Do you ever get the feeling that you are right where you are meant to be – at the right place, at the right time, doing exactly what you are meant to be doing? As it turns out, I often feel that way when I bake these chocolate pots. I love everything about them: the elegant look, the heavenly smell, how happy they seem to make people. And obviously the decadent, brownie-like tops and the rich pools of chocolate pudding lurking within are nothing to sneeze at either.
Clearly I have developed a sentimental fondness for this sweet little dish. I think it's because I've served them over and over to people that I am fond of, and they've become something of a tradition in my circle.
I had a friend over for dinner the other night and I took great pleasure in introducing her to this recipe. As I told her, what's especially lovely about these is how well they work for dinner parties. Whip them up early and then cover in plastic wrap and stash in the fridge while you make the rest of the menu. About an hour before dinner, preheat the oven, take them out of the fridge and allow to come to room temperature. When dinner is served, put them in the oven to bake. As people finish eating they will begin to smell the aroma of chocolate. I guarantee you will enjoy the looks on their faces. Leave little gems to cool while you make the coffee, and then serve them to your drooling diners. And feel free to play a little Otis Redding while you're at it. Or perhaps some Mingus?
This recipe is, of course, from Nigella Lawson, a woman who knows a thing or two about desserts. Not to mention the art of living. (Hint: happiness has nothing to do with pointless depravation. Not one single thing.)
Chocolate Pots, aka easiest dinner party dessert ever
By Nigella Lawson, makes 4
¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips
just over a stick of soft, unsalted butter
2 eggs
¾ cup of sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Place a metal bowl over a pot of gently boiling water. Add the chocolate chips and the butter and allow to melt slowly.
3. Use the wrapper from the butter to grease four ramekins (just under a cup volume each).
4. Cool the melted chocolate mixture.
5. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs.
6. Add sugar and whisk.
7. Spoon in flour and whisk.
8. Fold the cooled chocolate into the egg mixture and stir to combine.
9. Pour into ramekins, place on baking sheet and cook for about 20 minutes, until top is cracked. (Middle should still be gooey and molten.)
10. Cool chocolate pots for 15-30 minutes and serve.
Something happened last night that has never happened before. I improvised a recipe – and it kinda worked! I have always been the type of home cook who follows recipes, making changes here and there to tailor dishes to my palate. I cook this way because I have to. Up until very recently, if I went off book it spelled disaster. (I'm not being modest. Actual gong shows have occurred and were then plated and served to unsuspecting family and friends.) Anyway, for years now, I have accepted the fact that in the kitchen I must do as I'm told. The backbone of what I cook must come from someone else.
Not to make too big a deal out of this (watch me do it anyway), but lately something has shifted. I've been trying new things and the wheels aren't coming off the bus. Maybe it's that I've been shopping more at local, outdoor markets and really focusing on gathering exquisite ingredients and pondering how these flavours and textures could play off each other. Maybe it's that I have spent years in the kitchen and all those hours of experience are finally starting to mean something. Maybe it's that I own a ridiculous number of cookbooks and spend a good portion of my time studying them. (Osmosis, anyone?) Who knows what exactly it is, but the point is that I came up with a new dish tonight. And it actually tasted halfway decent.
I started by following the instructions on the package of corn grits and then let a combination of what I was craving and what was in my fridge guide me from there. When I sat down to eat, I felt unbelievably amped. Like a cross between Jay-Z (best rapper alive) and Martha Stewart (if she was slightly more emotive). As for the below, you're welcome.
Breakthrough polenta
Serves 2 (with leftover plain polenta for lunches)
3 cups water
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup organic corn grits
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 small red onion, diced
3 fresh shiitake mushrooms
1/2 mildly spicy smoked sausage, sliced
1 cup frozen fava or edamame beans, cooked according to instructions on package
1/3 cup good quality pesto
1 teaspoon of flat leaf Italian parsley, chopped
1. Set a large saucepan of water on medium heat, add salt. When the water is boiling, pour in the corn grits and stir, almost continuously, until polenta is very thick (about 25-30 minutes). If polenta gets lumpy or too thick, whisk vigorously and add hot water until consistency is creamy and smooth.
2. In the meantime, pour oil in frying pan and set over medium heat. When hot, add diced onion.
3. When onions are translucent, add mushroom and sausage.
4. When mushrooms and sausage have browned, add edamame or fava beans and allow flavours to mingle for 2 minutes.
5. When polenta is done, stir in parmesan and butter.
6. To plate, create a bed of polenta and top with onions, sausage, mushrooms and beans. Drizzle pesto on dish and garnish with parsley. Feel inordinately pleased with yourself and immediately text your foodie friends with photos.
A chef I once met told me that there are two kinds of people in the world: those who wake up in the morning thinking about what they are going to eat that day – and those who don't. You probably don't have to guess which one I am. But you should know that left to my own devices I take things even a step further than that. I spend much of the week daydreaming about what I'll eat on the weekend. Then I go ahead and plan my entire social schedule around such hankerings. (Can I get an amen?)
It's true, the middle of the week often finds me flipping through cookbooks looking for novel brunch dishes with which to entertain myself and others. I found these Cottage Cheese Pancakes a few months ago and quickly incorporated them into my repertoire. Topped with a fresh fruit compote and a dollop of Greek yogurt, they taste a lot like cheese blintzes. But less heavy (and containing less sugar than many stir in their coffee). In short: seriously tasty, folks. And since these pancakes require such basic ingredients – and can be whipped up in a matter of minutes – you don't even have to plan all week for them. But you'll probably want to.
Cottage Cheese Pancakes
Adapted from The Whole Foods Market Cookbook
Serves 2
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1. In a bowl, mix together egg, cottage cheese, flour and sugar.
2. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat and melt butter.
3. When butter sizzles, drop batter by spoonfuls into pan. Cook on both sides until lightly browned.
Strawberry Compote
Serves 2
2 handfuls of strawberries, hulled and sliced
pinch of sugar
fresh mint leaves, torn
1. Place strawberries in a saucepan, add sugar and cover with water.
2. Heat over medium heat until the sauce reduces and thickens.
3. Serve garnished with mint.
For many years, I did not know how to cook. It was a sad state of affairs. I desperately wanted to learn, but I had no idea where to start. I would walk down the aisles at the local market and stare longingly at jars of rustic soup. I had fantasies of stirring bubbling pots that would fill my home with mouth-watering aromas.
If only I'd known how easy cooking was. How I learned to cook is a story for another day – but today I want to assure all you anxious newbies out there that homemade soup is very much within your reach. Seriously. Even if you have never set foot in a kitchen before, I am confident that you can make this.
This is one of the simplest soups I know. I throw it together often in the winter, but really it's just as good in any other season. The backbone is from Mark Bittman's Food Matters. His book makes the argument that eating vegan some of the time (specifically until 6 p.m. every day) is better for your waistline, your overall health, the planet – and, not insignificantly, your pocketbook. In keeping with that spirit, I make it vegan sometimes and not others.
This dish is brilliant in how adaptable it is. You can make it with water, chicken stock, vegetable stock, or water and a vegetable bouillon cube. You can add canned beans or chickpeas. Canned tomatoes or fresh both yield delicious results. Chili flakes give it some spice. Cooked sausage or grated parmesan dress it up, especially on day two or three when you may be getting bored of it. Cooked potatoes give it heartiness. Cooked macaroni instantly transforms it into comfort food. Parsley lends it a springtime freshness. You get the idea. You have loads of options here, so feel free to choose your own adventure.
Basic Vegetable Soup
Adapted from Food Matters
Serves 4-6
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
2 garlic cloves, diced or put through garlic press
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
6 cups of water or stock
3 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped or one can of roma tomatoes with juices
4 to 6 cups of quick-cooking vegetables (such as zucchini, green beans, corn, kale ect.)
1/2 cup of boiled, chopped potatoes
1/2 cup of chopped parsley
1. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat and then add the garlic. When the garlic starts to smell fragrant, add the onion, carrot and celery. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until the onion softens, about 7 minutes.
2. Add the stock, tomato and remaining veg; bring to a boil then lower the heat so the mixture bubbles.
3. Cook, stirring occasionally, until all of the veg are very tender, 15 to 20 min. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and serve, ideally with a loaf of crusty bread.
