Salty Dog Blog

FOOD & WINE features Danish Viking Smoked Salt

SALT  TRADERS is proud to be featured in this month's issue of FOOD & WINE Magazine!

FOOD & WINE covers "20 Lessons from the Pros" which highlights favorite products, recipes or tools from chefs around the country. Our unique Danish Viking Smoked Salt is a favorite of many chefs, and as FOOD & WINE discovered, in particular Ken Oringer from Boston's restaurant Clio.

See what everyone is talking about and give this rare and authentic Danish Viking Smoked Salt a try!

Chef Didi Davis: My Father's Chocolate Sauce

Just in time for Father's Day, Chef Didi Davis joins us on the Salty Dog Blog writing about her father's recipe for chewy, gooey and utterly wonderful chocolate sauce. Yum!

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It’s been raining here for two months.  Well, not really, but today has been frustratingly cool and annoyingly sun-free.  Blanket weather.  My dogs timidly step out, and forego sniff time.  That isn’t normal.  Maybe it is because they are getting older, but still….

I’m feeling the need for ice cream.  Yes, that’s the remedy.  I’ll make chocolate sauce; my father’s rich and chewy, sticky, gooey style. It’s a good day to be indoors.

My father threw all the ingredients into a pot.  It took him 30 seconds.  No “make a paste with cocoa and cold milk and gradually whisk in the remaining milk” for him.  It all came together and it was always sublime.  He had a key secret ingredient that he must have seen his mother sneak in at some point.  (Not that she was a great cook, but she knew her sweets as she was a product of the Fanny Farmer era, which remarkably lasted well into the sixties.)  Or perhaps it was an upcountry thing.  I’m not sure, but make sure you have molasses in the cupboard.  Yes, he added it in the final moments with vanilla.  Use brown sugar if you like, or use his trick.  He always plopped in a sizeable chunk of butter, too.  Just to round out the edges.

So, here’s the recipe. Grab a pot and throw in:

1 cup sugar

½ cup cocoa

½ cup milk

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

A pinch of sea salt (a fine grain everyday type such as Sel Gris, Himalayan)

Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking.  Once boiling, lower the heat and boil gently for 5 or 6 minutes.  If you want it thicker and stickier, cook a bit longer.  Remove from the heat and add:

1 teaspoon molasses

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Now, if you want to get fancy, you can substitute a sugar blend for the sugar.  We have six flavors to choose from.

To serve, simply drizzle on some sauce atop vanilla ice cream. For a great twist, sprinkle just a few granules of Danish Viking Smoked Salt for a sweet, salty, smoky treat!

If you have any questions or need a tiny bit more guidance on the recipe, send a comment.

Classic Caramel Sauce

CARAMEL SAUCE
From A Fresh Look at Saucing Foods by Chef Didi Davis

Caramel is simple to make, but don't stray too far from the saucepan because sugar can quickly turn from deep brown to black and burned. Caramel is ready when it is caramel colored. I prefer a caramel that is a dark reddish brown, not one that is pale and golden, whether it is destined for praline, candy, or sauces. The darker the color, the more bitter the taste. Yet, without some bitterness, caramel will taste too bland and lack its special character. A deeply colored caramel has a complex, bittersweet flavor as well as a gorgeous sheen.  The liquid used may be cream, juice of any kind, cider, water, or a mixture of liquids.

Makes 1 to 1 1/2 cups
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
Few drops lemon juice
2/3 to 1 cup liquid

Place the sugar, water, and lemon juice in a heavy, nonaluminum saucepan. Slowly bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Boil until the mixture turns a deep, reddish brown, between 5 and 10 minutes. Do not stir the mixture while it is cooking, but you may swirl it in the pan. The caramel will be thick. Remove the pan from the heat and let the caramel cool for a minute, swirling the pan. Place a strainer over the pan and pour in whatever liquid you have chosen. (The strainer will help prevent spattering). Once the caramel has stopped bubbling, stir it to dissolve and incorporate the liquid. If the caramel does not dissolve completely, return the pan to the heat and stir constantly until it is smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the caramel sauce to cool to room temperature. Transfer it to a pitcher, cover, and keep at room temperature until you are ready to serve it. The sauce can be refridgerated overnight for 3 to 4 days. Before serving, heat it slowly over a pan of warm water.

Making Madeleine: A Classic French Sweet

Savoring a madeleine with a cup of strong coffee has always been a favorite treat of mine.  As they do for most of us, madeleines instantly conjure up memories of French markets, artful daily living, and the truly marvelous experience of a French cafe and patisserie.

I love France, and I love food, and I am extremely happy the two are often synonymous. Reliving my memories and time spent in France is such a joy for me, as I view that country and time in my life with such fondness. Yet even for those who haven't yet had a chance to explore France, the mysteries and nuances of French tastes can still be experienced and explored.

Which brings us back to the madeleine! These beautiful cakes get their distinctive shape from the pan in which they are baked - a metal baking pan with a unique shell depression.  Madeleines are typically found in either two forms: a pound cake variety, or a sponge-cake variety. (My father loves to classify anything of this sort as a "Cookie Cake," which is honestly a very good description for a  Madeleine). Madeleines can be made in a variety of flavors - most typically either lemon or almond. These lovely cakes are the perfect companion for tea and coffee. Enjoy them for breakfast, afternoon tea, or dessert.

Madeleines are simple and easy to make. I have included for you below a recipe made with poundcake adapted from Madeleine Kamman's book, "The Making of a Cook." She writes of pound cake, "Poundcakes owe their name to their composition, which is always 1 pound each of flour, sugar, eggs and butter.  In French, they are called quartre-quarts, or "four-quarters," for 1/4 pound of each main ingredient."  Since many of us do not own scales to weigh ingredients, the recipe below is written in measurements for your convenience.

Start with the classic plain or lemon madeleine, or create your own unique flavors using any of didi davis food's innovative, hand-crafted Sugar Blends. 

LEMON MADELEINE

2 cups sifted flour

1 1/4 cup butter

1 cup sugar

4 eggs

didi davis food Lemon Sugar

3-4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Cream the butter and add sugar. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition. Blend in dry ingredients. Fold in beaten egg whites and lemon juice. 

Butter the madeleine pan, sprinkling the insides of each shell depression generously with didi davis food Lemon Sugar. Drop batter into each sugared and buttered shell, filling it to only about 3/4 full.

Bake at 325 degrees until done, before any slight browning begins. Delicieux!