I’ve never been a big fan of Scharffen Berger because I’m not a fan of dark chocolate. Give me milk any time. Well, apparently Scharffen Berger has, unbeknown to me, been making milk chocolate for a while. Today I found their 3oz bars at Grocery Outlet here in San Leandro. The bars are $2 – they sell for $5 at Scharffen Berger’s website. Of course, these bars are close to expiration (January 2010), they were made at the Berkeley factory
which closed in January 2009.
Well, my verdict is that Scharffen Berger milk chocolate is (or was) by far the best milk chocolate I’ve ever tasted. The chocolate taste is very intense, it has layers of complexity and it’s just delicious. I imagine that Scharffen Berger will not/has not been able to keep its standards at the new factory – so I’ll probably hurry and buy a bunch of these bars at Grocery Outlet.
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I admit it, I’m prejudiced. Not prejudiced about everyone and everything, but definitely about some categories of people and things. For example, I’m prejudiced against cuisine from the American heartland, cuisine that includes processed ingredients (cream of mushroom soup, ketchup) as well as canned or frozen produce. While this recipe comes from Bon Appetit (courtesy of epicurious.com), I think it might best belong to the pages of Parade magazine (there again is my prejudice).
Still, it was a different recipe for short ribs (one that did not include celery, carrots or wine) and one that got amazing reviews on epicurious. With nice looking short ribs at $1.99lb at Lucky’s I had to try it. And, my non-existent God, I’m soooo glad I did. This may very well be the best recipe for short ribs I’ve made so far. I loved it because the flavors penetrated into the meat, making the sauce a nice addition but ultimately unnecessary. I also like sweet meats, this is definitely not for those adverse to fruity flavors on their beef.
I followed the recipe closely, but I did make some changes based on the reviews and convenience. I’d definitely would make it as I did – though I’d try to braise the meat the day before so I had time to cool and de-fat the sauce before serving it (for the life of me, I don’t understand how to use a fat separator). I served it with mashed potatoes, but I don’t think it was a good marriage. Next time I’d try couscous.
This recipe introduced me to Chili sauce, which, as far as I can tell, is a kind of ketchup, it definitely tastes like it. I doubt it has any chilis and it’s not in the least spicy.
Pineapple Short Ribs
- 4-5 lbs beef short ribs
- salt & pepper to taste
- flour for coating
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 onions, quartered
- 1 8 1/4 oz can pineapple chunks with juice
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1/2 cup Heinz or similar chili sauce
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 4 garlic cloves, minced.
Preheat oven to 275F. Cut excessive fat from short ribs. Season to taste and lightly coat with flour. Heat oil in a dutch oven or another lidded oven-safe wide pot. Add the ribs and brown well on all sides. Add the onions, pineapple with juice, broth, chili sauce, honey, Worcestershire sauce and cloves. Mix well.
Cover the pot and place in the oven. Cook covered for 3 hours, then remove the lid and cook for another hour. Take out of the oven and carefully remove the short ribs, keep warm by covering them with a towel. Place the cooking pot on the stove and boil the remaining sauce until it reduces to about 1 1/2 cups. Strain and discard the vegetables. Serve short ribs accompanied by the sauce.
An article in today’s still extant San Francisco Chronicle reveals the Bay Area restaurants that have received Michelin stars this year. The French Laundry was, once again, the only restaurant to get three stars. Two stars went to Coi, Cyrus, Manresa and the Restaurant at Meadowood, and 34 restaurants got one star. Unfortunately only two restaurants in the East Bay got that coveted star – Soizic in Oakland, which had it one time, no longer does.
I’d love to try the 1 and 2 star restaurants, but given the economic climate I doubt that will happen. Indeed, two of the restaurants who received one Michelin star have already closed, which tells you we are not the only ones that have to be very careful with money.
My kids, like all other American kids, love mac & cheese. They are usually not very discriminating, they’ll eat the Kraft stuff, the Safeway stuff, the Annie stuff, whatever we put in front of them. What they haven’t been willing to eat – until now – was homemade mac & cheese. Well, this is no longer the case. Mika, my 7-yo, has been begging me to make it again. Camila, my 4-yo, wasn’t as enthusiastic, but she really liked it as well. Alas, I’m not sure that nutritionally this recipe is any better than the regular mac & cheese (which now comes with whole-grain pasta). It’s definitely much less friendly to my pocket book. But I’m sure I’ll make it again.
The original recipe called for sharp cheddar but I used a mixture of pre-shredded Mexican mixture and home-shredded muenster, as that’s what I had at home.
Mac & Cheese
- 12 oz small elbow macaroni
- 4 tbsp. butter
- 2 slices bread, crumbled
- 4 tbsp. flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced
- 3 cups (packed) grated cheese
- salt & pepper to taste
Cook the pasta on salted boiling water until tender but firm. Drain and put in a 9″ x 13″ baking pan.
Meanwhile, pre-heat broiler.
Also meanwhile melt the butter in a medium-size saucepan. Put the breadcrumbs in a small bowl and mix in 1 Tbsp. butter. Set aside.
Add the flour to the butter in the saucepan and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes, whisking constantly. Gradually add the milk and broth, continuing whisking. Bring to a boil and add the green onions. Continue cooking and whisking for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and mix in the grated cheese. Stir until it’s completely incorporated.
Pour the cheese sauce onto the macaroni and mix well. Season with salt and pepper if necessary. Sprinkle the bread crumbs on top of it. Broil until the crumbs brown, about 2 minutes. Serve.
Marga’s Best Recipes
Last night I made Sumac Skirt Steak with Pomegranate Reduction from an epicurious.com recipe. It was a fairly quick recipe to make, but I wasn’t thrilled with it. I did overcook the pomegranate juice somewhat, but my biggest problem is that the flavors of the spice rub and sauce hid those of the meat.
Mike really liked the dish, though. I’m mentioning it here, but I won’t cook it again.
I usually shop at Safeway rather than Lucky’s, as Safeway is closer to me. However, I saw that lamb chops were on sale at Lucky’s for $3lb and figured I’d give them a try. Bad idea. They were soooooo bad, so full of fat that there was barely any meat to eat. Even cutting around the fat was a pain in the neck.
So yes, I learned my lesson, there is a reason why Lucky’s is cheaper than Safeway.
I got this incredibly simple recipe from Highlights High Five magazine
The original recipe calls for little paper glasses and popsicle sticks – I didn’t have either so I used small plastic cups and the handles of plastic spoons. They came out great, the kids loved them and they couldn’t be easier.
I also didn’t have vanilla yogurt, so I used plain yogurt, added a couple of drops of vanilla essence and a couple of teaspoons of sugar.
- 1 1/2 cup strawberries
- 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
Put strawberries and yogurt in a blender and blend well. Pour mixture into 4-6 small cups. Place in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. Put popsicle sticks in the middle of the popsicles and continue freezing for 2-3 hours.
According to an article in today’s LA Times, a new federal regulation explicitly requires bloggers who receive cash or in-kind payment to review a product to disclose the fact that they were compensated. Such posts are considered an endorsement of that product. Bloggers are allowed to receive a sample of the product for review, provided that it’s not too expensive (e.g. like a car).
Personally I think it’s appalling that anyone would review a product for compensation and not disclose that fact. Who can trust a reviewer that gets paid by the manufacturer/establishment to write that review? I even think that it’s unethical (though it perhaps should not be illegal) to not disclose it when you get free samples, it’s hard to write a critical review when someone was nice enough to send you a box of cheesecakes (and yet, I think I managed to be so). But when you get paid? No way you will be objective.
Unfortunately the regulation does not have any penalties associated with it. At worse, the culprit can get a cease-and-desist letter and be taken to court if he does not abide by it. But how likely is that to happen?
Chocolate fondue is SOOO extremely easy to make that I have to wonder why they sell “chocolate fondue” kits at the supermarket. You basically need only three ingredients: chocolate of some kind, cream of some kind (condensed milk also works if you use unsweetened chocolate) and alcohol of some sort. I think the key is to use good quality chocolate.
-1/2 lb semi-sweet chocolate (shredded, chopped or chocolate chips)
-1/2 lb milk chocolate (shredded, chopped or chocolate chips)
-1/2 cup heavy cream
-Chocolate Liqueur, Kalhua and Bailey’s to taste.
Heat the cream in the fondue pot. Add the chocolate and stir until it’s all melted. Add more cream if necessary to get the right consistency. Add the liqueurs, take to the table and serve.
Serve with cubed cheese cake, cubed pound cake (Sara Lee’s), sliced bananas and mixed berries, or anything else you like.
Note, you can used the cooled chocolate fondue as a great filling for cakes and other pastries.
During the 1970s fondue became a craze not only in America, but in Argentina as well. My parents got a beautiful fondue set and on rare and special occasions they’d go to the expensive cheese shop and create this wonderful dish that we all could share. As a kid I LOVED it – and I still do. As a kid we always ate it with toasted bread crumbs. In Geneva, I discovered that fresh bread was even more authentic – and as a grown up I experimented on different things I could dip in it.
The following is the recipe that I use now. The traditional liqueur for fondue is kirsch. That’s not always easy to find and you may hesitate at buying a whole bottle when you only need a little bit for this dish. I’ve substituted it with Calvados or just plain cognac or brandy with great results. BTW, in America all these cheeses are usually available at Trader Joe’s.
As a kid, and for many years, I used a regular fondue set with an alcohol burner. A few years ago I bought an electric fondue set and I LOVE it! It’s so much easier to keep the temperature at the right setting! I highly recommend getting one.
Traditional Cheese Fondue
- 1/2 lb Havarti cheese
- 1/2 lb Gruyere cheese
- 1/2 lb Emmental cheese
- 2 tbsp. cornstarch
- 2 cloves garlic, cut in two
- 1 glass white wine
- 3 tbsp. kirsch or another brandy
Shread the cheeses, put in a bowl, add the cornstarch and mix together. Set aside.
Rub the garlic on the interior of the fondue pot and leave in. Add wine and heat until boiling. Add the cheese, a handful at the time, stirring until it melts. When all the cheese melts down, turn down the temperature and add the brandy. Take to the table. Maintain temperature to just bubbling while you eat.
Serve with: French or sourdough bread, raw broccoli, apple and/or pear slices, sausage slices, mini-meatballs, cooked tortellini and anything else you can think of.
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