Lunchtime fads, pudding races, and two lucky readers

And the winner of the food excerpt contest is....Ramona Quimby, Age 8!

With an impressive almost-40% of the vote, this one was the clear favorite. I'm willing to bet that this passage won on equal parts nostalgia and writing. The story itself is clever, and something that many of us can easily relate to; grade school fads and trading lunches were a part of just about every one's lives at one point or another.

In seventh grade, my favorite lunch consisted of an onion bagel with cream cheese, a Snickers bar, and a bottle of Orangina. These were purchased from the local bagel store and cost just south of five dollars. My mom would stop the car in front of the shop while my little brother Gab and I would pop in and place our order, grabbing the snacks while the sweet round lady behind the counter (Linda, I believe) would quickly schmear the bagels and divide into two brown paper bags. It was the perfect combination: the sweetness of the chocolate, the saltiness of the cheese, and the fizzy orange beverage.

When I reached high school, I started attending a private catholic prep school about 20 minutes away so we rarely had time to stop anywhere to buy lunch before getting to school on time (this may or may not also have had something to do with my morning hair & make-up routine). With a mom that was just as busy, the idea of "making lunch" never really entered the equation so my dad got into the habit of leaving us each five dollars on the kitchen table for us to buy from the school cafeterias.

I used to consider these five dollars an additional source of income, and would usually opt for a cheap lunch of a 60 cent Snickers from the vending machine (I have a thing for nougat), pocketing the other 4 dollars and 40 cents. When you factored in the 3 dollars my dad also gave me for bus fare (unnecessary as I regularly had a friend drive me home) going to school quickly turned into quite the money-making enterprise.

There were, however, some days when hunger trumped mall cash and so on those days I often indulged in one of two of my favorite menu items: the "hot ham and cheese" on a roll (melty and salty and thoroughly un-nutritious) and "chocolate pudding." Now the chocolate pudding was more of an event than a meal. Best friend Vanessa and I quickly invented a rather absurd game that probably did little to ingratiate us with the "cool kids." It was called "Pudding Races" and it went like this:

1.) Vanessa and I would take turns buying a package of Peanut M&Ms from the vending machine, plus two bowls of pudding (one each).

2.) We would then divide the M&M's equally (about 14 or so each) and mix them into the pudding. These we referred to as "Obstacles."

3.) Next we'd call time and proceed to see how quickly we could shovel down our bowl of pudding and M&Ms (the obstacles there to "slow us down") before the M&Ms started to melt and lose their color in the pudding.

4.) Whoever finished first, won. There was no actual "prize"; just lots of giggles and strange looks from the "normal" girls.

Surprisingly, neither one of us ever choked during these races. Not quite surprisingly, we both had to ask our respective gay best friend to the prom. Related? Perhaps...


*****
I'm contacting the winners of the Italian Rainbow cookie now and once I hear back from both I will post their names. In the meantime, why don't you share some of your grade school lunchtime memories in the comments section?

Pepper Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

One of the things I love about hotels--good hotels--is that, if you ask nicely, you can usually get just about anything you want. It was with this in mind that I sat crosslegged on a hotel bed about a year and a half ago, room service menu in left hand and telephone receiver in the right. We wanted ice cream, but it wasn't on the menu.

"How could they not have ice cream?!" There was chocolate cake, cheesecake, creme brulee, and some kind of fruit cup situation, but no ice cream.

I refused to accept this and dialed room service.

"Good evening, Mrs. X," the man on the other line said, referring to me by the last name of the person who was registered in the room.

"Not Mrs. And also not X," I said with a bit of a laugh. Mr. X rolled his eyes at me from the floor where he sat packing his suitcase. "Great," he muttered. "Now the hotel staff thinks I'm having an affair..."

I shushed him so I could concentrate on my mission. On the other end, Room Service man seemed a bit flustered by my correction and was apologizing profusely. "No worries," I replied. "But you can make it up to me..."

Eager to please, he asked how he could help.

"I want ice cream, but it's not on your menu. Are you sure you don't have ice cream anywhere in this hotel?"

"Well..." he hesitated. "Let me see what I can find. I'll call you in a moment."

A few minutes later the phone rang. "Hello Mrs...er...Miss. I found some ice cream in the restaurant. They are not really available for room service, but we are happy to make an exception. Would you like to hear the flavors?"

I agreed excitedly and told him to go ahead. He listed them slowly, giving me time to repeat them for Mr. X. "Vanilla, Coffee, Chocolate, Pink Peppercorn, and Strawberry." He gave me a moment to decide and I looked up at Mr. X excitedly.

"No," he said, even before I had the chance to voice my request. "We're not getting Pink Peppercorn."

"Please?" I begged, doing my best attempt at a pout.

"No. No weird flavors."

I ordered the coffee and vanilla, relenting only because I knew it was his last night in town. The dessert arrived quickly, elegant quenelles arranged with a sprinking of berries and fresh whipped cream. I remember enjoying the coffee, which was creamy and seemed to melt quickly on the plate, but in the back of my mind I still longed to try the pepper flavor. That night I vowed to do so as soon as possible.
_______

As soon as possible turned out to be couple week ago when I found myself with a gallon of milk that absolutely had to be used, but not much in the way of flavorings. I considered an old-fashioned milk ice cream but then my eyes fell on a bottle of peppermint extract that had somehow disappeared among the spices. My brain instantly popped into action, remembering the bundle of soon-to-be-wilted mint leftover in the fridge after the previous weekend's mojitos. I pushed aside the extract and instead pulled down a bottle of whole black peppercorns.

"Pepper Mint!" I shouted to my empty kithcen as I quickly set to work, crushing and simmering and stirring and straining. I started with a custard base that quickly took on a lovely creamy beige hue. Once the mixture was cool and ready to freeze, I went to pull out the ice cream maker base when I noticed the long narrow box of Michel Cluizel single origin chocolate squares I'd recently received as a gift from the aforementioned Mr. X.

"Full circle!" I shouted once again, pulling out four or five of the little squares. I crushed these into rough chips and tossed them into the ice cream maker about five minutes before the end.

The result was breathtaking. The coolness of the fresh mint hits first, followed quickly by the creamy sweetness. It's not until a second or two later that the flavor truly blooms with a spicy tickly that seems to flow all the way down the throat.

I served this for friends who were actually quite surprised by it. One friend literally changed her opinion of the ice cream from one second to the next as it transformed in her mouth. It's absolutely an acquired taste; I think it's delicious, but one of my friends could not hide the look of horror on her face. "I like the first part," she said. An observation that I actually found quite fantastic as it gives evidence to the fact that this ice cream really does feel like 2 or 3 different kinds in one.

Pepper Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
This pairs quite nicely with a light chocolate cake as you'll probably want something to tame the flavors. It's a strong ice cream and can stand up quite well to rich winter meals.


Ingredients
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2.5 tablespoons whole black or pink peppercorns, crushed with a mortar or bottom of a heavy skillet
2 cups fresh mint, roughly ripped apart
8 egg yolks
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips or 1 chopped dark chocolate bar (the best you can find--don't even *think* about using Hershey's)

1. Heat the cream, milk, sugar, mint, and roughly crushed peppercorns over medium heat. Simmer gently, taking care not to let boil for about 20 minutes.

2.Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks in a medium bowl and set aside.

3. Temper the hot mixture into the eggs by slowly pouring about 1/2 cup of the cream at a time in a delicate stream while whisking constantly into the eggs. Once the egg mixture has been brought up in temperature, strain back into the saucepan and return to medium-low heat stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the custard thickens.

4. Let the custard cool, and then chill in the fridge four about 2 hours until completely cold. (You can speed this up by placing the custard in a bowl over an ice bath and stirring constantly.)

5. Freeze the custard in an ice cream maker, according to the manufacturer’s directions. About five minutes before the end, toss in the chocolate and finish processing.

6. Place the finished ice cream in an air-tight container and freeze for at least a couple hours to harden.

Rainbow Italiano

The sight of this cake rips my heart with joy. It's something I've been meaning to make for a while now. I based it on the Italian Rainbow cookie (sometimes also called the Venetian or the Tri-Color), which to me has always been the queen of the bakery store cookie assortment. Perched among the crumbly butter cookies like regal peacocks, these cookies put those pastel petit fours to shame with their bright colors and intense flavor.

It's an Italian American thing--a moist little cookie made from tiny dense layers of almond sponge sandwiched together with raspberry and apricot jams before being coated with a final layer of bittersweet chocolate. Growing up in North Jersey, these cookies were present at every single family or community function, from PTA meetings to birthday parties. I used to load up on them, grabbing them three and four at a time and tucking them into an open napkin when nobody was looking. Later, I'd find a quiet corner where I could devour them slowly and methodically, one sweet almond layer at a time.

There is something about the combination of bitter almonds and raspberry that has always delighted me. It's the taste of decadence: rich with intensity, and yet just a hint of something illicit. Bitter almonds are poisonous, after all... The flavor in this cake comes from a combination of almond extract (which in actuality is extracted not from almonds, but from that flavorful little nut hidden inside peach pits) and almond paste. Note that almond paste should not be confused with marzipan, which is different, but still makes an appearance in this cake (read on...).

This cake is a gigantic version of that childhood favorite. I was never satisfied with those tiny little cakes, and was always left wanting more. This cake is basically my way of saying, "you can have as much as you want!"

It was a fairly simple conversion to make. I only had to slightly modify the origianl recipe (which I've been making for a year now), by lightening and leavening the cake. I alternated these moist, fluffy layers, with jam and--for an extra bit of almond flavor--a thinned out layer of marzipan (I told you it would make an appearance). I knew the hard, bittersweet chocolate coating would be too harsh on a cake of this size, so I made a silky semi-sweet chocolate ganache using thick farmer's market cream and just a hint of almond extract. The colors come from food coloring, and are the traditional red and green layers of the original cookie (just one of the hundreds of edible Italian flag homages--Italians, it seems, like to eat their flag), with the marzipan serving as the "white."

I baked it in 9 inch rectangular pans and then cut and stacked to form an almost terrine-like brick. Over this carefully constructed structure, I poured the silky ganache (and how I wish I could have poured and photographed at the same time as there few things more beautiful than watching chocolate ooze over the sides of a pile of almond cakes). I left to cool on the countertop overnight, and then cut in half in the morning. I brought one half into work, where my coworkers devoured it with their morning coffee. I saved the second half for my dad, who stopped by after work tonight to pick it up. The station he work at is just over the bridge, about 10 minutes from my apartment, so when he finishes the evening newscast he regularly pops over to partake of that day's baking. (You didn't really think that I ate all of this stuff by myself, did you?)

I'll be posting the recipe for this shortly and would love to know what you think.

Oh! And if the pictures and description aren't enough to entice you to bake this, perhaps the knowledge that your apartment will smell like sweet almonds for the next several days will do the trick! I promise you...it's incredible!

UPDATE: This Italian Rainbow cake is now available for sale and delivery throughout the US at my Etsy shop!! I'm also selling (and shipping) traditional and seasonally colored Italian Rainbow Cookies. Click the icon for purchase details:

Italian Rainbow Cookie Cake

Ingredients
1 cup butter (2 sticks) softened
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs, separated
8 oz almond paste. (1 can, please note that this is different than marzipan)
1 tube marzipan (Which is different than almond paste...)
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups of sifted flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
red and green food coloring
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
1/4 cup apricot preserves
1 cup heavy cream
12 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped (or you can use chips in a pinch)

2 13×9x2 inch pans, buttered and floured

1. In electric mixer, blend almond paste, butter, sugar, yolks and extract until fluffy.

2. Sift together flour and baking powder, then slowly add to almond paste mix.

3. In another bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold meringue into paste mixture until fully combined (the mix will be a bit sticky).

4. Separate the mixture evenly into two bowls and dye each batch a different color.

5. Spread mixture evenly into the pans and bake each separately at 350 degrees for approximately 15 to 20 minutes. You’ll know they are ready once the edges start to brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

6. While cooling, divide the marzipan in half and roll out two rectangle-shaped sheets on parchment or wax paper, approximately 8x6 inches each.

Assembling the cake:
1. Cut each sheet in half, so you have four evenly-sized cakes. (You can trim at the end so don’t worry if it’s not absolutely perfect.)

2. Start with a green cake and spread completely with raspberry jam. Feel free to spread as thinly or thickly as you like (I'm all in favor of thick!). Spread raspberry on green cake. Top with a layer of marzipan followed by a red cake. Top red cake with a layer of apricot followed by the second green cake. Top the green with another layer of raspberry and the second sheet of marzipan. Top with the final red cake.

3. Use a serrated knife to trim the edges of the entire cake and even out into a perfect rectangle. Brush off crumbs. (These extra bits are fantastic toasted with a bit of butter on a skillet or tossed into a bread pudding recipe. Or you can just eat them while watching television, like I did...)

4. Prepare the ganache by heating 1 cup of heavy cream in a small saucepan. Take care to not let it boil. Add the chocolate and stir continuously until melted completely. Remove from flame and mix in a dab of butter for a bit of extra shine. Continue stirring in concentric movements to cool. It will be ready when the chocolate is just slightly warmer than your lip. (Dab a bit on the inside of your lip—if it’s just slightly warmer then you’re good to go. If it burns, then I’m sorry... ;)

5.Pour this over the entire cake and let cool.

It's My Birthday!

And what do I want more than anything? Well, what every girl wants: sparkly things, vanilla beans, bubbly champagne, and for you to VOTE for me in the Culinate Death by Chocolate contest.

One of my awesome readers entered my deceptively light flourless chocolate hazelnut torte in the contest and now I'm determined to see it rise to the top (pun absolutely intended!). The ten top winners will be selected by the reader votes, so if the more of you who vote, the more chances I have to win! If I win, the magical people at Culinate will fly me to Napa to attend the (delicious) annual Death by Chocolate festival where I'll learn lots of fantastic things to come back and share with you.
Even BETTER: One of you could win too!!! Simply by voting, you're entered to win the contest, which will be awarding not only one blogger, but also one reader (because they totally get that we bloggers are nothing but crazy people shouting into the void without you readers.)

So if you've ever enjoyed anything that you've read on this sweet little blog, won't you make me a happy birthday girl and drop me a little vote?

The contest nitty gritty:

The Culinate Death by Chocolate Contest sends one reader, and one food blogger, on a trip for two to Napa Valley to attend the Copia Center’s annual Death by Chocolate Festival on Feburary 23, 2008, featuring a day of chocolate and wine tasting, demonstrations by pastry chefs, and other sessions with chocolate aficionados and experts.

The contest will include daily drawings for cookbooks, additional festival tickets, and Valentine chocolates.

The winner among readers will be chosen at random from all entries. Readers will vote for their favorite blog posts, and the winning food blogger will be selected by a panel of judges from the top 10 reader favorites.

Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Torte

After writing yesterday's post about the difference between tarts and tortes, I had a hard time getting both out of my head. When I got home from dinner tonight, I could resist no more and decided to poke around in my kitchen to see what I could throw together. I've been promising the girls at work that I would bring in a treat for them soon so I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to try something new (as if I need more excuses for random late-night baking).

A bag of hazelnut meal that I had been keeping in my freezer since Thanksgiving was the inspiration for this light, flourless torte with just a hint of nutty crunch. The ingredients are few and simple (ground hazelnuts, good cocoa powder, olive oil, sugar, vanilla, and eggs), and the process is very quick. And I mean really quick... I was enjoying my slice about an hour after I decided I wanted to bake something.

The decadent secret behind this deceptive little torte? Olive Oil. (Shhh...)

I started using olive oil in my baking out of laziness, really. I was baking a batch of chocolate chip cookies one day when I realized that I'd run out of butter. Not wanting to run out to the store to buy some, I decided to experiment with a bottle of olive oil I had sitting on the counter. The end result was incredible--moister, and with an additional layer of flavor that I was definitely not expecting, but am now completely unwilling to give up.

If this is your first time baking with olive oil, you might be wondering what kind. It's really up to you. A light olive oil with a mild flavor could be a good start if you're concerned about the flavor notes being too distinct. Personally, I go straight for the strong stuff. For this recipe, I used very fruity Tuscan extra virgin called Laudemio. It's made by the Frescobaldi family, one of the big, old families in Florence (along with the Puccis and the Ferragamos) known mainly for their award-winning "Super Tuscan" wines. It is a bit pricier than the average bottle of olive oil ($35 to $40 a bottle), but the flavor is so incredible that you won't regret it. In Italy they say the test of a good oil is one that can be drizzled over fresh cooked gnocchi and enjoyed as is with no additional flavors. This is definitely one of those oils.

The fruitiness of the oil contrasts well with the hazelnuts and silky cocoa powder. If you don't have hazelnut meal (also a Whole Foods buy), you can replace it with ground almonds or pecans--just be sure to toast them before grinding to remove the excess moisture, which is key to keeping your torte light. A teaspoon of baking powder gives the cake a little lift, but feel free to skip if you don't have any on hand or want to avoid for dietary reasons (without the baking powder, this makes a great Seder cake for Passover).

I think you'll be surprised with the texture of this cake. Most flourless tortes tend to be very dense and almost pudding-like, but this one is very light and nutty. You'll swear there is flour in it when it comes out of the oven. It almost made me wonder if some kind of kitchen poltergeist tossed some into the Kitchen Aid while I had my back turned

(I have kind of an overactive imagination sometimes.) (Or most of the time...).

Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Torte
I was originally going to top this with a bittersweet chocolate ganache,
but it came out so perfect that I decided to skip that and just rely on the
great flavors of the cake. I suggest serving with a dusting of confectioner's sugar and a little dollop of homemade whipped cream on the side.

Ingredients
2 cups hazelnut meal
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons good cocoa powder
1 cup sugar or equivalent substitute
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch of salt
6 medium eggs
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9" round or springform pan.

2. Combine the dry ingredients in an electric mixer or food processor and pulse a few times.

3. Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the oil, water, and extract. Continue to mix at high speed for a couple minutes to work some air into the batter.

4. Pour into your greased pan and place in the oven. The baking time will vary depending on your oven and the humidity in the environment. Start checking it about 25 minutes into baking. It will be ready when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Once it's ready, remove from the oven and let cool. You can store in the fridge, but be sure to serve at room temperature for the best flavor. Enjoy!

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