Iron Chef one - chocolate cake
NEW FUDGE CAKE
(this was originally from a very old Betty Crocker cookbook)
1-3/4 cups sifted flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup soft shortening
1-1/2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour two 8 or 9 inch cake pans OR one 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Sift first five ingredients together into bowl. Add shortening, milk and vanilla. Beat two minutes. Add eggs and chocolate. Pour into prepared pans. Batter will be thin. Bake 35 - 40 minutes or until cakes tests done (9 x 13 will need 40 - 45 minutes).
Cool and ice with fudge frosting.
MINUTE FUDGE FROSTING
(from the same cookbook)
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup shortening
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, cut up
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
Mix first six ingredients in saucepan. Stir over low heat until shortening and chocolate melt. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil one minute. Remove from heat and beat until lukewarm (120 degrees). Stir in 1 tsp vanilla.
Continue beating until smooth spreading consistency. Makes enough for two 8 or 9 inch layers or one 9 x 13 sheet cake.
This is my absolute favorite chocolate cake recipe. It is intensely chocolaty and amazingly delicious!
Iron Chef two - brownies
ROBERT'S FUDGY BROWNIES
(from Scharffen Berger chocolate)
8 oz Sharffen Berger 70% bittersweet chocolate, chopped
6 Tablespoons (3oz) unsalted butter, cubed, plus extra for pan
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
1 scant cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1. Adjust a rack 1/3 from the bottom of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Butter an 8 x 8-inch baking pan and line the bottom with baking parchment.
2. Place the chocolate and butter in a large stainless steel bowl and place over a pan of gently simmering water. Stir occasionally until melted and smooth. Remove from heat.
3. Beat the salt, vanilla (if using) and sugar into the melted chocolate mixture. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add the flour and mix the batter vigorously until it becomes very shiny and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. *(This may take more time and more vigorous mixing than you are accustomed to when making brownies, but it is critical to the success of this recipe, depending on how briskly you mix, it could take up to several minutes.) Stir in the nuts, if using. Turn the mixture into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out moist, but free of batter, about 30 - 40 minutes. Cool on a rack.
Makes 16 2-inch brownies.
I have made these for gifts. People have asked that I don't give them any other gifts but these as they have never tasted anything like them. Do not try to substitute a less expensive brand of chocolate, it is the Sharffen Berger chocolate that makes these taste so incredible. They are the absolute best brownies I have ever made or tasted.
Iron Chef Cook Off
NOT JUST ANY LASAGNA
handed down through the sicilian side of the family (and tweaked a bit from time to time)
For best results, plan on making the sauce and meat the day before assembling the lasagna.
For the meatballs:
4 lbs ground chuck
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 cup freshly grated Locatelli Romano cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp salt
1 Tablespoon dried oregano, crushed in the palm of your hand
1 Tablespoon dried basil, crushed in the palm of your hand
water
Combine all ingredients thoroughly, using enough water to make it mixable. Form into meatballs about 2-1/2" in diameter.
Sausage:
2 - 3 pounds sweet or hot Italian sausage (for best results, try to find an Italian pork store or an Italian butcher shop to get the sausage. You will pay a bit more, but the flavor will be better)
Broil or grill or panfry the sausage until browned on all sides. I prick the sausages with a toothpick to get them to release as much fat as possible.
The Sauce:
Three 28oz cans of tomato puree
One 12oz and one 6oz can of tomato paste
Two onions, chopped fine
One or two cloves garlic, chopped fine (or more to taste)
Two tsp crushed dried oregano
Two tsp crushed dried basil
The meatballs
The sausages
In a large stockpot (at least 6 qts) brown the meatballs in a little bit of oil over low heat. When all meatballs are browned, pour off excess fat from pot and saute the chopped onion until translucent, scraping loose brown bits. When onions are translucent, add garlic and cook for two minutes more. Add tomato paste, stir to combine with onions, then add puree and combine well. Add basil and oregano, stir. Add meats. Bring to a simmer and cook over low heat for 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
If possible, refrigerate overnight and skim fat.
The rest of the ingredients:
I pound lasagna noodles, cooked
3 pounds ricotta cheese
1 pound mozzarella
Freshly grated Locatelli Romano
Mash the meatballs. Mash the sausage. In a large roasting pan, ladle some sauce, then add a single layer of noodles. Add a layer of sausage, grated romano, shredded mozzarella, and sauce. Add another single layer of noodles, 1/2 of the ricotta, salt lightly, then the rest of the ricotta, salt lightly. Add shredded mozzarella, grated romano, sauce. Add another single layer of noodles, the mashed meatballs, shredded mozzarella, sauce, grated romano, noodles, shredded mozzarella, sauce, grated cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
Serve and stand back.
This recipe is a little disjointed as it has been taken from a collection of notes about the different parts of the recipe. When my (non-Italian) mother married my Sicilian father, my father's mother taught her how to cook. She did not have recipes or cook books, and taught my mother how to cook by showing her what she did. It was a little of this and some of that and my mother is the one who put a lot of this in writing. The recipe for the lasagna was developed by both of my parents over a period of time as they refined the amounts of each ingredient. This is pretty much the end result of all those years of lasagna making, although I am sure some tweaking still took place from time to time.
Many years ago, my then-mother-in-law was hosting a shower for a mutual friend and had asked me and one other person to make a lasagna for the event. She was also making a lasagna. I brought this lasagna. At the end of the night I went to pick up my pan, figuring I would bring the rest home to feed my husband and I the next night. I was almost embarrassed when I saw that my pan was clean as a whistle, while the other two pans still had about a third of the lasagna in them. Both of the other lasagna makers were Italian. I love cooking and this is a labor of love. I waited to post this recipe because I wanted to make sure that my sister didn't object to me sharing this family recipe.
My mouth is watering! I want to make these brownies this weekend. Where can I find the Scharffen Berger chocolate? I don't think I have seen it here. Thank You for sharing!
I can get Scharffen-Berger in my local Wegman's supermarket. Try your supermarket first. If there is a Williams-Sonoma store near you, I have also found it there. If it is not in your supermarket, you don't live near Williams-Sonoma, and there is no "gourmet" type store in your area, fear not. Scharffen-Berger has a web site and you can mail order it. You will not believe the way these brownies taste.
Here is the Scharffen-Berger website:
view link
Congratulations Iron Chef!!! That is awesome!! I just checked out the website to order some bittersweet chocolate! Thanks for the recipes!
