U is for Un bon jeune homme

Well, well, well. Look at who knows how to cook.

Let me tell you, the Un bon jeune homme ("a fine young man") recipe, just might be one of my favorite desserts to make. Ok, that's a pretty strong statement, but you get the picture. All the recipe entails is melting chopped chocolate (I use Scharffen Berger 70%) with milk...and lots of stirring...and then? A creamy, intense dark chocolate dessert. I served my "un bon jeune homme" with a sprig of mint, a sliced strawberry, and a shortcut creme anglaise sauce. Add a flute of champagne and strawberries, and oh laa laa, the perfect dessert.

 

 

Un bon jeune homme

Recipe from Ginette Mathiot in I Know How to Cook, p. 726

Ingredients

• 3 cups milk
• 6 ounces chocolate, chopped
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 quantity creme anglaise

Directions

Bring the milk to a simmer in a pan. Mix the chocolate and sugar into the milk. Simmer gently for 45 minutes, stirring frequently, to make a very thick paste. After about 30 minutes the chocolate will have the consistency of yogurt, and should be stirred constantly. Pour into a bowl, and allow to cool. Coat with the creme anglaise and serve very cold.

Shortcut Creme Anglaise

Idea from Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa

I adore Ina Garten's show, The Barefoot Contessa. On one episode, she made a shortcut creme anglaise sauce to complement chocolate cake and strawberries. Simply buy a pint of high quality vanilla ice cream (I used Häagen-Dazs), let it sit at room temperature, and then add the melted ice cream to a dessert plate. Creme anglaise doesn't get any easier than that. Trust me.