February  4, 2007

Chef2Chef.net Forum Chef of the Month:  Brenda Palmer Recent News on the Chef2Chef News Desk This Week's Foodservice Daily Newsletter: Chocolate Obsessions Visit our Newest Market Place Vendors Famous Chocolate Quotes Recipe of the Week: Savory Chocolate Napoleon Today's Top Professional Chef Forums New Jobs! Jobs at Chef2Chef.net!

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Chef2Chef.net Forum Chef of the Month:  Brenda Palmer

Like so many people in this industry, I grew up around food. Everyone likes to cook in my family. As a kid my Mom taught me how to make a cream sauce for creamed asparagus on toast (a favorite that I still crave). What she really taught me was how to make a blonde roux even if she didn’t know that is what it was called. My Dad liked to bring home things like chocolate covered ants or a whole coconut, which was a mystery to anyone living in Pennsylvania in the 60’s.

I tried my hand at widely ranging professions until I took a second job at a fast food place; this is where I learned that something was different about me. As rush hour would approach, the other employees would grit their teeth and get stressed out while I was invigorated; I loved it when it got busy. I would push myself to see how many orders I could remember without looking at the checks. The adrenaline would course through me the faster it got, the faster I got; I loved it.

So when I told this story to the GM at a newly opened family, chain restaurant, I was hired. Standing up from the interview I turned back to him to ask, ”What part of the restaurant am I working?”
He blinked at me as if I should know, “You’re a linecook.”
That was 18 years ago and essentially, I am still a linecook.

For the rest of the story and a wonderfully inspired recipe

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 This Week's Foodservice Daily Newsletter: Chocolate Obsessions

Date: February 5, 2007 - February 9, 2007
Guest Host: Chef David Nelson
Theme: Chocolate Obsessions

• Monday: Ghirardelli Brownies; Basic Chocolate Fondue.
  
• Tuesday: Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti; Godiva Chocolate Rum Smoothie.
  
• Wednesday: Chocolate Kahlua Truffles; White Chocolate Almond Mousse.
  
• Thursday: Chocolate Peanut Brittle; Chocolate Espresso Buttercream.
  
• Friday: Foolproof Chocolate Walnut Fudge; The Original Toll House Cookie.

Not a Member Yet? Click here Foodservice Daily Newsletter to sign up today and start receiving these informative mailings on Monday!

Famous Chocolate Quotes

• Man cannot live on chocolate alone; but woman sure can.
• Among life's mysteries is how a two pound box of chocolate can make a woman gain five pounds.
• Forget love -- I'd rather fall in chocolate!!!
• Chocolate is nature’s way of making up for Mondays.
• Stress wouldn’t be so hard to take if it were chocolate covered.
• Eat a square meal a day - a box of chocolate.
• Other things are just food. But chocolate's chocolate.
• Chocolate causes certain endocrine glands to secrete hormones that affect your feelings and behavior by making you happy. Therefore, it counteracts depression, in turn reducing the stress of depression. Your stress-free life helps you maintain a youthful disposition, both physically and mentally. So, eat lots of chocolate.
• Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands - and then eat just one of the pieces.
• A little too much chocolate is just about right.
• In the cookies of life, friends are the chocolate chips.
• There’s more to life than chocolate, but not right now.
• Chocolate is cheaper than therapy and you don't need an appointment.
• Nuts just take up space where chocolate ought to be.

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Today's Recipe: Savory Chocolate Napoleon

For this recipe, I highly recommend that you use a bittersweet chocolate that has a cocoa content of 72 percent or higher. That usually means the chocolate will contain less sugar and have a stronger cocoa taste. This will give the finished hors d'oeuvre a nice contrast.

Makes 40 napoleons

Ingredients:

Bittersweet chocolate, tempered

For the filling:

1 pound cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon paprika
pinch salt
pinch pepper

Preparation:

Use an offset spatula to spread a 1/8-inch-thick layer of tempered chocolate over a sheet of acetate. When the chocolate begins to set but is not yet hard, use a sharp paring knife or rolling cutter to cut 1-inch squares. When the chocolate is set, peel off the acetate and break apart the chocolate squares.

Place the softened cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle. Add the chives, paprika, salt and pepper and turn the mixer on medium speed. Mix just until combined. Place the cream cheese mixture in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe a dollop of the cream cheese onto a chocolate square. Top with a square of chocolate. Pipe another dollop of cream cheese and cover with another square of chocolate.

Recipe by Chef Jacques Torres

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