Rich Kaszeta's Recipe Page
Rich Kaszeta's Recipe Page
(from the 22 Feb 98 rec.food.cooking Twin Cities Potluck.)
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a food processor, grind the pecans until they just start to form a paste (the pecan bits should be about the size of uncooked couscous). For a bit of extra flavor, toast the pecans first in a 250 degree for about 5 minutes, or use a wok on low heat (I use this method).
Grease a 9-inch springform torte pan, and line the bottom with a circle of waxed paper (and grease the paper, too). Wrap the outside of the springform pan with aluminum foil. Melt chocolate and butter in a medium sauce pan over low heat. In a mixing bowl, mix eggsm sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon until frothy. Add melted chocolate, and stir until smooth. Once smooth, stir in ground nuts until the consistency is even.
Pour mixture into torte pan, and place torte pan in a cookie sheet or large baking dish, and pour boiling water around the pan until the water comes up 1/2 inch or so up the outside of the pan (that's why you lined the pan with foil, so the water doesn't seep in). Bake in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes (until it looks kinda like a cooked pan of brownies). Remove and cool, then remove torte from pan and place on a plate so that the smooth (bottom) side is up.
Melt the chocolate and the butter in a small saucepan. Add honey and cinnamon, stir until smooth and remove from heat. Dip whole pecans halfway into the glaze and place on wax paper until set.
Glaze the torte with the remainder of the chocolate mix, smoothing with a knife or metal spatula (I didn't smooth the one it the picture, that's why it looks kinda lumpy). Decorate with the pecans.
Makes a large, very sinful 9 inch torte.
In a food processor or a bowl with a mixer, blend butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla until creamy. Make sure that if anything you use too much butter. Add cocoa, mix until smooth. Then add flour and mix just until it hits a crumb-like consistency. Chill in fridge for one hour.
Grease a 9-10 in tart pan (with removable bottom---crucial!), and grease it heavily. Then grease it again. This stuff *really* sticks. Soften dough for 5-10 minutes, and press the crumbs into the bottom and sides of the tart pan until 1/4" thick. Poke a bunch of holes in the bottom. Chill for another hour. Preheat oven to 350.
Line shell with foil, and weight down the foil with something non-toxic, like rice, beans, or assorted nuts and bolts. Bake for 10 minutes. Uncover and bake another five. Let cool to room temperature.
Mix cream and preserves in a saucepan. Boil. Really. Not just a simmer, but an honest-to-god boil. Remove from heat, immediately add chocolate all at once. Stir until smooth. Stir in butter. Pour through a strainer into the cooled tart shell. Cool tart completely in fridge.
In a food processor, combine all ingredients, and mix until smooth. Strain into a small bowl. Take 1lb of berries and spread over the top of the tart. Using a pastry brush, brush a slight glaze of sauce over berries. Chill again.
To serve, remove tart from pan (I hope you greased it well). Serve with the remaining sauce. Enjoy.
All quantities are rather flexible, except maintain the rice/beans ratio at close to these values.
Soak beans overnight. Place in kettle. Add parsely, onion, bay leaves, garlic. Add enough water to barely cover the contents. Boil, then simmer for an hour or so, until beans start to break up. Then add margarine, pepper, tabasco, More Spice, and rice, cook until rice is soft.
As a variation, cook the rice separately, and serve by pouring the bean mush over the fluffed rice.
Additionally, this recipe works out rather well if you pull out all the meat products, so it can make a tasty vegetarian treat as well.
Place ham, carrots, 1 of the onions, and half of the celery in a pot, cover with water, and cook the snot out of it for 2 hours. Then add chicken and some of the bay leaf. Simmer for 1 hour. Stop and eat something cause your not even half done yet. Drain off the stock, reserving 3 cups of broth. Save meat, discard whatever remains of the vegetables (which shouldn't be much if you boiled the snot out of it).
In a dutch oven or large kettle, heat the oil, and saute the remaining onion and pepper. Add celery, tomatos, and green onion. Cook until soft. Add ham hock chunks and tomato paste, saute until brown. Add everything else except sausage and chicken and 1 cup of stock, cook for 1 hour.
Slice and brown sausages, throw into mix. Add rice and chicken (umm, and anything else you still have hanging around), cook until rice is tender, adding water as necessary.
Serves about 8 hungry people. Prolly not worth it for less people, since with all the chopping, cooking, and stewing it takes about 5 hours to do right.