My first recipe from my new Bon Appétit subscription...

I am a food media junkie, seriously!  At home our DVR is full of Iron Chef, Top Chef, Chopped, and Good Eats (I could go on).  TGC is so great about it, he never complains about the space my cooking shows take up. He even watches most of them with me, and enjoys them (or pretends to, either way I'm ok with it).  I subscribe to half a dozen cooking magazines... I adore reading recipes.  I'll make a recipe from the magazines here and there, but I usually get a craving for something and go on a recipe hunt, or make something in my regular rotation.

Bon Appétit March 2011

Enter my new subscription to Bon Appétit... I'm not sure why I never subscribed before, but with my Christmas present to myself Bon Appétit Desserts I got a free subscription to the magazine.  My first issue came months ago, but it's been a busy few months.  I have been sticking to my favorite go-to recipes instead of trying new things.  This weekend I spent some quality time catching up; I took the March and April issues with me to the coffee shop this weekend.  I was enthralled, with nearly every turn of the page there was a recipe calling my name.

There was a great section in the March issue labeled Pantry Raid, desserts you could make with things you already have on hand.  I appreciated this section as I am often looking for something simple to throw together on a weeknight, especially on days TGC or I had a particularly awful day at work.  Which unfortunately was exactly the case this week.  TGC had a rough day and I wanted to reward him with a little homemade deliciousness. I went over to this issue and opened right up to the solution to all my problems... Homemade Chocolate Puddings with Orange Whipped Cream.  Mmmm... a mid week chocolate hit.. Sign me up!

True to the section name "Pantry Raid" I only used things I already had on hand, so I did things a little different...

Chocolate Puddings with Liqueured Cream 
Inspired by recipe in March 2011 issue of Bon Appétit
Yield: 2 Martini glasses

These puddings are ultra-chocolaty and decadent, the perfect antidote to a rough day...

Ingredients
   1/4 C plus 1T sugar
      1 T cornstarch
   1/8 t salt
1 1/4 C whole milk, divided
      1 large egg yolk
      6 oz semi-sweet chocolate* (61% cocoa or less)
      1 T unsalted butter
    1/4 t vanilla extract
       3 oz chilled whipping cream
       1 T plus 2 t Liqueur (Grand Mariner, Chambord, Amaretto, or Kahlúa)
       2 t sugar

*I like Ghirardelli baking bars chopped into 1/4 inch pieces, you could use chocolate chips here too

Directions
Whisk 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan to blend.  Add 1/4 cup milk and egg yolk and whisk until smooth.  Once the mixture is smooth and remaining 1 cup milk.  Bring entire mixture to boil over medium high heat, whisking constantly.  Boil for 1 minute, still whisking constantly.  remove pan from heat; add chocolate and butter.  Whisk pudding until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.  Stir in vanilla.

Divide the pudding into two martini glasses or three dessert glasses.  Place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of each pudding.  Chill until cold, at least three hours.  (Can do up to 1 day ahead)

Once puddings have chilled, use a mixer to beat cream, liqueur and remaining 2 teaspoons of sugar in a medium bowl until stiff peaks form.

Uncover puddings, topped with half of the liqueured cream and serve!

I added a little salted caramel syrup to the tops of my chocolate puddings with Kahlúa cream.