Black Forest Cake

Black forest cake is a very moist chocolate cake made with crème fraîche and cocoa powder and layers of kirsch (cherry liqueur), cherry jam, mascarpone, maraschino cherries and chocolate shavings. I baked the cakes in mini heart-shaped springform pans, perfect to surprise my husband Lulu for Valentine's Day! Of course, now that I've written it here, he won't be surprised. I'll have to come up with something else. What can I say; his loss is your gain.

I had my first black forest cake (Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte) in 8^th grade during German class. We were learning the German words for different ingredients and I remember that it made us all very hungry. In the German textbook, there was a recipe for black forest cake. One of the girls in the class decided to make the cake and brought it in the next day. It was so delicious that I've kept the recipe ever since, though with a few changes. Guten Appetit!

Olive Tapenade Chicken Rolls

Olive tapenade is extremely versatile and can be used as a spread or filling in many different dishes. You can also use it in place of more traditional party dips such as hummus, guacamole, salsa or roasted bell pepper spread. In this recipe, I added goat cheese to the tapenade and used the mixture as a filling for chicken rolls. I served the dish with a mildly sweet carrot purée that makes an excellent foil to the savory flavor of the tapenade.

If it's not part of your culinary repertoire yet, you should definitely learn to prepare tapenade. It will open up a whole new world of easy to prepare, delectable dishes.

Tarte Tatin aux Pommes (Upside down Apple Pie)

 Tarte Tatin sounds like a fancy dessert, but really, it's just an upside down caramel apple tart. I made a simple tart shell using dough called pâte brisée. Instead of filling the shell though, I placed slices of apples that were cooked in a caramel sauce into the mold and then covered them with the tart shell. The tarts then went into the oven to cook the shell. 

You really should eat these treats almost as soon as they come out of the oven. To plate, just flip each mold and the apples will now be on top. If you wait too long, the caramel will harden and it will be difficult to unmold.  If you flip the tart out and let it sit, the crust will get soggy. This has never been a problem at my house because the smell of freshly baking apples always manages to gather the entire family in the kitchen.

Purple Potato Gratin with Salmon Mousseline and Beurre Blanc

I bought Peruvian purple fingerling potatoes at the Farmers' market. Purple potatoes have a subtle grainy texture and I thought they'd pair perfectly with salmon mousseline.

Beurre blanc sounds like a sophisticated element in a French dish, but it's really just a white wine butter sauce. It's quite common in France and is often paired with poached fish and steamed vegetables. I think that it complements the crunchy potatoes and velvety salmon mousseline quite well. I finished each dish with a dollop of crème fraîche, some fresh dill and a couple of pink peppercorns. It's a feast for the eyes as well your taste buds.

Stuffed Mushrooms

The possibilities for stuffed mushrooms are almost limitless. They are perfect as passed hors d'oeuvres and they're incredibly versatile and easy to make when you're pressed for time. We have a dinner party tonight, and I wanted to use the leftover stuffing from Thanksgiving. "Stuffing-stuffed Mushrooms" has a nice ring to it, no?

I boosted the flavor of the stuffing with parmesan cheese, sliced almonds and crème fraîche. To smooth out the texture, I incorporated some crème fraîche to the stuffing and brushed the mushrooms with tomato sauce and tomato paste as well. Once each button mushroom is filled with stuffing, sprinkle on some more parmesan, bake, and they're ready to serve!