Murder by Mocha (41 page)

How to Make Brown Butter:
Joy Allegro calls it
beurre noisette
, literally “nut butter,” because of the beautiful walnut color the butter turns when you make it. Here’s how you do it: Simply add the butter to a skillet set over medium-high heat. Swirl the pan as the butter melts. As it cooks, it will start to foam. Continue cooking and watching carefully for a few minutes. What you’re doing is caramelizing the butter’s milk solids. When you see the butter turn a deep golden brown color and notice a delicious nutty, caramel aroma, the butter is ready. Pour the brown butter out of the hot skillet and allow it to cool a bit before adding it to the recipe—you don’t want to cook the egg with hot butter!

Roasted Rock Cornish Game Hens with Rosemary and Lemon Butter

An elegant yet easy entrée, Clare Cosi cooked up four of these Rock Cornish hens in about an hour—all the time she had to prepare that promised “home-cooked dinner” for Sergeant Franco, Joy, and Lieutenant Mike Quinn. This quick-roasting method produces a crispy, buttery skin. The lemon infuses the moist meat with tangy brightness while the herbs tickle the tongue. These elegant little birds usually weigh in around 2½ pounds each, so plan on one bird per person for your service. These hens also make a wonderful complement to Clare’s Fettuccine with Italian Mole (Mushroom Wine Sauce), which she prepared for that same special dinner. See the next recipe for instructions on making that dish.

Makes 2 servings

2 Rock Cornish game hens
Sea salt and ground white or freshly ground black pepper
2 medium lemons, quartered
6 tablespoons (¾ stick) butter, softened, for paste, plus 2 tablespoons
butter, melted, for basting
3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary (or 3 teaspoons dried)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme (or 3 teaspoons dried)
4 toothpicks (for closing cavity during roasting)

Step 1—Prep hens:
Preheat the oven to 450°F. (
Tip:
Many ovens need extra time to reach this temperature. Don’t trust the preheat beeper. Give your oven a full 30 minutes to properly preheat.) Lightly coat the rack of a roasting pan with nonstick cooking spray. Remove the giblets from each hen’s cavity, rinse each hen, and pat dry. Salt and pepper the inside cavity. Stuff each game hen with ½ tablespoon of the fresh rosemary, ½ tablespoon of the fresh thyme (if using dried herbs, use ½ teaspoon of each), and 3 lemon quarters. Place the two hens on the rack of the roasting pan.

Step 2—Make butter paste:
Place the softened butter in a bowl, and using a fork (or clean fingers) mix in the remaining fresh (or dried) rosemary and thyme until you’ve made a nice herb-butter paste. Slather each of the game hens all over with the butter mixture. Sprinkle each game hen with salt and pepper. To prevent lemons from falling out during roasting, draw together excess skin on either side of the open cavity. Drive toothpicks through the skin to secure (2 toothpicks per bird should do it).

Step 3—Roast the meat:
Place the roasting pan in the oven and roast for 30 minutes. Baste the hens with melted butter and return the hens to the oven for another 10 minutes. (
Tip:
Encase the wing tips in aluminum foil to prevent scorching.) Baste the hens a second time and return to the oven for the final 8 minutes of cooking. Remove from the oven, tent foil around the birds to keep them warm, and allow them to rest for 10 minutes before serving. If you skip this resting period, when you slice into the meat, the juices will run out and the meat will taste dry. Allowing the meat to rest gives the juices a chance to re-collect and the meat to remain moist.

Clare Cosi’s Fettuccine with “Italian Mole” (Mushroom Wine Sauce)

This delicious mushroom wine sauce served over fat fettuccine noodles combines two of the many vibrant cultures that Clare lives among in New York City. Mushroom sauce and pasta may be an idea with culinary roots in Italy, but the spice mix and finish of chocolate are borrowed from a classic Mexican mole. This unsweetened chocolate (also known as “bitter” or “baking” chocolate) isn’t something you taste in the sauce; it’s a subtle secret ingredient that adds a rich, meaty depth of flavor that suggests it was cooking for many hours instead of less than one (about all the time Clare had to prepare dinner for her daughter, Franco, and Mike Quinn).

Makes 6 servings

1 pound fresh mushrooms, chopped
A few glugs of olive oil
3 garlic cloves, smashed
¼ cup vegetable stock
½ cup dry red wine
⅛
teaspoon allspice
⅛
teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon sea salt
⅛
teaspoon white pepper
¼ cup brewed coffee
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 pound fettuccine noodles,
cooked according to package instructions
Grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese (to garnish)

Step 1—Prepare and cook mushrooms:
Gently wash the mushrooms (any variety or combo you like), pat them dry, and chop them. Cover the bottom of a nonstick pan with olive oil and lightly sauté for 3–5 minutes. Transfer cooked mushrooms and any juices to a bowl and set aside.

Step 2—Make sauce and cover:
Add more olive oil to the pan and sauté the garlic until soft and translucent. Then return all the mushrooms to the pan, along with any juices. Add the vegetable stock, wine, allspice, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 3 minutes. Add the brewed coffee, cover, and simmer for 10–12 minutes.

Step 3—Uncover and reduce:
Uncover the pan and continue cooking for another 6–8 minutes until some of the liquid evaporates and the sauce thickens a bit.

Step 4—Add butter and chocolate:
Stir in the butter. When the butter is melted, sprinkle the chopped chocolate over the sauce and stir. The heat of the sauce will melt the chocolate’s darkness into goodness, allowing it to blend with the many different flavors for the very best result. Toss well with 1 pound of cooked fettuccine. Plate and garnish with freshly grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese.

Madame’s European-Style Hot Chocolate

Makes 2 servings

1½ ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate,
grated or finely chopped
1 cup milk
Granulated sugar, optional
Whipped cream or crème fraîche (see tip at end of recipe)

Method:
Grate all of the chocolate, reserve 2 teaspoons, and divide the rest in half, putting each half in a separate mug. Place a saucepan over medium heat and warm the milk, stirring continuously.
Do not let the milk boil or you may get a scorched taste in your hot chocolate.
When the milk begins to simmer, remove it from the stove and divide it between the two mugs. Stir the milk and chocolate until the chocolate completely melts. Top with whipped cream and a teaspoon (per mug) of the grated chocolate you reserved at the beginning of the process.

How to Make Crème Fraîche:
Crème fraîche is a thick, tangy French sour cream. It’s delicious on top of sweetened berries. Try mixing it with herbs and using it as a potato chip dip or adding a dollop on potato pancakes. (See Esther’s Roasted Garlic and Herb Latkes recipe in the Coffeehouse Mystery
Holiday Grind
.) Crème fraîche can even add the complexity of tangy brightness to buttercream frosting.

In a saucepan, combine 1 cup heavy whipping cream with 3 tablespoons buttermilk. Warm carefully over medium heat—just to the touch, no more. Pour the liquid into a glass jar or bowl, and cover lightly with a clean towel (do not seal). Let stand at room temperature (about 70°F) for 10–24 hours. You’re watching for it to thicken. Stir it well, then seal and refrigerate. (Use within 10 days.)

Madame’s Sablés

Like a French shortbread, this tender, buttery little cookie is very simple to make yet an elegant addition to any coffee or tea tray. Sablé actually translates to “sand,” the name coming from the crumbly texture of the cookie (again, like a shortbread).

The French have many variations (lemon, orange, almond). They dip them in chocolate and sandwich them together with jams. But Clare’s favorite flavor is praline—for very good reason. Praline sablés were the cookies Madame baked for Clare during her pregnancy. No surprise: they’re Joy’s favorite, too.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Basic Vanilla Sablés:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
½
cup confectioners’ sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼
teaspoon salt
1 egg white (for wash)
⅓ cup coarse finishing sugar, such as sparkle, demerara, or turbinado
(Sugar in the Raw)

Step 1—Make the dough:
Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add the flour and salt, and stir with a spoon or spatula, until the dry ingredients come together into a sticky dough ball—but do not overwork the dough or your cookies will be tough instead of tender.

Step 2—Form logs:
To make the dough easier to work with, chill it for 15 minutes. Divide in half and form two 8- to 9-inch logs on separate sheets of wax paper, using the paper to shape and smooth the logs. Wrap tightly and chill in refrigerator until very firm (at least 3 hours or overnight). Logs can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or wrapped a second time in foil and frozen up to 1 month.

Step 3—Bake:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone sheet. On a separate sheet of wax paper, lightly brush each log with egg white wash and roll in (or heavily sprinkle with) coarse finishing sugar. Using a knife, cut the chilled dough into ¼- to ½inch slices (your choice). Bake for 15–20 minutes, rotating pan once for even baking. Cookies are finished when edges are light brown but centers are still pale.

PRALINE SABLÉS:

Follow the recipe above, but in Step 1 fold ½ cup Crushed Praline (recipe follows) into the dough before shaping and chilling. When Madame makes the praline version, she also replaces the ⅓ cup coarse finishing sugar (in Step 3) with ½ cup or more crushed praline, pressing lightly to make sure particles stick to the egg-washed dough logs.

Crushed Praline (and Foolproof Almond Brittle!)

Praline is a brittle confection made of almonds (or hazelnuts) and caramelized sugar. A popular ingredient of French pastry chefs, it can be served as candy; ground and used as a flavoring; or even sprinkled over ice cream or on top of tarts, custards, and cakes.

Makes 2 cups

⅓ cup water
¼ teaspoon lemon juice (to prevent caramel from crystallizing)
1¼ cups white granulated sugar
1⅓ cups slivered almonds, toasted
(see How to Toast Nuts on page 334)

Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. To make caramel, combine water, lemon juice, and sugar in a 2-quart saucepan. Place over high heat, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula. After 10 or so minutes of continual boiling and stirring, the mixture will turn light golden. Just as the color deepens to a darker golden, remove pan from heat (if it darkens too much it will burn). Add almonds and stir well. Carefully pour this very hot mixture onto prepared baking sheet. Flatten into an even layer. As it cools, it will harden. (You have just made a delicious almond brittle!) Break into pieces. Place pieces into a resealable plastic bag and crush into a coarse powder with a rolling pin, meat mallet, or bottom of a heavy mug. (Who needs anger management?) For easy cleanup, fill pan with water, add utensils, and boil to melt crusted caramel.

Clare Cosi’s Moist Mocha Cake with Shiny Chocolate Guinness Glaze

“Like a party in my mouth,” said Sergeant Manny Franco upon tasting Clare’s super-moist, chocolate-glazed mocha cake. The cake is wonderfully spongy so it soaks up the rich, chocolate glaze beautifully. As Clare mentioned to Franco, the flavor notes of coffee and malt (from the dark beer) intensify the chocolate. You hardly taste the coffee in the cake or the beer in the glaze; you simply enjoy a deeper, more satisfying chocolate experience.

Makes one 8-inch round, single-layer cake

½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup cake flour (if using all-purpose flour, see note at end of recipe
for proper amount)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup buttermilk, low fat is fine (to make your own, see end of
recipe)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup black, brewed (and cooled) coffee
Chocolate Guinness Glaze (recipe follows)