Flourless Chocolate Cake

Seeing as how I am 6 weeks away from being done with my first year of medical school, I thought I would post a cake recipe to celebrate...that is good enough reason, right?

This is quite the cake-very pretty, rich, chocolatey-I think it goes the best with fruit and fresh whipped cream (with a glass or two of champagne)--Just remember if you are cooking this for your gluten-free friends to ask which brands of powdered cocoa and chocolate they feel comfortable with you using!

Ingredients

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips or bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
1 cup (2 sticks) plus 3 tablespoons butter, cut into chunks
1 1/4 cups sugar
6 eggs
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Ghirardelli brand is gfree)
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 9-inch spring-form pan with nonstick cooking spray, then line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper. Spray the paper with cooking spray, too, then set the pan aside.

2. Place two-thirds (8 ounces) of the chocolate and 1 cup (2 sticks) of the butter in a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Stirring often, melt chocolate with butter until completely blended. Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl. Add sugar and mix well. Add eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Sift cocoa into bowl and stir until just blended.

3. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cake has risen and top has formed a thin crust. The cake should be just firm in the center when done. Cool for 10 minutes, then invert onto a plate, removing sides of spring-form pan. Remove and discard parchment paper and set cake aside to cool completely.

4. Meanwhile, make the chocolate glaze. Melt remaining 4 ounces chocolate and 3 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat, then stir in milk, honey and vanilla. Set aside to cool slightly.

5. When cake has cooled, pour glaze onto the center. Using a spatula or the back of a spoon, very gently smooth glaze along the top and sides of the cake. Chill cake, uncovered, for 30 to 60 minutes before serving to set the glaze and make the cake easier to slice.

Whole Grilled Red Snapper Provencal

Great recipe to serve for guests familiar with how to eat a whole fish-you may want to serve it with heads and tails removed :) The sauce is really delicious on its own! The first time we made this-the recipe said to use 1 and 2/3 cup olive oil for the sauce-we soon learned this was obviously a mistake in the recipe and have thus decreased it down to 1/4 cup-a much more delicious amount.

Ingredients

2 garlic bulbs, unpeeled

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium-size vine-ripened tomatoes

1/2 cup slivered fresh basil leaves

3/4 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt, divided

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided

2 (2 1/2- to 3-pound) whole red snapper,

dressed, leaving scales on

6 sprigs fresh rosemary

Preparation

1. Cut off pointed end of garlic; place bulbs on a piece of aluminum foil, and drizzle with 1-tablespoon olive oil. Fold to seal.

2. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes; cool. Squeeze pulp from garlic cloves into a small saucepan. Set aside.

3. Cook tomatoes in boiling water for 30 seconds; drain. Peel, seed, and dice tomatoes; add to garlic. Stir in 1/4 cup olive oil, basil, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.

4. Sprinkle snapper cavities with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; insert rosemary sprigs. Brush skins lightly with olive oil. Place fish in 2 lightly greased grill baskets.

5. Grill, covered with grill lid, over high heat (400° to 500°) 10 to 12 minutes on each side or until fish flakes with a fork.

6. Cook tomato sauce over low heat until warm. Spoon 1-cup sauce over fish. Serve immediately with remaining sauce.

Buffalo Chicken Wings with Creamy Roqeufort Dip

Decided to make this cliche snack food for the Superbowl one year-turned out delicious! I also love the Roquefort dip, feel free to use blue cheese as a substitute! And for the vegetarians out there- make the dip and prepare a vegetable platter for dipping!

Ingredients for Wings

12 whole chicken wings

3 ounces unsalted butter

1 small clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup hot sauce

Preparation

1. Place a 6-quart saucepan with a steamer basket and 1-inch of water in the bottom, over high heat, cover and bring to a boil.

2. Remove the tips of the wings and discard or save for making stock. Using kitchen shears, or a knife, separate the wings at the joint. Place the wings into the steamer basket, cover, reduce the heat to medium and steam for 10 minutes. Remove the wings from the basket and carefully pat dry. Lay the wings out on a cooling rack set in a half sheet pan lined with paper towels and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

3. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

4. Replace the paper towels with parchment paper. Roast on the middle rack of the oven for 20 minutes. Turn the wings over and cook another 20 minutes or until meat is cooked through and the skin is golden brown.

5. While the chicken is roasting, melt the butter in a small bowl along with the garlic. Pour this along with hot sauce and salt into a bowl large enough to hold all of the chicken and stir to combine.

6. Remove the wings from the oven and transfer to the bowl and toss with the sauce. Serve warm.

Ingredients for Creamy Roquefort Dip

1/2 cup Roquefort cheese, crumbled

1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon wine vinegar

1/2 cup sour cream

Preparation

1. Blend all ingredients together

Spring Rolls with Chile-Garlic-Lime Dipping Sauce

A healthy, simple appetizer. I have made this dish for guests or for myself (although it is more fun to make this for other people as it takes some time to make!) The sauce is pretty spicy, so play around with your preference of flavors! You can really change any ingredient in the rice paper-you can even fill the rice paper with strawberries and bananas with a chocolate dipping sauce for dessert spring rolls!

Ingredients for spring rolls

Red, orange, yellow peppers, julienned

Fresh ginger, julienned

Shredded carrots

Mung bean sprouts

Mushrooms, shredded with a vegetable peeler

Frozen, pre-cooked, small shrimp, tail and head removed

Rice Paper

(Or use anything you want!)

Preparation

1. Wet a towel and lay out on working area

2. Have all ingredients ready for assembly

3. Dip rice paper in hot water, let soften (about 30 seconds), remove and lay out on wet towel

4. Fill with ingredients

5. Wrap very tightly

6. Keep wet by covering with more wet towels until ready to serve

Ingredients for dipping sauce

2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 Tablespoon fish sauce

1 Tablespoon water

1 Tablespoon chile paste with garlic

1 Teaspoon sugar

2 Teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger

2 Garlic cloves, minced

Preparation

1. Mix all ingredients together

2. Add more lime or sugar to balance out heat