Champagne Honey Vinaigrette

Greetings! I feel as if I’ve been away forever, yet it has only been a bit over two weeks. And a very busy, active couple of weeks at that with our amazing trek through Peru’s Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu as well as our traversing the walkways of Iguazu Falls in Argentina. As soon as I get some time to sort through the thousands of photos I shot, I’ll share all about our adventures and post some pictures. In the meantime, we’ve only been home a couple of days, and I’ve been back at work and coming home only to collapse into bed far earlier than normal.

Tonight I finally found energy to peruse my photo files and see if my food folder had anything worthy of sharing. Well, not much going on there! I was so busy prior to leaving that I didn’t cook much, and when I did, I didn’t take any pictures. Boo hoo! I’ll have to get busy in the kitchen in the coming weekends if I want to keep my blog updated.

I did find one item not shared yet–mainly because I wasn’t happy with the photo. Well, it’s share this photo/recipe or share nothing.

If you haven’t checked out Chris at The Cafe Sucre Farine yet, please do. She is a delightful writer with fabulous recipes, and she shares tons of salad dishes that are divine along with heavenly dressings. This one jumped to the top of my “must try” list as soon as I saw the ingredients. It includes Champagne vinegar, which I just happened to have a bottle of and which I had been saving for the perfect recipe.

If you have checked out Champagne vinegar, you’ll understand why I’ve been saving it. The stuff is expensive! But I bought it to attempt recreating the Girards Champagne dressing that I just love (and haven’t quite recreated with success yet).

Anyhow, Chris’s recipe includes garlic, honey, dijon mustard, and orange juice–all of which sounded yummy to me. So, I tried it. And I like it. A lot. Definite winner of a salad dressing recipe.

Have you ever made your own salad dressings? Easy peasy. We rarely buy bottled dressing anymore because making our own is quick, easy, and delish. Now, if I can just learn to take decent photos of salads and dressings, I can share more of them with you.

Champagne Honey Vinaigrette

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INGREDIENTS

• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp. honey
• 1/4 cu Champagne vinegar (Chris recommends the Trader Joe’s brand)
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Place all ingredients into a jar and shake, shake, shake. Unused dressing can be stored in a sealed container in refrigerator for several days.

SOURCE: The Cafe Sucre Farine

Peruvian Roast Chicken

The travel bug infected me eons ago in my early adulthood when a family friend from Australia stayed with us. She regaled us with stories of her escapades, and that’s when the symptoms began to eat away at me.

As a teacher, fortune smiles upon me every summer with time and freedom to explore. In my single years I would take off, either road trips exploring the Western region of the United States or exotic destinations like Egypt, Greece, Turkey… I even spent two years teaching in Japan, allowing me side trips to explore the Asian destinations of China, Korea, and Thailand. With hubby, we’ve spent time exploring the grand ol’ states with a few exotic destinations tossed in over the years.

This particular trip that I mentioned in the previous post, the trip that has us sooooooo excited that we awoke at 3 a.m. and couldn’t sleep anymore and got up and made breakfast at the ungodly hour of 4 a.m. — this trip is a bucket list trip item. As of tonight, we’ll be on the red eye flight to South America, with Peru as the first stop. Hubby’s bucket list item includes a visit to the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu. For me, the next leg of our trip includes Iguazu Falls in Argentina, incredible massive falls that far surpass Niagra (which I’ve never seen, by the way). I’ve wanted to visit Iguazu for almost a decade now, and it has taken three years of diligent monthly savings to arrive at this day. I feel about to burst with the anticipation.

So, in honor of our trip, I made Peruvian Roast Chicken. I had to. It called to me.

I mixed the marinade paste with a bit of trepidation. It uses habanero chile, tops in heat. And the little orange chiles are miniscule in size for packing quite a punch! I also wasn’t keen on using mint leaves in the recipe simply because I’m not a huge fan of mint (except in Peppermint Patties).  I forged ahead, though. The paste is very thick and reddish. The chicken got a good rub-a-dub-dub both under and atop the skin, then it sat in the fridge for a few hours. The final roasted bird did not taste as hot as I had worried it might. The combo of flavors was definitely on the spicier side but not overly so. Hubby really liked it. I liked it but, truthfully, prefer the Herb-Roasted Chicken I make.

Now, I must finish packing and cleaning the house. So much to do before departing for a big trip.

Peruvian Roast Chicken with Garlic and Lime

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INGREDIENTS

• 3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves
• 2 tbsp. kosher salt
• 6 medium garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp. ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp. ground cumin
• 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
• 2 tsp. smoked paprika
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 2 tsp. finely grated zest and 1/4 cup juice from 2 limes
• 1 tsp. minced habanero chile
• 1 (3/12 to 4 pound chicken)
• not really an ingredient, but you will either need a vertical roaster or make your own using a 12-ounce can of beer

DIRECTIONS

1. Place all ingredients except chicken into a blender; mix until a smooth paste forms, 10-20 seconds. (FYI: use gloves when handling habanero chile or your hands will BURN!)
2. Gently loosen the skin of the chicken over the breast and thighs; remove any excess fat. Rub half the paste beneath the skin; spread remaining paste over entire outside of chicken. Place chicken in a large resealable bag, then refrigerate for 6-24 hours.
3. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 325 degrees F. Place vertical roaster (or half empty can of 12-ounce beer) onto a rimmed baking sheet (cover it in foil first to catch drips). Slide the chicken onto your roaster so it stand upright with breast perpendicular to pan. Roast until skin just begins to turn golden and instant read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast registers 140 degrees, 45-55 minutes. Remove chicken (and pan) from oven, followed by increasing temperature to 500 degrees.
4. When oven is ready, place one cup of water in the bottom of the pan; return to oven. Roast until entire skin is browned and crisp and instant read thermometer registers 160 degrees inserted in thickest part of breast and 175 degrees in thickest part of thigh, about 20 minutes. If water evaporates, add more to keep pan from smoking. Rotate chicken halfway through cooking.
5. When cooked through, remove chicken from oven and allow to rest, still vertical, for 20 minutes before carving.

SOURCE: America’s Test Kitchen

Irish Soda Bread

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Although we don’t do anything to celebrate, I did make this Irish Soda Bread. Perhaps waking up at 3 a.m. had something to do with that decision. I couldn’t sleep. Neither could hubby. (We have a big trip planned with departure soon and are both incredibly excited. I’ll tell you more in a couple days.) We finally got up at 4am and he made us eggs and bacon for a super duper early breakfast. I then mixed up this bread and popped it into the oven.

It’s incredibly easy to make. It just takes minutes to stir the ingredients, dump it onto a baking sheet (or into a cast iron skillet), shape it a bit, and bake. About 45 minutes later, you have a crusty  ball of bread with a tender interior.

Slather it with plain or flavored butter, jam, curd, chocolate hazelnut spread or whatever your heart desires. I used butter then sprinkled on cinnamon sugar. Yum. Made a terrific morning snack after our ridiculously early breakfast. (Until I typed this out and checked for links, I didn’t realize I had made so many types of spreads!)

I’ve had my eye on this bread since last year around this time when it kept popping up all over the food blogosphere. Again this year it made an appearance on numerous blogs, calling out to me. I had never heard of it until last year, so this was my first experience with this quick bread. Love it. No kneading. No yeast. No long rising times. And you get a dense, crusty, tender loaf to enjoy. Perfect!

Irish Soda Bread

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INGREDIENTS

• 4 tbsp. butter, cold
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 cups buttermilk, plus a bit more for brushing the loaf

Optional additions:

• 2-4 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tbsp. orange or lemon zest
• 1/2-3/4 cup raisins or other dried fruit

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a cast iron skillet or baking sheet, or line a baking sheet with parchment paper of a silpat mat.
2. Place dry ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a couple times to mix. You can also mix the dough by hand, so you would whisk it all together at this point in a large bowl.
3. Cut butter into small pieces and add to food processor. Pulse until butter is mixed in. If mixing by hand, work butter into flour by pinching and rubbing butter into flour, or use a pastry cutter. (I actually started this way but decided the food processor would be much faster.)
4. Remove chute from food processor, and while machine is on continuous pulse mode, slowly add the buttermilk. If mixing by hand, use a spatula or wooden spoon to mix buttermilk into dry ingredients. The dough will be wet and shaggy at this point.
5. Use a rubber spatula to push the dough out of the bowl and onto your skillet or baking sheet. Use the spatula to help shape the dough into a thick, slightly flattened ball. (This was a messy process trying to get the dough out of the food processor, but it was certainly a quick method for mixing the butter into the dry ingredients. Next time I’ll probably transfer the flour/butter mixture to a bowl then add the buttermilk.)
6. Using a sharp knife, mark a large “X” into the center of the dough, cutting from end to end and about 1/2 inch deep. Brush entire loaf with a bit of buttermilk.
7. Bake at 400 degrees F for 45-55 minutes, checking after 25 minutes. If bread is browning too quickly, place a piece of foil over it. Bread will be done when the center of the “X” is no longer looking wet and shiny. A cake tester should also come out clean when it is done.
8. Allow bread to cool for about 10 minutes once you remove it from oven, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling. You can actually cut into it at this transfer point. Cutting into it any sooner, though, may result in a gummy textured center.

SOURCE: The Kitchn

Magic Custard Cake

Three magical layers that appear during baking: crusty bottom, custard middle, airy meringue top

Day One…Wednesday

I spy the picture of the Magic Custard Cake. I devour the blog post. I’m totally intrigued.

Day Two…Thursday

I’m dreaming of that Magic Cake. I’m exhausted after dealing with adolescents all day. I mix up and bake the Magic Cake anyway. It’s good. Really good. Will I manage to save some until Saturday to take pics for the blog? Immense tug-o-war between willpower and desire…

Day Three…Friday

I resist eating the rest of the Magic Cake for breakfast. Must get pics; must get pics.

Dreaming of variations of Magic Cake on drive to work: vanilla bean, orange zest, cinnamon…

I get home very late and sneak a bite…or two. Total willpower to resist eating it all. Still need to get some photos.

Day Four…Saturday 

Ahh, the weekend. Glorious weekend. Sleeping in. No rushing. Must take picture of Magic Cake. First, sneak a bite…or two. Snap. Snap. Snap. Pictures done. Ahh, delicious forkful after forkful of Magic Cake.

Uh oh…no more Magic Cake!

Magic indeed, folks! Magical in taste as well as form.

Let’s talk taste first. Light–in texture and taste and sweetness. A bit eggy, yes, but less so after a stint in the fridge. Over the top with a dusting of powdered sugar. I can imagine how stellar it would taste with some slices of strawberry or a drizzle of berry sauce. I had totally planned to make some blackberry sauce to test out my idea, but hubby ate the few berries I had set aside. Next time…

Now let’s talk form. That’s the totally fun and magical part about this cake. The batter magically transforms to make a crust, a custard middle, and an airy meringue-like top. How in the world does that happen??? Any science buffs out there who can offer an explanation? I’m thoroughly fascinated and want to know what’s going on.

So, the batter has two components: egg whites beaten to stiffness and a liquid-y portion. The eggs whites get folded into the liquid. As I was folding, the egg whites just looked like big glacier chunks floating around. I didn’t want to overmix, so I just left the chunks, but I did fold until they were about 1-inch bits. It ended up creating a slightly mountainous terrain finish to the top of the cake, but I liked the look. It gave it lots of golden peaks and valleys.

I’m guessing the magic layering happens from a separation of the ingredients. Here’s my explanation: the heaviness of the flour settles to the bottom to make the crust; the lightness of the egg whites rises to create the meringue-like top; the yolks get stuck in the middle to form the custard. Sounds logical to me. But hey, I’m not a science buff. Just hypothesizing here.

I have visions of flavor variations for the cake. Wouldn’t flecks of vanilla bean add a smidge of heightened flavor? How about a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg for a fall flair? Or orange zest to brighten the cake for spring?

Well, two days after reading about the Magic Cake, the same bloggers from whom I found this delightful cake posted their variation: Chocolate!! Woo hoo!!! Now that’s a flavor variation that scores a homerun. You can bet I’ll be making that one sooner rather than later, for sure.

Now go have some fun and whip up this Magic Cake. Watch it transform. Be amazed.

Magic Custard Cake

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INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2 cups milk
• 4 room temperature eggs, whites and yolks separated
• 1 1/4 cups (150 g) powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp. water
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp. distilled white vinegar (or 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly butter an 8×8-inch baking dish.
2. In bowl of stand mixer, whip egg whites until stiff peaks form, about 10 minutes. Begin at low speed and as whites begin to foam, increase speed to medium high. As egg whites are mixing, add vinegar (this helps to stabilize the egg whites as well as make them fluffier while baking).
3. While egg whites are mixing, melt butter; set aside to cool a bit.
4. Also while egg whites are mixing, heat milk to lukewarm (between 98-105 degrees F); set aside.
5. In a separate large bowl, mix yolks and sugar at medium-high until light.
6. Add melted butter and water; mix at medium-low until blended, about 2 minutes.
7. Add flour; mix at medium-low speed until evenly blended.
8. Slowly add milk and vanilla extract, mixing on low (or by hand), until blended. Batter will be liquidy.
9. Gently fold egg whites into batter in three batches (be sure to fold; if you stir, you will deflate the egg whites). Expect egg whites to float around, but mix until the chunks are about 1-inch in size.
10. Pour batter into the 8×8-inch dish; bake for 45-60 minutes, until the top is golden. Due to custard middle, expect a slightly jiggly final product.
11. Cool cake completely before cutting. You can expedite the cooling process by placing cake in the fridge.
12. Serve as is or adorn with a dusting of powdered sugar, fresh fruit, or a fruit sauce.

SOURCE: White on Rice Couple (and their chocolate version, too)

Beignets

Am I entitled to eat six beignets after a bike ride to the Farmer’s Market where I picked up bunches of healthy greens and fruits for the week? How about slathered with chocolate almond butter (a variation of the homemade Nutella I posted the other day) and sprinkled with loads of powdered sugar? Oh yeah, that version was outta this world crazy scrumptious! I only thought of the chocolate spread because the last vestiges of it was hanging out in a jar which was sitting on the counter which was right next to where I was deep frying these delectably delicious beignets.

Ever had true New Orleans beignets at Cafe du Monde in downtown Orleans? An experience, for sure. Those delights are light and airy and they literally dump buckets of powdered sugar on top rather than a heavy sprinkling. Oh-so-yummy! Best after you’ve hit the New Orleans night scene and need a snack in the wee hours. Or early in the morning before heading off to see the sights. Works either way. If ever you get the pleasure of experiencing New Orleans, though, make beignets at Cafe du Monde a must. I traveled there well over 10 years ago and still have memories of these deep-fried delights.

As for making your own, way easier than I thought, especially this particular recipe. No big mixer with a dough hook needed. No milk. No evaporated milk.  No buttermilk. (Saw those in numerous other recipes.) No overnight stint in the fridge. Just mix it up in a bowl, cover and refrigerate for an hour, then you are ready to roll, cut, and fry.

Beware, the dough is definitely of the wet variety, meaning it’s quite sticky. Nonetheless, with lots of flour sprinkled all over your rolling surface and roller and on top of the dough, it’s easily workable. A rubber spatula makes getting the sticky dough from bowl to board a breeze, and a pizza cutter makes quick and easy cutting of the dough once it’s all rolled out.

Now for frying, a thermometer is needed. That’s what held me back for so long from making these despite that I’ve had recipes bookmarked for months and months and months. Yes, I have two thermometers (a Thermaworks and a cheapo candy thermometer from the grocery store), but neither is conducive to measuring and regulating the temperature of hot oil in a pan or Dutch oven. Well, yesterday as I wandered the aisles of Frye’s, I stumbled upon the cutest little deep fryer by Cuisinart. So darn irresistible due to its miniature size. Perfect for just us two. Not so perfect if you want to fry up goodies for a large crowd, though.

I really bought it because we’ve been frying the crappie (nice name for a fish, huh?) that hubby caught ages ago on an outdoorsman trip, and he has fond memories of the deep-fried method used to cook the crappie at the ranch where he hunted and fished. So I splurged. Well, at $40 it didn’t seem like a big splurge, so I did it.

And once I did, I knew the beignets were on tap for the following morning!

Beignets are best eaten warm, so fry ‘em up right as you are ready to eat them. The recipe below makes 2 dozen, so I halved it. I think I could also fry up a few and keep the dough in the fridge for later, although for how much longer I’m not sure. I did test out microwaving one for about 20 seconds and it tasted all warm and delish again. Like I said, much better warm than at room temp.

So glad I finally got around to trying these. They are much easier than I thought, so now when I want a weekend treat, these will fit the bill very nicely!

Quite yummy slathered with chocolate hazelnut spread before sprinkling with powdered sugar!

Beignets

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Yield: 2 dozen

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup water, heated to 110 degrees F (I used hot tap water, which measured about 120 degrees F)
• 3 tbsp. granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp. instant or rapid-rise yeast
• 3 cups (15 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil plus 2 quarts for frying
• confectioner’s sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Place 1 tbsp. granulated sugar and yeast in a large bowl; add water and allow to sit until it gets foamy, about 5 minutes.
2. In another bowl, medium sized, combine the flour, salt, and remaining 2 tbsp. granulated sugar. Set aside.
3. Add eggs and 2 tbsp. oil to the yeast mixture; whisk.
4. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients; stir vigorously with a rubber spatula until dough forms a cohesive but rough ball. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate until nearly doubled in size, about 1 hour.
5. Before rolling out dough, set a wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet. This is where you will place fried beignets to keep them crisp and airy until ready to eat. Now, liberally flour the surface of your counter or rolling surface.
6. Use a rubber spatula to help ease the half the dough from the bowl to the floured surface. Using floured hands, pat the dough into a rough rectangle; flip it to coat with flour (very sticky later if you omit this step). Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a 1/4-inch thick 12”x9” rectangle. Use a pizza wheel to cut the dough into twelve 3-inch squares. Repeat with remaining dough.
7. Add the two quarts of oil to a large Dutch oven, aiming for about 1 1/2 inches of depth. Heat over medium-high heat to 350 degrees F (or, heat oil in a deep fryer). Place beignets in oil so they aren’t too close together, fitting in as many as your frying unit will allow. Fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes total, flipping halfway through frying. Adjust burner to maintain oil temperature between 325-350 degrees F.
8. Use a slotted spoon or spider to transfer golden brown beignets to the wire rack. Immediately and liberally sprinkle beignets with powdered sugar, then promptly eat as these are best served warm. Repeat with remaining dough.

SOURCE: Cook’s Country (from the America’s Test Kitchen folks)

Chicken Thighs with Garlic and Worcestershire

Want to cook some super tasty chicken thighs that only use two ingredients? Want some chicken thighs that cook up super tender and moist? Then read on, for I’m about to share with you my hubby’s simple yet scrumptious recipe.

These chicken thighs are one of his specialities. He liberally sprinkles them with garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce then cooks them low and slow. They come out super tender and flavorful–amazingly flavorful for only two ingredients, actually. Make lots because they shrink, first of all, and secondly, they taste fantastic as leftovers. You’ll be craving more, so go ahead and make extra.

The recipe below is a bit on the vague side in terms of ingredient amounts and cooking time. There are no hard and fast rules to this one; just go with what feels right to you in terms of flavorings and pay attention to the doneness of the meat for the actual cooking time.

Chicken Thighs with Garlic and Worcestershire 

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INGREDIENTS

• bone-in chicken thighs with or without skin–as many as you desire to cook
• Worcestershire sauce
• garlic powder

DIRECTIONS

1. Rinse chicken under cold water and pat dry.
2. Place chicken thighs in a large pan, packing them in there. Liberally sprinkle with Worcestershire sauce followed by a liberal sprinkling of garlic powder (of course, you can use less-than-a-liberal amount but we love these two flavors).
3. Turn heat to medium-low and cook chicken until bottom of meat begins to lose its pinkness, then turn over and cook other side. Add more flavorings, if desired, after turning thighs over. This takes about 30-45 minutes overall, depending on size of thighs. Sometimes we place a cover over the pan after turning the meat to keep moisture and flavors from escaping too much.

SOURCE: hubby’s recipe

Homemade Nutella (a.k.a. Chocolate Hazelnut Spread)

Apparently I’m a bit late on the Nutella bandwagon. And I even missed World Nutella Day, which was February 5th. Nutella, despite filled with chocolate and my intense love affair with chocolate, never caught my interest, but it kept showing its face on food blogs, taunting me. So I began to eye it at the market, always taken aback by its high price.

Then this Nutella-stuffed chocolate chip cookie recipe began floating around the food blogosphere, and that pushed me to the point of desiring to try Nutella. I didn’t want to pay an outrageous amount for a tiny container of nutty chocolate, though.

Finally, I looked up recipes to make my own. Oh my goodness, how many variations exist! My head was spinning. Then wouldn’t you know it, but the day after I collected several recipes and was still spinning with indecision, one of my favorite food bloggers posted a homemade Nutella recipe–and not just any recipe but one from the folks at America’s Test Kitchen. No doubt now–that was the recipe I bookmarked to try…soon!

Without having ever tasted the real Nutella (gasp!), I have no idea how this homemade version compares. I can tell you, though, that spoonful by spoonful I kept shoveling this homemade delicacy into my mouth. Oh.My. God. This stuff is dangerous! I couldn’t stop.  Shamefully, it didn’t last long. I did manage to freeze some little dollops for the stuffed cookies, but the rest landed in my belly shortly after. I can hardly wait to make some more but am seriously trying to resist because it will quickly land in my belly where it will just as quickly spread to my thighs. Sigh… Oh chocolate, how I love thee but oh how cruel thy return love.

Ultimately, I’m not sure this costs any less to make than buying a jar of it at the market because the hazelnuts are pricey. However, I’m all for omitting any chemicals and such, so it is worth it. And it’s a quick, easy recipe. Even quicker if you purchase already-skinned nuts! Trust me, go for the blanched nuts.

Now, if you forget to read the directions carefully like me and dump all the ingredients into the food processor at once instead of processing the nuts first, don’t worry; it all comes out fine in the end. You will just have to scrape down the bowl of the food processor a few more times than you might otherwise.

Oh, and I recommend using high-quality Dutch process cocoa powder, like the Penzey’s brand. That also adds to the cost factor but makes a difference in the overall flavor. Of course, you can try Hershey’s cocoa powder and it will taste fine, I’m sure, but the higher the quality of cocoa, the better the final product.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to make another batch of this devilishly delectable and delightful spread.

Really really really yummy spread onto toast

Homemade Nutella (Chocolate Hazelnut Spread)

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INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups (8 ounces) hazelnuts (easiest to buy them blanched already)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons hazelnut oil (I used light olive oil; if you don’t have hazelnut oil, use an oil that has little flavor and won’t overpower the spread)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Toast the hazelnuts: spread them in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast at 375 degrees F until dark brown and fragrant, 12-15 minutes, making sure they don’t burn.
2. Removing skin from hazelnuts: If you aren’t using already blanched nuts, you need to remove the skins as much as  possible (but perfection isn’t needed). Either place nuts in a bowl once they are cool enough to handle, place a second bowl upside down on top of the first, and shake vigorously until skins begin to come off. Pick out the “naked” nuts and toss them into your food processor. Continue the shaking until you get all the nuts as skinned as possible. The other method is to wrap the toasted nuts in a towel and rub vigorously until the skins come off. I found both methods tiring and next time will buy blanched nuts.
3. When skins are removed, process the hazelnuts in your food processor until they release their oil and form a smooth, loose paste, 2-5 minutes. Scrape the bowl of the food processor as needed.
4. Add the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, oil, vanilla, and salt; process until fully incorporated, scraping bowl as needed, about 2 minutes. The mixture will loosen and turn glossy. It may have tiny chunks of nuts if they don’t all break down–still tastes fantastic! Transfer the nut spread to a jar or airtight container, and store in the fridge or at room temperature for up to one month.

Source: adapted from Brown-Eyed Baker who got the recipe from The America’s Test Kitchen DIY Cookbook