Chocolate Lava Cake – Is this the World’s most delicious mistake?

Legend has it that this dessert was the result of a major catering disaster. The dessert for this particular event was to be individual chocolate cakes, but someone took them out of the ovens to soon and the centers where not cooked enough and still liquefied. Well, there was no time to take them off the plates and cook them more, so the Chef simply had his wait staff introduce the dessert as Chocolate “Lava” Cake! Brilliant! Now, whether this is true or not, I don’t know for sure, but it totally sounds like something a Chef would do. If you have a better story email it to me and I’ll start using it.

Regardless of how it was born, it sure is good. I used very dark chocolate, but you can use semi-sweet or milk chocolate if you prefer. If you’ve watch my clips regularly you know I’m not big on measuring ingredients, BUT when you’re doing baked desserts you really do need to be accurate. So measure carefully. By the way, this was a view request and the photo he sent me (pictured above with the fruit) had no copyright info with it. I did use it in the clip and hopefully no one gets too upset. If you did happen to take this photo, and are upset I’m using it without permission, please email me and I will credit you. Enjoy!

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Ingredients
2 extra large eggs
1 extra large egg yolk
5 tbl butter
3 tbl sugar
3.5 oz. dark chocolate (this is one standard chocolate bar)
3 tbl flour
2 tsp cocoa powder
*Bake at 425 F, in water bath for 15 mins.

Braised Beef Short Ribs with Chocolate and Cinnamon ...Free your mind, and your cuisine will follow

To many, the thought of adding chocolate and cinnamon to a savory dish like braised beef short ribs, would just seem too strange. I remember the first time I had Chicken Mole in San Francisco’s Mission district, it was so rich and delicious, and when I was told the sauce was actually made with dark chocolate and dried chilies, it took a while to process. It forced me to change how I thought about food, and how ingredients are “supposed” to be used. I’m not sure at that young age I would have even ordered it if I had known there was chocolate in it. Now, it’s my absolute favorite Mexican dish.

Legend has it the recipe I’m showing today comes from the Catalonia region of Spain. It’s an amazingly sexy concoction that would be perfect for that special winter dinner. The chocolate and cinnamon scent the succulent short ribs in a way that is very hard to describe. The first time I served this to my wife Michele her exact response was, and I quote, “wow... wow... wow… mmmmm.”

So, please, free your culinary mind and give this a try! All the ingredients are easy to find and the recipe is almost impossible to mess up.

Warning: to make this properly, the dish takes two days to prepare. The first day it’s braised, then left to cool in the sauce and refrigerated overnight. Day 2, you lift all the fat of the top of the sauce, reheat and serve. I served this with another unusual side dish, Celery Root and Potato Puree, which all also demo. Make sure your butcher picks out some nice meaty short ribs for you, some can have a lot of fat on them, so make sure you check them.

Ingredients:
3 pounds beef short ribs (about six 4-in. long)
3 oz Bacon (maybe 4 slices)
1 cup dry sherry
1 quart beef broth
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
2 oz bittersweet chocolate
5 springs of thyme
2 tbl flour
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leavesblack pepper and salt