One of my dear friends is moving to Belgium for her new job!!!!! (Super excited for her!) Therefore, a farewell dinner is in order, and I have decided to try out some new recipes for this very special night. Since she is Italian, to save some potential embarrassment, I decided to go with another French night! Here's the menu:
Appetizer: Wild Mushroom Tartlets, Quinoa Salad
Main Course: Beef Bourguignon with Cauliflower Purée
Dessert: Crème brûlée (I just bought the torch, new toy <3)
Wild Mushroom Tartlets
Ingredients
1 basket (~ 6 oz) Wild Assorted Mushrooms, Finely Chopped (I got them from Farmer's Market, they are sooooo good!)
1/2 Cup Shallots, Finely Chopped
3 Cloves Garlic, Minced
1/4 Cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, Shredded
1/4 Cup White Wine
1 Tsp Thyme
1 Sheet of Puff Pastry
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
Salt and Pepper to taste (I happened to have some black truffle salt and it's just perfect for this!)
1. Thaw the pastry at room temperature for an hour and preheat the oven to 400F.
2. Heat the olive oil in a pan, and add the garlic and shallots. Cook for 5 minutes until translucent.
3. Add the mushrooms, cook until the liquid completely evaporates.
4. Add the wine and thyme, cook until the liquid evaporates. Set aside.
5. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Cut the pastry into squares/circles, and put a spoonful of mushroom on each square, and top with shredded parmesan cheese.
7. Brush the edges of the pastry with egg wash.
8. Bake until it's golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.
These tartlets were gone so quickly that I didn't have a chance to take a picture before only a couple of them were left! This is so good and simple to make that it might just be my go-to appetizer for dinner parties from now on.
Quinoa Salad (There is nothing French about it, just a salad)
Ingredients
1 Cup Quinoa
3 Cloves Garlic, Minced
4 Tsp Salted Butter
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 Whole Red Onion, Chopped into Chunks
1/2 Whole Butternut Squash, Peeled and Seeded, Cut into Chunks
1 Large Carrots, Peeled and Cut into Chunks
1 Large Parsnip, Peeled and Cut into Chunks
1/4 Cup Pine Nuts
6 Oz Arugula Leaves
1 Lemon, Zest and Juice
Salt and Pepper to taste
1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. Rinse and Drain the quinoa.
3. Heat 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in the pot you are cooking quinoa in, and add the quinoa. Stir and cook for a couple minutes.
4. Add 2 Cups of Water. Stir and let boil.
5. Turn down the heat and let it cook for around 15 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Set aside to cool.
6. Cook the butter with the garlic in a pan, and pour over the vegetables, sprinkle salt and pepper.
7. Roast the vegetables for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown. Set aside to cool.
8. Add the pine nuts to the same pan you cook the butter, and toast them until golden brown.
9. Mix the vegetables with cooked quinoa, add the lemon zest and juice, and also salt and pepper to taste.
10. Toss in the arugula and serve.
This recipe is adopted from Pioneer Woman. I didn't have a big enough bowl to mix the arugula in, and that's why they were served in separate bowls. Quinoa is really one of my favorite grains, and I used tri-color quinoa to give the dish more color!
Beef Bourguignon with Cauliflower Purée
Ingredients
Beef Bourguignon (recipe adopted from epicurious and tablespoon)
5 Thick-sliced Bacon
3 Lbs Boneless Beef Chuck (I used pork shoulder this time)
1/3 Cup All-Purpose Flour
4 Tbsp Butter
1/2 Cup Brandy
1 Piece of Celery
1 Bay leaf
4 Parsley Sprigs
4 Thyme Sprigs
1 Lb of mushroom, Sliced
2 Carrots, Chopped into Small Chunks
1 Tbsp Tomato Paste
1 Onion, Chopped into Small Chunks
3 Cloves Garlic, Minced
1 Bottle Red Wine, Young and Full-bodied
Salt and Pepper to taste
Cauliflower Purée
2 Heads Cauliflower, Chopped
3 Cup Chicken Broth
3 Tbsp Butter
Fresh Thyme
Salt and Pepper to taste
1. Boil the bacon in salted water for 5 minutes, drain and dry, then cut into small pieces.
2. Pat the meat dry, cut them in big pieces, throw in a sealable plastic bag. Add salt, pepper and flour , shake to coat meat.
3. Brown the meat in butter in batches. Set aside.
4. Pour off excess oil from the pot, add brandy to pot, let boil for a minute, and pour over the meat.
5. To the same pot, saute the bacon, cook for a couple minutes.
6. Add chopped onion, garlic, carrots, mushrooms, stir while cooking, for about 5 minutes.
7. Add tomato paste, and cook for another minute.
8. Tie celery, parsley, thyme, bay leaves together to make a bouquet garni. (I just added the herbs directly, I don't mind having them in my dish)
8. Add the meat, red wine and the herbs to the pot, let it simmer for 1 - 2 hour. Preheat the oven to 400F.
9. Season with salt and pepper. (note: make sure you under-season it because the sauce is going to reduce after you put it in the oven, I made a little saltier than I wanted :/)
10. When the sauce is reduced enough, pour the dish into a iron-cast, cover with aluminum foil, bake for another hour until the sauce is thick and meat is tender.
11. Now, let's prepare the cauliflower purée. Heat the butter in a big pot, then add in the cauliflower, stir and cook for a few minutes.
12. Add the chicken broth and thyme, boil for about 15-20 minutes until the cauliflower is very tender.
13. Season with salt and pepper, then transfer the cauliflower to a food processor, and blend until smooth. Adjust the seasoning afterwards if needed.
14. Return to pot if you want to keep it warm while the meat is cooking.
15. Serve the meat over the cauliflower. The cauliflower is light and a perfect balance for the heavy meat dish!
Crème brûlée
Ingredients
2 Cups Heavy Cream
1 Tbsp Vanilla Paste
5 Whole Egg Yolks
1/2 Cup Sugar (I used a little less than that, if you like it sweeter, you can adjust from this)
4 Tbsp Baker's Sugar
1. Preheat Oven to 325 F.
2. Pour Cream into saucepan, add vanilla paste and simmer over medium-low heat.
3. Whisk egg yolks with sugar until pale yellow and thick.
4. Strain cream using a fine mesh strainer.
5. Slowly add in the warm cream while whisking the egg yolks, do it slowly to avoid cooking the eggs.
6. Place the ramekins onto a deeper baking pan, pour water until it comes halfway up the ramekins.
7. Pour custard mixture into ramekins until the rim mark.
8. Bake for 30 minutes or until just set. Don't let it get brown.
9. Chill for at least 2 - 3 hours. (You can prepare it the night before and just put them in the fridge)
10. To serve, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar over the custard, use a kitchen torch to slowly brown the sugar. If the torch is adjustable, turn it to low so that you don't burn the sugar.
11. Let it sit for a minute or 2 before serve. You should have a thin layer of crispy burned sugar on top which cracks when you knock it with your spoon. Enjoy this delicious yet fatty dessert!!!!