Crispy Chocolate Bars

I love Halloween. Growing up, it was always a favorite holiday of mine – dressing up in costumes, spooky walks in the dark and then sorting and snacking my way through my bag of treats at the end of the night - loads of fun! Over the years, I watched my two boys create costumes, trick-or-treat through our dark neighborhood and gleefully dig into bags filled with candy.

Halloween this year is particularly nostalgic for me as it’s the last year I have a boy at home. While it’s been quite a few years since either of my sons knocked on doors for treats, having a child at home (even if he towers over me!) makes it extra special with candy corn, spiders and pumpkin carving.

I started thinking about some favorite childhood chocolate bars, and when I saw homemade crunch bars featured on Food52 last week they practically leaped off the screen at me.

A few years ago I realized I had not been giving milk chocolate the recognition it deserves.  I inhaled many (many) bars of dark, dark chocolate over the years and ignored milk chocolate in any form. Then I went to an evening of chocolate tasting and it all changed. When I saw we were beginning the tasting with discs of milk, I wrongly assumed it would be sugary and bland. After one small taste, I quickly learned otherwise. Good milk chocolate is rich, smooth and creamy, with hints of caramel. I kept tasting. Bliss.

So when making homemade chocolate crunch bars, I knew I had to use pure, good quality milk chocolate. I also decided to increase the decadence a bit and use chocolate crispy rice cereal. I stopped there with the tweaking, though. I wanted to keep it simple and resisted adding sea salt or cacao nibs, as I tend to do. This is an iconic childhood candy bar and you can’t mess with tradition. Instead, it replicates the original candy bar but seriously elevates it - none of the cheap, flavorless chocolate from the bars of my youth.

Crunchy, crispy and creamy, the puffed rice and rich, milky chocolate are dreamy together. A true classic. I pulled the pan of bars out of the fridge late at night to check them and started cutting off little slivers … be warned, this is dangerous. Many slivers later, I slid the pan back into the fridge.

Watching my younger son snack on these crispy chocolate bars this week warms my heart, and I know yet another treat I’ll be sending off to my sweet boys in college.

Crispy Chocolate Bars
Adapted slightly from Food52
Makes 1-9 inch square pan

20 ounces good quality milk chocolate, chopped bars or discs
3 cups chocolate crispy rice cereal

Line a 9 inch square pan with foil and set aside.

Melt the chocolate in a medium sauce pan over very low heat, stirring often, until it is creamy and smooth. Remove from heat when there are still a few pieces and keep stirring until they finish melting. You can also microwave the chocolate until melted and smooth.

Scrape the chocolate into a large mixing bowl and pour the rice cereal over. Using a spatula, gently fold the cereal and chocolate together until it is mixed.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and pop into the fridge for a few hours, or until firm.

Remove the chocolate from the pan by lifting the edges of the foil. On a cutting board, cut into desired sized bars and begin nibbling. Store the bars in a cool area.

Homemade Sriracha

A couple of years ago I got hooked on homemade sriracha. I had discovered a recipe on Food52 and made it immediately. Upon tasting the homemade sauce, my family and I declared it superior to the store-bought sriracha which we immediately tossed out in favor of our new favorite. This experience opened my eyes to the world of homemade condiments, and sriracha became my gateway condiment, if you will.

Here at Blue Kale Road, I love telling you about new creations as well as family recipes, and sriracha has become a family recipe. It is one of those repertoire recipes, one without which my boys will not leave home. We are never without a jar in the fridge, and I can’t begin to tell you all the times we have dolloped and slathered this fiery red sauce.

I’ve seen quite a few variations of sriracha made in home kitchens, some are cooked, others fresh, some have fish sauce, while others have tomatoes. But they all share chiles, vinegar, garlic, salt and a sweetener, and I have stuck with these basics. I have stayed close to the original recipe I first discovered, making only a few little tweaks. After a whirl in the blender, the combination of red fresno chiles and garlic creates a sauce with heat and spice, balanced with bright flavor from apple cider vinegar and a touch of honey sweetness (which I used in place of the original white vinegar and brown sugar). I truly can’t get enough of this stuff.

The clean, fresh, vibrant flavors will make your taste buds sing, and it packs a punch! Mix a dab with creamy egg yolks for a twist on deviled eggs, stir a bit into mayo for a zesty sandwich spread or quick dip, or simply dollop away on eggs, rice or anything you’d like to jazz up.  Just be prepared to keep fresno chiles on your regular shopping list.

Sriracha Sauce
Adapted from Food52
Makes 2 cups

12 ounces fresno chiles (also called red jalapenos), stems removed and sliced
7 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 cups raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons raw honey

In a large jar, combine the sliced chiles (and seeds), garlic, kosher salt and cider vinegar. Screw the lid on and give a few little shakes to mix. Leave the mixture to sit on the counter overnight.

The next day, pour the jar contents into a medium saucepan and add the honey. Bring the mixture to a boil, stir a few times, then lower heat and let simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the stove and let cool to room temperature.

When cool, pour the mixture into a blender and puree until very smooth (this will take a few minutes). Stop and scrape the sides down a couple of times. Pour into a jar and pop it into the fridge, where it will keep for up to one month.

Deviled Eggs: Pretty in Pink

I must say, these are the prettiest deviled eggs I have ever made. When I saw Ashley Rodriguez’s Beet Pickled Deviled Eggs, I fell in love with their charming pink tint. And then Food52 shared a recipe with a secret ingredient to make an egg filling extra smooth and creamy. Well, I needed no further inspiration to combine the two recipes and start hard-boiling some eggs!

Deviled eggs are perfect for this time of year. Our backyard hens are laying again after their respite during the dark winter months and I am positively gleeful to gather beautiful eggs from the nesting boxes every day.

For the Passover meal, it is traditional to put an egg on the Seder plate to symbolize new life in the spring season. We then eat hard-boiled eggs before the main meal begins (this helps hungry children stay focused) and sometimes I serve deviled eggs as an option. These deviled eggs are an ideal choice!

The filling is indeed velvety due to the addition of a bit of butter - the secret ingredient. The whites are blushed pink from taking a soak with some homemade pickled beets. (The resulting beets were quite delicious in a salad with feta cheese – a delightful little extra treat.)

My family happily devoured a platter of these luscious eggs and is patiently awaiting the next batch. Soon, I promise!

You can find the Pickled Beet Deviled Eggs (for the pink egg whites) here and the Food52 Deviled Eggs (for the egg filling) here.

Celery Gratin: Sharing Some Celery Love

I’ve been a long admirer of the British food writer, Jane Grigson, and I especially enjoy her lovely book, Good Things. It’s a treasure of seasonal cookery (now there’s a word I wish was in more popular use!) and she shares a wealth of information in a friendly, wise manner.

One of my discoveries is her brilliant combination of celery, butter and salt. I generally think of stuffing celery with peanut butter or cream cheese ... rather ho-hum but a decent snack. Jane Grigson shares what is by far the tastiest way to enjoy raw celery - with good butter and sea salt. If you haven’t tried this before, spread a stalk of celery thickly with your best butter and sprinkle some Maldon sea salt on top. So simple and so good.

Celery is the spotlight of this week’s Food52 recipe contest. A new challenge and stretching your imagination is always fun, and creating a recipe based on celery certainly affords this opportunity. Since I didn’t have any experience with cooking celery, other than adding it to soups, I wanted to see what I could come up with.

The first step was easy since I already knew it to be delicious - sauté the celery in butter and salt. From there a gratin began to unfold. Cherry tomatoes add a pop of color and bright flavor, and the white wine, butter, cream and Gruyere cheese ... well, you can imagine all they add! The celery flavor shines through and the softer texture from cooking it is pleasing. Sweet tomatoes, wine and cream form a tangy, rich sauce and Gruyere cheese adds a nutty, indulgent finish.

I’m appreciating celery’s versatility and happy to see it escape the crudités platter to become a more inspiring dish.

Celery Gratin
Serves 4

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 bunch of celery (approximately 1 1/2 pounds), leaves removed (save for soup) and stalks cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 teaspoon kosher salt
A few grinds of fresh black pepper
3/4 cup white wine
1 pint cherry tomatoes, rinsed and sliced in half
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 cup Gruyere cheese, grated

Preheat the oven 350 degrees. Have an 8x8 or 9x9 inch broiler safe baking dish ready.

In a large sauté pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the celery slices, salt and pepper and stir to coat. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, until the celery begins to soften nicely. Add the wine and bring to a simmer. Stir in the tomatoes and continue to simmer for 5 minutes. Pour the mixture into the baking dish and pop it in the oven for 15 minutes. Give it a stir about halfway through.

Remove the dish from the oven, stir in the cream and sprinkle the cheese on top. Return the baking dish to the oven for 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is melted. If desired, turn on the broiler and let the cheese brown a little. Serve warm with some crusty bread to soak up the sauce.

Celebrating Community and a Cookbook

A year ago, I joined an amazing food community, Food52. I had never been part of an online community and it felt foreign to me to think of making friends online, rather than in person. What I discovered, though, is an incredible group of people scattered around the world, people who are kind, generous and supportive (much like the food blogging community). I have learned so much from these talented, creative cooks and feel connected in ways I didn’t expect. What a gift to find a place to grow, increase my knowledge and skills, be entertained and above all develop friendships.

Last month, a group of us in the Pacific Northwest met in person and spent an afternoon talking, eating and getting to know each other better. This past week, some of us met again at a dessert potluck I hosted to celebrate The Food52 Cookbook (using recipes from Food52). This is what the website is all about – community, sharing and good food. Well, we had all that at our party!

I made two desserts for this get together. The first one, Crème Vermont, happens to be the first recipe I ever made from Food52. I have a weakness for custard, and when you add maple syrup to it, well – I’m in heaven. These custards are silky smooth, made with cream steeped in fresh ginger, cinnamon and cloves and poured over maple syrup before being baked. They can be served warm or chilled and are high on my list of favorite fall/winter desserts.

The other dessert I made was Buckwheat Brownies with Walnuts and Toffee. I didn’t have toffee on hand and I substituted cocoa nibs – so good (I also sprinkled some sea salt on top before baking). The brownies are moist and chocolaty, made with almond meal and buckwheat flour so they are also gluten-free.

Some other desserts that guest brought were Gingerbread Bars with Hard Sauce Glaze, Spiced Parsnip Cake, Brown Sugar Cookies and Cappuccino Cheesecake. I can highly recommend all of them!

Another recipe I prepared was Cocoa Nib Brittle. I packaged it in little gift bags for guests to take home. I’ll be making this again quite soon – it’s a crunchy brittle with salted caramel and chocolate flavor ... perfect to give as a gift over the holidays or for house guests to nibble on.

The Food52 festivities continued the next evening at Delancey, where Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs (the creators of Food52) joined a local group of us at a potluck to chat, drink wine and eat delicious dishes we each prepared from the website. What a marvelous celebration!

I am just delighted to be meeting such interesting, fun cooks who share my love of food and fun. I look forward to more such gatherings in person and to more online communicating. A toast to friends and food!

Pumpkin Cake with Salted Honey Caramelized Pears and Whipped Cream: Hello Fall!

There is a crispness in the air and, despite the calendar saying summer is here for another week, I say fall has arrived. My sons are outside throwing a football around, leaves are blushing red on the maple trees, Honeycrisp apples are in the market and I am craving autumn cooking with apples, pears and squash. Lots to look forward to!

With thoughts of fall cooking, this past week’s recipe contest on the Food52 site was Your Best Pears. As always, there is a tempting list of recipes to drool over and save (my “saved” list is huge!). One of the pear recipes leaped out at me – Salted Honey Caramelized Pears...these four words evoked an immediate taste that I needed to try. The timing was perfect since I was making dessert to bring to Shabbat dinner and was imagining sweet fall flavors.

Pumpkin cake is a favorite of ours. I love its dense, moist texture and fragrant scents of cinnamon, cloves, ginger and allspice. Mmmm, the flavors of comfort. In the past I’ve served this pumpkin cake with sautéed apples and caramel sauce. This time, Salted Honey Caramelized Pears seemed a perfect accompaniment (with a dollop of whipped cream, of course) and a warm way to welcome fall.

The recipe for Salted Honey Caramelized Pears can be found here (thank you to EmilyC for sharing!). I adapted it slightly since I was using six pears and do not have a sauce pan large enough to fit twelve pear halves. Instead, I made the sauce on the stove top, poured it into a 9x13 baking dish, arranged the pears on top (cut side down), basted with the sauce, then roasted the pears for 15 minutes. I flipped the pears over, basted again and roasted for another 15 minutes.

Simply put, the pears were divine with the pumpkin cake! This dessert combination is definitely a new fall favorite. I hope you enjoy it! This recipe is linked back to a lovely list of pumpkin recipes, too.

Pumpkin Cake
Adapted from The World Of Jewish Desserts
by Gil Marks
Serves 10-12

3 cups organic, pure canned pumpkin puree
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
4 eggs, room temperature, beaten
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice
Whipped cream for serving
Salted Honey Caramelized Pears (I multiplied the recipe by 3)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a Bundt pan well.

In a mixing bowl, stir together the pumpkin puree, sugars, maple syrup and oil until combined. Mix in the beaten eggs.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Stir into the pumpkin mixture until just mixed.

Pour into the prepared Bundt pan and bake for about 40-45 minutes. This is a moist cake and will have a few crumbs stick to an inserted tester. Let cool and then invert pan to release cake.

Serve with softly whipped cream and Salted Honey Caramelized Pears.

Delightful Dukkah

Meet my new spice mix addiction…dukkah. You, too, can be addicted to dukkah! Dukkah is an Egyptian spice mix that is incredibly versatile. Traditionally, nuts, sesame seeds, cumin seeds and coriander seeds are toasted and ground together with salt to form an aromatic mix to sprinkle lavishly. You can be creative and add other seeds and spices to make it your own (such as dried mint or coconut). I had eaten dukkah while traveling in Egypt and Israel and loved it. Searching for it back at home, though, I was disappointed in the store bought version, a musty and bland powder.

This past week, I had the pleasure of testing a recipe at Food52 that was a candidate for an Editor’s Pick (and won!). Antonia James submitted her recipe for Hard Cooked Eggs with Lime Aioli and Dukkah. Let me just say, her dukkah is terrific. It has crunch and pizzazz. The toasted spices are fragrant and pounding with a mortar and pestle is always so much fun. Bob used to live in Jerusalem and when he caught a whiff he was transported back. All week, I have been liberally dusting dukkah on roasted fingerling potatoes, salads, tomato sandwiches and even my morning oatmeal (which made a lovely savory porridge).

I made canapés from the Food52 recipe and could not assemble them fast enough for my family (toasted baguette slices slathered with aioli, layered with sliced hard cooked eggs and sprinkled with dukkah). These canapés will make regular appearances at summer parties. And the dukkah has become a pantry staple.

Dukkah
from Antonia James at Food52

2 heaping tablespoons raw sesame seeds
2 tablespoons lightly roasted pumpkin seeds (or, more traditionally,¼ cup hazelnuts, toasted and skins removed, or roasted garbanzos)
1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds
1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
1 teaspoon grains of paradise or freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon flaky sea salt

Toast the sesame seeds in a small heavy skillet. Remove and partially crush using a mortar and pestle, just enough to release a bit of fragrance.

Finely chop the roasted pumpkin seeds (or hazelnuts or garbanzos).

Toast the cumin seeds and the coriander seeds, separately, in a small heavy skillet just until fragrant. Watch carefully, and remove immediately, lest they burn.

Crush the seeds together using a mortar and pestle, or by pulsing in an electric spice grinder. They should be coarse, and not fine.

Combine all of the ingredients in the mortar and pestle and pound lightly a few times. Give the blend a few final good stirs, to combine. It should smell divine.

Store any leftover dukkah in the refrigerator, tightly covered.