GCCC - DaveSoMD

[DaveSoMD]

Welcome to Golden Chef Challenge: Chocolate.
In this thread you will find a three course meal by DaveSoMD. Each course must contain a chocolate element. This entry will consist of pictures, recipes and a description of taste, texture, smell, etc. (Hopefully Goodweed will clarify this)

There will be two other entry threads for the other two contestants and poll threads for each of the voting categories (sorry to have so many polls but they will all be identified by GCCC (Golden Chef Challenge)

Voting can begin whenever you have gone over all three entries and feel ready to start. Polls will open February 12 at 9 pm PST and will close on February 15.

 

[Josie1945]

Dave, Glad you jumped in. Look foward to your entries.

Josie

 

[Kayelle]

Waiting here patiently too Josie. I have my bib on. He must be plating the meal.

 

[DaveSoMD]

I'll be posting Saturday morning, same as the other challenge chefs.

 

[Josie1945]

Kayelle, I am wating to see if he does something with crab and chocolate.
Hubby is from Maryland and I know how he feels about Crab.

Josie

 

[Kayelle]

I'll be posting Saturday morning, same as the other challenge chefs.

Okie Dokie, Dave. We'll be waiting.

Good luck Buddy......

 

[DaveSoMD]

I'm going to start posting. Please no comments until I'm finished as I am trying to keep it in several continuous posts. Thanks all!!!

 

[DaveSoMD]

This is my Golden Chef Chocolate Challenge entry. I made 3 courses and a drink: the cocktail is a Tootsie-tini, the appetizer is a Strawberry and Dark Chocolate salad, the main entree is a Stuffed Pork Chop with a White Chocolate and Cranberry Cream Sauce, and the dessert is a Raspberry and Semi-sweet Chocolate Bread Pudding.

The meal was cooked and served on Sunday, February 6. There were two other diners plus myself. Each of the other diners provided written comments for me after the cocktail and each course.

 

[DaveSoMD]

The Cocktail: Tootsie-tini

My beverage is a Tootise-tini made with Godiva Chocolate Liqueur, orange juice, and vodka. It is based on the drink known as The Tootsie Roll that is normally made with Crème de Cacao and orange juice. I decided to up-scale it and make it more of a cocktail and less of a dessert drink.

Ingredients:
Godiva Chocolate Liqueur
Orange Juice
Absolute Vodka
Naval Orange
Ghirardelli Dark chocolate

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, Mix 1-part vodka, 2-parts chocolate liqueur, and 2-parts orange juice.

Shake and pour into chilled martini glasses. Garnish with an orange peel curl and chocolate curl.

Cook's Critique:
This is a simple cocktail to prepare. Having consumed more than my fair share of Tootsie Rolls (both the candy and the drink) this had the flavor of the candy but with an after-kick from the vodka. The vodka also took off just enough of the sweetness that it didn't taste like a dessert drink. I tried to garnish it with an orange curl and a dark chocolate curl but neither worked and the chocolate just ended up getting shaved into the drink.

Diner 1: It really tasted like a Tootsie Roll. It had a warm after kick. The garnish was cute but I would have liked bigger curls instead of chocolate shavings.


Diner 2: Tasted great and packs a punch.

 

[DaveSoMD]

The Appetizer: Strawberry & Dark Chocolate Salad w/ Balsamic Vinaigrette

For my appetizer I created a strawberry and dark chocolate salad.
The salad greens were escarole, endive, and radicchio; they were lightly dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette. This was plated and then the sliced strawberries were arranged on top. Vinaigrette was then drizzled on top to lightly dress the berries. The dark chocolate was then shaved on top of the salad.

Ingredients:
Escarole
Endive
Radicchio
Ken's Balsamic Vinaigrette
Fresh strawberries sliced length wise
Ghirardelli Dark chocolate

Note: the amount used will depend on how many people you are serving and how big you want to the salads to be. I used 3/4 a bag of greens and 9 strawberries for 3 servings.

Wash and prepare the greens. Slice the strawberries. Add the greens to a large bowl, lightly dress and gently toss to to coat. Arrange the greens on individual serving plates and top with the sliced strawberries. Add a drizzle of the vinaigrette on top for the strawberries. Shave the dark chocolate over the top of the salad.

Cooks' critique:
The salad was an easy dish to prepare. The idea was to use the flavor pairs of strawberries / balsamic vinegar and strawberries/chocolate to bring the dish together. The sweetness of the berries and chocolate played well off the bitterness of the greens and flavor of the balsamic vinegar in the dressing.


Diner 1: Nice and simple salad. I barely tasted the chocolate.

Diner 2: With just a hint of tang even the skeptic like this.

 

[DaveSoMD]

The Entree: Stuffed Pork Chops with a Cranberry and White Chocolate Cream Sauce and Roasted Brussel Sprouts.

Note: I am going to post this in 3 different posts since there are three recipes to create the main entree (Pork Chops, Brussel Sprouts, and Cream Sauce)

For the main course I made boneless pork chops stuffed with a cranberry stuffing.
This was dressed with a white chocolate and cranberry cream sauce.
Roasted brussel sprouts were served as the vegetable.

Ingredients:
Thick-cut boneless pork chops
Cup Dried cranberries (I used Craisins)
Package Stovetop Pork Stuffing mix
Heavy-cream
White chocolate chips
Salt
Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
Non-stick cooking spray
Sage leaves



Stuffed Pork Chops
4 Thick-cut boneless pork chops
1 Cup Dried cranberries (I used Craisins)
1 Package Stove Top Pork Stuffing mix
1 1/2 Cups Heavy-cream
4 oz. White chocolate chips
1/2 Cup Dried cranberries (I used Craisins)
Salt
Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
Non-stick cooking spray
8-10 sage leaves

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Spray a glass/pyrex/corningware baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Add some EVOO to the bottom of the dish and swirl to coat.

Prepare the stuffing according to package directions adding 1 cup of the dried cranberries to the boiling water just before you add in the stuffing mix. Let cool.

Cut a slit in the long-side of the each pork chop to create a deep pocket.
Season the inside with some salt and pepper.

Spoon the stuffing mix into the chop pocket.

Lay on a dish or platter.

Season both sides (top and bottom) of each chop with salt and pepper.

Place each in the baking dish, drizzel EVOO over the tops and turn to coat.

Place 2-3 sage leaves on top of each chop.

Place in the oven.Cook 30 minutes or until the internal temperature is 165 degrees.
Remove from the oven and let rest for 7 minutes.

{photos at the bottom of the last entree posts}

 

[DaveSoMD]

The Entree Part II: Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Roasted Sprouts
1 lb Brussel Sprouts
EVOO
Salt
Pepper

Clean and trim 1 lb of Brussel Sprouts.

Place in a large bowl and drizzle @ 2 Tbsp EVOO over the sprouts, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat.

Place the sprouts in a glass/Pyrex/corning-ware baking dish coated with 3 Tbsp of EVOO.

Place in the oven 10 minutes after you placed the chops in the oven.

Cook for 20 minutes Stirring several times to prevent sticking and burning.

{photos at the bottom of the last entree posts}

 

[DaveSoMD]

The Entree Part III: Cranberry & White Chocolate Cream Sauce

White Cream Sauce
1 1/2 Cups Heavy-cream
4 oz. White chocolate chips
1/2 Cup Dried cranberries (I used Craisins)

Add the cream and dried cranberries to a heavy-bottom saucepan and heat to simmering.

Reduce heat to medium / medium low and whisk in the white chocolate until melted.

Gently simmer, stirring occasionally, for @ 15 minutes.

{photos at the bottom of the last entree post}

 

[DaveSoMD]

The Entree Part IV: Bringing it all together

To serve: Place a chop on each plate along with the roasted sprouts. Dress the chop with some of the sauce and cranberries. Spoon some sauce on the plate for a garnish and for dipping the sprouts in.

Cook's Critique:
This dish is very easy to prepare. Again the idea was to use flavor pairs to pull the dish together; in this dish I used pork / cranberries and cranberries / white chocolate pairings. The mildness of the white chocolate with the cream was a smooth contrast to the berries and did not overpower the pork or the stuffing. It also went well with the roasted brussel sprouts that were served as the vegetable.

Diner 1: The white chocolate was surprisingly good with the pork but really good to counter the brussel sprouts.

Diner 2: Even the skeptic gives this a thumbs-up, and I am a picky eater!

 

[DaveSoMD]

The Dessert: Chocolate Raspberry Bread Pudding

For dessert I made a Chocolate-Raspberry bread pudding using Challah bread, raspberry jam and semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Ingredients:
1 loaf Challah Bread, cut into 3/4" - 1" slices
4 large Eggs
2 Cups Half-and-half
1 Tsp Cinnamon
2 Tsp Vanilla extract
1/4 Cup granulated sugar
Salt
1 cup Raspberry Jam (I used Smucker's Seedless)
1 cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips + a few for garnish
non-stick cooking spray

NOTE: Be sure to let the bread sit out on baking racks for 3-4 hours before making this dish. I made the custard in advance and let it sit in the refrigerator for 3 hours before I assembled the dish.

To make the custard, mix together the eggs, half-and-half, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Beat with a whisk until well blended. Let sit in the refrigerator for at least several hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray a 9x9 glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Melt the jam in the microwave on low using a microwave-safe bowl or measuring cup. Check every 10 seconds and stir until melted and smooth.

Tear the bread into large chunks.

Place a layer of the bread on the bottom of the baking dish, drizzle on 1/3 of the raspberry sauce and evenly sprinkle on 1/2 cup of the chips.

Place the remaining bread on top in another layer, and repeat with another 1/3 of the sauce and the remaining 1/2 cup of chips.

Pour the custard mixture over the bread. Press the bread down with a fork to be sure is it in the custard.

Bake for 45 minutes or until the top springs back when pressed.

Let sit for 10 minuted before serving.

To serve:
Cut the pudding into squares and place one piece on a dish per person.

Reheat the remaining 1/3 cup of raspberry sauce and drizzle
over the top and onto plate of each serving.

Garnish each dish with a few semi-sweet chips.

Cook's Critique:
This dessert is very easy to prepare. The idea was to continue the use of flavor pairs using raspberry paired with chocolate to tie the three dinner courses together. I chose semi-sweet chips to contrast the sweetness of the raspberry jam. The plate was dressed with warm raspberry sauce for dipping as well as being drizzled on top. The pudding was moist and not too sweet. The taste of the semi-sweet chocolate with the raspberry was a nice contrast.

Diner 1: I'm not a big raspberry fan but the tang compliments the rest of the meal.

Diner 2: I've never been a fan of bread pudding but I like this!

 

[DaveSoMD]

That is my Chocolate Challenge Meal!

Thanks for viewing!

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Looks wonderful, should I bring my own fork?

 

[DaveSoMD]

Thanks, no fork necessary, just your appetite.

 

[Kathleen]

Every thing simply looks terrific, Dave. You can never go wrong with a martini with chocolate. I love tootsie-pops, so you know I will give it a try.

The salad looks crisp and fresh. Chocolate and strawberries is an almost-perfect combo...balsamic vinegar melds nicely with both.

I am very intrigued by the pork dish. What a great idea or a sauce!

Being a huge lover o bread pudding, I simply loved the dessert. I've not ever been a fan of raspberries, but bet your pudding would change my mind fast!

Terrific job and wonderful meal. Lucky tasters! Thanks for sharing!

 

[betterthanabox]

All I can say is YUM!! Good job on the challenge!