Petits Chaussons Au Roquefort
Pastry Turnovers with Roquefort cheese - Makes about 16 pieces
These nice little mouthfuls are made of pastry dough rolled out and cut into squares, ovals or circles. In the center a small lump of filling is placed. The edges of the pastry are moistened with beaten egg, the pastry is folded over upon itself to enclose the filling. They are then baked in a hot oven until they puff and brown. In making them,
avoid putting in so much filling that the pastry cannot be sealed, and be sure to seal carefully so the turnovers do not burst while baking.
Chaussons may be made in any size or shape, from about 2 ½ inches for appetizers to 12 inches for an entrée.
1/4 lb Roquefort Cheese
4 T butter
1 egg yolk
2 t cognac (if you need cognac contact David or Deb)
3/4 tsp pepper
1 T minced chives
1-3 T whipping cream
2 prepared Pillsbury pie crusts dough (1 box with 2 crusts)
Preheat oven to 425o F
Mash the cheese in a bowl with a mixing fork. Beat in the butter, then the egg yolks, cognac, pepper, and chives.
Beat in the cream by tablespoons but do not let the mixture thin out too much. It should remain a fairly thick paste. Correct seasoning.
Unwrap the dough. With a cookie cutter, cut the dough into 2 3/4-inch rounds. Makes 9 rounds from one pie crust.
1 egg beaten in a bowl with ½ t water
Pastry brush
Lightly buttered baking sheets (or covered with parchment paper or Silpat mat)
Place 1 teaspoon of filling in the center of each round. One by one, paint a ¼ inch border of beaten egg around the edges of the pastry. Fold the pastry over on itself into a half round. Press the edges together firmly with your fingers. Press the edges together firmly with your fingers. Press them again making a design with the tines of a fork. Place on the baking sheet and continue with the rest of the turnovers. Paint the tops with beaten egg. Make shallow crosshatch lines with the point of a knife, and poke a 1/8-inch hole through the center of each pastry top so cooking steam can escape.
Bake in upper third of the oven for about 13 minutes, or until puffed and lightly browned. Turnovers may be baked, then reheated. Baked turnovers may also be frozen, and then set in a 425o F oven for 5 minutes or so to thaw and heat through.
Roasted Potato Leek Soup – Serves 8
2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
4 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts, washed to clean of all sand (4 leeks)
1/4 cup good olive oil
2 t kosher salt
1 t freshly ground black pepper
3 cups baby arugula, lightly packed (bring leftover from container to host for plate garnish)
1/2 cup dry white wine, plus extra for serving
6 cups chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces crème fraiche or mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for garnish
Crispy Shallots, recipe follows
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Combine the potatoes and leeks on a sheet pan in a single layer. Add the olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and toss to coat the vegetables evenly. Roast for 40 to 45 minutes, turning them with a spatula a few times during cooking, until very tender. Add the arugula and toss to combine. Roast for 4 to 5 more minutes, until the arugula is wilted. Remove the pan from the oven and place over 2 burners. Stir in the wine and 1 cup of the chicken stock and cook over low heat, scraping up any crispy roasted bits sticking to the pan.
In batches, transfer the roasted vegetables to a food processor fitted with the steel blade, adding the pan liquid and about 5 cups of the chicken stock to make a puree. Pour the puree into a large pot or Dutch oven. Continue to puree the vegetables in batches until they're all done and combined in the large pot. Add enough of the remaining 1 to 2 cups of stock to make a thick soup. Add the cream, crème fraiche, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and check the seasonings.
When ready to serve, reheat the soup gently and whisk in 2 tablespoons white wine and 1/4 cup of Parmesan. Serve hot with an extra grating of Parmesan and crispy shallots, if using.
Crispy Shallots:
1 1/2 cups olive oil or vegetable oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 to 6 shallots, peeled and sliced into thin rings
Heat the oil and butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat until it reaches 220 degrees F on a candy thermometer. DO NOT WALK AWAY. These will burn quickly.
Reduce the heat to low, add the shallots, and cook for 30 minutes, until they are a rich golden brown. Watch carefully! The temperature should stay below 260 degrees F. Stir the shallots occasionally to make sure they brown evenly. Remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon, drain well, and spread out to cool on paper towels. Once they have dried and crisped, they can be stored at room temperature, covered, for several days.
Yield: about 1/2 cup
Poulet Sauté aux Herbes de Provence
Chicken sautéed with Herbs and Garlic, Egg Yolk and Butter Sauce - 8 servings
The combination of thyme, basil, fennel seeds, and garlic gives this chicken dish a Provençal accent. Serve with plenty of French bread. (Garnish plates with left over arugula from soup)
Chicken
1 cup (2 sticks) butter (divided)
2, 3- to 31/2-pound chickens, cut into 8 pieces each, rinsed, patted dry 9 (cut breasts in two pieces)
2 t dried thyme or savory (divided)
2 t teaspoon dried basil (divided)
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, coarsely ground (divided)
6 unpeeled garlic cloves (divided)
1 1/3 cup dry white wine or 1 cup dry white vermouth (divided)
Sauce- for 8 servings
4 large egg yolks
2 T fresh lemon juice
2 T dry white wine or dry white vermouth
4 T butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Chicken
Use two heavy bottomed casseroles and divide the ingredients evenly between the two pans, skillets or electric skillets set at 300o F. If dinner is at 7:00 pm, start this at 6:00 pm.
Melt butter in large wide pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add chicken pieces; cook only until golden, turning occasionally, about 8 minutes per batch. Transfer chicken breast pieces to plate. Sprinkle remaining chicken in pot with half each of thyme, basil, and fennel seeds, then salt and pepper. Add garlic. Cover pot; reduce heat to medium and cook 8 to 9 minutes. Sprinkle chicken breasts with remaining thyme, basil, and fennel seeds, then salt and pepper. Return breast pieces to pot (breasts cook faster than legs and thighs) ; baste chicken with butter in pot. Cover and cook until chicken is cooked through, turning and basting occasionally, about 15 minutes. Transfer to hot platter; cover. Prepare chicken up to this point before guests arrive.
Remove peel from garlic; mash with fork in same pot. Add 2/3 cup wine to juices in each pot (1 1/3 cup total); boil until liquid is reduced to 3/4 cup, occasionally scraping bottom of pan, about 8 minutes. Pour juices into measuring cup; reserve for sauce.
Sauce (make just before serving)
Off heat, whisk yolks in small saucepan until beginning to thicken. Whisk in lemon juice and 2 tablespoons wine (or vermouth). Whisk reserved pan juices into eggs, 1 teaspoon at a time. Set sauce over very low heat; whisk constantly until warm and slightly thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Wisk in butter, 1 piece at a time. Remove from heat. Stir in herbs. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over chicken.
Carottes Glacees
Glazed carrots
Serves 8
2 lbs carrots, peeled, quartered, and cut into 2-inch lengths (about 7 cups)
2 cups good beef stock
3 T granulated sugar
pinch of pepper
7 T butter
salt and pepper
2 T very finely minced parsley
These glazed carrots are cooked in stock instead of water, and more butter and sugar are used so that the liquid reduces to a syrupy glaze in the bottom of the pan. Just before serving the carrots are rolled about in the syrup so each piece is shiny with glaze.
In a 4 quart heavy bottomed, enameled saucepan, boil the carrots slowly in the covered saucepan with the stock, sugar, pepper, and butter for 30 to 40 minutes until the carrots are tender and the liquid has reduced to a syrupy glaze. Correct seasoning with salt and pepper.
Reheat just before serving and roll the carrots gently in the pan to coat them with syrup. Turn into a vegetable dish. Prepare this as close to dinner as possible and bring to hosts home. Garnish carrots on plates with parsley.
Reine de Saba Chocolate and Almond Cake - Serves 6-8
This extremely good chocolate cake is baked so that its center remains slightly underdone; overcooked, the cake loses its special creamy quality. It is covered with a chocolate-butter icing, and decorated with almonds. Because of its creamy center it needs no filling. It can be made by starting out with a beating of egg yolks and sugar, then proceeding with the rest of the ingredients. But because the chocolate and the almonds make a batter so stiff it is difficult to fold in the egg whites, we have chosen another method, that of creaming together the butter and sugar, and then incorporating the remaining items.
For the Cake:
4 ounces of semi sweet chocolate chips or chopped squares semisweet chocolate melted with 2 Tb rum or coffee
1/4 lb. or 1 stick softened butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 egg yolks
3 egg whites
Pinch of salt
1 Tb granulated sugar
2/3 cup pulverized almonds (Trader Joe’s has Almond meal)
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup cake flour (scooped and leveled) turned into a sifter
For the Icing:
2 ounces (2 squares chopped) semisweet baking chocolate
2 Tb rum or coffee
5 to 6 Tb unsalted butter
Garnish:
Sliced almonds for decoration (1- 2 or 3 oz. package)
1 quart premium vanilla ice cream to serve with cake
Equipment:
A round cake pan 8 inches in diameter and 1-1/2 inches deep
A 3-quart mixing bowl
A wooden spoon or an electric beater
A rubber spatula
A cake rack
A small covered pan
A larger pan of almost simmering water
A wooden spoon
A bowl with a tray of ice cubes and water to cover them
A small flexible-blade metal spatula or a table knife
For the Cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour the cake pan. Set the chocolate and rum or coffee in a small pan, cover, and place (off heat) in a larger pan of almost simmering water; let melt while you proceed with the recipe. Measure out the rest of the ingredients. Cream the butter and 2/3 cup sugar together for several minutes until they form a pale yellow, fluffy mixture.
Beat in the egg yolks until well blended.
Beat the egg whites and salt in a separate bowl until soft peaks are formed; sprinkle on 1 T sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed.
With a rubber spatula, blend the melted chocolate into the butter and sugar mixture, then stir in almonds, and almond extract. Immediately stir one fourth of the beaten egg whites to lighten the batter. Delicately fold in a third of the remaining whites and when partially blended, sift on one third of the flour and continue folding. Alternate rapidly, adding more egg whites and more flour until all egg whites and flour are incorporated.
Turn the batter into the cake pan, pushing the batter up to its rim with a rubber spatula. Bake in middle level of preheated oven for about 25 minutes. Cake is done when it has puffed, and 2-1/2 to 3 inches around the circumference are set so that a needle plunged into that area comes out clean; the center should move slightly if the pan is shaken, and a cake tester comes out oily.
Allow cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Run knife around the edge of the pan, and reverse cake on the rack. Allow it to cool in refrigerator for an hour or two; it must be thoroughly cold if it is to be iced. Can me made night before, cover with plastic wrap. Ice the cake before going to host home.For the Icing:
Place the chocolate and rum or coffee in the small pan, cover, and set in the larger pan of almost simmering water (Alternately, you can melt the chocolate in the microwave 1 minute on high and then take out and beat until smooth). Remove pans from heat and let chocolate melt for 5 minutes or so, until perfectly smooth. Lift chocolate pan out of the hot water, and beat in the butter a tablespoon at a time. Then beat over the ice and water until chocolate mixture has cooled to spreading consistency. At once spread it over your cake with spatula or knife, and press a design of almonds over the icing.
Serve with premium vanilla ice cream. Garnish plates with chocolate syrup or sprinkle with cocoa powder.
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