Chocolate Chip Sandwich Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup walnuts
1 cup plus 2 T all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
5 T heavy cream
2 1/2 T light corn syrup
2 T crème fraîche

Preparing the cookies:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spread the nuts in a pie plate and toast for 8 minutes; let cool, then chop.

In a bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and salt. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle (or using a handheld mixer), cream the butter with the sugars and vanilla at medium speed, about 1 minute. Beat in the egg. With the mixer at low speed, beat in the dry ingredients. Beat in the walnuts and chocolate chips. Spoon level tablespoons of the dough onto 2 ungreased baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, until firm.

* * * * * *

Preparing the filling:
Put the chocolate in a bowl. In a saucepan, bring the cream and corn syrup to a boil; pour over the chocolate and let stand for 1 minute. Whisk until smooth. Whisk in the crème fraîche. Refrigerate the ganache, stirring occasionally, until thick and spreadable, 1 hour.

Bake the cookies for 12 minutes, until golden; let cool on the sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Sandwich the chocolate chip cookies with the ganache and serve.

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Fresh Ricotta on Crostini

Ingredients:
4 cups whole milk
3 T lemon juice, plus the zest of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 baguette, sliced and toasted
extra virgin olive oil

Preparing the ricotta:
Lay three layers of cheesecloth over a colander.

Add the milk to a large heavy pot and place over medium-high heat. Stir in the lemon juice and salt and heat until an instant-read thermometer reaches 175 degrees F. The milk will begin to just bubble and start to steam. At this temperature you'll begin to see the curds separate from the whey. Be mindful of over-stirring the ricotta while the curds are forming, you don't want to make your ricotta stiff. Let it sit for 5 minutes undisturbed and you will be left with a very creamy and pleasant finished result.

Gently remove the curds from the pot to the colander. Use the side of the cheesecloth to very gently release some of the liquid. Tie up the curds using twine and let drain for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the cheesecloth and place in a bowl. Serve warm on toasted bread with lemon zest and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Note: Refrigerate leftover ricotta in a covered container for up to 5 days.

Makes about 1 cup of ricotta

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Swiss Chard and Gruyere Tart

Ingredients:
1 T oil
2 shallots, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
4 ounces bacon, cut into lardons
1 1/2 pounds Swiss chard, ribs removed
3 eggs
1 cup creme fraiche or heavy cream and sour cream combined
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated
a handful raisins
a handful toasted pine nuts
1 deep tart shell, pre-baked in a 9-inch springform pan or a frozen deep dish pie dough, thawed

Preparing the tart:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat the oil in a saute pan and fry the shallots until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Remove to a plate. In the same pan, fry the bacon until the fat has rendered and the lardons are crispy. Remove to the plate with the shallots. Divide the chard leaves from the ribs: chop the ribs quite small and shred the leaves. First, fry the ribs in the bacon fat until tender; cover the pan for a few minutes to speed up the process. Add the chard leaves to the pan, cover, and wilt, about 3 minutes.

Beat the eggs together with the creme fraiche, and season with salt, and pepper.

In a large bowl, toss the shallots, bacon, chard stems and leaves, cheese, raisins, and pine nuts, to combine evenly. Taste, and season. Fill the tart shell with the vegetable mixture, and pour over the cream mixture. Bake until the tart has set, about 30 minutes. Remove the tart from the oven, and cool. Serve at room temperature.


Serves 6 to 8

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Artichokes with Roasted Garlic Aioli

Ingredients:
12 baby artichokes or 4 large ones
1 to 2 lemons
kosher salt
2 to 3 T extra virgin olive oil

* * * * * *

Ingredients for the aioli:
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 cup grapeseed oil
1 head garlic, roasted
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
juice of 1 lemon

Preparing the roasted garlic:
Wrap a head of garlic in foil and bake for an hour at 350 degrees F.

* * * * * * *

Preparing the aioli:
Beat the yolk with the vinegar and mustard in a bowl. Whisk in the oil, drop by drop, to make a thick mayonnaise. Squeeze the garlic out of the roasted cloves into the mayonnaise and whisk smooth. Season the aioli with salt, pepper, and lemon juice, to taste.

* * * * * * *

Preparing the artichokes:
Trim the artichokes, rubbing with lemon as you go, until you are down to the core with a bit of stem attached. Halve. While trimming the artichokes, bring a pot of water to the boil. Squeeze the juice of a lemon into it and salt it. Drop in the artichokes and cook until tender, about 10 minutes, depending on the size. Drain, and pat dry. Heat the olive oil in a skillet and brown the artichokes on all sides. Transfer to paper towel to drain. Serve with the aioli.

Serves 4

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Pork And Teleme Panini

Ingredients:
8 slices Italian bread
1 pound ham or pork, sliced
1 pound teleme cheese
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1 cup roasted peppers

Preparing the panini:
Butter 1 side of each bread slice, then put 4 slices, buttered side down, on a work surface. Top the bread slices with the smoked ham, then the teleme cheese, distributing it evenly. Top each with a second slice of bread, buttered side up.

Heat a panini pan/sandwich griller until hot. Heat the sandwich in the griller, with a weight on top to keep as flat as possible. Cook until nicely browned, 2 to 3 minutes.

Transfer the sandwiches to a work surface and remove the top slice of bread from each sandwich. Spread the underside of those slices with mustard, and add roasted peppers, if desired.

Replace the top slice of bread, cut the sandwiches in half, and serve immediately.

Makes 4 paninis

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Chocolate Brie Panini

Ingredients:
12 slices sourdough bread
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
12 ounces Brie cheese, thinly sliced
1 (12-ounce) bag of semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, chiffonaded

Preparing the panini:
Preheat the panini grill.

Brush both sides of the bread with olive oil. Grill the bread slices until they begin to turn golden, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the panini grill and place 2 ounces of cheese on 1 slice of bread (the bottom half), top the cheese with 1/3 cup chocolate chips, and a sprinkle of basil. Top with another slice of bread. Continue with the remaining sandwiches. Return the sandwiches to the panini grill until the chocolate begins to melt, about another 2 minutes.

Cut the sandwiches into 2-inch wide rectangles or small triangles and transfer to a serving platter.

Serves 6

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Mozzarella and Olive Tapenade Panini

Ingredients:
1 loaf artisanal white bread, sliced thin, slices cut into 3-inch squares
olive tapenade
mozzarella cheese, sliced thin
softened butter

* * * * *

Ingredients for tapenade:
3 anchovies
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T fresh thyme leaves
1 cup pitted kalamata olives, plus additional as needed
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus additional as needed

Preparing the tapenade:
Put anchovies, garlic and thyme in a blender or food processor and puree. Add olives and olive oil, and pulse to a smooth paste. If it is too thin, add more pitted olives. If it is too thick, add more olive oil.

* * * * * *

Preparing the panini:
Spread bread pieces on a work surface. Spread 1/2 tablespoon olive tapenade on half the pieces, then cover with a slice of mozzarella, then cover with the remaining bread slices. Butter both sides of the sandwich and grill in batches in a panini press until browned on both sides. Put on a platter and cover with foil to keep warm until serving.

Makes 4 to 6 paninis

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My Potato Kugel

Ingredients:
5 large russet potatoes
1 large onion, grated
4 egg yolks, beaten
8 T cracker meal or matzoh meal
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
10 T melted butter, plus more, divided
4 egg whites, stiffly beaten
vegetable oil (safflower, canola, or other high-temp oil)

Preparing the kugel:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Peel the potatoes and place in a bowl of salted water to cover.

In a large bowl, grate the onion (on a box grater), mix in thoroughly the egg yolks, cracker meal and baking powder, salt, pepper, 4 tablespoons of the melted butter.

Grate potatoes (on box grater) into a separate bowl. Place grated potatoes on clean kitchen towel and squeeze out excess water until dry. Mix the potatoes into the onion mixture. Fold in stiffly whipped egg whites carefully, but thoroughly.

Over high heat, place 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large (12-inch), heavy cast iron pan, along with 2 tablespoons of the melted butter. When hot, press potato mixture into the pan into a level layer. Lower flame to medium and fry until edges around the top start to brown and bubble.

Brush 4 tablespoons of melted butter over the top of the kugel and place pan in center of oven. Bake for about 1 hour, or until top is browned and center is set.

Let rest for a few minutes before cutting into slices.

Serves 12 to 18

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Happy Thanksgiving

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Bradley Ogden's Butterscotch Pudding, Another Way

Ingredients:
4 cups heavy cream, divided use
1 vanilla bean, split, with seeds scraped and reserved
1 cup (5 ounces) butterscotch chips
5 egg yolks
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 T water
2T scotch

Preparing the pudding:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Boil a full tea kettle of water; set aside.

Put 3 1/2 cups heavy cream and the vanilla bean and its seeds in a large, heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil, take off heat and whisk in butterscotch chips until blended smoothly.

Place egg yolks in a large bowl and whisk well. Slowly add hot cream mixture while whisking vigorously. Set aside.

In a small, deep, heavy saucepan, combine brown sugar and water over high heat. When sugar dissolves and caramelizes, carefully add scotch and remaining 1/2 cup cream. Continue cooking, stirring well, until mixture is smooth and slightly thick, about 3 minutes. Whisk this caramel mixture into butterscotch mixture.

Strain mixture through a fine sieve. Divide among 12 (4-ounce) ramekins. Place ramekins in a large roasting pan. Place pan on oven rack, then carefully pour tea kettle of hot water into roasting pan, taking care not to splash into ramekins. Water should come halfway up the sides of ramekins.

Carefully slide roasting pan into oven. Bake for 50 minutes until puddings are set but still a little wiggly. Transfer ramekins to a rack or cookie sheet to cool for about 30 minutes. Refrigerate, loosely covered with foil, overnight.

Serve puddings with a dollop of unsweetened or lightly sweetened whipped cream. Or serve them brulee style by sprinkling the tops with a little granulated sugar, then caramelizing them with a blow torch.

Serves 12

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