Archive for December, 2011

In the world of decadence, lobster bisque is certainly in the top rankings. The winner of our menu contest this year requested I make this dish. Truly, just a few simple ingredients are all you need.

Ingredients

1 small to medium-sized lobster

2 carrots, roughly chopped

2 shallots, not peeled, cut in half

Pinch of parsley

pinch of thyme

2 black peppercorns

1 clove

15 1/2 oz pumpkin puree

6 TB butter

8 TB flour

splash of sherry

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup heavy cream

drops of good sherry, for garnish

drizzle of melted butter, for garnish

Method

Put the lobster into boiling water for 10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool. Save the water you used to boil the lobster. Take the flesh out of the lobster shell and reserve. Save the lobster shell. In a large pot, add the carrots (chopped) and the shallots cut in half, flesh-side down over high heat. When the shallots brown, add the lobster shell and stir. Add the lobster cooking water, the parsley, thyme, peppercorns and clove. Allow to simmer for 30 minutes. Strain and put the liquid back on the heat. Add the pumpkin. Reduce by 1/3.

In another large pot, make a lobster veloute by adding the flour and butter over high heat. Whisk for 1-2 minutes, until the butter is melted. Whisk 1 minute more. Add a small splash of sherry. Add the lobster stock and whisk intermittently until it thickens slightly. Add the sea salt. Add the cream and turn down to lowest heat. In a small pan, reheat the lobster meat in a little butter and chop into pieces. Serve in bowls with some of the lobster pieces, a few drops of sherry and a drizzle of melted butter.

We challenged readers and listeners to come up with the best Christmas menu this year. Isn’t that more fun than telling you what to make? This goose was the very epitome of savory and the stuffing (made as dressing, separately) was truly outstanding. These are recipes to be filed away for years to come. Enjoy!

Julia Child always used the steaming and then roasting method to avoid splattering of the goose in the oven (due to the amazing amount of fat rendered). We will do that here as well, but save that fat to saute potatoes with, etc.

Ingredients

1 goose 8-10 lbs

5 shallots

2-3 carrots

sea salt

pepper

blood orange juice (regular orange juice is fine) for basting plus 1 1/3 cups for the gastrique

1 large baguette, about 20 inches in length

1 egg

1 TB butter

2 packages dried morel mushrooms (about 1 ounce each, dried, or a little more)

fresh thyme, rosemary, oregano and basil

1/2 tsp dried thyme

splash of white wine

1 1/3 cups sugar

1 tsp good sherry vinegar

1 cup of chicken stock (or make goose stock from the giblets, as we did with the turkey recipe on the site)

Method

Take the giblets out of the goose. Rinse the bird thoroughly. Pat it dry with paper towels. In a large, heavy roasting pan safe for the stovetop, place the carrots and 2 shallots, cut into big chunks. Place 2 more shallots, roughly cut into the cavity of the goose. Splash some of the blood orange juice over the goose and generously season with salt and pepper. Place a couple of inches of water in the roasting pan and cover with aluminum foil. Steam over medium heat for one hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

While the goose is steaming, rehydrate the mushrooms according to package directions. While they steep, shred the baguette into bite-sized pieces and place in a large bowl. Beat the egg and add it. Chop 4-5 sprigs of each of the fresh herbs and add them. Add 1/2 tsp of sea salt.

Chop the mushrooms, add the butter to a small frying pan and saute them with a 1/4 tsp of dried time and a pinch of sea salt. When the liquid dries up in the pan, add a splash of white wine. Remove from the heat and allow to cool before tossing in the bowl with the bread mixture. With clean hands, mix the contents of the bowl. Spray an 8×12 glass dish with cooking spray and add the mixture, gently patting it down to fit the dish.

Pour the liquid from the goose pan into a container, leaving only about 1 cup of liquid in the pan. Splash a little more blood orange juice over it. Flip it breast-side-down, and roast, covered, for two hours while you make the gastrique (see below). During the last half hour, uncover it, turn it breast-side-up and place the stuffing in the oven, uncovered. After 15 minutes, add 1/2 to 1 cup of the reserved cooking liquid (and fat) to the stuffing, depending upon how much it has dried out. Bake and roast 15 more minutes and remove everything from the oven to cool for a few moments.

While the goose is roasting, make the gastrique. Place the sugar and 1 1/3 cups of the blood orange juice in a saucepan with the sherry vinegar. Allow to simmer and reduce until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Allow to cool slightly. Serve with the goose.

Don’t deny it. Things get busy over the holidays, people tire of the preparations and just want to gather and relax. You may have ended up with an impromptu party or two, so here’s how to make the most of it and be prepared. You’ll look like you had it planned all along.

Sun-dried tomato palmiers

Parmesan sticks

Herbed goat cheese

Assorted crackers

seedless grapes

Camembert fondue

Ingredients

1 package frozen puff pastry sheets (11 oz)

1  6.5 oz jar of oil-packed sun dried tomatoes

4 oz grated parmesan cheese

8 oz of goat cheese

assorted fresh herbs, including basil, thyme, oregano, rosemary

seedless grapes

8 0z (or more) wheel of Camembert cheese

best quality assortment of crackers

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

Palmiers

Thaw the puff pastry or quick-thaw according to package directions. Drain but reserve the oil from your sun-dried tomatoes. Buzz the tomatoes in a food processor until smooth. Gently roll out one 10″x15″ pastry sheet without crushing the edges (or it won’t rise). Place it on a cutting board. Paint the dough lightly with the oil from the tomatoes with a pastry brush. Paint the sun-dried tomato mixture on the dough. Roll the long side of the pastry up to the center and stop. Roll the other long side up to the center. With a very sharp knife, slice into 1/4″ thick slices and place each slice on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Bake until golden 10-12 minutes. These hold up well at room temperature for a short period of time.

Bread sticks

Roll out another sheet of the pastry dough, as above. Sprinkle it with parmesan and using a ravioli cutter or a knife, cut into 1/4″ strips. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and twist each end in opposite directions creating a spiral bread stick. Place each stick on the cookie sheet an inch apart and bake at the same temp as above for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. These also hold well.

Herbed goat cheese

Chop assorted herbs finely. Roll cold goat cheese into twelve balls. Roll in the fresh herbs and serve.

Camembert fondue

Take the plastic wrap off the cheese and place back in the wooden round container. Place it on a baking sheet and bake until very soft and melted. Carefully cut off the top and the melted cheese can be spread on crackers. Re-heat if necessary.

Serve all of the above with grapes and assorted crackers.

In this digital age we live in, now more than ever people appreciate the time taken to make a gift and the tastier the better. I put together some ideas to make friends and family smile over the holidays.

If you simply have no time, the Christmas cake from Italy, panettone, has always been a favorite in our home. You can find various brands of it at almost every major supermarket.

Another option is to make edible ornaments or even a gingerbread house. I experimented with gingerbread dough last year and came up with a recipe that would hold up for decorating. If you use this dough for ornaments, make sure you poke a hole in the top of each gingerbread cookie with a round pastry tip (because the hole will shrink) before you put it in the oven. Use holiday-themed cutters to make your ornaments varied and festive. Here’s the recipe link for that:

http://elizabethdougherty.com/2011/06/09/making-a-gingerbread-house-and-cookies/

I painted the house with melted chocolate. We ended up devouring that one as the holidays approached.

Other gifts you can make include chocolate truffles by simply scalding cream and pour the hot cream over twice as much (in ounces) of chopped chocolate, stir until smooth, let it cool and roll them into balls. Then you can roll them in cocoa, sweetened coconut, peanuts, pistachios. The possibilities are endless.

An even less expensive option is flavored popcorn. Make some popcorn and while it’s still hot toss it in garlic salt, cinnamon sugar or cajun seasoning. The flavors are up to you, but one thing is for sure; people will know you took the time to make it.

Sometimes, particularly during this time of year with all the holiday treats in abundance, I like to step back and make a few vegetarian dishes. You don’t have to sacrifice flavor for healthier, lower-fat meals. This dish tastes like an indulgence and I dare you not to go back for a second helping.

Ingredients

5 oz tempeh smoked bacon

cooking spray

sea salt

1 lb spaghetti

2 whole eggs

2 egg yolks

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more to garnish each plate

cracked black pepper

Method

Put a large pot of water on high heat, with a TB of sea salt in it. While that’s coming to a boil, chop the tempeh bacon finely into small dice. Spray cooking spray in a frying pan and lightly “toast” the tempeh over medium heat. (The smell is fabulous.) When it’s lightly browned, set aside. When the water boils, toss in the spaghetti and cook to package directions. In a glass bowl, combine eggs (beaten), 1/2 cup parmesan and cracked black pepper (as peppery as you like it). If you are concerned about using raw eggs, realize the hot pasta will cook them for the most part, but you can always use pasteurized eggs (they come in the shell) if you like. Drain the cooked pasta reserved a few TB of the pasta water.

Toss the tempeh in with the egg mixture and toss the whole mixture in a big bowl with the hot pasta, adding a 2-4 TB of the cooking water to make a sauce. Serve immediately, garnishing with more parmesan and black pepper.