Some Chocolate Porn for Halloween Eve

Halloween may be one day away, but indulge your eyes with some chocolate porn from the Death by Chocolate Torte I recently made for the Significant Eater's birthday. One layer of dense chocolate cake, filled with buttercream frosting, and covered with a chocolate glaze equals pure decadence:

Romesco Sauce

Romesco sauce is a tomato- and nut-based Spanish condiment. Its smoky flavors go equally well with meat, seafood, and vegetables. While romesco traditionally contains hazelnuts in addition to almonds, I substituted pine nuts, which I prefer, for the hazelnuts. I served the romesco over broiled snapper fillets.

Romesco Sauce

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe tomatoes
• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 2 slices country bread
• 10 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup sherry vinegar
• 1 piquillo pepper, or 1 roasted red pepper
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450F.
2. Cut the tomatoes in half. Place, the tomato halves, garlic, nuts, and bread on a baking sheet and roast until the nuts begin to brown, about 10 minutes.
3. Place the tomatoes, garlic, nuts, and bread in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until they are well blended and there are no large chunks.
4. Add the olive oil, vinegar, roasted pepper, and paprika to the food processor and pulse until well blended. Pour the romesco into a large bowl and taste for salt.
5. Refrigerate the romesco for at least 8 hours or overnight to let the flavors meld. Serve it at room temperature.

Roasted Monkfish with Potatoes, Olives, and Bay Leaves

Roasted monkfish is delicious for fall. This simple recipe from Mark Bittman for roasted monkfish with potatoes, olives, and bay leaves makes a wonderful one pot meal. Below, I have deviated slightly from Bittman's instructions to create an equally tasty dish.

First, over medium heat, saute some generously salted potatoes in enough olive oil to cover the potatoes, flipping them every so often so that they soften but do not burn:

Next, add a handful of olives, the seasoned monkfish, and handful of bay leaves to the pan. Some chopped thyme would also be a nice addition. Put the pan in a 400F oven and roast until the fish is cooked through, about ten minutes:

Finally, slice the fish into equal servings and serve it with the potatoes. I accompanied the fish and potatoes with Swiss chard that I sauteed with bacon:

Getting by with a little help from The Flavor Bible

My favorite reference for week night recipes is not a cookbook at all, but rather a book containing lists of ingredients. That book is Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg's The Flavor Bible, a guide every ingredient imaginable and the flavors and foods that pair well with those ingredients. With limited time and energy to shop or flip through cookbooks during the week, The Flavor Bible has helped inspire many of my week night meals.

The Flavor Bible came through for me once again this week. On a whim, I went to the store bought Spanish mackerel, a fish I had never prepared before. My only existing knowledge of Spanish mackerel was that it was an incredibly oily fish. Having no idea how to prepare my mackerel or what to serve it with, I turned to The Flavor Bible, which suggested, among many other ingredient combinations, a pairing of mackerel with arugula, chickpeas, and lemon, all of which were ingredients that I had on hand.

Going with The Flavor Bible's suggestion, I drained my can of chickpeas and placed them in a small pan where I had heated a few spoonfuls of olive oil over low heat. I seasoned the chickpeas with salt and pepper. Then, I heated some more olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and seasoned the mackerel with salt and pepper. I cooked the mackerel for two minutes per side. Moving back to the chickpeas, I added a few handfuls of arugula and let them wilt. I then finished the chickpeas with a splash of sherry vinegar, another recommendation from The Flavor Bible. I sprinkled lemon juice over both the mackerel and the chickpeas and enjoyed every bit of each. All thanks to The Flavor Bible.

Cinnamon Rolls

I have always considered my hands too heavy and too clumsy to prepare even the simplest of breads and pastries. Nonetheless, with some free time on my hands and a raging sweet tooth, I decided to try my hand at cinnamon rolls. I used a simple recipe from Bittman's How to Cook Everything to make the rolls and topped them with a cream cheese icing. Aside from keeping the rolls in the oven for a minute too long, my foray into pastry was surprisingly delicious. Coming up next, croissants?


Cinnamon Rolls
Makes 12 rolls

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 packet instant yeast
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup plus 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup plus 3 tbsp milk
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup of sugar and the cinnamon. Set aside.
   
2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, yeast, salt, and 1/3 cup of sugar. Pulse a few times to mix.
3. Add butter and egg to food processor and process until well blended.
4. With the food processor running, gradually pour 1/2 cup of milk. Process until the dough forms a ball.
5. Remove dough from processor and place on a floured surface. Knead for a few minutes, until the dough is smooth. If the dough is too sticky, add flour. If it is too dry, add milk.
6. Place the dough in a buttered bowl and cover it. Allow it to to rise for an hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
7. Roll out the dough to 1/2 inch thickness.
   
8. Brush the dough generously with melted butter and top it with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Roll the dough into a log, then cut the log into 1 inch pieces. Place the pieces on a greased baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Let the unbaked rolls rise for another hour.
9. Preheat the oven to 400F.
10. Uncover the rolls and brush them with melted butter. Sprinkle the tops with sugar and bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve warm, topped with cream cheese icing (see below for recipe).
11. To make the icing, combine cream cheese and 3 tbsp milk in a small bowl and whisk until well blended. While continuing to whisk, gradually add the powdered sugar, and whisk until the icing is smooth. Serve immediately or refrigerate.
    

Sunday Morning in the Studio: Scrambled Eggs

Scrambled Knoll Crest eggs with Niman Ranch bacon and Eli's bread:

What to do this Sunday: The New Amsterdam Market

Join me in visiting the Fulton Street Stalls near Fulton Street Seaport this Sunday, October 25, for the second monthly New Amsterdam Market. I attended this event last month and it is a great way to support local farmers, artisans, and markets. There will be plenty of snacks from the regions top restaurants and bakeries-- a sandwich from Porchetta was my favorite from September's market-- so you can easily make a filling lunch of it and purchase meats, vegetables, and cheeses for a delicious Sunday dinner. The theme for the October market is "Butchers, Beer, & Bicycles," with a pig butchering demonstration by some of the City's top butchers at 3:30, a $25 regional beer tasting from the folks at Beer Table from 3 to 5pm, and free bicycle parking courtesy of Bowery Lane Bicylcles. It is an event not to be missed.

What: New Amsterdam Market
When: Sunday, October 25, 11am to 4pm
Where: South Street, between Beekman Street and Peck Slip