What To Cook Up This Valentine’s Day

by Natasha Wolff | February 10, 2014 4:53 pm

The flavor of a brownie, the pick-up thin crunch of a cookie: These Brownie Sandwich Thins are your heart-shaped-box-of-chocolates alternative for the upcoming holiday[1], perfect for co-workers at the office, your loved ones or, honestly, just yourself. Whether enjoyed either alone as a brownie or as sandwiches filled with a vanilla-bean-caramel or raspberry-white-chocolate filling, I like to add red walnuts (which are grown in California from late spring until mid winter and are becoming more readily available) for their health benefits, plus a pop of natural cherry-red color.

Make the dough a day early, roll, cut and bake. Eat the filled cookies within a day, or refrigerate. The recipe, below. azestforlife.com[2]

Brownie Sandwich Thins

Yield: 24 (or 12 sandwiches)

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened, European-style, high butterfat
3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
1/3 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate, or bittersweet chips
1 cup coconut palm sugar
1 teaspoon espresso powder
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon Himalayan sea salt
1/4 cup cocoa, such as Valrhona (Dutch processed)
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup red walnuts, chopped

Directions:

Make dough a day ahead and freeze in two sheets.

Melt the 2 chocolates in microwave in a medium sized bowl. Stir and add 1 c. coconut palm sugar and espresso powder, set aside.

Cream butter and confectioner’s sugar well in a stand mixer. Add the cooled chocolates, mix. Add eggs, on at a time, then vanilla and salt. Add the cocoa, flour and 1/4 cup of the walnuts. Mix together gently. Refrigerate until cold.

Separate dough in half, roll each—between two sheets of waxed paper—1/4″ thin. Freeze until very cold. Overnight is best.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet with butter. Place on counter top.

Cut heart shapes—about 24 cookies, 3″ heart shape. Top each cookie with a little remaining chopped red walnuts and press in. Bake just 5 minutes until crisp around edges, soft in center.

After cookies cool a few minutes, remove to a wire rack. Make filling & sandwich the cookies; use about 2 t. of filling in each. Cookies keep well in an airtight container. Once filled, enjoy them within a day, or refrigerate.

Easy Caramel Filling:
3/4 cup Nestle La Lachera (Dulce de Leche.) Caramel in a can. Mix with 2 t. vanilla bean paste and a grinding of Himalayan sea salt in a small bowl. Set aside at room temperature. Fills about 12 cookie sandwiches.

Raspberry-White Chocolate Filling:
Heat 4 T. heavy cream in a medium sized, 2 cup bowl in a microwave until very warm. Add 2 ounces of chopped white chocolate. Stir to melt. Refrigerate 30 minutes until cold. Whisk in 2 T. raspberry puree* and 5 T. confectioner’s sugar. Cover, refrigerate until very cold and firm (at least 2 hours.) Fills about 12 cookie sandwiches.

*Raspberry Puree: Measure 1/4 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen) and place in a small bowl. Sprinkle with 1T. sugar. Let sit to soften. Stir, remove and discard the seeds by pressing the raspberries through a fine sieve into a small bowl. Use the puree for the filling, will have a little extra.

NEXT: The recipe for Lobster Savannah

Lobster Savannah: An Elegant Valentine Dinner Treat for Two

The original menu offering of “Lobster Savannah” dates back to 1964, served for $.8.25[3] at the elegant Andrew Jackson Restaurant in New Orleans. I’ve found similar entrees in Boston and Maine, but—interestingly enough—not in Savannah, Georgia. Nonetheless, my version of the dish is a decadent meal, rich in flavor with a lightened-up profile, perfect for two (double the recipe if inviting guests!).

The basic ingredients have been in fashion for decades, as certain flavors always pair well. Here, I have omitted the use of egg yolks and heavy cream to richen the sauce, opting for extra flavor from milk, vegetables and aromatics. Sherry is typically used in similar fish preparations, but I’m favoring French Brandy for its refined essence.

French-Cajun in style, roasting the peppers gives the flavor much needed depth. Stir in Cremini mushrooms, thyme, scallions, celery leaves for an earthy balance. Serrano chiles add a hit of heat, and the smoked paprika and cajun seasonings round out the taste and lend a beautiful, soft reddish hue. Ask your local seafood purveyor for freshly shelled lobster and fish stock for this recipe. And simply serve with some steamed herb rice. azestforlife.com[2]

Lobster Savannah

Yield: 2 (easily doubled)

Ingredients:

1, 2 pound live lobster, or 1 1 /2 cups cooked, shelled lobster meat
1/2 cup fish stock, warmed, homemade or purchased*
1 teaspoon neutral oil, expeller pressed
1 cup multi-colored peppers, cleaned, seeded, sliced
1/2″wide 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, organic is nice
6 medium cremini mushroom, cleaned, sliced
1 teaspoon fresh garlic, peeled, minced
1 medium scallion, cleaned. sliced (dark greens )
1/2 teaspoon fresh Serrano chile, minced, use more here if you like spicy
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme, leaves minced
1 tablespoon fresh celery leaves, cleaned, sliced thinly
1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning, preferably salt-free
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon flour
3/4 cup milk, organic is nice, warmed
sea salt, to taste, I used Himalayan
3 tablespoons grated cheese, such as Parmesan Reggiano or aged gouda (optional)

Directions:

Steam the lobster, 15 minutes at a good covered simmer should do it. Cool, crack open the shells and remove lobster meat (Can use shells to simmer in the stock.) Cut the lobster into large 1″ chunks.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the peppers, place them in a heavy small baking pan and rub the pieces with 1 t. oil and salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until just golden around the edges, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, set aside.

Start the saute. In a large skillet, add the butter, when melted, add the mushrooms, garlic, scallions, Serrano chile, thyme, celery leaves, Cajun seasoning and smoked paprika. Stir well and cook over moderate heat until the flavors bursts, and the vegetables are tender, about 1 minute. Add the flour, reduce heat to low, and stir for 1 minute. Add the warmed stock, raise heat to high and mix all ingredients well with a whisk.

When the mixture comes to a boil, add the warmed milk, then reduce heat to low. Simmer until the sauce combines and reduces, about one minute. Add the reserved roasted peppers and the cooked lobster. Stir just to heat ingredients. Taste for salt, add if needed.

Spoon into 2 nice, oven-safe oval serving bowls. Top with a little grated cheese, (place in a warm oven for a few minutes to melt if desired.)

Garnishing options: Sprinkle on top one or all; chopped parsley, reserved dark green scallions, fresh thyme leaves and celery leaves. Serve with an herbed rice pilaf.

TIP: If eating the next day, cook lobster. Remove lobster from shells and do not cut it up. Simply place in the refrigerator in an airtight container, and then continue with the recipe, cut before adding to sauce.

* Make a homemade stock using fish bones, shrimp shells, and enrich with lobster shells if you have them from the steamed lobster. Place in a pot with water to cover, add some dry white wine, peppercorns and dill. Simmer 30 minutes, then strain.

Table top: Glass Birds, Glass Vase, Glass Tea Light Holder and Linen Napkins: Simon Pearce (all other items: Karen Sheer)
Photos: Gus Cantavero

MORE:

Mediterranean Gypsy Soup: Your Winter Squash Fix[4]
Three Tempting Takes on the Potato Pancake[5]
Make a Seasonal Bowl of Roasted Veggies[6]

Source URL: https://dujour.com/life/valentines-day-recipes-for-two-lobster-stew-brownies-karen-sheer/