Dorie Greenspan's Creamy Chocolate Pudding

TWD is here again and chocolate pudding it is! Melissa from It's Melissa's Kitchen chose this week's cooking event from Dorie Greenspan's cookbook "Baking from my home to yours". My grandpa used to love pudding; chocolate and butterscotch being his two favorite flavors. Grandma used to always buy the pudding in those little plastic container cups at the grocery refrigerated section. Don't get me wrong, my Grandma was a fabulous baker but the idea of mixing pudding over the stove didn't excite her imagination. Grandma was famous for her pies, mostly fruit pies. . .I bet a small orchard of different fruit trees had something to do with this. Granny came from the depression era and made sure NOTHING went to waste. 3 different kinds of Apples, several sweet cherry trees, and 1 Bosc pear tree made up the variety of fruit. Her applesauce and apple butter were to die for!

If grandpa tasted Dorie's chocolate pudding, I bet Grandma would be stuck mixing it over the kitchen stove because Grandpa would be making such a fuss about how much he loved it! Chocolate creamy richness in small amounts. The best flavor of any dish comes from the taste of the first two bites. Silky texture, bittersweet richness of a good chocolate, and the visual attraction of adding a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream with chocolate curls over all makes this simple sounding dessert feel like a rich treat. For me, enjoyment came more from mixing the ingredients together and smelling the wonderful aroma permeating throughout the house. Nostalgic is the only word I can think of to represent the feeling. I think that is what cooking and baking represents to so many of us. . .memories of aromas and experiences in kitchen's past and/or images of our own ideals for home life and taking care of our most cherished. Sitting down and tasting the end result can be secondary, not that I do not look forward to diving in. . .because I DO! =D

The hardest part for me putting Dorie's chocolate pudding recipe together was having time to take pictures of each step. Several steps required a little hustle. This was fun wasn't it?

The chocolate pudding recipe can be found on page 383 and on It's Melissa's Kitchen blog site.

Another keeper for a family favorite: Thank You Dorie =D!

I used Scharffen Berger Natural Cocoa Powder - Unsweetened along with the cornstarch and salt.

3 Tablespoons of sugar, egg and 2 egg yolks are blended for 1 minute.

After incorporating the dry ingredients with the egg mixture, the hot milk was added, processed, and poured back into a pot to be whisked until thickening starts to occur.

Ghirardelli chocolate, 60%, semi-sweet is melted and waits to be added to the final stage.

Now that the chocolate pudding has thickened, the pudding is poured back into the food processor. Butter, vanilla extract, and melted chocolate are added and a few quick pulses mixes everything together.

The pudding has had saran wrap placed on the surface to prevent a skin from forming while chilling in the refrigerator over night. In the morning, I whipped up a small amount of heavy cream, added 1 T. of fine granulated sugar, and 1/2 t. vanilla extract. Placed a dollop on the top and a few chocolate curls for presentation. The pudding is creamy, rich, and delicious! =D

my Kitchen. . .my World

my Kitchen. . .my World cooking event!
I am a day late for joining in on the Korean dish chosen by Elra of elras baking. This is my first attempt at Korean cuisine and I am now really glad that I still tried.

The menu for the dinner is:

Korean-style

Bulgogi with ginger dipping sauce

Sesame Rice Vermicelli

Spicy Pickled Vegetables

and Beverage:

Almond Tea. . .

The tea is so good and one that will stay in my refrigerator as a go to beverage for the rest of the

summer. . .Delicious with a refreshing almond flavor. The recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar but this is a little too sweet. Half that amount would be just as good.

Bulgogi (bul-GOH-gee) is also called "fire meat" in Korea. The beef is traditionally cooked on table-top grills but I chose to grill mine over a charcoal grill. . .I'm fresh out of table-top grills =D. The beef is tender with lots of flavor from the sambal, ginger, and rice vinegar. Sambal is a spicy Asian condiment made from

chilies, salt and shrimp paste, along with a few other ingredients that may differ according to which type is chosen. The condiment adds a dark color and fiery flavor to foods. Sambal can be found in the Asian food aisles of local grocery stores.

Spicy pickled vegetables is a staple dish on Korean tables. The dish was easy to make and only needed 1 hour to pickle. If daikon radishes are hard to find, then I am sure red radishes would work just as well.

The rice vermicelli was a different flavor for me and one that I would have to get used to eating before I could enjoy the pasta. I did not "dislike" the dish ~ but thought the dish tasted unusual. I roasted the sesame seeds under the broiler for a couple of minutes to toast and this method worked perfectly.

Korean-style Bulgogi

with ginger dipping sauce

(adapted from Cuisine at Home Aug. 2008)

Ingredients:

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. rice vinegar

2 T. soy sauce

2 T. fresh ginger, minced

1 T. garlic, minced

2 t. toasted sesame oil

2 t. sambal

1 T. water

1 t. cornstarch

3/4 lb. boneless ribeye steak, cut into 1/4-inch thick strips

salt and pepper

sliced scallions

toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

Preheat grill to high or light charcoal and heat to a high heat.

Simmer sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and sambal together in a small saucepan over high heat. Combine water and cornstarch in a small bowl, then whisk into the sauce. Return mixture to a boil and simmer 1 minute; remove from heat and set aside.

Season ribeye strips with salt and pepper; grill 2 minutes per side, then toss in 2 Tablespoons dipping sauce. Arrange strips on 2 plates and garnish with scallions and sesame seeds. Serve with vermicelli, vegetables, and remaining sauce on the side.

Sesame Rice Vermicelli

Ingredients:

4 oz. dry rice vermicelli

2 T. scallions, thinly sliced

1 T. toasted sesame oil

1 T. sesame seeds, toasted

Directions:

Prepare vermicelli according to package directions and cool. Toss with remaining ingredients.

Spicy Pickled Vegetables

Ingredients:

2 T. rice vinegar

1 T. fresh lime juice

1 t. sugar

1 t. sambal

1/2 t. salt

1/3 cup "each" carrot and daikon radish, peeled, sliced into matchsticks

1/3 c. cucumber, seeded, thinly sliced into half-moons

Directions:

Whisk vinegar, lime juice, sugar, sambal, and salt together in a bowl until sugar and salt dissolve. Pour marinade over vegetables in a resealable plastic bag and refrigerate 1 hour. Drain vegetables in a colander before serving.

Almond Tea

(adapted from Taste of the South June/July 2008)

Ingredients:

2 c. water

9 regular-size tea bags or 3 family-size tea bags

1 c. sugar

1 t. vanilla extract

1 1/2 t. almond extract

Juice of 3 lemons

6 c. cold water

Directions:

Bring 2 cups water to a slow boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat and add tea bags. Let steep for 10 minutes.

Remove tea bags, being careful not to squeeze bags. Stir in sugar until dissolved. Add extracts and lemon juice. Add 6 cups cold water. Cool and serve over ice.