Flourless Chocolate Walnut Torte with Pinot-Noir-Laced Strawberries

Valentine's Day is synonymous with chocolate. Heart-shaped boxes of it, faux-roses shaped from it, kisses and various red and pink and white candies made from it. Yes, we had to have chocolate in our Valentine's Day dessert. And for good measure, something needed to be red. So when Amy spotted this recipe from Dean and Deluca in an old folder on her computer, she knew it was The One, since it had all the necessary V-Day requirements: chocolate, strawberries and red wine. Perfect.

Amy entered into making this dessert a bit hesitantly, having suffered some baking fails in recent memory. And this one seems, at first glance, to be complicated. However, it's not so much complicated as it has several steps, none of which are very difficult, especially if you've made meringues before. Which we have.

Amy poured the berries out of the container and they formed a heart!

(okay, that didn't really happen...)

Use a nice bottle of pinot. You can drink the rest!

Strawberries, pinot noir and sugar

Start to finish, this recipe took about an hour, then it needed time to cool. We didn't bother with the whipped cream, but sprinkled each slice with a light dusting of confectioner's sugar. The torte was light as air, with lots of crunch from the nuts and hints of chocolate that weren't too overpowering. The pinot-noir-laced berries were divine, with their intense berry-sweetness. We loved it, neighbors B, D and J loved it, and Joanne loved it. This one's a real keeper!

Egg yolks mixed with sugar until pale yellow in color

Egg whites mixed with sugar, until stiff glossy peaks form

Fold ingredients together and pour into prepared springform pan

The finished product

Flourless Chocolate Walnut Torte with Pinot-Laced Strawberries

slightly adapted from this recipe found on epicurean.com

Ingredients:

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup Pinot Noir

1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and halves (reserve a couple for a garnish!)

5 eggs, separated

1/2 cup plus 5 tablespoons sugar

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

8 ounces chopped walnuts

confectioners sugar

In a medium bowl, combine the sugar and Pinot Noir. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Add the strawberries and allow to sit for 2-3 hours. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with a round of parchment paper. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks until pale in color. Gradually beat in the 1/2 cup sugar and continue beating until the mixture is thickened. In another large bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Gradually beat in the 5 tablespoons of sugar into the egg whites, one tablespoon at a time. Continue to beat until stiff, glossy peaks form. Alternately fold the chopped chocolate, chopped walnuts and egg white meringue mixture into the yolk mixture by thirds until well blended. Pour into the parchment-lined springform pan and bake about 30 minutes, until the torte is firm to the touch, does not jiggle when shaken, has risen to the top of the pan, and has turned golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool inside the pan on a wire rack. Once cooled, run a knife around the edges of the pan to detach. Invert onto a plate and peel off the parchment paper. Invert again onto a serving plate. Cut the torte into wedges and top with strawberries and a dusting of confectioners sugar.

Valentine's Surf and Turf

We are products of that era of cooking in which surf-and-turf was the end-all, the epitome of gourmet cuisine, the go-to meal for all special occasions (except those at which Chateaubriand was served, of course). Perhaps that is why we chose it for this year's Valentine's dinner, because something in each of our brains is wired to think "Surf-n-turf equals romance." Whatever the reason, we didn't want to come up with anything extraordinary, nothing molecular or involving strange or hard-to-find ingredients. Yes, we went retro with that oh-so-classic combination: surf and turf.

Melted butter, garlic, shallots, cayenne, salt and pepper...

...whisked together

The "surf" was two 1 1/4-pound lobsters, flash boiled, picked, then returned to the (cleaned out) shell to be baked in a garlic, shallot, pepper and cayenne compound butter. These were moist, succulent and completely drenched in spicy, garlicky buttery yumminess.

Spread butter into the clean lobster shells...

 

...and fill with bite-sized pieces of par-cooked lobster meat.

The "turf" was two 6-ounce filet mignon steaks, generously seasoned with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, seared to perfection, tender, juicy and delicious in their simplicity.

Nicely seasoned and seared filet mignon

The side dish was red potatoes tossed in olive oil and herbs de Provence, then baked at 425 for a half hour.

The dessert? Well, you'll just have to check out our next post to find out about that.

The outcome? Classically romantic.

Hope your Valentine's Day dinner was just as wonderful, shared with the one you love the most.

Valentine's Day Surf and Turf

The Side:

Ingredients:

4 red potatoes, cut into a large dice

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons herbs de Provence

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl. Spread onto a baking sheet and place in oven to roast.

The Surf:

Ingredients:

2 1 1/4-pound lobsters

3 tablespoons kosher salt

6 quarts water

1 stick unsalted butter

1 tablespoon chopped shallots

4 small cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 cup plain breadcrumbs, divided

In a large pot, bring salted water to a rolling boil. Put the lobsters in head-first, cover and cook for 3 minutes only. Remove the lobsters from the water and let cool enough to handle. Pick the lobster meat and cut it into bite-sized chunks; set aside. Clean out the empty body and tail shells and place in a baking dish. Put the butter in a glass bowl and microwave for 30 seconds, until mostly melted. Add the shallots, garlic, cayenne, salt, and pepper, and whisk to incorporate. Spread 1/4 of the butter into the bottom of each lobster shell. Fill each tail shell with 1/2 of the lobster meat and the head of each lobster with 1/2 of the breadcrumbs. Top the lobster meat and breadcrumbs with the remaining butter. Set aside until the "turf" is ready to go into the oven.

The Turf:

Ingredients:

2 6-ounce filet mignon steaks

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

Generously season each steak with salt and pepper. Heat a large cast iron pan over high heat until very hot. Add the olive oil and quickly swirl it around the pan. Place the steaks in the pan and sear over high heat until nicely browned, about 4 minutes each side.

 

The Finish:

Place the baking dish holding the lobster and the cast iron pan holding the steaks into the oven (in which the potatoes are still roasting - check them for doneness). Bake for 6-8 minutes, depending on the thickness of the steaks and how you like them cooked. Plate and serve with a nice bottle of wine, candlelight and lots of love and romance.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Shrimp Alexandros for Two

It's Valentine's Day and Amy's home sick with a bad cold and a sore throat. Thankfully, we enjoyed our romantic dinner out over the weekend. Still wanting to make something special, we turned to a restaurant classic for inspiration. Maybe you've heard of Shrimp Alexander, the appetizer of breaded shrimp served in a lemony butter sauce made famous by Morton's the Steakhouse. It's a very good appetizer, but we wanted to make it into a meal, something romantic, something different, something with a Greek twist. Something we've coined Shrimp Alexandros.

Alexandros is a common Greek name that, according to Greek-names.info, derives from the words “alexo” and “andros," which, in ancient Greek, mean “hold off” and “of man” respectively. The name Alexandros was used in Ancient Greece both as a name and an epithet (adjective) describing a person who is unbeatable. That's not to say we think our shrimp dish is unbeatable, rather since we're giving a Greek twist to the dish, we're also giving a Greek twist to the name.

One of the things that makes this a perfect Valentine's dinner is that it works best with more than two hands. One person can take care of coating and baking the shrimp and making the spinach mixture, while the other person can make the sauce. As our motto says, "The couple that sautes together, stays together!"

We loved the crunchy garlicky shrimp atop the bed of spinach with chopped tomato and feta for a contrast of colors and flavors. A soft drizzle of lemony beurre blanc was reminiscent of the steakhouse original. The flavors were not overpowering, but strong enough so even Amy, with her stuffed-up nose, could taste them. This one is going into the "keeper" files - think how much better it will be with a gorgeously fresh summer tomato. Lovely!

Ingredients:

6 colossal (U-12) shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 clove garlic, chopped

1/2 cup panko-style breadcrumbs

1 medium tomato, chopped

1 pound spinach

2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

2 tablespoons minced shallots

1/4 cup white wine

1/4 cup lemon juice

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

In a large skillet, melt one tablespoon butter with one tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped garlic and stir for one minute, taking care not to burn it. Add the panko and cook, stirring often, about five minutes, until toasted. Transfer the breadcrumb mixture to a separate bowl and set aside. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter. Dip each shrimp first in the melted butter then into the seasoned panko until shrimp are coated with the breadcrumbs. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 450 degrees for five minutes. In a large skillet, saute the spinach and tomato until the spinach is wilted. Stir in the feta cheese and place the spinach/tomato/feta mixture in the middle of a plate. Place three cooked shrimp on each plate, over the spinach mixture. In a small saucepan, combine shallots with white wine and place over medium heat. Reduce until liquid is halved. Add lemon juice and continue to reduce until liquid is halved again. Remove from heat. Slowly whisk in the butter one piece at a time until well combined. Drizzle the plate with the sauce and enjoy with a chilled, buttery Chardonnay.

Meatless Monday: Scarborough Fair Pasta, or A Pasta for Your Valentine

Amy writes:

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?

Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,

Remember me to one who lives there,

She once was a true love of mine.

-Simon and Garfunkel

The ancients strongly believed in the power of herbs: for hurting or healing, for enchanting or repelling, for life or death. While listening to the Simon and Garfunkel song Scarborough Fair on the radio, I started thinking about the power of the four herbs parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. Then I started to do some research. I used the internet at first, and then I remembered a book I have (yes! an actual book! with paper pages!) called Leaves in Myth, Magic and Medicine by Alice Thomas Vitale. This is what I learned.

The Greeks and Romans both believed parsley (Petroselinum crispum) to be an aphrodisiac, and its stalk was used for creating love potions. Sage (Salvia officinalis) was such an important herb to the ancients that they believed it could conquer death and proffer wisdom (hence the English definition of sage: a profoundly wise person; a person famed for wisdom - from dictionary.com). According to Vitale, "In the ancient world rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalis) was considered an aid to memory," its rejuvenating properties caused it to be used in beauty potions, and, "...small sprigs inserted into a bridal bouquet ensured a happy marriage." Finally, the scent of thyme (Thymus vulgaris) was deemed so irresistible that a line from a fifth-century B.C. Greek drama referring to the herb reads, "Who could forbear to kiss / A girl who's wearing this?"

Hmmm...lust, wisdom, memory and irresistibility...sounds like a love potion in the making, and Valentine's Day is drawing near. Unable to pick these herbs from our covered-in-80-inches-of-snow-garden, I bought them at the market with the intent of making a meatless (it's Meatless Monday!) dish that would be perfect for my Valentine, my husband Chris. Thus we bring you "Scarborough Fair Pasta," or "A Pasta for Your Valentine." Fragrant. Spicy. Garlicky. Herby. It would be a great primi piatti (first course) for any romantic Italian dinner, we think (wink, wink).

Ingredients:

1 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 clove garlic, chopped

1/2 cup panko-style breadcrumbs

1/2 pound bucatini, spaghetti rigati, or other thicker, longer pasta shape

1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

Fill a large pasta pot with water, salt it, and set it over high heat to boil. In a large skillet, melt the butter with one tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped garlic and stir for one minute, taking care not to burn it. Add the panko and cook, stirring often, about five minutes, until toasted. Transfer the breadcrumb mixture to a separate bowl and set aside, keeping skillet out. Prepare pasta in boiling water according to package directions. When ready to drain, reserve a cup of the pasta water for later. Return the skillet to medium-low heat and add the second tablespoon of olive oil. Stir in the chopped sage, rosemary and thyme, season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Cook for a minute, then add the pasta to the skillet and stir to combine. Add enough of the pasta water to moisten the pasta, then and the last tablespoon of olive oil and toss until coated. Add the chopped parsley, lemon juice, and parmesan and give it a final toss until well combined. Top with the garlic breadcrumbs and enjoy it with your Valentine, anytime.