CHEF JOHN ASH

John Ash: Cooking One on One:
Private Lessons in Simple, Contemporary Food
from a Master Teacher

"Teaching has come to be the thing I love most in life..." Chef John Ash

So, this is my "death by chocolate" contribution to the world of cooking - a loving send-off to life itself and a heck of a way to go at that! A little slice is all you need. I love serving this with some very slightly sweetened blackberry coulis or sauce to help balance some of the richness.

Chocolate Truffle Tort

Serves 10 – 12
Yields one 9 inch cake

Ingredients:

• 5 ounces (1-1/4 sticks) unsalted sweet butter
• 10 ounces (1-1/4 cups) bitter-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon instant espresso or 2 tablespoons dark rum (optional)
• 8 large eggs, separated
• 1/2 cup sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 2 teaspoons grated orange zest

Garnish:

• Cocoa
• powdered sugar
• a coulis made from slightly sweetened, pureed and strained fresh or IQF (Individually Quick Frozen) blackberries, if desired.

Directions:

Over low heat, warm butter until just melted but not hot. Add chocolate and espresso powder or rum and whisk until melted. Cool slightly. In a separate bowl beat yolks and half the sugar until light in color. Add warm chocolate mixture and whisk together.

With a mixer preferably, separately whip egg whites with a pinch of salt, orange zest and add remaining sugar gradually just until firm peaks are formed. Stir in one quarter of whipped whites into chocolate mixture to lighten it. Carefully fold in remaining whites.

Very lightly oil or butter a 9-inch spring form pan and place a circle of parchment or waxed paper on bottom. Pour batter into pan and bake at 350° F for 45 minutes. Cool and refrigerate if not serving same day. Note that cake will have a "cracked" top surface, which is part of its charm!

To serve:

Slice in small wedge and dust alternately with good unsweetened cocoa and powdered sugar and a tablespoon or two of blackberry coulis on plate if desired.

Cookbooks Authored by Chef John Ash
Winner of the Julia Child "Cookbook of the Year" from the IACP One of California's foremost chefs, in association with Fetzer Vineyards, celebrates the bounty of the garden and the vine with a collection of more than 300 recipes that pay magnificent tribute to fresh and healthy high-flavor food--plus a a helpful--and fun--approach to testing and evaluating wines. Color photos.	Winner of the 2005 James Beard Foundation Award John Ash: Cooking One-on-One: Private Lessons in Simple, Contemporary Food from a Master Teacher	American Game Cooking: A Contemporary Guide to Preparing Farm-Raised Game Birds and Meats Game farms have made exotic fowl and meats widely available to the non-hunter, and this is an excellent resource for those who want to cook on the wild side. From boar-based borscht to roast lacquered duck with muscat-tamarind sauce, the recipes contained herein are delicious.

"It's the process of cooking that's so much fun — the bonus is that you get something at the end to eat." Chef John Ash

Love and Sensuality Recipes:

• Chocolate Truffle Tort
  
  
• Blueberries and French Cream
  
  
• Almond-Orange Biscotti
  
  
• Fresh Oysters Steamed in Spinach With Three Caviars
  
  
• Oysters on the Half Shell with Pickled Ginger Salsa
  
  
• Food and Love - An intimate dance of the senses. (article)
  
  
• More Recipes

(Chef John Ash)