CAMILLE GLENN’S KENTUCKY BOURBON TRUFFLES

Kentucky Bourbon Truffles

Recipe type: Snacks

Cuisine: American

Serves: 24 truffles

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound dark semisweet chocolate*
• 1/2 Cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons finest Kentucky Bourbon
• Droste cocoa powder

Instructions

1. *Callebaut, Lindt, Tobler or any fine imported chocolate.
2. Break chocolate into small pieces. Combine it with the cream in the top of a double boiler over simmering hot water (not boiling). Stir the chocolate and cream constantly until chocolate has melted and ganache is smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool. When the ganache has cooled, stir in Bourbon.
3. Pour the mixture into a small bowl. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight or several days if desired.
4. When ready to make the candy, line a baking sheet with foil.
5. Working with a small amount of the ganache at a time, using about 1 1/2 teaspoons each, form into balls. Place them on the sheet. (Work quickly, using your fingertips and not the palm of your hands to help keep the mixture from becoming overly soft.)
6. Keep the chocolate balls cold, if possible, by placing them a few at a time on a tray in the refrigerator. Leave the chocolate balls lightly covered in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight, if desired.
7. Sprinkle a pastry sheet with cocoa. Roll each ball into the cocoa, covering them well. Refrigerate at once and leave until the truffles are quite firm - several hours or overnight.
8. Place each truffle in a fluted silver or paper cup in a tin box and keep refrigerated.
9. Serve very cold. Will keep several weeks under refrigeration.

Notes

Glenn writes: "All the world loves chocolate, and chocolate truffles are the world's most luscious trompe l'oeil. We have no clue as to the name of the clever cook who first created these candies so beautifully camouflaged in the shape of a truffle, but it would be a very safe bet that he was a Frenchman - and from truffle country.

"In contrast to most hand-dipped chocolates, which, to a great extent belong in the province of the professional candy maker and should look precisely turned out, chocolate truffles are supposed to look somewhat rugged. If they looked too neat and evenly rounded, they wouldn't resemble their namesake - the knobbly real-life Perigord truffle.

"No pig is needed to sniff around in the deep forest of the Perigord to find where these truffles grow! All one needs is a small kitchen space, a double-boiler of sorts, a spoon or two, a baking sheet, and a cold spot to let the candy chill."

"In every phase of the culinary arts, flavor is everything; and premium ingredients must be used to achieve the subtle counterpoint of flavors that are possible with the candies given here.

"The ideal way to store or to prepare truffles as gifts is to place each one in a tiny fluted silver or paper cup made for the purpose, then fit them in single layers in a tight tin box. Wrap the box as happily as you wish. Few gifts could say 'Have a Merry Christmas!' any better.

"Bourbon whiskey has a great affinity for chocolate; however, no whiskey or liqueur can be added directly to any chocolate; it hardens it beyond repair. In using liqueurs when making chocolate candies, frostings, etc., the alcohol must be combined with cream first. The French call the combination of chocolate and cream a 'ganache' and that is the base of many candies, especially truffles."

From Camille Glenn's 12/01/93 "Flavor to Taste" column called "Visions of Sugarplums: These Truffles and Candies Just Shout 'Merry Christmas'"

JACQUES PEPIN’S BASIC ROAST CHICKEN

Jacques Pepin’s Basic Roast Chicken

JACQUES PEPIN

• YIELD
4 servings

• TIME
55 minutes

Changing a meal’s status requires more than a change of name, but not much more. Roast chicken is still roast chicken whether you label it haute cuisine, bourgeois cuisine or country cooking; even calling it “poulet roti” will not transmogrify this simple bird. Move, however, from the kitchen to the dining room and from everyday dishes to fine china, then add an appetizer and dessert, and a family meal becomes a festive dinner for guests.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 3 1/2-pound chicken

• Salt and ground pepper to taste

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PREPARATION

1 Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Sprinkle the chicken inside and out with the salt and pepper and fold the wings akimbo to position them closer to the body. Place the chicken on its side in an oven-safe skillet, preferably cast-iron.

2 Place the chicken in the skillet in the oven and cook for 20 minutes, then turn the chicken over and cook another 20 minutes. (By cooking the chicken on its sides, the juices stay in the breast and, since only the back is exposed, the chicken does not need constant basting.) Finally, turn the chicken onto its back, baste it with the cooking juices and continue to cook 10 minutes. It should be golden in color.

3 When the chicken is cooked, cut it into pieces and serve, with the drippings on the side.

CAMILLE GLENN’S BROWN SUGAR SYRUP

I’ve never liked the artificial flavor of most commercial syrups, although I do like the thickness. And while I love the flavor of real maple syrup, I don’t care for its thin texture. If you have a little extra time (just a few minutes), you can make your own thick, homemade syrup with delicious flavor. In her cookbook Heritage of Southern Cooking, Camille Glenn offers a recipe for homemade syrup that I love and have adapted. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Ingredients

• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 2 cups water
• 3 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (optional)

Preparation

• In a medium saucepan, bring the sugars, corn syrup, and water to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer vigorously until thickened to a syrupy consistency, 10 to 15 min. Stir in the butter (and nuts, if using). Let cool slightly (it will thicken more as it cools) and serve.

CAMILLE GLENN’S SPONGE CAKES

Camille Glenn’s Sponge Cake

Serves 8

• 8 eggs, separated

• 1 ½ cups sugar

• 1/3 cup fresh orange juice

• 1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted

• ½ teaspoon vanilla

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks with sugar until mixture is light in color. Add orange juice; whisk. Fold in sifted all-purpose flour. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together egg whites, vanilla, salt and cream of tartar. Beat until egg whites have stiff peaks. Fold one-third of the egg whites into the egg yolks mixture to lighten it. Add the remaining egg whites. Spoon the batter onto a ½ sheet pan (12 inches x 16 inches) that is lined with parchment paper and sprayed with oil. Bake for 20 minutes.

Let cool. Using a two-and-a-quarter-inch round cutter, cut into 24 circles.

Amineli’s lemon curd filling

• 2 ¼ cups sugar

• 1 ½ teaspoon lemon zest

• 18 egg yolks

• 1 ½ tablespoon corn starch

• 9 ounces lemon juice

• 9 ounces cold butter, cut into cubes

Cook sugar, lemon zest, egg yolks, corn starch and lemon juice in a double boiler and whisk until thick.  Add the cubed cold butter and whisk until smooth. Cool.

To assemble: Place eight of the sponge cakes in a pan. Top each with the cooled Lemon Curd filling. Top with eight sponge cakes followed by another layer of Lemon Curd filling. Top with the remaining eight sponge cakes. 

CAMILLE GLENN’S SUMMERTIME PEACH ICE CREAM

Camille Glenn’s

“Summertime Peach Ice Cream” from “The Heritage of Southern Cooking”

• 1 cup light cream, or half-and-half

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk

• 1 1/2 cups sugar

• 4 large egg yolks

• 8 large peaches, very ripe

• 2 teaspoons lemon juice, or more to taste

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 2 cups heavy cream, chilled

1. Combine the half-and-half and whole milk in a saucepan, and scald. Do not allow it to boil. Set aside.

2. Add 3/4 cup of the sugar to the egg yolks, and mix thoroughly with a whisk or and electric mixer. Add the scalded cream and milk to the egg-yolk mixture, stir well, and transfer to the top of a double boiler. Cook over simmering water until the custard lightly coats a wooden spoon, 5 minutes.

3. Remove from the heat at once, pour into a cool bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the custard is cold, at least 35 minutes.

4. While the custard is cooling, peel and mash the peaches, leaving some lumps. You should have 4 cups. Add the lemon juice, remaining 3/4 cup sugar, and salt. Mix. Refrigerate, covered, at least 1 hour.

5. When you are ready to make the ice cream, add the heavy cream to the custard mixture and mix thoroughly.

6. Freeze in an ice-cream freezer following manufacturer’s directions until the custard has returned to a soft cream. Stop turning, remove the cover of the container and add the peaches. Mix them in with a long-handled spoon, and continue to freeze.

NOTE: The custard and the peaches must be cold when freezing the ice cream; otherwise, the heavy cream will turn into buttery lumps.

This recipe makes about 1 gallon. To make 1 quart, the common capacity of most modern ice-cream freezers, divide all ingredients by 4.

STUFFED PEPPERS

Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed Bell Peppers,  New Orleans Style!  None betterJust like at Two Sisters Kitchen on N. Derbigny Street　

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon Creole seasoning
1 teaspoon file powder salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
3/4 pound cooked ham, finely chopped
1 pound baby shrimp
1 (16 ounce) package unseasoned dry bread stuffing mix
6 large green bell peppers, halved and seeded
1 cup plain bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F

Heat oil in a large pot over low heat. Saute onion, celery and chopped green pepper for 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, and saute for 2 minutes. Season with parsley, Creole seasoning, file powder, salt and pepper.

Increase heat to medium high, and add ground beef. Cook until beef is evenly browned. Stir in ham, and cook for 5 minutes. Add shrimp, and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in stuffing mix.


Stuff each bell pepper half, and lightly sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Place stuffed bell pepper halves in ungreased baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour.

SMOKED EGGS

SMOKED EGGS

8 eggs
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
4 tbsp. dark soy sauce
2 tsp. liquid smoke


Hard boil eggs. Cool them completely, then shell them. Pierce each egg once with a sharp knife. Combine with salt, sugar and soy sauce with 1 cup warm water and stir to dissolve the salt and sugar. Place eggs in a quart jar and pour the warm liquid over them. Leave the eggs at room temperature for one hour. Then refrigerate them for 24 to 36 hours. Pour liquid smoke into the jar 2 to 4 hours before serving. Drain the eggs and cut each one in half. Serve cold.