When my mother brought me back some Ghirardelli chocolate from the US, I knew I wanted to save it and bake something fantastic with it. At first I thought brownies, but I wanted the chocolate chips to really stand out and thought they might just get lost in too much chocolate. I’ve been hanging on to this cookie for a “Mexican” chocolate chip cookie.

I didn’t use any Mexican chocolate in the cookie, though that is a good idea…suggestions seemed to use 4oz Ibarra chocolate chunks an 8oz dark chocolate chunks. I decided to stick with just my Ghirardelli chips.

These cookies are quite interesting. They have a real depth of flavour and have many notes.They start off like any chocolate chip cookie, but with a oomph of cinnamon. Then there’s a distinct saltiness that plays well with the bitterness of the chocolate and the sweetness of the cookie. As you swallow the cookie, you finally get a hint of the heat of the cayenne pepper – it doesn’t taste spicy, it just feels spicy. All in all, these make for some pretty interesting and unique chocolate chip cookies. I loved the dark chocolate chunks, the sweet cinnamon and the overall flavour depth if them and would enjoy making them again. Their texture was nice too – not very cakey, but nice and dense, like chocolate chip cookies should be!

The only changes I made from the original recipe was to increase the salt and the cayenne pepper amount. I definitely approve of these changes!

Spicy Mexican Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from Epicurious

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 scant teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
12 oz dark chocolate chunks or chips

1. Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then vanilla.

2. Sift next 6 ingredients over butter mixture; beat just until blended. Mix in chocolate chips. Refrigerate dough until cold, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter 2 large baking sheets. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto sheets, spacing 1 1/2 inches apart.

4. Bake cookies until golden brown but still soft to touch, about 10 minutes (for crisper cookies, bake 12 minutes). Let stand on sheets 3 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and cool.

If you like this, you might also like:

Real Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
The Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies
Mayan Chocolate Sparklers

So…montcarte has joined the world of tweets!

I wanna see what all the excitement is about. I also want more people to follow, so leave a comment with your name.

I miss writing, especially here. Been gone, but where?

These were the days of my life since… last October. I am a foodie, but a keener of the sort. I have loved food since the start – easy hobby I figured. My mom didn’t really “love” food, but she loved the people eating it, and it showed. She gave me a head start on the whole ethnic palette idea – foreign color, flavor, and texture on a regular basis. I explicitly remember the breaded and baked calf brains served with a highly acidic, but still un-cured green/white cabbage salad. I was 7. I was not happy.

Pied de Cochon make a great calf brain omelet soufflé thing – fantastic

Taken from www.rawfish.com.au/brains-and-bacon/ - this is about what it looked like, but my mom served this with a cabbage salad and did not use any bacon.

Anyway, I started cooking and eating everywhere/everything. Traveling as a foodie is too good, especially if stop as you go… so after taking to as many markets, tables, sidewalks as there are types of bread, I decided to take a few sporadic plunges.

The Ritz Carlton – as far I know, my mentor. I worked there as a banquette server, always between the kitchen and the client. The kitchen was – the best. It’s where I saw my first 400 liter stock pot.

Other restos followed. I served mostly, but that implies always near the kitchen. Italian, Sushi, Chinese, tapas, bars and pubs – all different; all fascinating.

I eventually managed a couple for restos, but most recently, in the last year in fact, I was a chef. I cheffed for fifty, everyday.

They loved it. I loved it. Here a short list of some of what I served: Sample Menus

Why am I telling you all this? Because I went from foodie to pro, and thought you should know. Plus, I just sort of want to say thanks to all the people who truly love food and have shared with me their experience and passion – professionals and foodies, diners and dishers, servers and savants… thanks. My palette will forever know the amalgamation of texture and flavor one uses to taste the art of life…

…and with that, one of my favorites from the last year:

Crepes Terrine with Spinach, Mushroom, and Smoked Turkey

Crepes are my favorite and are in fact the first thing I learned to make after the fried egg. I know it as a breakfast food or dessert and love the way you can fill them up and roll them on your plate, blanketing them in any of many syrups, sauces, or jams. But the rich and sumptuous crepe is far more ready for a savory setting than I had earlier thought, dans la forme d’une… terrine? Sorta. Not exactly right, but serves the purpose.

So, first – prepare you fillings:

Mushrooms and Spinach

I like to use a mix of mushrooms that have been roasted and chopped with a bit of salt and pepper or a mushroom duxelle – nothing too fancy required, but feel free to experiment. Be wary of over flavoring as the finished dish is quite complex from a flavor perspective. Same goes for the spinach – roasted with salt and pepper. I mixed both of these with some onions rendered in butter for some extra flavor. Again, any approach to creating a delicately flavorful filling is good.

Smoked Turkey

I did this dish with shrimp when I was working (cooked then minced with green onion and garlic), but the deli-slice is far easier to work with. Use any you like, i.e. smoked turkey, but nothing too crazy. Finding something with little salt and fat is a good start.

Cheese

Buying sliced cheese is fun, but pricey. I like to get a few small chunks, grate, and mix (at work, this was replaced with a saffron roux and wilted spinach with onion). I also included a few intermittent layers holding brie as their prize. Remember to save some cheese to top the terrine.

Crepes

¾ cup all purpose flour (you can use any basic flour, but the texture will change)
1 cup milk
3 eggs
½ tablespoon sugar (optional, but I like the bit of sweetness)
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons melted butter

Whisk the eggs and milk together – you can optionally do all this in a blender or using a hand blender. Add the sugar, mix again. Temper the hot butter and add to the mix. Add remaining ingredients and mix for a last time. Store this in your fridge for one hour. This is required for a moist and tender crepe as the flour will have the time require to sponge-ily absorb the wet stuffs. Drink flour, drink (evil laugh)…

Heat a non-stick pan, butter it, and drop a teaspoon of the batter in the middle. Leave there until firm and then wipe it around the pan and throw it away (well, eat it, but for some reason the first crepe is never a nice one). Heat up your oven to the minimum setting and leave the crepes in there with a slightly damp towel overlying to keep them from drying.

Once done, and in an oven safe vessel, start the layering. Make sure to double or maybe triple the crepe count at the bottom so that you have something of a base. Use an intermittent method, is this case, mushrooms, turkey, cheese, mushroom, turkey, brie, as so on…

Top the last crepe with your reserved cheese, some crushed oregano, and finish in a 350C oven for a few minutes, just to melt the cheese. Remove, let rest 10 minutes, and then slice with a bread knife or another super sharp or toothy knife – enjoy.

You have the option to top with a hollandaise or other like sauce, but I like a drizzle of truffle oil and maple syrup. Serve with a sharp crisp white wine.

Now, I was sort of mentioning a shrimp based approach, but there are many options here. Enjoy ham, smoked salmon, spinach, avocado, other cheeses, other sauces, and of course – any dessert manifestation.

Last weekend was Canadian Thanksgiving, and when deciding what I wanted to contribute to the meal, I decided on the dessert and bread. I had big plans for the dessert – big, delicious, decadent plans. These plans fell apart, just like they do every year. I procrastinate and procrastinate, and when I finally head out to buy my pureed pumpkin (on the night I have to make my dessert), all of the stores are sold out. I biked to four different grocery stores in frigid windy weather in search of the elusive pumpkin, but to no avail.

After sadly making my way back home, I panicked slightly and tried to take stock of the ingredients I did have. Luckily, I had bought a big bag of apples the night before, and frozen cranberries had been on sale the week before…and that’s when this Thanksgiving’s somewhat lame dessert was born. I followed this basic recipe, making some changes along the way.

Not that this Apple-Cranberry Maple Crisp with Rum-Soaked Raisins was bad…it’s just that Thanksgiving is all about eating like a gigantic pig and loading up on starches, carbs, fats and big platefuls of rich desserts! A fruit crisp is hardly Thanksgiving-worthy, even though it might be tasty.

This crisp wasn’t my favourite crisp, but it was a good alternative. I really appreciated the juicy tartness of the cranberries – a welcome change from the usual dried cranberries. I couldn’t really taste the rum in the raisins, so I may leave that step out next time. It had a lot of cinnamon flavour, but I’m definitely including some other spices next time…perhaps some ginger and cardamom. The maple didn’t really stand out either, so I may try making a maple whipped cream instead of the plain whipped cream I made to go with it (which I think is an important element).

Overall, it’s a fine fall dessert and a good way to use up all those in-season apples and cranberries here in Quebec. Quick, easy, and filled with sweet and tart fruits. However, it’s not what I would call an appropriate Thanksgiving dessert (but I will make my original plan still!).

Apple-Cranberry Crisp with Rum-Soaked Raisins

8 large apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 1/4 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen
3/4 cup raisins
2 oz rum
1 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups rolled or quick oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold butter, cut in small pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 X 13 inch baking pan or casserole dish with vegetable spray.

2. Combine rum and raisins in a small bowl. Microwave on high until boiling. Stir and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, mix apple slices, cranberries, raisins, maple syrup, 1/4 cup flour and 1 tablespoon cinnamon together. Spread in prepared pan, and set aside.

3. Combine rolled oats, brown sugar, 3/4 cup flour and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a large bowl. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in cold butter until mixture is crumbly, or it resembles very small peas. This step can also be done in a food processor. Spread evenly over fruit.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes, or until fruit is bubbly and crisp topping is lightly browned. Let cool slightly before serving.

Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Whipped Cream Recipe

2 cups cold heavy cream
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Using a stand mixer or a hand-held mixer with a whisk attachment, whip cream until almost stiff.

2. Add confectioners’ sugar and extract, and beat until stiff.

3. Refrigerate until ready to use.

If you like this, you might also like:

Apple and Cranberry Crisp with Ginger-Pecan Topping
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Caramel Apple Cupcakes

I made these blueberry-lemon crumb bars a few weeks back for snack at work. As I’ve repeated over and over, I cannot get enough of citrusy desserts, so this recipe, originally found on Recipe Girl, went right to the top of must-bake desserts.

I’m not disappointed in the dessert – I love the sweet yet still tart lemon cream. It’s great on its own, and it stands well with all the blueberries. The crust is thick and buttery…this dessert has all the elements to be great.

However, I think the amounts of these elements have to be balanced a bit better. I found there was too much topping – combined with the crust, there was just too much flour and not enough lemon and blueberry. I had upped the amount of condensed milk and lemon juice, but next time, I’ll probably double the amount of lemon filling. Same thing with the blueberries! I found that the blueberry flavour was dominated by both the lemon and the sweet crumble topping.

People did like this dessert (myself included). It just needs some fine tuning for the next time, and these bars will earn themselves top dessert status.

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick oats)
1 1/3 cups packed light brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 large egg, separated
14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp grated lemon zest
2 1/2 cups room-temperature blueberries (about 13 oz.), washed and drained on paper towels

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 9×13-inch metal baking pan with foil, leaving a 1-inch overhang on the ends. Spray foil with cooking spray- bottom and sides of the pan.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, oats, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Using a pastry cutter (or your fingers), blend the butter completely into the flour mixture. Transfer 2 cups of the crumb mixture to another bowl and reserve for the topping.

3. Blend the egg white into the remaining crumbs and then press the mixture into the bottom of the pan to form a level crust. Use the bottom of a flat, wide glass to tap the mixture and even it out.

4. Bake the crust 10-12 minutes, or until it starts to form a dry top.

5. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk condensed milk, lemon juice & zest, and egg yolk. Let mixture stand for 5 minutes (it will begin to thicken).

6. Sprinkle blueberries evenly over hot crust and then drop spoonfuls of the lemon mixture over the blueberries. Spread gently with a spatula to distribute as evenly as you can. Bake until lemon mixture begins to form a shiny skin- 7 to 8 minutes.

7. Sprinkle reserved crumble topping over the lemon-blueberry layer, pressing the streusel between your fingers into small lumps as you sprinkle. Bake until filling is bubbly at the edges and the topping is brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

8. Let bars cool in the pan on a rack until just warm, about an hour. Carefully lift them out of the pan using the foil overhang and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Remove foil and cut into 24 bars when cool. (If you have time to chill the bars, they’re easier to cut cleanly when chilled).

*The bars may be stored at room temperature for a few hours, but otherwise should be stored in the refrigerator.

If you like this, you might also like:

Blueberry Lemon Loaf with Lemon Glaze
Lemon Pie with Coconut Crust
Cinnamon Streusel Blueberry Muffins