Chocolate Sablés for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day, more than any other holiday, is considered sacred in my house. Why? Because my house is the temple of chocolate, and its inhabitants are the most devout of followers. Chocolate is always, I mean always, the dessert of choice. Chocolate mousse, chocolate tarts, chocolate truffles, chocolate malts, chocolate fondue. Need I go on? Every so often, I throw up my hands and make a fruit-based dessert, but I usually get the business from my family when I do.

Sometimes I think there's no point in looking for a new chocolate cookie. I already have the best salted chocolate cookies, chocolate oat harvest bars, and brownies in my repetoire. But a recipe for chocolate sablés caught my eye as I was leafing through The Essential New York Times Cookbook.

A sablé is a butter cookie, and come in many flavors, sweet or savory. "Sablé" means sand in French, which alludes to the desired texture. In the great American cookie consistency debate--chewy vs. crunchy--this cookie is....neither. Instead a sablé is light but not brittle, soft but not squishy. The dough isn't too far off from a pastry crust, with a large amount of butter and little liquid.

I fiddled with the New York Times recipe (mostly because I just can't help myself). I cut the sugar and added an egg, which may be cheating, but found the dough came together so much more quickly with just one egg to bind it together. I also could not resist sprinkling a bit of sea salt on the cookie before baking. It may be a fad to sprinkle salt on desserts, but it's a fad I wholeheartedly support.

And while you can roll this dough into a log and slice it into rounds, I like rolling it out flat and using cookies cutters, because then you can pick your shape (even though the ones below are, in fact, round, they have fluted edging). This method does mean you must re-roll some of the dough, or waste some dough. And while many frown upon re-rolling such delicate dough, I'm going to admit I've never been able to tell the difference between cookies rolled once or twice.

This recipe makes a lot of cookies, and you can hold the dough in the fridge for several days, making it ideal party fare. Which is exactly how I used it recently to rave reviews.

Before I get to the recipe, you might wonder what are the typed words underneath the plate of cookies? Well, it may just be the best gift ever. A friend secretly worked with my mother to obtain some of my grandparents' original recipe cards, which she then photographed and transferred to tea towels. Isn't that cool?

Chocolate Sablés

adapted from The Essential New York Times Cookbook

1 1/4 c. flour

1/3 c. cocoa

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. kosher salt

11 T. unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into large chunks

2/3 c. packed dark brown sugar

1 egg

1 t. vanilla extract

5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, grated (or finely chopped)

sea salt for sprinkling

Sift flour, cocoa and baking soda together into a bowl. Add salt and stir.

Put butter in a stand mixer bowl. Using the paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Scrape down if needed. Add sugar and beat for another minute. Add egg and vanilla and beat until just incorporated. 

Turn off the mixer and add the dry ingredients. Beat on low speed until just incorporated. Turn off again, add the chocolate, and mix in. 

Divide the dough into four pieces. Roll each piece between two sheets of wax paper until 1/2 inch thick. Place sheets into the refrigerator for 1 hour, up to to 4 days.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Take the rolled dough out one sheet at a time. Peel away the top layer of wax paper and discard. Using cookie cutters, cut into desired shapes. Place on parchment paper on a baking tray, leaving 1 inch of space between each cookie. Sprinkle a few pieces of sea salt in the middle of each cookie.

If there is dough left over, you can gather together, re-roll and cut more cookies. 

Bake for 11-12 minutes. They may seem soft but they are done. Let them cool on the parchment on a rack. 

Store in a container at room temperature for up to 3 days. 

Stocking the Freezer When It's Freezing Out: Bolognese Sauce

Happy New Year! My New Year's resolution is simple: to post more blogs. Did anyone notice how I fell off the blogosphere? While the good news is I did a lot of teaching this fall, the bad news is if I'm teaching more, I'm writing less.

But I'm back and have a long list of recipes I want to share. Having grown up in the Midwest, I am feeling this cold weather snap acutely. And when it's cold outside, I focus on slow cooking inside. Chili, stew, soup, sauce—these are the mainstays of my family's winter diet. And a good sauce Bolognese is up there in the pantheon. 

Did my Italian grandmother cook red gravy every Sunday? No. Am I even Italian? No. But I love a simple pasta Bolognese.  There are as many variations to the ingredients as there are cooks: using beef, using veal, using pork, using a combination of veal and pork, using ground meat, using whole pieces of chuck, adding mushrooms, celery, or sun dried tomatoes, swearing by fresh tomatoes instead of canned, using milk, not using milk, using broth, not using broth, using red wine, using white wine, adding parmesan, seasoning the sauce with thyme, basil, or oregano. I've synthesized the best of the recipes I've used to make my version, which is always tucked away in the freezer at our house.

Chances are you have most of these ingredients around, and maybe you have a few hours some weekend day when some kind of game is on. The recipe spreads out the cooking over two days (it usually tastes better the next day), but it can easily be done in one. So get this on the stove. And if you decide to throw in some mushrooms, I'm not going to stop you. 

Long Cooking Bolognese
Makes about 12 cups

2 T. olive oil 2 to 2 1/2 lb beef, chuck, trimmed of excess fat and cut into about 1-2 inch cubes
2 medium onions, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves

1 t. oregano
1 c. red wine
3 28 oz. cans tomatoes (whole peeled or diced)
1 c. broth (chicken or beef)
1 c. milk (low fat is fine)
kosher salt and ground pepper to taste

Place olive oil into a large soup pot and heat on medium high. Heat until oil is shimmery, then begin browning meat cubes in batches (you don't want them to be crowded in the pot). Brown all sides of the meat, then remove pieces to a bowl. Repeat until all meat cubes are browned.

Add onions and carrots to the pot. Cook for about 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent and softened. Add wine and stir up the browned bits in the pan. Add minced garlic, bay leaves, oregano, tomatoes, and meat back into the pot. Heat until just bubbling (not a hard boil), and then simmer for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Take off the heat and cool, then place in the fridge overnight.

Remove from the fridge. Spoon off any fat that has congealed on the surface and remove the bay leaves. Remove pieces of meat from the sauce, and use your hands to shred into small pieces. If desired, use an immersion blender to blend until desired thickness (I like mine thick but with pieces of carrot and tomato still visible). Return meat to the pot and add the broth and milk. Heat on medium heat until just bubbling, then simmer, uncovered, for one hour, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Will keep in the fridge for 2 weeks or in the freezer for 3 months.

Breadcrumbs: an essential ingredient you've already bought

Ah, breadcrumbs. They sound so pedestrian. Something you buy in a can. But homemade breadcrumbs are a surprisingly inspired ingredient. Not to mention the paragon of thriftiness. Every time you buy a loaf of bread, you've paid for some breadcrumbs as well.

They are a cinch to make. Place any bread heels, scraps, or older slices onto a plate and let them dry out for a few days on the counter. You can mix white, wheat, baguette, or sourdough. Once dry, break them apart, whizz them in the blender, and voila. Breadcrumbs. Throw them in the freezer and they keep for months.

Breadcrumbs get frequent airtime around here. I saute them in oil and herbs to top pasta or gnocchi. They are the glue for meatballs and meatloaf. Currently, the most popular use of breadcrumbs in my house is breaded chicken. A properly breaded piece of chicken — be it cutlet or, dare I say, nugget — is a simple yet delicious meal. And it's free of the preservatives that often accompany the pre-made frozen versions. I personally like finger size, even though that's a terrible name for a food, because it has a nice meat-to-breading ratio. They can be eaten with sauce or not, with pasta or not, or on a salad. There are never leftovers. 

Proper breading technique comes down to a few principles. First, make sure the breadcrumbs are seasoned. I like a salt, pepper, and grated parmesan for chicken. Fresh or dried herbs work great. Taste the breadcrumbs before you use them — they should taste good. Second, the breading process goes a lot faster if you use one hand for the dry ingredients (flour, breadcrumbs) and one for the wet (egg). This does mean flipping back and forth, but once you get in the rhythm of it, it's pretty fast. Third, your oil should be shimmery hot before putting the chicken in, ensuring a nice seal which keeps the meat tender and oil absoprtion to a minimum. And like most recipes, getting all the ingredients and equipment set out ahead of time makes for efficient cooking.

Breaded Chicken Pieces

Serves 4

2-3 boneless chicken breasts (about 1 pound)

1/3 c. flour

2 eggs
1 t. water

3/4-1 c. breadcrumbs

1/2 c. grated parmesan

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil for frying

Cut chicken breasts, against the grain, into desired size pieces. In one bowl, place the flour. In a second bowl, crack the eggs and add 1 t. water. Mix them with a fork until blended. In a third bowl, mix the breadcrumbs, parmesan, salt and pepper.

Heat oven to 200 degrees F and place a tray with paper towels in it. Set a large skillet on the stove and pour enough olive oil into it to coat the bottom about a 1/4 inch deep. Heat the oil on medium high heat until the oil is shimmery.

While the oil is heating, take a piece of chicken and drop it in the flour. Shake off the excess, then drop it in the egg mixture. Turn to coat it in egg, then drop it into the breadcrumbs. Coat liberally with breadcrumbs. Repeat with enough pieces to put into the pan without crowding. 

When oil is hot, place chicken pieces in pan and cook about 4-5 minutes, undisturbed. When you can see browning on the bottom, flip the pieces and cook another 4-5 minutes. Remove a piece and cut into it to check for doneness (there should be no pink). Remove chicken pieces to the tray in the oven to keep warm. 

Repeat with remaining chicken. Add more oil if needed between batches.