| Author |
Message |
    
Monique
My Favorite Photo
My Garden Journal
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| | Posted on Monday, January 23, 2006 - 08:04 pm EST : |   
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That's how I saw Sarah Moulton do hers..
You're something else Greg..
Monique Quebec Zone 5 |
Treanna
| | Posted on Monday, January 23, 2006 - 10:24 pm EST : |
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OOOOOOOOH...YUM!
Treanna
- California,
Zone "Changes with age"
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Greg
My Favorite Photo
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| | Posted on Friday, January 27, 2006 - 01:27 pm EST : |
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Ok, so I have my menu all set and I have all my ingredients. I will begin preparing some of the dishes tonight. I will also make fresh baked dinner rolls. I'll let the dough raise multiple times all day long to get a great flavor. The Chocolate Mousse will be served in a cookie cup.
Greg
- ND,
Zone "4"
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Rosemary
My Weather
| | Posted on Friday, January 27, 2006 - 06:00 pm EST : |
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Ummmmmmmmmm........ need anyone to help stir?? And taste? Quality control is important you know.
Lovely menu, everything sounds delicious.
Rosemary
- CT,
Zone "5"
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Susanq
My Favorite Photo
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| | Posted on Friday, January 27, 2006 - 07:22 pm EST : |
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The ravioli looks delicious. I think I had a similar dish in a restaurant once with toasted, chopped walnuts. Yum!
Your menu is beautiful, Greg!}
SusanQ - Zone 4b-5b Wisconsin |
Greg
My Favorite Photo
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| | Posted on Saturday, January 28, 2006 - 02:20 am EST : |
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Ok, I like to do things ahead of time when ever I can. So, this evening, I made several of the ingredients for the meal tomorrow.
First, the Zinfandel Sauce.
Zinfandel Sauce
6 shallots finely puréed
4 cloves garlic finely puréed
Olive oil - 3 tbsp
3 tbsp flour
1 14 oz can chicken stock
1 bottle Hayman Hill 2003 Reserve Zinfandel (minus 3 oz for tasting :)
pinch of dried thyme
2 bay leaves
salt/pepper to taste
1 cup cream
Oil added to pan and shallots and garlic added. Sauteed for a few minutes. The flour was added and sauteed for a couple of minutes. Herbs and wine added, followed by chicken stock and seasonings. This was simmered down to less than 1/4 of the volume to make a nice thick sauce. The cream was added and this was cooked for a few minutes to make a thick rich sauce. The sauce was strained through a fine sieve and place in the refrigerator for later. NOTE: The sauce will be re-heated in the pan that the beef will be seared in to impart some beef flavor to it.
SAUCE COOKING DOWN
CREAM ADDED
STRAINED
Next the Olive Tapenade to be stuffed in the tomatoes.
Olive Tapenade
1 1/4 cups olives (mixture of pimento, sun-dried tomato, feta cheese, garlic stuffed green olives)
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp capers
2-3 tbsp olive oil
Place in food processor and blend until finely chopped, but not puréed.
I will serve the Chocolate Mousse in crisp cookie cups. Here's the recipe.
Cookie Cups
8 oz butter
1 cup dark corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
Ingredients heated over a medium flame until butter melted and mixed. Stirred to make a smooth batter then chilled in the refrigerator. Drop 1 tsp sized balls onto baking pan (I use a silicone mat). Bake 375°F until spread out and brown. Allow to cool for a few seconds and then drape over an overturned bowl to shape them. This should be done quickly while the cookies are still warm before they harden.
Finally, I made my Tamarind Sorbet.
Tamarind Sorbet
3 cups water
1.5 cups sugar
2-3 tbsp tamarind concentrate paste
Mix all together over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Cool and freeze in an ice cream freezer. Alternatively you can place this in a container in the freezer and flake it up with a fork every 10-15 minutes until frozen.
Greg
- ND,
Zone "4"
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Sunnyday2day
My Favorite Photo
My Weather
| | Posted on Saturday, January 28, 2006 - 10:30 am EST : |
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Wow...your guests will have hit the jackpot! What a beautiful menu!
Sunnyday2day
- Michigan,
Zone "5"
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Greg
My Favorite Photo
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| | Posted on Saturday, January 28, 2006 - 06:30 pm EST : |
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How about some more pictures as I get things around today.
Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese Crisps
These are SO simple to make. Simply place shredded cheese about 1/4 inch thick on a baking sheet and bake at 425°F for 5-6 minutes until they begin to turn brown. You can shape into different shapes if you get them before they cool.
I stuffed the tomatoes with the olive tapenade I made yesterday.
Dinner rolls using the same dough I use to make my French bread.
3 1/2 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp yeast
1 1/2 cup warm water
Mixed and kneaded in the food processor until smooth dough. Allowed to raise for 5 hours, punching down the dough about every hour or so. Dough was divided into 16 pieces and rolled into balls. Placed on a floured pan and allowed to raise on last time. The tops were slashed with a razor sharp knife. Placed in a HOT oven (500°F) and 1 cup of water was tossed into the bottom of the oven (to steam the oven). Baked until tops begin to brown.
I've started the potato and leek soup. This is SO simple.
Potato Leek Soup
4 large baking potatoes
4 medium sized leeks
Water to cover
salt/pepper
about 1/2 cup cream
Potatoes and leeks were chopped and placed in a large pot. They were just covered with water, seasoned with salt an pepper and simmered until tender.
I have baked my veggies ahead of time and I will reheat them in a hot oven right before I serve them.
Caramelized Root Vegetables
5 good sized turnips
5 large carrots
1 medium rutabaga
1 head of fennel
Vegetables were diced into 1/2 inch sized cubes. These were tossed with olive oil (I did not measure) and seasoned with salt and pepper. Placed in a roasting pan and cooked in a hot oven (500°F) until caramelized and brown. Vegetables were stirred every 15 minutes or so during cooking.
And my favorite . . CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
Chocolate Mousse
1 1/2 pounds chocolate. I used 1 pound Hershey's extra dark and 1/2 pound Lindt dark 70% cocoa butter chocolate
1/2 cup strong brewed coffee (I roasted my beans to a dark shiny finish)
1/4 cup Cognac (I used Hennessy)
1/4 cup Frangelico
4 egg yolks
8 egg whites
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
Melt chocolate in a double boiler over low heat. Stir in coffee, cognac and frangelico. Cool to room temperature and beat in the egg yolks one at a time. Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff. Whip the cream until thick, gradually adding the sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites and cream together. Stir 1/4 of the egg/cream mixture into the chocolate to lighten it up, then fold the chocolate gently into the rest of the egg/cream mixture. Chill for 2 hours then serve.
Chocolate Melting
After everything folded together
Greg
- ND,
Zone "4"
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Suzyqt1968
My Favorite Photo
My Weather
| | Posted on Saturday, January 28, 2006 - 07:27 pm EST : |
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Ohhhhh Greg. What a lot of work, but also what a lot of fun. Your guests are going to be in heaven. And so will my hubby when I try the Chocolate Mousse. He has been asking me if I know how to make it, so I have been looking for a recipe. I will also be trying your rolls. I can just imagine biting through the crusty layer feeling the soft warm insides. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM! You will have to show us pictures of the happy guests enjoying the meal and after wards...rolling home. HA!
Suzyqt1968
- Washington,
Zone "7-8"
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Monique
My Favorite Photo
My Garden Journal
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
| | Posted on Saturday, January 28, 2006 - 08:18 pm EST : |
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Ok..if your guests don't appreciate this TLC.. well ..they will I am sure..
I love Parmesan Crisps..your little cookie baskets are adorable..I'll try that!
J adores dark chocolate especially since he found out it's so good for him:)
I am lazy..i buy my olive tapenade in Little Italy..I see how simple it is now..I may never again..and in little tomatoes..too cute..is there a special occasion for tomorrow Greg?
Thanks for sharing everything!
Following in Maxine's footsteps..
Cheers!(I thought she was devilishly charming)
Monique Quebec Zone 5 |
