DELTA MAGAZINE

Martha Hall Foose, the Mississippi Delta-based cookbook author of a new national cookbook, Screen Doors and Sweet Tea, Recipes and Tales from a Southern Cook (Hyperion), shares an excerpt from the hot new release. See www.turnrowbooks.com or www.marthafoose.com for more information.

Darkness on the Delta
Cool Bittersweet Dessert

The lyrics to “Darkness on the Delta” are painted on the risers of the stairs that come down into my home kitchen. The wall next to the old barrel-house piano off the living room is papered with faded copies of sheet music for the song by Mildred Bailey; Author Tracy, “Street Singer of the Air”; Paul Whiteman’s Rhythm Boys (No, I did not make that name up); Ambrose and his Mayfair Orchestra; and Yazoo City’s own Herbie Holmes and his Orchestra. If this flood plain had an anthem, this song would be it. As the song drifts to a conclusion, it trails off with the aspiration “When it’s darkness on the delta, let me linger ’neath the shelter of the night.”

Darkness in the Delta
This deep, dark-as-night fudgy dessert is a cool ending to a dinner party on a starry evening. Serves 8

7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2⁄3 cup whole milk
1⁄3 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Freshly grated nutmeg
1 large egg yolk
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon Bourbon
Unsweetened cocoa powder, for serving
Confectioners’ sugar, for serving

Put the chocolate in a large bowl and set aside.
In a saucepan over medium heat, bring the milk, 1⁄3 cup granulated sugar, and a little nutmeg to a simmer. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and remaining 1 tablespoon granulated sugar. Slowly whisk in half of the milk mixture. Return the entire mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens; about 5 minutes. Do not boil.

Pour the hot mixture over the chopped chocolate. Let sit for 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the butter a little at a time, and then add the vanilla and Bourbon. Whisk until the mixture is very smooth.

Spray a 6-inch cake pan with nonstick cooking spray, and line with plastic wrap. Scrape the mixture into the pan and smooth with a spatula. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 6 hours.

When ready to serve, invert the cake onto a serving plate and remove the plastic wrap. Dust with cocoa and confectioners’ sugar.

© 2008 Coopwood Magazines, Inc