Party Stats

First guest arrived: 7:30 pm

Number of Guests: 19

Culinary Concoctions Served: 11

Number of fights over sustainably-raised cattle that nearly came to fisticuffs: 1

Last guest departed: 2:15 am (was also the first guest and had one arm in a cast from shoulder to finger.  What a trooper!)

After a couple of last-minute cancellations and finding myself behind schedule, I scaled back the menu and kept it to canapes and cocktails, followed by 4 appetizers, a noodle bar with three sauce choices, and two desserts.  Here is a PDF file of the menu with recipes.

Continue reading Lunar New Year Party Debrief (with recipes) →

My second dish for Battle Chocolate is a pyramid of tortilla chips coated in chili and chocolate ganache. Inside the pyramid is a little bowl of crème fraîche sweetened with honey and it’s served with a spicy white russian cocktail. The center design was created with a hand-cut stencil and cocoa powder.

Secret Treasure of the Aztec Temple and an Angry Conquistador

Chili Chocolate Tortilla Temples

• 4 medium flour tortillas
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/2 vanilla bean
• 12 oz extra dark chocolate, finely chopped
• Chili powder
• 1/2 cup crème fraîche
• 1 tablespoon warm honey

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cut tortilla chips into equal sixths and cut rounded edges flat.  Brush both sides with butter and arrange triangles in a single layer on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 15 minutes, rotating the tray half way.
3. Simmer cream in a saucepan with vanilla and cinnamon. Remove from heat and let sit ten minutes.  Remove bean and stick , return to a simmer, remove from heat and whisk in chocolate until fully combined.
4. Dip chips 2/3 of the way to the tip in ganache and wipe gently against edge of pan if coating is too thick.
5. On wax paper, arrange 3 chips, clean point up to form a pyramid, making sure that all three chips touch each other in the chocolate-coated regions. Sprinkle with chili powder while still wet and allow to cool.
6. Combine crème fraîche and honey and divide into 8 small cups.
7. Once cooled, arrange pyramids over the cups of and serve with an Angry Conquistador (recipe below). To eat, guests should break apart their pyramids and dip individual chips in the sweetened crème fraîche.

An Angry Conquistador

• 1 part firewater
• 2 parts Kahlua
• 3 parts half-and-half
• 4 parts vodka

Mix all ingredients and serve on the rocks in an old fashioned glass.

Here’s my first dish from last night’s Iron Chef: Battle Chocolate.  I’ll update with pictures when I get a chance.

Pepper-Crusted Beef Tenderloin with Pumpkin Ravioli and Glazed Sweet Potatoes

Steak and Sauce

• 2  five-ounce beef tenderloin steaks
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons cracked pepper
• 1 small shallot, sliced thin
• 1/4 cup Port
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup beef stock
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/2 ounce high quality dark chocolate, coarsely chopped (82% Valhrona)

1. Salt steaks and brush with 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Coat both sides with pepper.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a small pan until shimmering.  Add the meat and sear 4 minutes per side (medium-rare).  Remove from pan and let rest. Add shallot to pan and sauté 1 minute.
3. Add port and vinegar and simmer for a minute or two until syrupy.  Add stock and rosemary and return to a simmer.  Stir in chocolate and cook until slightly thickened sauce forms.

Chocolate Pumpkin Ravioli

• 1 15-16 oz can pumpkin (see note)
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon sage
• salt and pepper to taste
• one batch of chocolate pasta, recipe below

1. Combine all ingredients except pasta.
2. Place one tablespoon filling in center of each pasta square. Brush edges with water, top with another square and press edges to seal.
3. Working in batches, cook ravioli in pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 1 minute.

Note: Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin is actually a squash variety somewhere between jack-o-lantern and butternut, so really, it’s better suited than fresh pumpkin

Chocolate Pasta

• 3 3/4 cups flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 water

1. Sift together flour and cocoa into a large bowl. Shape into a mound with a deep crater and pour in eggs and water. Beat wet ingredients with a fork. Using a circular motion, bring the dry ingredients into the center. Stir until all the flour is moistened. Add more water as needed in small amounts.  Shape dough into a ball and knead 10 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Cover dough and let it rest ½ hour. Roll out the dough and cup into 2-inch squares.

Glazed sweet potatoes

• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1.5 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon Cocoa powder
• 4 medium sweet potatoes (about 3 pounds), cooked, peeled, and cut in 1/2 inch slices

1. In a heavy skillet, combine brown sugar, water, butter, salt and cocoa powder.
2. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add sweet potatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

After a 4 or 5 year hiatus, I’ve resumed brewing beer.  Here’s the recipe I made last night.  I’m calling it Oxtail Ale because I’m hoping it will be ready in time to serve at my Lunar New Year dinner party, celebrating the year of the ox… and because as the wort boiled, I was marinating oxtails for a test recipe.

Brewing was a bit of a mess since I’m out of the habit, but a few drops of burned malt and a separate boil for the finishing hops shouldn’t do any harm.  I realize this isn’t the sort of recipe anyone is looking for on my blog, but I keep it here so I won’t forget or lose it.

• 0.5# Special Roast malt
• 1# Crystal Malt (40L)
• 5.5# amber malt extract
• 1 oz. Centennial hops
• 1 oz. Tettnanger hops (pellet)
• Dry English ale yeast (Safale s-04 11.5g packet)

1. Heat 1.5 gallons of water to 160 degrees.
2. Crack grains with a rolling pin, tie up in cheesecloth and submerge in water. Steep for 1/2 hour.
3. Remove grains from water, add 1 gallon tepid water, malt extract and Centennial hops, stirring to dissolve extract.
4. Boil wort for one hour, adding Tettnanger hops for last minute of boil.
5. Pour 2 gallons cold water into fermenter, Strain and sparge wort  into fermenter. Add water to make 5 gallons.
6. When temperature drops below 75, add yeast, stopper and fermentation lock.

(Note original gravity reading: 1.022, but it looked less dense at the top, where I poured from into my hydrometer flask)

The office network went down around noon today and boss-man let us hit the bricks a little after 2:00.  No way was IT on top of their game today.  On the way home I stopped at the local organic grocery and grabbed the dollar forty-nine discount bag of gorgeous, yet supposedly past its prime fruit and a loaf of bread.  A cheese plate was was calling my name, so I busted out the insanely sharp cheddar and maple syrup I brought back from VT and made myself a snack.  Here’s the highlight. It doesn’t make a lot, just enough for a cheese plate.

Pear-Shallot Jam

• 1 Shallot, diced
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 small pear, roughly the size of a chicken egg, cored and diced
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes
• A pinch of salt
• 1 allspice berry
• 2/3 cups water

1. Over medium heat, add the butter to a small, heavy skillet and  cook the shallot for five minutes.
2. Add remaining ingredients and simmer, covered for 20-30 minutes, until everything is soft and the liquid has evaporated (you know, like jam).
3. Squish with a fork to the desired consistency and serve with cheese, honey or maple syrup and bread or crackers.