Going Dutched

If you start off using the best ingredients, the proof is in the pudding; as is the case with my Chocolate Torta recipe; I use the Droste brand of cocoa which is dutched cocoa.

Dutched cocoa means the cocoa underwent a process that results in milder chocolate flavor notes by reducing acidity. The dutching process can also change the color from light red to brown to black. Dutched cocoa works well in chocolate desserts such as devil’s food cake or brownies.

My Torta Recipe requires just a simple whisk, spoon or spatula to do the job. Mix by hand + bake. Forty-five minutes later you’ll be savoring this delightful Italian Pastry!

George's Chocolate Torta

Recipe by Chef George Hirsch | Makes 12 servings 

chefgeorgehirsch.com 

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1-1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsweetened Dutch cocoa powder
1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup water
1/3 cup sweet butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
1 egg white, beaten into whole egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 325°. Lightly grease a 9-inch cake pan; set aside.

In small bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In large bowl, combine cocoa and granulated sugar until blended. With wire whisk, beat in water, then melted butter, egg, egg white and vanilla until smooth. Add flour mixture and beat until smooth. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. On wire rack, cool for ten minutes in pan. With small spatula, loosen cake from sides of pan. Remove to a wire rack and cool completely. Place on plate and sprinkle with confectioners sugar. To serve, cut into small wedges. 

Founded 1867 St. Petersburg

Saint Petersburg, Russia is where the roots of today's Paris based Kusmi Tea company began. The creator, Pavel Michailovitch Kousmichoff started working at the age of 14 for a tea merchant who saw his talent and taught him the art of blending. You could say Pavel stepped into the right place at the right time. He married well, his boss gave him his first tea house, and prosperity followed. His peasant upbringing brewed into a life of great wealth and success; with a large family to carry on the tea business and make it flourish for generations to come.

Kusmi 25, rue Danielle Casanova Paris 01

The company became one of the three largest tea houses in Russia and was a supplier to the Court of Tsars. It would be the keen insight of Pavel's son, Viatcheslav, to open a workshop in Paris; escaping the pending Revolution in 1917. It would be known as the Maison Kusmi-Thé, a shortened version of the family's surname.

The company is no longer owned by the Kousmichoff family. The Orebi Family took over Kusmi in 2003, harnessing this 140 year old company to be the international Kusmi Tea brand. Kusmi expanded into North America this year, opening a location in Motreal, Quebec and there's word of a NYC expansion soon.

A Few Health Benefits Drinking Tea

Tea contains antioxidants. Antioxidants can help slow down the aging process, and help cells regenerate.  

Tea aids your body in digestion. Tea has been used for thousands of years as a digestive aid after meals.

Tea keeps you hydrated. Every cup of tea you drink, especially low or no caffeine varieties, counts as a cup of water with the added bonus of providing antioxidants as well.

George's Cake Recipes that go well with tea.

Orange and Honey Cake

Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake

images: Kusmi Tea 

KYFF, Grilling Italy

What to grill this weekend? How about some bread? Bruschetta is one of my most popular recipes and is so simple to prepare. It is an ideal snack to enjoy while you are waiting for the main dish on the grill to be finished. 

Ideally, use day old or very dense thickly-sliced bread. The addition of the smoke from the grill adds magical flavor to the crust and it’s toppings. There is no limit in toppings for your bruschetta, just let your imagination run free. Think of your bread crusts as an artist’s canvas. 

Join me for a bruschetta tour through Italy. Which, BTW, the variety in bruschetta toppings vary from region to region. 

When canal-side in Venice, I must have my bruschetta with Baccala' Mantecato, that is topped with whipped salted cod. This cod is making me thirsty! Vino prego!

While in Siena, I’ve enjoyed grilled toasts di fegato, that's made with garlicky chopped liver.

The southern part of Italy is the region to feast on the superior quality of fruits from Italy's fertile soil, particularly Naples. Ahh, delicioso pomodoro. This is the bruschetta most people envision - crowns of sweet ripened tomatoes, basil and olive oil.   

Before you take your first bite, let me transport you to my favorite place in Positano; Trattoria La Tagliata where Bartolo is the family's grill chef. He will take really good care of you - while you nibble on his bruschetta, enjoying the priceless view of the Amalfi Coast and await his grilled specialties.

Something wonderful happens to country-style bread when it’s brushed with olive oil and grilled. It’s smoky flavor adds another layer to olive oil, fresh tomatoes with lots of caramelized garlic, parmesan cheese, and capers. Dry day-old bread makes the best bruschetta, so this is a good way to use up yesterday’s loaf of Italian, French, or sourdough bread. Serve bruschetta with salad or soup, or as a snack with a chunk of sopressatta.

This recipe is from my first book, and to pass along just how much everyone enjoys bruschetta from the grill it’s my very first recipe in the book, page 14.

Bruschetta 
From Grilling with Chef George Hirsch | The cookbook By George Hirsch with Marie Bianco © 1994

Makes 6 

3 cups seeded and diced plum tomatoes
24 cloves caramelized garlic
2 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1 Tablespoon capers, rinsed
Salt and pepper, to taste
12 slices round country- style bread, sliced 3/4 inch thick
1/4 cup olive oil
6 basil leaves, chopped
Grated parmesan cheese 

To make the topping, combine the tomtoes, garlic, parmesan cheese, capers, salt and pepper.

Brush the bread on both sides with olive oil and grill 10 to 15 seconds on each side. Press down on the bread with a spatula so that the bread picks up grill marks.

When the bread is grilled, top off the slices evenly with the tomato mixture and place them in a foil pan on the grill. Close the hood and heat for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the pan and sprinkle each bruschetta with basil and parmesan cheese.

Masters' Pimento-Cheese Sandwich

The pimento cheese sandwich is to The Masters Tournament (begins April 11th - Sunday April 14th in Augusta, GA) - as a good BBQ slider would be at a Super Bowl weekend tailgate. There are many stories claiming the sandwich's origin (not sure which one to believe) and there are many versions of this recipe (I have my own). BTW, you can get one at The Masters for the reasonable price tag of $1.50.

The Masters' pimento-cheese sandwich is a highly guarded secret recipe. I'm thinking the recipe might come with the green jacket though! If you are not in contention to receive the jacket this weekend you might want to watch comfortably at home with your own sandwich. 

To make six Pimento-Cheese Sandwiches, use whole wheat or white bread spread with pimento-cheese filling.

Blend all ingredients in a food processor, 1/4 cup each shredded extra-sharp cheddar yellow cheese, Monterey jack cheese, softened cream cheese, drained jarred pimento, 1 Tablespoon Duke's Mayonnaise. Add a pinch of sea salt, pepper and a dash of hot pepper sauce. 

Optional additions: chopped hard boiled eggs, sliced vidalia onions, watercress

Savory and Sweet Brunch

In French it’s know as le grand petit déjeuner or big breakfast, literally "the big little lunch". Against the wishes of the Académie—the typical French person refers to the phrase "American's brunch". Whether you call it le grand petit déjeuner or just brunch, it's an ideal time of day to serve a mixture of savory & sweet dishes, like my baked ham & biscuits + muffins.

Start with sweet Blueberry Nut Muffins. Today is the savory portion; a Spring Easter time favorite, Ham with a Honey Glaze served with my Warm Biscuits.  

CLICK HERE for more ham glazes and sauces.

Spring Crisp

Rhubarb Crisp is also known as early spring tart. Rhubarb, known as the pie plant, is a tart vegetable used to make tasty desserts + sauces; which happens to be rich in vitamins and minerals. Rhubarb is also a sign of spring, being one of the earlier harvested vegetables of the season in the Northern Hemisphere. This is good news - happy first day of Spring!

Rhubarb Crisp

recipe by Chef George Hirsch | Makes 4-6 servings

4-6 cups rhubarb stalks, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
juice from one orange
1 Tablespoon orange zest, finely grated
1 cup Turbino sugar (sugar in the raw)
3/4 cup flour

Cover rhubarb with half of the sugar (1/2 cup) sugar, orange juice, zests and marinate 1 hour. Mix remaining sugar and flour together and combine with marinated rhubarb. Grease a 9 inch ovenproof casserole or several small individual ramekins; add marinated rhubarb and sugar flour mixture to greased baking dish.

For the topping:
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon.
3/4 cup rolled oats (not instant oatmeal)
1/2 cup light brown sugar

Mix flour, butter, ground cinnamon until it makes a smooth pastry dough. Add oatmeal and brown sugar, crumble together and place on top of marinated rhubarb in baking dish. 

Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until top is light brown and the top is crisp and rhubarb is tender. Serve warm with coffee ice cream.

Tip:
Mix apples, pears, peaches, plums or berries in with rhubarb for seasonal dessert variations.
Mix in a hand full of pecans or walnuts for a crunchy addition.

Castraure

The perfect appetizer for the Spring and Easter holiday entertaining.

The isles of the Lagoon of Venice, and the Venetian coastal area is famous for its high quality castraure (baby artichokes). They are much smaller than Globe or Roman artichokes, and because of their size, they are very tender and flavorful.

The castraure are the first buds to come from the plant each year. A single artichoke plant produces more than one hundred hearts of artichokes. The most famous island for castraure production is the isle of Isola di Sant'Erasmo.

St. Erasmus is the largest island in the Venetian lagoon, only sparsely populated. In Venice's countryside, this agricultural area produces the renowned castraure. Unlike all of Venice’s canals and buildings, St. Erasmus’s landscape is flatlands with rural farms and homes; a pleasant change from the St. Marks Square crowds. 

Although castraure are only a spring time delight and hard to get outside the markets of Venice, there is an ample supply of Globe Artichokes in the U.S. from Castroville, Monterey County CA. Including soon to be available frost-kissed. Yes just as good, but somehow not quite the same as when I eat them canal side in Italy!

Buying Tip:

Select plump and heavy artichokes for the size with thick, green, tightly clinging leaves. 

It's ideal if you can get “frost-kissed artichokes". Fall and winter artichokes are usually darker or bronze-tipped with a whitish, blistered appearance because of frost, so-called "winter-kissed." These are the most tender with intense flavor. Look for tender green on the inside of petals. Frost-kissed artichokes are available only when temperatures in the growing area falls below 32 degrees.

Carciofi Fritto 

Cut baby artichokes lengthwise into two parts, then split into wedges. Toss artichokes in paper bag with flour, remove from bag and dip in gently beaten egg whites. Then dip in beaten egg yolks seasoned with pinch of fresh thyme, sea salt and black pepper. Put the yolk covered artichokes back in paper bag with more flour. Shake off excess flour and gently lay the pieces one by one in a pan with hot oil. When they are golden color remove.

Serve immediately with fresh lemon wedges and lemon aioli. 

For My Classic Aïoli Recipe