The Baron's birthday!

J-J-J-Sport!

It was our good friend Andras' birthday recently and I did what I usually do for this occasion. I cooked!
My sister came over too, and while I toiled in the kitchen, they amused themselves by playing Jenga with Hungarian chocolate bars called Sport szelet. Anthony has a boxful which he demands whenever someone he knows goes to Hungary (frankly, I don't find them that good, but I have to admit they make a great Jenga substitute). 


I haven't had the best of luck cooking for Andras. He was the recipient for the purple soup I made at a past birthday. I also once served him terrible turkey meatballs (I'm sorry, but ground turkey is just awful and will never be an adequate substitute for ground red meat in my books). 

Well, this time I did try something that I've never tried before (always a risk, but that's never stopped me). I made coconut battered shrimps! The problem was when it came time to deep fry them, 80%  of the batter came off. My oil was hot enough, so I think the maybe my batter was too wet. In any case, when I ended up with was plain deep-fried shrimps with a touch of crispy coconut batter. My guests didn't complain, though. But it sure was a far cry from the picture in my recipe book.

The main dish was a piece of cake, since this was a recipe I've done numerous times and is really hard to mess up. This is from Food and Wine magazine and is called Chicken Chilaquiles. This is a great Mexican recipe and a good discovery for those who think that Mexican cuisine is all about burritos and enchiladas. For 4 servings:

INGREDIENTS

• 3 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons cooking oil
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
• 1 1/3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 4 in all)
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
• 1/2 pound tortilla chips
• 1/4 pound feta, crumbled (about 3/4 cup)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 red onion, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl, combine the paprika, chili powder, cayenne, cumin, sugar.
2. In a large saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over moderately low heat. Add the flour and cook, whisking, until golden, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic; cook for 30 seconds. Add the paprika and chili powder mixture and then add the broth slowly, whisking, until smooth. Bring to a simmer. Simmer, covered, until thick enough to coat a spoon, about 25 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, season the chicken with salt and pepper and barbecue until cooked through. Cut crosswise into slices.
4. Add the tortilla chips to the chile sauce and cook, stirring, until the chips are soft but not falling apart, about 2 minutes. Put the sauce on plates and top with the feta, sour cream, onion, cilantro, and chicken.

As for dessert, I prepared bittersweet molten chocolate cake from Bon Appétit magazine. If you've never had a lava cake (as we call them) then you are sorely missing out. Nothing beats biting into a cake and discovering liquid warm chocolate inside.The point of these is to barely cook the batter so that the middle is still liquid. I did not remove these from their cups because I like the presentation this way. To make 8 servings:

INGREDIENTS

• 12 teaspoons plus 5 tablespoons sugar
• 8 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 3 large eggs
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 1 quart vanilla ice cream

DIRECTIONS

Generously butter eight 3/4-cup soufflé dishes or custard cups. Sprinkle inside of each dish with 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar.

Stir chocolate and butter in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat. 

Using electric mixer, beat eggs, egg yolks, and remaining 5 tablespoons sugar in large bowl until thick and pale yellow, about 8 minutes. Fold 1/3 of warm chocolate mixture into egg mixture, then fold in remaining chocolate. Fold in flour.

 Divide batter among soufflé dishes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic; chill. Bring to room temperature before continuing.)

Preheat oven to 425°F. Place soufflé dishes on baking sheet. Bake cakes uncovered until edges are puffed and slightly cracked but center 1 inch of each moves slightly when dishes are shaken gently, about 10 minutes.

Top each cake with scoop of ice cream and serve immediately.