Wonton Potstickers

Continuing with my recent potsticker fixation, I made some using Alton Brown's recipe. These were delicious, except that I found them just a little too salty. I added about 1/3 more pork to the recipe, and that made them much better. This recipe calls for wonton wrappers, and that's what I used. But I prefer gyoza-style wrappers, and would have used them if the market had not been out of them.

Coffee Eclairs with Chocolate Glaze

These eclairs are filled with coffee-infused vanilla pastry cream, and glazed with some bittersweet Valrhona glaze I had left over from making the Pave.

Chocolate Rice Pudding

Yes, another recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme. I used 3C of milk rather than 3.75 since others reported the pudding to be a little soupy using the full amount in the recipe. I used the Manjari chocolate rather than the Guanaja. I also used just a little more sugar than the recipe called for.

The rice pudding is great. I put the pudding in the serving glasses last night, and then scraped every last bit out of the bowl using my finger. After chilling in the fridge overnight, it was quite firm. If you make this recipe, definitely make the optional caramelized rice crispies too -- they go perfectly with the pudding.

Cook's Illustrated Sour Cream Chocolate Bundt Cake

The quest for the perfect chocolate cake continues. This cake has a lot going for it, but with its subtle sour cream tang and unalkalized cocoa, I think it would be most appreciated by those who prefer less sweet chocolate cakes. This was served with a little sweetened whipped cream and some raspberry sauce.

Chocolate Temptation

This recipe ("Chocolate Temptation") is from Greenspan's Desserts by Pierre Herme. The sauce is banana/citrus/avacado, and I added about 1T of sugar. There is about 1/3C on the plate. The Manjari chocolate cake is flourless and somewhat molten (out of the oven). The recipe called for infusing the butter with a sliver of habanero, but I didn't do that. The cake is garnished with an orange tuile, and the plate with a few caramelized banana slices.