Fork & Cork from Chef Patrick Evans-Hylton

Chocolate Cake Deconstructed,
originally uploaded by awriterforyou.

Here is the latest recipe from Everyday Gourmet. Watch (or Tivo) my segments each Wednesday on 13 News at Noon.

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Chocolate Cake Deconstructed

By Chef Patrick Evans-Hylton

A fun thing to do with desserts and other dishes is to take them apart, literally, to their basic elements and present them in that manner. In today’s Everyday Gourmet, we take ingredients from a sinfully rich chocolate cake, and do just that.

On our platter is plain chocolate cake, decadent chocolate icing, chocolate shavings and cocoa powder. We serve it with a shot glass of chocolate syrup, just to make everything that much more over the top.

Below is a favorite recipe of mine for chocolate cake.

If you’d like a favorite recipe of mine for chocolate icing, email me at: patrick@hrmag.com.

You can take this concept with other dishes, too, although it seems to work best with desserts. It’s fun to take the different elements and reconstruct them as you dine, or just eat them by themselves.

Remember – we recommend using delicious Virginia-grown products whenever possible.

Enjoy this recipe, and if you have a recipe to share or a question to ask, email me at: patrick@hrmag.com.

Email me, too, to find out our next filming date; you are invited to sit in on a segment taping at Croc’s 19th Street Bistro in Virginia Beach.

Also, check out my food blog: www.hamptonroadsmagazine.com/dishrag for more food news you can use.

INGREDIENTS

3 cups dark brown sugar, packed
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup baking cocoa
Dash cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups sour cream or Greek yogurt
1 1/3 cups boiling water
METHOD
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans. Cream sugar and butter in a bowl; add eggs one at a time, beating to incorporate after each addition. Beat on high until mixture is fluffy and add vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients and add to batter. Add sour cream or yogurt and stir to incorporate. Stir in water to thoroughly blend.

Pour into prepared pans and baked for 35 minutes; a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Cool in pans about 10 minutes, then remove and place on cooling rack to reach room temperature.

AIM Chat,
originally uploaded by awriterforyou.

Look up … a little bit higher … see that tab at the top of the screen that say’s “Chat with Chef Patrick” ?

Well, click it! If I am online, you can chat with me !

Give me tips on restaurants, share recipes, or ask a question !

What are you waiting for ?

Country Ham & Eggs, Charlies Cafe, Norfolk,
originally uploaded by awriterforyou.

Good morning, sunshine.

Coming up in HRM’s March issue is an article titled “A Baker’s Dozen of Great Breakfast and Brunch Spots.”

I’ve been visiting places from greasy spoons to upscale eateries in search of the best places to grab a bite to start the day.

Most recently, I dined at Charlie’s Cafe in Norfolk. The eggs over easy, salty country ham and buttery grits were incredible.

Smack yo momma good, as we say in my native Georgia.

Potato Omelet, Charlies Cafe, Norfolk,
originally uploaded by awriterforyou.

My partner thoroughly enjoyed this Potato Omelet. The omelet was light and fluffy, the potato ratio just right, and a little kick came from the habenero salsa.

Exterior, Charlies Cafe, Norfolk,
originally uploaded by awriterforyou.

A charming old building only adds to the atmosphere at Charlie’s Cafe, which serves both breakfast and lunch.

Restaurant Critic,
originally uploaded by awriterforyou.

Tell us if you’ve got what it takes to dine on the DL …

Does haute cuisine get you hot? Does comfort food sooth your savage beast? Do you TiVo Food Network? Do you get giddy when you hear of a new restaurant opening?

If you have had a lifelong love affair with food, we want to talk to you.

Each year, Hampton Roads Magazine gathers an elite group of culinary professionals in our region to determine the best of the best – our Platinum Plate Awards.

This year, you could be on the team.

Write to us and explain why you want to be a food critic and part of the Platinum Plates Awards selection committee. We’ll select one person on or near the beginning of April. This offer is not available to folks who work or has an immediate family member who works in the food service industry in Hampton Roads.

Your letter should be no more than 1,000 words and include the following information:

-A brief biography – who you are, where you are from and what you do.

-An explanation as to how big a foodie you really are and what started your interest in food and restaurants.

-Explain how many times a month you dine out at full-service restaurants in Hampton Roads. Name four or five of the restaurants you’ve eaten at in the past two months.

-What is your favorite cuisine?

-What is your least favorite cuisine?

-Describe a recent pleasurable dining experience locally.

-Describe a recent unpleasant dining experience locally.

Extra points for creativity will be awarded.

Also, be sure to include your name, home street address, email address as well as your home and work phone numbers. Faxes and emails cannot be accepted. Applications must be postmarked by March 30, 2008.

The winner will be selected to be on the Platinum Plate Awards selection committee and will accompany Hampton Roads Magazine food editor Patrick Evans-Hylton on a restaurant review.

Please do not phone or email inquiring to the status of your application. The winner will be announced in an upcoming issue of Hampton Roads Magazine.

Send your letter to:

Hampton Roads Magazine
Attn: Patrick Evans-Hylton, Food Editor
1264 Perimeter Pkwy.
Virginia Beach, VA 23454