Spork or Foon?

Junior's Tiramisu Cheesecake, Dr. Death, DDR. and my 400th Post!

 

This is my 400th post! That's crazy!!!

I had my wisdom teeth pulled this past Thursday. I hemmed and hawed, whined and moaned to coworkers. I was scared.  I was convinced – convinced I tell you! – that I was going to wake up during the surgery and discover the evil oral surgeon perched over me with the metal shears of death waiting to rip each tooth out from my mouth slowly as his eyes burned with fire and the dental hygienist cackled in the background.

I know. I’m a huge baby. And a drama queen.

But you see, I had a horrible experience at the dentist.  Take a trip down memory lane with me, shall we?

It was 2001. I was studying in London during my fall semester of Junior year.  My best friend, Tara, and I had taken a weekend jaunt to Amsterdam and were slowly wandering around the Van Gogh museum. I was enjoying a Nip hard candy and Starry Night when all of a sudden I felt a crack. Somehow, my tooth had chipped. I thought, either I have really weak teeth or this is the strongest Nip on the face of the planet.

Unfortunately for me, I couldn’t get a dentist appointment to save my life, so I lived the four months in London with a chipped tooth. When I returned to The States, it was no surprise that I needed to have a root canal. From my evil dentist whom I hated.

He was a dentist who I had been going to for years and he was mean. Just straight up mean. I think he had a drinking problem as well (no joke). But I never tried to change dentists, because I was still under the impression that all dentists were evil.   

He was a round, middle aged man, who stood no higher than 5’8”.  His meaty, clumsy hands always fumbled when picking up the equipment.  I still remember the sound of his labored breathing as he worked on my mouth, no doubt causing greater damage on my teeth rather than fixing them (no joke. I’ve learned I need another root canal because he drilled too close to the nerve on a cavity he filled years back. Dr. Death, DDR.

 So I sat in the chair of his dim blue office with chipping paint walls as I gazed up in terror at the fluorescent lights.  He gave me a few shots of Novocain and picked up an instrument. Wait! I thought. Isn’t he supposed to let it set? Nope. Not Dr. Death, DDR. He went straight to work. I winced in pain and made a feeble sound, letting him know I wasn’t comfortable.

“I can still feel it.” I mumbled in my garbled speak that only dentists can understand.

He huffed as if it were the most ridiculous thing in the world that I could still feel it.  He gave me a few more shots of Novocain and waited five minutes, clearly annoyed that I was inconveniencing him because I could feel the drilling IN MY BRAIN.

I’ll spare you the details, but after an hour of screaming and 8 shots of Novocain later, I left his office looking like someone had hit me in the face repeatedly with a baseball bat, or just stuck a softball in my mouth with tears streaming down my face.

So now, whenever I sit in a dentist chair, I start shaking, become short of breath, and tear up a little bit when I think of Dr. Death, DDR.

However, this oral surgeon was anything but.  He was young, handsome, and extremely charismatic. I immediately was shuffled into a back room and received a cat scan. I was confused as they strapped my head to the chair and asked me to close my eyes as the machine whirled around my face. It was the chamber of death and I was going to die by wisdom tooth extraction.  I prayed that it would be a quick end as the anesthesia pulsed through my body and lulled me to sleep.

An hour later, I awoke to my boyfriend entering the room and lightly kissing me on the forehead.

“Did they start yet?” I asked.

He laughed. “Yes, you’re done.” 

We went home and I surprisingly had no pain. I leered a little bit at the sight of my chipmunk cheeks, but otherwise, I was fine. No pain. No aching. Nothing. But I was instructed to take it easy to not aggravate my mouth.

Well, by the weekend, I was going totally stir crazy and I wanted to eat something good. I was sick of jello. I wanted something delicious. I’ve been eyeing this tiramisu cheesecake recipe for weeks now, and I thought this would be the perfect time. Since I bored you with my dentist story, I’ll keep the cheesecake part short. You know, because this is a blog about dentists, not food.

 
I don't know how many of you have ever visited or heard of Junior's Cheesecake, a New York City historical icon in terms of dessert. They have a cookbook out featuring recipes for many of their famous cheesecakes, and this one just popped out of me. Tiramisu. Cheesecake. Two of my favorite things.  But would it be as delicious as it sounds?

YES.

This cheesecake is OUTRAGEOUS. Perfect for any cheesecake lover.  The creamy, coffee cheesecake layer is pure heaven and is topped with a layer of deliciously soft lady fingers that were soaked in a sweet tiramisu syrup made of coffee, rum, and water. The cheesecake is then encircled with more tiramisu syrup-soaked ladyfingers and finally, the entire cheesecake is topped with the most delicious, billowy, sweet mascarpone cream.

OUT. RA. GEOUS. I could have eaten the whole thing. But then I ate an entire pint of Hagen Daaz Dulce De Leche Frozen yogurt, so I couldn’t justify more than a tiny sliver of cheesecake.

Who’s got two thumbs and gains weight when she can’t eat after wisdom tooth surgery? This girl.

 

 
 

Tiramisu Cheesecake – Adapted from Junior’s Cheesecake cookbook

1 tablespoon hot water

1 tablespoon instant freeze-dried espresso or coffee

Three 8-ounce packages cream cheese (use only full fat),at room temperature

1 1/3 cups sugar

1/4 cornstarch

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

2 extra-large eggs

2/3 cup heavy or whipping cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Wrap the outside of the pan will aluminum foil,covering the bottom and extending all the way up the sides.

Stir the water and espresso together in a small cup until dissolved. Put one package of the cream cheese, 1/3 cup of the sugar, and the cornstrach in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low intil creamy, about 3 minutes, scraping the bowl down a couple of times. Blend in the remaining cream cheese, one package at a time, scraping down the bowl after each one. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat in the remaining 1 cup sugar, then the vanilla. Add coffee into the cream, add to the cream cheese mixture, and beat just until it's completely blended. Be careful not to overmix! Gently spoon the batter into the springform.

Place in a large shallow pan containing hot water that comes about 1 inch up the sides of the springform. Bake until the edges are light brown and the top is light tan, about 1 1/4 hours. Remove the cake from the water bath, transfer to a wire rack, and let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 2 hours. Then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely cold, preferably overnight or for at least 4 hours.

For the Tiramisu Syrup and Ladyfinger Layer:

1 cup hot water

2 tablespoon instant freeze-dried aspresso or coffee

¼ sugar

¼ cup Rum

At least 22 ladyfingers (9 for the layering and 13 for the ring around the edge – I’m sure I used more, though.)

Make the tiramisu syrup. Combine the water and espresso in a small sauce-pan until dissolved. Add the sugar and Kahlua or Rum, bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to medium, and let simmer, uncovered for 3 minutes, stirring a few times. Top the cold cheesecake (still in the pan) with a layer of ladyfingers,. Transfer the cake to the freezer until completely frozen, at least overnight and/or until ready to assemble.

For the Mascarpone Cream

1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored granulated gelatin

1 tablespoon cold water

1 1/2 cups cold heavy or whipping cream

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

2 tbsp rum

One 8- to 10-ounce carton mascarpone cheese

When you're ready to assemble the cake, make the mascarpone cream. Place the gelatin in a heatproof measuring cup, stir in the cold water, and let stand until it swells and thickens. Cook in the microwave on high about 30 seconds or over a pan of simmering water for about 1 minute, until clear and completely melted. In a medium-size bowl, whip the cream with the mixer on high until it thickens and soft peaks just begin to form. With the mixer still running, add the sugar and beat just until the cream stands up in peaks (don't over-mix or the cream will curdle). Beat in the vanilla and rum. Add the melted gelatin all at once and beat until thoroughly incorporated. Gently fold in the mascarpone with a rubber spatula.

Remove the cake from the freezer and let it stand at room temperature about 10 minutes. Release and remove the sides of the springform, then remove the cheesecake from the bottom of the pan. Transfer to a cake plate. To attach the remaining ladyfingers (26 halves) to the outside of the cake, spread a thin layer of the mascarpone cream over the flat split sides of the ladyfingers. Stand them up around the edge of the cake, rounded-side out pressing each one gently in place. Spoon the remaining mascarpone on top of the cake and gently even out with a metal spatula; it will come up almost to the top of the ladyfingers. Since the cheesecake is still very cold, the mascarpone cream will set fast.

For The Topping:

4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate made into Chocolate Curls

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa  powder

To decorate, cover the top of the cake with the chocolate curls, then sprinkle evenly with the cocoa. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until the mascarpone layer is cold and set and the cheesecake layer has defrosted enough to slice easily. Slice with a sharp straight-edge knife, not a serrated one. Cover any leftover cake and refrigerate or wrap and freeze for up to 1 month.

 

Capellini with Fresh Ricotta, Roasted Garlic, Corn and Herbs

Last night, one of my best friends from college texted me asking me for more savory foods on my blog --so this post is for PJ in LA!  Love you!

I often sign up for email communications from my favorite websites, stores, etc., hoping to find some great gem of a deal or a fantastic recipe, but more often than not, I get annoyed at the emails that clog my inbox and delete them in a huff.  Why do they send me so much crap? I think to myself, as I click my mouse or swipe my screen (iPhone users, you understand) to delete the pesky emails, never once reminding myself that it was I who initiated the email communication by signing up for email alerts.

Sometimes, though, an unexpected gem pops up. Like this recipe. Bon Appetit sent out one of their emails featuring recipes and this pasta just jumped out at me.  My eyes fixated on the “Fresh Ricotta”.  Recently, I’ve been wanting to use fresh ricotta in everything, mainly because I now know how to make it from scratch and, even though it’s the easiest thing in the world to make, I always feel so accomplished when I do it. Because I’m making CHEESE. Kind of.

So off I ran to the supermarket to pick up ears of corn, a variety of fresh herbs, and some cappellini, which I have never used before and now I knew why.  Out of the hundreds of varieties of macaroni (pasta), there was only one box of cappellini left.  The box had seen better days (aka, it looked like someone tried to beat the crap out or use it as a whiffle ball bat in a a 5-year old t-ball tournament) so I asked a salesperson for another kind.

“What kind of pasta are you looking for?” he asked, kindly.

“Cappellini.” I told him, my eyes scouring the variety of packed boxes and bags holding an array of different shaped noodles.

“Ha!”  He scoffed. I looked at him, confused.

“Good luck,” he said as he walked away.

Thanks, guy.

I could not find any more boxes and contemplated subbing a thin linguine, but I thought better of it, so battered box it was.

I returned home, roasted some garlic and corn, and began to chop the herbs. The nutty smell of the garlic intensified as time passed, while hints of lemon, pine, fennel and onion wafted through the air as my knife chopped through the dill, parsley and chives.

I made a sauce out of fresh lemon, lemon zest, and mashed roasted garlic.

When the cappellini was ready, I tossed the still warm noodles with the lemon and roasted garlic “sauce” and the citrus scent of lemon infused with the nutty roasted garlic and created a wonderful juxtaposition of light and earthy fragrance.  I added the herbs, greens, roasted corn, and fresh ricotta cheese, and finally, some grated Manchego cheese.

The dish, besides being beautiful, is one of the most interesting, wonderful summer pasta dishes I have ever tasted. The light notes of the lemon really shone through and was the perfect final touch to the dish that was bursting with flavor from the chives, parsley, and dill especially. The corn provided a nice textural surprise, and of course, the cream ricotta was superb and the mixed greens and radicchio provided a wonderful burst of color, and the Manchego cheese added the most perfect finish to the dish, tying all of the flavors together with it's nutty, sharp flavor.

A true gem, indeed.  Keep those emails coming (but not as frequently, please. Thanks.)

Capellini with Fresh Ricotta, Roasted Garlic, Corn and Herbs adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients

1 large head of garlic, top 1/2 inch cut off

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

4 ears of fresh corn with husks

6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

4 teaspoons grated lemon peel

8 ounces capellini

2 cups (loosely packed) mixed greens

2 cups torn radicchio leaves

1 cup fresh ricotta cheese (7 to 8 ounces)

1/2 cup finely grated Manchego cheese plus shaved Manchego for

garnish

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/3 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place head of garlic on sheet of foil. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil; wrap foil around garlic and crimp to seal tightly. Place garlic and corn on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until corn is tender and garlic is soft, about 25 minutes for corn and 40 minutes for garlic. Cool slightly.

Squeeze garlic out of skins into large bowl; add any oil from foil. Add lemon juice, lemon peel, and 3 tablespoons oil; mash garlic, then whisk mixture. Shuck corn; cut kernels from cob and transfer to same bowl.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Rinse with cold water; drain well. Place in medium bowl; toss with 1 tablespoon oil. Using kitchen shears, cut pasta crosswise several times.

Add pasta, greens, radicchio, ricotta, grated Manchego, and herbs to bowl with garlic mixture; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with shaved Parmesan.

Rum Drenched Vanilla Cake with Mixed Berry Compote

 

I've been an enormous slacker on TWD and for that, I apologize to all memebers, especially our fearless leader, Laurie! But now I am back in the game and have some SERIOUS catching up to do.

Wendy, of Pink Stripes, chose the Rum-Drenched Vanilla Cake and for that, I want to hug her. I can't say it enough - Alcohol in desserts is a-ok by me.  I just love the unexpected flavor that pops from spirits.  And now, I'll stop talking about how much I love the combination, for fear that all of my readers will think I actually do have a problem and will hold a virtual intervention.

I made these vanilla cakes one night when Jack and I were hosting several friends for a dinner party. Every so often, we and a few of Jack's college friends and their girlfriends/wives, whom I now consider my own friends and who I love so much, get together and have dinner or do some other fun event together (like our most recent trip to LBI).  I had decided to make several canapes - Shrimp toast, Filet Mignon with a tomato creme fraiche on water crackers, lemon-taragon meatballs with a sweet tomato glaze, and something else that is escaping me - and two desserts - a lemon tart and these rum drenched vanilla cakes.

Everything went off without a hitch, and of course, I did not take any pictures of anything because I was pressed for time and the sun was setting and I refuse - REFUSE - to take photos of my food with flash, no matter how much Jack tells me I am being ridiculous (food bloggers, you understand). The only thing that I didn't work for me were these cakes. I don't know what went wrong, but I blame the perils of New York City kitchens. My stove is the size of half a stove, and it burns at whatever temperature it feels like. Right now, it is burning at about 25 degrees higher than it should be. Items on the lower rack cook well, but items on the top rack really brown quickly, and these were no exception. I tried to rotate the pans from the top to the bottom, and I was rewarded for my efforts of moving the loaf pans with sunken, dense middles.

I decided to quickly make some rum whipped cream and a mixed berry compote, hoping that would easy the disaster that these cakes turned into. Luckily, it did. But I was still not proud of the dish and did not want to serve it to guests. As they started to arrive, I quickly hid the cakes atop my dresser in my bedroom (I live in Manhattan - I don't have much space) and forgot about it.

Hours later, after our bellys were full and we were happily drinking some summery sangria, a friend of walked out of our bedroom after using the bathroom (we have one bathroom in our apartment and it is in our bedroom - Manhattan living at its finest) and exclaimed - do you have a cake on your dresser?!

Good times, indeed.

Needless to say, I think this cake would have been phenomenal if it were not for my missteps.  Thanks to Wendy for an awesome pick!

Click here for the recipe!

Eggs Benedict with Lemony Hollandaise Sauce

I love posting breakfast dishes right before the weekend, because, honestly, who has time to make special breakfast dishes like eggs benedict during the week?

I call this “lemony”  hollandaise because I had a slight accident and doubled the amount of lemon in  my original recipe. I was a bit worried, but the lemon really shone in this hollandaise sauce and was a nice little flavor surprise.

I decided to use a ham and cheese scone from one of my favorite brunch restaurants in NYC, Alice’s Tea Cup, as the base for this hollandaise.

If you live in New York or if you are ever visiting, you must visit Alice’s Tea Cup for brunch.  There are three locations – 64^th and Lexington, 82^nd and 2^nd, and 74^th and Columbus.  Each location has a slightly different menu, and the 64^th and Lexington location is by far my favorite. However, each of these locations has such a similar charm to them.  The décor is whimsical and charming. As soon as you walk through the doors, you are transported to a wonderland of sorts. For children, fairy wings are available to wear as you enjoy your breakfast, but only after you are sprinkled with a bit of fairy dust to send you on your way.  The countertop is filled with wonderfully decorated cakes and their signature scones – Ham and Cheese, Plain, and the Pumpkin Scone. Ohhhhh the pumpkin scone. I had it once four years ago and have never stopped thinking about it since. However, I do not get it, because I know beneath that beautiful little crust is a calorie bomb waiting to implant itself in my hips. So instead, I tell other people to get it and watch them as they enjoy. J

These scones are the perfect base for a delicate poached egg, where the tender crumb sops up the  golden yellow yolk as it oozes from the broken poached egg.  Topped with a creamy, wonderfully light hollandaise, this is truly a breakfast to be made time and time again.

Eggs Benedict with a Lemony Hollandaise Sauce

Ingredients

4 egg yolks

1 1/2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted (1 stick)

Pinch cayenne

Pinch salt

Directions

Vigorously whisk the egg yolks and lemon juice together in a stainless steel or glass bowl and until the mixture is thickened and doubled in volume. Place the bowl over a saucepan containing barely simmering water (or use a double boiler,) the water should not touch the bottom of the bowl. Continue to whisk rapidly. Be careful not to let the eggs get too hot or they will scramble. Slowly drizzle in the melted butter and continue to whisk until the sauce is thickened and doubled in volume. Remove from heat, whisk in cayenne and salt. Cover and place in a warm spot until ready to use for the eggs benedict. If the sauce gets too thick, whisk in a few drops of warm water before serving.

EGGS BENEDICT 

4 ham and cheese scones 

2 teaspoons white vinegar

4 eggs

Salt and pepper, to taste

Hollandaise sauce

Fill a small saucepan half full of water. Add white vinegar to the cooking water. This will make the egg white cook faster so it does not spread. Bring to a slow boil. Gently break 1 of the eggs into a cup or mug, taking care not to break the egg or yolk, and slowly drop the egg into the water taking care not to break it. Repeat with remaining eggs. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook 3 1/2 minutes until the egg white is set and yolk remains soft. Remove with a slotted spoon, allowing the egg to drain.

To assemble: Top each scone with poached egg. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon hollandaise sauce over the eggs.  

Kahlua Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was trolling around on Facebook (that actually sounds so odd and slightly sleazy), doing things people on Facebook do – you know, like looking at vacation photos of people who I haven’t talked to in ten years – when I saw these Kahlua Chocolate Chip cookies on She’s Become Doughmesstic’s site. 

My eyes almost popped out of my head.  Now, we all know that I love putting alcohol in desserts.  I no longer feel like a closet alcoholic when I enter the liquor store and buy those airline bottles of alcohol.  Instead, I walk in with my head held high, and as I plunk my money down on the countertop, I say to the guy behind the countertop with conviction:

“I need it for cooking.”

He answers back with a blank stare, as if he could care less about my closet alcoholism, cooking needs, or my two dollars and nineteen cents. 

But I digress.

When I saw these cookies, I was immediately intrigued. Cookies with a twist. Kahlua. Hazelnut oil. Chocolate chunks filled with caramel. I loved it. 

I decided to make them during a weekend away with friends at my boyfriend’s parent’s incredible beach house.  I try to cook and bake as much as possible when I am here, because… well… just look at this kitchen. 

 
And there are two kitchens like this. I die.

Unfortunately, when at the beach house I am usually short on cooking utensils. Sometimes it terrifies me when people do not have baking necessities like stand mixers and cooling racks.  How do they live like this? I think.  Then I realize not everyone is a crazy baker like me.  However, there is nary a baking sheet to be found in this house. Funnily enough, I also think I am the only one in the history of the house to have ever used either of the ovens.  And they built the house 5 years ago.

I had to be creative. I decided to bake up these cookies in 13 x 9” Pyrex dishes and cool them on a barbeque basket.

Like I said, I had to be creative.

I needed to tweak the recipe a bit, as the supermarket down in Long Beach Island does not have luxuries like hazelnut oil, or even chocolate bars with caramel inside.

Also, a friend of ours has a severe peanut allergy, so I could only use Hershey’s chocolate (something new that I learned). Not that there is anything wrong with Hershey’s, but I’d love to try these with a premium chocolate.  Because these are a premium cookie.  The crisp edges of the cookie give way to a supremely chewy center with flavors laced with the deliciously complex flavor of the coffee liquor.  I was incredibly impressed with this cookie. Oftentimes, it is hard to trace the flavors of a liquor in a baked good, but the Kahlua flavor truly was the star of the cookie.

Oh. And the dough. Don’t you even get me started on that dough.  Dangerous.

Here is the recipe with my revisions, but check out Susan's site for the full on recipe - hazelnut oil, premium chocolate, caramel and all!

Kahlua Chocolate Chip Cookies adaped from She's Becoming Doughmesstic

10  Tablespoons Browned Butter (salted butter)

2 Tablespoons Hazelnut Oil

1/3 cup Dark Brown Sugar

1/2 cup Light Brown sugar

2/3 cup Sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 1/2 Tablespoons Kahlua

2 Bars Hershey’s Dark Chocolate, chopped

2 cups plus 2 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

Pinch salt

 

Preheat oven to 325 F.

In a small sauce pan, brown the butter over medium heat (the butter will be golden brown and have a slightly nutty scent).  Let cool slightly.

When the butter is browned, add to sugars sugars and mix until the butter is fully incorporated.  Add the eggs one at a time.  Add salt, vanilla and Kahlua and mix until fully incorporated. 

In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients.  Add dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture and fold in with a rubber spatula.  Mix only until just combined. 

Add chopped chocolate to the batter. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate dough for 15 to 20 minutes.

Place 1” balls of dough on prepared cookie sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes, or until just golden brown, for best results.  Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack to fully cool.