Recipes and Restaurants

I want to take some time to report on a restaurant that Teresa and I have come to enjoy up the North Shore of Lake Superior. We travel there fairly often to see my dad in Silver Bay. Just south of there in Beaver Bay is a nice little restaurant called the Lemon Wolf Cafe. The owner is the chef and it seats about 30 people max. the decor is nice, the menu is really nice comfort food and this may seem strange but they have the nicest, cleanest restroom I have ever seen in a restaurant. Back to the menu; they offer fresh Lake superiorfish from local fishermen like salmon and herring ( very nice). They also offer a good Swedish meatball special sometimes and their Hot roast beef sandwich is excellent. It's a good pot roast-like beef with a tasty gravy and their home-made bread. they also offer wines and good beers. The owner/chef always comes out to talk with us and he's very interesting to talk to. He's from Milwaukee and came here about 10 years ago and never left. He cooked for a couple chefs in the Milwakee area and this is his first time owning a restaurant. His food is very good quality with good ingredients and great flavor but not too expensive or too gourmet to put him out of reach for his market. I think it's a successful venture and I'd encourage you to try them. They are located in a little strip-mall like building on the North side of the highway right in town.
Enjoy!

Next I think we'll talk Deep Dark Chocolate Cheesecake from a recipe I found in BonAppetit magazine. It was one of the choices at the Welcome Dessert at Vineyard from yesterday's post along with a Goat Cheese Cheesecake with fresh Red Grape Compote with Toasted Walnuts, Red Wine, Rosemary and Black Pepper. I also made a Chocolate Malted Creme Brulee and a Crepe Cake ( 24 layers of crepes with Almond Pastry Cream between each layer).
Here's the Choc Cheesecake:

12 to 16 servings
Crust:
24 Chocolate wafer cookies (about 4-5 oz.)
1 T sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
Filling:
1 9.7 oz. bar good bittersweet 60% Cacao chocolate, chopped (Ghirardelli
4 8oz. pkgs Cream Cheese, room temp
1 1/4 cups plus 2 T sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder ( i like Penzey's)
4 large eggs
Topping:
3/4 cup heavy cream
6oz. 60% Bittersweet choc, chopped ( same as above)
1 T sugar

For Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9" springform pan with 3" sides. Blend cookies in food processor until finely ground; blend in sugar. Add melted butter and process until well blended. Press crumbs evenly onto the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake until just set, about 5 to 8 mins. Cool while preparing the filling.
For Filling: Stir chopped chocolate in bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering wateruntil melted and smooth. Remove bowl from pan and cool chocolat until still warm and pourable. Blend cream cheese , sugar, and cocoa powder in stand mixer until smooth. add eggs, one at a time, then mix in lukewarm chocolate. Pour the filling over the crust and smooth the top. Bake until center is just set and just appears dry, about 1 hour. Cool 5 minutes and run a knife around the edge to separate it from the pan. Chill overnight.
For Topping:
Stir cream, 6oz. chocolate,and sugar in heavy saucepan over low heat until smooth. Cool slightly, then pour over the top of the cake and spread to within 1/2 " of the edge of the cake. Chill until topping is set. Release the pan sides and transfer to a platter to serve.
Tim