Dark Chocolate Bread Pudding

What to do with a loaf of challah bread? If asked that question, the first two things that come to my head are french toast and bread pudding. Maybe I need to expand..but I am happy with these options since I don't tend to make them too too often. That was until this school year started... I now have a loaf of challah bread coming home with my son every three weeks from his school. Whew! Need to get creative here! So far I have only had one loaf to deal with and since I had company over for dinner the day I received my challah I decided to share (aka not get stuck with a loaf of bread to nosh on!).

Not everyone loves bread pudding. I happen to think it's pretty great. If you have a basic recipe for bread pudding you can pretty much add anything to it that you like. Nuts, fresh fruit, dried fruit, chocolate can all make a really delicious dessert. On this particular night I knew my guests were dark chocolate lovers so that's the route I went. I didn't need to look far for a recipe. I have watched enough Food Network to know that my girl, Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa) has made a few bread puddings in her day. The recipe I based this one off of was for rum raisin, but I ended up transforming mine into a dark chocolate version. This recipe is just a jumping off point. You can add more chocolate than I did, use different bread ( I think Ina's recipe originally calls for croissants), or add some nuts to the mix. Whatever you fancy!



Dark Chocolate Bread Pudding
Serves 8-10

Adapted out of "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook", Croissant bread pudding

3 extra-large eggs (Ina always uses extra-large eggs. So do I. I don't question greatness.)
8 extra-large egg yolks (after this rich dessert, won't it feel good to wake up in the morning and make yourself an egg-white omelet??)
5 cups half and half
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 loaf challah bread, sliced or cubed or torn
1 cup (or more) dark chocolate chips (I like Guittard's Extra Dark Chocolate Chips which are 63% cacao)

Preheat the oven to 350

Whisk together the eggs, half and half, sugar and vanilla. In a baking dish (about 2 1/2- 3 quarts or whatever will hold all the bread and liquid) place a layer of the bread, top with chocolate chips, then top with the rest of the bread. Pour the egg mixture over the bread and allow to soak in for at least 10 minutes (I let it sit for about an hour), pressing down to get the bread to absorb the liquid.

Place the pan in a larger one filled with about an inch of hot water. Cover the entire thing with aluminum foil, making sure that the foil doesn't touch the pudding. Cut a couple holes in the foil to allow steam to escape. Bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 40-45 minutes, until it is puffed and custard is set. Allow to cool a bit before serving. Really good with a little vanilla ice cream or whipped cream!

Easy Lunchtime Pizza

Who doesn't want an easy lunch option when they have been running around all day long? I get sick of sandwiches, and picking through the refrigerator isn't the most exciting option, unless you are able to turn random items into a masterpiece. This is what I do when I make pizza in my house. Dig though the produce and cheese drawers and create a delicious pie. Making pizza can be simple, though making the dough, and rolling it out can take a little more time than one wants when eating midday.

My inspiration for this quick pizza came from a bite that I had at our close friend's house last month, grilled figs wrapped with prosciutto and stuffed with fresh mozzarella. In my opinion, the flavors in this combination hit a home run. Sweet, salty, creamy. As I was eating this, I kept thinking how good all these items would taste on a pizza (this is what I do with almost everything I eat..anything can be turned into a pizza.) On my next trip to Whole Foods I stocked up on the ingredients, but instead of grabbing yeast to make the dough, I bought a package of naan. Naan is an South Asian flat bread, popular in countries like India and Pakistan, that mimics that of a thin crust pizza dough when cooked. And the fact that a piece of naan is the perfect size for a personal lunch-size pizza made it my choice on this shopping trip.

The longest part of this meal is preheating the oven. I like to cook my pizza at 500, so waiting for the oven to heat can take a while. I cook it so high because it keeps the ingredients from getting mushy and overcooked but makes the crust charred and crisp. Just the way I like it. If you would rather cook your pizza at a lower temperature, no problem, you'll just have to cook it longer so the overall time may end up being the same. Take my advice...wait for the oven!

Use this recipe as a starting off point for inspiration. You can make any pizza on one of these little naans... even following the same cooking times regardless of the ingredients you use. Get creative, this is the perfect opportunity to create your perfect bite!


Fig & Prosciutto Pizza
serves 1

1 piece naan (I buy mine at Whole Foods)

extra virgin olive oil

salt & pepper

Parmesan

1-2 small fresh mozzarella balls, sliced thinly (this makes all the difference for pizza. Don't buy the rubbery stuff!)
1 slice good quality prosciutto, torn into bit size pieces (I like to use San Danielle if I am cooking with it...go for the really good stuff if you are eating it cold)

3 fresh figs, sliced in half ( I like the green Kadota's since are softer and sweeter than Mission, but use whatever you can find. Figs are still in the grocery stores right now, at least they were earlier this week, but if you can't find them you can use fig preserves instead. Dab it on in about six spots- I like the Dalmatia brand sold at Whole Foods).

Preheat oven to 500. If you have a pizza stone make sure it in in the oven before turning it on. I prefer to use a pizza stone since it helps create a really crisp crust. If you don't have a pizza stone, drizzle a cookie sheet with olive oil and place in the oven before turning it on and heat it with the oven. Once the oven is preheated, place the pizza directly on the sheet. This will help you achieve the crunch without the stone!

To assemble your pizza:

Drizzle naan with a little oil. Rub it all over the bread with your hands (the best tools!) Sprinkle with a little kosher salt and freshly grated pepper. Finely grate some Parmesan, creating a fine base layer. Scatter mozzarella slices, figs and prosciutto on top and pop in the oven. This will take about 5-7 minutes to cook. After 5 minutes keep an eye on it so that it doesn't get too charred (unless you like it that way!)

Shrimp Saganaki

I know there are a lot of you out there that are looking for a quick, delicious weeknight meal. A lot of what I cook doesn't fall into the "quick" category, but I wouldn't cook something more than once that wasn't delicious. I've made this dish a bunch of times and everyone who I've served it to has been a fan.

This dish is simple because it only has a few ingredients. The flavors are fresh and bright and you can really taste each and everyone of them. The prep work is simple, just a few things to chop. If you use peeled and deveined shrimp that really cuts down the time you spend preparing to cook this meal. I made this tonight and prepped it while my son ate dinner, then cooked it while my husband put him to bed. 10 minutes of prep, 15 minutes of cooking. In my book, that's fast.

Oh, by the way. Fall in on and so is the cooking in my house. Stay tuned for lots of yummy recipes. Hopefully I'll be back here weekly to share them with all you food loving blog followers!


Shrimp Saganaki
Food & Wine March '09

Serves 4


2 TBS each olive oil and canola oil
1 large yellow onion, sliced
6 plum tomatoes, chopped
salt to taste
Hot pepper flakes to taste
1 1/2 lb peeled, deveined and sliced in half lengthwise
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, sliced in half lengthwise
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
3 oz crumbled feta

Hot crusty bread for serving

Heat oil in a large saute pan over med/high heat. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper flakes. Cook for another 5 minutes, crushing the tomatoes with the back of a spoon. Add in shrimp and olives. Cook another 3 minutes. Add in dill and feta and cook 1 more minute. Serve hot with the bread to soak up all the delicious juices!

Pumpkin Raviolis with Sage Brown Butter Sauce

The season of food is upon us!! Once the leaves start to change and the nights are cool, I know it is time to cook again! Fall and winter cooking are so very different than summer and even spring cooking. Now that it is dark and chilly when it's time to sit down for dinner, I want something comforting on my plate. No more of the salads of summer... bring on casseroles, stews, soups and pasta.

October through March are my favorite months in which to cook, and I have a entire arsinal of tried and true recipes to pull from, as well as many new ones to experiement with. September, October and November are the months where I can't get enough winter squash into my diet. I love cooking with all varieties, but especially love pumpkin. Not many people think to cook anything besides pies with this squash, but I love many ways. One of my favorite pumpkin recipes is this homemade ravioli recipe that my sister and I created last fall. We experimented by adding a bit of this and that until we were happy with our filling. The night we were serving them, we were feeding 9 people so we also came up with a short cut for our ravioli pasta.....wonton wrappers!!!!! No kidding, and they make the best raviolis! They are so light that the pumpkin filling really shins in this dish.

So, since we aren't making our own pasta for this recipe, why not make our pumpkin puree?? It is so easy to roast your own sugar pumpkins to create your own puree rather than buying it in a can. All I do is split the pumpkin in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and rub it all over with a bit of olive oil. I then put it open side down on a cookie sheet and roast it at about 400 degrees for about 25-30 minutes (I find that if you leave your pumpkin face down the entire cooking time, you will loose a lot of the moisture making your puree less watery.) Once the pumpkins are cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh and either mash it with a fork or potato masher, or if you like yours baby food smooth, you can throw it in the food processor. I prefer to do mine by hand to leave some texture and also less dishes to wash! Voila! Homemade puree that tastes a million times more like pumpkin than the stuff in the cans, which is what you want in this recipe since you will really taste the filling.

This recipe makes a lot of raviolis, but the great thing is that you can make them all, then freeze them in ziplock baggies. Now you have an easy weeknight meal that can be ready in less than 10 minutes.


Homemade Pumpkin Raviolis with Sage/Brown Butter Sauce


Serve 6-8 raviolis per person


2 cups pumpkin puree (from probably 1 large or two small sugar pumpkins)- or you can use 2 cans of pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin PIE puree)
1 1/4 cups whole milk ricotta (I use whole milk in all my cooking, and I think it works best here since it lack the water content of part-skim ricotta)
2 tsp salt (if you think this is too much for you, wait to add the salt last after tasting)
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg (if you have fresh nutmeg and a grater, even better!)
2 tsp brown sugar
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/2-1 tsp dried sage
2 eggs- lightly beaten

1-2 packages of wonton wrappers

Sage brown butter sauce (recipe to follow)
Salted, roasted pumpkin seeds or pepitas
Freshly grated parmesan

Combine all ingredients (pumpkin through eggs) in a large bowl.

Brush wonton's with water and place about a teaspoon of filling in the center of each one. Fold into a triangle and pinch edges closed with your fingers. I then usually follow that with using the tongs of a fork to seal the raviolis even more ( to ensure they don't come apart in the cooking process, though there will always be at least one that doesn't come out intact!)

Place raviolis on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and chill in freezer for 30+ minutes (at this point, you can put in baggies and freeze). While raviolis are chilling, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove and top with sage brown butter sauce, a grating of parmesan and a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds. Serve immediately (these tend to cool down really quickly.)

Sage Brown Butter Sauce

1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter
20-30 fresh sage leaves

In a heavy bottomed saute pan, cook butter over medium- high heat. Once melted, add sage and continue to cook until butter is brown and sage leaves are crisp.

Crumb Bars

I have been a slacker in the kitchen this summer. Over the past month I can count the number of meals I have made for my family on two fingers. That's two fingers people. Not hands. Blame it on the heat, the travel or just the lazy days of summer. I'll take lazy. We have been existing on a handful of menu staples from local restaurants, cereal and boxed mac & cheese. All I can say is I am sure my boys are looking forward to fall, cooler weather and less excuses.

I have not, however, completely neglected my oven for the month of August. The oven has been turned to 350 degrees and my counters have seen their fair share of flour. My baking has consisted of breads, cakes, muffins, bars, and cookies. This has been a necessity, seeing that I have been on many a fruit picking spree this summer. If we grow it here in Glastonbury ( and the farms in this town grow just about everything you can think of) then I have picked it. One of the biggest crops here in town are berries and we have picked pounds and pounds of them. Right now we have enough frozen blueberries to get us through until the 2011 crop arrives.

What I love about this recipe is that you can use any kind of fruit. Berries are the easiest, but you could also use apples, peaches or plum (I would cook them down with the sugar and cornstarch before layering onto the bars). With the start of school coming (and already started in the South) who doesn't need a good snack recipe?

Blackberry Crumb Bars

1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cold unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest and juice of one lemon
4 cups fresh blackberrries (or blueberries, raspberries, etc)
1/2 cup sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees P. Butter a 9×13 inch pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and lemon zest. Use a fork or your hands (I find they work the best!) to blend in the butter and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.

In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in the berries. Sprinkle the berry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. (This took an extra 5 to 10 minutes in my oven.) Cool completely before cutting into squares.

BLTs (with or without Salmon)

Okay, so I'll admit I needed to change things up around here. I have fallen into a zucchini rut. I have so much of it growing that I have felt the need to eat it everyday. Since I have found some great recipes that made good use of them, I have been eating the same things pretty much each week, hence not having anything new and exciting to write about.

Luckily that changed this week (both for you and me!) I had a lovely package of Vermont Smoke and Cure bacon sitting in the fridge and my first heirloom tomato ready in the garden. Add in some center cut salmon filets (love that Whole Foods has precut 5oz portioned pieces), garden lettuce, avocado, and a slather of mayo and you have a fantastic SBLT.

Bacon makes everything better in my opinion (I know you vegetarians don't agree... though I know some who would concur.) I love a good BLT... thick artisanal white bread, juicy backyard tomato, silky bibb lettuce, and crisp thick oven baked bacon. Are you drooling yet, because I am. The additional of salmon turns this summer lunch staple into a hearty dinner and gives you a good dose of Omega 3s (to counteract the artery clogging bacon). Adding avocado might be overkill, but these days I am putting it on every sandwich I make, and I love salmon and avocado together.

Because this is such a simple sandwich I must stress the importance of using really good ingredients. They will make all the difference in the flavor and texture. Get good bread, best if you get an uncut loaf and can hand slice your pieces nice and thick. Go to the farmer's market and get a really great tomato. Make sure you are using quality, thick bacon. All of these things will elevate this simple sandwich to star status and make it something you daydream about (okay maybe you won't, but I do!)



SBLT (or BLT if you omit the S)
makes 1 sandwich


2 slices good artisanal bread ( I used Pain Au Levain from Whole Foods)
2 or 3 slices tomato
2 slices thick cut bacon ( I love VERMONT smoke and cure)
4 lettuce leaves (bibb or whatever you have in your garden or in your fridge)
Mayo (as much or as little as you like!)
5oz center cut salmon filet (optional)
Avocado (optional)
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil


For Bacon:

Preheat oven to 425 - I like to cook my bacon in the oven on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet for 12-15. This makes the bacon really crisp and maybe a little healthier. I save the bacon fat in a jar for cooking!

Drizzle bread on both sides with a little olive oil and grill (or you can throw them in the toaster if that's easier and you aren't making the salmon) until lightly browned or to your liking.

Assemble sandwich: Spread mayo on both pieces of bread. If you are using avocado, I like to mash is up and use it as a spread in lieu of or in addition to the mayo. Layer lettuce, then tomato slices, and finally the lovely bacon.

If you are using the salmon:

Heat grill to med/high (about 425 on a regular oven). Rub salmon with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on a piece on aluminum foil (for grill) or a baking sheet for oven. Cook on grill, with lid closed, or in oven for 10 minutes. Salmon should be moist.

Add salmon between the tomato and bacon (my preference). Be warned that this is a very messy sandwich. Salmon will be falling out the sides, tomato juices will be dripping down your hand. Don't hold back.... you'll be licking your fingers when this sandwich is gone!

"Straight from the Garden" Pasta

I get quiet excited when I see the first red, orange or yellow cherry tomatoes in my garden. I have lots of different vegetables planted, but tomatoes are the star of my backyard. Tomatoes and zucchini overlap for just a few weeks, and this pasta dish is one of my very favorites so the second there are enough tomatoes on those vines, I pick them just for this dish. This recipe gets completely elevated with the use of fresh tomatoes, from your garden, the farmer's market or from a generous friend. It makes all the difference in this dish so hunt them out if you need to!

Another highlight of this summer meal is that there is no cooking involved. The only thing you need to know how to do is boil water. Seriously. Even if you think you can't cook, you CAN make this dish! And it is really good. Dinner party good. Make it.


Tomato and Zucchini Linguine
adapted from Food & Wine Magazine July 2009

Serves 4-5

1 zucchini or 3 baby zucchini sliced thinly
3/4-1 lb cherry tomatoes (I try to use orange, yellow and red to make the dish more colorful)- chopped (the amount is whatever I can pick)
2 cloves garlic- minced
handful of basil- chopped
handful of parsley- chopped
1 small hot pepper- minced (I use whatever I grow... usually jalapeno)
2 tsp kosher salt (it sounds like a lot, but if you don't trust me on this, you can do 1 first, then add more as you see... but once you add the pasta it all comes together.)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
12-16 ounces linguine (or other long strand pasta..whatever you have in the pantry, as you can see from my picture, I used fettuccine the last time I made this)


Combine all ingredients (except pasta) in a large bowl.

While the flavors of the sauce come together, bring large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to box directions.

Drain pasta, combine with sauce, toss and plate! If you like, you can shave Parmigiano-Reggiano on top, though I like to leave mine cheese-less. I think the flavors come through best on their own.