Melting Chocolate Cake

for cake…

• 2/3 cup unsalted butter, cubed
• 9 oz bittersweet chocolate chunks
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 5 eggs, seperated
• 1/3 cup ground almonds (I had sliced almonds on hand that I ran through the food processor…good enough)
• 1 tbs bourbon
• pinch o salt

for serving…

• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbs confectioners sugar
• 1 tbs bourbon
• sliced strawberries

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Grease a 9 in springform cake pan and then line w parchment paper.

2. Melt chocolate and butter in double boilerish contraption and mix until smooth. Then add sugar and 1 egg yolk. Stir. Add rest of egg yolks, bourbon and almonds. Stir until completely mixed and smooth again.

3. Beat egg whites with salt until  peaky but still a bit soft. Add remaining sugar 2 tbs at a time (6 tbs total) while beating mixture and then until whites are stiff, peaky and glossy.

4. Gently mix 1 tbs of the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture to loosen. Then gently fold the rest of the eggs into the chocolate with a spatula.

5. Pour mix into pan and cook for 30-35 minutes.

6. While cake is baking, whip the cream with the confections sugar and bourbon.

7. When cake is finished, let cool for 15 minutes and then remove from pan. Serve with cream and strawberries.

(video below is rad)

Potato Leek Gratin
(adapted from NYT- you’ll like this if you like potato leek soup because they’re nearly identical, duh)

• 2 tbs butter, plus a little for greasing your gratin dish
• 3 leeks, trimmed and halved lengthwise
• 1 1/2 lbs peeled Yukon Gold potatoes (about 4)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
•  2 thyme sprigs
•  1 cup heavy cream
•  1 fat garlic clove, finely chopped
•  1 bay leaf
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup Gruyère, grated

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees and butter a 2-quart gratin dish (I used a glass pie dish and it worked out ok). Wash the leeks to remove any grit and slice thinly crosswise

2. Using a mandoline or sharp knife, slice the potatoes into rounds, 1/8-inch thick. Toss with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Layer the rounds in the gratin dish until almost reaches the top of dish.

3. Melt the 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add leeks, remaining salt and pepper, and thyme. Cook, stirring, until leeks are tender and golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Discard thyme and scatter the leeks over the potatoes.

4. Add cream, garlic and bay leaf to the skillet, scraping up browned bits of leeks from the bottom of the pan. Simmer gently for 5 minutes. Stir in nutmeg.

5. Pour the cream over the leeks and potatoes and top with the Gruyère. Cover with aluminum foil and transfer to the oven. Bake for 40 minutes, uncover and bake until the cheese is bubbling and golden, 15 to 20 minutes longer.

Makes aprox 6 servings though it goes really fast. Beware, this is crackgratin.

Yelp is great, but sometimes you just want someone to make a decision for you when you’re looking for a restaurant. I’ve been really enjoying Immaculate Infatuation as I’ve started to research where to have dinner on my birthday. Their categories are quirky (if not slightly douchey..) including: Day Drinking, Impressing Out of Towners, Full on Pork Indulgence etc) and their listings for Brooklyn aren’t bad. If not extensive, they are pretty accurate.

I agreed with their post on The Grocery – where we went last weekend – and it was freaking delicious. Super tiny place, simple, cute place on Smith Street in Cobble Hill. I had fried artichokes and pork loin and I am still thinking about it. Great place to take parents or go for a special occasion – their chefs even come out and see how you’re doing which makes you feel like you are the king of the world.

So, where should I have my birthday feast? In the running we have: Buttermilk Channel, Prime Meats, Frankies Spuntino, and Flatbush Farm, none of which I have been to yet.

Easy Dhal Soup- this recipe is sooooo easy. I used to make dhal with my old boss so I adapted the recipe a little to reflect how I’m accustomed to making it. It’s basically Alice’s same recipe with a little extra of everything and the order switched up a bit.

• 1 1/2 cups of lentils (Alice says use yellow split peas, which confuses me- maybe lentils=split peas in England?)
• 1 cup + little bit more canned crushed tomatoes
• 3/4 cup of coconut milk (I did this plus 1/8 cup)
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted
• 1 teaspoon ground tumeric
• 3 1/2 cups chicken stock
• Lemon juice, to taste
• Salt n Peppa
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
• 1 red chile, minced (can remove seeds)

I made this as a side with summer squash, green pepper & pancetta risotto last night and it was killer, even without the pine nuts. My broiler usually scares me but this was really fast and easy- I promise!

via Epicurious

4 lb medium zucchini, cut diagonally into 3/4-inch-thick slices
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/2 cup)
1/3 cup pine nuts (1 oz), toasted and finely chopped

Preheat broiler.

Toss zucchini with oil, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Arrange zucchini in 1 layer in 2 shallow baking pans (1 inch deep). Broil 1 pan of zucchini 3 to 5 inches from heat, without turning, until browned in spots and beginning to soften, 4 to 6 minutes. Drizzle 2 tablespoons vinegar over broiled zucchini and shake pan a few times, then continue to broil until most of vinegar is evaporated, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese over broiled zucchini and broil until cheese is melted, about 1 minute more. Cook remaining pan of zucchini in same manner. Cool to room temperature and serve sprinkled with pine nuts.

note: Balsamic zucchini (without pine nuts) can be made 3 hours ahead and kept at room temperature or chilled, covered. Sprinkle with pine nuts just before serving.

I’m horrified.

Cheese contains morphine.

Hippo bday present