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An All-Chocolate Menu for Valentine's Day


Abra

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I've searched all over eG for a thread on savory chocolate dishes, and if I've missed one, please somebody link this one to that.

But, assuming there's not one - I want to do an all-chocolate meal for my valentine. I just made my kick-ass mole, but we're going to be wanting a break from that by Valentine's Day.

Please share your favorite recipes and ideas and links for savory chocolate foods! Extra points for non-Mexican dishes.

I can start it off by saying that I'm really intrigued by David Lebovitz's chocolate pizza dough and Cocoa Nib and Spicy Lamb Pizza.

Edited by Abra (log)
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Do you have Alice Medrich's "Bittersweet?" There are several savory recipes there using cacao nibs. Also, here are some recipes from my files to check out (not T&T):

Roasted Pear Salad with Chocolate-Scented Goat Cheese and Chocolate and Roasted Pear Vinaigrette

http://www.valleysentinel.com/archive/2003...recipes0302.htm

Hazelnut Chocolate Soup

http://www.recipesource.com/soups/soups/01/rec0145.html

FILETE ENCHOCOLATADO (BEEF IN CHOCOLATE SAUCE)

http://recipesource.com/ethnic/americas/me...03/rec0394.html

COCOA-ORANGE BRAISED CHICKEN

http://www.recipezaar.com/187056

Poached Pears with Gorgonzola Cream And Chocolate Maple Syrup

http://www.chefjamie.com/recipedetail.php?ID=146

There's nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with CHOCOLATE.
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Thanks, merstar, that's a nice collection! The salad look sespecially delicious to me. I do have the Medrich book and always forget to even look at it - thanks very much for the reminder.

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Thanks, merstar, that's a nice collection!  The salad look sespecially delicious to me.  I do have the Medrich book and always forget to even look at it - thanks very much for the reminder.

You're welcome, Abra - the salad is the one that attracts me the most also!

There's nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with CHOCOLATE.
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What about a beef roast with a cocoa/orange/chili sauce? I've never made this myself, but I've been served it at a fundraiser, it was delicious. And,I would think that the warmth you feel from the sauce would be very nice for a sexy Valentine's meal!

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There's Frédéric Bau's book Chocolat Fusion that's about 95% savoury recipes using chocolate, lots of crazy recipes but a lot of them are intriguing, I haven't made a whole dish as is from the book but lots of components or ideas have stemmed from it. It's quite pricy tough, I can suggest some of the following ideas that might help you. Short ribs or shanks(be they, veal,bison or whatever) are good with some dark chocolate incorporated into the sauce, braise them as usual, strain and reduce the sauce an before service whisk chocolate into sauce till incorporated then warm short ribs in this till hot and glazed with sauce(some vanilla or ancho chili, chipotle or any of this is good with that also). Rabbit or Hare, braise in red wine, chix stock, tomato's and herbs and then shred meat and incorporate back into sauce , make some parpadelle or tagliatelli and add some cocoa powder to your dough recipe, cook and serve with braised rabbit. Foie Gras is nice with chocolate as well, you could dust your foie with cocoa powder before searing it in hot pan. One of the recipes in the Bau book is a lobster or Langoustine stock with chocolate emulsified into it. There's also a white chocolate and cream sauce with cocoa nibs for scallops. Squash risotto with sage and chocolate oil or chocolate consommé. You could make little wontons or raviolis with confit duck meat, sweat onions add duck, deglaze with a bit of stock and simmer till amost dry add melted chocolate to taste and then use the cooled mixture to stuff raviolis or wontons. hope this helps.

Edited by cricklewood (log)
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A recipe I came across recently is for Iberian rib of pork, roasted in hazelnut oil and served with white chocolate-black olive discs and creme of baby carrots. I have not tried it yet but I liked the sound of it. It's from a restaurant here in Amsterdam so it's in Dutch, but if you're interrested, I'd be happy translate the recipe for you.

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White chocolate with black olive. Now there's a combination I've never imagined (not sure I want to imagine it, but it's certainly novel!)

Love Goddess Cake wins for best recipe name so far, and Sissy's cake really appeals to me, but my valentine detests pumpkin. Anyway, dessert's not a problem, it's everything else.

I know cocoa and lamb are good together, because Paula Wolfert's Falling Apart Lamb Shanks with Cocoa Picada are sensational. And that Bau book sounds really interesting - lots of unusual ideas in there - thanks, Cricklewood for spelling them all out. I especially like the sound of braised rabbit on cocoa pasta. And hey, I was liking cocoa pizza too. I'm sensing a trend here, toward carbs!

Does chocolate consomme involve more than chocolate and water? I've been trying to dream up a little chocolate soup starter. And could some kind of fish with chocolate be possible?

Holy cow, wattaceti - pork belly with chocolate risotto??? If you have notes on that one, I'd love to see them.

Edited by Abra (log)
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I'd really like the recipes for chocolate pasta dough and Lebovitz's chocolate pizza dough (I tried the link above but only got the pizza topping recipe). Can anyone provide them?

And I agree, the all-chocolate menu is a delicious idea!

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I wonder if cocoa powder could be incorporated into a sauce for seared foie gras I recently did a cherry sauce......

hmm I still have some foie left

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Abra, honey, you need to spend a little more time in the Italian regional cooking forums!

Cocoa is traditional in caponata. Our Whole Foods is selling Valrhona again--its quality makes a big difference.

We discussed the combination of beef and chocolate while preparing Sicilian food and a brave soul slathered layers of fried eggplant with chocolate while we were in Lazio, documented with photographs.

Funny how said Brave Soul did not rejoin us as we pushed on to new terrain...

Sounds like a great theme, certainly up there with the All Garlic dinner at Chez Panisse.

P.S. You've probably had your fill of stuffed pastas after the impressive Christmas tortellini torta you executed. However, in the Lombardian thread, I describe a sweet ravioli that goes all the way back to the Renaissance court in Mantua. Chocolate and ground amaretti are two of the ingredients. Might be good floating in a slightly sweetened or Meyer lemony broth, though when you say "chocolate soup" I envision something velvety with heavy cream. Perhaps you could alter a pureed chestnut soup to include chocolate and cream...Might even be good!

I don't know about a chocolate fish soup, but fresh sardines are sweet, as are a few other fish. However, small sardines stuffed with buttered chocolate bread crumbs instead of garlic, olive oil and herby breadcrumbs...?

Edited by Pontormo (log)

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Now I'm starting to think there are so many recipes I'll have to do all-day three meals of chocolate! Wouldn't this make a great soup and sandwich lunch? Mascarpone Brioche Sandwiches with Chocolate Soup.

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Now I'm starting to think there are so many recipes I'll have to do all-day three meals of chocolate!  Wouldn't this make a great soup and sandwich lunch? Mascarpone Brioche Sandwiches with Chocolate Soup.

And churros with hot chocolate for dessert (Pierre Herme's classic hot chocolate is my personal fave).

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One of the most classic out there is Venison with Chocolate Demi Glace.

Be sure to include some braised red cabbage with juniper berries in there somewhere.

I am sure that "Amuse Bouche" also features a Venison Carpaccio with Chocolate sauce. Believe me, this is a knockout combo!

Edited by Irishgirl (log)
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