Hanging out at Border’s Books is one of my favorite pastimes, and wondering the bargain books leaves me in a constant state of euphoria. I recently ran across a little book titled 1 Dough 100 Cookies: Take 1 basic recipe and make 100 kinds of cookies by Linda Doeser.
I know, Jewish Cooking made Slim is almost an oxymoron, but over twenty
years ago I did a bit of catering and many of my clients in West Bloomfield Hills, Michigan wanted specific dishes that reminded them of days gone past.
I toted myself down to the King’s Bookstore on Lafayette in downtown Detroit and started my research. I did not locate many books that were to my liking but there was one that fit the bill.
The book is from The Chosen Cookbook Series and is titled Jewish Cooking made Slim edited by Marjorie Weiner. What I love most about this cookbook is the description of each dish. For example, when it is written that the Chopped Herring is “Absolutely addictive!” It is so true. The Smoked Salmon Log is to die for and both the recipes for Honey Cake, 1 & 2 are delicious.
For all those brides-to-be who did not gather mom’s recipes before leaving the nest, this little jewel of a cookbook is a must have and well worth the $0.66 you’ll pay for picking it up online.
Leave it to the French of course to be the first to come up with what might be one of the more delectable dishes enjoyed anytime day or night. Rumor has it, Napoleon and his army were apparently traveling through the south of France when they decided to rest for the night near the town of Bessieres. It is said that Napoleon feasted on an omelet prepared by a local innkeeper that was such a culinary delight that Napoleon ordered the townspeople to gather all the eggs in the village and prepare a huge omelet for his army the following day.
It is unknown if this is actually true but one thing is for sure a great omelet is worth it’s weight in gold, since it is in fact a universal dish that can be prepared for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Check out this vintage video on how to make an omelet from Julia Child.
What are your favorite fillings for omelets? My favorite filling is portobello mushrooms, and Swiss cheese.
Baking and Snackes.com recently featured an article that reported prune 
puree can “replace as much as 30 per cent of the fat by weight in chocolate cupcakes, and could be used to reduce saturated fat levels in baked goods”, according to researchers at New York’s Hunter College. The Hunter College group is slated to present their findings during the ADA Food & Nutrition Conference and Expo in Boston this November.
The biggest issue to date is that researchers must find a way to develop “fat replacers” for low-fat and low calorie products without compromising texture, flavor and appearance.
The authors cited previous research indicating successful results for other fruit based purees as alternatives for fat. They said their investigation revealed the “effectiveness of prune puree at 0 (control), 15, 30, and 60 per cent levels on the physical, textural and sensory properties of chocolate cupcakes.”
Tiffany D. Wiese and Melani W. Duffrin, authors of Effects of Substituting Pawpaw Fruit Puree for Fat on the Senory Properties of a Plain Shortened Cake also discovered that a smaller amount of pawpaw substitution (25%) provided an acceptable product; however use of more of the pawpaw altered color, texture and tenderness of the overall product; and although this is a great start it is evident that more research is needed.
Oftentimes fat-reduced cupcakes are denser, and had higher water activity levels. It will be interesting to follow these research efforts and see where they will take us as we move to reduce fat and maintain flavor, texture and overall quality.
Several years ago Chef Paul Prudomme offered up syrup recipes that could be used to add extra flavor to sauces and breads. These simply syrups were made from juice concentrates and featured in his cookbook Fork in the Road: A different direction in cooking from America’s Favorite chef. The syrup is by not means a replacement for fat, but it is an enhancement for flavor. It will be interested to see where the use of concentrated products takes us in the future. This may be a far better alternative to artificial flavors, and products that only stand to mask the authentic goodness of food. Is getting back to the basics truly a thing of the past?
Prune Cake
2 cups sifted flour
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup Canola oil
1 teaspoon soda
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon allspice
1 cup cooked stewed prunes, chopped fine (mixture will be thick)
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon salt
Pour batter in 9×12-inch baking pan, that has been greased and floured
Bake at 325 for 40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean
Serve plain or your favorite butter-cream frosting recipe.
If served plain, this is a wonderful breakfast cake to accompany that cup of Joe!
Recently my daughter recorded an old broadcast of the television show 
“Angel”, played by David Boreanaz of Bones. I am a “Supernatural” fan and she thought I might also enjoy watching “Angel” which didn’t turn out to be the case; but that’s neither here nor there!
It was the episode when he is becomes human and realizes he has a ferocious appetite for all the things humans normally take for granted, sunshine, food, sex, chocolate, Buffy…
Well, to make a long story short, I started to think about what type of real power chocolate holds on us after watching him devour a chocolate bar. There are so many studies out there that tell us chocolate can enhance the mood, the libido, and even relieve stress, but does it really? What does chocolate really do for you? …and I’m not talking from a scientific standpoint.
According to Teach Yourself Training Your Brain, a somewhat unconventional book by co-authors, Terry Horne and Simon Wooten that insists “lots of sex, dark chocolate and the Scandinavia routine of cold meat for breakfast are the best ways to boost brain power. Okay really? I’m a bit skeptical about the “cold meat” thing, but the authors claim their recommendations are based on leading scientific research.
Then according to another article, Chocolate, Sex, and Disorderly Women in Late-Seventeenth- and Early-Eighteenth-Century Guatemala “Chocolate, in the form of a hot chocolate beverage, was widely available to men and women of all ethnic and social groups in late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth-century Santiago de Guatemala, the capital city of colonial Central America. At the same time, chocolate acted as a central vehicle of women’s ritual power, used as the basis for magical potions to cast supernatural illness, in sexual witchcraft practices, and even, at times, as a flash point for women’s disorderly behavior in public settings.”
Do you possess a chocolate recipe that could impose a “supernatural experience” upon consumption?
Over 25 years ago I created a wonderful Chocolate Mousse with Cognac, I have since substituted the Cognac with the Original Bartenders Cocktails Hot Sex, a liqueur made with imported canton ginger liqueur, vodka, dairy cream, chocolate flavor, ginseng and a few other flavors. It is not easy to located, but if you live in an area where it’s available, you will find this chocolate mousse recipe one to be reckoned with.
Chocolate Mousse & Hot Sex
Looking for an unusually delicious dessert for that special occasion?
You’ll need 8 pot de creme cups
4 eggs, separated (set the whites aside for later)
1/4 cup Hot Sex Liqueur
1/2 cup sugar plus 1 tablespoon
8 ounces semisweet chocolate morsels
1 stick butter (8 ounces softened)
1 teaspoon instant espresso, dissolved in 1/4 cup hot water
In the top of a double boiler combine the egg yolks with the Hot Sex, and beat well.
Add 1/2 cup sugar and beat hard, stirring until thickened about 8-10 minutes.
Place the mixture over cold water and beat 4-5 minutes until cool.
Melt the chocolate and the butter together in another saucepan, add the espresso mixture, then add the egg yolk mixture and blend well.
Beat the egg whites to firm peaks with 1 tablespoon sugar and fold into chocolate mixture.
Pour the mixture into the 8 pot de creme cups.
Chill for at least 2-4 hours. Serves 8.
