Beef en Croute

This is the classic Beef Wellington revisited. My boys don't like mushrooms so I had to think of something different to put in it. I decided on caramelized onions and roasted peppers. Some people include ham in a Beef Wellington and I was going to include some julienne capicola in mine but I forgot all about it! No worries, it turned out great just the same!

Beef En Croute

6 beef tenderloin steaks, about 1-inch thick

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 packages puff pastry (Tenderflake 397gr)

Salt and pepper to taste

6 ounces Brie cheese

12 tablespoons caramelized onions

6 teaspoons grainy mustard

6 tablespoons roasted peppers

Egg wash (one egg and a bit of milk)

Thaw puff pastry according to package directions.
Season the filets generously with salt and pepper.
Pre-heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the oil and heat until almost smoking. Add the steaks to the pan and cook to sear the bottom, about 2 – 3 minutes. Turn them over and sear the other side. Turn them on edge and sear the outside all around the steak. Keep in mind that you are only searing the steaks, not cooking them
 through. Remove the steaks and let them rest on a rack. Cool in the
 fridge until they are ready to be wrapped.
Roll out the puff dough into 2 rectangles. Cut these rectangles in 2
pieces large enough to wrap the beef. Use a small side plate to cut
the pieces in circles so you have less dough on the bottom.
Place 2 tablespoons caramelized onions in the centre of each round. Place 1 ounce of brie on top of that. Place the cooled steaks on top of the brie, then spread the steak with the mustard and add the roasted peppers.
Brush the edge of the dough with egg wash. Bring two sides up so they meat and attach over the centre of the steak. Bring the rest of the puff dough up to enclose the steak, making sure the edges are sealed. Turn the package over, brush with egg wash, place on a pan and cool in the fridge. (you can actually make these the night before to save time at dinner service)
Heat the oven to 400F. Place the packages in the oven on the middle
rack and bake until the puff dough is golden brown, about 30 minutes.
Serve with your favourite vegetables and a nice red wine sauce.

Extra Notes:

·         Try to sear the steaks on high heat quickly. If you cook too much, they will overcook in the oven.

·         Don’t grill the steaks. The char taste of the grill does not taste good when it cooks in the puff dough.

·         Keep the dough thin, about 1/8 “ or slightly thicker.

·         Cool the packages thoroughly before baking. The puff dough needs to be cold so that it puffs properly.

·         Try different cheeses and vegetables inside the package. Goat cheese might be good. Roasted garlic?

·       You can use chicken if you like but you must cook it about medium well before you wrap it so that is cooked through in the end.

The Chicken Version

French Toast Italian Style

 

I saw some Panettone in the grocery store and thought it would make a nice French Toast for Christmas. After a bit of fooling around, this is what I came up with.

Italian Christmas (or New Years) Toast

½ half loaf Panettone, cut in four thick slices

4 tbsp Nutella

 

    3 large eggs

    3 tbsp heavy cream

    ¼ tsp cinnamon

    1 tbsp brown sugar

    1 tbsp Amaretto

    1 tsp vanilla

    2 tbsp  butter

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 
2. Slice the Panettone in half from crown to base. Remove the paper and trim both ends. Slice it into 4 slices, slicing across the loaf to make half-moon slices. Slice into the curve of each slice to form a pocket.
3. Spoon the Nutella into the pocket, spreading it out evenly. (I used the back of the spoon to scoop and spread the Nutella)
4. Whisk together the eggs, cream, cinnamon, brown sugar, Amaretto and vanilla in a shallow dish. (a pie plate works well) Dip each stuffed Panetton into the egg mixture, coating each side evenly.
5. Heat the butter  in a large skillet until it is melted and foamy. (If you don’t have a large enough skillet go buy one)
6. Fry the little sandwiches until golden brown on one side, about 2 minutes. Turn them and place the whole pan in the oven Bake for about 10 minutes, until the filling is heated through.
7. Serve with maple syrup and fruit if you like. Or some bacon.
8. Merry Christmas!

Serves 4

I topped my 'Italian Toast' with a cranberry maple syrup. These are northern cranberries, which I think can only be appreciated by a true northerner. They are smaller than their southern counterparts but pack a big punch. I used about 1/4 cup of berries, warming them slightly in a pan then adding 1 cup maple syrup. The syrup turns Christmassy red after being brought to the boil! Bon Appetito and Happy New Year!

Festive Cake for the Festive Season

Here's a nice cake for the holiday season. Easy to make and the combination of fruit and nuts make it a tasty treat!

Pear Cranberry Upside Down Cake

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup unsalted butter

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 pear, peeled, cored, and cut in 8 wedges

3/4 cup fresh or frozen cranberries (do not thaw if frozen)

1/2 cup pistachios, toasted and skinned

Rub the bottom and sides of an 8-inch round cake pan with the 1 tablespoon butter.

Melt butter the butter in a small pot. Add the brown sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved then pour it into the prepared cake pan.

Place the pear wedges in the pan nicely then sprinkle the pistachios and cranberries in the pan. Set this aside.

½ cup butter

½ cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon fresh nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

¼ cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in center. 

Cream the ½ cup of butter and 1/2 cup sugar with

 a mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and 

vanilla and beat until well combined.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in another bowl.

Add the flour mixture, milk and sour cream to the sugar butter mixture and mix just until it all comes together.   

Pour the batter over the fruit and spread it carefully to the sides. Place in the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Run a knife around edge of cake; invert onto a rimmed platter.

Happy Holidays!!

Thanksgiving Fund Raiser

I worked with my Hot Cuisine Club members last night to put out a fundraising dinner at St. Patrick High School. Funds we raised will help us pay for our trip to California next March break. This is the menu we went with:

Arugula Salad with Roasted Beets, 

Goat Cheese and Toasted Pecans

Squash Ricotta Ravioli with 

Green Kale and Sage Cream

Turkey Confit topped with

Turkey Breast stuffed with 

Turkey Apple Sausage

Sage Jus

Sweet Potato Risotto

Braised Red Cabbage

Honey Glazed Carrots

Cranberry and White Chocolate Bread Pudding

Peaches and Cream Corn Ice Cream

Toasty Pecan Streusel

Honey Carrot Sauce

 I love beets (see my last post below) so it was only fitting that we start with a salad that had roasted beets in it. There was also a beet vinaigrette on the bottom of the plate to add to the flavour of the greens that were lightly tossed with blood orange olive oil and uzu vinegar. A little goat cheese crumbled on top completed the dish.

Cody and Harrison make the pasta

The pasta dish was made in the class using a technique for combining 2 flavours of pasta to create a striped sheet. This was then stuffed with a butternut squash filling and served with a sage and green kale cream sauce. 

The main course was a traditional turkey dinner prepared a bit differently. The turkey was first broken down to create 3 different components. Some of the thigh meat was used to make a turkey sausage mix that was then stuffed under the skin of the boneless turkey breast. These little roasts were then cooked right before service, giving us a nice moist and juicy turkey, not dried out as might happen with a normal roast turkey. The legs were first cured in salt, onions, thyme, pepper and juniper berries for 2 days, then cooked slowly in a bath of turkey fat. This slow process makes for moist and tender fall-off-the-bone turkey. Top it off with some sage jus for a great turkey taste.

The potato risoto wasn't a rice dish but rather potatoes and sweet potatoes cut into small cubes and then cooked like you would make a risotto. The result is a kind of chunky smashed potato with a kind of gravy flavour built right in. The carrots were ruby red carrots (thanks Lone!) that were cooked sous vide. They were vac packed with honey and butter and cooked very slowly in hot water, then reheated for service. Great way to preserve and intensify the flavour of the carrot.

 

The dessert was a traditional bread pudding with a bit of a twist. We tried a carrot sauce thickened with agar, topped the pudding with a spoon of white chocolate ganache and added a peach sphere on top of that! Playing with a little molecular gastronomy, the sphere was created using sodium alginate and calcium lactate. It looked like an egg yolk and behaved in the same way, oozing out over the dessert when poked with a fork. The flavour of the peach sphere matched the ice cream with, made with peaches, corn and white chocolate.

This was a great opportunity for these kids, some of whom have never seen, prepared or eaten food like this before. They're anxious to do it again though so watch for the next dinner coming up soon!