Chocolate High

Here is a photographic documentation of "L'Affaire au Chocolate".
so.much.fun
I didn't take picture before... I forgot, so you've lost the presentation, but here's what we had (plus cookies a friend brought and Hawaian chocolates from my sister)





1. Dave
2. Lauren
3. Thea, Norah & Kate
4. Alison & Gavin
I’ll find more photos later… I missed the ones of my sister!


Chocolate Coca-Cola Cake and Chocolate Fondue (with pretzels, marshmallows, lady fingers, peaches, pears and raspberries)

CHOCOLATE Coca-Cola CAKE:
makes a 9x13” sheet cake

2 c. all purpose flour
2 c. white sugar
3 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 c. Coca-Cola Classic (NOT Pepsi, though you can use flat Dr. Pepper)
1/2 c. buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
1tsp. vanilla
Coca-Cola Frosting (follows)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Combine flour, sugar, cocoa and baking soda in a large bowl.
In a saucepan, melt butter in Coca-Cola, pour over dry ingredients and stir to Blend.
Mix in Buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Batter will be thin. Pour into a greased and floured pan, bake 35-38 minutes and cool for about 30 minutes before spreading with warm frosting.

Coca-Cola FROSTING:
1/2 c. butter or margarine
6 Tbs. Coca-Cola
3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
3 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. all-purpose flour

Mix butter, Coke and cocoa in a sauce pan over medium heat. Stir in sugar and flour, cool slightly.
(I always like to mix flour in for part of the sugar in the original frosting recipes because I don’t like it so sweet, this OG called for 4 c. sugar)

Vegetarian Chili au Cacao and Light Wheat Buns

CHILI AU CACAO:
sauté 1 clove of garlic, 1/4 cup of chopped onions and 2/3 cup of chopped veggies of choice (this time I did mixed peppers) for about 5 minutes, add to slow cooker.
Add, 1 can red kidney beans and 1 can mixed beans (drained and rinsed well) plus 1 can of diced tomatoes, 2 tsp. cumin, 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, 1 tsp. allspice, 2 Tbsp. cocoa, 2 bay leaves and 1 tsp of your best chili powder. COOK! (I used my low setting for about 4 hours).
NOTE on spices: always wash your bay leaves, even the dried ones. Also note that McCormick Gourmet Spices now have Chipolte chili powder and Ancho chili powder, experiment with these!!

LIGHT WHEAT BUNS:
Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Ready In: 3 Hours 5 Minutes
Yields: 24 servings

Ingredients:
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1 3/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 egg, beaten
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions:
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
Mix sugar, salt, 1/4 cup melted butter, egg, and whole wheat flour into yeast mixture. Stir in all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place dough in bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
Punch down dough, cover, and let rise in warm place until doubled again, about 30 minutes.
Grease 2 dozen muffin cups. Punch down dough, and divide into two equal portions. Roll each into a 6x14 inch rectangle, and cut rectangle into twelve 7x1 inch strips. Roll strips up into spirals, and place into muffin cups. Brush tops with melted butter. Let rise uncovered in a warm place 40 minutes, or until doubled in bulk.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven, and brush again with melted butter.

(This is the recipe as I made it, which was adapted from allrecipes.com the changes were well received)



Truffles (standard dark and dark-almond)

Chocolate Truffles 101
Makes about 5 dozen
28 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons liqueur, such as Cognac, Grand Marnier, or Poire William (optional)
Best-quality cocoa powder
1. Make the ganache: Place 16 ounces of chocolate and the cream in the top of a double boiler or
a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until melted; remove from heat. Add butter and Cognac, and stir until combined.
2. Pour mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until mixture is very cold and set but still pliable, about 2 hours.
3. Melt remaining 12 ounces chocolate in the top of a double boiler or in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until melted; remove from heat. Let cool to room temperature.
4. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Using a 1/4-ounce ice-cream scoop, drop ganache onto one of the prepared baking sheets. Chill 10 minutes.
5. Coat the palm of one of your hands with about 1 tablespoon of the melted chocolate. Roll balls, one at a time, between your palms until evenly coated with chocolate. Roll in cocoa powder to coat. Transfer to second baking sheet. Repeat with remaining balls, coating your palm with more chocolate as needed. Chill until ready to serve. Truffles can be stored, refrigerated in an airtight container, for up to 2 weeks.
marthastewart.com I love Martha.

*I divided these in half and did almond extract in one batch, and vanilla for the other, as I had no liquers on hand. I also rolled the almond ones in crushed almonds.

DEEP FRIED MARS BARS

All-Purpose Deep Frying Batter
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 cup Cornstarch
1 cup Water
Directions
Mix all of the ingredients together and blend until there are no lumps. Preheat the oil in your deep fat fryer to the proper temperature for the food you are cooking. Drop Mars bars into the batter. Place in the hot oil one piece at a time. Try to keep the pieces from colliding until the batter has had a chance to set (which it does almost instantly). Cook until the batter has turned a golden brown, remove to a paper towel to drain and serve at once.

*chill your mini Mars bars in the freezer for 20 minutes prior to frying. If you are using standard size bars just put them in the fridge overnight (or they make crack open at the temperature change)

Our gelato recipe was from here Chocolate Gelato Recipe from THE ENGLISHMAN AND THE POLISH GIRL Blog. We made it dairy free and used the ginger.

Thanks so much guys it was awesome!!! (I’m going to try their lemon one next!)

Lastly a recipe without Chocolate, Olive Tapenade

OLIVE TAPENADE:

500ml Black Olives, pitted and drained (reserve 1/4 cup brine!!)
125ml Capers, drained
some lemon zest
Olive oil
1 clove minced garlic

I was making it in the blender so just added the olive oil and brine as needed to blend. (I used less than the 1/4 cup of brine, just mucked about)

Serve with crackers and crudités.