Key Lime Bars

My family has been on a quest since before I was born. Simply put: it is the search for the perfect key lime pie. Now, I have no idea how this started. It certainly isn't scientific; there's no spreadsheet anywhere of the various types we've tried or a grading scale of the pies. No, no. It exists more as a philosophical exercise. Think of it like the Platonic Form of the Key Lime Pie. We have a concept of what makes the perfect pie. But it will never exist in reality.

Right, now moving on from that digression into philosophy, I present the nearest approximation we have found to the perfect key lime pie. Well, take away the absolute necessity of the meringue (there are definite views on this in my household), but these have the exact right taste and texture that comprises absolute perfection in terms of key lime-iness. Add the toasted coconut on top. And, well, these don't last long.

They also get points in my book for having not a graham cracker crust (which is typical) but an animal cracker crust. Which my inner child finds vastly amusing. Now, I've never seen animal crackers (read: cookies) in Britain, so this may be yet another typically American food, but it is worth going on the hunt for them. Of course, any sugar cookies (sigh, sorry Britain, biscuits) will do. Hmmm, on second thought, perhaps ginger biscuits or digestives will also do nicely here. Anyway, the point is really in the key limes. And getting fresh ones. The magazine which featured this recipe (Eating Well, Fall 2003) had a whole subsection devoted to how necessary these were to the recipe. Not regular limes. Not even lime juice. But key limes. Well, honestly. If you can't find key limes (and this will inevitably happen), just use regular old limes. Key limes are notoriously difficult to juice and can be difficult to locate. Regular (as they call them, Persian) limes will work and give the bars a bit more of a tart flavor, but will still be delicious. Trust me.

Makes 16 2-inch bars

Ingredients

Crust
5 ounces animal crackers
3 tbsp. packed light or dark brown sugar (I used light)
Pinch table salt
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

Filling
2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
2 tbsp. grated key lime zest (or more, I used at least 3 tbsp)
Pinch table salt
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup key lime or regular lime juice

Garnish (optional)
3/4 cup shredded sweetened coconut, toasted until golden and crisp (I use the oven for this. Takes about 5 minutes at 375 degrees).

Method
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Cut about 12-inch length extra-wide heavy foil; fold cut edges back to form 7 1/2 inch width. With folded sides facing down, fit foil securely into bottom and up sides of 8-inch square baking pan, allowing excess to overhang pan sides. Spray foil with non-stick cooking spray.

To make the crust: In bowl of food processor, pulse animal crackers until broken down, about ten 1-second pulses; process crumbs until evenly fine, about 10 seconds (you should have about 1 1/4 cups crumbs). Add brown sugar and salt; process to combine, ten to twelve 1-second pulses (if large sugar lumps remain, break them apart with fingers). Drizzle butter over crumbs and pulse until crumbs are evenly moistened with butter, about ten 1-second pulses.

Press crumbs evenly and firmly into bottom of prepared pan. Bake until deep golden brown, about 18-20 minutes. Cool on wire rack while making filling. Do not turn off oven.

To make the filling: While crust cools, in medium bowl, stir cream cheese, zest, and salt with rubber spatula until softened, creamy, and thoroughly combined. Add sweetened condensed milk and whisk vigorously until incorporated and no lumps of cream cheese remain; whisk in egg yolk. Add lime juice and whisk gently until incorporated (mixture will thicken slightly).

To assemble and bake: Pour filling into crust; spread to corners and smooth surface with rubber spatular. Bake until set and edges begin to pull away slightly from sides, 15-20 minutes (mine took much longer, about 25-30 minutes). Cool on wire rack to room temperature, 1- 1 1/2 hours. Cover wil foil and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours.

Loosen edges with paring knife and lift bars from baking pan using foil extensions; cut bars into 16 squares. Sprinkle with toasted coconut, if using and serve.

Note: Leftovers can be refrigerated up to 2 days; crust wil soften slightly. Let bars stand at room temperature about 15 minutes before serving.

Sweet Potato Hash with Corned Beef and Bacon with Melted Onions

How to describe the oddity that is hash? It's not really a dish, per se, more of a conglomeration of various products. Most hash resembles something that you'd find on a standard American breakfast plate: potatoes, meat, and usually an egg or two. Onions are usually added to give the whole thing some flavor, but honestly, it's among the more basic items on any menu. My father even swears that at one point (and I have no proof of this except his word) they sold it out of a can. Now I'm not sure how that would be possible (although science usually has a way of finding ways round these kind of obstacles), but there you go. So basic, you can find it in a can.

Like the humble pie, hash apparently is experiencing a resurgence in popularity in restaurants across the US. Instead of your basic potatoes, bacon, and eggs, you can now find all sorts of upscale variations of this dish, depending on your taste. In the Mission District in San Francisco, I was able to try some tongue and potato hash which, I have to confess, was absolutely delicious. Thank you, Hog and Rocks. And yes, their specialties were pig and oysters. Anyone surprised?

Regardless, hash is easy enough for anyone to cook but allows for endless variations. This particular recipe (as usual, found in the New York Times) originally called for just bacon, but in my mind, corned beef should never be turned down as a possible meat alternative. And, thanks to the wonders of science yet again, they now have corned beef available pre-cooked. Just heat and serve! This was clearly a win. The sweet potatoes were also a great substitution. I used white sweet potatoes to add just a bit more starchiness rather than yam-iness (?) to the dish. And it was a good decision.

No matter how you eat your hash or serve this recipe, do NOT neglect the onions. Yes, they take a bit of time. But mostly they're sitting in a pot, soaking in their own juices. And with a stick of butter melting into them, they are deliciously bad for you. Try to say no to them. Just try.

Now the bizarre white thing in the photo above is a poached egg. I know. It doesn't look right. I used one of those new-fangled "egg poaching cups" that swears it will make egg poaching the easiest thing ever. Well, it IS easier, but it doesn't make it any prettier. Your eggs come out looking rather like baked polenta. Well, at least according to my mother. But still soft and runny and delicious, so I still have to advocate the poacher if the old-school method is a bit daunting (as it is for me).

Ingredients

8 cups sliced onions (3 large ones)

Kosher salt

1 bay leaf

4 sprigs thyme

10 black peppercorns

1 garlic clove, smashed and peeled

1 stick unsalted butter, in 8 pieces

12 ounces corned beef

3 ounces best-quality bacon, sliced about 1/2-inch thick

3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled, cooked (boiled, roasted or microwaved) and diced

1 tablespoon minced chives

Poached or sunny-side-up eggs, for serving (optional).

Method

Put onions in a large skillet, place over medium-low heat, and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, uncovered, reducing the heat to maintain a low simmer, about 20 minutes, until onions are soft and swimming in liquid.

Tie the bay leaf, 3 sprigs thyme, peppercorns and garlic in a piece of cheesecloth (I just added them to the pot. Forget the cheesecloth). Add to onions along with butter, stir and cover (not too tightly, some steam should be allowed to escape). Cook slowly 30 to 35 minutes, until onions are meltingly tender and coated in butter. The mixture should look creamy at all times: if butter separates or if pan looks dry, stir in cold water 1 teaspoon at a time. Season to taste with salt. (Onions can be made up to 3 days in advance and refrigerated.)

Cut bacon crosswise into thick matchsticks. Pour 2 tablespoons water into a medium saucepan and set over medium heat. Add bacon, reduce heat to low, and cook for 30 minutes. Bacon will render its fat and become golden, but not completely crisp. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels. Pour off excess fat from pan, leaving a thick film on bottom to cook hash; reserve the extra fat. Add the corned beef to the pan to warm it (you don't need to heat it for long).

Heat oven to 200 degrees. Spread half of potatoes in pan, sprinkle with salt and add half the leaves of the remaining sprig of thyme. Cook undisturbed, over medium-low heat, until crisp, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup melted onions and a quarter of the bacon  and the corned beef, and gently fold together until heated through. Transfer to an ovenproof serving bowl and keep warm. Repeat with remaining potatoes, a quarter of the bacon and corned beef, another 1/2 cup onions (refrigerate leftover onions; they make a great sauce for fish) and remaining thyme leaves. Sprinkle hash with chives (if using) and remaining bacon and corned beef. Serve hot, topped with eggs if desired.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Zucchini Soufflé

Deep breath, everyone. It's soufflé time. I have avoided making one of these ever since I learned that they were the bane of every chef. "Will the soufflé rise?" seems to be the fearful question of every person who has attempted this finicky egg-based dish.  But when Bittman swore he had found an (almost) foolproof recipe, I knew it was time to face the music and give it a go.

And, who could have guessed? An "easy" soufflé recipe that was actually easy! The soufflés rose as they should in the oven, were light and fluffy on the table, and amazingly delicious! Well, the delicious part isn't so hard to imagine. I mean, the recipe is basically eggs, butter, and cheese. What's not to like? This is even a good recipe for those people who are not big fans of zucchinis (Bittman also suggests using spinach in this recipe). Now, the other ingredients probably counteract any vitamin goodness the green vegetables would give you, but hey, at least it takes away some of the soufflé guilt, right?
Right.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 to 3 medium zucchini, grated
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 eggs, separated
8 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated
1/4 cup parsley, chopped

Method

Butter four 1 1/2 -cup ramekins or one 6-cup soufflé dish. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Put the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; when it’s hot, add the onion and garlic and cook until soft, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the zucchini, season with salt and pepper, and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until very tender, another 10 to 12 minutes. If you prefer, substitute a 10-ounce bag of spinach, chopped and cooked the same way. Drain the vegetables if there is excess liquid, and let cool.

In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and cheese with some salt and pepper. Add the vegetables and parsley and stir. In a clean, dry bowl, beat the egg whites until they are light and fluffy and just hold soft peaks; stir about a third of the whites into the yolk mixture to lighten it, then gently fold in the remaining whites, trying not to deflate them much.

Pour the soufflé mixture into the ramekins or dish. Bake until golden and puffy, 30 to 35 minutes, and serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings.

Chocolate Earl Grey Truffles

And thus concludes the tripartite truffle adventure. Earl grey also seems to be a flavor popping up everywhere these days and I wanted to try my hand at getting the tea flavor into chocolate.

Well, that part turned out to be amazingly easy.  Just infuse cream with earl grey leaves and leave to steep for about 5 minutes (if you can make tea, you can make these). When combined with the chocolated, it gave it a wonderfully subtle earl grey flavor. Total thumbs up from me.
The only issue with this recipe is that it didn't call for the truffles to be coated with another layer of melted chocolate as the previous two truffle recipes. This left the truffles resembling fudge rather than truffles. Now, this was not a flavor problem in the least. But, it did make the process of eating the truffles a bit of a sticky mess. I eventually decided to go ahead and dip these chocolates in another layer of chocolate, leaving them with this nice hard shell, making them much easier to eat. Either way though, they are delicious! And oh so refined.

Ingredients

2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces and softened
2 teaspoons loose Earl Grey tea leaves
6 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped + 12 oz for outer coating (optional)
1 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

Method

Bring cream and butter to a boil in a small heavy saucepan and stir in tea leaves. Remove from heat and let steep 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, finely grind chocolate in a food processor and transfer to a bowl. Pour cream through a fine-mesh sieve onto chocolate, pressing on and discarding tea leaves, then whisk until smooth. Chill ganache, covered, until firm, about 2 hours.

Spoon level teaspoons of ganache onto a baking sheet. Put cocoa in a bowl, then dust your palms lightly with it. Roll each piece of ganache into a ball (wash your hands and redust as they become sticky). Drop several balls at a time into bowl of cocoa and turn to coat. Transfer as coated to an airtight container, separating layers with wax paper.

Optional Extra External Chocolate Coat: 

Line 13x9x2-inch baking sheet with foil. Place remaining 12 ounces chocolate in medium metal bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water); stir until chocolate is melted and smooth and thermometer inserted into chocolate registers 115°F. Remove bowl from over water. Working quickly, submerge 1 truffle in melted chocolate. Using fork, lift out truffle and tap fork against side of bowl to allow excess coating to drip off. Transfer truffle to prepared sheet.

Truffles can be made 1 week ahead and chilled, or 1 month ahead and frozen in an airtight container.

Caramel-Dark Chocolate Truffles with Fleur de Sel (or Hawaiian Pink Salt)

 

Another truffle recipe. Well, I was on a truffle roll. Everywhere you turn these days, there seems to be another version of caramel/fleur de sel recipes. I actually hadn't tried one, but found these online (again, via Bon Appetit) and they looked delicious enough to try. And since I was already in a truffle-y mood, why not? I was not, however, about to go out hunting for the magical mystical fleur de sel that the recipe advocated. I had kosher salt, sea salt, flavored salt, and even Hawaiian pink salt (a gift from a friend) in my cupboard. I was not about to go out and buy yet another version of salt for truffles. 

Although I was curious as to what the big deal was with the product all of a sudden. It seems everywhere chefs are advocating using it instead of regular salt but for all my searching, I'm still not sure why. Apparently, it is supposed to have a more delicate flavor than regular sea salt (and the fact that it is "hand harvested" always goes a long way for gourmet products) but I haven't found anywhere that says you can't substitute a regular sea salt for any recipe that calls for it.

So hey, if you have it, by all means, go ahead and use it. I used the pink sea salt just because I thought it looked nice. And they still tasted delicious.  

Ingredients 

20 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped, divided
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
2/3 cup whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel (or sea salt or, for me, Hawaiian pink sea salt)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Additional fleur de sel (or whatever salt you're using)

Method

Place 8 ounces chocolate in metal bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water); stir until chocolate is smooth (This part can be tricky. For help with this, see my note for Gingerbread Truffles). Remove chocolate from over water.

Combine sugar and 2 tablespoons water in small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves, occasionally brushing sides of pan with wet pastry brush. Increase heat; boil until syrup is deep amber color, brushing down sides and swirling pan occasionally, about 4 minutes. Add cream (mixture will bubble). Stir over very low heat until caramel is smooth. Mix caramel and 1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel into melted chocolate. Chill until truffle filling is firm, at least 3 hours.

Place cocoa in bowl. Using 1 tablespoon truffle filling for each truffle, roll into balls, then roll in cocoa. Arrange on baking sheet. Cover; chill overnight.

Line 13x9x2-inch baking sheet with foil. Place remaining 12 ounces chocolate in medium metal bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water (do not allow bottom of bowl to touch water); stir until chocolate is melted and smooth and thermometer inserted into chocolate registers 115°F. Remove bowl from over water. Working quickly, submerge 1 truffle in melted chocolate. Using fork, lift out truffle and tap fork against side of bowl to allow excess coating to drip off. Transfer truffle to prepared sheet.

Repeat with remaining truffles. Sprinkle truffles lightly with additional fleur de sel. Let stand until coating sets, at least 1 hour. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.)