Monthly Archives: August 2011

Coffee-spiked Chocolate Caramel Bars

August 30, 2011 – 8:00 am

I mean, let’s get real. Do these bars look like they even need any words to convince you how amazing they are?

Well, they don’t but since I can’t hand deliver one to each of you, let me tell you about these little lovers. If you start with a graham cracker crust, you really can’t go wrong from there. Then how about adding homemade caramel?? Now top that off with chocolate ganache and some smoked sea salt. Oooh, oooh, oooh. These are so naughty, but oh so nice.

I love graham crackers. S’mores, graham crackers smeared with Nutella, graham cracker crust: I’ll take it all. I don’t even particularly like cheesecake, but if it has a graham cracker crust, I will have a piece and just eat the crust. It’s just so buttery and subtly sweet. I love that the ratio of crust in these unbelievable bars is equal to the other delicious layers. It’s about time a graham cracker crust gets to shine as a leading role in a dessert, don’t you think?

Sometimes making homemade caramel can be challenging. But this perfectly velvety caramel is so easy to make! It’s the perfect chewiness-not so soft that it oozes everywhere, but not so stiff that it might pull the fillings out of your teeth either!

Finally, a thick luscious layer of semi-sweet chocolate ganache. I love the way a little bit of coffee added to chocolate can enhance and intensify the flavor of the chocolate exponentially and that’s exactly what you get with this coffee-spiked ganache. As if that’s not special enough, what makes this topping especially unique is the smoked sea salt sprinkles! A little salt to balance the sweet.

Have I convinced you yet? Just be a little naughty and make the bars already!

Coffee-spiked Chocolate Caramel Bars

by Mercedes Porter

Keywords: bake dessert chocolate caramel bar

Ingredients

For the crust

Nonstick cooking spray
12 graham crackers crushed
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 sticks (12 Tbsp) unsalted butter, melted

For the caramel

1/2 cup heavy cream
1 stick (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups brown sugar

For the ganache

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tsp instant coffee, finely ground
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp smoked sea salt (optional; if you do not use the smoked sea salt, increase the plain sea salt to 1 tsp total)

Instructions

For the crust

Line bottom of 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Spray paper and sides of pan with cooking spray.

Position oven rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350°.

In a food processor, pulse graham crackers and sugar together. Add melted butter and blend until the mixture forms into clumps.

Press mixture gently into prepared pan to form an even layer.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden. Cool 15 minutes.

For the caramel

In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients. Stir over medium heat until smooth. Bring mixture to a boil and cook without stirring until candy thermometer reaches soft ball (240°).

Pour caramel over graham cracker crust. Cool 20 minutes, then place in freezer for 10 minutes until firm.

For the ganache

Place chocolate chips and cream into small glass or metal bowl and place bowl over pan with simmering water. Stir until chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in coffee.

Remove pan from freezer, pour chocolate over caramel layer. and smooth with spatula. Sprinkle with sea salt and refrigerate at least one hour.

Cut into desired sized bars and enjoy!

(Recipe adapted from Giada DeLaurentiis)

graham cracker crust pressed into prepared pan

baked graham cracker crust

heat caramel mixture

until it reaches 240°

pour caramel over graham cracker crust

melt chocolate and cream together

stir coffee into chocolate mixture and pour over caramel layer

sprinkle with sea salt

Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Scharffen Berger.

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Tags caramel, Chocolate, coffee | Comments (48)

Bar La Grassa

August 26, 2011 – 8:00 am

Bar La Grassa has earned itself quite a reputation around the Twin Cities. The Italian restaurant has boasted several local and national “best” restaurant awards over the past couple of years. And Chef Isaac Becker was named the 2011 James Beard Best Chef in the Midwest. Awards like that are nothing to overlook. The atmosphere at Bar La Grassa is exactly what you would hope and expect to find at an Italian restaurant in the warehouse district of Minneapolis. It is hip, packed and loud (in a good way).

I always enjoy the feeling of an open kitchen with a bar that allows you to belly up and watch the masters at work. I went to Bar La Grassa last weekend expecting to have quite a wait since I had not made a reservation, but I was pleasantly surprised to be offered immediate seating at the bar overlooking the kitchen.

When we sat down we were met with some marinated peppers and butter beans and wonderful focaccia that had a topping of salt and herbs.

After ordering some wine, it was time to explore the menu. Bar La Grassa is known for it’s homemade fresh pastas among other things, and being the pasta lover that I am, I knew that I wanted to sample some fresh noodles. However, that did not narrow down my decision much as the restaurant offers about 12 different fresh pasta selections. We decided to start with the Crispy Insalata Saporoso Vinaigrette which was a lovely green salad with frisee, fennel, pine nuts and cheese. It was an unique, fresh and light way to begin our meal.

I was lucky that my company also wanted to sample fresh pasta dishes. That way I got to try 3 different pastas without feeling totally gluttonous. I had read about the Mushroom and Taleggio Agnolotti, so that was the decision for me. The rich flavor of the mushrooms was amazing, but I am glad that the plates come in half or whole orders because a little bit of this dish goes a long way.

My mother is unable to eat cheese, so the Crab Ravioli was perfect for her. The Ravioli was paired with a rather simple cream sauce.

Finally, my husband needed some meat and so he sampled the Pappardelle with Veal Ragu. The sheets of fresh pappardelle were perfectly delicate and light, but the veal ragu was sweet, somewhat one-note and left me wanting for something: salt, spice, garlic, something.

We were too stuffed for dessert, but lucky for me, Bar La Grassa Satisfied My Sweet Tooth anyway. The check was brought with some almond brittle with a hint of chili pepper for a surprisingly warm and lovely slow burn.

What is your favorite pasta dish and/or restaurant?

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Green with envy Salsa

August 25, 2011 – 8:00 am

I was a little green yesterday. With envy, not with a tummy ache don’t worry. I was talking with a friend who was raving about all of the wonderful produce that her garden has produced this summer and how she has so much she doesn’t know what to do with it. Boy, that’s a tough problem to have, isn’t it? I live in a condo in the city with no outdoor space for a garden, but I can’t wait to someday have tomatoes and herbs growing out of my ears! I think it must be such a wonderful sense of satisfaction and accomplishment to go out to your garden and pick the ingredients for your meals, come inside and wash them and just enjoy the clean, organic splendor of your own produce. Someday sweet teeth, someday.

As for now, I love to support our local farmers’ markets. Last week my mom and I bought all of the ingredients for salsa and spent a few hours of fun in the kitchen. Again, I love that canning gives you the ability to capture the flavors of a season and enjoy them all year long. Do you ever get attached to your ingredients or final products as you are baking or cooking? For example, my imagination went wild while I was treating each tomato for the salsa with care. In my mind, first, my tomatoes got to enjoy a few minutes in the hot tub (blanching them in hot water), then they were submerged in a refreshing pool (ice bath), then I gave their skin a peel (literally peeling the skin off) and massaged the little babies (crushed them with my hands to break them up). I hope my tomatoes enjoyed their day at my spa and I think I have officially divulged way to much information about myself to you!!!

Canned Salsa

by Mercedes Porter

Keywords: snack side vegetarian vegan vegetables

Ingredients (6-7 quarts or 12 pints)

13 pounds tomatoes
3 large onions, diced
6 green peppers, diced
5 jalepeños, diced
10 garlic cloves, minced
juice of 4 limes
2 Tbsp cumin
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 (12 oz.) can tomato paste
Special Equipment: canner, jars, lids, rings, candy thermometer

Instructions

Clean jars with hot water and boil lids before processing.

Fill large stock pot with water and heat to a boil. Place tomatoes into water and blanch until skins begin to split. Remove tomatoes and place into ice bath. Peel, core and remove any blemishes from blanched tomatoes, then crush tomatoes by hand into large pot that salsa will be cooked in.

Add all other ingredients to pot with tomatoes and stir. Place candy thermometer into mixture and heat on medium until temperature reaches 180º. Once mixture reaches 180°, simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add tomato paste, stir and cook another 10 minutes.

Turn off heat and pour salsa into prepared quart or pint jars. Seal with boiled lids and rings and process in boiling water for 15 minutes.

blanch tomatoes in boiling water until skins split

place blanched tomatoes into ice bath

peel, core and remove blemishes from tomatoes

dice and mince other vegetables

place all ingredients into large pot

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Tags Mexican, Salsa, Tomatoes | Comment (1)

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

August 23, 2011 – 8:00 am

I hate to say it, but I felt it this weekend. That chill in the evening air that reminds you that fall is right around the corner. Not that I don’t look forward to fall, but we all want summer to last as long as possible, right? Maybe it stems back to when we were school kids and we just wanted summer to last one more week. There is something very bittersweet about those last summer days no matter how old we get. On a positive note, one of the best things about the end of summer is that it is the peak time for some of the best summer produce. Farmers’ market has every type of tomato you could want, family members share their extra zucchini with you, and you just want to squeeze as many fruits and vegetables as you can into each day.

Canning allows us to bring these to-die-for summer flavors onto our kitchen tables all through the fall and winter. I grew up canning with my mom and grandma and have continued to have more interest in it each year. My mom was visiting last week and we took advantage of our time together and spent most of it in the kitchen, as usual! We started by canning some salsa (STAY TUNED!) and then made the most delectable strawberry rhubarb jam. This jam is the perfect consistency to spread on your morning toast and is also a luscious topping for ice cream.

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

by Mercedes Porter

Keywords: side spread vegetarian vegan strawberry rhubarb summer

Ingredients

8 cups sliced strawberries
8 cups diced rhubarb
4 cups sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice

Instructions

Wash 8-10 half pint jars. Boil lids and prepare rings and canner.

Slice strawberries into small pieces and dice rhubarb into small pieces.

Place strawberries and rhubarb into two separate bowls. Add half of the sugar and lemon juice to each bowl and let set for 1/2 hour.

Pour contents of both bowls into large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 50 minutes or until mixture reaches jell point. (*TIP* To test if jam has reached the jell point, dip fork into jam and if it drips slowly down the fork but remains between the tines, it is finished.)

Pour jam into prepared jars, seal with lids and rings and process for 10 minutes.

Is this not the most beautiful color???

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Last call for Zucchini

August 19, 2011 – 8:00 am

Can you stand one more? I promise, no more posts on zucchini for awhile after this one, but I would feel like I was depriving you if I did not share this. I saw this recipe, made it and could not stop myself from raving to you about it. This Cream Cheese Zucchini Bread not only has unbelievable texture and flavor, but the appearance of it will leave people wondering, “Are you a wizard? How did you do that?” I believe we all enjoy receiving compliments, so if you are having a blue day, bring this to a friend or to work, and at the end of the day, you will have to remember to deflate your head before going home because it will have become so big.

The crust of this bread is slightly crispy and the inside is surprisingly dense and oh so moist. Then you get to the cream cheese swirl and your little sweet tooth heart just melts with delight. This is not your grandmother’s zucchini bread.

Cream Cheese Zucchini Bread

by Mercedes Porter

Keywords: bake bread breakfast dessert zucchini cream cheese summer

Ingredients

For the bread

3 eggs, plus 1 egg for filling
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup white sugar, plus 1/3 cup for filling
1 cup coconut oil (or 1 cup canola oil)
2 cups grated zucchini
3 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped (or 1 Tbsp vanilla extract)
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

For the frosting

4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup cream

Instructions

For the bread

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour 2 loaf pans.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice and set aside. In a large bowl with a mixer, combine 3 eggs, brown sugar, 1 1/2 cups white sugar, oil and zucchini until well blended. Add flour mixture in increments and mix until well blended.

For the cream cheese filling, combine 1 egg, vanilla bean, 1/3 cup sugar and cream cheese with mixer until smooth.

Pour 1/4 of batter into each of the 2 prepared loaf pans. Top each with 1/2 of the cream cheese filling. Pour remaining batter evenly into 2 pans.

Bake about an hour or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting

Combine all ingredients with mixer until well blended.

Spread onto cooled loafs.

Ooh and Aah when you first cut into your lovely creation!

(Recipe adapted from Cookies & Cups)