Nearly flourless chocolate cake

INGREDIENTS
Yield:1 shallow springform cake

1 lb semisweet chocolate (or 50/50 mix of semisweet and bittersweet)

10 T butter (salted or unsalted), softened
1 T all-purpose flour
1 T sugar
4 eggs, separated
Sweetened whipped cream


PREPARATION

1.  Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line the base of an 8-inch springform pan with parchment paper.

2.  Melt the chocolate in the microwave.

3.  Stir the butter, flour, and sugar into the melted chocolate. Beat the yolks lightly and whisk into the chocolate mixture gradually.

4.  Beat the egg whites until they hold a definite shape but are not dry and fold into the chocolate mixture. The beaten egg whites should be folded smoothly, quickly and easily into the chocolate mixture. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat; open the oven door, leaving it ajar, and allow the cake to cool completely in the oven.

5.  Serve warm with whipped cream.

Adapted from NY Times

Cucumber Herb Soup

Ingredients

• 1 pound cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 1 1/2 cups plain whole milk yogurt plus 1/4 cup water
• 1-2 garlic cloves, smashed
• 2 scallions
• ½ jalapeño, seeded
• ½ cup packed mixed fresh herbs (like mint, parsley, dill, tarragon, basil and cilantro)
• ½ teaspoon sherry or white wine vinegar
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 4 slices baguette or other bread, toasted
• 1 avocado
• ½ lemon
• 2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
•  olive oil for drizzle
• 1 ear of corn, shucked, kernels sliced off
•  Fresh dill, for serving

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a blender or food processor, combine cucumber, yogurt, garlic, scallions, jalapeño, fresh herbs, sherry vinegar and salt. Blend until smooth and adjust seasoning as needed.
2. Smash avocado slices on the toasted bread. Sprinkle with crumbled feta, squeeze the juice of the lemon half over the top and finish each with a drizzle of olive oil and some pepper. 
3. Garnish soup with corn kernels and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve avocado toast on the side.

Gochujang Bibimbap Sauce

Ingredients: 
1/2 cup gochujang 
1/4 cup Sesame oil toasted 
1/8 cup sugar 
1/4 cup water 
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds 
4 t apl Cider vinugr 
4 t grlic

Thai Sweet Potato Chicken Coconut Curry

Thai Sweet Potato Chicken Coconut Curry

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

4-6 T red curry paste (if Mae Ploy, if Thai Kitchen brand, use 2 bottles)

2 T fish sauce

1 cup chicken broth

1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk

1.5 pounds sweet potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch pieces

1 onion, cut into 3/4-inch pieces

2 cloves garlic

1 bell pepper (or other veggie like green beans, snow peas, etc), chopped

2 T peanut butter (optional)

⅓ cup dry-roasted peanuts

¾ teaspoon salt

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 teaspoons grated lime zest and lime wedges

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions:

1) Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add curry paste and cook, stirring constantly, until paste begins to brown, 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. 

2) Stir in broth, coconut milk, fish sauce, potatoes, onion, garlic, peanut butter, peanuts, and salt, scraping up any browned bits. Bring to simmer and cook until potatoes are just tender, 12 to 14 minutes.

3) Stir in chicken and peppers and continue to simmer until chicken is cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in lime zest. Serve with lime juice, cilantro, rice.

Recipe tuning in progress.

Smoking bishop

• 6 Seville oranges (or 5 navel oranges + juice of 1 lemon)
• ½ cup Demerara sugar
• 1 bottle red wine (not too dry nor too sweet)
• 1 bottle Ruby port
• 30 cloves
• 5 dried green cardamom pods
•  Orange peel for garnish
• 
  

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare oranges (not lemons!) for roasting: wash and dry them well, and stud each fruit equally with cloves. Roast the clove-studded fruits in the oven for an hour, then transfer them to a large glass or ceramic bowl.
2. Add the sugar and the red wine (do not add the port yet) to the bowl. Cover the bowl and leave it in a warm spot in the kitchen for at least 12 hours, and up to 24.
3. After the citrus-sugar-wine mixture has rested, cut the fruits in half and juice them through a strainer into the wine and sugar mixture. Discard fruits after they have been juiced. Strain the mixture again, this time into a heavy saucepan. Discard solids.
4. Add the port, the cinnamon stick, and the cardamom pods to the saucepan, and heat very slowly—until it “smokes” (the vapors rise), hence the name; do not allow it to boil.
5. Once the Bishop is as hot as you like, turn off the heat. Remove the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods. Serve in warmed, heatproof glasses, garnished with orange peel.

Slow Cooker Butter Chicken

Ingredients:

• 3 T vegetable oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, pressed
• 3 T grated ginger
• 2 T garam masala
• 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
• 1/2 t salt
• 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs 
• 1 T lime zest
• 1 T lime juice
• 1 can coconut milk
• ½ cup chicken broth
• ¼ cup cilantro leaves
• 2 T butter (at finish)

Serve with rice and chapati.

Directions:

1. Saute onions in oil over medium-high heat until softened. Reduce heat to medium, add garlic and ginger, and cook another 2 minutes. Add garam masala, tomato paste and salt; cook and stir 2 minutes.
2. In the slow cooker, combine the chicken pieces, tomato paste mixture, lime zest and juice, coconut milk and chicken stock. Stir everything together, cover and cook on low heat setting for about 5 hours.
3. Remove and chop chicken pieces, blend sauce in pot with immersion blender. 
4. Add butter, cilantro, and chopped chicken back to sauce. Serve.

Tortilla Soup in Pressure Cooker

Serves 6

Ingredients:
2 T vegetable oil
2 tomatoes, chopped (or 1 can diced tomatoes)
1 onion, chopped fine
1 jalepeno, seeded and minced (optional)
6 garlic cloves
2 T minced chipotle chile in adobo sauce
1 T tomato paste
6 cups chicken broth
10 (6in) corn tortillas (4 chopped up, 6 cut in 1/2 strips)
1.5 lbs boneless, skinless, chicken thighs
8 oz cojita cheese
1 avocado
1/2 c sour cream
1/2 c minced cilantro
lime

1. Heat 1 T oil in pressure cooker on saute function. Add tomatoes, onion, jalepeno and cook until soft, 5min. Add garlic, chipotle, and tomato paste. Stir in broth and tortilla pieces, scraping pot clean of browned bits (if not carefully deglazed, pressure cooker function may detect burning). Season chicken with salt and pepper and nestle into cooker.

2. Cook on high pressure for 5min. Quick release pressure.

3. Toast tortilla strips in oven at 425 after tossing in oil and salt. About 10 minutes until crisp and golden.

4. Shred chicken, whisk soup, stir in 1 tsp extra chipotle (optional). Serve soup with cojita, avocado, sour cream, cilantro, and lime juice.

Adapted from a cook's illustrated recipe.