Cook’s Club is a fun monthly get together I created with friends to learn new cooking techniques and recipes. We select 3-4 seasonal ingredients and have to make a dish with 1-2 of those ingredients. The ingredients for this month were chocolate, orange & nuts! Such a great combination and everything turned out amazingly delicious (and nothing was too chocolaty, except for the cake)!
Recipes:
Orange Crush Cocktail: 2 oz. orange juice, 2 oz vodka, mix above in shaker & pour over glass filled with ice. Add a dash of 7up to top off. Enjoy!
Chocolate Covered Grapes: 1 lb. seedless grapes, your choice chocolate (we used white), nuts (optional). Wash & stem grapes – be sure to dry them well. Chill grapes in freezer. Melt chocolate. Place grapes on lined baking sheet. Drizzle chocolate over grapes & coat well. Add nuts before chocolate dries if desired.
Salad with Oranges and Chocolate: 1/4 cup orange juice, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar or cider vinegar, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp dijon-style mustard, 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, 2 medium oranges, 6 cups torn mixed spring greens and/or romaine, 1/3 cup candied almonds or walnuts, 1 oz semisweet chocolate curls & chopped red onion to taste. For dressing: In a screw-top jar, combine orange juice, vinegar, olive oil, mustard, and pepper. Cover and shake well. Peel oranges. Cut oranges into 1/4 inch-thick slices. In a large salad bowl, toss together orange slices, salad greens, and almonds. Drizzle with the dressing: toss to coat. Add chocolate shavings to top (can use a vegetable peeler over a piece of chocolate).
Salmon with Nuts & Chocolate: Boneless/skinless salmon, walnuts (or other nut), 1 stick butter, 2 oz baking chocolate & juice of 2 oranges. Crush nuts in ziploc bag. Drop salmon filets in bag to coat with nuts. Melt together butter, chocolate & O.J. to create a glaze. Grill or pan saute salmon, coating with melted glaze every few minutes.
Orange Couscous with Pine Nuts: 1 orange -juice & zest, 1 cup of chicken or vegetable stock, 7 oz of couscous, 1 oz pine nuts, 2 tbsp chopped parsley, 1 tsp chopped mint leaves & salt to taste.
Chocolate Cherry Fudge Cake: 1box of dark chocolate fudge cake mix, 1 can 20 oz cherry pie filling, 2 eggs, 1 1/2 tsp almond extract. Mix together above ingredients. Pour into 11×13 baking dish. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Frosting: 1/3 cup milk, 5 tbsp butter, 1 cup sugar, 6 oz. chocolate chips. Bring the 1st three ingredients to a boil and add the chocolate chips. Boil for 1-2 minutes, stirring continually, then pour over warm cake that you have pierced holes into with the bottom tip of the wood spoon. Let cool. SO GOOD!