Indulge Fridays

I love baking, I find it relaxing. So I often look for reasons to bake - birthdays, holidays, TGIF, etc. So I was pretty stoked that we were heading to a friend's place for dinner. Gave me a perfect excuse to make a dessert. I didn't want to go to the grocery store so decided to make something using stuff I already had in my pantry.


End result - Chocolate Raspberry Cream torte. Its not the prettiest cake but its perfectly light and not too sweet. The cake itself contains no flour so you can argue that its low carb [kindasortanotreally]. For my mom's 60th birthday a couple years ago, I made a triple sized version of this cake and iced it with a whipped chocolate ganache.



If you're interested in the recipe, let me know...

Note: Dinner w/ friends ended up being canceled. Oh well, more cake for me!

Say cheese!

As I mentioned in my last post, I can be pretty determined. This past Tuesday, I was determined to go to my favorite shop - the Cheese Boutique [check out my review on Yelp]. So after work I went and shopped till my wallet groaned in protest.

I was excited to see that Cheese Boutique now carries two type of burrata - one made locally and one flown in from Italy. I think the one from Italy flew in on a first class seat because it was PRICEY! 1.5x more expensive than the local variety. As much as I wanted to try it, I was good and bought the less expensive one. I'll get the Italian one next time. ha! With much restraint, I walked out with an assortment of cheese, cured meats, a double thick tenderloin steak, cookies and this sauce:

The ingredients include chili peppers, olive oil, eggplant, garlic and some other stuff. I couldn't wait to try it on crackers, mixed into pasta or perhaps used in a marinade.

I don't eat pasta very often but when I do, my favorite version is al olio - a simple toss of pasta, garlic, olive oil, chili pepper flakes, parsley and parmesan cheese. Lately I've also been sneaking in some chopped anchovies [shhh....DH doesn't know]. I know most of you are cringing as you read "anchovies". But seriously, chopped up and sauteed with garlic - it literally disappears. DH has eaten this dish several times and he can't detect any fishiness [he's also commented how yummy it tastes teehee] Trust me - try it once and you'll be converted.

At lunch the next day, I decided to make pasta using this new sauce. I forgot to buy more parsley so I made it without. I like spicy food and this pasta was flavorful. I can see this being served with some grilled fish or shrimps and some steamed vegetables. Definitely a good purchase!


Pasta al olio

4 anchovies, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
pinch of chili pepper flakes
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 C olive oil
2 T spicy eggplant sauce
handful of pasta (preferably spaghetti, spaghettini, or capellini)
1/4 C chopped parsley

grated parmesan cheese, to taste

1. Cook pasta in boiling salted water until al dente
   
2. In a saute pan, saute anchovies, garlic, chili pepper, eggplant sauce and olive oil until anchovies have melted down, 5 min then turn off heat. Season with salt/pepper.
   
3. Drain pasta and add to saute pan with 1/2 C of pasta water
4. Add lemon juice and parsley, then toss. Serve with grated cheese.