. I added fresh basil–gold star for me! My basil plant has yet to die!–and some fresh green onions that are growing in my kitchen windowsill (I planted them there in a jar, I don’t live in a house that sprouts onions from random places.) The dressing is a mayo/Greek yogurt concoction with Dijon and lemon juice to make it zippy. Basically, this is an explosion of flavors in your mouth and you will probably want to make it every day you have both tomatoes and bacon (which, let’s be honest, should be always).
BLT Salad
10-12 strips bacon, cooked until crispy and chopped into pieces
1 can garbanzo beans/chickpeas, rinsed and drained (I am anal and also pull most of the shells off of canned chickpeas because I think they are slimy)
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Herbs de Provence (or any combination of Oregano, lavender, basil, or chives)
1 teaspoon ground mustard powder
1 container cherry tomatoes, halved (10 ounces, or about 1 1/2 cups sliced tomatoes, more if you like tomatoes or they are summer-delicious)
1 bunch green onions, diced
1/2 bunch fresh spinach, chopped (about 6-8 ounces, I imagine)
3-4 large Romaine leaves, chopped
1/3-1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8-9 leaves fresh basil, chiffonade (sliced into very thin strips)
I used basil from my basil plant, leaves are about half the size of my thumb. Basil leaves from my grocery store are at least twice that size, so you’d use half as many.
Dressing:
1/3 cup mayo
1/3 cup Greek yogurt
2-3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
8-9 twists of ground black pepper
generous splash of lemon juice (probably just under tablespoon)
milk or buttermilk to thin, if necessary (I used 1-2 tablespoons)
While your bacon is cooking, grill the garbanzo beans. When skillet is hot (over medium-high heat) add olive oil and 1 can of drained, rinsed (peeled) garbanzo beans. Add spices and let heat, stirring occasionally. When the garbanzo’s get hot they will start to pop, kind of like the sound of popcorn, but without the explosion of white fluffy goodness. When the are hot, they are done.
While those are cooking, chop the rest of your veggies and whisk up your dressing. Add everything to a large bowl and drizzle the dressing over the top, as much as you’d like (I didn’t use all that I had made), and eat immediately.
J-Mo and I ate this as a meal, but we were starving and vegetable deprived, so we ate all but a small container of leftovers. Under normal circumstances you could probably get 4 servings out of this recipe, more if you added chicken or turkey or something to bulk it up a little, or used it as a side instead of your main/only course.
Minestrone Pasta Salad
Everyone loves Minestrone Soup, right? Well, I love Minestrone Soup, but sometimes it’s just too hot for soup. It was one of those days when I started looking at my recipe box differently, and this is what I came up with. There are about ten thousand different ways you could make this salad and the variations are endless. You could probably add some grilled chicken or turkey to make this a meal, or you could add a jar of white beans, or double the veggies to beef up the fresh ingredients portion.
Minestrone Pasta Salad
8-10 strips bacon, cooked and cut into pieces (more bacon would not be amiss here, btw)
1 lb. twisty pasta (I used Rigatoni)
1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-2″ pieces, set aside
3-4 green onions, diced
6 oz jar roasted red peppers, chopped
1 zucchini, cut into matchsticks
1 cucumber (the long ones), slice in half, scoop out seeds, and cut into small pieces
big handful of shredded carrots
double handful of cherry tomatoes, halved (yellow or red, or both)
1 15 oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 15 oz can Italian tomatoes, drained
6-7 oz basil pesto
1/2 cup Parmesan or Romano cheese
1/2 cup olive oil
2 TB lemon juice
2-3 cloves minced garlic
3 teaspoons salt
1-2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon mustard powder
Cook your bacon and set aside to drain and cool. (I lined a baking sheet with foil and cooked them in the oven for 15 minutes at 350)
Bring a pot of water to a boil and dump in the green beans and let them boil for a few minutes, when they are still bright green scoop them out and put them into a large bowl. Bring the water to a boil again and dump in the pasta, cook until al dente.
While the pasta is cooking chop up the rest of the veggies and add to the green beans. Add the pasta, kidney beans, tomatoes, pesto and cheese.
Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and mustard (or you could use Italian salad dressing if you are feeling frisky). Drizzle on the pasta salad, stir, taste-test and add more salt or spices as necessary, and eat while still warm.
This keeps beautifully, but it best at room temperature. I like to warm up my leftovers for 30 seconds in the microwave before eating because it brings out the flavor.
Orange Ginger Chicken Cauliflower
Several years ago my sister gave me a recipe for orange ginger chicken…you know, back when I ate chicken. I was flipping through my recipe box last week and came across it, I immediately wanted to try it with roasted cauliflower instead of chicken, and it was one of my better ideas. I have changed a lot of this recipe, in fact, everything but the orange zest and the onion. This is spicier than it is sweet (and you could make it a LOT spicier if you wanted to with Thai red chilies or extra cayenne or red pepper flakes). If you wanted to make this vegan use veggie stock instead of chicken broth. (Let’s not get into the discussion about how I will eat chicken broth but not actual chicken. It’s far too philosophical a feat for a Friday.)
Orange Ginger Cauliflower
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Cut 1 head cauliflower into bite sized pieces, drizzle with olive oil and a lot of salt (cauliflower needs a lot of salt to be delicious), and roast 20-25 minutes until cooked through and florets are starting to turn brownish. Stir halfway through so the florets cook evenly. Do this very first before you start chopping the onion or bell pepper.
While the cauliflower is roasting, add a little olive oil (2 tablespoons) to a large skillet and when it is hot but not smoking add the following:
1 white onion, minced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
½ red bell pepper, diced
1 heaping tablespoon minced ginger
Zest of 2 oranges
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
½ teaspoon sweet paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
(optional: dash of red pepper flakes)
Stir this mixture until the onions are soft. (Check on your roasting cauliflower at this point too.) Then add:
½ cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
4 teaspoons cornstarch
Splash of lemon or lime juice
1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar
Stir everything together until it starts to thicken a little, by this point your cauliflower should be about done. Toss it into the skillet as well and stir until everything is coated evenly with sauce. Keep on medium-high heat, stirring slowly, until the sauce is at your desired level of thickness.
Enjoy!
heidikins cooks 