Mise en Place on Track

Chef Anne Burrell promotes mise en place – the French term for “everything in its place” when cooking. I totally agree that this is the best way to make sure your dinner comes together with everything ready when you want it to be. This morning I’ve unmolded the Baked Alaska and they are chilling in the freezer, ready to be crowned with meringue later this evening.

The Court Bouillon that we’ll be poaching the salmon in is cooling to be strained and stored in the refrigerator. This recipe is from the Last Dinner on the Titanic cookbook – i doubled the ingredients for an almost-4 lb. salmon filet. You don’t have to worry about uniformly chopping the vegetables because they get strained out after cooking. This is such a simple stock but it is very flavorful and perfect for poaching seafood.

Court Bouillon

14 cups water
2 carrots sliced
2 small onions, coarsely chopped
12 black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup parsley stems (reserve the tops for another use)
2 tsps. salt
2 1/2 cups dry white wine

In a large stockpot, bring water, carrots, onions, peppercorns, bay leaves, parsley stems, salt and wine to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain. Keep tightly covered and store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

I’m adapting an online Asiago Cream Sauce recipe to make it a Mushroom-Asiago Sauce to try to replicate the wonderful dish we had at Von’s in Seatle. If you are ever in Seattle, I highly recommend taking in a meal there.

Von’s 1000 Spirits

Asiago Mushroom Cream Sauce

1 stick butter
1/2 cup diced sweet onion
2 tsps. minced garlic
4 tbsps. all-purpose flour
3 1/2 cups chicken stock
4 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tsps. salt
2 tsps. black pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup shredded Asiago cheese
1/2 stick butter

In a saucepan melt the stick of butter. Add the onions and sauté for 4 minutes. Add the minced garlic and sauté for an additional minute or two. Add the flour and mix thoroughly. Cook for about 5 minutes then add the chicken stick. Cook until slightly thickened then add the cream and cook to reduce for about 20 minutes. Add the salt, pepper and cayenne. Whisk in the wine and let simmer for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the remaining 1/2 stick of butter and Asiago cheese. Serve immediately over a boiled hearty pasta or cool in refrigerator for later use.

I made my standard butter rich dinner roll recipe (previously posted) in the bread machine then shaped it into 24 round rolls and let them rise. I slashed x’s on the tops and brushed them with egg wash and sprinkled raw pepitas and coarse truffle salt on the tops that we found at La Buona Tavola in the Pike Place Market district. They baked for about 12 to 15 minutes until browned. We’re also pre-cooking the excellent sourdough pasta noodles we got from Von’s and will refresh them tonight in the Asiago Mushroom sauce. They are slightly al dente now so that they can soak up the sauce later.

Now for a short break then on to soup and salad preparations!

Alaska-Seattle-Inspired Thank-You Dinner

Tomorrow evening for dinner we are having three couples over for a thank-you dinner. These are former colleagues of Kevin’s and their spouses who gave him a retirement gift of shipboard credit for the cruise we took to Alaska in July. It was a very considerate gift as they know that one of his retirement dreams is to travel. We thought it would be fun to show our appreciation by throwing a dinner party featuring dishes inspired by culinary experiences on our recent travels. We flew to Seattle early in the morning the day before the cruise departure and took a gourmet walking tour of the city and the Pike Place Market. What a marvelous place for foodies!!
We had a tasting at each of the stops and got to sample delicious items at many well-known and loved establishments. Here’s the menu we chose with selected dishes that impressed us most:

We weren’t able to find all of the exact ingredients here locally, but we actually brought some non-perishable items home with us. They made the trip in our luggage up to Alaska and back! Some items we shipped from the market where we found them.

With Kevin as my new Sous-Chef we prepped the appetizer tonight and started the dessert course. We made a trip to the Global Market last night for a variety of mushrooms, fresh herbs, and some other staples. They had a nice assortment of mushrooms that will make a delicious ragout.

You may think “That’s a lot of mushrooms!”. You are correct, and we used every last one of them. I doubled the recipe to serve 8 and it took 12 cups of chopped mushrooms. You know, they do shrink a bit with cooking. While my Sous-Chef chopped them up, I stripped the fresh thyme and chopped the rosemary leaves.

Kevin found a recipe online using pastry shells to serve 4, but I am going to double the recipe and use puff pastry squares to duplicate the presentation on the ship. One rectangle served as a base, a generous spoonful of the simmered mushrooms was spread on it, and it was topped with another rectangle of browned puff pastry. I modified the recipe to use sherry instead of white wine because I think that mushrooms and sherry pair wonderfully. I cooked the filing tonight and will bake the pastry tomorrow close to serving time, reheat the filling, then assemble them just before we sit down to the table. This will be a leisurely dinner with lots of conversation.

Wild Mushroom Sherried Ragout in Puff Pastry

1 pkg. of 8 sheets 5 x 5″ Pastry Dough
6 tablespoons olive oil
12 cups assorted wild mushrooms (Portobello, Shiitake, Oyster, Button)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
4 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup of Sherry (not cooking Sherry, the real stuff)
1/2 cup dark Balsamic vinegar
2 10.5-ounce cans of Cream of Mushroom soup
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or 1 tablespoon dried parsley

Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, garlic, rosemary and thyme. Sauté until mushrooms are tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the sherry and vinegar and cook until the liquid is reduced by about half. Stir in the soup and milk and heat to a boil. If serving immediately, keep mushroom mixture warm and remove the puff pastry from the package, cut each square in half, place on parchment-lined baking sheets and bake according to the package directions. To serve, spoon a generous portion of the heated mushroom mixture on the first piece then top with the second rectangle puff. Garnish with a sprig of thyme if desired. I am going to store the mushroom filling in a covered container in the refrigerator tonight and reheat on the stovetop tomorrow just before serving.

For dessert we are having what else? Baked Alaska, of course. On the ship we had sliced portions. I will be serving individual desserts. This recipe is in a Kitchen Aid cookbook and originally featured Coffee-flavored ice cream. We are serving Strawberry and vanilla bean layers molded in a 1/2 cup ramekin instead of a full cup serving. Here’s my modified recipe:

Individual Baked Alaska for 8

2 cups vanilla bean ice cream, softened
2 cups premium strawberry ice cream, softened

Cake
2/3 cup sugar
3 eggs, separated
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons Kahlua liqueur

Meringue
4 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 8 6-ounce ramekins with plastic wrap. Place 1/4 cup of the softened vanilla ice cream in the bottom of the cup. Top with 1/4 cup of strawberry ice cream. Use an off-set spatula to smooth the top. Place in the freezer while preparing the cake. You do not have to wrap them at this point. For the cake, line a 13 x 9-inch cake pan with waxed paper. Beat the sugar and egg yolks in the medium bowl of a stand mixer on high for about 4 minutes until pale and thick. Scrape out into another bowl and set aside. Clean the bowl. Place egg whites in the mixer bowl and beat until stiff, but not dry peaks form. Sift the flour, cocoa and cornstarch into the yolk mixture. Stir until gently blended. Fold in the whipped egg whites. Carefully spread the mixture into the prepared baking pan. Be careful not to let the waxed paper fall on the surface of the cake like I did. Fortunately, I noticed before it was entirely baked and it had set just enough that I was able to peel the paper back off of the cake!
Bake the cake for 10 minutes or until it springs back lightly when touched. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Cut the cake into 3-inch rounds, or the diameter of the ramekins you are using, with a biscuit or cookie cutter. Place the cake rounds on top of the ice cream in ramekins. Brush the rounds with liqueur. Freeze until ready to top with meringue. For the meringue, preheat the oven to 525 degrees F. Beat the egg whites in a clean mixer bowl on high until foamy. Slowly add the sugar, beating until stiff, glossy peaks form. Remove the ice cream and cake from the ramekins using the plastic wrap to glide them out. Remove and discard the plastic wrap. Place the desserts, cake-side down on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Spread the meringue evenly over the eight individual desserts, working quickly so that the ice cream doesn’t melt. Bake for 2 minutes or until the meringue is golden. Place on dessert plates and serve immediately. I have prepared the ice cream molds up to the point of adding the cake layer. Tomorrow afternoon, I’ll mix up the meringue, turn out the desserts and finish the meringue. They will not take long to prepare for serving. I can’t help but think that a pause between courses aids digestion. That’s all for tonight. Tomorrow morning I’ll pick it up again and make the Asiago Cream Sauce, Court Bouillon poaching liquid for the salmon, pepita-topped wheat dinner rolls and clam chowder. I am really looking forward to this dinner!

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Back Again!

I can’t believe it has been since May when I last posted! It’s certainly not because I haven’t done any cooking. It’s been a busy Summer. Either we have been away, my husband has begun cooking some evening meals or I’ve done BIG dinners and didn’t have time to post as I went along. Tonight we are having a couple of our friends over for dinner and we are having wedge salads with heirloom tomatoes, crumbled bacon and blue cheese dressing, roasted Apricot-Rosemary Pork Loin, Tomato Pie and baked sweet potatoes. It’s a pretty basic salad and can really be topped with whatever ingredients and dressing you like. For simplicity’s sake, we are using store-bought dressing. I have posted the recipe for Tomato Pie in the past and have been yearning for a slice of it made with some super-ripe fresh Summer tomatoes. On our recent travels to Tennessee we visited the historic Oaklands Mansion. My souvenir was a cookbook, of course.

Oaklands Mansion

Kevin tried an Oaklands recipe one evening that was probably the best pork loin roast I’ve ever tasted. Normally, I think that pork loin tends to be dry and not as flavorful as other cuts. This one is delicious and moist.

Apricot-Rosemary Pork Loin Roast
1 4-lb. boneless pork loin
1 8-oz, jar apricot preserves
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 c. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1 T. fresh or dried rosemary
1 tsp. chopped parsley flakes

Mix all ingredients in a covered container large enough to hold the roast and marinate the pork overnight. When ready to roast preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Place the pork in a baking pan and reserve the marinade in a saucepan. Roast for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Cook the marinade on the stovetop, bring to a boil and reduce by about 1/3. Pout marinade over pork before serving. I like to slice this very thin and serve the sauce on the side. For this dinner everything is in the oven at the same time. I compromised on the temperature and set it for 325. The meat is in for 2 hours, the sweet potatoes will bake about 1 hour 15 minutes and the tomato pie was in for 45 minutes.

For dessert, we’re using Paula Deen’s recipe for Peach Cobbler with some vanilla bean ice cream to top it off.

Peach Cobbler

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup self-rising flour
3/4 cup milk
1 28-ounce can sliced peaches in syrup, undrained or use variation below for fresh peaches – I used some fresh-frozen peaches we had pitted and sliced and froze for a day like today.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put butter in deep baking dish and place in the oven to melt (about 10 minutes). Mix sugar and flour, add milk slowly to prevent lumping. Pour over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in the syrup. Still do not stir; the batter will rise to the to during baking. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes. Good with either fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

To use fresh fruit, clean and pit 2 cups of peaches or use 2 cups of your favorite fruit. In a saucepan mix with 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water. Bring mixture to a boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir often, making sure sugar is completely dissolved. Substitute this for the canned fruit.