Al Dente

Baconopolis: The Squeakquel!

Oink, oink!

I made like a little piggy of myself at the latest installment of Baconopolis, a celebration of swine produced by Tom Douglas and his uber-talented crew. This version featured dishes from Ari Weinzweig's Guide to Better Bacon, which isn't so much a cookbook as a collection of stories of pork bellies, hush puppies, rock 'n' roll music and bacon fat mayonnaise. (The book's subtitle.)

Ari's the co-founding partner of Zingerman's, a deli-turned-delicious-empire in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He's in Seattle for the American Cheese Society's annual conference, so his buddy Tom threw a bacon-y shindig and invited anybody who's into the hottest ingredient around. (It's the third Baconopolis in two years.)

The Palace Ballroom was slightly smoky as bacon sizzled at various stations around the room. Bacon fans snarfed up pimento cheese on bacon, potato salad with bacon, "mac-and-greeze" and biscuits topped with whipped lardo. While people munched on grilled bacon-wrapped bananas and devils on horseback (bacon-wrapped oysters), Ari got the crowd fired up, talking about the history of pork in this country. (Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto brought pigs with him in the 1500s as he explored the Mississippi River.) He also touched on chocolate gravy made with pan drippings and the different cuts of bacon throughout the world.

Then, there was a raffle for baconcentric prizes including a bacon lunch box, a bacon board game and a bacon wallet. Hot dog!

I got a big kick out of watching a cook working a wood-fired grill, tending the banana-bacon skewers. It inspired me to make my neighbors jealous the next time I fire up the grill by throwing some bacon over the charcoal. Wonder how I can do that without having it flame out? Get it real hot and keep it high above the coals?

All those bacon-y bites made me mighty thirsty. I sipped an Amstel Light. You know, to balance out all those calories I was savoring.

-- Leslie Kelly

That's a S'more, Eh?

I was in Cortina's market last week with my mom and Auntie Phyllis shopping stocking up for a pizza party, when a handwritten flyer with a recipe suggestion for Italian s'mores caught my aunt's attention. Simple yet brilliant. Wish I would have thought of it myself. I can't wait to try this Italian twist on an American classic.

Cortina's was also touting Nutella imported from Italy in a glass jar over that produced in Canada and packaged in plastic. They claim the stuff in the glass is better. Has anyone done a taste test? Nutella definitely is *not* on my present diet, so I will have to postpone my research to a later date.

Italian S'mores

Ingredients:

8 pizzelle
4 tablespoons Nutella
4 roasted marshmallows, large

Directions:

1. For each s'more, spread nutella on one side of two pizzelle. Place the roasted marshmallow between the two pizzelle. Repeat.

P.S. If you don't want to make your own pizzelle, you can find them pre-made at most Italian grocery stores.

P.P.S. I am thinking some smashed banana might be a nice addition, too.

Photo credit (pizzelle): StellaCadente*

Rome Industries Marshmallow Roasting Fork Set pictured bottom right

--StellaCadente*

Follow me on Twitter @pomodorista

So Super Cool: My New Kitchen-Aid Ice Cream Mixer

Ever since my sweet cousin passed down her Kitchen-Aid Mixer to me, I've been dreaming of adding the ice cream mixer to the stable of attachments she gifted to me (which include a sausage stuffer and a pasta maker). So, when the offer of a sample trickled down from the heavens (my editor at Al Dente), I jumped at the chance to give it a whirl.

Only slight hitch: I couldn't figure out how to assemble it. Trying to read any manual is like tackling a Latin lesson. I usually muddle through by fumbling around, but I couldn't make the parts fit. Thank goodness I found a how-to video. In less than two minutes, I learned what I was doing wrong and got back on track lickety-split.

I gave it a test run making the easiest ice cream recipe ever. No cooking. Just a little mixing, a blend of milk, cream and coconut cream. Start on the stir speed. About 15 minutes later, I had ice cream. Toward the middle of the mixing process, I took the advice of a friend, a former pastry chef.

She told me to add a shot of booze to keep the ice cream super creamy. It keeps ice crystals from forming. A little rum and it was all good. No, it was great, especially when I drizzled it with some chocolate ganache and toasted coconut.

This could be a dangerous item to have around the house. I'm going to be playing with a rainbow of flavors. I'm already scheming on what to serve for a sundae party. Any can't-miss recipes to share?

-- Leslie Kelly

Happy Birthday Cake To You!

I'm not much of a cake baker. I love brownies and cookies. I can make a decent pie. But cakes have long vexed me. They turn out too dry or are undercooked. I'm happy to eat cake, but I'd love to be able to bake, too.

It was my better half's birthday this week, so I decided to give it another whirl. I borrowed my neighbor's round Calphalon cake pans and my devil's food was heavenly. I didn't do anything differently. I didn't even line the pans with parchment paper as the recipe suggested. Just a spritz of canola oil cooking spray.

And those fragrant, pillowy cakes came tumbling right out of those pans. Which, of course, made them easy to frost. Must have been those sturdy pans. I've added them to my long kitchen wish list. The experience certainly made me wonder how much better a cook I could be if I upgraded some of my vintage pans and gadgets. I can imagine myself guest starring in an episode of a kitchen makeover show, like "What Not to Wear", but for cooks. The celebrity fixer would be shocked and appalled at all the stuff I do not have and the tired, worn-out equipment I'm limping along with. What's on your wish list?

Quick 'n' Easy July 4 Dessert: Brownie & Berry Sundae Bar

One of my new favorite indulgences are Trader Joe's Sea Salt Brownie Petites. They are rich without being too fudge-y, not overly sweet, and to a saltoholic like me, perfectly salty. 

They also make the perfect base for a quick 'n' easy dessert for your July 4 party.

Brownie & Berry Sundae Bar

Checklist:

Trader Joe's Sea Salt Brownie Petites
Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries
Vanilla ice cream
Hot fudge
Vanilla whipped cream
Ice cream bowls
Serving spoons
Spoons
Napkins

Set out ingredients out buffet-style and have your guests create their own concoction.

Happy Independence Day!

Photo credit (berries): www.choosingraw.com

Pictured bottom right: iSi Professional Cream Whipper

--StellaCadente*

Follow me on Twitter @pomodorista

Chocolate Bon Bons, Pretty in Pink

I'm a sucker for beautiful packaging. Especially if that packaging is handmade pink boxes with a magnetic closure, which, when unlatched, reveals four glittery chocolate bon bons. In this case from the Pastisserie at The Bazaar by José Andrés. So smitten in fact, that I picked up thirty-five boxes for party favors the other night.

After exercising an incredible amount of will power (i.e. *not* consuming all thirty-five boxes before the party), it finally came time to reward myself with a tasting. I failed to write down the flavors of the bon bons that I purchased, so I thought I'd rely on my palette to identify each one. Alas, while the chocolates were melt-in-your-mouth rich, it was hard to detect any unique aromas beyond the chocolate itself. I am usually not a fan of white chocolate, but the white chocolate bon bon, which seemed to have a lime or citrus-y center, was surprisingly my favorite: delicate and not too sweet. 

I truthfully can say that I enjoyed each and every bite of bon bon, but, in case the pastry chef is listening, it'd be ok to pump up the essence. (Just a smidge!)

Make Your Own Bon Bons:

*Books on chocolates
*Candy thermometers
*Chocolate
*Chocolate molds
*Silpats

--StellaCadente*

Follow me on Twitter @pomodorista

Valrhona Gelato 9-1-1

My batch of lavender honey gelato started me on a gelato kick, and I decided to segue to something a little more decadent: Valrhona gelato. This new batch required lots of quality control tasting along the way, you know, just to make sure everything was going okay.

Indeed, all went okay until I put it in the ice cream machine. About half way through the 60-minute cycle, the blade got stuck. It appeared that the gelato was freezing on the edges on the sides of the metal container, but not in the center, and thus, the blade was not able to turn.

My brother claims it's because I used chocolate bars instead of cocoa powder, but that doesn't seem right to me. I wonder if the mixture wasn't cold enough when I put it in the machine? Are there any gelato gurus out there with advice?

At any rate, I stuck my half-frozen gelato in the freezer and ate it that way. The flavor was incredible, but the texture needed some help. I am determined to get this one right. Ideas?

Here is the recipe:

Valrhona Gelato

Ingredients:

17 ounces whole milk
17 ounces heavy cream
8 ounces sugar
6 egg yolks
8 ounces Valrhona chocolate bars, 71% cacao, finely chopped

Directions:

1. Heat the milk and cream with half the sugar in a saucepan.

2. Beat the remaining sugar with egg yolks until light.

3. When the cream mixture is hot, temper the yolks with half of the hot milk-cream mixture.

4. Return the tempered yolk mixture to the pot and cook until the cream naps the back of a wooden spoon and a path remains when a fingertip is drawn across it.

5. In a new bowl, pour the hot custard over the chopped chocolate, and stir until the chocolate is melted.

6. Cool over an ice bath and process in an ice cream machine, according to manufacturer's directions.

Tracy, maybe Sandro can help?

Image credit: Jonas Sadunas
Based on the French Culinary Institute's Chocolate Gelato recipe

--StellaCadente*

Follow me on Twitter @pomodorista

Whoopie Pies Cross Space and Time

A few weeks ago my friend Matt Langley told me about the whoopie pies his mother, Darlene, used to bake when he was a kid. They made my mouth water. Last week Darlene was in town, and she made whoopie pies for her grandson, Freddy. She also wrote down the recipe for me.

Darlene got her recipe in 1969, while she was living in Okinawa, from a woman originally from Maine, Frances Young. These whoopie pies are the real thing. Check out all that Crisco!

One of the things I love about recipes is how they are shared from person to person, across time and space. This recipe spans more than 40 years and many thousands of miles. How many mouths must it have fed! I'm looking forward to keeping the tradition going.

How about you? Do you cook from a favorite recipe that's been passed on for generations?

Whoopie Pies

Cake

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Crisco
1  cup sugar
2 egg yolks
2 cups flour
5 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cream together Crisco, sugar, egg yolks. Sift flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda, then alternately add the dry ingredients with the milk mixed with vanilla. Mix well.

2. Drop by teaspoonfuls on a well greased cookie sheet. Bake 6 to 8 minutes. Cool, then put two cookies together with the filling.

Filling

Ingredients:
3 egg whites, beaten stiff
1/2 cup Crisco
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
1. Add Crisco and powdered sugar to the beaten egg whites. Fold in vanilla. 

--Tracy Schneider

Chocolate + Bacon + Pecan Nougat = Party In Your Mouth

Remember that movie Chocolat? I think I've seen it at least a dozen times.

I love how the central character wins people over by choosing just the right confection for them. Because, you know, chocolate turns every frown upside down.

Last weekend in Portland, I felt like I had wandered into a shop that reminded me of that warm and fuzzy film. Off the lobby of the lovely Heathman Hotel, I sat on a stool at Cacao, sipping spicy chocolate and watched a steady stream of customers come in, order and leave with smiles on their faces.

This cozy spot carries an assortment of fine chocolates, but one really spoke to me. The Raleigh Bar was calling my name, its snazzy package telling me all I needed to know: Pecan Nougat, Caramel, Bacon. Oh boy!

The dreamy candy bar is sold under the "XOCOLATL de David" label.

It's nothing shy of a miracle this treat made it back to Seattle, but then again, I had loads of edible distractions in Portland.

When I hit the wall yesterday afternoon, that place where most people take a coffee break or sip a cup of tea, I broke out the candy. Oh. My. Goodness.

I'm a big fan of sweet and savory mixes, but what I loved so much about this chocolate was the intensity of those sensations. I practically melted in pleasure! But here's what upped the bliss factor: balance. Like a fine wine, the flavors married perfectly. Nothing was overpowering. All the pieces worked in harmony.

Believe it or not, I'm not a candy connoisseur. But this confection convinced me I need to eat more XOCOLATL de David! But I am open to suggestions. What's your favorite fancy candy?

-- Leslie Kelly

Cook's Illustrated's Ulimate Chocolate Cupcakes

I've received several requests for the Ultimate Chocolate Cupcake recipe since I blogged about frosting the other day. Ask and you shall receive:

Cook's Illustrated's Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients for Ganache Filling:

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate , chopped fine (they recommend Callebaut's Intense Dark Chocolate L-60 L-40NV or Ghiardelli Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Bar)

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

Ingredients for Chocolate Cupcakes:

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate , chopped fine

1/3 cup (1 ounce) Dutch-processed cocoa

3/4 cup hot coffee

3/4 cup (4 1/8 ounces) bread flour

3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons white vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredients for Frosting:

1/3 cup (2 1/3 ounces) granulated sugar

2 large egg whites

Pinch table salt

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter , softened and cut into 1-tablespoon pieces

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate , melted and cooled

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract