Casanova Got it Right...

It is rumoured that Casanova, the original Mr. Lova-Lova, would drink a mug of chocolate before lovemaking as he thought it to be a natural aphrodisiac.   In recent times chocolate has found itself on the A-list of Superfoods that are beneficial to one’s health due to flavonoids blah, blah, blah...  

For this short, but appropriately sweet post, I prefer to stick to the sexy side of chocolate. This is simply because I believe not TOO much can be sexier when it comes to food, than a combination of silky cheesecake and decadent chocolate, combined with the sultry undertones of coffee liquor.  Add these lip quivering flavours and textures to a lightly salted crust… and Baby, you're shooting for the moon...

Kahlua Chocolate Cheesecake with Saltine Crust

Makes 12 servings

Crust ingredients:

35 Saltine crackers (1 sleeve)

¼ cup packed brown sugar

6 tbs unsalted butter, melted

Filling ingredients:

7 oz Ghirardelli 60% Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

2 oz unsalted butter

¼ cup Kahlua Coffee Liquor

3 x 8oz packages Philidelphia Cream Cheese, room temperature

1 cup white sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

3 eggs, room temperature

Process:

1.     Preheat oven to 325F.

2.     Melt Chocolate chips and butter with Kahlua, over a double boiler on the stove, stirring until smooth.  Put aside and let cool until needed.

3.     Crush Saltines in a zip top bag with a rolling pin until very fine, otherwise you can use a foodprocessor to pulse the crackers until crushed – so much easier…

4.     Pour crumbs and brown sugar into a medium bowl, then slowly pour in the melted butter and mix with a fork until combined.

5.     Lightly butter only the sides of a 9 inch springform pan, then tip the cracker mixture into the bottom and press it 1 inch up the sides of the pan, using the bottom of a measuring cup to make an even crust.

6.     Bake in oven for 15 – 17 mins, then set aside to cool.

7.     In a large bowl beat the cream cheese on medium speed for a minute until smooth.  Add the sugar and continue beating for a further minute.  * It is important to use room temperature cream cheese as the mixture will be lumpy if it is cold.

8.     Add the vanilla and beat briefly.

9.     Stir the cooled chocolate mixture and slowly pour into cream cheese, while beating on medium speed.

10.  Once the chocolate is fully mixed in, add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until each egg is just combined.

11. Pour into prepared crust and bake for 45 – 55 mins, carefully rotating the pan after 30 mins.  The middle of the cheesecake should jiggle slightly when done.

12. Remove from the oven, and immediately run a thin knife around the edge of the cheesecake to release it. 

13. Let cool completely in the pan, then chill for at least 4 hours or overnight in the fridge.  Yes, yes, that’s a long time but aren’t all the best things in life worth waiting for??

 

Hello Beautiful...

Of Crabs and Men

I am truly privileged to say that I grew up spending many a weekend at our family beach house in Consett Bay, St. John.  Of course now that I am older I use the word privileged... As a teen the mere thought of being dragged to the middle of "nowhere" with no TV, and worse yet - no phone, was enough to send me spiraling into a state of teenage funk.  As I matured, I learned to appreciate exactly what my parents were offering me as a child and subsequently, I spent many wonderful times there, enjoying some great food, many games of dominoes and drinking a fair amount of rum with family and friends. 

One of the best memories of my times at Consett Bay is our crabbing nights.  It involves "The Men" heading out to catch land crabs (fondly called Swampies) armed with flashlights, crocus (burlap) bags and galoshes, and "The Ladies" happily staying indoors (avoiding mud and other undesirables) making fried "bakes" to sop up the delicious curry sauce that the Swampies are cooked in.  On the return of our valiant hunters, the rather unfortunate task of slaughtering takes place, then the process of scrubbing and cooking these delicacies begins.  It is labour intensive, however the outcome is totally worth it. 

Beautiful, cleaned crab, ready for the pot.

While walking through Chinatown a few weeks ago, I came across some amazing fish vendors who carried everything from live frogs to fresh snapper, from crocodile legs to crawfish, and that was just the normal stuff!  I noticed that they also had a wonderful selection of live crabs.  The seed was planted.  I had to make curry crabs and bakes in a New York apartment and The Aussie boyfriend was on board.  Yay!

We trekked back to Canal Street and purchased our bounty, including one very massive crab, plucked from a tank filled with his buddies, that we just couldn’t leave behind.  Although he alone cost $24, I needed him in my pot… This was hunting New York style.  The journey back to Brooklyn was a fun one, filled with giggling ideas of releasing the beasts on the Q train. These crabs weren’t so lucky!  Their demise was close at hand and my belly was rumbling…

The Crab Beast

"I would pinch you if I could..."

Fried Bakes

Makes 8

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp double action baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

¼ cup vegetable shortening

½ cup milk

¾ cup water

Canola oil, enough for frying

Process:

1.       Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and rub in shortening with fingers. 

2.       Slowly add milk then water, combining ingredients until the dough loosely comes together, and is slightly sticky. 

3.       Tip out onto clean, lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes, adding extra flour if necessary.

4.       Form into a ball and leave covered with a clean kitchen towel for 30 mins.

5.       Cut dough into eight (8) equal pieces and form into balls, pinching the bottoms together (see pics below).

6.       Leave dough balls to sit covered with kitchen towel for a further 15 mins.

7.       Pre-heat about 1” of canola oil in a low sided pot on medium to high heat.

8.       Once the oil is hot, stretch each ball of dough into a flat circle, approximately 4” in diameter, keeping unused balls covered (see pic below).

9.       Carefully add bakes to the hot oil in batches, being sure not to crowd them, and move them around the oil as they begin to fry and puff up.  If browning too quickly, lower the temperature slightly.

10.   Flip over once to brown on the other side and remove from oil to drain in a baking dish lined with paper towels when they are golden brown.

11.   Continue process until all the bakes are fried and place dish in oven while preparing the crab.

Perfectly golden brown and delicious!

As an ode to Consett crabbing we have maintained the tradition of drinking rum while waiting for the crab to cook.  Never a good idea to break tradition ;)

Curry Crab

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

1 ½  tbs canola oil

1/3 cup good quality curry powder

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp fresh cracked black pepper

½ medium yellow onion, roughly chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

¼ scotch bonnet pepper, or other spicy pepper of your choice

6 medium sized hard shell crabs, plus 1 very large crab… (can simply be substituted with another medium crab), cleaned and scrubbed

1 Knorr chicken bouillon cube

Hot water as needed (I boil a kettle beforehand and keep it handy on the stove)

1 medium potato, medium dice, kept in water to prevent from browning

Cilantro to garnish (optional)

Process:

1.       Heat oil in a large, high-sided pot on medium heat.

2.       Add the curry powder, salt and pepper and stir for one minute.  Reduce heat if necessary.

3.       Add onions and cook until softened.  If mixture becomes dry, add two or three tablespoons of hot water and continue stirring.

4.       Add garlic and scotch bonnet pepper and cook for a further minute. 

5.       Add crabs to pot, stirring to coat in curry mixture. 

6.       Dissolve the bouillon cube in 1 cup hot water and add to crabs.  Stir to combine, cover and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.

7.       Drink rum as necessary, stirring the pot occasionally.

8.       After 20 minutes, drain potatoes and add to pot along with ¼ cup of hot water if necessary.

9.       Simmer for a further 45 minutes, covered, drinking rum of course and stirring occasionally.

10.   Serve with bakes and lots of sauce, garnished with cilantro if desired.

 

Make sure you have plenty of napkins!