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October
A Romantic Southern Bistro
Seafood Eclairs
Butternut Squash Soup
Endive and Apple Salad
Duck and Wild Rice Jambalaya
Chocolate Pecan Jack Daniel’s Cake with Jack Daniel’s Chocolate Sauce and Mint Julep Ice Cream
This recipe makes about twice as many pastry puffs as you will need, but as long as you’re at it, you might as well make extras to have on hand. They freeze just fine and you can fill them with just about anything – savory fillings, custards, whipped cream, ice cream, you name it.
½ cup whole milk ½ cup water 7 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces 1 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1½ cups flour 5 large eggs 1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon cold water for egg wash
Preheat oven to 425º. Put milk, water, butter, sugar and salt into a saucepan. Heat until butter is melted and mixture comes to a full, rolling boil. Add flour all at once and stir with a wooden spoon until flour is incorporated. Continue to cook and stir until mixture forms a ball around the spoon and there is a light film on the bottom of the pot. This will only take 15-20 more seconds.
Remove from heat and scrape paste into a bowl. Beat in the eggs one at a time, stirring briskly with a wooden spoon to incorporate each egg before adding the next one.
Immediately scrape as much of the dough as will fit into a pastry bag ( a large zip-lock bag with one corner snipped off also works well). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (Sometimes I find these puffs can get a little too dark on the bottom in my oven, so I usually use an insulated baking sheet or two baking sheets sandwiched together.) Pipe small logs of dough about 2 inches long and ½ inch in circumference onto the parchment. Refill the pastry bag as needed. Brush puffs lightly with egg wash.
Bake until puffed and beginning to brown, about 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375º and continue baking until puffs are brown and crisp, about 10 minutes. Cool.
¼ pound cooked crabmeat, picked over to make sure no shell fragments remain ¼ pound cooked salad shrimp, chopped ½ cup good quality mayonnaise, or more to taste 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon minced chives 1 teaspoon minced tarragon Pinch or two of cayenne pepper Sea salt Freshly ground black pepper
Whisk together the mayonnaise and lemon juice. Stir in chives, tarragon and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Taste and add more cayenne pepper if desired. Fold in crab and shrimp meat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Slice puffs near the top along one side and each end and flip the top open. Fill the puffs with seafood mixture and replace the top. Fill puffs immediately before serving or they will become soggy.
1 small onion or ½ large onion 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes, about 3 cups 3 cups chicken broth 1 teaspoon kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper ½ cup heavy cream Snipped chives for garnish
Sauté onion in olive oil until very soft and beginning to turn golden. Add squash cubes, chicken broth and salt. Simmer until squash is very soft, about 15 minutes. Cool slightly. Puree in food processor until very smooth. Return to a clean pot and stir in cream. Taste and adjust salt, and add pepper to taste. Heat gently before serving. Garnish with snipped chives.
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard Sea salt Freshly ground black pepper 4 heads Belgian endive 2 Fuji apples
Whisk together vinegar and mustard. Gradually whisk in olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Cut off root end of endive heads, and then cut into ½” thick slices. Cut apples into quarters. Cut out the core and slice crosswise into ¼” thick slices. Toss apples and endive with vinaigrette just before serving.
1 duck ½ teaspoon thyme Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper
5 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons butter 1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups) 1 large or 2 small green peppers, chopped (about 2 cups) 5 ribs celery, chopped (about 2 cups) 4 cloves garlic, chopped 3 bay leaves 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 2 teaspoons kosher salt (add ½ teaspoon if using unsalted chicken broth) 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper 2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves 1 teaspoon dried sage 8 ounces smoked ham, cut into ½” cubes 2 pounds andouille sausage, or other spicy sausage, cut in half lengthwise and then into ¼” slices 1 14-ounce can tomato sauce 1 14-ounce can tomatoes, pureed in a blender 4 cups chicken broth 2 cups converted rice (unconverted rice will get mushy) 1 cup wild rice Fresh sage leaves for garnish
Season duck with thyme and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Roast at 350º until done, about 60-75 minutes. Remove duck from the oven and cool until warm enough to handle. Remove all the duck meat from the bones and cut into bite-sized pieces. Set aside. Save the duck fat that has accumulated in the roasting pan.
Preheat oven to 350º. Spray a large lasagna pan with cooking spray and set aside. Sauté ham cubes in 1 tablespoon duck fat until they start to brown. Remove to a bowl. Sauté andouille sausage pieces in another tablespoon of duck fat until they start to brown. Add to the bowl. Sauté the duck pieces in another tablespoon of duck fat until they start to brown. Add to the bowl.
While you are browning the meat, heat 2 tablespoons oil and 2 tablespoons duck fat in a large pot. Sauté onions, green pepper and celery until tender, about 7-8 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 more minute. Add bay leaves, cayenne pepper, salt, black pepper, thyme leaves and sage. Sauté 2-3 minutes. Add pureed tomatoes and tomato sauce and cook 4-5 more minutes. Add chicken broth and browned meat and simmer about 5 more minutes. Add converted rice and wild rice. Transfer to the lasagna pan and cover tightly with foil. Bake 60 minutes, or until rice is tender. Add more liquid and cook a bit longer if rice remains crunchy and jambalaya seems dry. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.
Serve garnished with a sprig of fresh sage leaves.
Chocolate Pecan Jack Daniel’s Cake with Chocolate Jack Daniel's Sauce and Mint Julep Ice Cream I chose this cake for dessert because it is unbelievably delicious and works perfectly with this menu. The recipe comes from the Mustard’s Grill Napa Valley Cookbook, by Cindy Pawlcyn, which is one of my favorite cookbooks. If you can't find it, your favorite chocolate cake would be great, or choose one of the many interesting options available on the Food Network website.
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Copyright © 2008 by Charlotte Rose. All rights reserved. |
