Dinner Filled With Chocolate - What Could Possibly Be Better?

In honor of Saint Valentine’s Day, I’d like to propose a dinner built around chocolate.

Using unsweetened cocoa powder instead of chocolate in cooking means that we can use chocolate for its true bitter, sultry seductiveness rather than its divine, but - let’s face it - banal familiarity as a sweet concoction.

Columbus brought cacao beans back to Spain on his fourth voyage to the New World in 1502. But it was Cortez and his band of conquistadores who first understood its use, describing Montezuma II drinking golden goblets of the frothy liquid.

At first, chocolate was popularized as a drink in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries, made the same way as in the Americas: fermenting, roasting, then grinding the kernel of the cacao bean into a coarse paste called chocolate liquor.

This mixture - roughly half cocoa powder and half cocoa butter - was combined with sugar and spices such as cloves, cinnamon and vanilla to form cakes that could be dissolved in hot water. The chocolate, however, had to be vigorously whisked in an attempt to emulsify the cocoa butter with the water.

Chocolate was also heavily taxed, truly something reserved for the wealthy. Then, in 1828, an innovation enabled the chocolate confections that we know today.

Conrad van Houten, whose family ran a chocolate business in Amsterdam, was looking for a way to make chocolate less oily so that the drink would be lighter. He developed a screw press that would remove most of the oil from the liquor. The result was cocoa powder, and hot chocolate became the drink that we now know.

Van Houten’s press also made modern chocolate candy possible by allowing the re-addition of cocoa butter to the cocoa powder, resulting in a malleable, smoother paste. The first eating chocolate was introduced in England in 1847, and humankind has never been quite the same.

Being a chocoholic, but also a chef without much of a sweet tooth, I find the flavor of chocolate fascinating. It doesn’t taste like anything else in nature. And with a bit of culinary experimentation, I’ve arrived at some recipes that utilize chocolate for its purely savory pleasure.

This may seem far-fetched at first, but think of chocolate, specifically cocoa powder, as a spice and maybe that will help you imagine it better. You can add a teaspoon or tablespoon of cocoa powder to beef stewed in red wine. The chocolate is a secret ingredient; without being recognizable, it adds a richness to the marriage of flavors. Add a scant amount to a lobster bisque and see how the cocoa actually makes the lobster flavor sing.

When using chocolate in its unsweetened state, it’s imperative to balance its bitterness with a strong opposite flavor. Garlic and onions help achieve that balance. In many preparations, a small amount of sugar will take the edge off without otherwise troubling the palate.

The use of chocolate should be level-headed, so as to not overpower. The following chicken recipe is a good example. The same butter, by the way, dresses broiled lobster or sauteed shrimp to even more beautiful effect.

Flattened Chicken With Chocolate-Herb Butter

1 (2-1/2-pound) fryer chicken

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt, freshly ground pepper

1 pound mushrooms, washed and quartered

Chocolate-Herb Butter (recipe follows)

Insert large knife into chicken cavity and cut out backbone. Lay chicken flat on work surface, skin-side up, and place large roasting pan over it. Press down hard on roasting pan to break rib cage and flatten chicken. Rub entire bird with oil, then sprinkle all over with salt and pepper to taste.

Place chicken, skin-side down, in large roasting pan. Place smaller baking sheet or pie dish over chicken and weigh it down with 3-pound weight (use brick wrapped in foil or fill pie dish filled with dried beans). Bake at 425 degrees 20 minutes. Reduce temperature to 375 degrees. Add mushrooms to roasting pan and continue roasting another 20 minutes or until chicken and mushrooms are done.

Remove from oven and arrange chicken and mushrooms on 2 plates. Place generous spoonful of Chocolate-Herb Butter on top of each chicken half and serve remaining butter on the side.

Yield: 2 servings.

Chocolate-Herb Butter

4 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons finely minced chives

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

2 teaspoons finely chopped parsley

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon Pernod, optional

Cream butter in blender or food processor with cocoa powder, sugar, chives, garlic, parsley, pepper, salt and Pernod, if using. Scrape into serving ramekin. Keep at room temperature until ready to serve.

Yield: About cup.

Savory Chocolate Muffins

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons bread flour

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2-1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

6 tablespoons water

3 tablespoons oil

1-1/2 teaspoons white vinegar

Stir together both flours, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in mixing bowl. Pour in water, oil and vinegar, stirring until smooth.

Spoon batter into 2-ounce greased cupcake molds. Bake at 325 degrees about 15 minutes or until wood pick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool.

Yield: 12 small muffins.

Chocolate Mousse Semi-Freddo

4 ounces semisweet chocolate

2 teaspoons sugar

2 eggs, separated

2 tablespoons sour cream

Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting

Melt chocolate in top of double boiler over hot - not boiling - water, stirring until smooth. Stir in sugar and then egg yolks. Remove from double boiler. Stir in sour cream. Scrape mixture into small work bowl and set aside.

Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold whites into chocolate mixture. Transfer mixture to small Bundt mold. Place in freezer until completely frozen, at least 6 hours.

To serve, unmold mousse by placing under hot running water, then turning out onto serving plate. Refrigerate until defrosted. Dust with cocoa powder and serve.

Yield: 2 to 4 servings.

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