Flourless Chocolate Cake

Flourless Chocolate Cake

"This is so easy!  It's always the biggest hit at parties."

Ingredients:

7 oz really good (45-50% cocoa) semisweet chocolate

3/4 cup butter

1 cup sugar, divided (in half)

4 eggs, separated

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 300 F.  Melt chocolate and butter in double boiler.  Stir together half the sugar and four yolks; add to melted chocolate concoction.  

2. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites; slowly add remaining 1/2 cup sugar until stiff peaks form.  Fold mixture into chocolate.  Pour into a greased 9-inch cake pan.

3. Bake 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few crumbs on it.  Cool 30 minutes before removing from pan.  Dust with powdered sugar.

Servings: 12, Per serving: 270 calories, 18 g fat, 100 mg cholesterol, 105 mg sodium, 26 g carbs, 3 g protein.

I found this recipe as I was clipping coupons one day, and I decided to try it out for my gluten-free husband.  There are only four ingredients, but there is a little bit of a method to putting this cake together.  It is worth it though, and absolutely delicious!!!  It's definitely not the prettiest thing you've ever seen, but its so good and gooey!  I liked it with sliced strawberries.  

I hope you try it!  

Kitchen Boss-Buddy Valastro

I don't know about you, but I LOVE watching the show Cake Boss.  Not only am I a huge fan of cake, but I love watching Buddy Valastro and his family.  They are so loud, and funny and interesting.  The only thing about watching that show is that I have to make sure to have something sweet to snack on while I watch.  

Well now Buddy has a new show called Kitchen Boss.  Buddy's family is Italian, so most of his cooking is Italian food.  He shares recipes that have been passed down in his family.  I find him really funny because he uses the word "beautiful" to describe everything.  "Lets add these beautiful canned tomatoes to the pot.", "Lets chop up this beautiful parsley", "Lets stir this until it gets all....beautiful!" He cracks me up!  But let me tell ya, his food looks amazing!!!  

I am dying to try pretty much everything I've seen him cook, but here are a few things that I have already had the chance to cook myself.

First off, he has a few recipes that he suggests you keep on hand and ready-made to cook his Italian meals. 

Master Breadcrumbs

1	pound loaf rustic Italian bread such as Pugliese
1	cup finely grated pecorino cheese
2	garlic cloves put through a garlic press
2	tablespoons dried Italian herbs
3	tablespoons dried parsley flakes
1/2	tablespoon fine sea salt

PREPARATION:

1. The day before you plan to make breadcrumbs: Slice the bread into ½ inch slices. Place slices on cake racks to dry overnight.
2. In batches, crumble or tear bread slices into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse the bread multiple times until the crumbs are about the size of a dime.
3. Add the cheese, garlic, herbs and salt and continue to pulse until the breadcrumbs become fine. Store what you are not using in the freezer or in your refrigerator for 3-4 days

(Since Johnny, my husband, has to eat gluten free, here are the changes I made: I used blended up Chex cereal instead of bread.  And I couldn't find pecorino cheese, so I just used grated parmesan.)

Here is the second must-have recipe:

'Master Marinara'.  

INGREDIENTS

2	28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
2	14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes in juice
1/4	cup extra virgin olive oil
2	plump cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1	teaspoon (kosher) salt
1	sprig fresh basil
1/2	cup fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces

PREPARATION:

1. In a 3-4 qt. pot, heat the oil and garlic together. When garlic becomes pale gold and fragrant add the tomatoes, salt and basil sprig. Stir well to combine and bring sauce to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer sauce, 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally until sauce has thickened and is richly flavored. Remove from heat, check for seasoning and stir in the torn basil leaves.

*Now, I'd give his Master Marinara a 3 stars out of 5...I didn't think it had too much flavor, but Johnny really liked it.  Its definitely a good basic sauce to keep on hand for Italian cooking. (I made a whole bunch and froze it.)

So now that we've got those basic recipes covered, here are the recipes for a perfect Italian meal I prepared last week!

Italian Vinaigrette.
INGREDIENTS

2	cloves garlic, minced
1	teaspoon sugar
1	teaspoon dried mustard
1	teaspoon dried oregano
1	teaspoon dried basil
3	Tablespoons red wine vinegar
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
1/2	cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2	cup vegetable oil

All you have to do is mix these ingredients all together.  I just used a mini-blender.  Drizzle it over your lettuce and you're good to go!

*I keep this dressing in the fridge.  Its a great tasting dressing, super easy to make, and hey...when people see that you've got home-made salad dressing, they will be impressed!!!


Perfect Italian Chicken Cutlets

INGREDIENTS

4	boneless chicken breast halves (approximately 2 pounds)
2‑1/4	cups Buddy's Breadcrumbs (see recipe)
1/4	cups grated parmesan cheese
1‑1/2	cups all purpose flour
3	large eggs, beaten with a fork
Salt and pepper
1/2	cup olive oil for frying (approximate)
Lemon wedges for serving

PREPARATION:

1. If breast have tenderloins, remove and trim of all cartilage. Place a breast half on the cutting board. Place your free hand on top of the breast. Hold a sharp knife parallel to the board, and slice through the thickest portion of the breast towards the pointy end, separating the breast into two bookend pieces. Repeat with all halves -- you will have eight pieces. Pound each piece of chicken between plastic wrap to approximately 1/4" thickness.
2. Set up a dredging station of flour, eggs, beaten with a tablespoon of grated parmesan and the breadcrumbs. Get a large sauté pan to medium on the burner. Lightly salt and pepper the chicken pieces on both sides. Coat first in the flour, patting off extra, then egg, allowing excess to drip into the bowl. Dredge in breadcrumbs. Set the chicken pieces on a plate. Heat the oil in the hot pan. When hot, add chicken cutlets, cooking to a golden brown on each side -- no more than a couple of minutes each. Set on paper towel-lined plate to drain a minute; serve plated with lemon wedges.

*These chicken cutlets were amazing!!!  They were super moist, and they tasted just as good the next day (heated up in the toaster oven.)

*I also used gluten free flour.

 I definitely suggest eating them with this next recipe:

Spaghetti Marinara

INGREDIENTS

1	recipe Buddy's Marinara Sauce (see recipe)
1/4	cup torn basil leaves
Freshly grated parmesan to finish
1	pound spaghetti PREPARATION:

1. Cook pasta in abundant salted water, al dente. Serve with marinara sauce and finish with the torn basil and grated parmesan cheese.

*So like I said before, the marinara sauce is very basic, but its perfect if you eat the pasta with those amazing chicken cutlets.
*I used rice pasta to make it gluten free.  It tastes just like the regular stuff!

Well I hope you try these recipes, I really enjoyed cooking them (even though my kitchen was a mess when I was done), and I loved eating them!  

I think this is a perfect meal to cook for when you're having people over.  Who doesn't like pasta?!

Aarti Party-regular food, infused with Indian flavor!

Well I have a new favorite Food Network tv show.  Its called Aarti Party!  Aarti Sequeira is an Indian girl, who was the winner of the show 'The Next Food Network Star'.  She is so cute, and I can't help but smile when I watch her cook.

There are so many of her recipes that I am dying to try, but so far I've only cooked a few.  I have cooked 'Pretzel fried steak-with mango onion gravy', and 'Greens and beans'.  I gotta say, they were amazing!  The flavors were so different and wild that it was like getting a slap in the face every time I took a bite.  And when I say slap in the face, I mean that in a good way!
Here are the recipes:

Greens and Beans

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large bunch kale, leaves stripped off stems
• 1 clove garlic, smashed
• 1/4 cup whole, skinned almonds
• 2 cups loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves and soft stems
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 (15-ounce) can great Northern beans, drained and rinsed

Directions

Warm 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering.

Meanwhile, wash the kale but don't dry the leaves too much. Rip the leaves into smaller pieces if you wish, but I like leaving them whole. Add the kale to the skillet - watch out, it will splutter. Toss with tongs and immediately cover and lower the heat.

Meanwhile, make the cilantro pesto. In a small food processor, whizz up the garlic, almonds, cilantro, salt, pepper, remaining 1/2 cup olive oil, and water until smooth.

Remove the lid and check the kale; the leaves should be tender. Add the beans and cilantro pesto and toss. Taste and adjust seasonings, and then cook another 5 minutes until warmed through. Serve and feel good about all the greens you're eating!

Pretzel Fried Steak with mango onion gravy

Ingredients

Steak:

• 2 cups pretzels (I use the gluten-free kind)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup flour (I use gluten-free baking flour)
• 3 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves, ground up in your hand (optional)*
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 cube steaks

Mango-Onion Gravy:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 small onion, minced (about 1/3 cup)
• Kosher salt
• 2 cups chicken or beef stock
• 2 tablespoons sweet mango chutney
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• Canola oil, for frying
• *available at Indian stores or online

Directions

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.

For the steaks: Process the pretzels in a food processor until fine. Grab 3 shallow bowls. In one, whisk together the eggs and milk. In another, mix together the flour, salt, pepper, dried fenugreek leaves, paprika, ground coriander, and ground cumin. Pour the pretzel crumbs into the last bowl. Save 2 tablespoons of the flavored flour for the gravy.

Make yourself an assembly line: dip 1 steak on both sides in the flavored flour, making sure it's well coated, but dust off the excess. Then dip it quickly in the egg and lift, allowing the excess to drainback into the bowl. Finally, dunk both sides in the pretzel crumbs. Repeat with remaining steaks. Place the coated steaks on a sheet tray fitted with a cooling rack and let the steaks rest for 15 minutes to let the coating adhere to the meat.

For the gravy: Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and add the onions and a pinch salt. Sweat until the onions are translucent and softened. Add the reserved 2 tablespoons of flavored flour and cook a few minutes until the flour no longer smells raw. Add the stock, mango chutney, and soy sauce. Stir, so that no lumps form, and bring to a boil. Cook until the sauce thickens to a gravy consistency, 5 to 10 minutes. Taste and re-season, if necessary.

In a large cast iron skillet, add enough oil to come up the sides by 1-inch. Heat it over medium heat until shimmering; you'll know the oil is hot enough when a pinch of flour sizzles upon contact with the oil. Line a sheet tray with paper towels and place a cooling rackon top.

Gently lay the steaks into the oil; you may have to do this in batches. Cook each side until golden, about 3 minutes. When both sides are cooked, lay the steaks on the paper towel-lined sheet tray and pop into the oven to keep warm while you do the next batch.

Serve the steaks with gravy spooned over the top.