Chocolate, by any other name...

Today's blog will commence after a recipe note: (this was brought to my attention by an avid reader of my blog and a member of the "Shove it in yer Oven" team. I thank her SOOO much for pointing it out... I was so excited about sharing my Gorgonzola Sauce recipe with the planet that I left out, yep, you guessed it... THE CHEESE!  Please see the correction below!)

3/4 cup organic light cream or half-and-half

1 cup gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

1 tablespoon organic butter
2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon

1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped4 medium shallots, chopped (about 1/4 cup)

1/3 cup Pernod
1 1/2 cups dry white wine

Heat the oil in a large, deep saute pan over medium heat.  When hot, add the onion and shallots and cook until just beginning to soften, 2 to 3 minutes.

Off heat (to avoid a flare-up), pour in the Pernod and wine. (I had to put this in here because unless you are very accustom to cooking with the chance of possible flare up well, we don't want any accidents!  Burning down the house can really ruin a perfectly good evening!)

Simmer over medium heat for 1 minute. Boil over high heat until the liquid is reduced to about 1 cup, 5 to 7 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir in the cream or half-and-half, butter, gorgonzola cheese, tarragon, salt, and pepper.

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Whew!  That was a close one!  Now back to your regularly scheduled Food Blog!

Have you ever wanted to put your whole face into a bowl filled with slightly warm chocolate?  

Quite frankly I prefer one of those dunking tanks filled with caramel sauce... I'd just eat my way out.  

It's true, chocolate and I never really saw eye to eye however, with this versatile recipe below, you can flavor, decorate, serve with whatever you like best!

Here it is...my world famous (and I'm not kidding) Chocolate Torte.  Depending on the time of year will dictate whether or not some Peppermint flavoring is added to the batter.  Mmmmmmmmmmmm...

2 cups chopped semi-sweet chocolate

3/4 cup butter

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder

5 eggs

1 cup minus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly butter and flour a 9-inch spring form pan and if you have any, place a 9" parchment round in the bottom of the pan and set aside. 

In a medium saucepan, melt the chocolate and butter over the lowest heat. Mix in the cocoa powder and espresso powders until smooth and set aside

for a few minutes to cool. While the chocolate is cooling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and flour until they are completely combined and foamy. Fold the egg mixture into the chocolate until the color is uniform and pour the

batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 45 minutes, until a toothpick pulls out moist crumbs when inserted near the center of the torte. Allow the cake to cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife or inverted spatula along the edges of the torte and

loosen the sides of the pan. Cool for 5 minutes and remove the sides of the pan. Invert the cake an a serving platter and cool completely before serving.

Depending on how big or small you cut the slices, this recipe makes roughly 10 servings.

You can dress it up for those who have no specific diabetic needs, or...

...a more simple approach with berries and shaved bittersweet chocolate.

As I mentioned above, for the Holidays I use Peppermint flavoring and top it with crushed candy canes or some Chocolate/ Peppermint bark.  Another variation is Orange/Chocolate torte with a hint of orange liquor and candied orange peel on top. Pretty darn deeeeeeeeeeelish!