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 Barefoot Blogger recipe for this Thursday is Ina Garten’s Blue Cheese Souffle. It was chosen by Summer of Sexy Apartment. You may want to visit her blog. She was just at an Ina book signing and I am happy to report that the Barefoot Contessa is aware of our little group. Yea! I made one change to the recipe. I am not a fan of blue cheese, so I just substituted an equal amount of gruyere cheese and the souffle was perfect. I served it in my favorite charlotte mold.

I remember the first time I made a souffle. My husband and I were spending the summer in Allentown, Pennsylvania because of his job. We had a second floor apartment in an old building with an antiquated kitchen. I had just taken cooking classes back home in Greensboro and was anxious to put all of my new found knowledge to the test. I cooked many things that summer in my less than stellar kitchen, but it is the souffle that stands out in my memory. I had no Kitchen Aid stand mixer to whip my egg whites and no beautiful souffle dish in which to display my triumphant billowy custard, but it was a beauty nonetheless. We sat at our 1950’s era chrome table in our vinyl chairs and dined on the most elegant dish I had ever prepared. The jug wine wasn’t bad either.

BLUE ( OR GRUYERE ) CHEESE SOUFFLE

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing the dish
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan, plus extra for sprinkling
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup scalded milk
Kosher sat and freshly ground black pepper
Pinch cayenne pepper
Pinch nutmeg
4 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
3 ounces good Roquefort cheese, chopped ( Or Gruyere )
5 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 40 degrees F.

Butter the insides of an 8-cup souffle dish (7 1/2 inches in diameter and 3 1/4 inches deep ) and sprinkle evenly with Parmesan.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. With a wooden spoon, stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Off the heat, whisk in the hot milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, the cayenne and nutmeg. Cook over low heat, whisking constantly, for 1 minute, until smooth and thick.

Off the heat, while still hot whisk in the egg yolks, one at a time. Stir in the Roquefort or Gruyere and the 1/4 cup of Parmesan and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Put the egg whites, cream of tartar, and a pinch of salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on low speed for 1 minute, on medium speed for 1 minute, then finally on high speed until they form firm, glossy peaks.

Whisk 1/4 of the egg whites into the cheese sauce to lighten and then fold in the rest. Pour into the souffle dish, then smooth the top. Draw a large circle on top with the spatula to help the souffle rise evenly, and place in the middle of the oven. Turn the temperature down to 375 degrees F. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes (don’t peek!) until puffed and brown. Serve immediately.

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It occured to me the other day that I have not included many pasta recipes on my blog. Pasta is always what I choose when I need something quickly or don’t want to deal with multiple dishes. Sometimes it is as simple as spaghetti with meat sauce, but most of the time I like more complicated dishes. This Giada De Laurentiis recipe is one of my favorites. It is full of flavor from the hot sausage and sun-dried tomatoes and it uses frozen artichokes which makes it easy. It also has a generous addition of fresh basil and with the coming colder weather I am trying to use as much of it as possible before the herb garden goes into it’s winter mode.

We will be returning to Florida in a few weeks. It has been a wonderful Summer on Lake Lure and we have much to do to close up the house. Next week we are hosting a Meet the Candidates get together from 5:00 to 7:00. If any of you have an interesting appetizer that you think I should include please email me at pennyklett@gmail.com. If you have posted it on your blog you can just supply me with the link. I love being a part of the blogging community.

Giada’s recipe is very adaptable. You can make it with whole wheat pasta and substitute any sausage that you prefer.

PENNE WITH SAUSAGE, ARTICHOKES, AND SUN-DRIED TOMATOES

3/4 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, sliced, 2 Tablespoons of oil, reserved
1 pound Italian hot sausages, casings removed
2 (8 ounce) packages frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 3/4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
Salt
12 ounces Penne
1/2 cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped frsh flat-leaf parsley
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, drained and cubed (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil reserved from the tomatoes in a large, heavy frying pan over a medium-high flame. Add the sausage and cook until brown, breaking up the meat into bite-size pieces with a fork, about 8 minutes. Transfer the sausage to a bowl. Add the artichokes and garlic to the same skillet, and saute over medium heat until the garlic is tender, about 2 minutes. Add the broth, wine, and sun-dried tomatoes. Boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce reduces slightly, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the penne and cook, stirring often to prevent the pasta from sticking together, until tender but still firm to the bite, about 10 minutes. Drain the pasta. Add the pasta, sausage, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese, the basil, and parsley to the artickoke mixture. Toss until the sauce is almost absorbed by the pasta. Stir in the mozzarella, if using. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve, passing additional Parmesan cheese alongside.

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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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This menu was inspired by a shopping trip to add some autumnal accents to the house. I found the sunflower plates at Marshalls for a very good price and they pair well with my pumpkin Vietri dinner plates. Vietri dinnerware is usually expensive, but I was fortunate to live close to their warehouse in Hillsborough, NC. Twice a year they have a huge sale and I was able to get great discounts on this lovely Italian dinnerware. I would use the sunflower plates to serve the salad course of Baby Greens with Pears, Roasted Walnuts and Blue Cheese. This Epicurious recipe goes well with the rest of the meal that I prepared.

Pork is such a Fall kind of entree. I would have to say that if I could eat only one kind of meat it would be pork; pork chops, pork tenderloin, pork butt, or pork loin. Boneless Pork Sirloin roasts were on sale the other day. You’ve seen those roasts with the string netting around them. They are packaged like this because there are two pieces of meat that comprise the roast. I like the sirloin cut because it has both the white meat of the loin and and the darker moister meat of the hip or back area. The best way I have found to cook this cut is to brown it well on all sides in a deep roasting pan. Add seasonings and fresh rosemary and sage, add liquid such as white wine, apple cider or water and roast it uncovered in a 375 degree oven for approximately 1 and 1/2 hours.

After the roast has been in the oven for one hour, remove the netting and separate the two pieces of meat. Add more liquid to the pan if needed and baste the meat. Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness after the first hour. For the complete recipe go here.

With the roast I served Roasted Butternut Squash, Potatoes and Red Onions. If you have limited oven space you could do these ahead of time and rewarm them in the oven just before serving.

I tried to keep the vegetables a uniform size. With a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of salt, pepper and cumin they roasted to a golden brown.

Since I was in a roasting kind of mood, I decided to also make Roasted Chunky Applesauce. I used Granny Smith apples for this. I coated the apple slices with softened butter, sprinkled with brown sugar, sugar and cinnamon and cooked them until they were soft and beginning to fall apart.

I would suggest that you peel the apples. The applesauce had a good flavor, but the skins were tough. Again if you have limited oven space you can do this ahead of time.

This was a fragrant and easy meal. I started cooking at 4:00 and was finished by 6:00. In my next post I will tell you what I would suggest for dessert.