Decadent Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Mousse Cake (dairy)

INGREDIENTS CAKE:

6 eggs separated, yolks and whites reserved

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups white sugar

1/2 cup cake flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

INGREDIENTS MOUSSE:

8 ounces good-quality semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

INGREDIENTS GANACHE (FROSTING):

16 ounces good-quality semi-sweet chocolate

1 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup white sugar

Wow, if you love chocolate you will love this cake. Absolutely decadent and rich, yet still fluffy. It will take a little bit of time to prepare the cake, mousse, and ganache, however it is worth it! You can also prepare the cake as is for a simple, fluffy and yummy chocolate cake. The mousse also can be prepared on its own and set in individual serving dishes as its own dessert. And the ganache can be used to top any cake you make, if you like rich chocolate-like frosting. All together, however, it is an awesome combination and a killer chocolate cake. Keep this cake in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap, and enjoy for days!

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease the inside of a 9" pan with butter and then powder with flour, and set aside.

To make the cake -- In a mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks on high speed for about 5 minutes, or until thick and lemon colored. Add the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and gradually beat in 1 cup of the sugar. Continue beating until the mixture thickens slightly and doubles in volume, about 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the cake flour, cocoa, and baking powder. Sift 1/3 cup of the flour mixture over the egg yolk mixture and fold it in until combined. Repeat with 1/3-cup measures of the remaining flour mixture until it is all incorporated. Blend in the melted butter.

In a mixing bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar to the egg whites, beating on high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold 1 cup of the beaten egg white mixture into the egg yolk mixture to lighten the batter, then fold the whole yolk mixture into the egg white mixture. Pour into the prepared pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool completely.

Using a long serrated knife, cut the cake in half horizontally, forming 2 equal layers. Place one layer on a serving plate and spread with the chocolate mousse. Top with the remaining cake layer. Refrigerate the cake for 1 hour. Using a spatula, spread the chocolate ganache evenly over the top and sides of the cake. Refrigerate for another 10-15 minutes to set the ganache.

To make the chocolate mousse -- In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine the chocolate, butter, and 2/3 cup of the heavy cream, stirring until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth, about 3-4 minutes. Scrape the mixture into a bowl and let cool to room temperature.

In a mixing bowl, beat the remaining 1/3 cup of heavy cream, the sugar, and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Gently fold a small amount of the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate mixture. Using a spatula, fold in the remaining whipped cream. Spread the mousse onto the divided cake. You can also spoon the mousse into individual serving dessert dishes, refrigerate for 1 hour and serve as is. Delish!

To make the ganache -- Place the chopped chocolate in a large mixing bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the heavy cream and sugar to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Pour the heated cream mixture over the chocolate and let it sit for 1 minute. With a wooden spoon, stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Let set until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes.

Oven Roasted Bell Peppers with Beef (meat)

INGREDIENTS:

6 large bell peppers (or 8 smallish), red and yellow

1/2 kilo ground beef (or about 1 pound)

1 yellow onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/3 cup bulgur, soaked in cold water and drained

1 spicy green pepper, chopped finely

3 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

1 teaspoon sumac

3 tablespoons olive oil

salt and black pepper

These roasted peppers are so delicious, they surprised me especially since I don't generally like roasted peppers. The stuffing in these peppers is so tasty that your guests will want seconds, so make enough for everyone! The peppers have a distinctly mediterranean taste because of the paprika and the sumac. If you have never cooked with sumac, or don't know what it is, don't worry. The spice is becoming more and more common. If you can't find it at your local grocery store, and you don't have an 'ethnic' food shop or spice store in your area, you may want to try shopping online. The sumac adds a distinctly sour taste that gives the meat a delicious savory flavor in contract to the sweetness of the bell peppers. All the flavors blend together really well in this dish, so don't be afraid even if you don't generally like complex foods. These peppers are phenomenal.

Preheat oven to 200 C (about 390 F).

Wash the peppers and cut the tops off. Clean out the inside of the peppers and set closely together in a baking dish.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the beef, onion, garlic, bulgur, spicy pepper, tomatoes, cilantro, paprika, sumac, salt and pepper. Mix all ingredients well with your hands. Once mixed together, stuff the peppers with the beef mixture, placing the pepper caps back on top.

Place in the oven, uncovered, and cook for 30-40 minutes until the tops have slightly burned. Cover the peppers with aluminum foil and continue cooking for another 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and serve immediately, or can made ahead of time and served at room temperature. Enjoy!

Easy Chicken Stock (meat)

INGREDIENTS:

4 Liters spring water

1 Chicken thigh

1 Large carrot

1 Yellow onion

1 Bunch celery leaves

Few sprigs of fresh thyme

This is an easy recipe for chicken stock, which is always great to have on hand to make your dishes more flavorful.

In a large pot, on a medium-high flame, heat up your spring water. It is very important to use the best quality of water when making chicken stock as unfiltered tap water can leave a metallic after-taste that is rather unpleasant and will take away from all your work in preparing and making this broth.

Wash all vegetables thoroughly. Dirt can hide in the celery leaves and in the onion, and since all parts of the vegetables will be used, you don't want a gritty, dirty stock.

While the water is heating, add your chicken thigh to the pot whole. Peel the carrot and slice it in quarters length-wise, adding skins and quarters to the pot. Do the same with the onion. Chop the celery leaves if they will not fit into your pot well as is. Add your sprigs of thyme to the mix. Give the mixture a good stir, cover the pot, and reduce the flame to low.

Cook covered for 3-4 hours, checking every so often to make sure that nothing has stuck to the bottom of the pot.

Once your stock has achieved a rich and deep color, remove the pot from the flame. Remove the chicken and place on a cutting board. Pour the contents of the pot through a sieve into a bowl large enough to hold all the liquid. Discard the vegetables. Separate the chicken meat from the skin and bone, adding meat to the separated liquid and discarding the bone and skin with the vegetables. Allow the stock to cool completely before storing. Will stay for several days in the refrigerator, or for several weeks in the freezer.

Homemade Pancakes with Peach Compote (Dairy)

INGREDIENTS:

3 medium to large peaches, cut in half and pitted, then sliced thinly

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

1/2 cup spring water

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 1/4 cups milk (or 1 cup milk and 1/4 cup cream)

1 egg

3 tablespoons butter, melted

This recipe is a quick and delicious idea for the weekend breakfast. I had peaches I bought from the farmers market that were sagging a little and no longer tempting to grab one out of the bowl and snack on. Instead of dumping them in the trash, their almost over-ripe sweetness was perfect for a warm compote.

For the compote, combine the brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and spring water in a small bowl and whisk. Add the peaches to a warm saucepan and pour the sugar-mixture over the peaches. Over a medium heat, stir the peaches occasionally until the liquid has reduced to a medium-thickened syrup. About 15 minutes, be careful not to let the syrup get to thick as you want it to have a nice consistency to be absorbed by your pancakes when poured over them. When the syrup has reached the consistency you want, remove from the heat. I put my compote in a separate bowl for everyone to choose how much they want over their own pancakes. You can also serve directly over the pancakes if you want to plate the food yourself.

For the pancakes, combine all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Create a well in the center of the mixture and pour in the milk, melted butter, and egg. I add the egg in last because if the butter is still hot, I don't want it to have any chance to cook my egg and give me scrambled egg pancakes. Mix until batter forms a smooth consistency and is free from lumps. If you find your batter is a little on the thick side, add spring water about 2 tablespoons at a time and mix. Don't overdo it! Too much water too quickly can easily make your batter much too thin. You want your batter to have a nice 'pour-ability'.

Once your batter is the consistency you want, heat up a large frying pan and melt a pat of butter in it, over a medium flame. Once the pan is hot and the butter is melted, pour about 1/2 cup of batter into one pile in the pan. I use a large cooking spoon (not quite as large as a soup ladle) to pour my batter and it works well. You can make your pancakes as large or as small as you want, but just remember that you will have to flip them, and the bigger the pancake the more difficult it is to flip. Once you pour the batter into the pan, don't fiddle with it, just leave it to cook. After some practice you can get the feel for the size of pancake you want. When the batter starts to form small bubbles on the top, it is ready to be flipped. Flip the pancake and let it cook on the second side for about a minute, larger pancakes my need more time. When the pancake has a golden brown color on both sides, you know it is done.

I keep my pancakes in a covered platter until all are cooked and ready to eat. Serve immediately with warm peach compote. Your friends will be impressed that you are able to make such delicious gourmet homemade food!

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Homemade Raisins (Pareve)

INGREDIENTS:

Two large bunches green, seedless grapes

I recently bought a lot of grapes at the Tel Aviv local farmer's market thinking both my boyfriend and myself would chomp through them quickly. Well, they sat and sat in the fridge and not even a nibble from either one of us. I saw that they were about to become very 'tired' looking, and not wanting to throw away food (or money), I decided it would be great to make homemade raisins to throw in with the homemade granola I intend to make in the coming days. The recipe is simple, you just need a pot of boiling water, a baking sheet, and an oven on very low temperature.

Preheat your oven to 135 F, or if you have a celsius oven like I do, about 60 C. And if your oven is anything like mine (old and cheap) I have to increase the oven temperature a little to account for the loss of heat, so I set my temperature to about 70 C. The actual time it takes to make the raisins will vary from oven to oven, anywhere from 9 to 14 hours.

First, remove the grapes from their stems and wash well. Set a large pot of water to boil to blanch the grapes. Blanching the fruit before dehydrating will make sure the fruit and the skin maintain one consistency once the fruit is dried. I selected a pot large enough to hold my sieve so that I could easily put the grapes in and take them out, as they only need to be in the boiling water for 45 seconds to 1 minute. After the allotted time, remove the grapes from the pot and cool by running cold water over them or submerging them in an ice bath.

Now, lay the grapes out onto paper towels to dry. And then move them to your baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the middle of the oven and close the door. Leave them in there and check on them every so often. You want the raisins to be pliable, not too dry and not too wet, so as you see them drying out keep an eye on them so you don't get raisin pebbles instead!

Once dried, place your raisins in a closed tupperware or glass jar and mark the date on your storage container. Your raisins will stay for 6 months up to a year.

Enjoy!