Saturday Dinner Menu
Accompaniment to drinks in the wine cellar
Olives, cheese and crackers, nuts
Appetizer
Heart shaped Cheese Ravioli from Costco with truffle butter sauce
Main Course
Beef Wellington and green beans
Dessert
Chocolate Tart
Ever since the Classic Beef Wellington spread appeared in the December Fine Cooking, I have been dying to make it. I made Beef Wellington once before when we lived in Gulph Mills. I guarantee that it was not this involved. I made everything from scratch except the Puff Pastry. It was a long 3 day process. The first thing you need to do is make the beef stock for the Madeira Sauce. No you do not have to make it, but I did. There is not a beef stock out there as good as homemade. Ingredients:
# meaty beef bones, such as ribs or marrow bones. I used a combination of different cheap cuts and 1# of marrow bones
¼ C vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, quartered
1 large carrot, thickly sliced
1 medium leek, washed and thickly sliced
1 medium celery stalk, thickly sliced
3 ½ oz white mushrooms, quartered
1 C dry vermouth
2 medium tomatoes, I used a can of diced tomatoes
10 sprigs fresh thyme
5 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 dried bay leaves
Directions:
1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Arrange the beef bones in a single layer in a large flameproof roasting pan. Drizzle with 2T oil and rub the oil all over the bones.
3. Roast, turning the bones every 20 minutes, until deep brown, about 1 hour.
4. Put the remaining 2 T oil and the onion, carrot, leek, celery, and mushrooms in an 8 qt. stockpot. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring once or twice, until tender, about 15 minutes. Uncover, raise the heat to medium and cook until the vegetables are browned in spots, about 3 minutes.
5. Transfer the bones to the pot with the vegetables, leaving any rendered fat in the pan. Discard the fat from the pan, and set the pan over medium heat. Add the vermouth and bring to a boil, using a wooden spoon to scrape up and stuck on bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the liquid to the bones and vegetables. Add one gallon of wither and bring to a boil over medium heat.
6. Add the tomatoes, thyme, parsley and bay leaves. Reduce the heat to low ans simmer gently, uncovered for 6 hours. The stock should barely bubble. Top up the water level occasionally to keep the solids covered.
7. To get the stock stained, I first set a colander over a smaller bowl and using a Chinese spider strainer take as much of the large stuff out of the broth. Next I put a fine strainer over a large bowl and pour out the stock. This is a two man job. Let the large stuff drain in the small bowl and then put it through the fine strainer also.
8. Let it cook and place in the refrigerator overnight so the fat congeals. Skim off the fat and you are ready to make the sauce.
But next I made the Duxelles and the Chicken Liver Pate
Ingredients for the Duxelles:
2T unsalted butter, softened
1T vegetable oil
¼ C finely chopped shallots
1 ½ Cp finely chopped Portobello mushrooms (from 4 large caps;remove the stems and gills before chopping preferably in a food processor
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1T finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Directions:
1. Heat the butter and oil in a 10” skillet over low heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring often, until translucent, 3-4 minutes.
2. Add the mushrooms and stir well. Raise the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have cooked down to a thick, almost black mixture about 15 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper.
3. Stir in the parsley and cool completely. Cover and refrigerate until you make the pate.
Ingredients for the chicken liver pate:
4 oz unsalted butter, melted
9 oz chicken leavers (about a cup)
2 medium shallots, chopped (1/4 C)
1 medium clove garlic, chopped
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 ½ T Madeira
2 ½ T brandy
2 eggs
Salt and pepper
Directions:
1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter 2-8oz ramekins
2. Cut each live in half.
3. Put shallots, garlic, thyme, Madeira and brandy in a small pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Simmer, checking frequently, until reduced to about 1 T of liquid, 2-3 minutes. Strain and reserve liquid.
4. Put the chicken livers in a food processor. Add the eggs, the reserved liquid, ½ t salt, and ¼ t pepper. Process until smooth about 30 seconds. Gradually pour in the melted butter while the motor is running. Pour the mixture in the ramekins.
5. Put the ramekins in a 9x 13” baking dish and pour in enough hot water to come about 1” up the sides of the ramekins. Bake until puffed, golden brown and set, 25-30 minutes.
6. Cool and cover with plastic wrap.
7. You only need one of the ramekins for the Duxelles/pate mixture.
Begin the Madeira Sauce
Ingredients:
1C Madeira
Slat and pepper
2T cold unsalted butter, diced
6 C beef stock
Directions:
1. Bring 6 cups of beef stock to a boil in a wide pan. I actually have a sauce reduction pan. It is a pan with flared open sides. Over medium high heat boil until reduced to 2 C, about 25 minutes.
2. Add the Madeira and continue boiling until you reduce to 2C again.
3. Do not finish the sauce until serving the Wellington.
Next the Crepes
Ingredients:
½ C all purpose flour
1/8 t kosher salt
2 large eggs
¾ C whole milk
2T unsalted butter
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, whisk the flour and salt. Make a well in the center and add ¼ C of milk.
2. Whisk in the eggs and the remaining milk.
3. Poor the butter in a 10” skillet and swirl. Remove 1 T and add to the crepe batter.
4. Using a ¼ C measure, add batter to the pan and swirl to coat the bottom.
5. Grease between crepe and you will get 6, you only need 4 so choose the best 4.
By now you can figure out why this is not a one day operation. I started Thursday night to serve on Saturday. I did nothing but cook and set the table. Jim cleaned the house.
Final Assembly
Ingredients:
3# center-cut beef tenderloin, trimmed, side muscle removed. I got mine at Costco and it was perfect.
1 t vegetable oil
2/3 C chicken liver pate
1# puff pastry
1 large egg
1 t butter or butter spray
Directions:
1. Remove the beef from the refrigerator at least 1 hour before browning. Pat dry and season all over with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over high heat until very hot. Sear is about 450 degrees. I have an infrared thermometer to determine this as my stove is so lame.
2. Brown evenly on all 4 sides about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a baking sheet and cool.
3. On wax paper lay out the four best crepes to form a square about 13 x13”. Dot the mixture of chicken liver and the Duxelles on the crepes and with an offset spatula spread evenly.
4. Roll the puff pastry into a 13 x16” rectangle, fussing the seam if using store bought pastry. I used store bought. I do not have a pastry chief in house.
5. Place the cooled beef on the pate spread crepes and roll them around the beef. Let the wax paper help you so you don’t tear the crepes. Press and mold around the beef. Mine was a great fit so the crepes did not stick beyond the beef.
6. Transfer the wrapped beef to the puff pastry. Beat the egg with a few drops of water. Bring the pastry together and seal the seam with egg wash. Turn under the ends but not too much. Trim any excess pastry. Place on a buttered baking sheet. I also lined mine with non-stick aluminum foil. Brush all over with the egg wash and place slits in the pastry being careful not to slice through the crepes.
7. As I had a few hours, I refrigerated and let again come to temperature for one hour before baking.
8. About 20 minutes before baking heat the oven to 475 degrees. Place the Wellington in the middle of the oven and reduce the heat to 425 for 10 minutes.
9. Reduce the heat again to 400 degrees and roast an additional 20 to 25 minutes. Your thermometer inserted into the center of the Wellington should register 135 degrees.
10. Meanwhile finish the Madeira sauce. Heat to a simmer, reduce the heat to low and whisk in the butter a few pieces at a time. Do not allow to boil. Season to taste, but if you seasoned the beef stock properly, you should not need any more.
The beef was stupendous. But after spending two days making the sauce from scratch, I forgot to pass it at the table. Obviously you can shortcut the whole process by buying good beef stock. The only beef stock I have ever liked that I purchased is Wolfgang Puck, hard to find at times. You can buy the crepes, but I find if you have a nonstick pan, crepes are easy. Having the crepes between the puff pastry and the chicken liver mixture was good as the puff pastry did not get soggy which has happened to me before.
My first course of the heart shaped Costco cheese filled ravioli was a failure. Most opened even though I followed the directions to a T. So the cheese was mostly in the water. I did my green beans as usual. I had the very thin green beans from Costco and Microwaved them with a little lemon EVOO and salt and pepper.
Dessert is another story in itself. Never make a recipe out of a magazine that food is not it’s first agenda. Jim found this dessert in the Wine Spectator, Jan 2011, by pastry chef Marc Aumont of The Modern in NYC. The recipe was obviously not checked for the home cook. Professional ovens and stoves are faster and just cook differently. This was evident when baking the custard. Someone did not proof read. ½ T of vanilla paste is in the ingredient list for the crust and missing in the directions. None is in the Ganache, but I guarantee that 1# of bittersweet chocolate would not taste right with our some flavoring, vanilla or orange. Each step of the way, I said why did I start this. The results with adjustments were sensational.
Chocolate Tart
Ingredients for the Crust
1 ¼ C all-purpose flour
1 oz unsweetened cocoa powder
½ C confectioners’ sugar
¼ t salt
¾ C cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3 egg yolks
½ T vanilla paste (paste and the liquid vanilla are interchangeable equally)
Directions:
1. In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, combine the flour, cocoa powder, sugar and salt. Pulse to blend. Add the butter and pulse 8 to 10 times, until the butter pieces are about the size of peas. With the machine running, add the egg yolks and vanilla. Pulse in small bursts until combined—don’t overwork it.
2. Gather dough together and shape it into a rough circle. Press to compress it slightly and wrap in plastic. Chill at least 30 minutes.
3. When ready to bake, heat the oven to 325 degrees. Roll out the dough to ¼” thickness and place in a 10”tart pan, lightly sprayed. Top with parchment paper and beans.
4. Prebake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool.
For the Custard
Ingredients:
½ qt heavy cream
½ qt milk
¾ C sugar
1 t pure vanilla extract
9 egg yolks
1 C semisweet chocolate (Nestles chips will do)
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 325. Pour cream, milk, sugar and vanilla into a saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar, and heat until mixture begins to simmer. Remove from heat. Place yolks in a large bowl and slowly whish in the hot cream mixture, about 2 T at a time to temper the eggs, until you have added about 1 C of the cream. Pur in the remaining cream and whisk until smooth.
2. Strain the mixture over the chocolate letting it set for 5 minutes. Then stir the mixture until the chocolate is smooth and evenly distributed. Then stir the mixture until the chocolate is smooth and evenly distributed. (See #1 under Ganache.)
3. Pour into the tart shell. (I had two 1 C pudding cups full left over) and bake in preheated oven until the center is just set, 20 minutes. (In my oven it took 40 minutes. In 20 minutes it was as runny as it was when I put it in. )
4. Remove from oven and cool for 45 minutes and then place into the freezer, chilling until solid (about 6 hours).
For the Ganache
Ingredients:
1 C milk
4 T confectioners ‘sugar
3 egg yolks
1# bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped (58-64% cacao)
Directions:
1. In a saucepan over medium heat, mix milk, heavy cream and sugar, then temper in yolks until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. (Should have done this with the custard) Remove from heat and strain.
2. Add the chocolate and let stand, without stirring, for 1 minute to allow the chocolate to melt. Whisk just until combined, then spread an even layer on top of the frozen tart.
3. Chill until the chocolate is firm.
The Ganache worked perfectly. The tart tasted fabulous and not as deadly chocolate as I thought it would. But sorry Wine Spectator, the stress of what was going wrong or about to go wrong was too much.
As far as wine goes, Jim brought out the big guns. With the appetizer we had a Louis Latour Montagny premier Cru. With the beef we had Chateau Lynch Bages, 1995. Lynch Bages is Jim’s favorite wine and he has a vertical collection. With dessert we had a port. I love port but prefer it after dinner with my cigar, just joking! I would rather have had a dessert wine.
Was the meal worth the time and effort; yes. And more than that, it was a great learning experience for me.
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