Smoked Trout on Potato Pancakes

For a little more unusual appetizer I’m doing the City Tavern Smoked Trout on savory Potato Pancakes. I’m making the pancakes tonight and will refrigerate them until just before serving. To reheat them, I’ll put them on parchment paper in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes then top them with the mayo-horseradish, trout and garnish.

4 medium red-skinned potatoes, peeled
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
2 eggs
10 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon freshly grated horseradish ***
2 pounds smoked brook trout
chopped parsley for garnish
dill sprigs for garnish

Place the potatoes in a large saucepan filled with lightly salted water, bring to a boil over high heat, and boil until the potatoes are just tender (about 15 minutes). Drain the potatoes an set them aside to cool slightly. To make the pancakes, combine the flour, milk, eggs, 8 tablespoons of butter, parsley, salt and pepper in a medium-size mixing bowl and whisk until there are no lumps. Grate the potatoes into the batter and mix to combine. To make the pancakes, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of the butter to coat the pan and spoon 1 tablespoon of the batter into the skillet for each pancake. I used a cookie scoop and it makes nice uniform-sized portions. Space them about 1/4 inch apart. Cook for 2 minutes on each side or until brown. Repeat with the remaining batter. Transfer the cooked pancakes to a place and keep warm in a 275 degree oven. If not using immediately store in the refrigerator in a covered container. I use sheets of Kabnet wax to layer them so that they don’t stick together. In a small mixing bowl, stir together the mayonnaise and horseradish. Place a dollop of the mayonnaise-horseradish mixture on top of each pancake and top with a piece of trout. Garnish each pancake with a sprig of dill. Serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.

***You may use prepared horseradish in place of the fresh horseradish. Put 2 teaspoons in a cheesecloth or a clean towel and squeeze out the excess liquid before mixing it with the mayonnaise.

Apple Cranberry Cobbler

Next up is individual Apple Cranberry Cobblers. You’ll need 3 x 1 1/2-inch ramekins. The recipe says that it makes 8, however I had enough left over to make 4 more 6-once custard cups – 12 servings in all. You may also make one large cobbler using a 1 1/2-quart shallow baking dish.
These make a nice presentation for individual desserts or sampler size when you want to do several desserts in small portions.

6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 cups whole fresh cranberries (may use 1 12-ounce package frozen cranberries, thawed)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups oat topping (recipe follows)

Preheat over to 375 degrees F. Grease the ramekins or casserole dish with butter. Place the ramekins (or large baking dish) on a rimmed baking sheet for easy handling. In a large bowl, combine the apples, cranberries, sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon. Divide the mixture evenly among the prepared baking dishes. Top each ramekin with 1/4 cup of the oat topping ( I used about 2 tablespoons each) or spread all of the topping over the single larger dish. Place the cobblers on the pan in the oven and baked for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and the filling starts to bubble. Serve warm.

Oat Topping

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into cubes
1/2 cup chopped English walnuts

In a medium-size bowl, combine the flour, oats and brown sugar. Stir to combine. Add the butter and cut in with a pastry cutter or two knives. Stir in the walnuts with a spoon. Use immediately or transfer to a covered container and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Chocolate Mousse Cake

After the pound cake disaster I was a little gun shy about making the next cake, but like show business, the dinner must go on. Luckily the chocolate cake has fared better than its predecessor and has turned out just fine.

Chocolate Mousse Cake

Cake
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
4 large eggs
5 cups sifted cake flour
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk

Mousse
4 ounces semisweet chocolate
4 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup heavy cream

Ganache
1 pint (2 cups) heavy cream
24 ounces semisweet chocolate
Currants, candied flowers or chopped nuts, for garnish (optional)

Makes 2 9-inch cakes to serve 10 to 12 people.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans with butter and line the bottoms with parchment paper circles. I use the pans to trace the circles to fit exactly. Two rounds can be made from one half sheet of parchment by placing the pan in opposite corners. Place the whip attachment and the bowl from an electric stand mixer in the freezer to chill for later use. If you’re like most people and only have one mixing bowl, clean it after preparing the cake and put it in the freezer then to use after the cake has cooled completely.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle on medium speed, beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl frequently. Add the eggs slowly, continue to scrape down the sides of the bowl. In a separate bowl, sift together the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture, alternating with the milk, scarping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Mix until just combined. Divide the batter between the two prepared pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until firm to the touch or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. This cake is so thick I almost lost my toothpick. Cool the cakes in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans and cool completely before assembling.

Prepare the mousse:
Fill the bottom of a double boiler with water to 1/2 inch below the upper pan and place over low heat. The water in the bottom of the double boiler should not come to a boil. Place the chocolate for the mousse in the upper pan and stir constantly until melted. Remove the melted chocolate from the heat and let cool for a minute. Add the egg yolks and beat well with a whisk. Set aside to cool. In the chilled bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the chilled whip attachment, beat the cream on medium speed until soft peaks form. The next step calls for the whip attachment and mixing bowl again so you may transfer the prepared mixture to another bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment, whip the egg whites on medium until soft peaks form. Set aside. With a rubber spatula, gently fold the chilled whipped cream into the chocolate mixture until the cream is just combined Do not over fold. Gently fold the reserved whites into the chocolate until just combined. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour before using.

Prepare the ganache:
In a heavy 1-quart saucepan bring the cream just to a boil over low heat, stirring frequently. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Place the chocolate in a large bowl. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let sit for 1 minute. Whisk thoroughly to combine. The chocolate should have melted fro the heat of the cream. Let cool. When the mixture is room temperature, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Remove 1 hour before ready to use. When the cake has cooled completely, us a serrated knife to carefully cut each cake in half horizontally into 2 layers or a total of 4 layers. To assemble, place the first cake layer on a large serving plate. Alternate the cake layers and mousse filling, spreading the mousse evenly onto each cake layer. Frost the outside of the cake with the ganache. Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve. Garnish with flowers, currants, or chopped nuts if desired.

Poundcake Pandemonium

The next item on my list was desserts. I put two pound cakes in the oven and about 30 minutes into the one-hour bake time, I started to smell something burning. The recipe made two loaf-size cakes and one of the pans was slightly more full than the other and had run over. The scorched batter proceeded to flicker into flame. I fished out the smoking goo and returned the cakes to the oven. Alas, they fell, collapsed in on themselves never to recover.

This isn’t salvageable and certainly not something I would serve guests at an elegant dinner. This calls for a re-do. I am not going to give you the first recipe I used, but instead the recipe for a tried-and-true pound cake from the Williamsburg Cookbook, which would be similar to a cake that would have been served at the City Tavern in the same time period.

Pound Cake

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup sugar
6 eggs
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon orange flavoring
1 teaspoon lemon flavoring
(I substituted 2 teaspoons almond flavoring in place of the orange and lemon flavors)
fresh seasonal fruit for garnish – strawberries are coming in now from Florida

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9 1/4 x 5 1/4 x 2 3/4-inch loaf pan or spray with Baker’s Joy no-stick spray with flour. You may also use a 9-inch tube pan for this recipe. Cream the butter and gradually add the sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift the flour and baking powder together and gradually mix into the egg mixture. Add the orange and lemon (or almond) flavorings. Spoon into the prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 70 minutes if a loaf pan is used or 60 minutes if a tube pan is used. Cool in the pan 10 minutes. then turn the cake out and finish cooling on a rack. Garnish with fresh fruit if desired.

Countdown – Five-Course Dinner for Eight

I’ve taken the day off from work to prepare for a big dinner tomorrow evening. We are hosting a gourmet dinner for eight that we donated to the Col. Benjamin Stephenson House as an Auction item at their annual dinner earlier this year. We’ve given a dinner the past several years and proceeds from the Auction go to the ongoing support for the maintenance of the house and educational programs offered to the community. School children from the area take field trips to visit this beautifully-restored home to get a glimpse at life in the 1820’s.

1820’s Col Benjamin Stephenson House

Each year we offer one or more themes for the dinner. In the past we’ve done Italian, Greek, Southern Style and last year we even did a Dinner on the Titanic in observance of the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the great ship. Since this dinner benefits a historic home we chose a City Tavern theme based on menus served today at the historic City Tavern in Philadelphia. It is considered to be the first gourmet restaurant in our country.

The City Tavern, Philadelphia PA

The menu:

Appetizers

Smoked Brook Trout on Potato Pancakes
Welsh Rabbit
Mustard Eggs

Soup
Madeira Onion Soup
Salad

Roasted Red and Golden Beet Salad

Entrees

Chicken Madeira
Beef Medallions
Salmon Corn Cakes with Herb Remoulade
Creamed Spinach
Mashed Potatoes
Red Cabbage with Apples

Desserts

Pound Cake with Fresh Fruit
Chocolate Mousse Cake
Apple and Cranberry Cobbler

In order to do as much ahead of time as possible, I started with the salad by boiling eggs that will be used as a garnish so that they can chill until time to assemble the salad. Next I am roasting the beets. Beets are kind of a neglected vegetable, but they can be prepared lots of different ways and they are so healthy for you. I found some beautiful red and golden beets, trimmed the tops to 1 1/2 inches (this is so that the juices don’t bleed out) and put them in a dish sprayed with non-stick spray. The original recipe recommends placing them in separate dishes by color. Some people would reserve the green tops for another use. I am not one of those people. There is no seasoning, just clean scrubbed beets. These will cook about 30 minutes for the golden beets and 45 minutes for the red. Golden beets are slightly smaller and will cook a little faster.

Roasted Red and Golden Beet Salad

1 lb. whole fresh red beets, trimmed 1 1/2 inch above the beets.
1 lb. whole fresh golden beets, trimmed 1 1/2 inches above the beets
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (or use 1/2 tablespoon dried parsley)
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup roughly chopped English walnuts
2 hard-cooked eggs, sliced (optional)

After the beets have cooled remove the beet skins with a paring knife and cut the beets into 1-inch cubes. Set them aside. In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine the oil, onions, vinegar, parsley, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, mustard, and the salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the beets, walnuts and hard-cooked eggs, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 2 hours until the salad is marinated and thoroughly chilled. Adjust seasoning to taste. Serve chilled. Makes enough for 6.

I am going to prepare the beets with the dressing but will wait to add the walnuts and eggs tomorrow so that they don’t get soggy or discolored overnight.

More to come as the day goes on…….

Trivia Night Snacks – Savory

For the savory dish to bring to the Trivia Night I checked my refrigerator for ingredients and did a quick search online. I found this Cooking with Paula Deen recipe for Ham and Gruyere sliders, I didn’t have gruyere, but I did have some nice Swiss cheese that can be substituted. My herbs are coming in so there are fresh chives in the herb garden to use.

Ham and Gruyere Sandwiches

I was running late for the event so I had to grab them out of the oven and go! I kept them warm in the foil they were baked in by placing them in an Anchor Hocking 9 x 13-inch pan with an insulated carrier bag. Sorry, no pictures this time. I didn’t want to lose the heat by unwrapping them for a photo.

Trivia Night Snacks – Sweet

We’re going to a Trivia Night tonight and need to bring some snacks. I decided on something sweet and something savory. For the sweet, I made Jamie Deen’s Chewy Toffee Bars out of this month’s Food Network magazine:
Jamie Deen’s Chewy Toffee Bars

The recipe instructs you to line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper, but not exactly how to do that. A standard size piece of parchment paper would be all wadded up in the corners if you just tried to press it in. I took the parchment paper and cut it into two eight-inch widths and left it long. To get the bars out of the pan easily, I sprayed the pan with non-stick cooking spray, criss-crossed them in the pan, then sprayed the paper lightly. When all of the ingredients were mixed together the batter was the consistency of thick peanut butter. After baking, I cooled it for about 10 minutes, then gently lifted the paper flaps and the whole cake slid out easily and has nice smooth sides. It smells great and looks like the texture of a ooey-gooey butter cake.