Where do I start? Last week was chaotic to say the least. Jeff and I took our annual road trip to the Charleston Food and Wine Festival last week. We ate our way through the charming city and attended a couple of the events. As always, we had a blast and came home with a little extra weight. While there, we enjoyed some amazing culinary experiences, including: McCrady's, Cru Cafe, Edmond's Oast, Rarebit, The Grocery, Peninsula Grill and Poogan's Porch. We had lunch at Poogan's on Monday as we begin to make our way home. Much to our surprise, Dan Stevens of Downton Abbey (Matthew Crawley) fame, was sitting next to us. The long weekend was as memorable as ever. While there, we attended the Grand Tasting Tent and scored some great new Le Creuset's mini cocotte's in the new palm color, so I took them on a test run in tonight's Sunday Supper.
The long drive home from Charleston was filled with work issues from my two jobs: Grant Design Collaborative and Canton City Council. With dueling cell phones, I navigated the drive with grace and gratitude, issue by issue. When we finally got home, I had a conference call with clients from Hong Kong and San Francisco about a new multiple brand identity campaign. Later in the week, the same clients and their colleagues gathered in Grant's office on Friday for a group presentation. The meeting went great, and we had a great time. Of course, my team at Grant Design Collaborative rose to the occasion to impress everyone with their stellar design thinking, and I could not be more fortunate.
After a hectic week, it was nice to relax a bit this weekend. We enjoyed the Spring weather on Friday night with dinner on the patio at Riverstone Corner Bistro, and Mike and Shelly's hospitality was as warm as ever. Afterward, we sat outside at One Britt with a couple of fire logs and great music. Dusty Springfield waxed poetic, and all was right in the world. Saturday night was equally enjoyable as we attended a great dinner and bonfire at our dear friend, Laine Wood's, house. Some of her Sweet Potato Queens were visiting from Louisville, and we talked and laughed as John Clark tended the most artistic bonfire known to man.
Our rainy Sunday morning began with thyme and smoked Gouda eggs, toasted bagels and New England coffee. After catching up with CBS Sunday Morning, we ventured to Cherokee Market to gather provisions for tonight's supper. Lisa Meyer was as fabulous as always and shared the fact she sold out of Brussels sprouts after my mention of them in my last blog. They are the best around! We got to say hello to John, and Bull shared a slice of his delicious chocolate cake. How much do I love Cherokee Market? Let me count the ways.
When we returned home, I retreated to the kitchen to cook the afternoon away. I put the new Le Cruest cocotte's to good use with both the entree and dessert. The entree consisted of individual chicken pot pies with a side of blistered radishes and roasted cabbage. I also used the new palm colored vessels to prepare molten chocolate cakes for dessert. Of course, the most meaningful course consisted of meaningful conversation with our friends, Cory and John, for different reasons. Life is a highway...
The Menu:
- Personal Chicken Pot Pies
- Roasted Cabbage Steaks
- Blistered Radishes
- Molten Chocolate Cakes with Orange Scented Whipped Cream
The Recipe – Personal Chicken Pot Pies in Mini Cocottes
Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
7 oz (1 ¼ sticks) sweet butter
4 carrots
3/4 cup pearl onions
4 cups chicken stock
2 tbsps unbleached flour
3/4 cup half and half
3/4 cup of peas
1 tsp parsley chopped fine
1 frozen pre-rolled puff pastry dough
2 egg yolks beaten with 1 tsp of milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper.
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Put the chicken breasts on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and baste with 1 oz of softened butter. Salt and pepper generously. Bake for 20 minutes. When the chicken is cooked through, cut it into large chunks.
Peel the carrots and cut them into small dice. Peel the pearl onions. In a small sauce pan, bring the chicken stock to a boil then set aside.
In a large casserole, melt the remaining 6 oz of butter. Cook the pearl onions for 10 to 15 minutes slowly over a low flame, until they are translucent and caramelized. Add the flour and continue cooking for 2 minutes stirring continuously. Add the hot chicken stock. Let it simmer for 1 minute till the sauce begins to thicken and loses the taste of flour. Add the half and half, 1 teaspoon
of salt, a half teaspoon of ground pepper, the chunks of chicken, the diced carrots, the peas, and the parsley. Give it a good stir.
Increase the oven temperature to 400°F.
Divide the chicken filling into 4 mini cocottes. Cut 4 circles of puff pastry dough slightly larger than the mini cocottes. Moisten the edges of the cocottes with the egg wash. Place one circle on each filled cocotte, pressing down around to seal the dough circle. Cut a small hole in the center to make a steam vent.
With a pastry brush, coat the dough tops with egg wash. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until
golden brown.
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3 comments:
Did you really purchase 8 mini cocottes?? Or did you have to do a quick wash-up before dessert? :-)
Would you share your recipe for molten chocolate cakes? I've only used King Arthur Flour mix which is satisfactory, but the urge for lava cake often strikes when there's no mix in the pantry!
Casey L
Yes, Casey, I bought 8 at the Charleston Food & Wine Festival! I always buy 8 of everything so the quantities match. Here is the molten chocolate cake recipe, pretty easy. However, I may prefer the one from Cook's Illustrated a bit better. They call theirs molten lava cake. On either, just don't overcook, or you will not get the molten center! Enjoy!
Molten Chocolate Cakes
Prepare and serve in the stoneware Mini Cocottes
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate
6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) butter
4 large egg yolks
4 large whole eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup unbleached flour
Zest of 1 orange
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter and flour 4 mini cocottes, tapping out any excess flour.
In the top of a double boiler, melt the chocolate and butter together. Stir until well-blended, then let cool to warm room temperature.
In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and whole eggs together, then beat in the sugar one tablespoon at a time. Continue beating until the eggs have tripled in volume, and are a pale yellow color. This may take upwards of 15 minutes, or 4 minutes with an electric whisk.
Fold the beaten eggs into the chocolate and gently blend the two.
Sprinkle the flour into the cooled chocolate mixture, little by little, and continue mixing until well blended.
Add the orange zest. Save a few strands for decoration.
Divide the batter into the four prepared cocottes and place, uncovered, into the oven on a baking sheet.
Bake for 12 - 15 minutes. When done, the batter will have puffed up. Move the baking sheet slightly. The middles of the cakes shouldn't jiggle, but they should still be soft.
Dust the tops with powdered cocoa and garnish with reserved orange zest. Serve immediately.
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