brunosdream

On Sunday I joined several St. Louis area food bloggers for a workshop at The Kitchen Conservatory to learn how to make a double crusted apple pie. Anne Cori was our instructor. She emphasized “cold dough/hot oven” to create a perfect pie. While the pies baked, Christi Fentress of Response Builders presented us w/ information on search engine optimization (i.e., how to set up your site so it gets optimal placement on search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN). Many thanks to Anne and Christi for sharing their knowledge. Also, thanks to Alanna at A Veggie Venture for organizing this fun event!

 I took my pie to share w/ some friends while it was still warm from the oven. The pie may not be the prettiest I’ve seen, but it was the best apple pie I’ve tasted so far (the crust was super tender and flaky)!! My friends both thought so too… in fact one of them inhaled 3 slices of pie that evening!

I’m too lazy to type out the recipes right now but you can find them here (crust) and here (pie)  if you’re interested.

Some photos for your viewing pleasure (click photos to zoom in).

That’s all folks…

Bruno

Hi everyone,

 Here’s a recipe that I put together for baguettes using sourdough starter. I couldn’t find any simple recipes for sourdough baguettes when I did a web search, so I combined a couple of recipes, took a chance and voila… it succeeded! I took these over to my friend’s house to share at the delicious Christmas feast that was prepared yesterday.

Sourdough Baguettes

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups bread flour

2 1/4 teaspoons salt

2 cups active sourdough starter

1 cup cool water

corn meal for dusting sheet pan

Procedure:

1) In a large bowl mix together the flour, salt, starter and water

2)  Remove mixture from bowl and knead for 8 minutes on a floured surface

3) Put dough back into the bowl, cover w/ plastic wrap and bulk ferment at room temperature for 90 minutes

4) Weigh dough into 3 equal portions then shape into tight balls, cover w/ plastic wrap and let bench rest for 1 hour

5) Shape into 14 inch baguettes by rolling from the center out using the palms of your hands

6) Lightly dust baguettes w/ some flour and place them on a parchment paper lined sheet pan that is generously dusted w/ corn meal

7) Cover w/ plastic wrap and place in refrigerator overnight

8) Let stand at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours prior to baking (since it is winter here and my kitchen is cool, I placed the baguettes in the unheated oven w/ the light on to give them some warmth)

9) Preheat oven to 425 degrees F

10) Dust baguettes w/ flour and dock w/ a serrated knife  – hold knife at a 30 degree angle and make 4 or 5 diagonal cuts

11) Place a container of hot water at the bottom of the oven

12) Place baguettes in oven on middle rack and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown  – – quickly pour 1/2 cup of water onto the bottom sides of the oven right after placing baguettes in

13) After 1 minute quickly pour in another 1/2 cup of water – repeat once again 2 minutes later (the steam helps promote the “oven spring” and crust gloss)

14) Remove baguettes from oven and let cool

15) Share the bread w/ your friends!

**  yields 3 baguettes

 I hope everyone is having an enjoyable holiday season! If you’re feeling stressed, I recommend breaking away from the holiday hustle-bustle, slowing down to relax, bake this bread, break out a nice bottle of wine and some cheese and sit down w/ some of your favorite friends to enjoy a peaceful moment together. That’s what I did and I feel so much better!!

Happy holidays to all… see you in 2008!!

 Bruno

I typically don’t eat veal for a couple of reasons:

1) It doesn’t have much flavor (and their are cheaper meats that are way more flavorful).

2) I’m becoming more aware of  the way animals are treated on their way to and at the slaughter house – the veal making process is typically not very humane.

When I invited a family friend over for dinner I let him choose between 2 main courses I was thinking of preparing, and guess what he chose? Yes, veal, specifically osso buco. I made saffron risotto for the accompanying starch because it was traditionally what my mom made w/ osso buco. For the veggie I kept it simple and made broccolini which I served at room temperature w/ lemon and olive oil. For dessert I churned another batch of sweet potato gelato w/ candied pecans (it is quickly becoming one of my favorite flavors!).

Osso Buco w/ Gremolata (recipe adapted from Epicurious.com) **serves 6 to 8

Ingredients:

8 large 2 1/2 inch thick veal shanks (pat dry each shank and tie securely w/ kitchen string to keep meat attached to the bone)

7 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 cups dry white wine

1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion

3/4 cup finely chopped carrots

3/4 cup finely chopped celery

1 teaspoon minced garlic

4 cups beef or chicken broth (I used 2 cups of each)

1 1/2 cups drained canned plum tomatoes (chopped)

A cheesecloth bag containing 6 fresh parsley sprigs, 4 fresh thyme sprigs, and 1 bay leaf

 1/2 teaspoon salt

All-purpose flour for dredging the veal shanks

For the gremolata:

1/2 cup minced fresh parsley (preferably flat-leafed)

2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon minced garlic

 **In a bowl, mix together and set aside until service.

Procedure:

1) Season veal shanks w/ salt and pepper and dredge in the flour, shaking off the excess.

2) In a heavy skillet heat 3 tablespoons each of butter and olive oil over moderately high heat until the foam subsides, then brown the shanks in batches, adding some additional butter and oil as necessary, and transfer them to a platter when browned.

3) Add the wine to the skillet, bring to a boil and scrape the brown bits from the sides and bottom. Reduce until only 1/2 cup of wine remains and reserve in a small bowl.

4) In a flameproof casserole just large enough to hold the veal shanks in one layer, cook the onion, carrots, celery and the garlic in the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter over moderately low heat, until the vegetables are softened.

5) Add the shanks to the casserole  w/ any accumulated juices, as well as the reserved wine mixture and enough broth to almost cover the shanks.

6) Spread the tomatoes over the shanks, add the cheesecloth bag, the salt, pepper to taste and bring the liquid to a simmer over moderately high heat.

7) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F, cover the casserole and braise  for 2 hours or until veal is tender.

8) Tranfer shanks to an ovenproof serving dish, carefully remove the strings and keep warm in oven.

9) Skim the fat off the pan juices and reduce until there is only about 3 cups remaining.  

10) Put pan juices in a gravy boat at service time.

   

Risotto alla Milanese (recipe adapted from Clifford A. Wright and Allrecipes.com)

** serves 6 to 8

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups arborio rice

8 cups beef broth (I used a combination of beef and veggie broth)

1 teaspoon saffron powder (place in a small bowl w/ 3 tablespoons warm water)

1 small onion, very finely chopped

3/4 cups dry white wine

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)

1 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (freshly grated)

Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

1) Heat broth and keep it simmering… have a ladle nearby. 

2) In a large, heavy saucepan, melt 3/4 of the butter and cook the onion over medium heat until translucent, stirring frequently.

3) Add wine to the onion and continue cooking until wine is nearly evaporated.

4) Add the rice and cook for 2 minutes, stirring to evenly coat the grains.

5) Add 1 cup of the hot broth, season w/ salt and pepper, and stir almost continuously until the liquid evaporates. Ladle in more broth, continue stirring, while liquid evaporates. Continue this process until rice is between al dente and tender.

6) A few minutes before rice is done, add the diluted saffron and stir until well incorporated. Stir in the remaining butter  and 1 cup of the parmesan cheese.

7) Serve w/ remaining parmesan cheese.

As you can see in the photo, I mounded the risotto on the center of a very large serving dish, then carefully (so they remained intact) placed the osso buco around the risotto.  I didn’t sprinkle them w/ a bit of the gremolata as the recipe indicated because I wasn’t sure if everyone would like it  – I let them add the gremolata if desired. If you have any parsley left, you can use it to garnish the serving dish too.

Buon Appetito!

Bruno

It was a great day to celebrate the storming of the Bastille. This is the second annual Bastille Day party chez Paula’s maison. She really outdid herself this year! The menu was magnifique and she even had a French music ensemble playing some Edith Piaf, among other tunes, to set the mood!  There were many more people attending, however my friend and former co-blogger, Duane, was not present this year to chronicle the event as he did last year. Unfortunately he recently found out his cancer has returned and he is once again battling this horrible disease. My thoughts and prayers are w/ him. I wish him the best and hope he will be present next year and able to announce his cancer is once again in remission. Duane, since you were unable to be there, here are some photos for your vicarious enjoyment. I tip my glass to you my friend, may you be back in action soon…

 

Le menu; amuse bouche

 

Le dinner

 

Paula avec ami; Herve'; la music

 

Mon tutti fruitti; autre dessert

 

Les party people

Salut…

Bruno

Hello everyone and welcome to my new blog! It’s good to be back after being in blogging exile for way too long!!

My new kitchen is now finished (I just need to do some touch-up painting) and I love it!! What an improvement over the old one! Here are a few photos…

To celebrate, I had a few friends over for one of my favorite dinners… PIZZA!! For dessert we had sweet potato gelato w/ candied pecans. After sampling some of the gelato I decided this is one of the best flavors I’ve created. I will definitely make it again!! With the gelato I served some El Dorado 15 Year Special Reserve Rum from Guyana. Awesome stuff… if you like cognac, you will love this rum! It has a beautiful nose of caramel and a long, smooth finish.

Pizza

Ingredients for dough:

4 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup olive oil

1 rounded tablespoon yeast

1/4 cup plus 1 1/4 cups warm water

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon honey

Procedure for dough:

1) Mix yeast, 1/4 cup warm water and honey in a large mixing bowl, let stand for 2 minutes or until foamy

2) Then add to bowl: 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 1/4 cups warm water, 2 teaspoons salt

3) Then mix in 3 1/2 cups flour (mix in up to 1/2 cup more flour if dough is too moist)

4) Kneed dough, form it into a ball and return it to the bowl, dust w/ flour, cover and let rise for 1 hour (in a warm spot in your kitchen)

** recipe yields three 14 inch pizza crusts if rolled out thin

Ingredients for pizza:

Crimini mushrooms (sauteed w/ garlic, red pepper flakes,, oregano and salt)

Tomatoes – thinly sliced

Mozzarella cheese – thinly sliced

Oregano

Minced garlic

Olive oil

Parmesan cheese – grated

Salt + pepper

Corn meal for dusting pizza peel

Procedure for pizza:

1) Place pizza stone on middle rack of oven, then preheat to 500 degrees

2) Cut dough into 3 equal pieces

3) Roll out dough to desired thickness

4) Transfer dough to pizza peel (the wooden thing I call a palette) that has been generously dusted w/ corn meal so pizza slides into oven easily

5) Top w/ mozzarella, tomatoes, oregano, salt and pepper, minced garlic, mushrooms, grated parmesan, and drizzle w/ olive oil

6) Bake at 500 degrees on a pizza stone for 8 minutes; check if bottom of crust is nicely browned… it may need to be rotated {back to front} using a metal spatula and baked for another minute or 2 for a perfect pizza

Sweet Potato Gelato w/ Candied Pecans

Ingredients:

1 cup brown sugar

2 cups sweet potato puree (I roasted the potatoes in the oven at 425 degrees for 50 minutes until soft, then let cool before scooping out and pureeing in food processor)

6  large egg yolks

1 quart half and half

1 cup candied pecans – roughly chopped (**see previous pumpkin gelato post for pecan procedure)

Procedure:

1) In medium saucepan heat half + half gently to a simmer, then turn off heat

2) In medium size mixing bowl combine egg yolks and sugar and beat together until pale yellow

3) Beat 2 tablespoons of the warm half + half into the egg mixture (do this slowly to avoid curdling the eggs), then beat in the remaining half + half little by little

4) Place bowl over a pot of simmering water and cook over a gentle heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon (do not let temperature exceed 170 degrees F or mixture will start to curdle)

5) Cool in an ice bath

6) Blend in 1 1/2 cups gelato mixture to sweet potato to thin puree, then stir puree into the remaining gelato mixture, blending well, and chill for at least 4 hours in fridge

7) Churn in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions, adding the chopped pecans halfway through the churning process

8) Transfer gelato to a 2 quart plastic container, cover top w/ parchment paper cut to size (this will reduce air exposure and prevent ice crystals from forming on the surface of gelato), and freeze until firm

Yield: Approx. 1 ½ quarts

It’s my birthday today so I’m treating myself to a long weekend in San Francisco! I leave tomorrow and still have a ton of things to do today. I need to end this post and continue my chores.

Thanks for visiting the new site.

Bon Appetit!!

Bruno

My apologies for the scarcity of posts lately. I have been a bit preoccupied since January w/ a major and very important project… remodeling my kitchen!! I didn’t realize how involved this process can be. Meeting w/ the contractor, lining up the financing, picking out fixtures, emptying the cabinets, and dealing w/ the little surprises that inevitably pop up! Getting all these things accomplished during my time off left very little time for blogging.

To say goodbye to my old kitchen I decided to have some friends over for “the last supper”. Lamb stew served over spinach noodles sounded like a good choice for a cold winter evening, so that’s what I prepared.

Lamb Stew w/ Spinach Noodles

Ingredients:

10 cloves garlic  – peeled and crushed (for marinade)

1 ounce dried morel mushrooms

4 tomatoes – 1 inch dice

1 bunch Swiss chard (1/2 pound) – chopped crosswise into 1 inch pieces

10 crimini mushrooms – sliced

3 pounds lamb stew meat (1 inch cubes)

2 mulato chiles – crumbled (for marinade)

1 butternut squash (1 1/2 pounds) – 1/2 inch dice

4 celery stalks (cut into 1/2 inch pieces)

5 carrots (peeled, halved and cut into 1/2 inch pieces)

1 leek (white part only) – 1/2 inch slices

1 bag red pearl onions – peeled (10 ounces)

1 tablespoon cumin (for marinade)

1 bouquet garni (2 sprigs of thyme, 10 black peppercorns, 2 cloves, 2 bay leaves all wrapped in a leek leaf tied w/ twine)

1 cup red wine (I used a nice red from Portugal)

1 tablespoon flour

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

2 pounds spinach noodles

salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

1) Place lamb into 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish w/ garlic, chiles and 2 tablespoons olive oil; sprinkle w/ cumin, mix well then cover w/ plastic wrap and place in fridge for 1 to 2 hours

2) For veggie stock: In an 10 quart pot, pour in 1 tablespoon olive oil then over low heat sweat the carrots, celery, butternut squash, pearl onions, leek and crimini mushrooms for 5 to 7 minutes; add 6 quarts water and bouquet garni then simmer for 45 minutes; skim off foam periodically

3) Rehydrate morels in 1 1/2 cups warm water for half an hour

4) When veggie stock is ready, add tomatoes and morels w/ liquid; continue simmering

5) Remove lamb from fridge, heat a large pan, add the marinated lamb; when lamb is browned use a slotted spoon to place the lamb (w/ the garlic and chiles) into simmering stock

6) Deglaze the lamb pan w/ the red wine and cook until reduced to 1/3 cup; make “red roux” by adding flour to the pan, stirring frequently while roux is cooking (be careful not to burn the roux)

7) Add the roux to the stew pot and continue simmering the stew for 1 hour; add the chard during last 1/2 hour of cooking; salt and pepper to taste

8) Let stew cool, cover and place in fridge

9) The next day, remove stew from fridge 1 hour prior to service and reheat over gentle heat

10) For noodles: Fill a very large pot w/ enough water to cook pasta; bring water to a boil; salt the water well then add the noodles and cook until “al dente”

11) Strain noodles in colander, place in a large serving bowl and melt butter into noodles

12) Place a nice portion of noodles in each plate and ladle stew over the noodles

13) Savor your “last supper” w/ a delicious full bodied red wine (we popped open a bottle of 2003 K Vineyards Cabernet/Syrah blend, The Creator, Walla Walla Valley, Washington, as well as several other bottles of nice wines!!)

Farewell old kitchen….

 

To the future… and my new kitchen!!!

Until then,

Bruno

** dinner photos courtesy of Michelle

Paula was one of my mom’s best friends and since my mom died 3 years ago Paula has become a good friend of mine too. She loves to open up her house for great dinner parties, and it shows. She always has her table set so elegantly and on this occasion her house was festively decorated to celebrate Christmas! Lets take a look…

Menu:

Cheese appetizer (Pamela)

Herbed crown roast of pork w/ mustard seed sauce (Paula)

Potatoes Gratinee (Steve)

Shredded brussel sprouts w/ chestnuts, shallots and applewood smoked bacon (me)

Corn (Paula)

Chocolate mousse (Pamela)

Chocolate truffles – mint/tarragon; chai pistachio; earl grey (from my friend Beth who has started her own small chocolate enterprise, “Little Dipper Chocolate“)

Calvados/Coffee

Appetizer

Let the eating continue…

                                    

Where’s the mousse?!      

                                 

                                  

                              

   

                                    

Once the calvados kicked in, the wackiness began…

Still life w/ papillote

I learned something new… according to the salesperson at the cooking store where Paula bought the papillote, these are also called panties… so as the zaniness continued, one of the guests tried on the papillote/panties but they were too small!

                                    

Then I started spanking the monkey and we proceeded to corrupt our new friends the Worthingtons!

Me thinks it’s time to go home…

Paula, thanks for the hospitality and friendship (and fun)!!

Happy New Year everyone!

Bruno

                                    

                                    

Hi everyone… I’m finally getting around to doing my Thanksgiving post! It’s been a very hectic couple of weeks w/ all the additional holiday activities (parties, shopping, etc…) so I’m taking advantage of this window of opportunity to get this posted before I get swamped.

My friends, Michelle and Byron, graciously invited me to their home for Thanksgiving dinner this year. Michelle did a beautiful job w/ all the food as well as taking the photos of this sumptuous feast. My only contribution to the bounty was the pumpkin gelato w/ candied pecans. Hats off to Byron and Michelle for being such wonderful hosts for my Thanksgiving 2006!! (Thanks to Kristin and Bob too for inviting me over for Thanksgiving lunch – no photos of this delicious spread because I was too busy feeding my face!)

The Feast

                Crumb Patrol

The Veggies

               Dessert Action

Immediate Gratification

                         Dessert

Recipes:

Michelle’s Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

Pastry dough (use your favorite recipe)

2 cups fresh pumpkin meat (see gelato recipe for procedure)

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup whole milk

2 large eggs

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

Pinch of ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

Special equipment: pie weights or raw rice

Procedure:

1) Make pastry dough as directed.

2) Roll out dough into a 14-inch round on a lightly floured surface and fit into a 9-inch glass pie plate (4-cup capacity). Crimp edge decoratively and prick bottom all over. Chill 30 minutes.

3) Preheat oven to 375°°F.

4) Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights. Bake in middle of oven 20 minutes. Remove weights and foil and bake shell until pale golden, 6 to 10 minutes more. Cool in pan on a rack.

5) Whisk together pumpkin, cream, milk, eggs, brown sugar, spices, and salt, then pour into shell.

6) Bake pie in middle of oven 45 to 50 minutes, or until filling is set but center still trembles slightly. (Filling will continue to set as pie cools.) Transfer to rack and cool completely.

Pumpkin Gelato w/ Candied Pecans

Ingredients:

1 cup candied pecan halves

2 cups pumpkin meat (from 1 small pie pumpkin  – 8 to 10 inches in diameter)

1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel

6 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 quart half + half

1 teaspoon Penzys cake spice

Procedure:

For  pumpkin:

1) Wash pumpkin, remove stems, cut in half and scrape out seeds

2) Place pumpkin halves on baking sheet, cut side down, add 1/4 cup water to the pan and bake in 350 degree F oven for 1 hour (the pumpkin should be very soft and slightly browned when done)

3) Remove from oven, turn halves over and set aside to cool

4) When cool enough to handle, scrape out meat and puree in a food processor (leave in processor in order to complete gelato mixture – see gelato procedure)

For candied pecans:

1) Roast pecans in 300 degree F oven for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring frequently, then let cool

2) Combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1/8 cup water in saucepan and cook, stirring, over medium heat until sugar is dissolved

3) Boil to 333-335 degrees F, occasionally brushing sides of pan w/ water to prevent crystals from forming, remove from heat immediately then add pecans and stir until they are well coated

4) Pour onto baking sheet lined w/ parchment paper and quickly separate pecan halves w/ 2 forks (I began using my fingers because using the forks was too slow to separate the pecans before the sugar hardened)

For gelato:

1) In medium saucepan heat half + half and cake spice gently to a simmer, then turn off heat

 2) In medium size mixing bowl combine egg yolks and sugar and beat together until pale yellow

3) Beat 2 tablespoons of the warm half + half into the egg mixture (do this slowly to avoid curdling the eggs), then beat in the remaining half + half little by little

4) Place bowl over a pot of simmering water and cook over a gentle heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon (do not let temperature exceed 170 degrees F or mixture will start to curdle)  

5) Cool in an ice bath

6) Add grated orange peel to pureed pumpkin, blend in 1 1/2 cups gelato mixture to pumpkin to thin puree, then stir puree into the remaining gelato mixture, blending well, and chill for at least 4 hours in fridge

7) Roughly chop the candied pecans (set aside a few whole pieces for garnishing and munching on while your plating dessert because they’re addictive and damn good!)

8) Churn in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions, adding the chopped pecans halfway through the churning process

9) Transfer gelato to a 2 quart plastic container, cover top w/ parchment paper cut to size (this will reduce air exposure and prevent ice crystals from forming on the surface of gelato), and freeze until firm

Yield: Approx. 1 ½ quarts

Bonus recipe…

Cranberry Chutney

Ingredients:

1 bag fresh cranberries

2 mangoes – peeled and cubed

1 cup orange juice

1 tablespoon maple syrup

Procedure:

Simmer in a pot to a sauce consistency

That’s all folks! Until next time…

Bruno

Nestled in a quaint neighborhood in the village of “Cla-Due” lies the
home of our foodie Matriarch, Paula, who graciously hosted a
scrumptious, scintillating, springtime supper.
Parties are always less stressful when enlisting the cooking skills
of the Zen Zin kids.

Menu
Mixed Green Salad
Grilled NY strips
w/zinfandel Sauce
Grilled Asparagus
Organic fingerling Potatoes
Mandarin Orange Cake
w/fresh strawberries
Zinfandel Chocolate Gelato
Assorted wines
Port
Coffee

Bruno shares culinary secrets
w/Paula while Mandy does
salad duty.

Zinfandel Sauce

1 bottle (750 ml) red zinfandel

4 oz brown beech mushrooms

10 shallots (whole, peeled)

1 cup demiglace

2 cups veggie stock

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp black truffle oil

1 tbsp butter

salt + pepper

Procedure

1) Combine wine and shallots in heavy saucepan and boil over high heat until reduced to 2 tablespoons

2) Add demiglace and veggie stock and reduce to 2 cups

3) Strain shallots from sauce and return sauce to the saucepan

4) In a small nonstick pan, saute’ mushrooms in olive oil and truffle oil

5) Add sauteed mushrooms to the wine sauce

6) Whisk in butter

7) Salt and pepper to taste

Yield: Approx. 2 cups

    finished product

-The dessert challenge was
to counter balance our
awesome but heavy dinner
fare

Mandarian Orange Cake w/ strawberries
1 ½ cups all purpose flour

2 cups white sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

4 eggs

¾ cup vegetable oil

1 11 oz can mandarian oranges w/juice

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350⁰F – Grease and flour 3 round cake pans

Mix flour, sugar, b powder – add eggs oil, oranges w/juice and 1/3 c OJ and vanilla – pour into pans

Bake for ~45 min

Icing –

1- 3 oz pkg instant vanilla pudding mix

1- 9 oz carton Cool whip

1 large can crushed pineapple – drained

Mix together – spread on layers – refrigerate

We ended the night with a lovely Port & Gelato

Zinfandel Chocolate Gelato¾ bottle (750 ml) red zinfandel

10 egg yolks

4 cups half + half

1 cup sugar

6 oz bittersweet chocolate (chopped)

** I originally used ½ bottle of zin and 8 oz chocolate, but in order to be able to taste more zin and less chocolate I changed the proportions

Procedure

1) Reduce wine to ¾ cups, then add chocolate and stir until melted, set aside but keep warm

2) In medium saucepan heat half + half gently to a simmer, then turn off heat

3) In medium size mixing bowl combine egg yolks and sugar and beat together until pale yellow

4) Beat 2 tablespoons of the warm half + half into the egg mixture (do this slowly to avoid curdling the eggs), then beat in the remaining half + half little by little

5) Place bowl over a pot of simmering water and cook over a gentle heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon (do not let temperature exceed 170 degrees or mixture will start to curdle)

6) Cool in an ice bath and thoroughly blend in the wine/chocolate mixture during the cooling process

7) Chill mixture in fridge for at least 4 hours

8) Churn in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions

9) Tranfer gelato to a 2 qt plastic container, cover top w/ parchment paper cut to size (this will reduce air exposure and prevent ice crystals from forming on the surface of gelato), and freeze until firm
Yield: Approx. 1 ½ quarts

Zin sauce & gelato– Bruno
M.O w/S Cake- D.E.W.
Photos &  Prose – Duane

Noooo… It wasn’t really a festival of Tuna.
It was the 50th Birthday  Party for Le
Bruno.

I want to thank everyone who helped with
making it a great event…Kristin-My co-planner.
The folks @ Remy’s  Jay, Rachel, Lisa & Phillip
Photographer du jour- The D.E.W.

The Birthday Boy cutting his cake

Decadent Triple Chocolate Cake by the
Sugaree Baking Company

 

Thanks for coming  out to party
on a “school night”, it was a  Blast!

Duane