If you have been looking for
a new post, you probably think I have just been goofing off or eating bon
bons. Well, in truth, I have, but it is
all justified. Yesterday, Thursday was my
birthday. On Wednesday, Jim’s cousin
took me out for my birthday. We had
errands to run in Lebanon, so we went to Mo Cara. We think it is the best restaurant in
Lebanon, but they were a little off that night.
Jim’s cousin did not like her meal at all. Pam and I had the same thing. I liked it and she thought it was too
hot. No one else complained. The next day, my birthday, I played golf with
the 9 hole group and Jim played with his friends. The club gave me a beautifully presented cheese
cake dripping with raspberry sauce with Happy Birthday written in chocolate on
the plate. The ladies sang Happy
Birthday, lots of fun. That night Jim
and I went to The Yellow Porch for dinner.
It is restaurant week in Nashville and they are participating. For $20, you get an appetizer or dessert and
an entrée. I ordered an appetizer and
Jim ordered dessert and we split them. I
had a delicious smoked pork chop.
Today I started on tomorrow
night’s dinner. We are having our first
local guests. They are from Lebanon, but
do not mind driving into Nashville. Here
is the menu for tomorrow. Some things
have to be made ahead and that is what I have been doing all day, including the
grocery shopping.
Rosemary Cashews and a variety of cheese
and Crackers
(To be served
in the wine room)
Barefoot
in Paris Cookbook
Jasmine Watermelon Gazpacho with Crab
Culinary
Tea Cookbook
Boeuf Bourguignon
Barefoot
in Paris Cookbook
Tomatoes Roasted with Pesto
Barefoot
Contessa, How easy is that?
Chocolate Pudding Cream Tart
Barefoot
Contessa, How easy is that?
I started with dessert. Three of the menu items have to be started
the day before. You can also do the
Boeuf ahead, but I will do it early tomorrow.
All these recipes say they serve 8.
There will only be 4 for dinner, but one is Jim. Hopefully after 2 days of cooking, we have
leftovers.
Ingredients for the crust:
2 C graham cracker crumbs (14
graham crackers equal 2 C finely ground)
1/3 C sugar
¼ # (1 stick) unsalted
butter, melted
Ingredients for the filling:
4 C whole milk
¾ C sugar
5 extra-large egg yolks
1/3 C cornstarch
1 t kosher salt
7 oz bittersweet chocolate,
broken
2 T unsalted butter, diced
1 T Kahlua liqueur
1 t instant coffee powder
Sweetened whipped cream
Shaved bittersweet chocolate,
for garnish
Directions for the crust:
1.
Preheat the oven
to 350 degrees.
2.
Finely ground the
graham crackers in the processor. Add
the sugar and pulse to combine.
3.
In a glass bowl,
melt the butter in the microwave.
4.
Turn the graham
mixture into the butter and combine well.
5.
Turn into an 11”
metal tart pan with removable sides.
Press the mixture on the bottom and sides of the pan.
6.
Bake for 10
minutes and set aside to cool.
Directions for the pudding:
1.
Heat the milk in
a saucepan until almost simmering.
2.
In the bowl of an
electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugar, egg yolks,
cornstarch, and salt and, with the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the milk
into the bowl. (I put the milk in a large measuring cup as suggested to reduce
spills. It still spilled. You just have to pour fast.)
3.
Put it all back
in a large saucepan and cook over medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring
constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture is very thick. I did the full 10 minutes, but it was thick
at about 7 minutes.
4.
Off the heat, add
the chocolate, butter, Kahlua, and coffee.
5.
Beat with a whisk
until smooth and pour into the cooled crust.
6.
Place plastic
wrap directly on the chocolate filling and chill the tart for 6 hours, until
cold.
7.
Tomorrow I will
decorate with whipped cream and I am going to dust with cocoa, as I never have
luck with chocolate curls.
While the crust was baking, I
spread the cashews on the pan to go in the oven as soon as I took the crust
out.
Rosemary Cashews
Ingredients:
1 # unsalted cashews (I
bought raw as I could not find unsalted that were roasted)
2 T minced fresh rosemary
leaves
½ t cayenne pepper
2 t light brown sugar
1 T kosher salt
1 T unsalted butter, melted
Directions:
1.
Preheat the oven
to 350 degrees.
2.
Spread the
cashews out on a sheet pan. Toast in the
oven until warm, about 5 minutes. As
mine were not roasted, I left them in for 20 minutes.
3.
Meanwhile, mince
the rosemary in a spice grinder and combine with all the remaining ingredients
in a large bowl.
4.
Thoroughly toss
the warm cashews with the spiced butter and I put them in an air tight
container after they cooled.
5.
Tomorrow I will
warm in the microwave prior to serving.
Finally I made the soup
course which also must be started the day before. This recipe is created by Chef Robert Bean
for Todd English’s Bonfire Steakhouse in Boston.
Ingredients:
2 T loose-leaf jasmine tea
leaves
3 C seaming water
1 small watermelon peeled,
seeded, and chopped, about 4-5 C
1 red onion, coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove
1-2 jalapenos, deveined and
seeded quartered
¼ C chopped fresh mint leaves
¼ C chopped fresh cilantro
leaves
¼ C chopped fresh basil
leaves
½ C lump crab meat
4 t EVOO
Directions:
1.
Put the tea
leaves in a medium bowl; pour the steaming water over the tea leaves and steep,
covered for 2 minutes. Strain the tea,
discarding the leaves.
2.
In a blender or
food processor, combine the watermelon, onion, garlic, jalapeno, mint,
cilantro, and basil. Blend on high until
thoroughly pureed.
3.
Transfer to an
airtight container or in my case a large bowl and stir in the tea. I covered the bowl with plastic wrap.
4.
Refrigerate at
least 6 hours or overnight, to allow the flavors to meld.
5.
To serve, divide
the chilled soup among 8 bowls. Top each
bowl with 1 T crabmeat and drizzle with ½ t EVOO.
That is it for today. I will blog the remaining recipe and tell you
how it all tastes on Sunday.
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