Flourless Chocolate Devastation Cake

I often say that I could just put one dessert on the menu, and nobody would mind, and it would be this one. (I guess we’d have to keep the Blondie Sundae, too, as that has its share of fans!) I have to give credit for the original recipe to my friend and fellow baker, Jill Rose, who generously shared it with me years ago. I don’t know how many I’ve made since! It’s a bit late for Passover, but it doesn’t matter. This cake is great any time. Everyone loves it. Trust me, I know!

Flourless Chocolate Devastation Cake

1 9 inch cake
Heat oven to 325 F

Melt over simmering pan of water (not too hot!):

1 lb. 2 oz good quality bittersweet chocolate
1 + 1/3 sticks unsalted butter

Mix together by hand with a whisk:
10 eggs
1 1/3 c sugar

Combine chocolate mix and egg mix in a large bowl and mix thoroughly, then pour into greased 9 inch pan lined with parchment on bottom. Bake in a water bath for 25-30 mins, until sides look dry but middle still shiny & jiggly. Let chill overnight then release with a sharp knife and turn out onto cake plate, remove parchment circle and flip onto serving plate.

Bon appetit!

Zagat, 2011

Zagat Ratings & Review

“Wonderful all around” declare Lee locals of this “delightful” destination where chef Franck Tessier’s “fantastic” French bistro fare is matched by spouse Rachel Portnoy’s “scrumptious desserts”, not to mention her “charming” greetings; an “impressive”, “well-priced wine list” adds to the “good value”, while “marvelous service” “without hauteur” and a setting in a “historic house” with “quiet, romantic corners” add to the “appeal.” Food “24” Service “24”

What’s a Galette?


The first time I had a Galette in Brittany was actually before I met Franck. I was visiting the people for whom I’d worked the summer before in the Loire Valley, and ended up in a 400 yr old stone house in Brittany for the weekend with them! Neighbors brought a real “biliq” to the house (a crepe griddle that can run on electricity or gas; you turn the batter with your wrist using a wooden scraper…not easy!!) and we had an amazing dinner of cidre and Galettes and Crepes. In Brittany, when you go to a creperie for a meal, the savory dishes are on the Galettes, which are crepes, but made with buckwheat flour (“ble noir”). For dessert, you order a Crepe, which is made with white flour and which we see more often in the States. You can top your Galette with whatever you like: cheese, ham, onion, mushrooms, egg: the works is called a “Complet”. At the restaurant, we often serve them with fish, filled with julienned vegetables. They always surprise and delight the guests…they are just so delicious! We can’t wait to share them on Thursday night for our “Manger! Boire!” crowd. This is really Franck’s soul food, and he loves to demonstrate them!

Want to learn more about wine? Buy a restaurant…

This is what I always say. I love it when people compliment the wine list and my wine knowledge. They should have met me 6 years ago when we started Chez Nous!

I thought that it was particularly hilarious when we were invited for a - fantastic - meal at some of our guests’ home a few weeks ago. Their friends had chosen a great Willamette, OR Pinot Noir for the dinner, which they said was one of their favorites. When Franck took a sip and said “Wow! That’s great!” they said “Wow! It really must be good if you said so!” I guess they said that since he’s a chef and has a French accent. This is a completely understandable but really ironic reaction

Chefs (and pastry chefs), don’t actually get to drink a lot of wine (or particularly good wines, I should say, on normal chefs’ salaries). We’re working in the kitchen … a lot of hours… and most of the times when “normal” people, with normal jobs and lives are drinking and celebrating… and it’s not a good idea to mix heat, knives, pressure, etc. with too much drinking anyway. We spent years working in places with historic, unbelievable wine lists, and never had a sip of anything. Why our jobs would automatically qualify us to be good judges of wine in people’s minds is in reality a mystery to me.

When we started to plan the restaurant, it was the wine list that daunted us the most. If it hadn’t been for our great friends and mentors, Bill & Claudia McNamee, who we were originally connected to by our time at The Point, and who invited us to meet with their wine experts at Citigroup (where we had worked as chefs under the McNamee’s afterwards), we wouldn’t have known where to start. After a day-long intensive with Dan Pepe, their wine director, and our old friend Louis Vial from our days at Le Gavroche, we at least had a vision for our list, and a way to handle all of the wines that the representatives from different distributors were literally, flooding us with.

Big problem, I guess you must be thinking…but it was! There is an unfathomable amount of wine out there and how were two chefs supposed to know which ones to pick??
We eventually arrived at a decent beginning list. After submerging myself in wine books and wine tasting for the first year (I’d always said I’d wanted to learn more about wine…) I was actually able to go and visit my in-laws in France (who have impressive wine knowledge and palates, themselves), and have an extremely helpful tour of the Loire Valley with my brother-in-law, Patrice. We came back with a renewed focus and vision for our list. Take a look at it now, and let me know what you think!

Dog Sauce??

It’s so strange to still be on vacation; the new website has required some amount of attention, but basically this year, with no major renovations at the restaurant, we are truly RELAXING…We’re also playing a lot with some of the delicious ideas that we got from our trip to St. Martin. The most wonderful being “Sauce Chien” or the unappetizing English translation: “Dog Sauce.” We ate this sauce with delicious whole fish, fried fish accras…I could put it on almost anything. A little bit of browsing has revealed the source of the name to be the idea that it is so delicious, you could put it on a dog and eat it…taking my last statement to the extreme. I’ve compiled many different recipes into one here, and testing it we were definitely taken back to Chez Hercule in St. Martin. It’s not so seasonal these days, with the freshness of this sauce, and we’ll feature it on the Spring menu only with an appetizer, but go ahead and try it if you are in the mood to make something plain and grilled, fish, tofu, meats…and top it with something simple, fresh and yummy:

Sauce Chien

1/2 onion, chopped

3 scallions, sliced

1-2 clove garlic

1/2 red or green pepper, diced

1 small tomato, diced

juice of 1 lime

4 sprigs cilanto

2 T olive oil

salt, pepper, pinch dried thyme

-Pulse everything in food processor and let flavors develop together while you cook the rest of your meal.

 

 

 

Behind the Scenes! A video in the kitchen…

While shooting food and atmosphere in the restaurant for the new website, Greg Nesbit, photographer extraordinaire, took some videos as well, which are fun (for us!) to watch.

 

Awards

Best of Boston, Best New Restaurant in the Berkshires, 2005Yankee Magazine, Editor’s ChoiceWine Spectator Award of Excellence

Berkshire Living

2009In Lee, Massachusetts, Chez Nous has become a favorite among locals and tourists alike. Ingredients—as local and organic, in season, as possible—are painstakingly sourced… Portnoy frequently makes the circuit… amiably chatting… When Tessier takes a break from the kitchen, his jolly energy fills the dining area, and he’s happy to talk for hours about regional recipes and his more contemporary approache to bistro cuisine.

Passport Magazine

They are a study in contrasts. He is happily carnivorous, while she is a dedicated vegetarian. He began studying to be a chef at age 15, while she came to her craft at 26, slightly late for the culinary world. There should be tension, opposition—but instead the gregarious and gifted French chef Franck Tessier and his charming American wife Rachel Portnoy, a superb pastry chef, make magic as the owners of Chez Nous, located in Lee, Mass. And what’s more, they seem to be thoroughly enjoying it.

Chowhound

December 2010My recommendation for Lee or just about anywhere in the Berkshires is the outstanding French restaurant Chez Nous. Fabulous food, lovely service. It will be a memorable meal and you will want to come here whenever you return to the Berkshires for that special dinner.Read the original post…