Valentine's Day

Do you celebrate the most romantic day of the year? Or do who rage against the commercialism of the made up holiday?

I am in the middle, I try to make sure that I am making extra effort to make my wife feel special, but since I am a guy it is nice to have a multibillion dollar event to give me some ideas.

Flowers, wine, candlelight, cards, gifts, and of course chocolate.

Chocolate is universal for Valentine’s Day and any other day that want to make your significant other feel special. Not only is it tasty, but it can be good for your health.

It is a versatile ingredient that can be sweet or savory, or in this case both.

I adapted this recipe from queen of Bitchin’ Kitchen, Nadia G. Her recipe called for milk chocolate, maple bacon, and crisp rice cereal, but I modified it just a tad.

Don’t go bacon my chocolate walnut heart bark (catchy name, no?)

3 ounces semi sweet baking chocolate

3 ounces milk chocolate chips

2 ounces toasted walnut pieces

6 slices of cooked bacon, minced

1 tablespoon honey

A pinch of salt

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or microwave proof bowl (30 seconds at a time) until you can stir the chocolate into a smooth consistency. Meanwhile toast your walnuts in a dry skillet. Add minced bacon and honey to walnuts and stir to combine.

Combine the chocolate and the bacon/nut mixture (keep in mind that the mix should be about 65% chocolate and 35% bacon/nut mixture) and spoon into a parchment lined small bar pan, ramekin, or silicon mold. Sprinkle with a little sea salt (or fleur de sel if you have some on hand) and freeze for about 30 minutes.

I chose the bar pan and broke it into pieces to share with the woman I love. 

Happy Valentine’s Day Brandy!

Thanks for reading and let me know if you have any cooking questions at 

www.cookingwithtrace.com

Grain free banana chocolate crepes...

An experiment gone great!

I read about these pancakes on Pinterest, you take a banana and mash it with two eggs, then cook like silver dollar pancakes. They were tasty, but I thought what else could I do with this process and crepes were the answer!

Crepes ( /ˈkreɪp/) are a thin eggy pancake that can have either a savory or sweet filling, and they are delicious. I think that the process is a little daunting because they are very delicate and if you are used to a heartier product then it can be frustrating to attempt these at home. You can purchase a crepe pan or a crepe griddle, but if you have a good nonstick pan you can make them at home. 

Typically the batter has eggs, flour, butter, and milk, but since I am trying to eliminate grain from my diet this recipe is right up my alley!

I visited D.C. last spring and right outside the metro station was a little market with different vendors including a crepe stand. They are so nonchalant about preparing the crepe from pouring and spreading the batter to flipping and filling with whatever your heart desires. It looks easy, but once you taste the light and delicious but so very fragile dish, you will want more!

Crepes are popping up a little more often now, from our local farmer’s market in Grand Junction to the Halloween festival at Palisade High School (fundraiser for the French club), and people are going nuts over them.

Filling the crepe has no limits:

• Ham and Swiss with either a Dijon mayonnaise or a thin raspberry jam
• Nutella with strawberries and bananas
• Thin sliced turkey and cranberry sauce

And the list goes on and on.

Photo courtesy of my Iphone 4s

Grain free banana chocolate crepes

1 banana

2 eggs

Pinch of salt

Butter for the pan

Filling: 60% cacao Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips

Mash the banana and then mix in the eggs until you have a consistent batter.

Heat a heavy bottomed nonstick skillet (8 inch) over very low heat. You want the butter to melt but not brown. Once the butter is completely melted, pour in enough better to coat the bottom in a thin layer. Let the crepe cook slowly until the top starts to become solid, then carefully flip. At this point you can slide out on to a plate and start your next crepe (this recipe should make 2-3). 

While the next crepe is cooking sprinkle about 10-15 chocolate chips on the cooked crepe and roll gently. Repeat with the rest of the crepes. Enjoy!

Let me know if you try this and what worked for you! 

Maintenant, allez faire cuire quelque chose!

Trace