Dinner At Sheila's

The leaves are only just beginning to turn, Halloween is a couple of weeks away, and yet thoughts of the upcoming Thanksgiving are already spinning inside my head. 

In our family it’s become “my holiday”, the one that I’ve been happily hosting for some 30 years now, and the one that no matter where we’ve lived my family has always found their way to our doorstep for the long weekend.

  It’s really the one time of year we know we will all be together.

For me the planning is as much fun as the executing, and I’ve learned through the years that planning is key.  Which leads me to this post for The Barefoot Connessa’s French Chocolate Bark.

This is  a delicious confection that can be made weeks ahead and stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.  I made it for the first time several months ago for guests, and thought it would make a great addition to a Thanksgiving dessert buffet.

I followed Ina’s recipe pretty closely, but the nice thing about this recipe is that you can customize it to your own taste, substituting your choice of nuts, dried fruit, and chocolate.

French Chocolate Bark (Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics by Ina Garten)

1 cup whole, salted roasted cashews

6 to 7 ounces good quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

6 to 7 ounces good quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1/4 cup finely diced crystalized ginger

1/2 cup dried cherries

1/2 cup finely diced dried apricots

1/4 cup golden raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Using a pencil, draw a rectangle that is approximately the size of a standard sheet of paper (8 and 1/2 inches by 11 inches) on a piece of parchment paper placed on a sheet pan, then thurn the parchment paper over.

Spread the cashews in a single layer on another sheet pan and bake for 8 minutes, until just toasted.  Set aside to cool.  (you will not need the oven after this.)

Place the semisweet chocolate and half the bittersweet chocolate in a microwave-safe glass bowl and microwave on high power for 20 to 30 seconds.  Stir with rubber spatula. Continue to heat and stir in 30-second intervals until the chocolate is just melted.  Immediately add the remaining bittersweet chocolate and allow it to sit at room temperature, stirring often, until the chocolate is smooth and slightly cooled; stirring makes it glossier.

Pour the melted chocolate onto the parchment paper and spread it lightly into the drawn rectangle.

Sprinkle the top evenly in the following order:  ginger, cashews, cherries, apricots, raisins.  Set aside for 1 to 2 hours until firm.  Cut or break the bark in 18 to 20 pieces and serve at room temperature.

Store in airtight container in a cool, dry place for several weeks.

Yield:18 to 20 pieces

Recently I made these Chocolate Bonbons to take to my sister’s.  She shared them with her neighbor, who recently sent me a message asking if I would share the recipe with her because her family really loved them.  So here it is…  This recipe comes from one of the first cookbooks I purchased when I began working part-time in a kitchen specialty shop in Chicago years ago.  As the book says, “If they love chocolate, they’ll swoon over these!”

Chocolate Bonbons (from Marlene Sorosky’s Cookery for Entertaining)

6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup chopped hazelnuts or almonds(4oz.) (optional)

Garnishes such as halved hazelnuts or almonds, halved candied cherries, crystallized violets and chocolate sprinkles (optional)

Velvet Frosting

1/2 cup whipping cream

3/4 cup sugar

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate

1 egg yolk, slightly beaten

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line 1-1and1/2 inch miniature muffin cups with bonbon papers; set aside.  Melt chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler over hot water.  Remove from hot water, stir in sugar.  Add eggs, mixing well.  Stir in flour, baking powder, vanilla and nuts, if using.  Spoon a small amount of chocolate mixture into each prepared muffin cup, filling cups 1/2 to3/4 full.  Bake 8 minutes.  Bonbons will be soft and look under-baked but will become firm as they cool.  Cool in muffin cups.  Prepare Velvet Frosting.  Spoon frosting over each bonbon.  Garnish tops of bonbons with nuts, candied cherries, crystallized violets or chocolate sprinkles if you like.  These may be refrigerated up to 1 week or frozen.  Serve cold.  Makes 55- 60 bonbons.

Velvet Frosting

In a small heavy saucepan, mix cream and sugar.  Bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring constantly.  Simmer 5 minutes.  Add chocolate; stir to melt.  Stir a spoonful of chocolate mixture into the egg yolk to warm it slightly.  Add egg yolk mixture to saucepan.  Add butter; stir until melted.  Stir in vanilla.

Chocolate Chip Cookies…is there anyone who doesn’t love them?  I doubt it.  The very first thing I ever baked was chocolate chip cookies.  I was probably about 12 years old, and I followed the recipe on the back of the bag of Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chips.  They turned out great, and it became my specialty for years.

As the years went by I had my own kitchen, and I found myself spending more and more time there. My baking expanded to include cakes, cupcakes, pies, tarts, cobblers, jelly rolls, meringues, scones, cinnamon rolls, sticky buns, rugelach, and more.  And although I’ve baked all kinds of cookies, chocolate chip still remain a favorite.

I’ve tried many different recipes for chocolate chip cookies, some being better than others.  My current favorite is this one that I found online and it is aptly named The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Ever. 

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Ever   (recipe courtesy George Duran) 

makes 36 cookies

Ingredients

2 and 1/2 cup all- purpose flour ( I use unbleached)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt (I use kosher salt)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 and 1/2 cups brown sugar (I used half light brown sugar and half dark brown sugar)

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla (no artificial, please)

2 cups (12-ounce package) chocolate chips (any good brand of semi-sweet)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees (If you have convection, use it).

Line baking sheets with parchment.

Put the flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl and stir it with a whisk to combine.  Set aside.

Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the butter until it is lighter in color.  Slowly add in sugars and beat until it is light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time and beat until they are incorporated.  Stir in the vanilla.  Add the flour mixture using low speed, then stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls (I use a mini ice cream scoop)  about 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. 

Bake until the cookies are lightly browned around the edges, about 12 to 15 minutes.  Let the cookies cool for a few minutes and then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.

Note:  The recipe can be doubled easily. 

Once the dough is mixed you can chill it in the refrigerator for an hour or more before scooping onto cookie sheets.