Southern California Cooking from the Cottage (26 page)

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

Note:
White chocolate doesn't set up as firmly as traditional chocolate.

CHOCOLATE POT DE CRÈME

P
ot de crème is different from chocolate mousse in that mousse is lighter and more airy, while the pot de crème is thicker, richer, and silkier, more like a luxurious pudding.

4 ounces semisweet chocolate squares, chopped

4 ounces milk chocolate squares, chopped

1½ cups half-and-half

½ cup heavy cream

Pinch of salt

5 egg yolks, beaten

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Whipped cream

In a double boiler combine the chocolate, half-and-half, heavy cream, and salt until the chocolate is melted. (Remember that when you melt your chocolate in a double boiler, do not have your top bowl touching the water in the pot below.) Remove from the heat. Add some of the chocolate mixture to the egg yolks and stir. Then add the entire egg mixture back into the chocolate mixture and mix well. Return the mixture to the heat and cook until it thickens, whisking occasionally. Stir in the vanilla. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve and pour it into individual serving dishes. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Top with the whipped cream before serving.

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

CHOCOLATE SILK PIE WITH PECAN CRUST

T
he pecan crust really sets this chocolate pie apart. It is very popular at the restaurant and is on the menu at least once a week.

Crust:

2 cups pecan halves, toasted and finely chopped

½ cup packed brown sugar

cup butter, melted

Pie:

1¼ cups unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup sugar

8 eggs at room temperature

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate squares, chopped and melted

¼ cup heavy cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the crust, coat the bottom and sides of a 10-inch springform pan lightly with cooking spray. In a medium bowl combine the pecans, brown sugar, and melted butter. Press into the bottom of the springform pan.

For the pie, in a large bowl cream the butter until light. Gradually add the sugar. Add the eggs and mix well. The mixture might appear to have curdled, but don't worry. Heat the chocolate to warm, not hot. Add it to the egg mixture in a steady stream while mixing. Beat in the cream and vanilla. Pour into the springform pan and refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.

MAKES 8 TO 10 SERVINGS

PEANUT SATIN PIE

T
he South may have its peanut butter pie, but the Cottage has Peanut Satin Pie. This will be a big hit among all the peanut butter lovers in your life. It's like peanut butter cheesecake, but so much better. We serve it with Fantastic Hot Fudge Sauce (page 206) on top.

1 stick plus 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups finely ground graham crackers

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

cup peanut butter (not freshly ground or natural)

2 egg yolks

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small pot melt 1 stick of the butter. Add the graham crackers and stir until the crackers are coated. Press into the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan. Let the crust sit in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to cool and set up. In a medium bowl beat together the remaining 6 tablespoons butter, the cream cheese, peanut butter, and egg yolks. When well combined, add the condensed milk and vanilla. Pour into the graham cracker crust and chill at least 2 hours. Serve this with Fantastic Hot Fudge Sauce (page 206) over the top.

MAKES 8 TO 10 SERVINGS

Note:
Since this pie calls for raw eggs, it may be best to use pasteurized liquid eggs to avoid any harmful bacteria.

LEMON TART

O
ur lemon tart is light like lemon squares; it's a perfectly Californian way to finish off a meal.

1 cup heavy cream

cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

½ cup lemon juice

4 eggs

2 tablespoons flour

2 teaspoons lemon zest

1 baked (9-inch) piecrust

Confectioners' sugar

Preheat the oven to 325
^o
F. In a medium mixing bowl combine the cream, sugar, lemon juice, eggs, flour, and lemon zest. Pour into the piecrust and bake for 50 minutes or just until set. When cooled, dust the pie with the confectioners' sugar.

MAKES 8 SERVINGS

PEAR TART

T
ake time to peel and slice your pears so they are as uniform as possible. This adds to the uniformity of the tart and makes it look like a fancy French pastry. If pears aren't your favorite fruit, you can substitute apples.

3 pears, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

1 piecrust, partially baked and cooled

1 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 eggs

cup butter, melted and cooled

Preheat the oven to 375
^o
F. Arrange the pear slices in the bottom of the piecrust and fan out in a pattern. In a medium bowl beat all the sugar, the flour, and eggs until smooth. Slowly whisk in the butter. Pour the mixture over the fruit and bake for 1 hour.

MAKES 8 SERVINGS

THE DESSERT FAIRY

W
hen John and Laura Wolfe bought the Cottage in 1992, it was known for its excellent breakfast pastries. The day they moved in, the baker—a relative of the former owner—hung up her apron and left. The Wolfes didn't have a lot of options. “I was our pastry chef in the beginning,” John recalls. “I remember that I had my muffin recipe written on a napkin.”

Six months later, the Wolfes hired their first employee, Delyn Kuck. A native Californian who had gone to French cooking school in the English countryside, Delyn is a woman who gives the impression she was born to bake. “I don't have a chef mindset,” she says. “The pace, the stress of running a kitchen are not for me. I prefer to work slower and be mellow.” Being pastry chef for the Cottage perfectly fits that attitude. Delyn comes in, sees what's needed, and prepares it—usually at night or in the early morning hours before the restaurant opens.

“You've heard of the tooth fairy?” Laura Wolfe asks. “Delyn is our dessert fairy because there are times when we never see her, but we close the door one day and return the next morning, and poof! . . . there they are: all the pastries, pies, and muffins we need, warm and ready to serve.”

Delyn's own schedule includes a rotation of favorite dishes: the banana cake with chocolate frosting, pumpkin cheesecake, and a few seriously chocolaty items such as mousse or flourless chocolate cake. The signature dessert that customers have learned to expect year-round is raspberry white chocolate bread pudding, but Delyn notes, “To me, that doesn't really count as chocolate. Chocolate must be
dark
.” The best-known breakfast pastry is buttermilk coffee cake, available every morning and still oven-warm if you arrive early. Saturdays and Sundays, when there is usually a line for a table at the Cottage, the Wolfes put out bite-size pieces of this perfect cake for those standing outside the patio waiting for a table. Every year in May, twenty sheets of buttermilk coffee cake are supplied to the San Diego half-marathon for runners to carbo-load after they cross the finish line.

Besides the dessert, Delyn, along with Pam Elmore, played a crucial role in developing the fantastic granola for which the Cottage has become nationally known. “After trying numerous commercial brands we began to search for a granola recipe of our own,” Laura says. “Finally Delyn and Pam put one together, including cranberries, coconut, and pecans. We knew we were getting close. We asked our customers for feedback and played with the recipe until we perfected it. Now we ship it all over the country. We get calls for it every day, and not a morning passes when we don't hear at least a few customers proclaim, ‘This is the best granola I have ever had!'”