For these instances, I have a few staple recipes that require minimal ingredients, and are a perfect portion for two. (or one, who will refrigerate the surplus and eat later that night…)

This recipe is one of those staples that I keep at the ready for those chocolate emergency situations. It’s totally delicious, practically foolproof, and who doesn’t have chocolate, butter, and an egg on-hand?

Please, make this immediately and let me know how much you enjoy it. K?

Chocolate-Espresso Mini Soufflés

Recipe compliments of ‘Fine Cooking‘

Ingredients

• 1 oz. (2 Tbs.) unsalted butter, cut into pieces; more for the ramekins
• Granulated sugar, for dusting
• 1 tbsp dark rum, brandy, or water (I had one of those handy airplane-sized brandy bottles)
• 1/2 tsp espresso powder or instant coffee granules
• 2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• Pinch salt
• 1 large egg, separated and at room temperature
• 1 oz (1/4 cup) confectioners sugar

Directions

Lightly butter two 6-oz. ramekins and dust with granulated sugar, tapping out excess. Set the ramekins on a small baking sheet.

Stir together the liquor or water and the espresso powder. Set aside and stir occasionally until the coffee is dissolved. Melt the chocolate and butter in a medium metal bowl over a pan of simmering water or in a microwave. Remove from the heat and whisk until glossy and smooth. Stir in the coffee mixture and the salt. Whisk in the egg yolk. Add about one-third of the confectioners’ sugar and whisk until well blended and smooth. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat the egg white with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until it’s very foamy and they’re just beginning to hold soft peaks. Increase the speed to high and gradually sprinkle in the remaining confectioners’ sugar. Continue beating until the peaks are firm and glossy. Spoon about one-quarter of the beaten whites into the chocolate mixture and whisk until blended. Add the remaining whites and gently fold them in until just blended. Pour evenly into prepared ramekins (the mixture will almost completely fill the ramekins). Place ramekins in refrigerator and chill for about 30 minutes, and then cover in plastic and return to the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Alternatively, after the initial chilling, you can cover and freeze for up to two weeks.

Heat the oven to 400°F. Unwrap the ramekins, set them on a baking sheet, and bake until they’re puffed and risen about 1 inch above the ramekin, 15 minutes. The top will still be slightly sunken in the center; consider it a place to pop in a few berries or a dollop of whipped cream. Remove the soufflés from the oven and serve immediately.

I can’t say I have a favorite cuisine, as I truly love something (or many things) in every one. The exception to this statement, is desserts. Which I, hands down, favor French over anything else.

(My Italian grandparents are rolling in their graves…)

My Twitter profile description states that I am ‘on a never-ending quest to find NYC’s greatest croissant’. This is the still the case, though I do have some serious candidates in mind now. But until I find that shining beacon of buttery-layered glory, I like to take a break now and again and give a few other French delicacies some love and attention.

I found a cafe near my office that has a great lunch special: $9.99 for a cafe sandwich and 4 macaron’s of your choice. :::swoon:::

This place, Mille-Feuille Bakery and Cafe, just happens to have quite amazing macaron’s. And the sandwich was pretty good too. $10 is sadly pretty typical for lunch in NYC, but to get a bonus pack of macaron’s is like my dream come true. Seriously, I’ve had dreams about macaron’s.

The cafe sandwich I ordered, the ‘Le Nicois’, might look sort of ordinary but it was definitely extra. Ordinary that is.

Served on rosemary olive oil bread (sort of a foccacia-French hybrid), the tender white tuna was really the star. It was further highlighted with accompaniments of the typical Nicois variety: kalamata olives, capers, parsley, red onions, red peppers, hard boiled eggs, olive oil and one surprise condiment – creme fraiche. The creme fraiche did an amazing job of bringing the whole sandwich together and really gave it a dreamy and luxurious quality.

The macaron’s I chose to cap off my meal were: rose, coconut, chocolate, and pistachio.

The rose macaron had the most delicate of flavors, in fact I almost missed it entirely and was about to write it off as a vanilla buttercream tinted pink. But upon further concentration, I noticed the sweet floral quality, which was more of an aroma than a taste, in the back of my mouth. Very interesting.

The chocolate had a nice, albeit expected flavor. The coconut I offered to my office-mate, so I’ll report back on that one next time. The pistachio though – oh my sweet, delicious pistachio. This little nugget of airy, green-dyed, sweet goodness packed a punch of flavor that I was not expecting. True, it was a little heartier to the palate than the traditional French macaron (which is supposed to collapse in your mouth upon contact). But that variation definitely did not make it any worse, just different. And holy buttercream, was this one good and different.

After this lunch experience, I’ve decided that I might just have to pick up another quest to explore in parallel to my croissant-seeking one. That of finding the greatest French macaron in New York City. A lofty goal, but I think I’m up for the challenge. Especially when the New York Times gave me a such a great head start!

:::Lord of the Rings quest music cues in:::

Spontaneously I stopped for brunch at Sarabeth’s while I was running some errands last weekend. I was hungry, near Central Park and have always heard about this spot for brunch but had somehow never been. I decided there is no time like the present and promptly walked in.

The restaurant was busy and the atmosphere ok, but not overall that impressive. It looks much cuter in the picture from their website above than it actually does in person. I sat at the bar, so I got to witness the bloody Mary stains on the cabinets and floor. (sigh) The bartender was very nice and gave me a very satisfactory soy cappuccino. Unfortunately that was about the only good thing I consumed while there.

I ordered the Farmer’s Omelette, which was studded with leeks, ham, potato, and gruyere and was not at all impressed. Admittedly it’s partly my fault, I know better than to order an omelette and expect the world. But honestly there wasn’t much else I wanted on the menu, and thought for almost $16 I’d get a decent omelette. Silly me …

The best part of the meal was the raspberry preserves, and I’m not trying to knock jam because I know it’s not always easy to find a good spread for your scone. I just think the quality of my jam should match the rest of my meal and in this case, it really didn’t. It wasn’t a bad meal, just nothing I’d repeat. The end.

And the spot I chose?

I was a fan of Geoffrey Zakarian even before he was crowned ‘The Next Iron Chef’. After watching him as a judge on different Food Network competitions, I felt that we had similar palates and could most certainly be great friends. My fandom has only grown since that NIC crowning. I’ve been itching to try Chef Zakarian’s mid-town ‘grande cafe’, The National, for quite awhile and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Nuzzled in the same historic building as the Benjamin Hotel, this cafe styled in the traditional European way, was convenient to get to and a pleasure to be in. The stylish, yet comfortable dining room could not have been more welcoming from the harsh winter winds that practically blew me inside. I seated myself at the bar and began examing the special Restaurant Week menu placed before me.

I settled on my courses and ordered the following, along with a healthy glass of Merlot: Plaintain soup as my appetizer, the Red fish as my entree, and the Brown Butter cake for dessert. Each course was interesting and clean.  As the New York Times puts it, ‘it is simple, but not really.’

The Plaintain soup was naturally the first to arrive, and was a perfect starter to whet my appetite. The silky smooth consistency of the soup was complemented well by the sweet and crunchy grapes, and spicy-earthy chorizo on top. It was flavorful, creamy, warm and yummy.

The entree I chose was the Red fish, which was served atop a lobster curry broth. The fish was tender and had the perfect crisp crust on top. The broth was unbelievably flavorful, salty and deep. I had to resist the urge to slurp the last from my bowl, as I was regrettably given no bread to sop it up with. The accompanying clams, purple baby carrots and eggplant all played their roles well in this masterfully executed dish. The biggest surprise was the eggplant, which was of a miniature variety, and something I really had to inspect to figure out. They were so tasty and seedy, that I thought for a moment they might be caperberries. I actually had to check the menu again to confirm their identity. They were quite good.

My meal ended with a complementary splash of additional wine from the bartender and the Brown Butter cake. The cake itself was nutty, warm and inviting, but it was the trimmings – one of which I would actually call the star of the dish – that really made it shine. Alongside the cake were roasted pears, caramelized pecans, a dollop of caramel and creme fraiche gelato – the star. Together, everything was wonderful, but the only item that could really stand on its own was  the gelato. It was insanely dense and creamy and sweet and decadent. I don’t care the price, I would buy a pint of that.

Taking into account the food, atmosphere, OH yes, and the fact that as I was paying my bill, Chef Zakarian himself walked through the door, made this lunch date with myself pretty enjoyable. The Chef only appeared for a moment and I didn’t want to cause a scene, so I didn’t ask for a picture, but seeing him was like the crema-topped espresso of my meal. Perfection.

In addition to my cake, some cupcakes were also brought in from a little shop nearby called Sweet Revenge. This place is absolutely amazing and their frosting is divine. Anywhere that will pair a glass of wine with my cupcake is  tops in my book. The cupcakes we sampled today were Pure (vanilla), Dirty (dark chocolate), and a saucy little chocolate peanut-butter number.

Cupcakes are always a treat, but nothing can beat a homemade Barefoot Contessa cake. Nothing.

For this occasion, I went with my cake staple: a classic double-layer chocolate cake with buttercream chocolate frosting. After I had my ingredients and was ready to get baking, I realized that the only round cake pan I had was springform. I washed it and water starting leaking out the sides, so I had to turn to plan B. Cue in, my trusty square brownie pan. I ended up really liking the modern look of my square cake with the tall sparkly candles on top, don’t you?

Happy Birthday to all you January babes!

Classic Chocolate Cake w/ Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

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 salt
• 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
• Chocolate Buttercream, recipe follows

Directions

Chocolate Buttercream:

• 6 ounces good semisweet chocolate
• 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
• 1/2 tablespoon instant coffee powder

We spent hours and hours on Sunday evening prepping and cooking for our feast, which unsurprisingly began and ended with a platter of cheese. Unfortunately I don’t have pictures of all of the goodies that we made, because frankly I was too busy eating them, but I’ll give a rundown of the menu for your reading pleasure.

To begin we put together a simple antipasto platter to nibble on as we cooked, it consisted of some of our favorite munchies: garlic-stuffed green olives, marinated artichoke hearts, homemade rosemary ciabatta (which my brother had slaved over the previous days), rosemary marcona almonds, genoa salami, and fontinella cheese. Unreal.

As we nibbled, we prepared the main courses of our feast: ricotta gnocchi and a family recipe for ‘Christmas Eve Shrimp’, which we didn’t get around to making until long after the intended day but enjoyed immensely nonetheless. This was the first time we made this family shrimp recipe, and WOW was it the best shrimp ever! I can’t give away the whole recipe, because it’s a family secret, but basically you cook raw un-shelled shrimp in a spiced tomato broth until the broth is reduced and the shrimp is cooked through. This method produces the most incredibly tender and succulent shrimp I have ever eaten. Ever. The texture was more similar to lobster than the shrimp I’m used to. Even if I had a picture, it wouldn’t do the dish justice.

The ricotta gnocchi was something my brother had been aching to make the whole holiday season and put a lot of care and attention into his homemade pasta dough. The result was well-worth the effort.

He created the dough for a very simple gnocchi (those are the best kind), then divided the dough into sections and rolled each out into long logs.

(my brother did the rolling)

When the log reached its desired length and width, he cut the dough into small ‘gnocchi-sized’ pieces.

Then we dressed these little dumplings in a simple tomato sauce with fresh basil and parmigiano.

(sorry the pic is a little fuzzy/dark)

The resulting gnocchi was light, pillowy and made for a wonderful sponge to soak up the tomato sauce and cheese.

We had a lot of fresh ricotta leftover from the gnocchi, so we decided to create some sort of dessert with it. When I say a LOT, I mean it, so we made lemon ricotta tarts with blackberry coulis  two ways. The first was in puff pastry shells and the second was a large tart with an amaretti cookie crust. I wish I had pics to share, but sadly do not. Use your imagination and believe me when I say, it was divine.

I mentioned this earlier, but it’s worth saying again. It’s a good rule of thumb when you want to have a truly decadent meal, to both begin and end the meal with cheese.

As any good food enthusiast knows, it’s imperative to celebrate the closing of the ending year and beginning of the new with some amazing eats. And boy did I ever …

My New Year’s Eve dinner was an excellent 5-course meal at my family’s Country Club. We were greeted at the door with a flute of champagne and once seated, with an oyster shooter amuse bouche complimented with lemongrass foam and caviar.

The following courses offered several options for each and we tried to order different things so we could try it all. I took pictures of everything our table ordered and I’ll just tell you now that everything was totally delicious. For the appetizer course, we ordered the short-rib and foie gras bruschetta and the lobster tempura with a beurre blanc sauce.

Next came the salad/soup course, which was a refreshing palate cleanser from the foie gras. The plates we ordered from this course were the Frisee salad which was accented with quail eggs, truffle oil, and a parmesan crisp, all of which was enwrapped in a crisp bacon ring. The Antipasto salad was a beautiful pyramid of crisp grilled vegetables and creamy goat cheese. The Lobster bisque was velvety rich and topped with a salted whipped cream.

The entrees were typical delicious NYE fare – I ordered the filet mignon with roasted potatoes and tomatoes, mother and father enjoyed surf and turf with scalloped potatoes and brothers savored the veal chops with a trio of carrots and morrel mushrooms.

The dessert options were Bananas Foster and Chocolate Opera cake, both were divine but the latter stole the show. The bananas foster featured sauteed bananas, rum semifreddo and candied walnuts, while the opera cake alternated fudgy layers of dense chocolate cake and rich chocolate mousse, all of which was enveloped in a dark chocolate ganache dome and topped with edible gold, which let’s face, it has no flavor but definitely makes you feel special!

And now I’ll spend the rest of this month working off the calories consumed in the final few days of the previous year … Happy New Year!

In New York City, street cart vendors, who normally stick to the traditional hot dog and pretzel fare, venture out this time of year and almost every one has a tinfoil pot of chestnuts ‘roasting’ over their artificial roasting light. I’ve never actually tried chestnuts from a street cart, but something tells me to avoid it …

For the past couple of years, I’ve made it sort of a personal tradition of my own to roast chestnuts in December. I love the smell of them roasting, the sweet and meaty flavor, even the act of cracking the nut from the shell – after the first Christmas, I was hooked.

They’re also really easy to make and almost every grocery store carries them this time of year, since the winter months is when they begin falling from their trees. The trick to roasting delicious chestnuts, is to cut an ‘X’ in them before popping into the oven. This allows any steam to escape and prevents them from exploding – an obvious benefit. I invite you to try roasting your own chestnuts in the next week leading up to Christmas. It’s an easy and delicious way to bring some ‘merry’ into your home.

How to Roast Chestnuts:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Rinse off the chestnuts and set them on a cutting board. With a small, sharp knife, cut an X on the flat side of each chestnut. The bigger an X you make, the easier the nuts will be to peel. Try not to cut too deep into the chestnut though. Wide and shallow is what you’re going for here. Also, cutting on a dish towel would be advisable, as they tend to slip!

Put chestnuts on a cookie sheet with the X facing up. Roast for 20-30 minutes. The chestnuts will turn blackish brown and the X in each will curl up. This is the trickiest part, because you want them to be tender, but overcooking can make them hard and inedible.

Once they’re done roasting, it’s time to peel. Now this part is not tricky, it’s just plain hard! You want to peel while they’re still warm, but not steaming hot and prepare for your fingers to feel a little sore. Don’t feel discouraged if you find that a few are too hard to eat, are darker in color, or even have inner mold. It’s bound to happen in every batch.

At this point, I eat them as is, but some like to season their chestnuts. Regardless, they’re going to be delicious.

Note: Although I haven’t tried the chestnuts that street vendors sell, I’ve heard they’re actually quite tender. It’s just the question of sanitation that keeps me away. Apparently their trick is to boil the chestnuts in unsalted water for 15-20 minutes after cutting an X in each. This is supposed to keep them plump and juicy. You can end the cooking by popping in the oven for a few minutes to give them that toasted taste if you so choose.

These settlers did not invent the simple act of frying dough, in fact, this practice has been pleasing palates for hundreds of years. In Mexico, churros and sopapillas are popular treats, in Italy it’s zeppole, they make beignets in France, and the list goes on. Cultures all around the world know how delicious fried dough lightly dusted in sugar or iced heavily in sugar – let’s face it, anything that’s fried and topped with sugar is going to be delicious.

The treat at point in this post, however, is the classic American doughnut. It’s not recorded in certainty how doughnuts came to have their signature hole in the middle. Some say a sailor in tumultuous weather stuck his fried dough on the helm so he could use two hands to steer, others say it was the ruse of a cheapskate salesman who was trying to cut costs. I personally believe it came to be, simply as a satisfactory way to eliminate the sogginess from the middle.

Doughnuts had been consumed for at least a hundred years before becoming the beloved American treat of the 1930′s, when the notion of dunking doughnuts in coffee became a staple in pop culture. During WWII, Red Cross women (aka: Doughnut Dollies) passed out hot doughnuts to soldiers. And now here we are in 2011, and doughnuts are still an American favorite.

In fact, in the past few years, there has been a resurgence in the doughnut trend and specialty shops have popped up around the nation. The Cooking Channel even dedicated an entire show to this classic treat. I went to one of the shops featured on that show this past weekend in Manhattan called, Doughnut Plant.

I’ve been hearing a lot about this place lately and have been dying to try their doughnuts for years. Now that I have finally had my doughnut, I can say with some certainty that I will definitely be going back. What I love about this bakery is their new way of thinking about an American classic. They’re not afraid to play with flavors and fillings and even the classic shape. One of their signature innovations, is creating jelly donuts in a square form with a hole in the middle for more equal distribution of jelly than the classic round filled. You’ll find everything from fresh fruit flavors like cranberry and blackberry jelly-filled, to crème brûlée and tres leches.

I wanted to try both a yeast and a cake doughnut, knowing that I probably wouldn’t like the cake because of their typically dry nature. Don’t you just love being pleasantly surprised?

The Roasted Chestnut cake doughnut I tried was absolutely delicious. Very moist, flavorful, and tasted like the holidays. I really loved it. Afterwards, I immediately went to Whole Foods to buy some chestnuts for roasting. The Vanilla Bean yeast doughnut was unfortunately, only ok. I think I would have been happier with a chocolate icing topped one. That will be next time …

I nibbled and paid the cashier, nibbled and sprinkled my coffee with cinnamon, nibbled and found a seat.  I was perfectly content to sit in their sugary-smelling shop all morning, admiring the doughnut shaped pillows on the wall while sipping my soy cappuccino. I’m not embarrassed to say that my doughnuts had long since been devoured by that point.

Seriously, this recipe is ridiculously good. I ate it 3 days in a row for basically every meal, and looked forward to it every time. I found it best on the 3rd day actually, because by that point, the flavors had had optimal opportunity to meld together. I made some jalapeno cornbread to accompany my chili, but any crusty bread would be great as well. Toasted and salted pepitas on top are an absolute must.

I especially loved this recipe, not only because it’s a comforting meal during a cold Fall in NYC (it snowed this weekend!), but also because it makes great use of seasonal ingredients and it’s really pretty healthy. Win, win, WIN!

Butternut Squash Chili

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light magazine

Ingredients

• 1 pound extra-lean ground beef
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can whole tomatoes, chopped
• 1  can kidney beans, drained
• Small butternut squash, peeled and cubed (about 2 cups)
• 1 bottle dark beer
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

• Combine the first 3 ingredients in a Dutch oven, and cook over medium-high heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain well; return meat mixture to pan. Stir in the rest of  ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for an hour or until squash is tender, stirring occasionally.
• Ladle chili into soup bowls, and serve with toasted pepitas and cornbread.