Mini molten chocolate heaven for you and your sweetheart

Happy Valentine's Day! I've always had a soft spot for this particular day to celebrate love. I also think that love should be celebrated whenever possible (not just on Valentine's Day) and should not necessitate large expenditures of money, or even another person. Take time to treat yourself with a a movie, a walk, a workout, some yoga, a book, a show, or anything at all! I love to have some chocolate on Valentine's Day, and if I have the time to make it for myself and my honey, all the better.

There is a dish that I make that almost all my friends fall head over heels in love with. It's tough to describe-the top is crunchy and stiff like the top of a crème brûlée, but beneath is luscious, flowing warm chocolate. Mr friends Matthew and Matthew named it "heaven," while my Mom calls it "molten" and my friend Sharee simply calls it "The Chocolate." I love all of these names, so I've incorporated all of them into the title for this dish, and I've put them in little ramekins (also not unlike crème brûlée.)

I will give you the caveat that this can be a fussy dish, so please follow the directions carefully. Not to sound like a school marm lecturing you, but baking is a science. One can often fuss with procedures or quantities, but I really wouldn't recommend it here. Please, even if it's only for this recipe, preheat the oven 10 minutes ahead of time, sift the dry ingredients (there are only two,) use all the sugar, and beat the eggs for the suggested time frame. Your reward will be one of the most decadent, lovely and fairly inexpensive chocolate desserts you can make without visiting a bakery or a nice restaurant.

Ingredients

Ramekins (if you don't have one, you could just use a big sturdy pie dish)

A roasting pan 

3 eggs that are at least extra large (I recommend jumbo sized eggs. If you only have large, then use 3 1/2 or so.)

1 3/4 cups of plain white sugar (NOT turbinado, NOT stevia, NOT splenda etc. The only acceptable substitution for this would be superfine, and I'm not 100% sure about that. I promise this is one of the only times I'm this fussy!)

1 1/2 sticks of butter

1/2 plus 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder (I use plain Hershey cocoa powder. I've successfully made it with nicer cocoa powder as well.)

3 tablespoons of all purpose flour 

1 teaspoon of vanilla

2 teaspoons of Kahlua (you may substitute other liqueurs or or omit)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 325 and take out your ramekins and roasting pan.

2. Melt the butter either on the stove using low heat, or in 20 second intervals in the microwave. 

3. In a standing mixer mix the eggs and sugar (this can be done by hand, but it is a JOB.) Beat on medium/medium high speed for 5-8 minutes. The color will lighten considerably, and a "ribbon" will form (remember the ribbon from the chocolate mousse entry?) This takes a lot of strength (or friends who are willing to help) to do by hand.

At first, it's a sunny, deep yellow

The eggs and sugar are become more and more aerated, and are lightening and swelling. Notice the start of the ribbon!

3. Sift the cocoa powder and flour together (I don't have a sifter in NYC, so I just use a strainer.)

4. Once you have achieved the ribbon, add the vanilla and kahlua (if you're using it.)

5. Turn the mixer down to the lowest setting (or off) and add the dry ingredients. Once everything has gone a dark, beautiful brown, the it is time for....

6. Add the butter, mix until everything is incorporated and the butter isn't "standing" on the chocolate mixture.

7. Spoon/pour the mixture into your ramekins. I'd go just over 3/4 full (these don't grown much.) Set the ramekins in your roasting pan.

Starting to look heavenly!

8. Pour/run hot tap water into the roasting pan until it is halfway up the side of the ramekins. This helps keeps the middle gooey.

There's a bit leftover...cook's treat!

9. Bake about 50 minutes. The tops will be firm to the touch.

Before going into the oven.

10. I don't have to tell you to eat greedily on this one, I think. Tell me what you think!

This tastes so good!!!!!!! I can't wait for Paul to get home...I'm going to have to have some now! Besides, I have a rehearsal-I need my strength! :-)

Center cut pork chops with a bourbon and mustard cream sauce

I made this for a friend recently who said this should come with a warning about how easy and addictive these are. Consider yourself warned! I made this to go with my old fashioned spinach pasta, and they paired quite nicely.

I love bourbon, but I haven't found many savory things to put it in.  I think that it pairs really nicely with the pork, but you could just as easily make this with chicken too, if you prefer.

Ingredients
1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt and pepper
1-3 center cut pork chops (I used boneless, but use whichever cut of meat you like)
3 (or so) tablespoons of grain mustard (I used inglehoffer stone ground mustard)
1/4 cup of bourbon
Cream, to taste (or rather to make the sauce)

Method:
1. Heat olive oil in a saute pan.
2. Cook the pork chops. Add a bit of salt and a grinding of pepper to each. Depending on their thickness, they should just take about 3-4 minutes a side.

Mmmmm, happy pork chops!

3. Remove the chops. You will notice that there are brown bits in the pan-they will help make the sauce round and delicious!
4. Add the mustard.
5. Add the bourbon right on top of the mustard-it will likely sizzle and make some noise. Don't be alarmed. Stir the bourbon in the pan. When you add alcohol to a hot pan, the scent can sometimes jump out and slap you in the face. Stir the mustard and the bourbon together, and you will notice the bourbon reducing.
6. Once the sharp alcohol mellows, add cream (to taste, but don't be too stingy, this is your sauce!)
7. Either drape the sauce on the chops, or return the chops to the pans and toss.
8. Eat greedily.

Pork chops ready to go! This sauce tastes like heaven.

Pork chop along side spinach pasta (I do sometimes just serve this with a green salad-as always, suit yourself.)

TBT: Old fashioned Spinach Pasta

No, dear friend, I am not unearthing some forgotten, lost recipe of the late Marcella Hazan. I've chosen to participate in throw back Thursday, culinary style! Let me explain: this dish is old fashioned in the sense that it is a recipe I concocted and started making a little over a decade ago it's one of my first creations! I haven't made it in ages, but the weather in New York is snowy and cold, and I was feeling like taking a cozy ride through memory lane, and food can be a nice mode of transportation for the trip.

In some ways, it would be nice to go back to a time when we were young. I'm really happy right now though, so while I wouldn't necessarily like to be 21 years old again, it is fun to fiddle with recipes that I used to make.

I remember making this for friends and family with my friend Crystal (we didn't use the white wine, and probably used too much garlic, but we were learning and having fun.) We on occasion used to make dishes at ridiculous hours (11 PM....1 AM...3 AM....sometimes later/earlier! In those days I worked late, and we would often go for a long walk (4 or 5 miles) and then we'd be hungry! I've always been something of a night owl, which is a plus since I've chosen a life as an opera singer.

Anyway, back to food. This, like many Italian (or rather, Italian-esque) dishes is simple and yummy. I suggest using a short pasta onto which the sauce (such as it is,) spinach, and meat will cling. My current favorite pasta shape is casarecce. I fell in love with this shape while singing and teaching in Palermo last summer-casarecce seems to be the most popular shape on "bedda sicilia" (lovely Sicily.) That being said, I think short fusili would also be a superlative choice. As always, do as you please. By the way, the pasta in the pictures I'm sharing are actually torcetti, which are also lovely.

With this dish, don't expect a big gloppy sort of sauce-this really is somewhere between a pasta dish and a vegetable treatment. I do think it benefits from a generous strewing of grana padano or parmigiano reggiano.

As an alternative to the ground beef or turkey (I almost always use ground turkey, since it's more affordable in my neighborhood,) this is also a nice dish to prepare with flaked broiled salmon-you prepare the onions as directed, but then incorporate the spinach and pasta in immediately, and toss lightly with the salmon after (unsurprisingly ground beef or turkey is much more resilient than a delicately cooked piece of fish.)

I often recycle my water from the spinach to cook the pasta. I don't think this harms anything at all (unless you have some very dirty spinach...but aren't you rinsing your spinach before you cook it?) I find this saves on washing pans (which is anathema.) Of course, you could bring two big pots full of water to boil....suit yourself.

Ingredients
A big saute pan
A stock pot
Drainer/Colander
2 tablespoons plus a drizzle of Olive oil
1 sweet onion (I might substitute a few leeks if I have around-up the green ante a bit)
1 pound of ground beef or turkey
3 cloves of garlic
1 1/2 pounds of spinach (I like baby spinach a lot)
1/4 cup of Vermouth or white wine (whichever you have on hand-if you have sherry or brandy, they'll do.)
Herbs- fresh or dried. I have fresh thyme and parsley, so I'm using them. Generic dried "Italian seasoning" is also fine.
Lots of grated Parmesan

Method
1. Put your pot (or pots) on the stove to boil. Salt the water!
2. Chop your onion and garlic, and begin to saute the onion in a saute pan (reserve the garlic.) If you're using dried herbs, add them to the oil to sweat them out so they'll release their lovely flavor.
3. Brown the meat, which should take about 5 minutes.
4. Add the garlic, and cook 2 minutes, then add the vermouth or wine. Turn the heat down a bit to simmer.
5. If your water is boiling, add your fresh spinach-it will be done in about 3-4 minutes. It will loose a LOT of size.

This is that fun part of making dinner when everything is on track and the kitchen smells heavenly.

6. Drain the spinach and spray with some cold water from the sink. If you're using the same water (which works if you have a removable drainer) Add the pasta. You want it to cool well, because the next step is to ring out the spinach in a colander/drainer. Do this well-really squeeze the liquid out.

Spinach out....

Pasta in! No, the green water won't hurt anything. Remember, we're combining the pasta and the spinach in the end.

Cool your spinach off, or you run the risk of burning your hand off. Seriously, boiled spinach is HOT, folks.

Squeeeeeeeze!!!

7. Form the spinach into a square on the cutting board. If you're using fresh herbs, add them to the top and chop the spinach left to right, turn and then repeat (so the spinach finely chopped.)

Chop one way...

Rotate board, chop the other way! Notice the little ramekin of parsley-I point it out because I am proud that I had the presence of mind to reserve some for the end!

8. Add the spinach to the pan with the meat and toss. Turn your heat to medium or so, as you'll need to warm the spinach back up. When everything is warmed through, add some cheese, and add s bit of water from the pasta-this helps bind the elements together and gives you a bit of a sauce.

The starchy water has a funny contribution-it's smooth and really melds everything together nicely.

9. Drain the pasta.
10. Toss the pasta, spinach and meat together. Taste it for seasoning-make sure it isn't too bland (it might need a pinch of salt and a bit of pepper.)

Nearly ready to eat!

11. Transfer the pasta to a serving dish. Top with more cheese, a bit of olive oil if it needs, and maybe a little fresh parsley if you have it.

Finishing touches, first a bit of oil...

A bit of cheese...

And a bit of parsley

La cena è pronta!

12. Eat greedily!