Happy Chef Blogging Friday!
If you've ever had a hankering for a great roast chicken or a burger and fries to die for in San Francisco...there's only one place to go....ZUNI CAFE. Meet the chef/co-owner/proprietor, Judy Rodgers.Judy is the chef and co-owner of Zuni Café in San Francisco. A graduate of Stanford University, she was the lunch chef at Chez Panisse in the 1970’s and later, the chef at the nationally recognized Union Hotel in Benicia, California. She was among just 50 individuals named in 1984 to the inaugural roster of “Who’s Who in Cooking in America.” Judy joined Zuni Café in 1987 and was the recipient of the James Beard Foundation’s award for the Best Chef: California in 2000. In 2003, Zuni Café received the James Beard Foundation’s most prized national award: Outstanding Restaurant.
In September 2002 W. W. Norton and Company published Judy’s first book, The Zuni Café Cookbook. The cookbook received rave reviews from critics across the country – from the San Francisco Chronicle to Newsweek. The New York Times named it the best cookbook of the year. In May 2003, it received several awards from the James Beard Foundation including the top award---Cookbook of the Year.
Zuni Cafe Chocolate Pots de Crème
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate,chopped
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
8 egg yolks
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Melt chocolate with 1/2 cup of cream in a 2-quart saucepan or in a bowl over simmering water. Remove from heat. Combine remaining 1 cup cream, milk and sugar in a saucepan and warm until sugar dissolves.
Whisk yolks in a bowl, then slowly stir in warm cream mixture. Pourresulting custard mixture through a strainer into melted chocolateand stir to combine.
Pour mixture into 6 custard cups and place them at least an inchapart in a baking pan. Add enough hot water to pan to reach justunder the lip of the cups. Bake until custards are just set at edges,about 45 minutes. They will continue to cook after you remove themfrom oven, and chocolate will harden as it cools. Take care not toovercook; this custard is best when slightly soft. Loosely cover and refrigerate.
