Ominous Cook Book Stack

So today, I went on a cooking adventure and experimented with THREE new recipes! It was very exciting and fun and all of them turned out so well! Enjoy these recipes and make sure to eat the polenta right off the stove, it doesn’t save very well 🙁 

Rosemary Gruyere and Sea Salt Crisps

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
• Combine all ingredients in a food processor, pulsing until the mixture resembles coarse, craggy crumbs
• Dump the mixture out onto a large piece of plastic wrap, gather it together into a ball- this was difficult for me because it would stay together. Just make it as solid as possible and it will all work out I promise! 
• The recipe then said to chill the ball for 30 minutes, but because mine wouldn’t stay together it worked better warm. It just depends on how yours works out.
• I then covered mine completely with plastic wrap and rolled it out with a rolling pin into a loose blob form. It should be about 1/8 of an inch thick
• Cut the dough into a large grid, dab lightly with water and sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
• Bake crisps for 10-12 minutes or until the ends are lightly browned (it took mine about 15 minutes, but I wanted them to be kind of crispy)
• Set the baking pan on a rack to cool then enjoy! I made mine earlier and let them sit out and they were still delicious 3 hours later 

Polenta with Fresh Corn from Gwyneth Paltrow– not always a huge fan of hers, but I love this cookbook! 

4 cups water

1 cup polenta

coarse salt

kernels from 1 fresh ear of corn- I used one cup of frozen corn and it worked fine

1/2 cup milk

Polenta with corn

1/4 cup cream

black pepper 

1 tbsp fresh chives

• Bring the water to a boil in a small pot
• Slowly whisk in the polenta and a pinch of salt
• Turn the heat as low as it can go, put a lid on slightly ajar, and cook for 40 minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes- Don’t worry if your polenta is very vocal. It really freaked me out at first because I’ve never made polenta before, but it turned out fine! 
• Add the corn, milk, and cream and cook for 5 minutes
• Season with salt and pepper and serve sprinkled with chives
• I would recommend serving immediately. I made it early and waited three hours, and it wasn’t as good then as it was right off the stove

Chocolate Truffles from Laduree– Obviously I love Laduree because they have macaroons, but this cookbook is awesome even without those! 

4 1/2 tbsp butter

Chocolate Truffles

9 oz. dark chocolate (70% coca)

2/3 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 tbsp sugar

1 cup + 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

• Cut the butter into small pieces. Heat and softer until creamy without allowing it to melt. I just used the microwave, but you could use a double boiler if you prefer. If you use the microwave, beware, it does not take very long! Remove from heat and whisk until homogeneous- kinda blobby like it’s been sitting on the counter all day
• Finely chop chocolate and put in a large bowl. It is important that the chocolate is in very small pieces! I just smashed it with a rolling pin and mine were a little chunky 🙁
• In a saucepan, bring the cream and sugar to a boil (doesn’t take very long). Pour this hot liquid over the chopped chocolate in 3 parts, making sure to combine well after each addition. The chocolate should be completely melted by the end. Add the softened butter and combine until homogeneous. 
• Pour the ganache into a baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour to cool completely. Remove from refrigerator and leave to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes- I left it out for 45 🙂
• Transfer ganache to a piping bag fitted with a plain tip, or no tip at all. Pipe small rounds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place sheet in the refrigerator for 30 min so the truffles become firm. Put cocoa powder in a small bowl and roll truffles in it to coat them. Store truffles in the refrigerator
• If your truffles look ugly after you piped them, like mine :), take them out of the refrigerator early and reshape them with your hands then cool again before coating. 

I know this is a lot, but I hope you enjoy! XO