French

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French Cheeses:

Pierre Robert (was to be Brillat Saverin) with Amagnac or cognac

One or two others

Baguette

Black Berries, or some other kind of fruit.

La Vielle Maison Onion Soup

Fennel a la Grecque

Coq au Vin

Dacquoise (almond meringue, mocha buttercream)

A burgundy to drink with chicken

A white to drink with cheese and soup (ask Sally @ BWM)

Cognac (for cheese, crepes, to drink with dessert)

Brillat-Savarin Cheese with Armagnac Soaked Raisins

(from web - From Debra F.Weber, - Your Guide to French Cuisine.

http://frenchfood.about.com/od/cheeselefromage/r/cheeseraisin.htm)

1 round Brillat-Savarin cheese, (or other triple-crème cheese)

1/4 cup Armagnac (or Cognac)

1/2 cup golden raisins

plain water crackers

Put the raisins in a ceramic bowl and pour the Armagnac over them.

Allow to stand at room temperature for 24 hours.

Allow cheese to sit at room temperature 1-2 hours before serving.

Just before serving, pour the raisins and Armagnac over the cheese.

Serve with the crackers.

La Vielle Maison Onion Soup.

(p100 Comfort me with Apples by Ruth Reichl)

Serves 4

1/2 stick unsalted butter

6 large onions (about 3-1/2 lb), chopped

4 large garlic cloves, chopped

salt and pepper

1 tsp all purpose flour

2 C dry white wine

4 C chicken broth (use the veal stock)

1 tsp dried thyme, crumbled

4 large eggs

1/4 lb Gruyere cheese grated – pu on immediately before putting in oven, not earlier or it will sink

1/4 C heavy cream

Preheat oven to 325°.

Melt the butter over moderately high heat in heavy, ovenproof 8-quart pot until the foam subsides.

Cook the onion and garlic in the butter, adding salt and pepper to taste and stirring, until the onion is softened. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring for 1 minute.

Add the wine, broth and thyme, and cook the soup at a low boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes.

Cover the pot and bake in the middle of the oven for 2 hours.

Ladle the soup into 4 individual earthenware crocks or ovenproof bowls (about 1-1/2 cup capacity) and whisk an egg into each.

Sprinkle the tops with cheese and bake in the middle of the oven until the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes. Remove the crocks from the oven.

Spoon 1 Tb cream over each serving.

Fennel a la Grecque

(p173 The French Menu Cookbook by Richard Olney)

1-1/2 lb Fennel

3 C water

1/3 C olive oil

juice of 2 lemons

1 onion, finely sliced into rings

2 cloves of garlic, mashed and peeled

8-10 coriander seeds

8-10 whole peppercorns

1 pinch fennel seeds

1 large pinch thyme

1 bay leaf

salt

chopped parsley

Unless the bulbs are tiny and tender, the outer stalks should be removed and the “strings” pulled from the remaining surface stalks. The bulbs should be cut vertically into halves or quarters, depending on size, and parboiled for 5-10 minutes.

Bring the water to a boil, add all ingredients except parsley and simmer, covered, until fennel is tender. Arrange the fennel in a deep serving dish, pour over the contents of the saucepan and leave to cool. Serve sprinkled with parsley.

Coq au Vin

(p309 The French Menu Cookbook by Richard Olney – combined with revision off Web from Time Life)

2 strips lean side (salt) pork, salted or smoked, approximately 2/3” thick, rind removed and cut into cubes

2 tb oil or butter

3 medium-sized carrots, peeled and cut into coarsely chopped into 1-2” sections

3 medum-sized onions, cut into pieces or coarsely chopped

1 bird, preferabley a cock, weighing around 6lb, 10-12 mo old, cut into serving pieces

salt

2 Tb flour

1 bouquet garni (thyme, bay leaf, parsley) – or you can use loose

1/4 C cognac or brandy

1 bottle good red wine (the same as served to drink, for instance)

1/2 lb mushrooms

9-10 Tb butter (5 or 6 oz in all)

salt and pepper

25-30 small white onions, peeled

6 slices firm-textured white bread, crusts removed [We used some of our baguette]

1 clove garlic

chopped parsley

SAUTE PORK, CARROTS AN ONIONS, CHICKEN:

Parboil the pieces of salt pork for 2 minutes, drain and dry them in a towel. Put them to fry over low heat in a large, heavy sauteuse or skillet with a bit of oil or butter. When the pieces are golden brown, remove them and put the aside.

In the same cooking fat, place the carrots and chopped onions. Keep the heat between medium and low, and allow them to cook, stirring regularly to avoid overbrowning, for 20 to 30 minutes.

Remove the vegetables, put them aside and replace them with the chicken pieces [We needed more oil], previously salted. Cook the chicken over a somewhat higher heat until gently browned on all sides, sprinkle with flour and continue to cook, turning the pieces as necessary.

Return the sauteed onions and carrots to the pan. (At this point, if the skillet is already overfull of the chicken, or if perhaps you have had to use two skillets and both seem too full to permit adding the vegetables, keep the carrots and onions aside and add them later when the chicken goes into the oven dish. )

ADD LIQUOR:

When the flour has cooked for a few minutes, pour in the brandy, carefully set it alight and stir. When the flames have died, add the wine and raise the heat. Stir the chicken pieces and move them around until the liquid comes to a boil.

BAKE:

Transfer the chicken pieces and vegetables to an earthenware, copper or enameled cast-iron casserole with a lid.

Stir and scrape the first pan with a wooden spoon to loosen and dissolve the frying adherents, then pour the liquid over the chicken pieces. If they are not completely covered, add enough wine, water or good stock (water is better than indifferent stock) to barely, but entirely cover them.

Add the bouquet garni (or simply sprinkle with thyme) and add the bay leaf and parsley springs untide).

Put to cook, covered, in the oven, regulating the heat so that the sauce hardly simmers. The length of cooking time depends on the birds age and "past" -- from 30 to 45 minutes for a fryer that has never exercised to 1-1/2 hours for a 10-month old rooster, and an hour longer still for one that may be too old to have a fine flesh but will produce a marvelous sauce.

SAUTE ONIONS AND MUSHROOMS:

Meanwhile, cook the boiling onions, seasoned, in the butter over very low heat, shaking the pan from time to time, for 20 to 30 minutes. Keep them covered and avoid over browning them; if the saucepan is not heavy enough, you may have to use a fireproof pad over the heat source. Remove the onions when they are done and use the same pan to fry the mushrooms.

Trim the mushroom stems and cut the caps into two or four pieces (if they are small, leave them whole). Toss them in the butter over high heat for 2 or 3 minutes; season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

MAKE SAUCE:

Transfer the chicken pieces and the carrots to a platter.

Pass the cooking liquid through a fine sieve into a saucepan, using a pestle to work the residue. Discard the remains and the bouquet garni.

In the saucepan, skim as much fat from the surface of the liquid as possible and bring it to a boil, then position the saucepan over the heat so as to permit its contents to simmer only on one side. Carefully skim off all fat and impurities as the surface over the next 30 minutes or so. If at this point, the sauce is still too thin, turn up the heat to create a fast boil, stirring constantly until you achieve the right consistency.

FINISH COOKING WITH SAUCE:

Put the chicken pieces and the carrots back in the oven dish, distribute the garnish (sauteed mushrooms, glazed boiling onions, and fried pork sections) on top and pour over the sauce. Cover and return to the oven to simmer gently for 15 to 20 minutes.

MAKE CROUTONS (CAN BE DONE IN ADVANCE)

Brown the triangles of bread (crusts removed, each slice cut diagonally) in butter over low heat until golden and crisp. (They may be prepared ahead of time and rewarmed in the oven).

SERVE:

To serve, place the chicken pieces more or less symmetrically on a large, warmed platter. Rub the cruton triangles with the clove of garlic, dip a corner of each triangle in the sauce, then in the chopped parsey and arrange them around the edge of the platter, parslied tips pointing out. Pour sauce and garnish over the chicken and sprinkle with a bit of chopped parsley. Serve with steamed potatoes.

Dacquoise - almond meringue, mocha buttercream

(p49 Comfort me with Apples by Ruth Reichl)

Serves 8-10

FOR THE ALMOND MERINGUE

1-1/4 C Whole blanched almonds

3/4 C plus 2 Tb granulated sugar

1 Tb cornstarch

6 large egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

pinch of salt

FOR THE MOCHA BUTTERCREAM

1 C granulated sugar

6 large egg yolks

1/2 C heavy cream

2 Tb instant espresso

1/4 tsp salt

2 sticks unsalted butter

GARNISH

1/4 C sliced toasted almonds

Confectioner’s sugar for dusting

10” springform pan (I have 9”)

NOTE: For a taller dacquoise, make three 7 inch meringue circles instead of two 10” ones (the baking time will be slightly less). Sandwich the meringues with buttercream and decorate in same manner.

MAKE THE MERINGUE

Preheat the oven to 275°. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and on each draw a 10-inch circle, using the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan as a guide. Flip the paper over (the circle will show through).

Pulse the nuts in a food processor with 2 Tb of the granulated sugar until ground fine. Add the cornstarch and pulse until combined. Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar and a pinch of salt in a standing electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining 3/4 cup sugar on low speed, then beat on high speed until it forms stiff, glossy peaks. Fold in the almond mixture gently but thoroughly.

Divide the meringue between the two parchment circles, spreading to fill in the circles evenly. Bake them in the upper and lover thirds of the oven, switching the position of the baking sheets halfway through baking, until firm and pale golden, about 1 hour. Slide the parchment paper with the meringues from the baking sheets and place on racks to cool.

MAKE THE BUTTER CREAM

Beat the egg yolks with 1/2 cup sugar in a standing electric mixer on high speed until thick and pale, about 4 minutes.

While the yolks are beating, whisk the heavy cream with the remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Gradually whisk half of the hot cream into the yolk mixture to temper the eggs; then whisk the yolk mixture into the remaining hot cream, along with the instant espresso powder and salt.

Cook the custard over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until an instant-read thermometer registers 170°. Transfer the mixture to the clean bowl of the standing electric mixer and beat until cooled completely. Beat in butter 1 tablespoon at a time and chill, covered, for at least 30 minutes..

TO ASSEMBLE THE DACQUOISE

Carefully remove the meringues from the parchment and spread one (smooth side down) evenly with the buttercream. Top with remaining meringue (smooth side up) and decorate the outside edges of the buttercream with toasted almonds. Chill, loosely covered, until firm, at least 2 hours before serving. Dust top with confectioner’s sugar.

The easiest way to cut it is with a serrated bread knife, sawing rather than using pressure.