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Warm Herb Goat Cheese on Croutons
Salad with Blood Oranges and Beets
Spicy Southwest Chicken Sausage with Black Beans French Fries
Cherry Custard Tarts Coffee
This menu is one of my husband’s very favorites, and it is an updated version of the first dinner I served to my in-laws. It is a great menu for March. It is warm and satisfying, and at the same time the goat cheese (accompanied by a nice, crisp Sauvignon Blanc), the chiles and cilantro of the main course, and the cherries suggest that spring is just around the corner. Although I disliked beets as a child, this salad has come to be one of my favorites. The sweet earthiness of the beets contrasts wonderfully with the oranges and vinaigrette. The goat cheese, which is also sublime with beets, provides a perfect segue to the salad. I like crisp, salty French fries with the sausage and black beans for a contrast in textures. The tarts combine sweet cherries in brandy syrup, silky vanilla custard, and a crisp, flaky tart shell. Yum!
Warm Herb Goat Cheese on Croutons
1 8-ounce log of fresh goat cheese, room temperature 2 tablespoons high-quality extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves Freshly ground black pepper 1 baguette, sliced on the diagonal into ¼” slices Extra-virgin olive oil for brushing
Arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet and brush lightly with olive oil. Toast on both sides under a broiler until golden. Let cool.
Mix goat cheese, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and thyme leaves. Put into a baking ramekin. Dribble with a few more drops of olive oil and sprinkle lightly with coarsely ground black pepper. Warm in a 350º oven for about 10 minutes before serving. Place the ramekin on a plate and garnish with a sprig or two of fresh thyme. Surround with croutons and serve.
8-10 cups mixed salad greens 3-4 medium beets 4 navel oranges
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar 1 shallot, very finely minced ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil Sea salt Freshly ground black pepper
Combine vinegar, mustard and shallot. Whisk in olive oil until emulsified. Taste on a lettuce leaf for seasoning and add sea salt and pepper to taste.
Wrap the beets in foil and bake at 350º for 1 hour. Let cool. When beets have cooled, peel and slice thinly.
Peel orange with a sharp knife so that none of the white pith remains. Cut each section out away from the membrane. Save the juice and whisk into the vinaigrette.
Toss the salad greens with the vinaigrette, reserving about ¼ cup. Divide among eight plates. Nestle the orange sections and beet slices among the lettuce leaves. Drizzle with another teaspoon or so of the vinaigrette. Top with a few grinds of black pepper.
Spicy Southwest Chicken Sausage with Black Beans
16 links of chicken or turkey sausage made with spicy jalapeño or habañero chiles and cilantro 2 15-ounce cans black beans 1 small Roma tomato, roughly chopped 2 scallions, white and light green part only, roughly chopped 1 small jalapeño chile, or to taste, roughly chopped squeeze of fresh lime juice ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro 3 tablespoons lard or vegetable oil Cilantro sprigs as garnish
Place the tomato, scallions, jalapeño, cilantro and lime juice in the blender and whirl until roughly puréed. Add ½ of one of the cans of black beans and whirl again until roughly puréed, but not completely smooth. Heat lard or vegetable oil in a saucepan. Add purée and remaining black beans and refry for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep warm.
Grill sausages on a barbecue grill or a grill pan on your stove until completely cooked but still juicy, about 15 minutes, depending on the size of your sausage. Spoon some of the black beans onto a plate. Top beans with two sausages and a sprig of cilantro. Add a handful of crisp French fries alongside.
4 large russet potatoes 1 quart vegetable oil for frying Kosher or sea salt
Peel potatoes and cut into thin French fries. Place in a bowl of ice water. In a deep fryer, an electric wok, or a deep pot, heat the oil to 375º. Drain the potatoes and pat dry with paper towels. Have ready a pan or baking sheet lined with paper towels. Add a few of the potatoes to hot oil, being careful not to crowd, and cook 3-4 minutes, until potatoes are cooked and just thinking about turning golden. Remove with a strainer and drain on paper towels. Cook remaining potatoes in the same manner. You can prepare the potatoes up to this point an hour or two in advance.
When all the potatoes have been cooked, line another sheet with paper towels and bring the temperature of the oil back up to 375º. Re-fry the potatoes, a few at a time, in the hot oil for another minute, until they turn a lovely golden brown. Remove and drain. Sprinkle liberally with salt. Serve immediately. (You can actually hold the potatoes for a short time and re-heat in the oven for a few minutes. In this case, remove the paper towels and reheat on a sheet sprayed with cooking spray. If you reheat them on the paper towels, they will stick.)
2 ½ cups flour 1 ½ teaspoons salt ¾ stick cold butter, cut into pieces ¾ cup solid vegetable shortening, chilled ½ cup ice water
8 egg yolks 2/3 cup sugar ¼ cup cornstarch 2 ½ cups whole milk 2 tablespoons vanilla
4 cans pitted cherries in heavy syrup 4 tablespoons brandy 4 teaspoons cornstarch
Combine the flour and salt in a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the butter pieces and spoonfuls of the vegetable shortening. Pulse until butter and shortening are the size of coarse meal. Add ice water, a bit at a time, pulsing and then pinching dough to see if it will hold together. As soon as it is moist enough to hold together, gather into a ball, form into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least one hour.
Assemble 8 small individual tart pans. Roll dough out onto a floured surface. Cut into circles to fit your pans and line pans with the dough, trimming the tops to form attractive tart shells. Re-roll dough as needed to make 8 small tart shells. Chill 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350º. Line each tart shell with a piece of parchment or foil that extends over the edges and fill with dried beans or peas. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove beans and foil or parchment and bake 10-15 minutes more, until golden brown. Let cool.
Combine yolks and sugar in the bowl of and electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat until light and thick, about 3-5 minutes. Whisk together milk and cornstarch. Bring to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Add about a cup of hot milk to the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Return egg and milk mixture to the saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and strain into another bowl. Whisk in vanilla. Put plastic wrap on the surface of the custard and cool.
Drain the cherries in a colander over a bowl for about 30 minutes. Combine the cherry syrup, brandy and cornstarch in a saucepan and whisk until smooth. Heat to boiling and boil until syrup is clear. Strain to remove any small lumps of cornstarch. Add the cherries to the syrup and cool.
Fill each tart shell with a layer of cooled custard. Remove cherries from syrup and place on top of the custard. Spoon a little of the syrup into the spaces between the cherries. Chill until ready to serve.
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Copyright © 2008 by Charlotte Rose. All rights reserved. |
