Posted by The Serious Eats Team, February 15, 2008 at 12:45 PM
This entire week, in honor of Valentine's Day, we put together a shelf of our favorite books on chocolate, with one Cook the Book recipe a day adapted from each volume. To end the week, and to complete our "Chocolate Lover's Library," we're adding Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
, by Serious Eats' baking contributor Dorie Greenspan. We can't think of a better duo to work on a book together. Here, you get the sophisticated chocolate desserts of Hermé written and tested for home kitchens by Dorie, so you know these recipes will work for you, and you know you'll have Dorie's expert advice guiding you through them.
The recipe we've adapted here is for simple chocolate mousse, made super-light by the addition of whipped egg whites and by using milk instead of the more common heavy cream. Hermé sees this mousse as a base recipe to which all kinds of flavors and textures can be added, from caramelized Rice Krispies to cardamom.
Win the Serious Eats Chocolate Library
We're giving away five (5) sets of the Chocolate Lover's Library—one each day this week. So you can win a copy of Dorie's Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé, along with the four other other fantastic chocolate books we rolled out this week. Just answer the following question in the comments:
What is your favorite chocolate dessert?
One (1) winner will be chosen at random from among the comments of this post. Comments will be open until 3 p.m. ET February 16. You may win only once during the lifetime of the contest as a whole. The standard Serious Eats contest rules apply.
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Posted by The Serious Eats Team, February 14, 2008 at 3:30 PM
This week, in honor of Valentine's Day, we've put together a list of our favorite books on chocolate, with one Cook the Book recipe a day adapted from each volume. Today's addition to our "Chocolate Lover's Library" is one that many of you may be familiar with, especially if you read food blogs as much as we do. The Great Book of Chocolate by chocolate expert David Lebovitz, a Paris-based food writer and blogger extraordinaire.
This recipe makes a dozen Black Bottom Cupcakes, so called because the bottom and sides are rich chocolate cake while the centers are filled with a cream cheese filling studded with chocolate chunks, creating a visually appealing two-tone cake that needs no icing.
Win the Serious Eats Chocolate Library
We're giving away five (5) sets of the Chocolate Lover's Library—one each day this week. So you can win a copy of Lebovitz's Great Book of Chocolate, along with four other fantastic chocolate books (to be revealed as the week progresses) by answering the following question in the comments:
What is your favorite type of cupcake?
One (1) winner will be chosen at random from among the comments of this post. Comments will be open until 3 p.m. ET February 15. Feel free to enter every day, but you may win only once during the lifetime of the contest as a whole. The standard Serious Eats contest rules apply.
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Posted by The Serious Eats Team, February 13, 2008 at 3:00 PM
This week, in honor of Valentine's Day, we've put together a list of our favorite books on chocolate, with one Cook the Book recipe a day coming from each volume. And today's book from our "Chocolate Lover's Library" is Chocolate Obsession by Michael Recchiuti and Fran Gage.
This drink takes advantage of burnt caramel, Recchiuti's signature flavor. If you've ever caramelized sugar, this should be a fun one, as it throws out all the rules about the process, actually allowing you to burn the sweet stuff. The recipe for the drink makes enough for two—you and your valentine—but you'll have an excess of the burnt caramel base, which may be kept indefinitely and used for other recipes.
Win the Serious Eats Chocolate Library
We're giving away five (5) sets of the Chocolate Lover's Library—one each day this week. So you can win Chocolate Obsession, along with four other fantastic chocolate books (to be revealed as the week progresses) by answering the following question in the comments:
What is your favorite chocolate recipe?
One (1) winner will be chosen at random from among the comments of this post. Comments will be open until 3 p.m. ET February 14. Feel free to enter every day, but you may win only once during the lifetime of the contest as a whole. The standard Serious Eats contest rules apply.
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Posted by The Serious Eats Team, February 12, 2008 at 4:00 PM
This week, in honor of Valentine's Day, we've put together a list of our favorite books on chocolate, with one Cook the Book recipe a day coming from each volume. And the next book in our "Chocolate Lover's Library" is Pure Chocolate by Fran Bigelow, the proprietor of Fran's Chocolates. In this, her debut book, Bigelow reveals the techniques behind her creations, with additional info on worldwide chocolate-making methods and a guide to deciphering chocolate labels.
The chocolate sablés that follow are classic refrigerator butter cookies that should bake up slightly crisp but with a soft interior. The roll freezes well, so you can tuck one away for a rainy day.
Win the Serious Eats Chocolate Library
We're giving away five (5) sets of the Chocolate Lover's Library—one each day this week. So you can win Pure Chocolate, along with four other fantastic chocolate books (to be revealed as the week progresses) by answering the following question in the comments:
What is your favorite chocolate recipe?
One (1) winner will be chosen at random from among the comments of this post. Comments will be open until 6 p.m. ET February 13. Feel free to enter every day, but you may win only once during the lifetime of the contest as a whole. The standard Serious Eats contest rules apply.
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Posted by The Serious Eats Team, February 11, 2008 at 4:45 PM
This week's Cook the Book is a little different—and sweeter—than most. Usually, we feature one book the entire week, excerpting adapted recipes as the days go by. This week, in honor of Valentine's Day, we've put together a list of our favorite books on chocolate, and we'll be featuring a recipe from each.
First up is Alice Medrich's Bittersweet, and a recipe for cocoa brownies. Think brownies are too pedestrian for Valentine's Day? Think again. They're pure comfort—perfect for expressing how dear your valentine has become to you over the years.
Bittersweet is indispensable for anyone who loves baking with bittersweet chocolate. Each of Medrich's recipes is tailored to the stuff, and the book covers every question you might have about substituting one type of chocolate for another, how to decorate with chocolate, and almost anything else you'd want to know about the confection.
Win the Serious Eats Chocolate Library
You can win Bittersweet, along with four other fantastic chocolate books (to be revealed as the week progresses) by answering the following question in the comments:
What is your favorite chocolate recipe?
One (1) winner will be chosen at random from among the comments of this post. Comments will be open until 6 p.m. ET February 12. The standard Serious Eats contest rules apply.
Continue reading »
Posted by Robyn Lee, June 13, 2007 at 1:00 PM
I once took my friend to an ice cream shop that made mint ice cream from real mint, as opposed to the artificial stuff you find it most places. After taking one bite she alleged that it didn't taste like mint. I reassured her that it only tasted funny because even if she knew what real mint tasted like, she just wasn't used to eating it in ice cream form. "It's the real deal! EAT IT!" I commanded with a twinge of crazed mint-love in my eye.
And then I stared at her as she cautiously ate the rest of her cup's contents, probably wondering what I found so great about fresh mint ice cream while considering whether she would ever eat ice cream with me again.
It couldn't only be for me that eating fresh mint ice cream killed the desire to eat the regular stuff that I grew up on ever again. Try David Lebovitz's Fresh Mint Ice Cream recipe from The Perfect Scoop and see if the same thing doesn't happen to you.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, June 12, 2007 at 1:00 PM
You put olive oil on your bread. You put olive oil in your salad. Now it's time to put olive oil in your ice cream. Trust David Lebovitz; those fatty olive squeezings go surprisingly well with the frozen custard dessert. Be sure to sprinkle some coarse sea salt on top of your ice cream to bring out its flavor after making a batch of David's Olive Oil Ice Cream recipe from The Perfect Scoop.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, June 11, 2007 at 5:00 PM
Gianduja is a delicious Italian confection made of ground hazelnuts and milk chocolate. It tastes great in the form of smooth bite-sized chocolates, but possibly even better in the form of gelato. Try this recipe from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop.
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Posted by Ed Levine, May 29, 2007 at 6:00 PM
In honor of National Doughnut Day, coming up Friday June 1, we are going to feature recipes all this week from my friend John T. Edge's Donuts: An American Passion, surely the greatest doughnut tome ever written.
John T. is equal parts food cultural anthropologist, eating enthusiast, and first-rate writer. As a result, his book is everything a book about doughnuts should be: funny and smart and just serious enough.
