Johnny Iuzzini, Executive Pastry Chef at award winning Restaurant Jean-Georges and café Nougatine in New York City, hails from the Catskills in upstate New York. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America with twenty years of kitchen experience since the age of 15, he boasts a heavy list of experience at highly lauded dining locations such as The River Café in Brooklyn, NY, Daniel, Payard and Café Boulud in New York City. His enrichment continued during a journey around the world in 1998 as well as to study pastry at some of the finest patisseries in France including LaDuree under Pierre Herme.
Chef Iuzzini was deemed “Outstanding Pastry Chef of the Year” by the James Beard Foundation in 2006, followed by accolades such as “10 Most Influential Pastry Chefs in America” by Forbes Magazine, “Best New Pastry Chef” by New York Magazine, and named one of the “Top Ten Pastry Chefs in America” two years in a row by Pastry Arts and Design Magazine. Entwined in these rankings are several appearances on major network television shows including Martha Stewart, Paula Dean and Tony Danza, as well as being seen on Top Chef Chicago, The Today Show and Good Morning America. During the seven years that Chef Iuzzini has been the Executive Pastry Chef at Restaurant Jean-Georges, the restaurant has received four stars from the New York Times, as well as three Michelin stars, and is considered to one of the world’s 50 greatest restaurants. . Iuzzini is the head judge of Bravo’s culinary competition series “Top Chef Just Desserts” and the author of Dessert Fourplay: Sweet Quartets From A Four-Star Pastry Chef.
Chef Iuzzini wanted to share a few recipes with us to kick off your holiday celebrations! Here is the first recipe:
Chocolate Chipotle Soup from DESSERT FOURPLAY
Chocolate-Chipotle Soup ~ Milk Chocolate–Coconut Foam
Serves 4 to 6 on its own or 8 as part of a fourplay
Working in a restaurant affords me the opportunity to learn the food cultures of many of my colleagues, who often bring home cooking to share for lunch. When that home cooking is Mexican, the dishes are sometimes flavored with chipotles or another chile, and I’ve come to crave that little kiss of heat, even in dessert.
The gentle kick in the chocolate soup is tamed by the soothing chocolate-coconut foam.
For the Milk Chocolate–Coconut Foam
5 ounces (150 g) whole milk chocolate (preferably Valrhona Jivara 40% cacoa), chopped
1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk
Put the chocolate in a glass bowl and melt in the microwave, using 30-second bursts and stirring after each burst, or melt in
a double boiler.
Bring the coconut milk to a simmer in a saucepan. Add the chocolate and emulsify with an immersion blender. Refrigerate until cool, then emulsify again with an immersion blender. Pour into a whipped cream maker and charge with a cream whipper charger (N2O ). Shake vigorously. Refrigerate until needed or for up to 2 days.
For the Soup
Makes about 31⁄2 cups
Scant 1⁄4 ounce (6 g) chipotle chiles
About 31⁄4 cups (780 g) milk
5 ounces (150 g) milk chocolate (preferably Valrhona Jivara 40% cacao), chopped
Heat a small skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the chiles, and toast them for about 90 seconds, turning them once. Let the chiles cool, then remove the seeds and chop.
Put the chiles in a small saucepan with 11⁄2 cups of the milk. Bring to a simmer, then turn off the heat and infuse for 20 minutes. Mix with an immersion blender to pulverize the chiles. Strain through a fine strainer into a measuring cup and add enough milk to make 3 cups. Pour the milk into a clean saucepan and bring to a boil.
Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Pour about one-third of the milk into the center and stir from the inside of the bowl out. Continue adding milk gradually as the chocolate melts. Mix with an immersion blender.
Fill a small glass or a cup about two-thirds full with the soup and top with the foam. Garnish with some croutons and toasted coconut. Repeat for each serving.
For the photograph, I held the glass on its side while I added the foam.
To Serve
Chocolate brioche croutons (recipe follows)
Shredded unsweetened coconut, toasted
Brioche Croutons
Croutons aren’t just for the savory kitchen. I make them with plain Brioche and with Chocolate Brioche and use them as a crunchy component in many desserts.
I store brioche in the freezer, not just because it keeps it fresh, but because it’s easier to cut thin, even slices from a loaf when it is frozen. I recommend you do the same.
Cut 1⁄3-inch slices of plain or chocolate brioche. Trim the crusts and discard. Cut the slices into 1⁄3-inch dice. Spread the bread cubes out on a baking sheet and leave them on the counter overnight to dry.
Heat the oven to 325ºF or 300ºF on convection. Line a small rimmed baking sheet with parchment.
Toss the bread cubes with a teaspoon or two of oil, then with sugar and coarse salt to taste. Spread out again on the baking sheet. Bake, stirring carefully and often, until golden, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely and then store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
“Reprinted from the book Dessert Fourplay by Johnny Iuzzini. Copyright © 2008 by Johnny Iuzzini. Photograph copyright © 2008 by Gregor Halenda. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, Inc.”
