My father uses the microwave. Working with about 5 chestnuts at a time, he slits each chestnut almost all the way around its circumference, leaving the shell connected in one spot (there is a black dot on the chestnut that he uses as the hinge). Then he lays the nuts on a plate and microwaves them on high power for 40 seconds. The shells pop open like clams. He wets his fingers in cold water and pulls off the shells before the chestnuts cool. Repeat until all the chestnuts are peeled. The fresh ones really are better than the jarred, and he says it takes him only 15 minutes to do a pound.
In the early 1500s, Montezuma in his Mexico City palace drank chocolate daily, usually with red chile in it. Apparently the king knew that chile, in small amounts, amplifies and enriches the taste of chocolate. So does Jane Butel, the noted cookbook author and specialist in Mexican cookery, who generously provided the recipe from which this cake was adapted. At The Fort, it's a centerpiece of a birthday and anniversary ritual from which good-natured celebrants emerge with a photo of themselves in a horned buffalo or coyote hat.
Barley is a great substitute for risotto, especially when you don't have a lot of time to spend stirring the pot.
Ingredients
Pickled grapes look a lot like olives, and we use them a lot like olives, too, tossing them in cold salads or just serving them in a ramekin as a cocktail nibble, with toothpicks (no dish for pits required!). Their playful sweetsour flavor, their crispness, and their gentle chile heat make them super-addictive.
Notes from Ruth Alegria: Mexican chocolate is composed of bitter chocolate, sugar, cinnamon (soft bark) and almonds. Well-known brands available in the United States are Ibarra and Abuelita.
This is a drink I created for the Italian restaurant Morandi, whose chef, Jody Williams, insisted on a hard-spirit ban for their prosecco cocktail menu to avoid overpowering the delicate flavors of the food. At first I was doubtful of this approach, but it turns out a lot of great cocktails fit this food-friendly bill if we just open ourselves up to using culinary elements in mixed drinks.
Shards of chocolate embedded with surprising flavors and crunchy elements make terrific gifts for much less than pricey "artisan-made" chocolates. The key is to use the best and freshest chocolate you can buy: fragrant and glossy with no trace of a gray bloom on the surface. This easy method insures that the chocolate sets well and snaps when it breaks. You can improvise endlessly on it, devising unique combinations of chocolates and flavorings. (You can also simply stir the embellishments right into the melted chocolate before pouring.)
From Chef Mark Reinfeld's menu for A Holiday Vegan Feast:
What This Recipe Shows: By rolling the dough balls in plain sugar first, the confectioners sugar does not soak in so much and stays on the surface better.