We had what amounts to a succession of appetizers.

Artisan Bread with:

---Faux Gras: This was rich and luscious, but softer than we would have
liked it to be. It was made using the cognac and mushroom recipe whose link
I posted a week or two ago. I topped it with a cranberry gelée made by
simply simmering cranberries, water, and sugar. (The cranberries have enough
pectin in them to jell after cooking for a while.) I made two big ramekins
of the stuff, and we still have about a ramekin and a half left over. (This
is rich stuff!) I think after sitting in the refrigerator overnight the
texture will improve.

---Texas Caviar: I made this with fresh black-eyed peas, which makes a big
difference. Other ingredients were a roasted guero chile, onions, parsley,
red wine vinegar, olive oil, and a chopped yellow hothouse tomato.

---Eggplant Caviar: With garlic, a minced Fresno chile, Meyer lemon juice,
onion, and parsley. I meant to add chopped toasted pecans, but I forgot.
(The leftovers will get pecans!)


King Crab with California Chile Beurre Blanc: The sauce was made with a
Sterling Sauvignon Blanc, which we also drank with the meal. I had never
been a fan of Sauvignon Blanc, but this was eminently drinkable, and I
wouldn't hesitate to buy it again. I drank *much* more wine than I normally
would have, and yet didn't feel tipsy. The label says the wine is 12%
alcohol, so I can't account for my lack of reaction. The easy-drinking wine
notwithstanding, this was my personal least favorite part of the meal.
(Fortunately, it was also the easiest. It would suck if I'd worked really
hard on it, and then hated it!) We were midway through the meal when I
remembered that we had a bottle of Prosecco in the fridge which we'd
intended to drink with dinner, but we opted just to keep drinking the bottle
we had opened.


Steak Tarta This was made following the recipe in the _Les Halles_
cookbook. We had multi-grain toast points with it. I cut the recipe in half,
but it was still way more than we could (or should) eat at one sitting. I
imagine it's quite perishable, so I'll probably make it into patties and
cook it tomorrow. I note that the recipe calls for the meat to be finely
chopped rather than ground, so making patties isn't going to be as easy as
it could have been had I ground the meat. But I think the texture of the
chopped meat makes a big difference in the steak tartare.


Caramelized Fennel on Celery-Root Purée: This is pretty easy; just thinly
slice fennel root, put into a pan with butter and salt, and cook slowly
until deeply caramelized. Meanwhile, simmer cubes of peeled celery root in a
mixture of water, milk, and salt, then purée with butter. Put Part One on
top of Part Two. The original recipe is for an individually-plated
amuse-bouche, but I put the purée into a larger serving dish and put the
caramelized fennel on top.


Onion Soup Gratinée: This was made using duck stock we'd frozen a couple
weeks ago. The onions were thinly sliced pole-to-pole, salted, and cooked
way down in grapeseed oil, then the heat on the pan was raised. When the
fond developed nicely on the bottom of the pan, it was deglazed with
Madeira. That was cooked down until fond developed again, then the pan was
deglazed with the duck stock. The cooking down and deglazing with duck stock
happened a couple more times, then the remainder of the duck stock was added
to complete the soup. For serving, soup was ladled into individual tureens,
French bread rounds were floated on top, each bread round was covered with a
slab of Gruyère, then each slab was covered with grated Gruyère. The tureens
were put onto a sheet pan and broiled until the cheese melted and just
started to turn brown.


I had originally intended to make savory cream puffs filled with butternut
squash, pecans, and crispy onions, but we already had WAY more food than we
needed, and I'd already added the Texas caviar to the menu, so I decided to
take that item off.

Lin proclaimed the soup to be the star of the meal: The broth had an
incredible body and richness; it was positively *sinful*. She was also
addicted to the eggplant caviar, and couldn't stop nibbling on it before we
actually sat down at the table. I thought the soup was quite a tour de
force, but I liked the Texas caviar very well too. When cooked properly,
fresh black-eyed peas have an exceptional creaminess to them which dried
black-eyed peas can never attain. All in all, it was a memorable and
enjoyable beginning to the year!

Bob

On Sun, 3 Jan 2010 01:00:10 -0800, "Bob Terwilliger"
> wrote:

>We had what amounts to a succession of appetizers.
>
snippage of a fabulous meal.

>All in all, it was a memorable and >enjoyable beginning to the year!
>
>Bob
>
>
Dang, looks like you started your new year off perfect.
I'll be trying to replicate some of those dishes for sure.

Happy New Year to you and Lin.

koko
--

There is no love more sincere than the love of food
George Bernard Shaw
www.kokoscorner.typepad.com
updated 01/01/10

On Jan 3, 4:00*am, "Bob Terwilliger" >
wrote:
> We had what amounts to a succession of appetizers.
>
> Artisan Bread with:
>
> ---Faux Gras: This was rich and luscious, but softer than we would have
> liked it to be. It was made using the cognac and mushroom recipe whose link
> I posted a week or two ago. I topped it with a cranberry gelée made by
> simply simmering cranberries, water, and sugar. (The cranberries have enough
> pectin in them to jell after cooking for a while.) I made two big ramekins
> of the stuff, and we still have about a ramekin and a half left over. (This
> is rich stuff!) I think after sitting in the refrigerator overnight the
> texture will improve.
>
> ---Texas Caviar: I made this with fresh black-eyed peas, which makes a big
> difference. Other ingredients were a roasted guero chile, onions, parsley,
> red wine vinegar, olive oil, and a chopped yellow hothouse tomato.
>
> ---Eggplant Caviar: With garlic, a minced Fresno chile, Meyer lemon juice,
> onion, and parsley. I meant to add chopped toasted pecans, but I forgot.
> (The leftovers will get pecans!)
>
> King Crab with California Chile Beurre Blanc: The sauce was made with a
> Sterling Sauvignon Blanc, which we also drank with the meal. I had never
> been a fan of Sauvignon Blanc, but this was eminently drinkable, and I
> wouldn't hesitate to buy it again. I drank *much* more wine than I normally
> would have, and yet didn't feel tipsy. The label says the wine is 12%
> alcohol, so I can't account for my lack of reaction. The easy-drinking wine
> notwithstanding, this was my personal least favorite part of the meal.
> (Fortunately, it was also the easiest. It would suck if I'd worked really
> hard on it, and then hated it!) We were midway through the meal when I
> remembered that we had a bottle of Prosecco in the fridge which we'd
> intended to drink with dinner, but we opted just to keep drinking the bottle
> we had opened.
>
> Steak Tarta This was made following the recipe in the _Les Halles_
> cookbook. We had multi-grain toast points with it. I cut the recipe in half,
> but it was still way more than we could (or should) eat at one sitting. I
> imagine it's quite perishable, so I'll probably make it into patties and
> cook it tomorrow. I note that the recipe calls for the meat to be finely
> chopped rather than ground, so making patties isn't going to be as easy as
> it could have been had I ground the meat. But I think the texture of the
> chopped meat makes a big difference in the steak tartare.
>
> Caramelized Fennel on Celery-Root Purée: This is pretty easy; just thinly
> slice fennel root, put into a pan with butter and salt, and cook slowly
> until deeply caramelized. Meanwhile, simmer cubes of peeled celery root in a
> mixture of water, milk, and salt, then purée with butter. Put Part One on
> top of Part Two. The original recipe is for an individually-plated
> amuse-bouche, but I put the purée into a larger serving dish and put the
> caramelized fennel on top.
>
> Onion Soup Gratinée: This was made using duck stock we'd frozen a couple
> weeks ago. The onions were thinly sliced pole-to-pole, salted, and cooked
> way down in grapeseed oil, then the heat on the pan was raised. When the
> fond developed nicely on the bottom of the pan, it was deglazed with
> Madeira. That was cooked down until fond developed again, then the pan was
> deglazed with the duck stock. The cooking down and deglazing with duck stock
> happened a couple more times, then the remainder of the duck stock was added
> to complete the soup. For serving, soup was ladled into individual tureens,
> French bread rounds were floated on top, each bread round was covered with a
> slab of Gruyère, then each slab was covered with grated Gruyère. The tureens
> were put onto a sheet pan and broiled until the cheese melted and just
> started to turn brown.
>
> I had originally intended to make savory cream puffs filled with butternut
> squash, pecans, and crispy onions, but we already had WAY more food than we
> needed, and I'd already added the Texas caviar to the menu, so I decided to
> take that item off.
>
> Lin proclaimed the soup to be the star of the meal: The broth had an
> incredible body and richness; it was positively *sinful*. She was also
> addicted to the eggplant caviar, and couldn't stop nibbling on it before we
> actually sat down at the table. I thought the soup was quite a tour de
> force, but I liked the Texas caviar very well too. When cooked properly,
> fresh black-eyed peas have an exceptional creaminess to them which dried
> black-eyed peas can never attain. All in all, it was a memorable and
> enjoyable beginning to the year!
>
> Bob

Wow - quite a feast! 2010 started out right for you!

For the Texas caviar, do you just mince everything together? It sounds
intriguing.

Kris

On Sun, 3 Jan 2010 01:00:10 -0800, "Bob Terwilliger"
> wrote:

>---Faux Gras: This was rich and luscious, but softer than we would have
>liked it to be. It was made using the cognac and mushroom recipe whose link
>I posted a week or two ago.

Here it is
http://steamykitchen.com/112-shitake...faux-gras.html

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

Kris wrote:

>> ---Texas Caviar: I made this with fresh black-eyed peas, which makes a
>> big difference. Other ingredients were a roasted guero chile, onions,
>> parsley, red wine vinegar, olive oil, and a chopped yellow hothouse
>> tomato.
>
> For the Texas caviar, do you just mince everything together? It sounds
> intriguing.

The black-eyed peas were cooked in lots of salted water with turmeric. The
chile and parsley were minced finely; the tomato and onion were cut into
pieces which were roughly the same size as the black-eyed peas. I added salt
and pepper to taste once everything was gently tossed together.

Bob

On Jan 3, 3:20*pm, "Bob Terwilliger" >
wrote:
> Kris wrote:
> >> ---Texas Caviar: I made this with fresh black-eyed peas, which makes a
> >> big difference. Other ingredients were a roasted guero chile, onions,
> >> parsley, red wine vinegar, olive oil, and a chopped yellow hothouse
> >> tomato.
>
> > For the Texas caviar, do you just mince everything together? It sounds
> > intriguing.
>
> The black-eyed peas were cooked in lots of salted water with turmeric. The
> chile and parsley were minced finely; the tomato and onion were cut into
> pieces which were roughly the same size as the black-eyed peas. I added salt
> and pepper to taste once everything was gently tossed together.
>
> Bob

Yum! I'll have to remember this next time I see BEP. Sounds like a
good make-ahead appetizer.

Kris

On Sun, 3 Jan 2010 16:50:14 -0800 (PST), Kris >
wrote:

>Yum! I'll have to remember this next time I see BEP. Sounds like a
>good make-ahead appetizer.

BEP sounds like a brand of gasoline to me.

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

In article >,
sf > wrote:

> On Sun, 3 Jan 2010 16:50:14 -0800 (PST), Kris >
> wrote:
>
> >Yum! I'll have to remember this next time I see BEP. Sounds like a
> >good make-ahead appetizer.
>
> BEP sounds like a brand of gasoline to me.

Because they give you gas?

:-)

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA

On Sun, 03 Jan 2010 18:46:06 -0800, Dan Abel > wrote:

>In article >,
> sf > wrote:
>
>> On Sun, 3 Jan 2010 16:50:14 -0800 (PST), Kris >
>> wrote:
>>
>> >Yum! I'll have to remember this next time I see BEP. Sounds like a
>> >good make-ahead appetizer.
>>
>> BEP sounds like a brand of gasoline to me.
>
>Because they give you gas?
>
>:-)

I spelled out gasoline just so someone (like you) wouldn't say that.
LOL BP gasoline, BEP = BP with Ethyl? It just sounds funny.

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

On Jan 3, 8:36*pm, sf > wrote:
> On Sun, 3 Jan 2010 16:50:14 -0800 (PST), Kris >
> wrote:
>
> >Yum! I'll have to remember this next time I see BEP. Sounds like a
> >good make-ahead appetizer.
>
> BEP sounds like a brand of gasoline to me.
>
> --
> I love cooking with wine.
> Sometimes I even put it in the food.

(chuckle). Sorry, I was just being lazy with my typing.

Kris

In article >,
"Bob Terwilliger" > wrote:

> We had what amounts to a succession of appetizers.
>
> Artisan Bread with:

Sounds interesting!

I'll follow up later with pics of ours. Roast duck with an
anchovie/caper sauce, steamed mixed mushrooms with pearl onions, fresh
green beans with sesame seeds, Insalata Caprese, gourmet olives, grilled
prawns, champagne and Irish Cream.
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down."
--Steve Rothstein

Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>

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In article >,
sf > wrote:

> On Sun, 3 Jan 2010 16:50:14 -0800 (PST), Kris >
> wrote:
>
> >Yum! I'll have to remember this next time I see BEP. Sounds like a
> >good make-ahead appetizer.
>
> BEP sounds like a brand of gasoline to me.

Good comparison, considering what Black Eyed Peas taste like. I can't
stand those things and won't eat them on a bet!
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down."
--Steve Rothstein

Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>

Subscribe: