Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

One of my favorite desserts over the years has been this chocolate orange mousse. I still have the original parfait glasses in which I served the individual servings years ago. I think the glasses look good even after a few moves and being jostled about in bubble wrap. There is a bit of Grand Marnier in the mix along with orange juice and orange rind. My husband recently celebrated a birthday and since we are celebrating all of our birthdays (mine, my husband’s, and my son’s) later in the month, a cake seemed excessive. He loves chocolate so this was the perfect alternative. Because the eggs used in the mousse are not cooked (like in homemade mayonaise), be sure to use fresh, organic, or cage free eggs in the preparation.

CHOCOLATE ORANGE MOUSSE

2 whole eggs
3 whole egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon Grand Marnier
6 ounces good quality semisweet chocolate
2 ounces cold water
Zest of 1 Orange
Juice of 1 Orange
1 packet of unflavored Gelatin
1 cup whipping cream, lightly whipped

Whipped Cream for Topping

Beat together the eggs, egg yolks, and sugar until the mixture is very thick. Add the Grand Marnier.

Melt the chocolate with the water over very low heat. Grate the orange zest and add to the chocolate.

Squeeze the orange juice into a small saucepan and sprinkle the top with the unflavored gelatin. Heat gently on the stove until the gelatin is dissolved. Add the gelatin mixture to the eggs and sugar.

Fold the slightly cooled chocolate mixture into the eggs and sugar. Then fold the whipped cream into it until it is incorporated.

Pour into six individual pots or glasses and chill for at least 4 hours. Garnish with whipped cream and orange zest.

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The dessert that I chose for my Autumn menu is a simple French clafoutis. It includes chocolate and raspberries because I love the combination of the two flavors. Clafoutis are tradionally made with cherries in the South of France. The batter is similar to a pancake batter which is sprinkled with the fruit and then baked. This recipe was inspired by La Tartine Gourmande. Bea’ s wonderful blog humbles me in so many ways. She is a French expat living in Boston with her husband and baby Lulu. She is a food writer, with features in the Boston Globe, and a food stylist. Just looking at her photographs makes me want to throw away my camera and start over with new equipment and an advanced degree in photography. She writes beautifully too. She is working on a cookbook this year and I look forward to it’s publication. All of the food shots will be her own dreamy creations.

This recipe makes only enough for four individual small ( 7 oz.) custard cups. It is not overly sweet, nor is it overly filling. After a rich meal, it is the perfect foil leaving you with just a bit of decadence. One of the changes I would make the next time I make it would be to cook the custards in a water bath to ensure that the bottoms do not overcook. It is best served warm.

CHOCOLATE AND RASPBERRY CLAFOUTIS

1 half pint container of raspberries
2 eggs
3 Tbls. sugar
2 1/2 Tbls cornstarch
1 tsp. vanilla
2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
1 Tbls. butter
1/2 cup whole milk
3 Tbls heavy cream

Butter for greasing four 7 oz. ramekins. 1/2 Tbls sugar mixed with 1/2 Tbls cocoa powder to sprinkle in buttered ramekins. Shake it around and dump out excess.

Beat eggs and sugar until light. Add the vanilla and cornstarch and mix until combined.

Melt chocolate and butter in double boiler. Let cool slightly.

Heat milk and heavy cream together in small saucepan just until warmed. Let sit for a few minutes.

Add the milk mixture to the eggs and sugar. Then add the melted chocolate. Pour mixture into prepared ramekins. Distribute most of raspberries into the clafoutis. Place ramekins in a pan with sides and add enough boiling water to come half way up the sides.

Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until custard is set.

Remove ramekins from pan and sprinkle each with powdered sugar and fresh raspberries. Serve warm.

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I have just returned from a delectable culinary trip to New York City with my wonderfully spontaneous friends. Pictured above from left are, Barbara, Me, Amy (Jackie’s daughter), Jackie, and Karen. We are enjoying dinner at Craft, one of award winning chef Tom Colicchio’s many restaurants. The concept behind Craft is one of simplicity in ingredient pairings to highlight the basic goodness of the dish. My hanger steak with whipped potatoes was delicious.

We had a magical first night in the city. It was a warm night and we finished the evening at an outdoor venue (Can’t remember it’s name) where we ate three chocolate desserts. The beignets with chocolate dipping sauce were unbelievable.

At Central Park the next day we enjoyed a sunny Saturday.

Friends in the famous fountain from Friends.

Before seeing The Jersey Boys on Broadway we went to Ayza’s Wine and Chocolate Bar for a light meal and drinks. Barbara loved her chocolate martini. Ayza is one of the best wine and chocolate bars in New York City. They serve Jacque Torres Chocolates and have an extensive wine list.

Ayza is all about the appetizers. Served with crusty bread, it is easy to feel satisfied. I had Angry chicken lollipops with spicy, sesame, hoisin sauce and crispy rice noodles.

The play was absolutely enchanting. We went to Sardi’s afterwards and the highlight of being there was seeing Jude Law leaving the theater across the street after his performance in Hamlet. Yes, I said JUDE LAW! I had commented earlier in the day that I would love to run into a movie star while in New York. The girls asked me which one – I said Jude Law. Dreams can come true.

Sunday night we went to Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill.

It was the most expensive meal of our trip, but the food and flavors were impeccable and the wait staff and atmosphere at Mesa Grill make it well worth the splurge.

I had New Mexican spice rubbed pork tenderloin with bourbon ancho chile sauce served with sweet potato tamale with crushed pecan butter.

We passed the International Culinary Center one day while shopping. The students serve meals there.

While strolling through Soho we found Babbo, Mario Batali’s famous Italian restaurant. I have eaten there on a previous trip. It is wonderful and expensive.

On Monday night we met with Brooke,the daughter of a dear friend of ours, who lives in New York. She took us to Otto Enoteca Pizzeria, Mario’s less expensive pizza and pasta trattoria. My Spaghetti Carbonara was wonderful. But the star of the evening , recommended by Brooke, was the Olive Oil Gelato. My picture is terrible, but this dessert is amazing. For a better picture and the recipe go to A Beautiful Mosaic, a food blog that I just found. This is not an overly sweet dessert. It is creamy and refreshing with the unexpected addition of fleur de sel.

There are so many experiences I have not included here. We had Ethiopian food one day for lunch just for the experience, not a good experience in our opinion. We went to the Today Show and met Ann Curry who talked to everyone on line for over twenty minutes. She is the most gracious and genuine person I have ever encountered. New York is a varied and friendly city and the girls and I had the best of times. Thank you to all of my blogging buddies who offered suggestions. Dave from My Year on the Grill suggested going to Sardi’s after the play and it turned out to be a pivotal experience. He also had suggested visiting Pomaire, a Chilean restaurant with a pri fixe $29.00 menu and The Greenwich Village Food and Culture Walking Tour. Dave knows his New York and I wish we had had more than four days to take it all in.

Thank you Kristen for taking care of Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen while I was gone. I left it in your good hands and can hardly wait to try your recipes.

I missed the first Barefoot Blogger Thursday of the month because of travel and other obligations, so I was determined not to miss the second one. Mary of Passionate Perseverance selected Ina Garten’s Beatty’s Chocolate Cake because it is her birthday. Happy birthday Mary! Unfortunately Mary had a problem with the cake. Visit her wonderful blog to see how she salvaged a near disaster. Actually, I can empathize with her. This cake was not easy. It was easy to mix and bake. The addition of a cup of coffee to the mix, made it almost too thin in my opinion. My cake did not run over in the pans as her’s did, but once I removed it from the pans after it was baked, it was very crumbly and hard to handle. Perhaps I did not bake it long enough, even though it was in the oven for the prescribed amount of time. I just knew I would not be able to pick it up and layer it. The only solution I could think of was to put the layers in the refrigerator on their cooling racks to see if it would help. The freezer is another good idea. Once they were very cold, I was able to manipulate them onto the serving plate and frost them.

This is a very good moist cake and the frosting is easy and delicious. The addition of coffee to the cake and frosting seems to bring out the chocolatey taste. The only addition I made was to sprinkle the top of the cake with toffee bits. It helped to hide the cake crumbs peeking out of the frosting! You may want to check in with the other Barefoot Bloggers to see how they did with this cake. I know I am curious.

BEATTY’S CHOCOLATE CAKE

Ingredients
Butter, for greasing the pans
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups good cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanill extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Directions

Chocolate Buttercream, recipe follows

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.

Chocolate Frosting:

6 ounces good semisweet chocolate (recommended: Callebaut)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder

Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners’ sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of the hottest tap water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don’t whip! Spread immediately on the cooled cake.

I have just returned from a trip to my hometown in Michigan. I apologize for the lack of posts lately, but travel and computer problems have left me frustrated with my ability to blog and comment on all of my favorite sites. What I am not frustrated about is the amazing visit I had to Michigan. There is no better place to be in the summer than Michigan. The corn fields are producing the sweetest corn I have ever tasted. The farms are cultivating apples, cherries and blueberries. The fertile dark soil makes home gardens proliferate with pole beans, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, potatoes, and onions. My brother’s garden makes me so envious. I will be showing you pictures and telling you more about it in a later post. But for now I want to tell you about growing up in this beautiful place.

Our childhoods shape us in so many significant ways. I sometimes wonder why it is that things that happen to us in our early years carry such magic and nostalgia. It never seems to fade from our memories. The memories are rich with childhood innocence, but even as young as we were, there is a maturity in our thoughts that I don’t think our parents appreciated. I try to keep that in mind with my granddaughter. She is much more aware than I give her credit for. And she is creating her past and personal history on a daily basis.

I made a friend in Kindergarten. Her name was Lyla. We shared a locker. The school we attended held grades Kindergarten through 12th grade and it had marble halls, wide marble staircases and three floors. Lyla lived a few blocks away from me in a beautiful house with many rooms to explore and I remember spending nights with her and her sister Debbe. We shared so many experiences. We learned to read together in the first grade. She has just retired from a career as an English teacher. We ran away from the school bully who threatened to “beat her up” after school. I was supposed to have her back, but when confronted with Cora Mae, told her I would run and get her Mother. I think I just wanted to run. She has forgiven me for abandoning her. It actually took a little nudging to my memory to remember this incident. You see we just reconnected on Facebook. I haven’t seen her or talked to her since we were thirteen. We are renewing and reconciling our relationship. Sometimes friends drift apart but it is so comforting to come together again and complete the circle of friendship.

Lyla and I met again last Saturday at Caruso’s. Every town has a place where everyone hangs out and we had one of the best. Caruso’s Candy Kitchen is an old fashioned Soda Shop that makes the best Toasted Tuna that I have ever tasted. They have been making this sandwich since I was a young teenager and probably made it when my Mother was a young teenager. They also make their own candy and the old candy case has been in place since the store opened years ago. Nothing has changed. All of us from Dowagiac return to our roots and memories at Caruso’s. Lyla and I had so much to talk about that we could have stayed all afternoon. Our friendship has been renewed. She now looks like her Mother and I look like mine.

Lyla brought me some gifts. Among them was a tin of Auntie Cookies. The story about these cookies is another personal history. Parthenia Hutton (1861-1958) was the maiden aunt who mothered three generations of Lewis offspring ( Dood was Lyla’s Grandmother and Parthenia’s niece). Aunt Senie was a master cook. She was especially adept at making sugar cookies which she did every Tuesday for most of her adult life. These cookies are as good today as they were over a century ago.

AUNTIE COOKIES

In Dood’s own words.

Turn on oven to 400 degrees before you begin.

(If you can read, you can bake.)

1 C brown sugar
1/2 C white sugar
1 Cup shortening – all margarine or 1/2 margarine and 1/2 Crisco
1 t lemon extract
Mix the above ingredients. ( Lyla uses her Kitchenaid) Or hand mixer

Then add 2 eggs, one at a time. Beat with mixer after each addition.

Next add 1/2 C buttermilk with 3/4 t soda dissolved in it. ( I think dissolving the soda is important.)

Measure 2 C flour and 1 t salt. Then sift together into wet ingredients.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto parchment covered cooke sheet. Bake in 400 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle sugar on top of cookies. Enjoy.

This is a picture of Lyla and me in front of Caruso’s. So much history, not to be forgotten, in our friendship.

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