- Running with family members (or doing whatever it is you do with family members) is infinitely important. I speak not only for the proponent of health, but also for the therapeutic nature of conversation had during this seemingly simple activity. I especially valued my time with Ben’s sister Becki this weekend; I am very grateful for any context to hang out with her as a friend (since most of the time I experience her as a mother, attending to her little ones) and hear little tidbits of her wisdom on bearing life.
- I don’t appreciate the audacity of seagulls. They are far too tame and tolerant of people (it’s like they are circus-trained or something). We went to the Rockport beach on Saturday and Abram sure had fun feeding the seagulls his goldfish (and I must admit: I did enjoy watching from under the safety of my beach umbrella). My mom says children build memories through pictures… this was a quality set of mental snapshots.
- You should always buy lemonade from little kids. They suffer in the heat and they cannot even understand money. Besides, you might just make a friend.
- Food can evoke strong emotion. I felt proud to be my mother’s daughter when I was in the kitchen, trying to pull off a birthday dinner for example. I legitimately missed a certain sister-in-law (Naomi) when we cut into the double chocolate ganache birthday cake because I knew she would most appreciate it…and want to attack it with a fork like me after we had politely eaten our own servings off our plates. Whatever your emotional attachment to certain foods may be, notice how much richer each bite tastes with great memories as a foundation.
Steak Au Poivre
1-¾ pound beef tenderloin filets
¼ cups Olive Oil
3 Tablespoons Black Peppercorns, Cracked To A Medium Consistency*
8 Tablespoons Butter, Unsalted, divided
1 Tablespoon Beef Base (I Used Better Than Bouillon)
½ cup Water, Hot
1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
¼ cup Cognac (I split this amount between Cognac and Bourbon)
½ cup Heavy Whipping Cream
Kosher Salt
Season each side of the steak with about a teaspoon of salt. Lightly oil both sides of the steak and coat each side with half of the crushed peppercorns. Note: It will look like too much pepper, but just go with it. Let the steak sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 425º.
Heat a large heavy oven-safe pan (cast iron works fabulously) over medium-high heat. Add the remaining oil and half of the butter to the pan. Sear each side of the steak until it is browned nicely. Move the pan to the oven and cook for 10 minutes (for medium rare).
Mix the beef base and hot water well in a small bowl and set aside.
Remove the pan from the oven, move the steak to a platter, tent with foil, and let it rest.
Put the cast iron on a burner at medium heat. Add the beef base and water mixture and bring just to a boil while scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
Add the mustard and cognac/brandy and continue stirring until the mustard is well incorporated. Add the remaining butter and heavy cream and stir to combine. Adjust the seasoning of the sauce with salt to taste. Reduce the heat and continue cooking the sauce until it coats the back of a spoon. Serve with the peppered beef tenderloin.
(credit to Patiodaddy on tastykitchen for the recipe)
*A pepper grinder is invaluable, but not irreplaceable. For his own birthday steak dinner, I made Ben hand crack the peppercorns for this dish he requested with a hammer. Real fresh.
Double Chocolate Layer Cake
For cake layers:
3 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut
1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee
3 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
For ganache frosting
1 pound fine-quality semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
Special equipment
two 10-by-2-inch round cake pans, or three smaller cake pans
Make cake layers: Preheat oven to 300°F. and grease pans with Baker’s Joy (or do the melted butter and sift of flour thing).
Finely chop chocolate and in a bowl combine with hot coffee. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
Into a large bowl sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes with a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a hand-held mixer). Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well. Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well. Divide batter between pans and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Cool layers completely in pans on racks. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. Carefully remove wax paper and cool layers completely. Cake layers may be made 1 day ahead and kept, wrapped well in plastic wrap, at room temperature.
Make frosting: Finely chop chocolate. In a 1 1/2- to 2-quart saucepan bring cream, sugar, and corn syrup to a boil over moderately low heat, whisking until sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat and add chocolate, whisking until chocolate is melted. Cut butter into pieces and add to frosting, whisking until smooth.
Transfer frosting to a bowl and cool, stirring occasionally, until spreadable (depending on chocolate used, it may be necessary to chill frosting to spreadable consistency).
Spread frosting between cake layers (I put Heath toffee bits between the layers also) and over top and sides. I put toffee bits on top of the cake as well. Serve room temperature.
(adapted from Gourmet, March 1999)
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