Potato Chip Cookies

From foodnetwork.com: Emeril Lagasse, 2005

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
1/2 cup finely crushed potato chips
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
Chocolate Sauce, for dipping, optional, recipe follows

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, 1/2 cup of the sugar, and vanilla. Add the toasted pecans and potato chips and stir well. Add the flour and stir to combine.

Place the remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a shallow bowl.

Form the mixture into small balls, about 1 tablespoon each, and place on an ungreased baking sheet.

Dip the bottom of a heavy flat-bottomed glass in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and flatten the cookies on the baking sheet, dipping in sugar before flattening each cookie. Bake the cookies until light golden brown, 14 to 16 minutes.

Using a spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool. (The cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.) When cookies have cooled, dip 1 half of each cookie in the chocolate sauce, if desired. Let harden on a wire rack.

Chocolate Sauce:
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Place the chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl.

Bring the cream to a bare simmer over low heat. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let sit for 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk the chocolate mixture until smooth and thick. Add the vanilla and whisk to blend.

Use warm for dipping edges of cookies, reheating gently over barely simmering water as necessary.

“Molten” Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes and Chocolate Ice Cream

IMG_0195foodnetwork.com
Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 45 minutes
Yield: 12 servings

Cooking Notes: Be certain to add the chocolate chunks while the cakes are still quite hot from the oven otherwise the crust will form and you will damage the appearance. The mayonnaise is here to add moisture to the cake. You could omit it with out adjusting the recipe but it is has an amazing effect. Serve this as a plated dessert by removing them from the paper and adding warm bananas.

Ingredients

  • Vegetable spray, for greasing liners
  • 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, preferably Scharffen Berger
  • 1 stick unsalted butter
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 1/3 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup cornstarch
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon gray salt

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
  2. Line the cupcake pan with paper liners and spray the liners with vegetable spray.
  3. Shave 5 ounces of chocolate and put it into a bowl. Cut the remaining 3 ounces of chocolate into roughly 1/2-inch pieces, set aside.
  4. Combine the butter and cream in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. When the cream mixture comes to a simmer, pour it over the shaved chocolate and stir gently to melt the chocolate.
  5. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, mayonnaise, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt just until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and gently mix just until combined. (Mixing too much will prevent the eggs from rising in the oven.) Scoop about 1/4 cup of the batter into each mold, it should come about 3/4 of the way up the sides. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Do not over bake. Immediately while hot, add a chunk of the remaining chocolate in the center of each, by gently pushing it through the top of the cupcake in the center. Cool the pan on a rack for 10 minutes and then unmold them. Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm.

Chocolate Ice Cream

Cooking Light, May 2008

Ingredients

  • 3 cups 1% low-fat milk, divided
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Preparation

  1. Place 2 1/4 cups milk in a heavy saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat. Combine 1/4 cup milk, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Slowly add the sugar mixture to pan, stirring constantly with a whisk. Cook 4 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken, stirring constantly with a whisk. Remove pan from heat.
  2. Place chopped chocolate in a small bowl. Bring remaining 1/2 cup milk just to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Pour hot milk over chocolate; let stand 1 minute. Stir chocolate mixture until smooth. Add chocolate mixture to sugar mixture; stir until well blended. Cover and chill 2 hours.
  3. Pour mixture into the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer; freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions. Spoon ice cream into a freezer-safe container; cover and freeze 1 hour or until firm.

Roasted Parsnip and Vanilla Chocolate Soup

From foodnetwork.com, Robert Irvine – Dinner Impossible

Roasted Parsnip and Vanilla Chocolate Soup

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds parsnips (about 4 or 5 large parsnips)
  • 1/4 cup canola oil (2 tablespoons to brush on parsnips and 2 tablespoons to brush on bread for croutons)
  • 8 tablespoons butter (1 stick or 1/2 cup)
  • 1 large white onion, chopped
  • 2 quarts chicken stock
  • 1 whole vanilla bean, preferably Tahitian (sold 1 or two to a jar in the spice section of the store) or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (preferably from real vanilla bean as opposed to artificial flavoring)
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 epee loaf French bread
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
  • 1 cup vanilla white chocolate chips (recommended: Hershey’s Premier White Chips)
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 fresh lemon or lime, halved crosswise (1/2 to squeeze into batch of soup and 1/2 to cut into wedges to serve to guests)
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh dill leaves

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Peel parsnips, and cut into 1-inch chunks, brush lightly with oil and place on a baking sheet lined with heavy duty aluminum foil (for easy cleanup). Roast until the parsnips begin to soften (as tested with a knife blade) and until the tips begin to turn golden brown. This takes about 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for a few minutes while you start the other ingredients in the stockpot. (Leave oven on for toasting of croutons.)
  3. Melt the butter over medium-low heat in a large stockpot and gently saute the onion until translucent. (This takes about 10 minutes, but the more important thing is that they look translucent.) Add the chicken stock, slice open the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the pot and add along with the vanilla pod itself. Increase heat to medium, add the roasted parsnips, and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper, cover and let cook until the parsnips are completely tender, about 20 minutes.
  4. Once you have the soup underway, toast the croutons in the oven which is already preheated to 400 degrees F. Cut the epee loaf into 3/4-inch thick slices. Brush the bread with oil and place on a foil lined baking sheet (important for cleanup purposes). Sift dark cocoa over the bread and toast briefly in the oven, just to make crispy. Remove and set aside.
  5. Stir the white chocolate chips into the soup and cook for a further 5 minutes, to allow them to melt and to integrate flavors.
  6. Remove soup from heat, discard vanilla pod, and stir in heavy cream. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. (Remember, when using an immersion blender, the blade end has to be immersed, or it will make a big mess.) Squeeze fresh lemon or lime juice into the pot and stir to combine. (Note: If you hold the sliced end of the fresh lemon or lime against your palm while you squeeze in the juice, the seeds are likely to stay in the rind.)
  7. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with fresh dill. Serve with lemon wedges and dark chocolate dusted croutons.