Hear me!   Touch me!   Feel me!   I am not a liver fan. 

As a matter of fact, it is one of the few foods that goes on my never eat list.  My husband loved liver and always asked me to make it.  (I never did!)   It was one of the few reasons we went to Piccadilly for several months in a row each and every Wednesday.  Liver and onions on Wednesday.  Well that and the fact that it was right next door to the hospital where we were taking birthing classes anticipating the Queen’s arrival.   Because The Queen loved to push the tray down the long row of silver bars to the black forest cake, we continued this tradition albeit it monthly or so.  And, Bill continued his tradition of liver and onions.  One evening The Queen asked her dad what he was eating and asked if she could have a bite. 

I literally had to sit on my hands to stop myself from covering her mouth and I had to bite my lip to stop myself from shouting out a resounding NOOOOooooooo as the piece of liver touched her tongue.  I swear it is because she smelled it during my pregnancy!  She liked it.  Hey Mikey!  

So I was less than thrilled to see the Daring Cooks Challenge (yes I am this late posting) about pates.  Liver.  Yuck.   Poo.  I’m not gonna do it.  But then I saw that I could do a vegetarian version so onward ho.  We also had to make a yeast bread.  Fortunately, we were in the middle of a bread making workshop and Todd, my hero, made me this french bread!  It is crunchy and chewy and dense and beautiful and is a perfect marriage for this pate.  One of the ladies in class said we might as well rename it crack bread because it was so addicting!

This may or may not be a pate in the true sense of the word but it is all combined together, processed and molded that I am calling it that.  Besides this is my blog and I can call it whatever the heck I want.  : )

MUSHROOM PATE

2 ounces mixed dried mushrooms

1 lb mixed fresh mushrooms

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup shallots, chopped

2 tsp garlic, chopped

1/2 tbsp curry powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1 cup nuts

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

1 tbsp minced fresh parsleya

Place dried mushrooms in a bowl and cover with hot water to soften, about 15 minutes.  Squeeze mushrooms and coarsely chop.  Coarsely chop fresh mushrooms.

In large pan, melt butter.  Add mushrooms, shallots, garlic, curry and cumin.  Stir until liquid is evaporated, about 8 minutes.

Chop nuts in food processor until finely ground.  Add oil and mix until a paste is formed.  Add mushroom mixture and mix until smooth.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Garnish with parsley.

Mound in a bowl or in a plastic lined mold and serve with crackers or baguette slices.

I was honored to be invited to host the Daring Bakers challenge this month.  I chose a dessert we made in a French Chocolate class which was very well received by all in attendance and I thought when looking back at the archives of previous Daring Baker Challenges that pavlovas hadn’t been done and there was no chocolate since I joined the group.

The challenge is primarily based on a recipe from Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard and is called Chocolate Pavlovas with Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse.

While the recipe appears to be complicated because of the four components, all of the steps are very simple and easily achieved.

Thanks to everyone who participated this month.  I am glad you enjoyed the challenge!

Blog-checking lines: The June 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Dawn of Doable and Delicious. Dawn challenged the Daring Bakers’ to make Chocolate Pavlovas and Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse. The challenge recipe is based on a recipe from the book Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard.  Recipe 1: Chocolate Meringue (for the chocolate Pavlova):

3 large egg whites
½ cup plus 1 tbsp (110 grams) white granulated sugar
¼ cup (30 grams) confectioner’s (icing) sugar
1/3 cup (30 grams) cocoa powder

Directions:

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 200º F (95º C) degrees. Line two baking sheets with silpat or parchment and set aside.
2. Put the egg whites in a bowl and whip until soft peaks form. Increase speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar about 1 tbsp at a time until stiff peaks form. (The whites should be firm but moist.)  
3. Sift the confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder over the egg whites and fold the dry ingredients into the white. (This looks like it will not happen. Fold gently and it will eventually come together.)
4. Fill a pastry bag with the meringue. Pipe the meringue into whatever shapes you desire. Alternatively, you could just free form your shapes and level them a bit with the back of a spoon. (Class made rounds, hearts, diamonds and an attempt at a clover was made!)
5. Bake for 2-3 hours until the meringues become dry and crisp. Cool and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Recipe 2: Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse (for the top of the Pavlova base):

1 ½ cups (355 mls) heavy cream (cream with a milk fat content of between 36 and 40 percent)
grated zest of 1 average sized lemon
9 ounces (255 grams) 72% chocolate, chopped
1 2/3 cups (390 mls) mascarpone (don’t forget we made this a few months ago – get the printable .pdf HERE)
pinch of nutmeg
2 tbsp (30 mls) Grand Marnier (or orange juice)

Directions:

1. Put ½ cup (120 mls) of the heavy cream and the lemon zest in a saucepan over medium high heat. Once warm, add the chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let sit at room temperature until cool. 
2. Place the mascarpone, the remaining cup of cream and nutmeg in a bowl. Whip on low for a minute until the mascarpone is loose. Add the Grand Marnier and whip on medium speed until it holds soft peaks. (DO NOT OVERBEAT AS THE MASCARPONE WILL BREAK.) 
3. Mix about ¼ of the mascarpone mixture into the chocolate to lighten. Fold in the remaining mascarpone until well incorporated. Fill a pastry bag with the mousse. Again, you could just free form mousse on top of the pavlova. 

Recipe 3: Mascarpone Cream (for drizzling):

1 recipe crème anglaise
½ cup (120 mls) mascarpone
2 tbsp (30 mls) Sambucca (optional)
½ cup (120 mls) heavy cream

Directions:

1. Prepare the crème anglaise. Slowly whisk in the mascarpone and the Sambucca and let the mixture cool. Put the cream in a bowl and beat with electric mixer until very soft peaks are formed. Fold the cream into the mascarpone mixture.

Recipe 4: Crème Anglaise (a component of the Mascarpone Cream above):

1 cup (235 mls) whole milk
1 cup (235 mls) heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
6 large egg yolks
6 tbsp (75 grams) sugar

Directions:

1. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture turns pale yellow.
2. Combine the milk, cream and vanilla in a saucepan over medium high heat, bringing the mixture to a boil. Take off the heat. 
3. Pour about ½ cup of the hot liquid into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to keep from making scrambled eggs. Pour the yolk mixture into the pan with the remaining cream mixture and put the heat back on medium. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens enough to lightly coat the back of a wooden spoon. DO NOT OVERCOOK.
4. Remove the mixture from the heat and strain it through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until the mixture is thoroughly chilled, about 2 hours or overnight.

Assembly:
Pipe the mousse onto the pavlovas and drizzle with the mascarpone cream over the top. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and fresh fruit if desired.

I try, I really do, to come up with some sort of a meal plan for each week.   I envy women who peruse the grocery advertisements, make a weekly menu plan and grocery shop with a boatload of coupons to feed their families healthy and nutritious meals on a minimal budget.   Kudos to all of you.  But the store schedule and/or my day at work doesn’t always allow for this to happen.  I have found that my menu plans look something like this:

Monday:  shrimp and spinach salad

Tuesday:  pork, rice and veggie

Wednesday:  chicken and potatoes 

Thursday:  salmon and something

It is the best I can muster but, on the good side, I am free to be creative with these types of menu plans.  I have a jumping off point and I can go from there.  Some nights meals are pretty elaborate.  Other nights they are pasta.  Pasta has become my “go to” dinner.  It is great for when I am rushed or when I am tired or when I have a bit of this and a bit of that in my refrigerator.  It is mindless but doesn’t mean boring.  It is quick but doesn’t mean tasteless.  It is filling and only requires a salad as an accompaniment. 

Yesterday’s go to was a take on an antipasto platter.  I chopped up some black olives and a small jar of marinated artichoke hearts.  I would have put in roasted red peppers but didn’t have any so a jar of pimiento worked just as well.  I had a small wedge of chorizo left so I cubed that up.  Some onion and green bell pepper for aromatics.  White wine because who doesn’t drink wine with antipasto.  And the makings of a nice shrimp pasta. 

There isn’t really a recipe nor any measurements but here is the general method I used to throw this together.  Feel free to use whatever is on your favorite antipasto platter.

ANTIPASTO PASTA

Pasta of choice

Artichoke hearts

Black or green olives

Tomatoes or roasted red peppers or pimiento

Pepperoni, salami or chorizo

Green bell pepper and onion, diced

Shrimp

White Wine

Chicken broth

Cornstarch

Salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a pan and add chorizo, green pepper and onion.  Saute until chorizo has let off some of its color and onions have softened, about 5 minutes.   Add in tomatoes and white wine, tossing to coat everything.   Add in shrimp and cook until shrimp turn opaque in color.  If desired, make a slurry of cornstarch and chicken broth to thicken the sauce.  Season to taste with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes.  Toss with the pasta and serve. 

As is typical of the Memorial Day weekend we were invited to a BBQ with friends who were also celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary.  Congratulations Chris and Tuni.  We wish you 25 more!

I was thinking some sort of salad and a dessert as my contribution to the day.  Luckily, the hostess was thinking cold salad as well so I forged ahead.  I had just purchased a flat of cherry tomatoes for Foodies and had a few pints left so into the bowl they went.  I had been experimenting with some barley salad ideas but didn’t like the size of the barley with the tomatoes so opted for cannellini beans instead.

I adore cannellini beans.  Yes.  They are humble and inauspicious.  And yes.  They are canned.  And no.  Not the horror of it.  Canned beans are perfectly fine to toss into a salad which will be livened up with other ingredients.  And for ease of use, they certainly can’t be beat.  Cannellini beans.  Join the tomatoes please.  A smattering of finely chopped red onion, some fresh dill, a squeeze of two lemons, olive oil, salt and pepper and you have a cold salad suitable for a day with friends ticked off the list. 

Since the salad was simplicity personified, I decided to actually use an appliance for the dessert.   Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Bars won the vote.  These bars are sticky, creamy, crunchy and delicious.  The dulce de leche glaze on the top never really sets (it isn’t intended to) so I decided to not take a photograph until we arrived at the party.  You can tell you are a proud food blogger when you arrive with your gift, your food contributions and your camera bag and tripod.  I carried more stuff in than when I was schlepping an infant around!  You aren’t put off by any fingers in a photograph or two as you aim for the perfect shot amongst the other guests.  You are a food blogger and you need a photo dammit! 

Whew.  Got that done.  Now go ahead and enjoy these cheesecake bars.

DULCE DE LECHE CHEESECAKE BARS from Bon Appetit Magazine

2 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (I used “regular”, chocolate and a few ladyfingers because I didn’t have enough of one kind!)

2 tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

10 tbsp butter, melted

FILLING

24 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1/2 cup dulce de leche

2 tsp vanilla extract

GLAZE

2/3 cup dulce de leche

3 tbsp whipping cream

fleur de sel

Preheat oven to 350.  Coat a 13×9x2 pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl.  Add melted butter and stir until combined.  Transfer mixture to pan and press evenly onto bottom of pan.  Bake until crust is light golden brown, about 10 minutes.  Cool completely on rack.

Blend creamcheese and sugar in processor until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.  Add eggs one at at ime.  Add dulce de leche and vanilla and process until blended, about 10 seconds.  Spread batter evenly over cooled crust.  Bake until center is just set and edges are puffed and slightly cracked, about 35 minutes.  Transfer to rack and cool completely.

Heat dulce de leche and 3 tbsp cream in mirowave safe bowl until melted.  Stir to blend, adding more cream if too thick to pour.  Pour glaze over cooled cheesecake and spread evenly  Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.  Glaze will not be firm.  Cut cheesecake into 24 bars.  Sprinkle bars with a bit of fleur de sel. I forgot to do this for the photograph  : (