So-Good Miso Corn

This recipe is a repeat for me…an early quarantine recipe while we were choosing our own for a little while to make sure we could use ingredients we had on hand, or could get easily.

We are all back on track making the same things now, thankfully, and this just happens to be one of this month’s recipes. 😃

I have actually made this recipe a few times…I mean what is not to love…corn, butter, miso and a few herbs thrown in to spice it up. It is a more gourmet version of buttered corn as a side…and not hard at all! Win-Win!

We loved it back in May, and still love it today. It is a keeper for us!

Caramelized Cinnamon-Milk Chocolate Tart

Dorie tells us France is a dark chocolate country and America more of a milk chocolate. That this tart is a delicious compromise…the filling mostly milk chocolate but just enough dark to give it a French edge.

The ganache is different too…with a smooth and creamy and slightly stretchy texture, just like a good caramel candy…which is funny and right on because my tasters said it reminded them of a Twix Bar. We were to get a sweet flavor but also a bit bitter from the caramelized sugar and also a bit spicy from the caramelized cinnamon. The extra step of caramelizing gives us a deep complex flavor that Dorie tells us is worth the effort.

I have to say I tried the cinnamon infused chocolate ganache from the bowl after I filled the crust and I was a little underwhelmed. I thought the cinnamon taste was very faint for all that effort. I was curious after chilling if it would be stronger.

After everyone ate a little…and were literally gushing over it. I was quizzing them to see if they could discern any other flavor than chocolate…no not really. I explained all the steps I went through to get the caramelized cinnamon and that it seemed disappointing that it wasn’t more pronounced. I was saying maybe I don’t need to do that then and they all we like…

“Oh no…you have to make it exactly the way you did because it might be the secret ingredient that makes it so good even if we can’t taste it directly!” 😂😂

So I guess I do all the step again haha. Maybe it is like Dorie told us…the steps give us a depth of flavor…maybe more of a background but makes it just so delicious.

Seriously, they all absolutely loved this one…and btw said the salted caramel is a must.

As my Dad said, “This one is on the hit parade”. It’s a keeper for sure!

Olive Oil and Wine Cookies

These cookies are a specialty of the Languedoc-Roussillon region in the south of France. We are told it is one of the non-butter regions of the country and known for its vast vineyards…so not surprising then to have cookies made with olive oil and white wine.

These are similar to the Canistrelli cookies we made last month, but these have a distinctive shape and are made without any added liqueur to flavor the cookies….just flour, sugar, olive oil, vanilla, and white wine….and then rolled in sugar.

The dough is interesting…very stretchy and spongey. I am not sure I have come across anything similar. I was intrigued but then had some trouble working with it to get the desired shape. We are given pretty specific instructions on how to achieve the thick middle and tapered ends. I tried to make them the way we are told for the first dozen but the dough would crack and not roll too easily. For the second batch, I modified my rolling system and just did it in the air using my fingers on both hands…one on each side twisting and rolling to achieve the tell-tale look. It seemed to work much better for me.

I think we were more open-minded with trying these cookies after the Canistrelli last month which we really enjoyed. I think I actually preferred these…which is really weird since they really are so similar haha.