Elegant Survival

Prepeare Yourself with Non-Electric Kitchen Tools: M-J Recommends One for the Elegant Cook

For an elegant tea or coffee offering this week, why not try a Swedish cream bun? M-J's recipe:

SWEDISH SEMLOR, AN ELEGANT TRADITION

Something went wrong with the "brilliant new kitchen tool" post of yesterday. For one thing, I have lost vision in my right eye and didn't see the typographical error in the title. Then,the photo turned sideways. The Original Dish Drying Pad is a very cool tool for drying big items that you have hand-washed, like pots, on your counter. I'll try to get the photo straightened out...here it is, and remember to have a look at the venerable Schroeder & Tremayne company's other wonderfully useful products while at their modest website.

Elegant Cuisine has a new, luxurious location.

Chocolate Cake with Royal Icing (Icing Recipe is on Elegant Cuisine Page)

Emilia-Romagna, Italia

In a large, heavy pot, sauté the diced bacon in until brown. Add the butter, then your chopped and diced vegetables. When they are slightly browned and soft, add the ground beef, stirring until all beef is finely incorporated into the other ingredients. Stir in the tablespoon of flour and spices, mixing well. When the beef has turned grey and is of a fine consistency, add one half-cup of cream, mix well, and then pour in the cup of white wine. Simmer on low heat for at least one hour. This is a suitable sauce for any sort of pasta, and when cooked down to an adequately think consistency, a classic filling for lasagne.

~~Recipe Copyright M-J de Mesterton 2009

M-J’s Chocolate Truffle Tarte

One cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

One tablespoon of butter

One can of evaporated milk

Four tablespoons of cocoa powder

One tablespoon of vanilla

One cup of powdered sugar

1 and a half tablespoons of cornstarch

One half-cup of heavy whipping cream

One egg

Crumb-crust as described below

In a stainless steel pot, heat the chocolate chips, butter and cocoa powder, stirring with a wooden spoon until they are mixed together. Add one can of evaporated milk gradually, incorporating it into the chocolate mass with the help of a wire whisk. Dump the cup of powdered sugar into this, again using the wire whisk to mix it into the other ingredients. In a large measuring cup or small mixing bowl, mix the cornstarch with a little of the cream, then add all cream to the mixture, together with one raw egg, and beat all of this together before adding it to the pot. Once you have poured this mixture into the pot of now-lukewarm milk and chocolate, whisk continuously and cook for twenty minutes over low heat until thick. Cool this pudding slightly and pour it into a 9-inch spring-form or cake pan that has been prepared with a cookie-or-graham cracker crust. Refrigerate for about two hours.

Crumb-Crust

One and a half cups of ground cookies or graham cracker crumbs, which can be made in a food-processor or blender. The cookies should not contain chocolate pieces, though almonds and other nuts are good additives. The flavour of your tarte's crust will depend upon that of your crumbs.

One third-cup of cream

Three tablespoons of butter

One half-teaspoon of baking powder

One tablespoon of flour

Mix these ingredients together in a bowl until they form a dough-like ball. Coat the entire  inside of a spring-form or cake pan with this dough, using your hands and some waxed paper for pressing it in evenly. Bake the crust for twenty minutes at 350* Fahrenheit.

 Below: M-J's Crumb-Crust, Baked and Ready for Filling

Top this chocolate truffle tarte with whipped cream when serving it. Alternatively, cover it with meringue and bake in a hot oven for a few minutes until the meringue peaks are light brown.

Pictured below is my finished product. I used my own almond cookies ground up for the crumb-crust. A couple of hours after filling and cooling it, I inverted my baked   and cooled tarte onto a piece of waxed paper, and then inverted it again onto a platter. A spring-form pan, which I didn't use, will allow you to make M-J's Chocolate Truffle Tarte without those steps, and it will look much more attractive. This recipe was created and developed on Thanksgiving Day 2009; copyright M-J de Mesterton

Recipe and Photos Copyright M-J de Mesterton 2009

...is in no way affiliated with a group of musicians in Boulder, Colorado who have recently adopted the same name.

Huevos Rancheros--fried eggs and grated cheese on tortillas with red or green chile gravy on top--are a health-promoting breakfast or brunch dish for winter and fall. Placing refritos, or refried beans, under the eggs is optional. Use either flour or corn tortillas, with Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese. I like to sauté the tortillas in butter, grate cheese onto them, then fry the eggs, assemble the lot and pour on the chile gravy, finishing the top with more grated cheese.