I am currently obsessed with a milk-and-dark chocolate bar
studded with hickory smoked almonds and sea salt. I am eating it
one square at a time, one per night with a cup of tea, and I am not
sharing nicely.
I am currently obsessed with a milk-and-dark chocolate bar studded with hickory smoked almonds and sea salt. I am eating it one square at a time, one per night with a cup of tea, and I am not sharing nicely.
Sorry, Mom.
It is just too good. And too far from the Hershey’s with Almonds bars that I grew up with. And the one-Snickers-bar-a-day habit that I held in college and beyond – the same habit I gave up at 30 because I suddenly woke up and realized it just wasn’t healthy to eat a candy bar every day.
Lately, I had been trying to satisfy the late-night chocolate craving with the small, individually-wrapped Ghirardelli squares that come in about 15 flavors. But then, I made a mistake. I tried gourmet chocolate, starting with the Scharffen Berger 62 percent Cacao Mocha, then Green & Black’s Cherry Chocolate bar and then the Recchiuti San Francisco champagne truffles. And now, the piece de resistance, the Vosges Haut-Chocolat Barcelona Bar. I tried it about a month ago and it’s been on my mind intermittently since then. So I had to find another bar.
It is fantastic. And interesting. And un-gulpable. It’s just inconceivable to chow down quickly on a $7.50 chocolate bar that contains hickory smoked almonds (who would have thought?) and sea salt, which makes it not too sweet and not too salty but just, just right.
You have to eat it slowly. You have to savor each small bite. And you can’t eat too much at once (or eat the whole thing in the name of column-research) because then there won’t be any left tomorrow night.
At least that’s what I’m telling myself.
Sunday Supper
This slow-cooked dinner is perfect for the weekend and will work on a weeknight if you do what I did: Cook it on Sunday afternoon, put it in the refrigerator overnight, then add half a cup of water and reheat at 300 degrees for half an hour on Monday night. Serve the shanks and their wonderful sauce over mashed potatoes in a large, shallow bowl, with steamed baby carrots and green beans alongside. This recipe is from Christopher’s Restaurant in Carmel, by way of “Adventures” magazine. I added more garlic cloves, of course, and changed the sauce slightly. This is a man’s meal. Make it and see.
Christopher’s Braised Lamb Shank
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup sliced celery
3 bay leaves
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 sprig fresh thyme
2 bulbs garlic (peel each clove)
2 cups Zinfandel wine
Salt and pepper
– Season the shanks well with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet that will fit all four shanks and will fit in your oven to braise. Add oil, heat, and sear all sides of the seasoned shanks. Reserve shanks to the side.
– Add onions, carrots, celery and garlic to skillet and brown well. Deglaze skillet with the wine (add it, bring to a simmer and scrape the bottom of the pan). Add herbs and return shanks to skillet. Cover tightly with a lid or foil.
– Braise shanks in a 300 degree oven for three hours, until meat is tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve, with a scoop of the braised vegetables, over mashed red potatoes with the skins left on.
– Serves: 4. Cooking time: Active – 30 minutes. Total – about 3.5 hours.
P.S. I cooked this, then served it, with a very deep and berry-full 2006 DeRose Zinfandel from the Cienega Valley south of Hollister. Now I want to find some more of this full-bodied wine made from dryfarmed old-vine grapes. Delicious! Do not skimp on the wine for this dish, i.e. don’t use “cooking wine.” Use something you’d like to drink. You will taste the difference.
Awesome dressing
This salad dressing zings with citrus flavor while the honey makes it a bit sweet. It’s important to use salted sunflower seeds in the salad, to balance the sweetness. If possible, help support our bee farmers and use local honey, available at Rocca’s Market in San Martin.
Zesty Lemon Salad
Salad:
1 head romaine or butter lettuce
8 oz. white mushrooms, thinly sliced
Salted, shelled sunflower seeds
Dressing:
3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 shallot, finely minced
1 tsp. honey
1/2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
– Salt and pepper to taste (don’t be stingy)
– Whisk together all dressing ingredients and let sit for half an hour in the refrigerator so the flavors meld. Cut or shred lettuce and add to a bowl with the sliced mushrooms. Add dressing and sunflower seeds and toss. Season well with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
Chicken? Si, signore
This recipe comes from “The Italian Farmhouse Cookbook” by Susan Hermann Loomis. She had an ideal job description: Go travel through Italy with your husband and children, meet Italian farmers and get their recipes. Put them into a fabulous cookbook and share with others. Could you make that up? I have made a few changes to this recipe, like using more olive oil and using chicken breasts instead of chicken pieces. That’s because the consistency of this dish is more like a stew, and I enjoy stews more when I don’t have to cut up the meat or deal with any bones. You decide which way you want to try this Sicilian dish.
Chicken with Pasta and Potatoes
6 tbsp. olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed slightly
2 lbs. chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes (if using chicken pieces, use 4 lbs.)
1 lb. waxy white potatoes, quartered
2 medium carrots, sliced into rounds
1-1/2 cups flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
1 cup tomato sauce
Fine sea salt
8 oz. small dried pasta
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
– Heat oil and garlic in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir and cook until the garlic is lightly browned on all sides, 6 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside. Add chicken to the oil and saute it on all sides until it is golden brown. Remove chicken from pan. Add potatoes and carrots and saute until they are golden, about 5 minutes.
– Add water to cover and return chicken and garlic to the pan. Add parsley and tomato sauce, stir, and season to taste with salt. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat so liquid is simmering merrily and cook until the potatoes and chicken are cooked through, about 25 minutes.
– If necessary, add water to bring it at least 2 inches above ingredients. Cover and bring to a boil. Add pasta, stir and return to a boil. Cook just until pasta is al dente.
– Remove from the heat and adjust the seasoning. Tear the basil leaves into small pieces and sprinkle over the chicken and pasta, then serve.
FUTURE FOOD: Help! I tested a gumbo recipe from Wine Spectator magazine, then lost the recipe (If you get the Wine Spectator, could you please look through a few past issues and see if you can find it?). Or, if you have a good gumbo recipe, please send me yours. Also next week … more soup from our readers. Thank you everyone who has written. It has been so much fun to hear from you!
