Chocolate Lava Cakes with Pistachio Cream

A bit delayed, but here are our favorite recipes for February 2011, and a featured recipe.

There were several recipes that we really liked last month, and it was difficult to pick just one favorite recipe.

My favorite recipe for the month was the Linguine with Two Sauces. Brian had a hard time picking just one recipe. What he really liked was the whole Valentine's Dinner that I made. When I asked him to pick his one favorite "recipe" he couldn't come up with one, he liked the main dishes together as a whole that I cooked on Valentine's Day, which included Pepper-Crusted Filet Mignon with Horseradish Cream, Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic-Shallot Butter, Rosemary Garlic Fingerling Potatoes (no recipe, I just do my own thing with those), and Steamed Lobster Tails (recipe found online somewhere). We also had a Heartthrob Salad, which we didn't like very much, and Chocolate Lava Cakes with Pistachio Cream for dessert, which we both liked very much. He finally said if he had to pick one recipe, he ended up choosing the Pear Dutch Baby Pancake because it was one complete dish in itself.

So in trying to come up with an agreement on one recipe that we both liked as much as the other, and one I know will be a great recipe for anyone to make, I've chosen the Chocolate Lava Cakes with Pistachio Cream to feature as the Recipe of the Month for February. So here's the recipe. This recipe comes from the Best of Cooking Light Cookbook, which can be purchased here. Enjoy!

CHOCOLATE LAVA CAKES WITH PISTACHIO CREAM

• 1 cup shelled dry-roasted pistachios
• 1 3/4 cups sugar, divided
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 2 large eggs
• 5 large egg whites
• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• Cooking spray
• 1 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
• Dash of salt
• Powdered sugar (optional)

1. Place pistachios in a food processor, and process until a crumbly paste forms (about 3 1/2 minutes), scraping sides of bowl once.
2. Place 1/4 cup pistachio butter, 1 1/4 cups sugar, cocoa, eggs, and egg whites in top of a double boiler; stir well with a whisk. Add chocolate, cook over simmering water until chocolate melts and sugar dissolves (about 3 minutes). Remove from heat; add baking powder and vanilla. Stir with a whisk until smooth. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Chill 2 hours.
3. Place remaining 1/4 cup pistachio butter and 1/2 cup sugar in food processor; pulse 4 times or until combined. Add milk and salt; process until smooth. Strain mixture through a sieve into a small saucepan; discard solids. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 4 minutes or until thick. Remove from heat; pour into a bowl. Cover and chill.
4. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
5. Bake the cakes at 450 degrees for 9 minutes or until almost set (centers will not be firm). Let cool in pan for 5 minutes.
6. Invert each cake onto a dessert plate; drizzle about 2 teaspoons sauce over each serving. Garnish with powdered sugar, if desired.

Serves 12

Pan Seared Scallops on Linguine with Tomato Cream Sauce Recipe

As promised I would pick our favorite dish for each month and share that recipe. The Pan Seared Scallops on Linguine with Tomato Cream Sauce recipe was Brian's favorite dish. Rachel liked the Baked Chicken with Lemon, Sean liked the Oven Fried Chicken Thighs with Mustard Buttermilk Sauce, and my favorite was the Blueberry Crisp a la Mode.

If you're enjoying these recipes, you can purchase the cookbook here.

And if you want to come and taste some of our cooking personally, we'd love to have you as our guest in our Colorado Springs Bed and Breakfast Inn, Rocky Mountain Lodge & Cabins where we'll serve you a gourmet 3-course breakfast each morning.

Enjoy our favorite recipe of the month from THE BEST OF COOKING LIGHT for January...

PAN SEARED SCALLOPS ON LINGUINE WITH TOMATO CREAM SAUCE

• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup minced shallots
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 1 Tbsp. grated peeled fresh ginger
• 2 Tbsp. whipping cream
• 1 Tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces
• 2/3 cup chopped seeded plum tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 cups hot cooked linguine
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• Chopped fresh cilantro, optional

1. Combine wine, shallots, lime juice, and ginger in a medium skillet; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 5 minutes. Drain mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, reserving liquid, discard solids.
2. Return wine mixture to skillet. Add cream, and cook over medium heat for 1 minute. Add butter, stirring until butter melts. Stir in chopped tomato, 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Add linguine, and toss well. Cover and keep warm.
3. Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Sprinkle scallops with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Arrange scallops in pan, cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. Add scallops to pasta mixture; toss gently to combine. Garnish with chopped cilantro, if desired.

Yield: 2 servings (about 3/4 cup pasta mixture and about 5 ounces scallops)

Calories 426 (29% from fat)
Fat 13.5 g (sat 7.3g, mono 3.5g, poly 1.2g)
Protein 34.8 g
Carb 40.6 g
Fiber 2.6 g
Chol 92 mg
Iron 2.8 mg
Sodium 794 mg

Calc 75 mg