Chocolate Sorbet and a Giveaway

Even though we still have few months before we can start enjoying the warm temperatures of Summer, I decided to jump ahead and pull out my ice cream maker to make this ever so tempting chocolate sorbet. I just couldn't resist. 

If you know me, you know about my chocolate obsession. For me, when it comes to  picking a flavor, my choice is always the same, chocolate. I wanted to create a healthier chocolate sorbet recipe without sacrificing the flavor. Well, isn't that always the challenge? This one contains water, cocoa powder, sugar, vanilla extract, cardamom and a very good quality chocolate, Valrhona  to be precise. 

Despite not using milk or eggs in this recipe, this came out creamy.  Really creamy. Even after resting overnight in the freezer, this heavenly treat was not hard to scoop out. The deep chocolate flavor really comes through in each spoon you put in your mouth, leaving a trail of cardamom behind.

And to keep up with my Summer spirit, I'm giving away one sizzle platter and two sizzle pans from the grill king himself, Bobby Flay courtesy of Kohl's. No need to wait until the snow melts away when you can be grilling right over your stove top with his indoor grilling collection. 

Rules to enter the giveaway, 

1. answer the following question on the comment section of this blog:

    What's your favorite Summer vegetable? 

2. Follow Delicious Shots on Twitter or Facebook

3. Follow Kohl's on Twitter or Facebook

Pirizes (One pan or platter per winner):

2 Sizzle Pans with trivet 10.25" x 6.88" 

1 Sizzle Platter 16" x 9" 

Valid within the continental US

The three lucky winners will be randomly picked and announced next Thursday, March 7.

Good Luck!

_____________________________________________

CONTEST CLOSED.
Winners Announced!

Prices have been claimed. Congrats to the winners. 
_____________________________________________

Ingredients:

2 cups water

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cardamon 

6oz chocolate, chopped

In a large pot, mix together the water, cocoa powder, cardamon and sugar. Bring the mixture to
a boil whisking constantly until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Be careful, once the mixture
starts to boil will rise. Take the pot of the heat and add the chocolate and vanilla, do not stir.
Let it sit for a minute then whisk well until the chocolate has melted. Let it cool completely
then refrigerate for 3 hours or until well chilled. Pour the chocolate into an ice cream maker
and follow manufacture's instructions. 

Dosa, Matbucha and Chickpeas

Last week was an excited one. I started a food writing course coached by the super talented Marge Perry. I've been talking about taking a food writing course for a while and I'm happy that now I get to do it. A BIG thank you to my good friend Leetal, who gave me this very original gift and signed me up for these super cool classes.

I'm not planning to become the next Ruth Reichl (wouldn't that be cool?), I just want to better my writing and I want to be able to write what I want without thinking I'm not making sense. Does that make sense? 

As I suspected, food writing is more complex than just saying "these dosas are delicious" and these classes are opening my eyes to a whole new world of possibilities. The course is only four sessions long but I can already see that it will help me for a lifetime. 

Onto today's recipe. I struggled for a while to come up with a good dosa recipe. After testing, testing and testing some more, I finally have a recipe that I'm happy to share with you. These crisp and slightly sour dosas, can be filled with anything you want. I filled mine with chickpeas stew, matbucha (which is a Middle Eastern style cold tomatoes and peppers salad) and fried eggs. I can tell you right now, this was a perfect brunch, very filling and satisfying. 

Ingredients:

2 cups Indian rice, rinsed 

1 cup urad dal, rinsed

1/2 cup rice flour

1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tbsp salt

oil for cooking the dosa

Place the rice in a bowl and cover it with water and set aside.  Place the urad dal and fenugreek seeds in a different bowl, cover it with water and set aside. Let everything soak for 5 hours. Drain (reserve the water from both rice and urad dal). In a blender, puree the rice and the urad dal separately, adding water as needed. In a large bowl, mix well both batters and cumin. Loosely cover it and place the batter in a warm place (I kept my batter inside the oven). Let it ferment for 8 hours or overnight, the longer it ferments, the more sour it gets. When the batter is ready, add the salt and the rice flour, mix well. If your batter is too thick, just add more water (little by little) until you get a consistency similar to crepe batter. Heat a 10 inch nonstick skillet and using a ladle, pour batter (about 1/3 cup) onto the pan spreading the batter with the back of the ladle. Drizzle oil over the dosa and cook until its bottom turns golden brown. Serve hot. 

Matbucha

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 medium jalapeno, chopped

6  tomatoes, chopped 

2 clove garlic, minced

1 pinch of sugar 

1 tsp chili pepper flakes (or more depending 

on how spicy you like it)

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp paprika

In a medium saucepan, combine the tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, chili pepper flakes, and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Reduce heat to around medium low, and cook for 30 minutes or until most of the liquid has reduced. In the meantime, mix well the olive oil and paprika in a small bowl. Pour the olive oil mixture into the pan and stir well until everything is well combined. Let the matbucha cook for about 15 minutes more, stirring every 5 minutes. Taste and adjust reasoning if needed. You can also add more chili peppers if you like it more spicy. Allow the matbucha to cool completely and served at room temperature or chilled.

Chickpeas

1 cup of cooked chickpeas

1/4 cup chopped onion

4 garlic cloves

2 tbsp tomato paste

1/2 tsp ground cumin

salt and pepper to taste

chopped parsley 

1/3 cup water

2 tbsp olive oil

In a pot, heat the olive oil and add the onions, cook for 2 minutes then add the garlic and cook for 3 minutes more. Add the tomato paste and cook stirring for 2 minutes then add the chickpeas, water, cumin, salt and pepper. Cover the pot and let it simmer for 10 minutes. With a potato masher, lightly crush the chickpeas, leaving some chickpeas whole.  Add the parsley and adjust seasoning if needed. Serve warm. 

Banana-Chocolate Cake

What a weekend! Lots of snow, freezing cold BUT, we managed to have fun. Yes, fun in those conditions. This is the first year we get plenty of snow and Lucas is old enough to play outside and build a snowman. I'm telling you, he was loving it, he did not want to go back inside until I told him there was a piece of banana-chocolate cake with hot chocolate waiting for him inside. 

At first, he looked at me like I was pulling a trick to get him in but then he said "chocolate cake? Yes please!" He couldn't resist. He is a chocoholic just like his mama. 

This banana-chocolate recipe is seriously good. Moist, chocolaty with a beautiful banana flavor. I like to add coarsely chopped dark chocolate and when you bite into it, you get these chunks of half melted chocolate that will make the cake that much better. This can be the perfect Valentine's Day dessert if you are having friends over. It's a little more casual but there is nothing casual about the taste. 

Click HERE to see last year's magazine style post for more Valentine's Day ideas and recipes.

Happy Valentine's Day!  

Ingredients:

3 very ripe bananas

8 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup cocoa powder

3oz chopped chocolate or chocolate chips

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a bundt cake pan or a 9x5 inch loaf pan, set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Add the milk and sour cream and mix well. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cocoa powder and salt. Add the banana mixture to the butter, sugar and egg mixture and mix until well combined. Add dry ingredients, mixing just until flour disappears. Fold in the chopped chocolate and pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let it cool down for 10 minutes before transferring it to a rack to cool completely. 

Glaze

1 cup confectioners sugar

2 tsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp buter

In a sauce pan, melt the butter then add the rest of ingredients, whisk well until smooth. Pour it over the cake. 

Homemade Nutella

It's so dangerous to make your own nutella. I'm not talking about the process, which is very simple. I'm talking about the fact that you are at home with a full jar of delicious nutella. I feel like the jar is screaming "Eat me!". What do I do? Make a bunch of crepes, bake a brioche, bake cookies? It's like I'm on a mission to finish off the whole jar ASAP. Thankfully, my son is willing to help me with that :)

This nutella recipe is creamy, with a subtle taste of chocolate and a hint of coconut. It's important to have a good food processor for a smooth texture. My food processor is old and I had to use my mom's to achieve the consistency I was after. 

You are probably thinking "Why not just buy a jar?" The taste you get from a homemade nutella, you will hardly find it in the store. Besides, it's really simple to make. Need to say more?

Ingredients 

2 cups hazelnuts, toasted and skinned 

1cup dark chocolate, melted 

2 tbsp cocoa powder

4 tbsp icing sugar

2 tbsp canola

1/3 cup coconut milk

In a food processor,  process the hazelnuts until they turn into a paste, depending on the food processor or blender, it should take you about 15 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and keep mixing until smooth. Taste and add more sugar if needed. Also, add a little more milk if it feels too dry.