Category Archives: Uncategorized

Malted Chocolate Truffles with Sea Salt

Leave a reply

The confections known as chocolate truffles are a delicious treat which you can find at most candy shops. The reason these confections are called truffles is, once the small round balls are coated with traditional cocoa powder, they resemble the fungus. Although they seem really fancy, they’re relatively easy to make at home. All you need is some good quality chocolate and heavy cream to make a ganache center. You can add different ingredients, like spices, liquors or extracts to vary the flavor.

Many years ago, I used to frequent a confection shop in Los Angeles where the pastry chef made amazing truffles. One of my favorites was the malted milk chocolate truffle. They were creamy and smooth with just enough malt to perfectly complement the cocoa flavor. Here is my version of the truffles using dark chocolate and Fleur de Sel, which make great gifts for the holidays. Enjoy!

Malted Chocolate Truffles with Sea Salt

Yield: about 3 dozen

1 lb. of dark chocolate (52-54% cacao)
3/4 cup of heavy cream
2/3 cup of barley malt syrup*
1/2 scant teaspoon of sea salt (Fleur de Sel)
1/2 cup of finely chopped roasted hazelnuts or almonds
Pinch of Kosher salt
1/2 cup of cocoa powder (preferably Valrhona)

1. Chop the chocolate into 1/4″ pieces and place in a large glass bowl. Set aside.

image

2. Add the cream, milk, and malt syrup in a small sauce pan. Place the pan on the burner over medium-high heat. Once the mixture comes to a boil, immediately remove from the heat and pour the liquid over the chopped chocolate. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes.

image

3. After five minutes, take a rubber spatula and slowly stir the chocolate and cream mixture (ganache). Once the ganache just comes together, add the Fleur de Sel. Stir just until the salt is incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator to cool for at least one hour.

image.jpg

image

4. To prepare your truffle station, place the chopped hazelnuts in a small bowl. Add a pinch of Kosher salt and stir. Set aside.

5. Add the cocoa powder in a bowl. Set aside. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

image

6. Remove the ganache from the refrigerator. Using a truffle scoop (.5 ounce scoop), scoop the ganache and roll into a smooth ball. Place on the parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat the process until you have enough to star the coating process. (If the balls soften, place the baking sheet in the freezer for five minutes once done.)

image

image

7. Roll 1/2 of the ganache balls in the cocoa powder and the other 1/2 in the chopped hazelnuts. Make sure you coat one ball at a time.

image

8. Place each truffle in a mini baking cup. Arrange them then in a confection box. Refrigerate until ready to gift.

image
*Sold at most gourmet health food stores.

Ground Chicken with Thai Basil

Leave a reply

I am a huge fan of anything spicy, but one of my favorite spicy cuisines is Thai food. I love the beautiful colors, layers of textures, and fragrant ingredients. Aromatic ingredients like curry, lemongrass, galangal, coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves, fish sauce all lead to a wonderful balance of flavors in their dishes. Every bite of Thai food is an explosion of salty, sweet, spicy, sour and umami flavors. It’s the kind of food I crave I want something bold and spicy!

I first learned how to cook Thai food from a Thai chef when I was in college. She was staying in Los Angeles on a temporary worker visa. I met her on a Mammoth ski trip, but instead of bringing ski clothes, she brought a large cooler full of Thai ingredients! There were sauces, spices, herbs, produce, protein, and homemade stock. She taught me how to make five different dishes that weekend, and everything she made was absolutely delicious. I was so excited during my cooking lessons, I didn’t even take notes! But amazingly all her instructions sank right into my brain and got stored in my long term memory (though I eventually transferred the recipes to paper).

Here is one of the five recipes she shared with me, which is known as Pad Kra Pao Kai in Thai restaurants. It is made with ground chicken and Thai basil and is easy to prepare, but it does require a few ingredients from the Asian market. Her recipe calls for 3-5 chilies, but only I added one in this recipe so my kids won’t burn their tongue. You if like it extra spicy you can add a couple more. Enjoy!

Ground Chicken with Thai Basil

Serving Size: 4

2 tablespoons of sunflower oil
2 heaping tablespoons of chopped garlic (about 5 cloves)
12 ounces of organic ground chicken
1 Thai Bird’s Eye Chili, thinly sliced crosswise (optional)
1/2 cup of red bell pepper, sliced in strips
1/2 cup of bamboo shoots, sliced in strips (fresh or canned)*
2 tablespoons of fish sauce (Three Crabs or Red Boat brand)
2-3 tablespoons of oyster sauce
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of organic sugar
1 teaspoon of sweet paprika
1/2 cup of chicken stock, cold
1 teaspoon of organic corn starch (Rapunzel brand)
1 1/2 cups of Thai basil leaves

image1. Heat a wok on high. Add 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the garlic, sauté for 10 seconds. Then add the ground chicken all at once. Cook for about three minutes.

image

2. Add the Thai chili (if using) and red bell peppers and cook for 1 more minute.

image

3. Add the bamboo shoots and stir fry for 1 more minute.

image

4. Add the fish sauce, 2 tablespoons of the oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar and the sweet paprika. Stir to combine. Taste to see if you need the additional tablespoon of oyster sauce.

image

5. Add the cornstarch to the chicken stock and stir to create a slurry. Add the mixture to the chicken and stir to combine. Cook until the mixture begins to thicken.

6. Stir in the Thai basil.

image

7. Remove from heat. Serve with rice and one egg, sunny side up.

*Sometimes you can find the fresh bamboo shoots in the produce section. The canned version comes sliced in strips. If you’re using the one from the can, make sure you blanch the bamboo shoots. Boil in water for one minute then shock in ice water. Drain and set aside until ready to use.

Garlic Noodles with Sautéed Shrimp

2 Replies

The Famous Garlic Noodles recipe at Crustacean in Beverly Hills has been a heavily guarded secret for nearly 20 years. In fact, the dish is made every day behind closed doors, in a separate “secret” kitchen off the main kitchen. Many people, including famous celebrities, have requested access to the secret kitchen, but they all have been denied. Much like the secret formula for Coca-Cola or KFC’s original recipe of 11 herbs and spices, the recipe lives with a select few. In my opinion, the noodles are good, but the reason they’re “famous” is because of the intrigue surrounding the recipe, one which has become coveted by many. In fact, search the internet and you will find dozens of copycat versions of the dish, proving once again that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Today I am adding my version to the group of imitators, which I created years ago for a friend. It may not be exactly the same, but it’s pretty darn tasty. Enjoy!

Garlic Noodles with Sautéed Shrimp

Serving size: 4 with other side dishes

1 package of Hakubaku organic wheat ramen noodles (9.5 ounces) or 12 ounces of fresh chow mein noodles
½ stick of unsalted butter
5 large garlic, minced
1 ½ tablespoons of fish sauce (Three Crabs or Red Boat brand)
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce (or vegetarian oyster-flavored sauce)
½ tablespoon of Maggi or thick soy sauce
2 teaspoons of sugar
12 ounces of sautéed shrimp or 8 oz of sliced extra firm tofu
¼ cup of chopped scallions
Freshly grated black pepper
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Chopped cilantro (optional)

1. Cook noodles in boiling water for 4 minutes (or 1 minute if using using fresh noodles).

image

2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the next 4 ingredients and remove from heat. Set aside.

image

3. Once the noodles are cooked, drain but don’t rinse and reserve ¼ cup of the water. (If using fresh noodles, drain in cold water.)

4. Heat a large wok to medium heat. Add 3/4 of the garlic sauce. Add the noodles, scallions, cooked shrimp, and a few turns of the black pepper mill. Add a few drops of the reserved water to loosen noodles. Taste to see if you need the remainding garlic sauce.

image

5. Add the Parmesan cheese. Mix well.

6. Remove from heat. Divide noodles among 4 bowls and top with chopped cilantro. Serve immediately.

 

Sautéed Shrimp Recipe

12 ounces of large shrimp, cleaned and deveined
3 tablespoons of neutral oil (sunflower or vegetable)
1 teaspoon of white vinegar
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
½ teaspoon of paprika
½ teaspoon of salt

1. Mix all ingredients in a glass bowl and marinate in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

2. Remove from the refrigerator.

3. Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Coat with oil. Add the entire shrimp mixture at once.

4. Sauté shrimp for roughly 5 minutes or until just cooked through. Remove from heat. Set aside until ready to use.