If you know anything about us at all, you know we’re pretty big fans of food. You may also know that despite this fact, neither of us is particularly great at preparing it.
That’s why we stopped by the library last week to learn from one of the best in the business, chef Liz Barbour.
Barbour took over the library a few weeks ago with a Cooking with Chocolate program, and that program was so successful the library had to bring her back for another session.
Last week’s program was called Passionate Dishes for Your Valentine, and the idea was to teach attendees how to make a romantic meal for their special someone.
Barbour had a long table laid out in the library auditorium full of supplies: bowls, pots, pans, knives, burners and, of course, lots of food.
The first order of business was making the dessert – right up our alley. The dish was called Grilled Sweet Cheese Sandwiches with Rosemary Chocolate Soup and Raspberry Puree, and it was a fun and sweet take on the classic grilled cheese and tomato soup.
Barbour had already prepared the sandwiches before she arrived – just some softened cream cheese with honey between some white bread then lightly toasted – and began the lesson by going over the rosemary chocolate soup. You wouldn’t normally associate rosemary with a chocolate dessert, but it worked surprisingly well. “The strength of the rosemary stands up to the richness of the chocolate.” Barbour said.
Some milk and heavy cream were poured into a pot to simmer, then the rosemary was added. You don’t want to add the herb too late, Barbour said, or it won’t let all of its oils diffuse into the mix.
After a few minutes, the rosemary was strained from the milk and chocolate was added. Here Barbour said that more cream or milk could be added as desired, as could chocolate. More chocolate would just mean a richer soup.
Meanwhile, it was time to make the raspberry puree, which was shockingly easy. Barbour simply took a bag of frozen raspberries (Market Basket, about $2.50) and poured them into a bowl with some sugar. After a few minutes of sitting, the sauce was basically done – it would just need to be pressed through a fine strainer to remove the seeds. This sauce would serve as one of two dips for the sandwich, the other being the soup.
Once the raspberry sauce was done, Barbour took some in a ladle and swirled it around the plate starting at the center, making for a fancy presentation. Then the sandwich pieces were placed around the edge of the plate, half sitting in the puree. Some chocolate soup was poured into a little cup as a dipper and, voila, we were done with dessert.
Dinner – Pasta Puttanseca – was next. This dish, Barbour said, came from the old world when “ladies of the night” had to cook quickly between “appointments.” A tip for making pasta quick is to use smaller, thinner pasta and a lot less water than you think you’ll need.
The sauce featured many strong-flavored items: anchovies, capers, garlic, olives, parsley. Since they would only be cooked for a short time, though, those flavors wouldn’t be super powerful in the end. Added salt was also kept to a minimum, since most of the ingredients already had a lot of salt in them.
After combining the sauce ingredients, the mixture was left to simmer for about 10 minutes. Luckily, Barbour had already made some pasta ahead of time, so when the sauce was done, it was just a simple pour over the top.
The dinner was excellent – packed with briney flavor and very aromatic. The dessert tasted just like high-end cheesecake from the Factory. It was a real shame not to be able to stay there all night chowing down, but at least we know how to make it ourselves now.
If you can’t get enough of these flavors, check out her cookbook Beautifully Delicious: Cooking with Herbs and Edible Flowers, due out in the spring. In the meantime, check out her website, thecreativefeast.com.
Pasta Puttanseca – serves four
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic, sliced
2 ounces anchovy fillets, drained
teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
20 Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
3 Tbs capers, rinsed
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
A few grinds black pepper
1 cup flat-lead parsley, chopped
1 pound spaghetti, cooked al dente
Grated Parmegiano Reggiano, for passing
1. Heat a large sautee pan over medium-low heat with the oil, garlic, anchovies and crushed red pepper. Sautee the mixture until anchovies melt into the oil and completely dissolve and garlic is fragrant, about 3 minutes.
2. Add olives, capers, tomatoes, black pepper and parsley. Heat the sauce until it bubbles then reduce the heat and simmer 8 to 10 minutes. Toss sauce with cooked pasta.
Grilled Sweet Cheese Sandwiches with Rosemary Chocolate Soup and Raspberry Puree – serves four
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (bar or chips)
cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoons chopped rosemary
teaspoon vanilla extract
12 ounces frozen raspberries
cup granulated sugar
8 slices Pepperidge Farms white sandwich bread
8 ounces room temperature cream cheese
4 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
1. Combine heavy cream, milk and rosemary in a saucepan and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. While the cream mixture is simmering, place the chocolate in a medium bowl and set a strainer over it. Pour the rosemary cream over the chocolate, pressing the rosemary to extract more flavor. Let sit without stirring for 5 minutes to melt chocolate. Add the vanilla and stir until the chocolate is smooth. Keep warm.
2. Place frozen raspberries and sugar in a bowl and let sit until the berries thaw and release their juices. Press the sweetened berries through a strainer over a small mixing bowl to remove the seeds. Set the sauce aside.
3. Combine cream cheese and honey in a bowl and blend until creamy. Spread the sweetened cream cheese onto four slices of bread and top with the remaining four slices. Brush both sides of the sandwiches with melted butter. Cook the sandwiches on a griddle until each side is golden brown. Remove and cut each sandwich diagonally into quarters and serve with the warm chocolate soup and raspberry sauce for dipping. You can grill the sandwiches and refrigerate them whole for up to a day. Warm the sandwiches in a 300-degree oven for 5 minutes, cut and serve with the soup and sauce for dipping.
Look for these recipes and more in Barbour’s new book, Beautifully Delicious: Cooking with Herbs and Edible Flowers, which will hit shelves in the spring. You can also find the book – and a lot more – on Barbour’s website, thecreativefeast.com.
