Three courses, all vol au vants.

Caution advised; please be familiar with the recipe before attempting.
Author accepts no responsibility for the turnout.

== Pastry 1 ==

1-1/4 cups plain flour
3/4 cup cake flour
1/2 lb very cold unsalted butter
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup ice water
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 egg-wash (1 egg, mixed with a small amount of water)

(Produces 12 dessert baskets)

== Pastry 2 ==

2-1/2 cups plain flour
1-1/4 cups cake flour
1 lb very cold salted butter
1 tsp salt
1-1/4 cup ice water
1 tsp white vinegar
1 egg-wash (1 egg, mixed with a small amount of water)

(Produces 24 main baskets)

plus extra plain flour for dusting work surface

1) Mixing the Dough:

Mix both flours and salt into a food processor.

Pulse twice, then add the lemon juice with the water.

Pulse once every five seconds, until dough forms a ball around the blade
in the middle. If done correctly, it should be slippery and moist, but
hold together when squeezed.

Move the dough from the blade, and roll into a small ball.

Using a sharp blade, slash a shallow "noughts and crosses" pattern into
the top.

Wrap in a damp towel and refrigerate. (5 minutes should be plenty)

Repeat the process for dough 2 - remember it should use vinegar where
you were using lemon juice, and salted rather than unsalted butter.

2) Folding the Dough

Place the butter within 2 sheets of firm plastic wrap.

Beat with a rolling pin until flat - should be approximately 1" thick in
the middle and at the sides.

Should the butter soften or become oily, return to freezer or fridge
until it becomes solid once more.

Unwrap your dough, place on a dusted surface.

Flatten the dough into a roughly 5" square, keeping both sides of the
dough well floured. Move the dough frequently - lift it up occasionally
to keep it from sticking.

Working from the middle, flatten the dough out to the corners; this
should stretch the dough slightly to form a very "short-armed X".

Place butter into the middle, fold the corners over until they meet -
stretch them if you want. All in all, the square should now be 4" across.

--- Careful Notes Before Proceeding ---

Be careful herein that the dough and butter does not thaw - the dough
should be very cold, but the butter not too solid. Use judgement; if the
dough softens, or the butter melts out, then place in the fridge to
chill a while. If the butter comes out of the fridge too hard, let it
sit for five minutes or so.

Otherwise, it is recommended that you put the dough back into the fridge
for 30 minutes after 2 turns. Remember; don't let the dough become
'soft', or you won't get good pastry!

It's also important to make sure that the butter mixes evenly with the
dough - if not, be a bit stronger with your rolling to get the butter
moving.

---

Firmly press the pin over the square, keeping it square as you do so, to
flatten it into a rectangle 12" x 4" in size. Avoid overdoing the edges!
You want them mostly unmolestered... Also try to avoid getting thinner
than 1/4" in depth - it'll leave the best rise when baked.

Brush off the excess flour from the top of the dough, then fold the
rectangle so that you once again have a 4" x 4" square. Turn the pastry
square 90 degrees, and repeat the rolling and folding - this is the time
you should be putting it back into the fridge.

Repeat the steps above (from the rolling to the fridge) two more times,
then leave in the fridge for at least one hour.

Repeat the above steps for the second dough, keeping an eye on the
measurements - 10" instead of 5" for the initial "butter package", 8"
instead of 4" for squares, and the rectangle should be 24" x 8" in
length. It should still not be pressed any thinner than 1/4" however -
be careful of that still!

3) Cutting and Shaping - Pastry 1

Once chilled for at least an hour, use a blade to divide the dough into
equal 1/3 measures.

Roll the dough pieces into rectangles approximately 1/4" thick. Transfer
to a baking sheet* and refrigerate for approximately 10 minutes.

Cut each rectangle into 4 segments - make sure that each cut is clean
and sharp; the better the cuts, the better the vol au vants will turn out.

Cut small holes into the center of half of the squares - the holes
should be approximately 3/4" across. Set these aside on the end of the
baking sheet.

Prick the remaining squares lightly with a fork - do not overpenetrate!

Wash these "solid" squares with the egg wash.

Place the "holed" squares to line over the "solid" ones; you want each
rectangle of pastry to now be two square "baskets" of pastry, with two
small "caps" nearby.

Brush the pastry baskets with the egg wash again, being exceptionally
light with the wash. You are trying not to get it on the flakey sides.

Prick and then brush the "caps" as well.

Refrigerate the combined product for approximately 10 minutes.

4) Cutting and Shaping - Pastry 1

Once chilled for at least an hour, use a blade to divide the dough into
equal 1/3 measures.

Roll the dough pieces into rectangles approximately 1/4" thick. Transfer
to a baking sheet* and refrigerate for approximately 10 minutes.

Cut each rectangle into 8 segments - make sure that each cut is clean
and sharp; the better the cuts, the better the vol au vants will turn out.

Cut small holes into the center of half of the squares - the holes
should be approximately 3/4" across. Set these aside on the end of the
baking sheet.

Prick the remaining squares lightly with a fork - do not overpenetrate!

Wash these "solid" squares with the egg wash.

Place the "holed" squares to line over the "solid" ones; you want each
rectangle of pastry to now be four square "baskets" of pastry, with four
small "caps" nearby.

Brush the pastry baskets with the egg wash again, being exceptionally
light with the wash. You are trying not to get it on the flakey sides.

Prick and then brush the "caps" as well.

Refrigerate the combined product for approximately 10 minutes.

(Sound familiar? It should...)

5) Baking.

NB: You would likely want to prepare the savoury fillings when you get
to this part. Just as a heads-up. Fillings can be found in part 2.

Pre-heat an oven to 400(F)/200(C).

Remove the sheet from the fridge, and place a second sheet over the baskets.

Bake in the oven until the baskets have begun to rise and brown -
approximately 10 minutes, but keep an eye on them. Remove the sheet from
the top of the baskets.

Reduce temperature to 350(F)/180(C).

Check at this point - some baskets may have "expanded" with the center
rising out faster than the edges. Press this down gently to flatten the
middle once more.

Check the caps - if they are brown, remove from the oven to cool on a
rack at room temperature. At this time, remove 12 of the baskets
allocated for "pastry 2" - they will need filling with the salmon mix
described in part 2.

Replace the now-filled savoury vol au vant baskets.

Continue baking for approximately 15 minutes - they should be
golden-brown when ready.

If ready, remove from oven. Pasty 1 baskets should be left to cool.
Remaining pastry 2 baskets should be filled almost immediately with the
beef mix in part 2; Fillings.

Cap both salmon and beef vol au vants, serve while hot.

When remaining vol au vants (pastry 1 baskets) are cooked, fill with the
dessert mix described in part 2. Cap with appropriate pastry caps. Serve
at room temperature.

*Baking sheets - baking paper or plastic, layered with a single sheet of
cooking parchment.

Salmon & Avocado

1 lb pink salmon
3 tbsp cream cheese
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 avocado, mashed
salt and pepper seasoning
snipped chives

Combine cream cheese with mayonnaise

Stir in avocado

Mix in herbs and salmon.

Spoon into vol au vants removed from baking early.

Continue baking as in part 1.

===

Beef Hot Pot

1 tbsp olive oil
1-1/2 lb lean beef, cubed
1 lb carrots, peeled & diced
1/2 lb celery, diced
1 lb potatoes, peeled & diced
1 brown onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 lb button mushrooms, chopped
1 cup beef stock
1 cup red wine
1 tsp dried parsley, chopped

Cook onion and garlic in olive oil, stirring for 5 minutes until soft.

Add beef and cook over medium heat until brown.

Stir in the wine and stock.

Add the vegetables, mushrooms, and the parsley, cover.

Simmer for 45 minutes.

Spoon into vol au vants from pastry 2 that are not filled with the
salmon mix (above). Instructions continue from part 1.

Alternatively; the above ingredients can be combined with 2 cups of
water into a slow cooker - leave on low heat for approximately 10 hours.

===

Berry Crème Dessert

1 punnet blueberries
1 punnet strawberries
1/5 lb cherries, pitted
6 egg yolks
5 oz powdered sugar
1-1/2 oz plain flour
2 cups milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
icing sugar

Combine the egg yolks and a 1/3 of the sugar in a bowl.

Whisk to a light ribbon consistency.

Whisk in the flour thoroughly.

Heat the milk with the remaining sugar in a pan, add the extract.

Whisk the milk into the egg yolk mixture the moment the milk begins to boil.

Once well mixed, return to saucepan and heat.

Bring to a boil over a medium heat, whisking constantly. Keep boiling
for 2 minutes while stirred.

Return to mixing bowl, dust with a thick veil of icing sugar.

Allow to cool.

Spoon mixture into pastry 1 baskets until at the same level as the
edges, top with berry mix.

Continue serving as in part 1.

Remaining mix can be held in the fridge for up to three days. Enjoy!

(Goes well with a lot of other desserts!)