The Feathered Nest

The softer side of MaisonBisson

Cake Robed In Chocolate And Strawberries June 17, 2007

Cake robed in chocolate and strawberries

Like so many women, there are days when my desire for chocolate is nearly overwhelming. However, perhaps because I am a tad high maintenance, my cravings are not satisfied by a mere candy bar. When I crave chocolate I want something rich, decadent, and freshly baked, I want chocolate cake.

When one of these cravings coincided with finding the first of the year’s native strawberries I decided to combine the two, the result was the cake you see above. I made a chocolate cake from my personal culinary bible, The Joy of Cooking. I joined the two layers with a chocolate frosting and then spread a layer of frosting on the top of the cake. On top of that, I arranged blanket of fresh strawberry slices. Finally, I consulted the bible again for directions for my first attempt at a chocolate ganache. The ganache came out a bit more watery than I was hoping for, but the end result was actually pretty interesting, a rich chocolate glaze that revealed the strawberries. The result? Chocolate craving quenched.

 

Surf ‘n Turf Salad May 20, 2007

Surf n Turf Salad

My computer geek husband, who I do adore, joined a Flickr photo group called Friday Food Fiesta. A new theme is announced every Friday, and everyone contributes a single photo that illustrates that theme. The first themes he contributed to were burgers and pizza, but when salads came up, he needed help. Luckily for him, I love making salads. So Casey, my husband, asked me to be his partner in crime and create a salad for him to photograph and submit.

Well, it was a gorgeous spring day to I decided we’d grill and make a little party out of it. I wanted to create an original salad and I decided it would be a surf and turf salad. I tossed a big bag of spring mix greens in a lime vinaigrette and l spread them out a large serving tray. Then I grilled up a bunch of jerk marinated beef and some pineapple slices. If you’ve never grilled pineapple you must try it! It gets a wonderful caramel crust. (Would also be fabulous with some vanilla ice cream!) I sliced the beef in thin strips and arranged it on the tray with the grilled pineapple. Then I added some mandarin oranges and large handfuls of lobster meat. I garnished the platter with the top of the pineapple and served the salad with the extra vinaigrette on the side.

The resulting salad was a visual and taste delight. We invited over some friends and had an impromptu party. I whipped up some cocktails with pureed frozen raspberries, dark rum, and seltzer. And we mellowed out in the back yard with some good cocktail tunes. (I recommend the Zumanity soundtrack by Cirque du Soleil and anything by Pink Martini.)

 

L.A. Burdick’s Cafe and Chocolate May 13, 2007

Lunch at BurdicksMy favorite place to eat in all of New Hampshire is LA Burdick’s in Walpole. It’s a chocolate shop and cafe and I’ve never had anything there that isn’t sinfully delicious. We took my mother-in-law there for Mother’s Day this year. We started the meal with their delightful cheese plate. This featured four cheeses in a range of intensities, a delightful fruit chutney, olives, seasoned nuts, and crackers. The cheeses were all wonderful and could be purchased at the market next door, many are by local artisans. We took home a creamy sheep’s milk cheese and a tangy blue.

For entrees Judith, my mother-in-law and I both enjoyed the salad nicoise. This version featured perfectly prepared tuna, egg, roasted peppers, new potatoes, green beans, and some delightful pickled red onions. My husband had the steak frites, cooked to perfection. We enjoyed this with a couple of glasses of house wine. The meal was simply scrumptious.

At Burdick’s desert is not an option. Unless you are a robot, their sweet confections are quite simply too good to pass up. Judith and Casey, my husband, both had frappes made from Burdick’s homemade ice-cream. Judith had the chocolate-banana and Casey had the chocolate-strawberry. The frappes were thick and a rick dark-chocolate in color. I sampled both and I can honestly say that these were the most delicious frappes I’d ever had. I had the hazlenut-orange cake and it was perfect, nutty and sweet.

Of course, I can’t leave Burdick’s without a take-home treat. The brazilian chocolates are my favorite, I savor their rich taste long after I’ve returned home. When I run out, I know its time to go back.