Look, you don’t need some faux-holiday to indulge in some serious chocolate, but if you’re going to celebrate or anti-celebrate valentine’s day, chocolate overkill is a pretty good way to go.  Sometimes chocolatey goodness is equated with sickly sweetness like so many embarrassingly fleeting high school crushes.  At some point, a chocoholic’s taste matures and broadens, and you realize that the intensity of cocoa tastes better when it bites back a bit. So for those of you craving more complexity in your chocolate, I present to you a chocolate tart with bite.

This tart is potent, spicy, rich and just a bit sweet – dare I say a bit more adult than those crushes of yore.  This is not for the faint of heart, the bit of pepper adds a subtle kick but the ginger really heats things up.  The chocolatey-ness is so intense, a tiny sliver is all you need and it goes well with whipped cream or ice cream.  If you love your desserts with a bit of spice, you have just found your true valentine.

Dark Chocolate Tart with Gingersnap Crust

Bon Appétit, December 2007, Molly Stevens

Crust:

8 oz gingersnap cookies

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Pinch of salt

Filling:

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 large egg yolks

1 large egg

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon all purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Pinch of salt

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped crystallized ginger

For crust: Preheat oven to 325°F. Finely grind gingersnap cookies in food processor to yield about 1 1/2 to 1 2/3 cups. Add melted butter and salt; mix until moistened. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom and sides of 9-inch diameter tart pan with removable bottom.  Place pan on rimmed baking sheet.

For filling: Combine bittersweet chocolate and cream in heavy medium saucepan. Whisk over low heat until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove saucepan from heat. Whisk yolks, egg, sugar, flour, pepper and salt in medium bowl to blend.  Very gradually whisk chocolate mixture into egg mixture until smooth and blended. Pour chocolate filling into crust. Bake chocolate tart until filling puffs slightly at edges and center is softly set, about 30 minutes. Transfer to rack. Sprinkle chopped crystallized ginger over tart. Cool tart in pan 20 minutes. Gently remove tart pan sides and cool tart completely.

12+ servings

What’s black and gold and all kinds of awesome? You better believe it’s the Steelers, making yet another appearance at this year’s Super Bowl.  Now please understand that I do not watch football. It’s long and has weird rules and the commentary is nonsensical. However, I do watch the Steelers. There is something inherently charming, winsome, and generally watchable about them that trumps any kind of boredom or confusion that I have about football in general.  Watching Hines Ward or Troy Polamalu play is like watching some crazy kids go nuts having fun with their friends out on the field – and then making some ridiculously amazing plays while they’re at it. So, you may guess for whom I’ll be rooting for come Sunday.

If you’re watching the game and are not in the ‘Burgh to celebrate with the rest of the Steeler nation, you can still bring some black and gold cheer to your own Super Bowl party. Sure, the traditional eats are brats and kielbasa, but what if you’re….uh, meat-challenged? If you were smart, you would’ve pre-ordered your Fed Ex shipment of Steeltown’s BEST: Mineo’s pizza (oh yes, they deliver!) or you could hunker down with a big ol’ plate of pierogies in truly yinzer style.  Add to your display of pride with this super easy black and gold salad recipe below.  It goes well with meat or veggies and is sweetly tangy.  For the sweet touchdown finale, you can have Prantl’s Bakery ship you their famous burnt almond torte (or make your own substitute, although the bakery doesn’t give out the real recipe).  For the less kitchen-inclined, just pickup a variety of good old fashioned Klondike bars: the distinctly American treat originated in Pittsburgh.  Don’t forget to wash everything down with a nice cold Iron (that’s Iron City beer) or a Penn Pilsner.  Go Steelers!

Black and Gold Salad

Betsy Miller

2 15.5-oz cans of black beans, drained and rinsed well

2 cups cooked whole kernel corn

1 cup tomato, chopped and seededbv

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup diced pepper (yellow looks best!)

1/2 cup sliced green onions

4 teaspoons lime juice

4 teaspoons olive oil

2 teaspoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon ground cumin

chili powder to taste

hot sauce or chopped jalapenos to taste (optional)

Combine all ingredients and let sit at least several hours (overnight is best). Serve at room temperature.

Serves 10 to 12

Winter in Bangladesh means harvest season for vegetables – and the markets are bursting with the fresh bounty of the fertile lands. As we traveled through the countryside in the North, we passed perfectly neat square fields of squash, spinach, and eggplant.  A meal in the village is pretty much from the earth straight to your plate.  Back in Dhaka, a trip to the muddy, rowdy fish market offered a glimpse into a staple of the Bengali diet. Bangladesh is basically a giant delta where massive rivers from the Himalayas meet the clear blue Indian ocean at the Bay of Bengal.  As a result, all kinds of fish large and small, as well as the famous prawns, are a part of most meals.

in the village, a sea of cauliflower at the wholesale market

eggplant straight from the fields

tidy plots of veggies and rice

spring onions bundled for delivery

and off to market the shallots go

packing up the morning's cabbage

before it is packed, here's how it arrives from the farm

Bogra is famous for its new potatoes

curry 101: ginger, garlic, chilies, shallots

across the street from the wholesale market, you can buy all the veggies you need

get a couple of kilos of rice

from giant piles

or free range eggs

in the city, the fish market is bustling early in the morning as the catch comes in

so many types...

...that I don't even know all their names

get your fish cut expertly on the bonti - a long flatcurved blade mounted on wood

if you can't get to the market, it comes to your door

finally, sweet plantain-like bananas and coconut

I hope you enjoyed this brief journey through the delicious markets of Bangladesh, and I will not soon forget the memories, the aromas and the people.

Click here for part one of photo-journaling through Bangladesh.

We recently returned from a visit Bangladesh where we were able to travel a bit around the country.  I have so many food-related memories of that country, from the abundance of vegetables over the winter harvest, to the funky tropical fruits, and the homemade-with-love specialties. Bangladeshi food is similar to north Indian food, but with more of a focus on fish and vegetables than meat or dairy. Here, a photo journal of our travels:

We took a bus from Dhaka to Khulna,  where we boarded a riverboat to travel to the Sundarban mangrove forest.

passing by fields of mustard

this street vendor has everything handy to make jhaal moori: puffed rice with chilies, tomatoes, onions and mustard oil

as the bus waits for the ferry, a vendor offers fresh young coconut

a passenger drinks the sweet, refreshing coconut water

making fresh sugar cane juice

yummy fresh parathas (fried bread) and eggs right off the hot griddle

oranges on the ferry

in khulna, a giant statue of prawn

on board our boat, veggies for our lunch and dinner

rolling down the river eating spinach curry, potatoes and cauliflower, and fresh fried fish

grinding an aromatic masala including cloves and coriander

for breakfast, a light squash curry and flaky luchi bread

sliced starfruit with salt

bangladeshi prawn - not your typical shrimpy shrimp

uniquely bengali food - pakhan pitha, a syrupy and crispy fried cake

the thorns of a date tree are used to make the intricate designs

no bengali meal is complete without dessert. here, thick sweetened homemade yogurt stacked in clay pots

we couldn't decide at the sweets store, so we chose one of each!

Phew! That’s plenty for one post. Next time, I’ll show you some photos from visiting the markets in the countryside.

So I have been a bit MIA – travel, bored, uninspired. But it’s a new year, and tomorrow, a new hope – as all eyes will be on DC for the inauguration of Barack Obama.  Who isn’t swept up in this whirlwind of excitement when history will be made? I know our household is pretty stoked, and rather than weather the freezing masses in DC, we plan to watch it all unfold in a toasty home with some good eats. We’ll be making Chicago-style deep-dish pizza, a nod to one of the culinary accomplishments of the city that sends us their own Mr. Smith.  And for dessert, I was inspired by Obama’s childhood in Hawaii for a cake full of tropical flavor.  So for a sweet ending to a memorable election, here is a luscious coconut cake – moist, fluffy and rich – that looks and tastes just as I imagine a bite out of cloud nine would.

Coconut Layer Cake

Bon Appétit, December 1999

2 and 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 and 3/4 cups sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup canned sweetened cream of coconut (not coconut milk)

4 large eggs, separated

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

4 cups of sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, butter and cream of coconut in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla extract. On low speed, beat in dry ingredients and then buttermilk, each just until blended.

Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites until stiff. Fold beaten egg whites into batter.

Divide cake batter between prepared pans. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool.

Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

adapted from Bon Appétit, April 2003

2 8-oz packages of cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup canned sweetened cream of coconut (not coconut milk)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond or coconut extract (optional)

Beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until smooth. Beat in powdered sugar, then cream of coconut and both extracts. Chill until firm enough to spread, about 30 minutes.

Frost top of one layer of cake, top with coconut to cover.  Place second cake on top and frost generously on top and all sides. Top with coconut and press coconut into sides.

Happy Halloween!  It’s ok to still gorge yourself on fun-size chocolate bars, I won’t tell.  But after the kiddies go home, treat yourself to a more adult delight – like this Calvados apple cake.  Two years ago, I threw a Halloween party as a thinly-veiled vehicle to concoct pumpkin cupcakes and spiked apple cider.  It was a dismal turnout and possibly the worst Halloween party in all of history.  Those 3 of you who came, thanks for the support.  But for us merry four, or five, the spikiness of the cider sure made it seem more warm and cheerful at the time.  Especially for me, as I’m pretty sure I went through a quart of liquid gold nursing my sorrow until the first guest showed up.  The secret wasn’t the slow simmer of local-pressed autumnal cider, or the blood orange studded with cloves thrown into the pot with cinnamon sticks and crystallized ginger slices.  No, it was definitely the spicy sweet Calvados, the French apple brandy, that you top off the mug of cider with at the end.  So now, 2 years later, I have the half empty bottle of delicious apple brandy still sitting in my cabinet…and with the weather turning back to autumn, it seems the perfect time to put it to good use.

The hardest part of this recipe is preparing the apples (I used Granny Smith) and layering them for a beautiful effect.  However, I think you’ll find that filling your house with the smell of cinnamon and apples is worth the time.  I made some changes, like doubling the Calvados (hey, I’ve got to use it up!), cutting the batter’s sugar to 1/2 cup and adding some nutmeg , but the original recipe is below.  This cake is pretty dense so it is best served warm with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

French Apple Cake

Bon Appetit, October 1992, Ruth Gardner-Loew

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 and 3/4 cups sugar, divided

1/3 cup water

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

2 large apples, peeled, cored, thinly sliced

1 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large egg yolks

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons Calvados, applejack or other brandy

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Butter and lightly sugar a 9-inch-diameter cake pan. Melt the 1/4 cup butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat.  Stir in 3/4 cup of the sugar, water and cinnamon and bring to boil.  Add apples and cook until apples are just tender, turning frequently, about 15 minutes.  Remove apples, using slotted spoon, and let cool.  Arrange decoratively in bottom of pan. Continue boiling liquid in skillet until thick and syrupy.  Pour over apples.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into small bowl.  Whisk remaining 1 cup of the sugar, egg yolks, eggs, Calvados and vanilla in large bowl to blend.  Gently stir in dry ingredients.  Fold in the 1/2 cup melted butter.  Pour batter over apples in pan.  Bake until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes.  Cool cake in pan 5 minutes.  Run small sharp knife around side of pan to loosen cake.  Turn cake out onto platter.

Serves 8

Another wedding weekend, another full belly.  I met up with Julie to hang out in my old digs, Maryland and specifically Baltimore, to attend a high school friend’s wedding that left us feeling really old.  So of course, we self-medicated with Italian pastries and an assortment of open-air goodies at the farmer’s market.   But first, I’ll tell you a secret.

There is only one place on Earth where the food is as comforting as my mother’s own and which I seek out every time I’m back near DC.  I couldn’t tell you how to get there or where to find it, I only know that once Linda took me there for Korean food many years ago, it’s been a deciding factor into schlepping down to Northern Virginia to visit her. “Hi Linda, I’m coming to visit you – oh, and get tofu stew.”  It’s called Lighthouse Tofu House in Annandale and of course after I moved from Maryland, they open one there, too.  So here’s how it works, you order a tofu stew from the short menu (with vegetable, mushroom, seafood, beef, or pork) and you help yourself to the really refreshing barley iced tea.  Next, you’ll be served a small bowl of cold kimchi soup with some daikon radish, cabbage and jalapeno and you’re going to try really hard not to finish it before everyone else at the table, because it’s amazingly delicious.  Then they’ll serve some panchan: small accompaniments of kimchi, pickled cucumber, bean sprouts, etc.  Lastly, you’ll get a piping hot cauldron filled to the brim with spicy tofu stew.  In an instant, your sinuses will be clear and everything will be extremely lucid.  You then crack your egg into the bowl and bury it under the tofu to poach.  You can add some fresh cooked rice to soak up the rich broth.  Let me assure you, you will not leave this place hungry.  I’m pretty sure the equivalent of an entire tofu block is in a bowl of stew and the more you eat, the more you can not stop, until you’re unbuttoning your pants so you can finish off the bowl.  At the end of it all, cool down with the delicious rice crust left over to soak in some barley tea.  There are other Korean dishes there, but I can not bring myself to have anything else.  And at 10 bucks for the whole meal, you can save your money for tomorrow – because that’s the next time you’ll be hungry again.

Now, Baltimore.  I love Baltimore – there’s a reason it’s called Charm City.  (Although, the charm is not immediately apparent, I understand).  But as a poor student, I have a lot of great food-related memories of a city that fed me well on the cheap.  Once you step away from the tourist trap that is Inner Harbor and explore the neighborhoods, the charm starts to become apparent.  Mount Washington’s creperie is owned by French ex-pats, Federal Hill’s Irish seafood stew will warm you up on a cold winter night, Mount Vernon’s Afghani jewel The Helmand is a heartbeat away from Hamid Karzai, Greektown’s souvlaki gets better one shop to the next, and Little Italy (truly little) has Vaccaro’s.  No matter how late, no dinner in Baltimore is complete without a pit stop at Vaccaro’s for some fresh filled cannoli.  Or in Julie and mine’s case, tiramisu and a chocolate napoleon.  Yes it was midnight and we weren’t even hungry but how can you pass up such sweet deliciousness?  I’m amazed we got the treats home, usually I end up eating everything in the car while still parked outside the shop.

My own corner of Baltimore was Charles Village.  When I wasn’t my usual lazy self, I dragged myself out of bed Saturday mornings over to the Waverly farmer’s market up the street.  In a hardened city where the grocery stores in poor neighborhoods don’t make fresh healthy food a real option, the Waverly farmer’s market offered some hope.  I’d grab some French rolls, a wedge of farmer’s cheese and whatever fruit was in season and shuffle back to my place with a portable breakfast.  If I couldn’t wait, I’d have the mushroom stand’s famous grilled portabella mushroom stuffed into a pita with feta cheese and greens, or the Asian food stand’s fresh mango and sticky rice and steamed shrimp shumai, or the curry shack’s flaky caribbean veggie samosa.  For a humble neighborhood market, it was surprisingly worldly – much like the city itself.  That was Saturday.

mushrooms, mushrooms, mushrooms!

steamed shrimp shumai and bean buns

caribbean veggie samosas

On Sunday, if I were really inclined to eat well (cheaply) for the rest of the week, I’d haul myself to the city-wide farmer’s market under the JFX expressway.  That behemoth gets thousands of people per weekend and there is no shortage of veggies, fruits, herbs, flowers, baked goods and prepared treats.  So with hours before my flight on Sunday, Julie and I stopped there to sample a bit of everything and cobbled together a delicious breakfast from a hodge-podge of delights.  All my favorite stands were there, plus a donut-maker, a crepe stand (5 dollars for a meal in your hand!) and someplace selling maryland-crab-jambalaya over omelets – how can you go wrong??  After we ate, I grabbed some clover honey, a loaf of sunflower seed bread, and a bag of raisin-studded tea cakes and stuffed them into my luggage to bring some Baltimore goodness back home with me.

under the JFX

over 20 varieties of apples

fresh baked loaves of artisan bread

colorful cauliflower

a rainbow of cherry tomatoes

pumpkins of all shapes

a whole lotta mums

sweet and savory crepes

fresh herbs

real baltimore 'hon (ey)s

Ok,  sometimes you just need some cookies around the house.  Something to dunk, something to nibble on, something to grab in-between on-the-go just-because.   Plus, baking them makes the kitchen smell wonderful.  This is my go-to recipe for anytime cookies because I always have these stock ingredients in the pantry, the recipe is easily halved, and it takes about 5 minutes to make except for the grueling wait for them to bake.  Some people love chocolate chip cookies, but I just find the chewy texture of oatmeal cookies very comforting.  These are not proper oatmeal raisin cookies because they lack any spices but they remind me of a big bowl of perfect oatmeal with golden brown sugar and dotted with butter.  I have no idea where this recipe came to me from, but you can not fail with this recipe – add in your most favorite mix-ins and trust me, they will come out perfect for your next cup of coffee.

Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 and 1/4 cup flour

1 teaspoons salt

3 cups quick-cooking oats

2 cups your favorite mix-in  (like 1 cup m&ms and 1 cup your favorite chopped nuts, or 1 cup dark chocolate chunks and 1 cup dried cranberries.  basically, whatever floats your cookie-boat as long as it adds up to 2 cups total)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Cream the butter and sugars.  Beat in the eggs and vanilla.  In a separate bowl, co,mbine the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Blend the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients.  Add the oats and your 2 cups of mix-ins.  Drop by the tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets (you can line them with parchment paper for easy removal).  Bake about 12-14 minutes until a light golden brown.  Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack (or your mouth).

Makes 4 dozen cookies

Ratatouille.  Yes, I loved the movie, too.  However, the dish delights me because it’s like soul food for vegetarians.  Rustic, comfy, simple food that is bursting with flavor without being smothered in cheese or hidden under sauce (although those types of comfort foods have their deeply satisfying merits, pierogie pizza – I’m looking at you).  Also the one-pot dish factor makes it enticing whether you own only one pot or the dishwasher is full.  You can serve it as a savory side dish to meat or fish, or eat it as we do: a big bowl full of the hearty stew with a scoop of cooked grains (quinoa or couscous or even rice will do).  Either way, just make sure you have plenty of fresh, hot French bread to sop up the delicious sauce!

Ratatouille

Adapted from The Essential Mediterranean Cookbook

6 vine-ripened tomatoes

1 eggplant (about 1lb)

1 zucchini (about 12 oz)

1 green pepper

1 red onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

3 tablespoons fresh basil, shredded

Boil water in a medium sized pot.  Fill a bowl with ice cold water.  Use a sharp knife to cross the base of the tomatoes and plunge into the boiling water for 10 seconds, then into the cold water.  Peel the skins off away from the cross.  Chop roughly.

Chop eggplant, zucchini, and bell pepper into equal size pieces (about 3/4 inch).   Cook eggplant over medium heat in olive oil until soft but not brown, about 4 minutes, and then set aside.  Cook zucchini in olive oil until softened, about 3 minutes, and then set aside.  Cook pepper in olive oil for about 2 minutes and then set aside.

Add some more olive oil to the pot and cook the onion until soft, about 3 minutes.  Add the garlic, cayenne pepper, thyme, and bay leaves.  Stir and cook for one minute and add the eggplant, zucchini, and green pepper back to the pot.  Stir well and add the tomatoes, sugar, and vinegar.  Stir well again and simmer for about 20 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper and add fresh basil as you take it off the heat.

Serves 4-6

So I ate my way through New England this weekend.  Not really (yes, sorta!).  Not only did I stuff myself with brie and tomato omelets and cinnamon-y french toast at the B&B we stayed at, but then there was the chocolate-raspberry wedding cake, too!  I wish I had been more hungry, though, because I didn’t get to overindulge in one place I usually do – the farmer’s market!

After a refreshing mountain hike up Gile Mountain, we stopped at the Norwich, VT farmer’s market.  This market was as crisp and cool as the fall New England air!  The fresh cut flowers were cheerful, and the organic smell of wool abounded.  You could pretty much have breakfast, lunch, and pack up dinner here in one stop.  We made room for some homemade sugar donuts (who wouldn’t?) but wished we had room to indulge in the cozy display of fruit cobblers, carrot cake, tea biscuits, and something called ‘chili pie’.  The same elderly couple who fried up our donuts also had a vat of steaming veggie soup and a giant warming dish of pulled pork for sandwiches.

The stall was bordered by this giant wall of jams.  And jellies.  And spreads.  Oh, also, preserves.  And a few sauces.  And dressings.  Plus, pickles.  All homemade?  Of course.  This picture is just a section of the giant wall of condiment heaven.

Amidst the expected (but still comforting) offerings of neat amber rows of maple syrup, and giant cousin-It sized balls of dyed sheep’s wool yarn, was the most popular stall of all.  No, not the wild game freezer with the foreboding biker-proprietor.  Nope, it was the African food stall.  A long line of hungry people waited for their North and West African fare, from crispy hot falafels to an aromatic savory veggie stew over rice.   Apparently, stew is delicious even at 11AM when the spicy smell is too enticing to pass up.

My favorite stall, however, was the pepper pile-up in the back.  Gorgeous, glossy peppers by the bushelfull, spilled out over a table in all different colors and shapes.  If I weren’t so wimpy, I’d be plucking these up and popping them like little nuclear candies.  And so, peppers make way for pumpkins as summer turns to fall – and I’ll be visiting my local farmer’s market again to bring home more fresh fruits of the harvest, and hopefully leave more room for tasting it all.