• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Try These Dishes From U. City Dining Days

Posted on: Thursday, 12 January 2006, 18:00 CST

By April Lisante, Philadelphia Daily News

Jan. 12--This week, 20 University City restaurants will showcase their eclectic menus for "University City Dining Days."

The promotion, which runs from today through Jan. 19, features three-course meals priced at $20, $25 or $30. The prix fixe menus are served only at dinner, and celebrate the area's diverse restaurants, from African to Italian, French and American. For a full listing of restaurants and prices, go to www.ucityphila.org (click on News) or call the University City District at 215-243-0555.

University City's Zocalo, Penne and Fatou & Fama restaurants shared some "Dining Days" recipes with us.

ZOCALO'S FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE TORTE

For the cake:

1 pound semisweet chocolate

pound unsalted butter

7 eggs

3 ½ ounces sugar

1 cups sugar

cup water

For the ganache:

semisweet chocolate

cup heavy cream

1 ounces vanilla

To make the cake: Grease and flour a 10-inch round cake pan.

Boil the water and 1 cups of sugar over medium heat until sugar dissolves, to make simple syrup. Set aside to cool.

Melt chocolate and butter in the microwave. Beat the eggs and 3 ½ ounces of sugar until the mixture triples in volume. Add the melted chocolate mixture to the egg mix. Add the simple syrup.

Pour the mixture into the pan and bake in a water bath at 350 degrees for 1 hour. The cake is done when the top is set, remove from the oven and cool to room temperature. Run a knife around the edge and remove cake from pan. Place in the refrigerator for at least an hour to firm. When chilled, top with ganache.

To make the ganache: Over low heat, melt chocolate and cream, then bring to a boil. Add vanilla, cool. Frost while mixture can still be poured.

FATOU AND FAMA'S YASSA CHICKEN

1 whole chicken, cut and quartered

5 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

¼ cup olive oil

1 whole clove garlic, chopped

5 medium onions, diced

½ teaspoon seasoning salt

Fresh lemon juice from

2 whole lemons

Marinate chicken in the refrigerator for one hour or more in mustard, salt and pepper.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake chicken at 360 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover chicken and bake an additional 30 minutes or until chicken browns. Place ¼ cup of oil in sauce pan add garlic, onions, seasoning salt and lemon juice. Saute on medium to low flame for 45 minutes. Pour this onion sauce over chicken. Serve chicken pieces over white rice.

PENNE'S FETTUCCINE WITH SEARED SEA SCALLOPS IN ARUGULA PESTO WITH SUN-DRIED TOMATO AND PINE NUTS

4 cups of arugula rinsed and blanched

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup pecorino Romano cheese

(optional)

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 clove garlic

¼ cup toasted pine nuts, plus

another ¼ cup for final garnish

Salt and pepper to taste

¼ cup finely sliced

sun-dried tomato

1 ¼ pounds U-10 dry sea scallops, seasoned and seared

1 pound fresh fettuccine, cooked

Place a drizzle of olive oil in a frying pan and heat until hot. Sear scallops for about a minute or two on each side, until cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside.

Place arugula, olive oil, Romano cheese, red pepper flakes, garlic, pine nuts, salt and pepper in a blender and mix until smooth.

Toss this pesto sauce with 1 pound of fresh fettuccine, using a little of the boiled pasta water to loosen up the sauce if it is too thick.

Top the pasta with a sprinkling of sun-dried tomatoes, the remaining ¼ cup pine nuts and the seared scallops.

-----

Copyright (c) 2006, Philadelphia Daily News

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: The Philadelphia Daily News

More News in this Category