Peach and Apple Chocolate Tart

When tree fruit season hits, this little recipe makes an amazingly decadent dessert.

1 ½ cups of crushed Graham Crackers
6 Tbs melted butter
¼ cup of sugar

6 Tbs of Heavy Cream
1 Tbs of Butter
¾ cup of Semisweet chocolate chips

2 ripe apples, cored and sliced
2 ripe peaches, peeled and sliced

¼ cup of orange juice concentrate
¾ cup water

4 Tbs of Cornstarch
1 egg yolk
1 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Combine the graham crackers, butter and sugar and mix well. Press into a 9” spring form pan. Place in oven for 8-10 minutes, until edges start to brown. Remove from oven and cool.

Put apples and peaches into orange juice/water mixture immediately after slicing and let sit.

Put chocolate chips in a stainless steel bowl. Add cream and butter to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour cream/butter over chocolate and let sit for 3-5 minutes. Whisk mixture until all chocolate is melted. Pour chocolate mixture over the top of the graham cracker crust and spread evenly.

Remove the apples/peaches, being careful to keep as much OJ as possible. Push the fruit with skin side up in the chocolate mixture. Mince any remaining apples/peaches, and add back to the OJ.

Add OJ and water mixture to a saucepan over high heat, reserving ¼ tsp of liquid. Add cornstarch and egg yolk to the reserved ¼ tsp of liquid. Once the OJ starts to boil, take a ladle of hot OJ and add to the cornstarch/egg/reserve mixture and mix well.

Slowly add the cornstarch/egg mixture to the boiling OJ, mixing well as you add. Bring to a boil one last time, remove from heat, and pour over the top of the chocolate/fruit/graham cracker.

Place in the fridge for 1-2 hours to cool. When it’s time to serve, place the pan on a plate larger than the pan, remove the outer ring of the spring form pan, the OJ glaze should fall down around the tart. Cut into pieces, and top with whipped cream.

Quantity vs. Videos

You may have noticed I've been a little short on instructional videos lately. There is a project I've taken on that requires 30 original recipes by the middle of October. Unfortunately, I'm spending all my time developing recipes, with no time to shoot videos. The good news, is that you're getting the benefit of all the dishes. The bad news, you have to READ how to make them (Rough, I know).

Don't worry, once the project is over, I'll resume my regularly scheduled video tapings!

Olive roasted Almonds

The initial roasting of the almonds in the pan does a great job browning the exterior. When followed up by the slow oven roast, it reduces the moisture content of the almonds to almost zero. When that is combined with the warm olives the fried rosemary, and the dried flavor from the juice the olives were stored in - WOW... It's like eating a grown up version of popcorn.

This makes for a great appetizer, as you can make it ahead, and then just pop it in the oven at 325 for 15 minutes prior to serving.

2 Tbs Olive Oil
3 inch sprig of Rosemary
8 Oz Raw Whole Almonds
1 Tbs Sea Salt
4 Oz of assorted Greek Olives in red wine vinegar
¼ cup of “olive juice” from the Greek olives

Preheat oven to 325 Degrees F.
Preheat olive oil in an oven safe frying pan over medium/high heat until the oil starts to shimmer.
Remove leaves from rosemary, and place leaves in oil, tossing until all leaves are coated.
Reduce heat to medium
Add almonds and salt and toss in oil, let roast for 10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes (almonds will start to make a popping noise.
Add olives and olive juice to the almonds.
Transfer entire mix to the oven and roast for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and serve while still warm.


The trick to this dish is getting the almonds nice and brown before putting them in the oven. The heat of the pan while on the stove causes all sorts of chemical reactions, creating some pretty great flavor compounds. However, if you were to keep the almonds on the stove, they would burn before the moisture in the middle was gone. By using a two step browning/roasting strategy, you get the intense flavor of the browning process, with the light texture that comes from evaporating off the moisture in the oven. This is a GREAT appetizer that will go fast. Make extra.

Orange Creme Eclairs with a Bittersweet Ganache

I have yet to shoot the video for this recipe, however the results are SOOOO excellent that I couldn't wait to post the recipe. The richness of the orange pastry creme, combined with the bitterness of the ganache make for a decadent treat that will leave your mouth watering for more!

Pate Choux/Eclair Dough

1 cup milk
14 TB unsalted butter
1 TB Sugar (for sweet éclairs)
1 tsp salt
1 ½ cup all purpose flour
5-8 large eggs

Preheat oven to 425 F

Combine milk butter in a saucepan and heat until butter is melted. Bring mixture to a full boil.

Keep milk and butter over heat and add sugar, salt, and flour, continuously mixing (a wooden spoon works best)

Continue stirring over heat until dough forms ball and sticks to the wooden spoon. At this point, if you sample the dough, there will be no flavor of starch. If there is still a starchy flavor to the dough, keep cooking.

Transfer the dough to a mixing bowl and let cool to below 120 F.

Combine eggs one at a time, incorporating each individual egg before adding the next egg using a paddle or wooden spoon (don’t use a whisk). Keep adding the eggs until the dough adheres to the beater, pulls away back into the bowl and forms a slouching peak. The amount of eggs that need to be added will depend on the size of the egg, and the relative humidity of the room.

Transfer the entire dough into a pastry bag equipped with a ½ inch nozzle.

Cover baking sheet with parchment paper.

Pipe 2” long dough for cream puffs, or 5” long for éclairs onto parchment paper.

Place baking sheet into 425 degree oven for 10-15 minutes – until the puff/éclair has risen and started to turn brown. Turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Pastry is done when it turns a light brown, and feels hollow.

Transfer parchment and pastry to a cooling rack and let cool before filling.


Orange Pastry Cream

3 cups milk
4 TB unsalted butter
8 egg yolks
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
½ cup corn starch
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp Orange Oil (If orange oil is not available use 4 tsp orange extract)
2 drops red food coloring
4 drops yellow food coloring

Add 3 cups milk to a saucepan and place over high heat. While this is heating, combine egg yolks, 1 cup milk, 1 cup sugar, and ½ cup cornstarch and whisk well until completely combined/smooth.

Once the milk/butter mixture comes to a boil, temporarily pull the saucepan off the burner and slowly add ½ of the egg/milk mixture, mixing well while adding. Return the saucepan to the burner and slowly add the remaining egg/milk mixture, stirring the entire time. Cook the mixture, taking great care to stir throughout the cooking process. Be sure to stir all the way to the bottom of the saucepan to prevent scorching. Once bubbles start forming in the pastry cream, remove from the heat, add vanilla, orange oil, and food coloring. Mix WELL to combine.

Pastry cream should be cooled before piping into éclairs/puffs. To cool, transfer cream from saucepan into fridge worthy bowl and place piece of cling wrap directly on the surface of the cream.

Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache
4 Oz Bittersweet Chocolate (at least 70% cocoa) (or 3/4 cup of bittersweet chocolate chips)
1 TB Butter
1/4 cup plus 2 TB heavy cream

Chop the chocolate into ½ inch or smaller pieces and transfer to a stainless steel bowl.

Combine butter and cream in a saucepan and heat until butter is melted, and mixture comes to a boil.

Pour the butter/cream mixture over the chocolate pieces and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir the mixture well, making sure that all chocolate is melted, and no chunks remain.

If any chocolate remains unmelted, put 2” of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Rest stainless steel bowl over saucepan and stir the ganache until all chocolate chunks are melted.

Eclair Bread Pudding

Éclair Bread Pudding

It’s inevitable when making éclairs to have a few that don’t rise. This easy recipe is a great way to use up the rejects.

4 cups of reject éclairs, torn into ½ inch or smaller pieces
4 cups milk
4 eggs
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 whole peaches chopped into bite size pieces
1 tsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine milk, eggs, cardamom, salt, sugar and vanilla and mix well – until the egg is well incorporated into the milk.

In another bowl, mix peaches and lemon juice.

Generously butter/grease an 8” X 12” baking pan

Layer ½ of the reject éclairs onto the bottom of the pan.

Add ½ of the milk and egg mixture, pressing down on the éclairs to make sure they are saturated with the liquid.

Layer the entire peach mixture over the top of the éclairs.

Add the remaining éclair rejects over the top of the peach mixture.

Add the remaining milk/egg mixture, and press down on the éclairs, making sure they are soaked.

Place the baking dish inside a jelly roll/cookie sheet and put it in the oven. Add hot water halfway up the side of the cookie sheet so that the bread pudding pan is resting in water. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of the bread pudding comes out clean.

Top with caramel ice cream topping.

A few notes on this recipe:
Egg custard is notoriously famous for overcooking, and the egg yolks turning into a rubber, curdled mess. Therefore, it's usually better to cook it low and slow, thus the need for the double boiler. The double boiler method doubles the temperature window before your bread pudding starts to curdle. -from a 5 degree window to a 10 degree window (seriously!) The pudding should thicken at 180 F. Whatever you do, don't let the bread pudding exceed 190 F, or you'll get curdled custard. You might lose some crunchiness on the surface of the bread pudding due to the lower heat and higher humidity, but it's a small sacrifice to pay for a rich, creamy custard!

Some great variations include:
-Substitute the peaches for 1 cup of dark chocolate chips.
-Use day old croissants, or crusty french bread instead of eclairs.

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

Although "hate" is a strong word, I really hate most sandwich cookies. The filling is usually sweetened shortening and vanilla. This white chocolate filling really improves the overall flavor and makes for a much better dessert! The cookies in this recipe are delicately crunchy, and the whipped white chocolate is outstanding!

Cookie Dough:

1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 cup unsweetened Dutch Cocoa Powder
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

In a large bowl combine the butter and sugar and cream together until light and fluffy, and the egg and mix until it is incorporated. Add the cocoa and mix until consistent.

Add the flour and mix in by hand. You want to mix the minimum amount and still get the flour incorporated.

Turn the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, wrap tightly and place in the fridge for two hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

After removing the plastic wrap, sprinkle confectioners sugar on rolling surface. Turn the dough onto the sugar and then roll the dough into a consistent 1/4 thickness. Using a 2-3 inch wide circular cookie cutter, cut as many circles as possible. Place the circles on a parchment covered cookie sheet. Take the unused dough, and reroll it to a 1/4 inch thickness and cut more circles, each time putting them on the parchment covered cookie sheet. Continue the process until all dough is used.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 11-12 minutes. Transfer parchment paper to a wire cooling rack.

Let cool completely before filling.

The Filling:

1/4 cup plus 2 TBS heavy cream
1/4 stick butter (2 Tbs)
1 1/2 cups White Chocolate chips

Place the chocolate chips in a stainless steel mixing bowl.

Combine the cream and butter in a saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure the butter is completely melted.

Pour the cream/butter mixture over the white chocolate chips and let sit for 2 minutes.

Mix until all the white chocolate chips have completely melted, and then let it rest until room temperature.

Using a whipping attachment on your mixer, whip until medium peaks form.

Place a reasonable amount of filling between two cookies and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes to give the white chocolate a chance to set.

Orange Meringue Cookies

Delicious!!! This cookie is light and airy, with just a hint of orange.

2 egg whites
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
2/3 cup sugar
2 drops of orange oil (or 1/4 tsp of orange extract)

Make sure your mixing bowl is absolutely clean.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Beat egg whites, vanilla and cream of tartar until mixture forms soft peaks.

Add the sugar in small batches, beating till stiff peaks form

Add orange oil (or extract) and mix using a rubber spatula

Place on a parchment covered baking sheet using a rounded teaspoon 2 inches apart.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes, until firm, and the bottom is lightly browned.

Transfer parchment paper to a cookie rack and let cool.

Makes about 15 cookies.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin in a Cherry Chipotle Cabernet Reduction

This is by far my favorite way to eat pork. The cardamom and cocoa powder really accentuate the delicate flavor of the tenderloin, when it's combined with the bold flavors in the Cabernet reduction, it completely knocks your socks off.



Ingredients:

The meat:
1 Pork Tenderloin
1 TB Kosher salt (Sea salt works too)
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cocoa

The sauce:
1 cup Cabernet Sauvignon - unsweetened grape juice, or "Fre - Premium Red" will work if you would like an alcohol free version. If you do go the alcohol free route, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to lower the PH of the sauce.
1 minced shallot
1/4 cup diced cherries - you can use any dark colored fruit such as boysenberries, raspberries, blueberries (my personal favorite) or cranberries. Frozen works too.
1/4 teaspoon minced chipotle in adobo sauce (if this isn't available add 1/8 teaspoon dry chipotle powder
1 Tablespoon of butter
Ground Peppercorn to taste

The steps:

1 - Trim all the silver skin off the pork tenderloin, and pat it dry using a paper towel.
2 - Sprinkle the salt, cardamom and cocoa liberally on all sides of the whole tenderloin and let sit for 30-60 minutes.
3 - Grill over medium flame until internal temperature of the meat reads 145 Degrees F when measured at the thickest part of the meat.
4 - While the meat is grilling, preheat pan and add enough olive oil to barely coat the bottom of the pan. Add shallots and fry until tender.
5- Add the Cabernet, cherries, and chipotle to the pan and cook until the sauce has reduced to approximately 1/4th of its original volume.
6 - Add the butter to the sauce and whisk briskly until the butter is incorporated into the sauce. Then whisk some more!
7 - Grind peppercorns to taste.
8 - Once the meat reaches 145 degrees, pull it off the grill, and cover with one piece of a tin foil "tent" over the top (don't wrap it, just slightly fold the foil so that it looks like a pup tent over the top of the tenderloin.)
9 - Let the meat rest for 10 minutes under the tin foil tent, and then cut into 3/4" pieces.
10 - Top with the Cabernet Reduction, and enjoy the boldest flavors you'll ever experience!

Notes:
I can't express enough how important it is to really whisk the butter when it goes in. The acids in the sauce cause the proteins in the butter to tighten and contract. If you whisk the butter through this process, the proteins in the butter will capture little air pockets and help thicken the sauce.

In the video I mentioned that I put in whole peppercorns. I REALLY like pepper. However, after others have tried the recipe, (People that don't like pepper as much as I do) they indicated they preferred freshly ground pepper to taste.

I'm currently trying to tackle my nemesis - Pate Choux (AKA: Cream Puff/Eclair dough). Ever since I was 12 and tried to make the Better Homes and Gardens recipe for Eclairs, Pate Choux has been my enemy. I have yet been unable to create a consistent recipe. Sometimes they fall flat, sometimes they're perfect. Be patient as I work to correct this challenging pastry, it may take a while! I've already figured out the recipe for a sweet citrus filling (it tastes like a dreamsicle), with a bittersweet ganache topping. If I could only get the pastry dough to cooperate!

Seared Scallops in a Basil and Citrus Beurre Blanc

This super easy recipe creates an outstanding meal. The total cooking time is less than 15 minutes, and is guaranteed to knock your socks off!!!


Ingredients:
8 oz Sea Scallops
Light flour for dusting
Salt
Cracked black pepper
1/4 cup orange juice concentrate
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons of chopped basil

1. Rinse the scallops in cold water, and then pat dry, getting as much moisture off the top of the scallops as possible.
2.Preheat pan over medium-high heat
3.Add roughly 3 tablespoons of oil to pan
4.Lightly dredge the scallops in all purpose flour
5.Season with salt and black pepper
6.Immediately place the scallops in the pan, spacing 1-1 1/2 inches apart.
7.Cook for 2-3 minutes and then flip, cooking for 2-3 minutes more.
8.Remove the scallops and place on serving plate
9.Add Orange Juice and water to the pan, turn the heat to high.
10.Whisk the OJ until all the brown bits left on the pan are incorporated into the sauce.
11.Add butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking until incorporated.
12. Add the fresh basil and cook for 10-15 seconds.
13. Pour the basil and citrus beurre blanc over your scallops and you're ready to eat!

Notes:

Be careful to thoroughly dry the meat. Any excess water will cause extra flour to stick to the meat.

This dish can also be made with chicken, pork or white fleshed fish (like halibut or tilapia). In the case of the chicken or pork, 1/2" thick cuts or less work best.

For some extra kick, add 1/2 teaspoon of minced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (The whole pepper can be found in the mexican food aisle of your local supermarket)

Join me soon as I create another signature dish - Cardamom Pork Tenderloin.