In the Hands of a Chef (55 page)

7.
If serving the cake with whipped cream, add the almond liqueur to the heavy cream and beat until the cream is stiff. Sift a thin, even layer of confectioners’ sugar over the top of the cake.

8.
Present the cake at the table, and offer the almond whipped cream on the side.

W
ith focaccia as one of
the standard options in hip sandwich shops, in bread baskets, and even on supermarket bakery shelves, it’s difficult to imagine that before the 1980s it was all but unknown outside Italian neighborhoods. Although focaccia is made from yeasted dough, just like pizza, it’s generally presented as a flavored flat loaf of bread rather than as a crust with toppings. When I was chef at Michela’s, I began experimenting with flatbread and sweet flavorings, especially grapes and chocolate. Not too long ago, someone pointed out a grape focaccia recipe to me in Carol Field’s
Celebrating Italy
, which spoke of Tuscan vineyard workers pressing wine grapes into their own focaccia. (There really is nothing new under the sun.) This version makes a great picnic dessert—it’s simple to make and travels well.

MAKES 8 TO 10 SERVINGS

2 pounds green and red seedless grapes, stems removed (or wine grapes, for a more intense flavor, if you don’t mind the seeds)

¾ cup sugar

¾ teaspoon crushed fennel seeds

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 recipe Basic Pizza Dough (page 123), at room temperature

Flour for rolling out the dough

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1.
Preheat the oven to 450°F.

2.
Toss the grapes in a medium bowl with the sugar, fennel seeds, and pepper.

3.
Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it out into a rectangle, roughly the size of a 14×17-inch sheet pan, and ¼ inch thick. Rub a sheet pan with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and transfer the dough to the pan. Rub the dough with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Dimple the dough with your fingertips.

4.
Distribute the grapes evenly over the dough and sprinkle with any remaining sugar, fennel, and pepper.

5.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. The focaccia should be caramelized around the edges and golden brown on the bottom. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

A
side from my introduction of
ginger, this is a classic shortbread recipe. Because the flavors of butter and ginger are so unadulterated, shortbread is the ideal opportunity to exploit the taste of a fine unsalted European-style butter. The same is true of the ginger. Ground ginger ages rapidly, turning musty after a few months. Buy a small amount of freshly ground ginger at a whole-foods market for a bright sharp flavor. Shortbread will keep for 4 to 5 days in a tightly sealed container at room temperature and up to a month if frozen.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

8 tablespoons (1 stick) high-quality unsalted butter, at cool room temperature (about 65°F)

⅓ cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2.
Cream the butter in a large bowl with the sugar, ginger, and salt until light and fluffy. Stir in the flour until just combined. The dough will be quite stiff.

3.
Press the dough into a 10-inch pie plate and smooth the top. Using the tines of a fork, prick a pattern into the dough, dividing the shortbread into 8 wedges.

4.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the shortbread comes out clean and the shortbread is firm and lightly golden. While still warm, cut the wedges. Allow to cool.

C
rema spessa, literally, “thick cream”
in Italian, is a rich baked custard with a silken, quivery texture. This is another recipe I inherited when I became the chef of Michela’s, one of their dessert standards whose origins had been lost over the years. Northern Italians have historically had greater access to fresh dairy products than the inhabitants of the poorer South, and they use custard in all kinds of desserts, from the eggless panna cotta of Piedmont to tarts to this simple cream custard. In style, it’s similar to a French crème brûlée—with a caramelized raspberry sauce instead of the caramelized sugar on top.

You can prepare the uncooked custard up to a day ahead. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking so it comes to room temperature before entering the oven.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

1 tablespoon unsalted butter for coating the ramekins

CREMA

2 cups heavy cream

¼ cup sugar

Pinch of kosher salt

1 small vanilla bean, split lengthwise in half

6 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature

SAUCE

1½ cups fresh raspberries

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons water, or as needed

1 to 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, as needed

GARNISH

¼ cup fresh raspberries

4 sprigs mint

1.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter four 4-ounce ramekins.

2.
Mix the cream, sugar, and salt together in a large saucepan. Using a paring knife, scrape the sticky mass of tiny vanilla seeds out of the pod and into the pan. Take care to leave as few as possible on the knife blade, or on the sides of the saucepan. Add the pod. Steep over very low heat for 15 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.

3.
Beat the egg yolks in a large bowl until smooth, then beat in the room-temperature cream mixture. (If you’re making the custard ahead, cover and refrigerate the mixture. Bring up to room temperature before proceeding.)

4.
Remove the vanilla pods from the custard, then pour the mixture into the ramekins. Place in a baking pan and add enough hot water to the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover with aluminum foil and bake
for 40 minutes, or until the custards are just set. They should still wiggle a little bit in the center when lightly shaken.

5.
Allow to cool in the water bath for about 30 minutes. Then remove from the water bath, cover the cooled cremas with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.

6.
Meanwhile, purée the raspberries in a food processor and strain into a bowl to remove the seeds.

7.
Mix the sugar with the 2 tablespoons water in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring with a metal spoon to dissolve the sugar, until the sugar melts and the caramel is a light gold color, 5 to 6 minutes. Take care not to let the sugar burn. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool for 30 seconds, to avoid the possibility of splattering when you add the raspberry purée, then carefully add the purée and mix well. Allow to cool to room temperature. Add a tablespoon or so of water to the sauce if it seems too thick after cooling. If it seems too sweet, add the lemon juice.

8.
To serve, make a small pool of the raspberry sauce on each plate. Dip the ramekins into hot water, then turn the cremas out onto the plates. Garnish each plate with fresh raspberries and a sprig of mint, then serve.

R
ice pudding is a universal
comfort food. Like bread pudding, its appeal has long since elevated it beyond its origins as a poor man’s dessert. Mary Higgins, a friend and neighbor from my childhood, gave me a version of this pudding many years ago. I’ve pushed and prodded it over the years, adding and subtracting elements, until it finally reached the recipe below, but her essential technique of stirring the pudding on top of the stove to produce an exceptionally creamy texture remains unchanged. The passion fruit is a tart foil to the creamy richness of the pudding itself. For a baked version of this dessert, see the instructions following the recipe.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

½ teaspoon grated lemon zest

½ teaspoon grated orange zest

¼ teaspoon cardamom seeds

5 cups whole milk

¾ cup long-grain white rice

1 cup heavy cream

3 extra-large egg yolks

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

¾ cup sugar

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

2 ripe passion fruit

1.
Tie the lemon zest, orange zest, and cardamom seeds in a piece of cheesecloth. Rinse a heavy pot with cold water; do not dry (this will make cleanup easier). Add the milk and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the rice and cheesecloth bundle and stir until the milk returns to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 50 minutes, or until the rice is tender. Remove from the heat. Discard the cheesecloth bundle.

2.
Meanwhile, beat the cream, egg yolks, and vanilla together in a large bowl. As soon as they’re blended, add the sugar and salt and continue beating until completely dissolved.

3.
Add 1 cup of the hot rice mixture to the egg mixture and stir everything together, then stir this mixture back into the rice remaining in the pot. Return the pot to the heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the custard just comes to the boil. (You should get one large bubble of air out of it.) Immediately remove it from the heat and transfer to a bowl. Put a piece of plastic
wrap against the surface to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate until cool, about 2 hours.

4.
To serve, spoon the rice pudding into four bowls. Cut the passion fruit into halves. Scoop out the fruit from half a passion fruit over each portion.

Baked Rice Pudding

My husband and I come down on different sides of the fence regarding rice pudding. I prefer the creamy style that results from stirring the rice in a pot on top of the stove; Ken likes the firmer texture of baked rice pudding. If you prefer the latter as well, here’s what to do.

1.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2.
Once you’ve blended everything together as instructed in Step 3, don’t return the pot to the stovetop. Instead, spoon the pudding into four 8-ounce ramekins or heatproof custard cups. Set them in a warm water bath and bake until they’re just set, about 50 minutes. They should still have a little wiggle in the middle. Let them cool, then refrigerate until firm.

If you bake the pudding, you also have the option of giving it a brûlée (burnt sugar) topping before serving. To brûlée, sprinkle about 1 tablespoon sugar over the surface of each pudding, enough to coat the top evenly. Run the ramekins under the broiler until the sugar is bubbly and brown. An easier method is to adjust the flame of a small butane kitchen torch to medium and move the flame over the sugar until it caramelizes. Let cool for a few minutes, then serve.

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acquacotta—porcini broth with soft polenta, Taleggio and a poached egg, 306–7

aïoli, 13

monkfish and clam bourride with green olive tapenade and, 218–19

almonds, toasted:

-lemon butter cake, 350–51

minted Romaine salad with grapes, ricotta salata and, 65

summer squash and onion soup with, 45

anchovy(ies):

braised artichokes with capers, lemon zest and, 83–84

butter, 256

butter, seared sirloin tips with red wine pan juices and, 254–56

clam and white bean soup with fennel, lemon and, 46–47

dressing, escarole, Romaine, and capocollo salad with fried onions and, 67

dressing, roast rack of lamb with Romaine salad and, 284–85

skate wings with brown butter, capers and, 206–7

appetizers,
see
starters and small bites

apple and pumpkin tart, 345–46

apricots, braised short ribs of beef with red wine, black olives and, 257–58

artichoke(s), 84–85

with anchovies, capers and lemon zest, braised, 83–84

leek, and fennel strudel, 92–93

penne with shrimp, feta and, 156–57

salt cod, and celery root fritters, 299–300

arugula:

and portobella mushroom salad, 66

smoked salmon rolls with mascarpone, chives, capers and, 9

Asiago:

crispy prosciutto and parsley pizza with, 131

orzo in chicken broth with many greens and, 40

phyllo tarts with smoky eggplant, bulgur, roasted red peppers and, 134–35

asparagus, 81

spears with aged Gouda and sherry vinaigrette, warm, 80

avocado:

chilled smooth corn soup with tomatoes, lime and, 36–37

and chipotle shrimp salad with tequila shooters, 68–69

bacon:

roast cod in terra-cotta with horseradish and, 210–11

smoked, tarte flambée with caramelized onions, creamy cheese and, 132–33

bagna cauda, spiced, 26–27

balsamic (vinegar):