Gourmet
Gianduia Chocolates
This recipe involves tempering, in which the chocolate is melted — and if necessary, cooled — to a temperature of just below body heat. Tempering chocolate helps to ensure that it will be glossy and stay firm at room temperature.
Prune and Walnut Crecents
These pastries are best when freshly baked, so if you plan on giving them to someone who may not be able to serve them within a day or two, you should deliver them frozen, along with the baking instructions.
Cornish Beef and Vegetable Turnovers
Called Upper Peninsula Pasties, the original crusts, made with barley flour and little fat, were tough enough to survive a day in the copper mines. Boston-based pastry chef Greg Case has devised this more tender version.
Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 2 1/4 hr
Minted Spring Vegetables
Because this dish was developed to complement the strong flavors of Pork Loin with Morel Stuffing, we kept the seasoning in these vegetables to a minimum. If you plan to serve this dish with simpler fare, you might want to increase the amount of garlic and herbs.
Crystallized Mint Leaves
Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less, but requires additional unattended time.
Opal-Basil Cinnamon Vinegar
Flavored vinegars can be used to enliven dressings and marinades, finish pan sauces, or pickle vegetables--and they make wonderful gifts. Once the steeping is completed, these vinegars keep for several months. (Garnishes and other solids left in the jar, however, may discolor or break down.)
Lobster Newburg
Gastronomic lore tells us that the forerunner of this famous lobster dish was actually created at Delmonico's, the well-known New York City restaurant, during its heyday in the latter part of the last century. Mr. Ben Wenburg (or Wenberg, as some believe), a Delmonico's habitué during this period, is said to have devised a dish made with seafood, cream, and egg yolks. It was called Wenburg on the menu until some time later when the epicurean Mr. Wenburg became involved in a dispute with the management. Thereafter, the restaurant renamed the offering seafood "Newburg," and a classic was born.