Company Dinner with Lasagne and Bouillabaisse

We have had a busy weekend.  Our friend from Maryland came to visit.  We picked him up from the airport on Friday and went into the city.  We had a very good lunch at the Country Music Hall of Fame and then toured.  I worked on Dinner Thursday, so that dinner could happen without a lot of fuss.  Jim’s cousins joined us for dinner. 

I started the evening with a drink that I learned how to make from the sommelier at the Catbird Seat.  I did not really have the right glasses as Jim would not look for them in the million boxes that are still packed and waiting for our move.  I had trouble getting the right proportion as the glasses were wrong.   

For this drink you will need:

Large steamed martini glasses

Brown sugar cubes

Sparkling wine (Marc Hebart NV Cuvee Reserve-Omni)

Belgium Beer (Boon Geuze -Lipman)

Sake (Sesshu Otokayama – Best Brands)

Instructions:

1.      Place a sugar cube in the martini glass and poor just enough beer to soften.

2.      Poor sake about half way up the glass.

3.      Fill to the rim with the sparkling wine. 

I served a blueberry covered goat cheese from Trader Joe’s to accompany these drinks.  It was a beautiful day here so we went out to the patio.  We no more than got seated and it started to sprinkle.  We endured it for a while, huddled under the umbrella.

Our first course was Mushroom Lasagna served room temperature on a bed of arugula.  This recipe and the following main course came from my friend Cathy.  The lasagna article was written by Sam Sifton.  The chef is Monica Byrne from a Brooklyn, NY restaurant called Home/ Made.  This recipe serves 6-8.  I used smaller squares as it was a first course.  I had about half left.

Ingredients:

½ C EVOO or herb oil (recipe follows) (I have basil, garlic, and rosemary oil from my favorite EVOO vendor, Sciabica’s.  I mixed the 3 to make the ½ C.) 

6 large shallots, peeled and minced

1 ½ pounds mushrooms, wild or best available (oyster, shitake, cremini), trimmed and sliced (I have mixed dried mushrooms from Costco.  One oz. dried equals 8 oz. fresh mushrooms.  Reconstitute with hot water for about 15 minutes.  Squeeze out excess water.)

1 C white wine

1 softball-size head of radicchio, halved, cored and cut into ½” slices

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 T unsalted butter

3 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced

4T flour

3 C whole milk

½ t grated nutmeg

1 C Gruyere cheese, grated

1 C Fontina cheese, grated

2 T truffle oil

2 9 oz. boxes of no-boil lasagna sheets

1 baseball-sized ball of smoked mozzarella, sliced (I looked everywhere for smoked, couldn’t find it.  Finally the cheese lady in an upscale Kroger in Hendersonville, told me to add Liquid Smoke to the béchamel.  I added a teaspoon to the sauce.) 

1 C fresh Parmesan, grated.

Directions: 

1.      Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add ¼ C of the oil.  When it begins to shimmer, add half of the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally until translucent.  Add mushrooms and toss to coat.  Cook until they begin to color but are still plump, approximately 12-15 minutes.  Add white wine to deglaze pan and allow to cook down into a syrup approximately 5-7 minutes.  Put the mushrooms into a large bowl and reserve. 

2.      Meanwhile in another bowl, toss the radicchio with ¼ C oil and season with salt and pepper.  Spread the strips out onto a baking pan and place in the oven until the strips are lightly browned around the edges, approximately 15 minutes.  Combine with the mushrooms and reserve. 

3.      Make the béchamel.  Place a saucepan over medium heat and melt the butter.  When it foams, add the rest of the shallots and cook until they begin to turn translucent.  Add the garlic and stir to combine, and then cook until the garlic has started to soften.  Sprinkle flour over the top and stir to combine, and then cook gently until the mixture has turned light brown and gives off a nutty scent, approximately 10 minutes. 

4.      Add milk to the mixture, whisking all the while, until the sauce is thick and creamy.  Add the nutmeg and ¼ C of grated Gruyere and ¼ C grated Fontina, then stir to combine.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Add the liquid smoke to taste if you also can not find smoked mozzarella. 

5.      Reserve a cup of the béchamel.  Pour the rest over the mixture of mushrooms and radicchio and stir to combine.  Add truffle oil. 

6.      Assemble the lasagna.

7.      Spread plain béchamel across the bottom of a 9” x 13”baking pan. 

8.      Place a layer of lasagna sheets across the sauce, being careful not to overlap. 

9.      Spread a generous layer of mushroom mixture on top of the pasta.

10.  Follow with some grated Fontina and Gruyere. 

11.  Put another layer of pasta above the cheese and top with smoked mozzarella. 

12.  Repeat until the pasta is gone and the pan is full.  (I did not use all the pasta and at the end, I could only top the pasta with the Parmesan as that was the only cheese I had left.

13.  Cover with a buttered sheet of aluminum foil and place in the oven for 45 minutes.

14.  Remove the foil and cook until top is golden and bubbling.   

As I made this the day before and refrigerated it, I put it in a 200 degree oven to warm to a warm room temperature before serving.  I lined the plates with arugula and place the pasta on top. 

Herb oil   

Ingredients:

1 bunch fresh thyme

½ bunch fresh rosemary

1 bunch fresh sage

5 cloves garlic, peeled

1 T kosher salt

2 1/2 C EVOO

Directions:

1.      Put herbs, garlic and salt in a food processor.  Add a splash of EVOO and pulse to combine.  Place the mixture in a jar. 

2.      Add the rest of the EVOO and store in a refrigerator.  Lasts about a week. 

The main course was Bouillabaisse.  It served 6, but I would put twice the seafood in the broth as it called for if I make it again.  For my taste it was heavy on soup and light on seafood.  Jim, Jim and I loved it.  Jim’s cousins did not say a word. 

Ingredients:

2 C chopped peeled and seeded fresh tomatoes or chopped canned tomatoes

3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

2 celery ribs, chopped

1 large fennel bulb, chopped, green tops trimmed, whe feathery leaves chopped and reserved

1 medium leek, trimmed, well washed, and sliced

3 T tomato paste

1 t herbes de Provence

¼ t piment d’ Espelette or cayenne

Pinch of saffron threads, crumbled

Salt

4 C water

1 C dry white wine

1 C bottled clam juice

1 # boneless, skinless fish fillets, such as halibut, grouper, or monkfish

8 oz. sea scallops

8 oz medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 baguette, cut into thins slices and toasted

6 small hard-shell clams, soaked and scrubbed

Rouille (recipe follows)

Directions:

1.      Combine the tomatoes, carrots, celery, fennel, and leek in a large slow cooker.  Add the tomato paste, herbs de Provence, piment d’Espelette, saffron and salt to taste.

2.      Add water, wine, and clam juice.  Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours, or until the vegetables are tender.  I used my immersion blender on the soup at this point. 

3.      Cut the fish, scallops, and shrimp into bite-size pieces and stir into the soup.  Place the clams on top.  Cover and cook for 30 minutes ore.  Taste for seasoning. 

4.      Place a piece of bread in each soup dish.  Add the bouillabaisse and sprinkle with the reserved fennel fronds.  Spoon a large spoonful of rouille on top and serve immediately.

Rouille  (Epicurious.com, Gourmet, May 2007)  Yield:  ½ C

Ingredients:

3 T water

¾ C coarse fresh bread crumbs (preferably from a baguette, crust removed)

3 garlic cloves

½ t coarse sea salt

½ t cayenne

3 T EVOO

Directions:

1.      Place all the ingredients in the food processor and process until well combined.

2.      Add oil in a slow stream with the processor running. 

Foam Whipper Chocolate Mousse

It finally worked.  The problem seemed to be me.  I added 4 and 4 and got 4 instead of 8.  Unbelievably enough it took me four tries to figure out what I was doing wrong.  This method that I have slightly changed is courtesy of Alton Brown. 

Special Equipment: 1/2 liter cream whipper and 1 N2O charger

Ingredients:

8 oz. 75% bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Pinch of Salt

¼ t vanilla

4 oz brewed coffee

4 oz. hot water

3T Splenda

Directions:

1.      Put the chocolate in a medium size bowl.  Add the 4 oz. of coffee and the 4 oz of water.  Blend with a whisk until smooth and add the salt and vanilla.  Place a thermometer in the chocolate and keep whisking until the mixture cools to 60 degrees F and is the consisitency of heavy cream. 

2.      Pour the mixture into the cream whipper. 

3.      Charge the cream whipper with 1 charg. 

4.      Shake vertically 16-20 times.  Set aside for 1 minute.

5.      Invert and dispense into small bowls.  Serve immediately

On top of the mouse I place strawberries that I marinated in Splenda and Chambord.  I topped with whipped cream that I made in my ¼ liter cream whipper. 

I was very pleased with this meal.  It worked well to make ahead and be able to have company after touring the whole day.

Jim served two bottles of Robert Mondavi wine.  They were both Fume Blanc Reserve, but one was a 2007 and the other was a 2008.  The 2007 is from their Kalon Vineyard.   With dessert we had the choice of Buffalo Trace or Ransom Old Tom Gin.