Inspiration finds me in a variety of places. Sometimes, it is actually found on non edible piece that drive me to create a recipe.

While meandering in Lexington, Kentucky, one of my favorite cities in the world, I found my way into a haunted, old antique shop that had vintage punch bowls, sterling silver mint julep cups and carved wooden knives. Next to the old football team photo with a line up of lovely, burly gentlemen, I spied a wooden disk haloed in a red, painted edge with a buxom knife.  It is a seemingly simple piece but its unknown history called to me. I imagined it was a hunting marker and that southern farmers used it as a cutting board to fillet their venison.

My instinct was to use the round, weathered board as a serving piece, offering up simple fare to some last minute lunch guests. A few figs and some good cheese were the perfect mates to a bunch of lucky arugula that was dressed in a dark chocolate vinaigrette. Chocolate salad dressing? Yes. Don’t spend time questioning it, refocus your energy on buying the ingredients so you can give it a try.

Chocolate Sherry Vinaigrette

1/4 cup melted dark chocolate
1/4 cup balsamic or sherry vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil ( I used Apollo olive oil Gold Series from California)

Combine oil and vinegar in a bowl. Whisk in dark chocolate. Toss over organic, fresh greens.

Chocolate Polenta Poached Eggs

It is my dream to someday open a breakfast salon. I first fell in love with the ritual of breakfast when I was going to college and the had-to-go-breakfast spot was The Pancake Pantry where invariably you’d wait 1 hour+ to get a table. But it was all worth it when you first sunk your fork into their buckwheat and buttermilk cakes.

Later when I was traveling around the world and my palate was being trained in the subtlety of flavor and balance, I had the most blissful breakfast experience of modern, simplicity and cool at bills in Sydney, Australia. One of the best breakfasts I’ve ever had. I’ll never forget it.

So, now that my world is filled with chocolate I am most curious to see how far its boundaries can reach. Chocolate and eggs… oh certainly yes.

Chocolate Polenta Poached Eggs

Yields 6 servings:

Guajillo Paste
1 tomato, large and organic
2 guajillo chillies, seeded and stems removed leave in the veins (this is the hottest part)
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 tbsp canola oil
¼ tsp smoked salt (Iburi Jio Cherry by The Meadow is lovely)

Chocolate Polenta
2/3 cup polenta, I like Moretti fioretto
2 cups of whole milk
2 tsp cocoa powder, unsweetened
2 pinches of salt to taste
pepper
2 tbsp butter

12 Poached eggs

Garnish
Chopped cilantro
Avocado slices
Sour cream
Olive oil

Guajillo paste:
With a mortar and pestle, crush coriander and cumin seeds. Heat a griddle, cast iron skillet or a comal over medium high heat until a drop of water sizzles on contact. Add the tomato and turn occasionally with tongs until each side is completely charred. Do the same thing with the chillies for about 30-45 seconds per side. Then soak the chillies in boiling water to soften for 15 minutes. Drain the chillies and place in a blender with tomato, coriander, cumin, canola oil and smoked salt and pulverize into a paste. (The best blender is a Vitamix.)

Polenta:
To make the polenta, heat the milk in a sauce pan, when it is just about to boil add the polenta, and cocoa powder. Stir continuously over a low heat until it is a thick and smooth mass. Cook for about 30 minutes stirring slowly and evenly. Add butter, salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Poaching Eggs:
Poach your eggs by bring a water bath to a hot simmer (140F) and add 2 teaspoons of vinegar. The vinegar helps the egg congeal more easily. With a spoon swirl the water aggressively to form a mini tidal pool and crack a couple eggs at a time into your water bath. The twisting motion of the water helps the whites fold over the egg yolk. You can also nudge the egg whites closer to their yolks with a spoon. Turn off the heat. Cover. Let sit for 4 minutes, until the egg whites are cooked. Lift eggs with a slotted spoon and rest on a towel to absorb excess water.

One trick to make the eggs stay somewhat contained is to take a cookie cutter ring or the ring part of a lid from a mason jar and place it in the pan. Drop the egg over the ring and let the egg settle in the ring, then turn off the heat and cover.

Assembly:
Take your warm plate, place a nice dollop of the polenta in the center. Place 2 poached egg atop then drizzle with the guajillo chili paste, slices of avocado, chopped cilantro, sour cream and a touch of olive oil.

yummmmm

White Chocolate + Olive Panini

I get on panini kicks now and then and usually make a plethora of different recipes at once. Maybe it is because it is such satisfying result for such few ingredients and little effort. People don’t commonly think to put chocolate between bread in this country or alongside savory ingredients; but, I promise that once you get started doing both, you won’t look back.

This week, stay tuned in as I take you through a panini flight from white to milk to dark chocolate. In chocolate tasting, like win sipping, we begin with the lighter flavors (white chocolate) before moving to the darker flavors so that your palate is not overwhelmed.

White chocolate often gets a bad rap. Many argue that it is not chocolate at all. I disagree! White chocolate is made from the cocoa butter that is derived from the cacao bean. The cocoa butter is separated from the dark cocoa solids and combined with sugar and milk to create white chocolate. It is usually quite sweet and very creamy. I usually combine white chocolate with something citrus-y, salty or with a floral note to offset the sweetness. The more delicate flavor of the white chocolate allows the softer citrus and floral notes to enjoy center stage.

In this panino, the sweet white chocolate marries well with the briney olives. Together with the cheese, the white chocolate will ooze between the crunchy bread spreading sweet delight with each savory bite. It is especially important to gather the best quality ingredients. Your white chocolate should be at least 30 % cocoa butter. Don’t use the fake stuff!

If you don’t have a panini press and don’t want to own another appliance, try this panini iron, which can be pressed on top of the sandwich while it cooks on a grill pan, or a good ol’ waffle iron works well too.

White Chocolate + Olive Panini

Makes 1 sandwich

2 slices rustic Italian bread or ciabatta about 2 inches in diameter
1 1/2 tablespoon first cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil
a pinch Maldon sea salt
¼ ounce (7 grams) white chocolate
1 slice of Buffalo mozzarella
2 nicoise and 2 Castelvetrano Sicilian Green Olives pitted and sliced
a fresh basil leaf

Directions:
Brush each slice of bread with olive oil front and back. Top with a pinch of sea salt, a slice of buffalo mozzarella cheese, olives, basil, and place a few pieces of white chocolate on top. Sandwich together and place in a preheated Panini press. Press until golden and melted, 2-3 minutes. Bite…mmm!
A great sweet and savory hors d’oeuvre!

Dark Chocolate, Nicoise Olive, Prosciutto & Buffalo Mozzarella Panini

In the previous post, I explained my newfound love of the real McCoy, fresh (meaning 2 days old or younger) Mozzarella di Bufala. It is not easy to find in the U.S. or should I say close to impossible, so if you are unable to get your hands on this more stringy, elastic and I would say a bit rubbery, fresh cheese there are alternatives. What you typically find in the States is buffalo mozzarella that has been resting in its water for weeks and therefore the consistency becomes softer and softer, closer to a burrata style than an authentic buffalo mozzarella from Campania. Don’t get me wrong, I love burrata and I truly enjoy the mozzarella di bufala that is imported, but it is far from its mother. So, go with a firmer style mozzarella or try your stateside buffalo mozzarella and you will be ok.

Whichever cheese you use, be SURE to place the sliced mozzarella between sheets of cloth towels for at least 10 minutes before using it to help eliminate the excess water in the cheese. Otherwise, the excessive liquid will make your panini soggy. And my friends, there is nothing worse than soggy panini.

Ok, so now let’s get straight to it. The flavors that are so critical here as the threesome of dark chocolate, olive and prosciutto, which bring out the umami depth when they are melded together.

Wrap these sandwiches in parchment and take them to your backyard for a picnic. Pair them with your favorite bottle of Italian Barbaresco, I love GAJA.

Dark Chocolate, Nicoise Olive, Prosciutto & Buffalo Mozzarella  Panini

Yields One Sandwich

Equipment needed: Panini press or waffle iron or clothes iron and cast iron pan (for more on these tricks, click here)

1 ½ oz buffalo mozzarella
2 slices thick Italian country bread,  about 1/2 inch thick and 4-5 inches wide
2 tbsp olive oil
5 nicoise olives, pitted and sliced
1 oz dark chocolate : Vosges Organic 74% OR 66% Enchanted Mushroom Bar OR plain 55% cacao
a sprinkle Murray River Pink Salt
3 slices prosciutto, La Quercia (new prosciutto sulfite free from Iowa)
2 basil leaves

Cut mozzarella and place on a towel to absorb excess water. If you put straight onto the bread you will have a soggy panino. Brush olive oil on all sides of the bread. Place olives, dark chocolate and salt on one side followed by the mozzarella, basil and prosciutto. Press to golden brown and serve immediately.

For more panini making tips, go here.

Fresh Ricotta Cheese with Olive oil and Dark Chocolate

I first experimented with cheese and chocolate while developing the Rooster truffle.   The dark chocolate truffle combines taleggio cheese with organic walnuts and anchors the Collezione Italiano.   Included in the collection are four other savory flavors with Italian inspiration.

Ricotta is a much milder cheese but works just as well with dark chocolate.  Ricotta is a fresh, snowy white cheese with the texture of cottage cheese.   It has a rich but mild slightly sweet flavor and can be used for savory or sweet dishes.  You must use FRESH ricotta for this recipe!  If you have trouble finding it, you can always make your own.

Using quality ingredients is paramount.  One of my favorite things to do is pair the perfect combinations of olive oil , salts, peppers and other ingredients.  Finally, I match them to their chocolate mate.  For this recipe, I crumbled a 65% Venezuelan dark chocolate atop the cheese. 

Serve this Ricotta with an hors d’oeuvre plate.  I included nuts, cherries, a few other cheeses and some black pepper crackers.  The La Panzanella black pepper crackers might just be the best crackers I have ever had in my life!

Fresh Ricotta Cheese with Olive Oil and Dark Chocolate

2 cups (or lbs.) Fresh Ricotta Cheese
3 tablespoons  Extra Virgin Olive Oil (try Barilla)
A pinch  Pink salt (try Murray’s River)
A pinch  White Pepper
1 1/2 ounces  Dark Chocolate (try 65% dark, Venezuelan)

Place Ricotta in a dish.  Stir in salt and pepper.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Chop dark chocolate into fine slivers and sprinkle atop.   Serve with crackers.