Hey all, I got this emailed to me from a friend, and it looks really good (the friend called it “kick-ass,” and I thoroughly agree.  Here’s her story:

“A friend of mine was having a bunch of people over to watch some game or other. The idea was to have party-type food. I needed something quick and easy that I could make with ingredients I already had on hand. One of the most typical things for such occasions is chicken wings. Buffalo wings are cool, but have been done to death. I was in experiment mode, and this is what I came up with. (This got me a couple of wedding proposals, and one very indecent proposal that night).”

Apricot-Ginger Chicken Wings

4 lbs of separated chicken wings (tips removed)
salt and pepper (to taste)
2 cups flour for dredging
vegetable oil for frying
1/4 cup chopped scallions (green portion only)
1-2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

Sauce:
1 cup apricot preserves
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp honey
2 tsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp rice vinegar
1 clove of garlic
2 tsp fresh ginger

*Tip: A garlic press works well if you have one. I like to grate both the garlic clove and the ginger using a citrus zester. Both ginger and garlic have intense flavors. The zester gives each a fine grate that allows them to disintegrate into the sauce, so you get the flavor, without the overpowering “mouth feel” of texture.

1. Wash and drain the chicken. Over medium-high heat, preheat the vegetable oil in a frying pan. While the oil is             heating, season the chicken wings with salt and pepper. Coat the chicken wings in flour, shaking off any excess.         (You only want a light crust on the wings, so an egg wash isn’t necessary).
2. Cook until the edges begin to lightly brown, and turn the chicken over.  (Approximately 5-7 minutes on each side,         depending on the size of the pieces).  Drain well on paper towels.
3. Set aside the sesame seeds and scallions. To make the sauce, combine all remaining ingredients in a medium         sauce pan over low heat. Stir constantly until the preserves break down and all ingredients are blended. Bring to a     low boil, continuing to stir. Remove from heat. The sauce should have a syrupy consistency.

*Tip: This sauce has very high sugar content and can burn easily. Keep the ingredients moving constantly so nothing settles in the bottom of the pan, prevent sticking and burning!) If the sauce begins to overheat, remove from heat, but keep stirring. The sauce will thicken as it heats up. If it heats too fast it may become too thick. To thin it out a little, add 1/2 tsp rice vinegar and add water 1 Tbsp at a time as you need it.

Remove from heat and pour into a large mixing bowl. Add the wings to the bowl and toss. Sprinkle with scallions and sesame seeds, and toss once more to evenly coat.

I got a request for this dish, one I made years ago when I was single and cooking for a date, and the result was exquisite.  It is the classic Italian recipe. There are several different ways to prepare this dish, but this preparation is the way it is done in Milan, where it originated.  The Joy Of Cooking suggests 2 tablespoons rinsed capers (salted, not pickled) instead of prosciutto and olive oil instead of butter.  That is the Americanization of the dish, originally done by Italian restaurants in the U.S. because of the cost of proper prosciutto, and because restaurateurs  discovered that American palettes were generally not sophisticated enough to appreciate and enjoy the salty and aromatic nature of the Italian ham vis-a-vis a dish that evolved into a gently flavorful Amer-Italian favorite.  Made with good capers it is a finely flavored dish.  Made with prosciutto it is extraordinary.   In another American innovation, thin cutlets of chicken or turkey are sometimes used to replace fine veal to good results, but they are not to be confused with the real thing.  Please try to make it this way at least once.  I give you:

PICCATA di VITELLO AL PREZZEMOLO

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 pound (450 g) thinly sliced veal
* 2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
* 1/3 cup unsalted butter
* 2 fairly thick (1/8 inch, or 3 mm) slices prosciutto
* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* The juice of a half a lemon
* 1/2 cup (125 ml) beef broth (or bouillon)
* Salt & pepper
* A slice of lemon and a sprig of parsley

PREPARATION:
Slice the prosciutto slices widthwise to obtain match-stick sized pieces. Mince the parsley.

Wet a broad-bladed knife with cold water and gently pound the slices to thin them, taking care not to punch through them. Put the flour, a healthy pinch of salt and a grind of pepper in a paper bag. Pat the cutlets dry, put them into the bag (one at a time) and shake the bag to flour them.

Melt 1/4 cup of the butter in a skillet and sauté the prosciutto slivers for about five minutes. Turn the heat to high and add the veal, turning the slices as soon as their undersides are done (you want to cook them rapidly, before they give off a great flood of water). As soon as the slices are done, remove them to a serving dish and keep them warm. Return the pan to the fire, add the broth, and stir up the drippings that have stuck to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Let the juices cook down a little, then remove the pan from the fire and stir in the remaining butter, the lemon juice, and the minced parsley. Pour the sauce over the meat and serve, with the lemon and parsley as garnish.

We’re always on the hunt for cool ways to use hummus, which both Ellen and I make, differently but to the same great effect. She likes roasted red peppers and garlic, while I like to experiment with different flavors. My current favorite mix is garlic, scallions, a bit of ginger and a drizzle of sesame seed oil.

The other night, I went the way of her recipe, and used the wonderful ingredient as the basis for a stuffing for chicken breasts. I am here to report that this recipe is restaurant-good, and is absolutely worth the time and energy. It is so good, even, that store-bought hummus will turn this into a rousing and beautiful supper. Please take the time to do this. It is a three-pan batter dip recipe, but worth the trouble. Make this one for company. It is a terrific presentation, but a lot of work and a lot of ingredients for two people. This is a six- to eight-person do, and will garner ooohs and aaahs. Guaranteed. One of the ingredients is panko, a Japanese bread crumb. Please go to the trouble to find this. Substitution of regular bread crumbs for panko will alter the final product, and not to its advantage. The texture of the panko is incredible. Try it:

 Hummus-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Ingredients:

1 10-oz box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and wrung out

2/3 cup hummus

¼ cup lightly-toasted pine nuts

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

salt and pepper

6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, butterflied* and pounded to ½ inch thick

½ cup whole-wheat flour (you can use all-purpose, but whole wheat tastes waaay better)

2 large eggs

1 ½ cups panko

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

• your butcher will butterfly chicken breasts for you if you don’t know how, but it is really simple—just hold them firmly on a cutting board and slice them lengthwise (horizontally) from the thick side to the thin side, stopping about a half-inch from cutting all the way through

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Set up three shallow dipping pans, one with flour, salt and pepper; one with beaten eggs; and one with panko.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the spinach, hummus, pine nuts and nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and place a dollop (1/6^th of the total amount) of the hummus mixture on one side of each breast. Fold the breast over the stuffing and pin the open side with two toothpicks.
5. Coat the stuffed chicken breasts with flour, shaking off any excess. Then dip them in egg, then coat the breasts with panko.
6. In a large skillet, heat the butter and olive oil over meduim-high heat until the butter stops foaming. Add two chicken breasts two at a time, and cook, turning once, four minutes on the first side, three minutes on the second side. Adjust the heat so that the chicken browns but doesn’t burn. Transfer the sautee’d breasts to a foil-lined baking sheet, and bake them for ten minutes. Remove from oven, cover with foil, and allow to rest for five minutes. Discard the toothpicks and slice each breast crossways on plates to serve.

I served the chicken breasts with a zucchini-Parmesan risotto and roasted asparagus. This is a dinner-party presentation. Folks, the work is worth the effort.

This incredible dessert was presented as a Mother’s Day treat to the one I love.  And her family.This dessert is absolutely sick.
It worked.

Drizzling syrup:

1/3 cup Guinness Stout

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder (I like Droste’s)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Cake:

2/3 cup Guinness Stout (measured after foam has subsided

2/3 cup currants

1/3 cup plus 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 3/4 cups plus 2 Tbsp sugar

2 cups plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

Cooking spray

2/3 cups butter, softened

4 eggs

1 ½ tsp pure vanilla

1 ½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ cup red currant jelly, warmed

1 cup chopped walnuts

Bittersweet Icing:

1 ½ cups heavy cream

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate

4 ½ Tbsp confectioner’s sugar

4 ½ Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract

1/8 tsp salt

ONE DAY AHEAD:

Bring cream to a boil.  Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl, pour boiling cream over it, and whisk until chocolate melts and is thoroughly combined.  Cover tightly and chill overnight.  Chill beaters from a hand mixer at the same time.

UP TO 3 HOURS BEFORE SERVING:

Whip chocolate mixture with the hand mixer with chilled beaters.  When soft peaks form, sift in confectioner’s sugar and cocoa, and then add vanilla and salt.  Continue whipping until combined.

Drizzling Syrup:

Combine all ingredients in a small heavy saucepan, whisking until smooth.  Heaat over medium heat until sugar disolves and syrup is smooth.  Set aside.

Cake:

1.                  Pour Stout over currants; cover and soak until the currants are plump.

2.                  Drain currants, reserving Stout.

3.                  Add stout to a small saucepan.  Whisk in 1/3 cup cocoa and bring to a simmer.  Remove from heat.  Add semisweet chocolate, stirring until chocolate melts.  Cool  slightly.  Stir in buttermilk.

4.                  Preheat oven to 350 F

5.                  Combine 2 Tbsp cocoa, 2 Tbsp sugar and 2 Tbsp flour.  Coat 2 8- or 9-inch cake pans with cooking spray; dust with cocoa mixture.

6.                  Beat butter with a mixer at medium speed until smooth.  Gradually beat in 1 ¾  cups sugar until well blended.  Beat in eggs one at a time.  Beat in vanilla.

7.                  Combine 2 cups flour with baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with chocolate mixture until blended (batter may look curdled).  Stir in currants.

8.                  Divide batter between pans.  Bake 25 – 30 minutes, until a wooden pick comes out clean.  Cool in pans on a wire rack 10 minutes, then invert onto the rack.

9.                  Poke tops of cake with a skewer or toothpick.  Spoon drizzling syrup over tops of both layers.

10.             Place 1 layer on a platter.  Spread warmed jelly over layer on the platter. Chill 30 minutes.  Cover jelly with ¼ of Bittersweet Icing.  Place second layer on top.

11.              Frost top and sides with the remaining icing.  Press nuts into the sides of the cake.  Serves 16

ATTENTION ALL CHOCOLATE ADDICTS:

This one’s for you.

There is a gourmet delicatessen and grocery store on South Beach called The Thal Brothers’ Epicure Market.  It is one of the most famous gourmet markets in America, written up in Gourmet and Bon Appetit magazines, featured on The Food Network, and on the Travel Channel.  This market originated the idea of selling fine prepared foods and cooked items right in the store, cooked on site and sold ready to eat.  They’ve been doing it on South Beach since the 1940’s, before anyone had ever heard of Whole Foods or Wegman’s or Trader Joe’s.

This market is where I developed my cooking chops, learning at the elbow of an old Philippine chef who had run the kitchen at the fabulous Fountainbleau Hotel in the heyday of Miami Beach.

The Epicure Market bakery is internationally recognized, and they ship product all over the world, with a secret and proprietary shipping method that permits product to arrive at a destination as fresh as it was just out of the oven.  One of the most sought-after products from the bakery at the Epicure is its Brooklyn Blackout Cake.  It is a frenzy of chocolate flavors that can only be described as deathly (this is the original “Death by Chocolate”).  I have heard it suggested that  the cake be served with whipped cream or high-butterfat vanilla ice cream, or Espresso or marscapone.  Pshaw.!
Make this cake for your loved one and serve it with a cold quart of milk.

And then die happy.

It’s not an easy recipe, but it’s worth the time…

Brooklyn Blackout Cake

For the custard filling:

• 1 tablespoon plus 1 ¾ teaspoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 2 cups boiling water
• ¾ cup plus ½ teaspoon sugar
• 1 ounce bittersweet chocolate chopped
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon cold water see Note
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

For the frosting

• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chopped
• 12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter
• ½ cup hot water
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preparation:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F degrees. Butter and lightly flour two (8-inch) round cake pans.
• Make the cake: Place the cocoa in a small bowl and whisk in the boiling water to form a paste.
• Combine the chopped chocolate and milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir frequently until the chocolate melts, about three minutes. Remove from the heat. Whisk a small amount of the hot chocolate milk into the cocoa paste to warm it. Whisk the cocoa mixture into the milk mixture. Return the pan to medium heat and stir for one minute. Remove and set aside to cool until tepid.
• In the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter and sugar together. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, and the vanilla. Slowly stir in the chocolate mixture. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a spatula or a wooden spoon, slowly add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture. Fold in until just mixed.
• In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Using a spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
• Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pans on rack for 15 minutes.  Gently remove the cakes from the pans and continue to cool.
• While the cake is baking, combine the cocoa and boiling water in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir in the sugar and chocolate. Add the dissolved cornstarch paste and salt to the pan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for one minute. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla and butter. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, cover and refrigerate until cool.
• Make the frosting: Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over hot, not simmering, water, stirring until smooth. Remove the top of the double boiler from the heat and whisk in the butter, one tablespoon at a time. Return the top to the heat, if necessary, to melt the butter.
• Whisk in the hot water all at once and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the corn syrup and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate for up to 15 minutes before using.
• Assemble the cake: use a sharp serrated knife to slice each cake layer horizontally in half to form four layers. Set one layer aside. Place one layer on a cake round or plate. Generously swath the layer with one-half of the custard filling. Add the second layer and repeat. Set the third layer on top. Quickly apply a thin layer of frosting to the top and sides of the cake. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, crumble the remaining cake layer. Apply the remaining frosting to the cake. Sprinkle it liberally with the cake crumbs. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

This is a simple cold salad with a sensational dressing.  And, you can spice it up to taste.  Feel free to play with the amounts of cumin, chili powder, and hot sauce.  A vegetarian delight for a hot and humid summer day:

Ingredients:

1 15-oz can black beans
1 15-oz can light red kidney beans
1 15-oz can cannellini (white) beans
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 10-oz package frozen corn, defrosted
1 red onion, chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 Tbsp white sugar
1 tbsp salt
1 clove smashed and finely minced garlic
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
1/2 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper
1 dash red pepper (read: Tabasco) sauce

1/2 tsp chili powder

Procedure:

In a large bowl, combine beans, bell peppers, corn, and red onion
In a small food chopper, add all remaining ingredients, and pulse until the ingredients are well mixed.
Pour dressing over salad fixin’s and mix well.  Chill thoroughly and serve cold.

Serves 8

I call this dish Vicki’s Noodles because I got the recipe from an old friend named, Vicki, a nurse and confessed Jersey Girl I knew many years ago.  Vicki spent some time in Southeast Asia after nursing school, when there was an unpleasant thing going on between the locals and  the U.S. Army.  She could cook, and was especially adept at Asian cuisine. I have several of her recipes in my notebook. This one is Cold Sesame Noodles. The ingredients beyond the sauce are completely optional. I like to use fresh, crispy bean sprouts.  A chef I once worked with suggested I add red cabbage and some shredded carrot for color and texture.  I liked the way that worked out, and I have also variously included chopped snow peas or sugar-snap peas, which we grow in our garden.  I also often give it a note of Thai by adding some chopped basil and a teaspoonful of fish sauce.  If you like meat in your salad, add grilled slices of chicken or London broil, or try it with cubes of premium dry tofu, drained and dried or lightly grilled.  Play with this one and see what you like.  There’s almost no ingredient you could add that would not make it better. The sauce is a nice sweet and tangy one, but it doesn’t get in the way of any kind of additional ingredient.

My peanut butter of choice is Crazy Richard’s peanut butter, because the only ingredient in the jar is peanuts.  No added oil, salt, sugar, or any stabilizers.  Just peanuts.  It’s the best peanut butter to control the mixture of flavors, which is significant.  I make the dish with whole wheat linguine, but it is just as good with Asian buckwheat noodles, rice noodles, plain spaghetti, or whatever pasta you prefer. Adjust the amount of red chile oil to your own liking. This one is not too spicy. To kick it up, increase the hot chile oil to 1 tablespoon instead of a teaspoon.

Ingredients:

1 lb. whole-wheat linguine (or 8 oz. medium rice noodles, soaked 20 minutes in hot water)

3 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter

3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

3 tablespoons brown sugar

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1-3 tsp dark toasted sesame-seed oil

1-3 tsp chili-sesame oil

1 tablespoon fish sauce (optional)

1/2 cup chopped peanuts

¼ finely-chopped small red cabbage

1 finely grated carrot

1 handful FRESH (!) bean sprouts

1 bunch fresh scallions, chopped, roots discarded.

Procedure:

Prepare the noodles al-dente’ per the package (1-2 minutes LESS than the recommended package directions). Drain but do not rinse.

While the noodles are cooking (or soaking, if you’re using rice noodles), in a small bowl, combine the next six ingredients (peanut butter through chile oil–seven if you’re including fish sauce) with a whisk until smooth and completely blended.  Add half the peanuts; the carrot, cabbage, and bean sprouts; and all but a handful of the scallions. Toss to completely coat the drained noodles and aside at room temperature.
One half hour before serving, add the protein if you use it, and toss well to coat with sauce. Allow to rest for a half hour, sprinkle the remaining peanuts and scallions over the noodles, then serve (don’t allow this to sit too long. The sauce will eventually break.)

 This dish is meant to be served at room temperature. If you plan to add chicken, it should be grilled ahead of time and chilled.