Ganache and Truffles

It’s February. That means chocolate. Even if you despise Valentine’s Day, this is still the time to revel in chocolate. Watch the movie Chocolat with Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. Look for chocolate candy sales. And eat some chocolate. Not a giant ol’ nasty candy bar, but some smooth, rich, delicate, real chocolate. Like these melt-in-your-mouth truffles.

So we’re going to learn to make and cook with Ganache.

Ganach is simple. It takes 15 minutes to make. It has two ingredients.

So the key is the chocolate you use. You do need some good chocolate. I like Scharffen Berger because it’s pretty good and I can get it at a regular grocery store. If you want, you can order chocolate online – there are all sorts of places that sell really good chocolate. In a pinch, I’ll use Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Ready? It will take you longer to read this than actually make the ganache. I got most of this from Martha Stewart’s website.

Step 1: Chop Chocolate
8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (you can also use milk chocolate if that's your favorite)
1 cup heavy cream

The chocolate must first be chopped into small pieces so that it will melt evenly. If you leave it in large chunks, the outside surface will melt long before the center begins to soften, and the melted portion will stay hot too long, which can ruin the ganache. Use a heavy serrated knife (or a chocolate chopper) to shave off shards of chocolate; these can then be chopped again with the knife, or transferred to a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulsed briefly; be careful not to let the chocolate melt in the processor bowl.

Step 2: Incorporate Cream and Chocolate
Put chocolate into a large heatproof bowl. Bring 1 cup of cream just to a boil over medium-high heat; pour over chocolate.

Let stand 10 minutes. Stir until smooth. Stir the mixture very gently, incorporating the cream steadily, without overworking. The mixture should begin to appear glossy, a good sign that the suspension is stable.

Step 3: Use in recipe. Or eat. But we’re going to make Peanut Butter Truffles.

Immediately after making ganache, add it little by little to 1 c. smooth peanut butter, whisking constantly, until smooth.

Refrigerate in a 5x8 ½” glass pan covered, until firm, 4 hours to overnight.

Scoop with a 1 1/4” ice cream scoop or a teaspoon and roll into balls. (Note: I don't have a small scoop, so I just cut it into little squares, then rolled each little square. You don't want them too big because they are so rich.) If mixture softens, refrigerate until firm. You will have about 28 truffles. Roll in unsweetened cocoa powder.

Refrigerate in mini baking cups for 30 minutes, or up to 4 days.

These aren't overly sweet because of the semi-sweet chocolate. But they are good. They are very very very good.

For truffles, you can use any flavor combination – mint, orange, cinnamon, cayenne – whatever sounds wonderful. Or you can try:

TOASTED ALMOND TRUFFLES
1 recipe ganache
1 tsp. almond extract
1 c. finely chopped toasted almonds
When you stir the ganache, whisk in almond extract. Chill 4 hours. Shape into 1" ball and roll in almonds. Chill. About 2 ½ dozen.

Coming soon: Whipped Ganache

Pan-Roasted Venison with Tangerine-Roasted Jalapeno Sauce and Potato Sage Gratin

This is the next recipe I wanted to try. And it is good. Probably a 4-star good. And I'd tweak it as I explain later. But it is fabulous and would work just as well with beef if you didn't have wild game.

Pan-Roasted Venison with Tangerine-Roasted Jalapeno Sauce
Bobby Flay says: The venison we serve at Mesa Grill is farm-raised and never gamy. It’s also incredibly lean, so we serve it medium-rare and the meat is never dry. I love to pair it with a sweet and spicy sauce such as this one. Tangerine juice is a great choice here because of its bright and slightly tart flavor. Serve this dish with Potato, Sweet Onion, and Sage Gratin.

1 c. red wine vinegar
1 c. white vinegar
2 c. sugar
1 c. thawed tangerine juice concentrate (which I couldn’t find, so I just squeezed some tangerines)
¼ c. olive oil
1 small red onion, finely diced
4 jalapeño chiles, roasted , seeded, and chopped
6 c. chicken stock
4 (8 oz.) venison steaks – elk, deer, antelope, moose, buffalo – whatever
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine the red and white vinegars and the sugar in a medium saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil, stirring to melt the sugar.

Whisk in the tangerine juice

and boil, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has thickened and reduced by half, 10-15 minutes.

(just this alone was scrumptious)

Getting the jalapenos ready

Heat 2 tbs. of olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the onion and jalapenos

and cook until soft, 3-4 minutes. Raise heat to high, add 1 c. chicken stock, cook until reduced to ¼ cup.

Add the rest of the stock, bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 2 cups, 20-25 minutes.

Whisk the tangerine mixture into the onion mixture and reduce to a sauce consistency, stirring occasionally, 15-20 minutes. Do not, I repeat, do NOT try to speed up the process and add any salt while this is reducing unless you are conducting a science experiment. It executes a very fast and violent boiling over. Exciting to watch if you’re into volcanoes, but not exciting to clean off the stove.

To go on: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

While the sauce is reducing, heat the remaining 2 tbs. oil in a large oven-proof sauté pan over high heat. Season the venison on both sides with salt and pepper.

Add the venison to the pan and cook until golden brown and a crust has formed, 3-4 minutes.

Turn over,

place the pan in the oven, and continue cooking for 3-4 minutes for medium- rare. The meat will be red in the center.

Strain the sauce into a small saucepan and season with salt and pepper. Yes, this is really the best idea. Do the salt NOW. Drizzle the steaks with the sauce.

Kim here: We thought this was delicious, but I still found the meat a bit dry and maybe a bit chewy. We did this with a young cow elk, which is fairly tender, but not farm-raised like Mesa Grill uses. So this is what I’ll do next time: I’ll keep the meat in a chunk instead of slicing it into steaks. I’ll make the sauce the day before, then divide it in half. I’ll marinate the meat in one half of the sauce, grill the meat until it’s 135 or 140 degrees by a meat thermometer. Then I’ll slice it thin and pour the other half of the sauce (after I’ve heated it) over the meat. I think this will keep the meat moist and tender.

But it is delicious – a very nice combination of flavors and not spicy hot at all. And I served it with:

Potato, Sweet Onion, and Sage Gratin
Bobby Flay says: This gratin has an incredible warming quality, making it a perfect autumn and winter side dish for any roasted meat.

And I say: Oh, this is yummy! And filling. You’ll note all the cream. So I cut the recipe in half and it still made a lot because you don’t need a very big serving. I have the original portions here though. And it’s yummy!

2 tbs. unsalted butter, plus extra to grease the pan
2 tbs. olive oil
4 large sweet onions (Vidalia or Walla Walla – that’s fun to type), halved and thinly sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tbs. finely chopped fresh sage
4 large Idaho potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8” thick
2 c. heavy cream (or use 1 c. cream and 1 c. fat-free half and half)

Butter a 9” baking dish and set aside. (Note: I think this would be a little small for the entire recipe. I cut the recipe in half and it nearly filled a 9” dish. But a 9x13” would probably be too big. So use what you want.)

Heat the oil and butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat.

Add the onions and cook,

stirring every 5 minutes, until soft and caramelized, 30-35 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the sage.

Place a layer of potatoes on the bottom of the baking dish,

top with a seventh of the onion mixture and about 3 tbs. of the cream, and season with a bit of salt and pepper (I put 1 tsp. salt in a small bowl, then tried to make it last for the entire layering process. That way I didn’t use too much salt).

Repeat to make 7 or 8 layers (I had 4 layers with half the recipe).

Press on the gratin to submerge the potatoes in the cream mixture.

Place the dish on a baking sheet and cover with aluminum foil.

Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove the foil and continue baking for 30-45 minutes, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork and the top is golden brown. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

This can be made up to 1 day in advance and refrigerated. Reheat in the oven before serving.

This went beautifully with the Pan-Roasted Venison with Tangerine-roasted Jalapeno Sauce, and would go with any roasted meat. Fabulous!

Also, this is a typical winter salad for us: some baby spinach, some chopped fresh red pepper, usually some chopped fresh broccoli, a few pecans, and a sprinkle of either feta or blue cheese. Then a light vinagrette dressing. Good and good for you!

Have fun with this combination - it was wonderful!

Scones

Ahhh…. Scones. Rich. Buttery. Warm. Lots of different combinations. Buttery. Quick. Easy. Did I mention buttery? And warm?

I’m not talking about some canned biscuit dough that you flatten and deep-fry. That’s fry bread. I’m talking about breakfast or afternoon scones. The ones your English great-grandmother made. Actually, mine was Swiss so she probably didn’t make these. But I do.

Scones are so easy. Sift together some dry ingredients, cut in some butter, add any dried fruit or extra flavors, stir in the wet ingredients, pat into a ball, cut and bake. And eat.

The secret to flaky scones is to handle the dough as little as possible – just like homemade biscuit dough or pie crust. You want the butter to form those long, flaky layers as it melts while baking. You can roll out the dough and cut it with a biscuit cutter, but I prefer to just pat it out on a pan and cut into squares or wedges.

Scones lend themselves to all sorts of flavor combinations – use your imagination: raisins and cinnamon, pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice, cranberries and orange zest, blueberries and lemon zest, molasses and ginger, chocolate chips and zucchini, chocolate and orange…. I could go on, and I have, but it’s time to start baking.

Tip: if you don’t have buttermilk, use plain yogurt. Just stir in 2 tablespoons of plain milk with the yogurt and egg.

Another tip: use different flours – white, whole wheat, brown rice, garbanzo bean. I like whole wheat mixed with some white flour the best for scones.

Here are the basic instructions for scones:
Sift together dry ingredients.

Cut in butter.

You can also do this in the food processor – mix up the dry ingredients. Cut the butter into chunks, add to the processor.

Pulse until the butter chunks are pea size or a bit bigger.

Put dry ingredients with the butter in a bowl (if you used the food processor). Add raisins, cranberries, blueberries, chocolate chips, or whatever additions you choose to add.

Beat egg or eggs with buttermilk or yogurt. Add any other wet ingredients and whisk. Add to dry ingredients. Knead lightly; press on baking sheet lightly sprayed with cooking spray.

Cut into wedges or squares and slightly separate.

I like to brush them with a little milk or half and half. Then sprinkle with sugar – raw sugar makes a lovely crunchy top.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or as directed by the recipe. When they come out of the oven, cut them again to separate. Serve warm.

Traditionally, they are served with clotted cream or jam.

Ready? Let’s go!

CRANBERRY GINGER OAT SCONES
1 1/3 c. flour      
1 c. oats      
¼ c. sugar      
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda     
1 tsp. ginger      
½ tsp. soda
¼ tsp. cardamom
½ tsp. salt
½ c. butter
3/4 c. dried cranberries
1/3 c. plain yogurt
1 egg

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-16 minutes.

CHOCOLATE CHIP
2 c. flour      
1/3 c. powdered sugar     
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda     
½ c. butter
1 egg
½ c. buttermilk
½ c. chocolate chips

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

WHOLE WHEAT
1 ½ c. whole wheat flour    
½ c. wheat germ      
1/3 c. sugar      
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda     
1 ½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. salt
½ c. butter
½ c. raisins
1 egg
½ c. buttermilk 

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

GINGERBREAD
2 c. flour      
¼ c. brown sugar     
1 tsp. baking powder     
1 tsp. ginger      
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. allspice
¼ tsp. salt
½ c. butter
1/3 c. molasses
1/3 c. buttermilk

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

APRICOT
2 ½ c. flour      
½ c. sugar      
2 tsp. baking powder     
½ tsp. baking soda     
¼ tsp. salt      
½ c. butter
½ c. chopped dried apricots
½ c. buttermilk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. cinnamon

When assembled, brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

CRANBERRY
1 3/4 c. flour      
½ c. sugar      
¼ c. cornmeal      
2 tsp. baking powder     
¼ tsp. soda      
¼ tsp. salt
½ c. butter
½ c. fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped
2/3 c. buttermilk
½ tsp. grated orange rind
1 egg, lightly beaten

When assembled, brush with milk or half and half and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes.

BLUEBERRY
2 c. flour      
1/3 c. powdered sugar     
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda     
½ c. butter
2/3 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 egg
½ c. buttermilk
½ tsp. vanilla

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

They don’t all have to be sweet. These are great with dinner instead of biscuits.
CHEESE SCONES
2 c. flour      
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda     
¼ tsp. dry mustard     
½ tsp. salt
½ c. butter
½ c. shredded cheddar cheese
½ c. buttermilk
1 egg

Brush with milk and bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes.


These next scones are from Martha Stewart’s website. They just looked so yummy.
GINGER SCONES WITH CARDAMOM
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cardamom pods, crushed and inner seeds ground, or ground cardamom
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup crystallized ginger, chopped in 1/4-inch pieces
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
4 teaspoons sugar
2 large eggs

Use 1 egg in the dough and one egg, mixed with a teaspoon of water, to brush the wedges before you bake them.  Sprinkle with the 4 teaspoons of sugar. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

This one is super-tasty!
LEMON CREAM SCONES
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1/3 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons heavy cream
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter. In a separate bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup cream, 2 eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Add the cream mixture to the flour mixture, and beat on low speed until just incorporated.

Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface, and form into a flat disc, about 8 inches across and 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut into 8 wedges and transfer to prepared baking sheet.

In a small bowl, whisk together remaining egg and 3 tablespoons cream to make an egg wash. Brush scones with egg wash, and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 400 degrees until the tops are golden brown and firm, 15-20 minutes.

MUMMY’S SWEET WHITE SCONES
6 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
Pinch of salt
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons superfine sugar
1 heaping tablespoon baking powder
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
4 large eggs
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons milk
Granulated sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, superfine sugar, and baking powder. Make a well in the center and add butter. Using your fingers, work butter into flour mixture until a crumbly mixture is formed.

In a medium bowl, whisk together 3 eggs and milk. Add milk mixture to flour mixture and stir to combine.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead lightly and shape into a round. Roll dough out until it is 1 inch thick. Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter, cut out scones and transfer to prepared baking sheets.

In a small bowl, beat remaining egg and brush the top of each scone; sprinkle each with granulated sugar.

Transfer baking sheets to oven and bake until golden brown and cooked through, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer scones to a wire rack and let cool slightly before serving.

Have fun with any or all of these! Your tummy will thank you!