Swoop There It Is

Ah, the swoop....one of my favorite things in the world. It's been several years since I've had a good swoop. The swoop is so elusive and unpredictable. But when it happens, it is exciting and makes you glow.  The swoop is not the Philadelphia Eagles mascot.  The swoop is when you meet a fantastic guy who sweeps you off your feet so unexpectedly. He actually calls you and asks you out on dates. He sends you sweet texts messages. He is real and open and honest about himself. He opens the door for you and makes you soup. He makes you laugh. And he asks you out on dates, yes, actually asks you out. All you want to do is spend your time with this special person and share with them and learn more about them.

So, I've been swooped and that's what I've been up to for the last 2 months. One of the many great things about my swoop is that he likes to cook too. So, there has been a lot of cooking going on, some of it while drinking alcohol...but I haven't really been inspired to cook anything with alcohol in the actual recipe. At the end of this post is a rundown and links to some of the recipes I've worked with in the last month: S'Mores Pie, Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes, and Chocolate Chipotle Flourless Cake....all amazing, just like my swoop.

In the midst of the all this swooping, I spent some time in Finland and Sweden over the holidays with my good friends Heather and Mikko. Christmas was spent at Mikko's family farm in the village of Suojoki, northwest of Helsinki. After Christmas we took an overnight boat (think carnival cruise ship) to Stockholm, Sweden to spend a few days in a city of lights, design, and H and M. We headed back to Helsinki for a New Year's Eve Russian dinner and then ringing in the new year at a multi-roomed club that played all the favorite american rock and dance hits plus some SoumiBod (Finnish Rock music). Oddly, the Finns don't count down to midnight. Celebration by Kool and the Gang blaring from the 2 rooms over was the only sign of the beginning of 2010. Although there wasn't an official countdown,  Heather did bring some USA to the party with party hats, leis, and noise makers and we had our own countdown at 12:10 am.

I've also been taking viola lessons. As a joke, I offered to play Sunrise Sunset at my friend's wedding this coming October. I had played this piece at my sister's wedding over 20 years ago. I've had about 3 weeks of lessons, starting at the very basics - learning how to hold the bow and viola. This past lesson I've been actually reading music and playing simple songs. Next week I start Suzuki book 2. We haven't picked out the official wedding song yet.....hopefully by October I'll be up to something more wedding-like than Ode to Joy.

I hope to get back on track with posting more soused recipes on a regular basis. I do have a little bit of a backlog from tasty things I made over the Thanksgiving/holiday party season. For now, here are some non-alcohol but otherwise fantastic recipes, leaving you more alcohol to actually drink.

S'More Pie
From Smitten Kitchen
Did you know that National Pie Day was January 23? I attended a Pie Celebration and brought this tasty S'More Pie. Unfortunately I do not have a photo of my own pie. Although really fun to make and a bit of an exciting challenge to make my own marshmallow, this was all about waiting. There are 3 main parts of the recipe 1) graham cracker crust, 2) chocolate cream filling, and 3) marshmallow topping, with a total of almost 5 hours of waiting time for things to cool or set. That's a lot of time for wine. Don't drink too much because you'll need some faculties for part 3. Making your own marshmallow is awesome, but you could also use mini-marshmallows instead. Second to making marshmallow, you get to "toast" your pie using the broiler setting of your stove. If your lucky, it will catch on fire and you'll rush to remove it from the oven and blow out the flame...bringing you that much closer your campfire memories

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting 
From the Barefoot Contessa

The frosting was delicious and will become a go-to recipe for frosting for future chocolate things. I'm still in search of a better chocolate cupcake recipe. This one turned out a little dry which might have been because I did doubled the recipe and mixed too much but most likely because I did not sift the dry ingredients. Thinking about this recipe and the S'More Pie recipe has me thinking about possibilities for S'More Cupcakes - YUM!




Chocolate Chipotle Flourless Cake
Adapted from Simply Recipes and YumSugar
If you are looking for an easy but totally impressive, melt-in-your mouth with a bit of spice chocolate fix, look no further. I combined two recipes for this, one for the flourless cake and one for a chocolate ganache icing. The cake puffed up while cooking and looked a little rough when it came out of the oven. The frosting, decorated with some of the remaining chocolate chips gave it a finished look. Ghirardelli chocolate chips are flat and can be easily pushed into the frosting/cake. Props to Mr. Feeling for the great decorating idea.

Cake Ingredients
10 oz. of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
7 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cut into pieces
5 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon of chipotle chili powder
Dash of cayenne pepper
Pinch of salt
Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Cake Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of a 9 ½ inch springform pan with a circle of parchment paper. Grease the sides and the parchment with butter or non-stick cooking spray.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter together over a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring occasionally until smooth.
3. Whisk together the eggs and the sugar in a large bowl, and then slowly, a bit at a time, whisk in the melted chocolate. Add the salt and spices and taste, adjusting the spices if needed.
4. Pour into the springform pan* and bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
5. Allow the cake to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Then carefully remove the sides of the springform pan. Cover the top with a wire rack and invert the cake and the rack together. Carefully remove the bottom of the pan and peel off the wax paper. Place a second wire rack over the bottom of the cake and invert it once again, so the top faces up. Allow to cool completely on the rack.
6. Dust with powdered sugar or cover with icing (below) and serve.

*I only have a square springform pan as shown in my photo. I would have preferred to use a round one. You can also just use a round cake pan.

Chocolate Icing Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter
2 oz unsweetened chocolate
2 oz semisweet chocolate
3 tablespoons whipping cream
2/3 cup sifted confectioner's sugar (kosher, if desired)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Icing Instructions
1. Melt the butter and both of the chocolates in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, whisking constantly. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the cream. Add the confectioner's sugar and the vanilla and whisk until smooth.
2. Place the cake on a rack on top of a baking sheet to catch the drips, or just put your cake on your serving plate/tray and let the it catch all the drips. Pour the warm icing over the cake. Spread it with a long, thin cake spatula or knife, making sure the sides are iced too. If you want a dripping down the sides effect, let the icing cool and thicken a little bit and then push it over the edge to create the drips. Let the cake rest for two hours for the icing to set.