valentine’s day « (y)our food choices™

Ah, Cupid! It’s that time of year, again, when everyone with a wife, husband, girlfriend, boyfriend, mistress, lover (or one or more of the above, or just those who are pining over another) sweat over the little things and every gesture assumes the importance of all that is good in the world – love, life, and chocolate. Rose purveyors and chocolatiers the world over count on Valentine’s Day to boost the bottom line and every dimly lit dining room fills to the rafters on February 14th – a boon this year since romance day falls on a Tuesday.

Mix it all together.

We decided to celebrate early with these Saturday brunch blueberry pancakes. To gay it up, we used our heart shaped pancake molds (yes, we have heart shaped pancake molds in our equipment pantry!) and finished the pancakes with a deliciously tart raspberry ginger syrup. They were beautiful and tasty!

Hearts on a griddle.

America’s Test Kitchen inspired the pancake batter recipe. Fresh blueberries add a sweet, warm juiciness to each bite. The raspberry sauce is a bright alternative to traditional maple syrup. The leftovers will go into the freezer, ready for the toaster oven for this Tuesday’s quickie breakfast, before the rigors of work set in.

Corn Flour and Blueberry Pancakes

1 cup whole milk yogurt
1 cup milk
2 oranges (zest only)
1 cups (5 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cups (5 ounces) corn flour (do not use cornmeal or polenta)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 to 2 tsp vegetable oil
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, preferably wild, rinsed and dried

Whisk the milk, yogurt, and orange zest in a medium bowl or large measuring cup; set aside while preparing the other ingredients. Whisk the flours, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl to combine.

Whisk the egg and melted butter into the milk and yogurt until combined. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients in the bowl; pour in the milk mixture and whisk very gently until just combined (a few lumps should remain). Do not over mix. Set aside to rest.

Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes; add 1-teaspoon oil and brush to coat the skillet bottom evenly. Pour a cup batter onto three spots on the skillet; sprinkle 1-tablespoon blueberries over each pancake. Cook the pancakes until large bubbles begin to appear, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a thin, wide spatula, flip the pancakes and cook until golden brown on both sides, 1 to 1 minutes longer. Serve immediately, and repeat with the remaining batter, using the remaining vegetable oil only if necessary.

Note: If you are using heart shaped molds; spray the molds with non-stick cooking spray and place them on the skillet for 1-2 minutes to heat up before adding the pancake mix. Fill the molds about half full. Add about ½ tablespoon blueberries to the pancakes and gently press the blueberries to the center of the pancake. The blueberries may not be fully immersed in the batter. Cook in the molds for 2-4 minutes and gently remove the molds. Flip the pancake and repeat with the remaining batter. Remove any pancake stuck to the molds and spray with cooking spray after each use to avoid the pancakes from getting stuck.

Raspberry Syrup

Raspberry, Orange, Ginger Syrup

1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
Juice of two oranges
¼ cup The Ginger People ginger syrup

Add the raspberries, orange juice and ginger syrup to a small saucepan over medium heat. Smash the berries and cook for about five minutes. Put the syrup through a strainer to remove the seeds and place the strained syrup back on the stove. Cook until thickened.

We’re all about being frugal, trying to save a nickel here and a dime there, and when it comes to holiday confections we don’t see what difference a day or two makes when buying a box of chocolate. The box of chocolate will be as good on February 15^th as it was the day before and it’s always 50% off the retail price. We also know that giving chocolates on Valentine’s Day is a tradition that many of us can’t resist from year to year. So what to do? We say make your own.

There are few flavors that go together so perfectly that people get into heated debates over someone expressing ambivalence, or worse, dislike for the paring. And we don’t understand how anyone could feel like something so perfect has been made one too many times. With our friend Susan’s Caramel-Dark Chocolate Truffles with Fleur de Sel, the ubiquitous combination of sea salt and caramel proves it is a match made in heaven, or um … France. What is it that makes caramel, chocolate and sea salt taste so good together that even the most jaded food critic can’t resist the flavor combo? Here in the U.S. we’re used to the chocolate and caramel or chocolate and peanut butter pairings. Can you imagine Hershey going a bit French by adding a sprinkle of fleur de sel to their chocolate bars? We can already see the revolt by the crazy-ass wing nuts in the red states. “Sea salt in my chocolate? What the hell?” Remember “Freedom” fries?

What difference does a day make? Buy your heart shaped box of chocolates on February 15th or make your own.

Susan has perfected this recipe and you can taste the love and time she’s put into it. We were lucky enough to taste these delicious truffles at their 2010 holiday party. We’re grateful that she shared the recipe with us and the rest of her friends on Facebook. Steve’s office enjoyed the batch Jason made and we’re sure your sweetie(s) will love them just as much. So we suggest whipping up a batch this weekend and if you still have a hankering for more chocolate, pick up that heart shaped box on Tuesday. It’s a win-win situation. You’ll get great, homemade chocolate truffles for Valentine’s Day and the heart shaped box a few days later. Now go hit the gym and start working out so you can enjoy all the sugar calories you’ll be consuming for the next few weeks.

A little bite of France.

Susan’s Caramel-Dark Chocolate Truffles with Sea Salt

24 ounces fine-quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped, divided
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon sea salt (fleur de sel if you have it on hand)
unsweetened cocoa powder
additional sea salt

Gently melt 10 ounces chocolate in a double boiler or microwave, set aside.

Combine sugar and water in a heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush, until syrup is dark amber. Add cream; caramel will bubble and steam. Reduce heat to low and stir until caramel is entirely smooth, with no remaining lumps. Mix caramel and 1 t. sea salt into chocolate, cool slightly, cover and refrigerate for at least three hours.

Place cocoa powder in a small bowl. Using melon baller or tablespoon, roll truffle filling into balls. Smooth with your hands (gloves highly recommended) and roll in cocoa. Arrange on a baking sheet, cover, and chill overnight.

Line baking sheet with foil, parchment or Silpat. Temper remaining chocolate in a small bowl. Working quickly, submerge one cold truffle center in the tempered chocolate, lift with a fork and tap off excess, and set on lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with a small amount of sea salt. Repeat with remaining truffle centers. Let stand until coating sets, at least one hour. (Can be made up to one week in advance. Cover and keep cool. Bring to room temperature to serve.)

* I do the centers in batches: ~10 rough balls at a time using the melon baller, and then pop them into the fridge while I make the next set. When I’m all done, I pull out each set of ~10 and smooth them into nice spheres with my hands and dust with cocoa. I also pull the centers out of the fridge in small batches to do the couverture (dipping the caramels in the chocolate), so that the later ones stay cool. The centers are super gooey at room temperature, so it’s important that they’re right out of the fridge to ensure the outer coating of chocolate covers them well.