COOKING WITH PAT ASPEC DEMONSTRATION PROGRAME SUMMER OF 2004
These demonstrations will take the form of preparing four three-course meals in the two-hour time slot. The recipes do not have to be necessarily used as part of these meals but may stand alone to be cooked by themselves or as a part of a different meal. I should mention Pat’s philosophy in cooking which concentrates on the use of only the freshest and best ingredients. There will be no shortcuts and apart from a Chef’s knife the only equipment needed is a blender and a few pans. We hope that you enjoy our demonstration of these simple dishes and that we will be able to provide you with a tiny taste of some of the finished food.
Tuesday, June 1st 10.00 a. until noon
Appetizer Tuiles Parmesan
Entrée Rosemary Dijon Rack of Lamb
Dessert Lemon Mousse
Tuesday, June 15th 10.00 a. until noon
Appetizer Mushrooms a la Greque
Entrée Fillet of Trout in Butter Sauce with Almonds
Dessert Fresh Fruit Pastry Triangles with Crème Fraiche
Tuesday, July 20th 10.00 a. until noon
Appetizer Garlic Shrimp in Sweet Butter
Entrée Crispy Fried Chicken Fillet with Fresh Tomato basil salad
Dessert Crème Brulee
Tuesday, August 10th 10.00 a. until noon
Appetizer Cannelloni
Entrée Fire Roasted London Broil
Dessert Crepes Suzzette
PARMESAN TUILES
This is a very simple recipe that has only one ingredient. Preheat the oven to 325°F convection. On a non stick, Silplat, sheet place 1 tsp. of medium grated Parmesan cheese in small piles about 2 inches apart. Cook for 15 minutes until the Tuiles have spread, fused together and are a golden brown. Cool and serve with wine as an appetizer.
The quality of the cheese has a profound effect on the finished product. We buy a block of real Parmesan and shred it in a salad shooter or you could use a food processor fitted with the shredder blade for this purpose. . Do not use commercial powdered Parmesan since this will not fuse together at these cooking temperatures. Commercial supermarket packages of shredded Parmesan may be used but this compromises the flavor somewhat.
The Tuiles have a very assertive taste so we would hesitate recommending serving them with anything else but you might wish to try olives as an accompaniment or try spreading with a little herbed garlic cheese such as Boursin or Alouette.
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RACK OF LAMB
Ingredients
4 Ea racks of lamb, one half per person, Frenched
1 cup Dijon mustard
1 Tbs. rosemary, powdered
½ cup bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup red currant jelly
2 Tbs. mint sauce concentrate, mint jelly or chopped fresh mint.*
Method
Wash and dry the chops and cut into portions of 4 chops each. Brush with a mixture of the mustard and rosemary seasoned with salt and pepper. Roll in the breadcrumbs, spray with a little oil and bake at 425°F. for 10 minutes 325°F for 10 minutes, rest for 10 minutes before serving. Combine the red currant jelly and mint sauce and serve with the chops preferably with a lamb stock reduction.
* Note 1Made with fresh mint this sauce will not keep and should therefore be used up immediately.
2 The temperatures are given for a convection oven add 25°F for a conventional oven.
3 A mixture of equal parts canned beef and chicken stock may be substituted for the lamb stock
½ cup. fresh lemon juice
½ cup. sugar
4 Ea. egg yolks beaten
1 tsp. teaspoon
lemon rind
2 cups whipped
cream
Heat sugar, lemon juice, lemon rind, and egg yolks in a saucepan. Stir until thickened. Cool and fold in whipped cream. Chill well before serving. Should be decorated with shaved chocolate
and crystallized violets.
12 ozs. chocolate
chips
3
Tbs. half & half
3
Ea. egg yolks
¼ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. vanilla
essence
2
cups whipped cream
Melt chocolate chips and the half & half over a low heat, double
boiler, add the egg yolks, vanilla and cinnamon. Cook for a few moments. Cool. Fold into whipped cream.
1 cup. whipping
cream
¼ cup sour
cream
2
tsp vanilla extract
Blend ingredients in small bowl.
Cover with plastic wrap, set in a warm place for 24 hours without
disturbing. Chill thoroughly. Drain any liquid that develops and whisk to
a smooth consistency. Keeps about one week,
covered in the refrigerator.
1 lb. Mushrooms, button or baby bella sliced
3 Tbs. Olive Oil
1Tbs Lemon Juice
1 Pinch Coriander
6 Ea. Bay leaves
Salt & Pepper To taste
½ Tbs. Parsley, Chopped to finish
Gently sauté the mushrooms in olive oil, lemon juice* and bay leaves add a sprinkle of coriander and salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cool to room temperature before use. Do not serve straight from the refrigerator.
*Note The use of lemon juice in this recipe helps the mushrooms hold there color.
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6 Ea. Slices of Italian bread
2 ozs. Butter
Brush the butter onto both sides of the bread and gently broil until golden brown. Alternatively the croutons may be cooked on a gas grill set at high, 500ºF, for about 1 minute each side until dark brown lines appear on the bread.
Pile the mushrooms on the croutons making sure that there is plenty of juice spooned over crouton, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve immediately
TROUT WITH ALMONDS AND BUTTER SAUCE
Notes
When we lived in Geneva in the 70’s we visited a little known part of France around the Belfort area. In the surrounding countryside there was a little one star restaurant called The Rosemonte. It had a number of specialties one of which was the following dish. The proprietress a Madame Halfemeyer would not reveal the recipe so it was up to Pat to recreate it. This is the recreation.
8 Ea. trout fillets, bones removed
6 oz. butter, melted
1 Tbs. beef demi-glaze
2 Tbs almonds, sliced and *roasted
to taste salt and pepper
Brush the trout fillets with a little of the melted butter and season with the salt and pepper to taste. Place under a preheated broiler skin side up and cook until the trout skin is beginning to blister and blacken. Serve with the butter sauce spooned over sprinkle with the sliced almonds. The butter sauce consists of the demi-glaze whipped into the butter, and a watercress garnish. Provide crusty bread for mopping.
*Note To roast the sliced almonds place on a baking sheet in a 325°F convection oven for about 15 minutes, stir every 5 minutes.
We use frozen Pepperidge Farm prepared Puff Pastry sheets for this
recipe. These sheets of puff pastry
work very well. The use of these
sheets saves considerable time and provides a consistent pastry product
overall. Puff pastry works better from
chilled so it is often expedient to chill the completed pastries and cook
straight from the refrigerator.
Apple Turnovers
Ingredients.
I ea. package
of puff pastry ( about 1 lb.)
16 oz. apples,
Granny Smith, peeled and chopped
2 Tbs butter,
sweet at room temperature
1 pinch cinnamon or
to taste
2 Tbs. flour, all
purpose
1 Tbs. Sugar, to
taste
Egg Wash One egg beaten in 2 tablespoons
of half and half.
Method
Allow the pastry to thaw at room temperature for 20 minutes until it is
flexible. Cut out each slice into four
square pieces there will be a narrow strip of pastry left from one side.. Mix the chopped apple , butter, flour,
cinnamon, and sugar until all the apple is properly coated. Warm briefly to make sure that the mixture
is evenly mixed. Arrange some chopped
apple mixture on one half of the pastry square bearing in mind that you are
going to fold it into a triangle.
Damp the edges of the pastry with a little egg wash, fold into a
triangle and press the top and bottom edges together firmly.. Seal the set
edges using a table fork and pressing down hard enough to leave the pattern of
the tines in the pastry. Cut a small
hole in the top over the apple to vent the pastry, brush the top pastry again
egg wash. Brush and bake some of the
pieces of pastry left over from the edge that may be used as decoration. Carefully place the finished pastry on the
baking parchment and sprinkle with a little more sugar. At this point you can either chill the
pastry then bake it. If you desire
you may wrap and freeze this dessert for use later.
Bake convection on parchment paper on a baking tin for 15 to 20 minutes
at 350°F until golden brown, a little longer if baking from frozen , serve
immediately. A good spoon full of
crème fraiche completes the presentation.
French AppleTarts
Ingredients.
I ea. package
of puff pastry ( about 1 lb.)
16 oz. apples,
Granny Smith, peeled and sliced
Sprinkle cinnamon or to
taste
1 Tbs. Sugar, to
taste
Apricot preserve see note*
Method
Allow the pastry to thaw at room temperature for 20 minutes until it is
flexible. Cut out each slice into four
square pieces. Cut off ⅜ inch
strips from all four sides of the pastry squares. Egg wash the squares and press on the strips along all four
sides trimming off the ends as needed.
Egg wash the newly places strips.
Dock the bottom of the squares with the tines of a fork and brush on a
coat of apricot glaze. Arrange the sliced apple neatly in the square and
re-glaze making sure that all the apple is properly coated and then sprinkle
with sugar. Carefully place the
finished pastry on the baking parchment and sprinkle with a little more
sugar. At this point you can either
chill the pastry then bake it. If you
desire you may wrap and freeze this dessert for use later.
Bake convection on parchment paper on a baking tin for 15 to 20 minutes
at 350°F until golden brown, a little longer if baking from frozen , re-glaze
and serve immediately. A good spoon
full of crème fraiche completes the presentation.
*Apricot Glaze
Take a one pound pot of apricot preserve and heat until melted in the
microwave. You should remove a few
tablespoons of the preserve into a cup to allow for expansion. Place the melted preserve in a blender
and pulse until smooth. This is now
ready for use and may be easily applied with a pastry brush. The apricot glaze may be kept for up to a
year in the refrigerator.
1
cup whipping cream
¼ cup sour
cream
2
tsp. vanilla extract
Blend the quarter cup of sour cream in a jug with an equal amount of the
cream. Beat this until it is free
from lumps and then add the rest of the cream slowly beating as needed finally
add the vanilla.. Cover with plastic
wrap, set in a warm place for 24 hours without disturbing. It will be quite thick, about the
consistency of soft whipped cream.
Chill thoroughly. Drain any
liquid that develops and whisk to a smooth consistency if needed before
use. Keeps about two weeks, covered in
the refrigerator.
Needed,
One 10 Inch sauté pan.
32 each peeled and de-veined medium shrimp
6 ozs. unsalted butter
8 Each large garlic cloves chopped
1 oz. fresh parsley coarsely chopped
pinch salt
Grind black pepper
Gently melt the butter in the pan. Add shrimp and garlic and cook until the shrimp are just pink.
Do not overcook or allow the garlic to brown.
Serve warm with a generous sprinkling of parsley.
Accompany with good crusty bread for mopping.
FRIED BREAST OF CHICKEN WITH TOMATO BASIL SALAD
Introduction
Chickens and chicken parts benefit greatly from soaking for a short period in brine before cooking. This process had two good effects it kills all the salmonella that is frequently present on the surface of fresh chicken and secondly it produces a more tender and juicy product when cooked after brining.
½ cup Kosher salt or ¼ cup of table salt
½ cup sugar
1 quart cold water
Dissolve the sugar and salt in the water and place in a seal-able plastic bag. Place the chicken parts into the bag and squeeze out all the air and seal. Allow to brine for 30 minutes turning several times. Remove the chicken, rinse and use immediately. Dispose of the used brine do not reuse.
4 Ea. chicken breasts with skin removed
1 cup breadcrumbs
Tbs. mixed herbs
2 Ea. eggs beaten
2 Tbs. flour , all purpose
2 cups canola oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 lbs. fresh tomatoes chopped
2oz. basil leaves chiffonade
4 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. Balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Trim the chicken breasts and beat out under plastic film until about ¼ inch thick using a mallet. Dredge in flour, beaten egg and seasoned breadcrumbs and set aside in the refrigerator. When ready fry the chicken breasts in ¼ inch of Canola oil in a skillet until golden brown. Do not crowd the pan. Keep warm in the oven while frying the remaining chicken.
Mix the tomatoes, basil, oil, vinegar and seasoning together and serve immediately with the hot chicken breast garnish with a parsley or basil sprig.
Serves 4
The rich, silky custard topped with a brittle, glassy crust of
caramelized sugar is not French, despite its name. Spain, which calls the
dessert “crema catalana,” also lays a claim.
However under the old English
name, “burnt cream,” it appeared on British menus as far back as the early 18th
century. The French term is likely some chef’s attempt to add cache to his
menu, appeared much later.
So this is a classical English dessert, which can be made in advance
and stored in the refrigerator for a few days before finishing and serving.
Ingredients
3 cups heavy cream
6 ea. egg
yolks
½ cup sugar,
brown
2 tsp. vanilla
essence
2 tsp. orange
zest.
½ cup sugar,
white, for topping.
Method
Warm the cream, vanilla, and orange zest until it is just off the boil ~ 190°F.
Pour into the beaten eggs and sugar, stir and temper the mixture by pouring back and forth
between the two containers about three times.
Strain through a fine sieve and pour into ramekins. Serves 8
Bake convection in a water bath for 30 to 35 minutes at 325°F until firm. Cool and then chill in the refrigerator until ready for service. Cover the top of the custard with about a ¼ inch of white sugar and gently melt with a blowtorch until it is smooth and golden brown. Allow the sugar to set before serving. The sugar may also be melted under the broiler using considerable care not to burn the top of the dessert.
CANNELLONI
Basically
cannelloni are raw pasta tubes stuffed with a moist filling, laid in rows in a
shallow baking dish, covered over with a sauce and then baked in the oven. The
cannelloni absorb water from the sauce and the filling during the cooking and
become soft when cooked. We use crepes
to form the tubes since it makes a much more succulent and attractive
dish. The crepes are tender but
contain the meat sauce satisfactorily without having the slimy texture often
associated with dishes containing thick pasta.
We use a shallow oven dish and arrange crepes stuffed with Italian meat sauce in the dish so that it is filled from side to side and end to end, the cannelloni, i.e. stuffed crepes can only be used whole.
Place about 3 Tbs. of the meat stuffing on the lower half of the crepe. Roll the crepe up and over the meat and continue to roll until a neat tube is formed, lay the rolls side by side in the baking dish. Two tablespoon of dices tomatoes are arranged around he crepes followed by a sprinkle of coarse ground black pepper, a pinch of basil and oregano is then added. Pour white cheese sauce carefully over the top making sure that all the crepes are covered. Sprinkle some grated Cheddar and Parmesan cheese over the dish and bake convection in a 325º F oven for about 20 - 30 minutes. Finish under he broiler until golden brown.
Note: The rolled crepes can be wrapped in wax paper and places in a plastic bag for storage in the freezer. When needed defrost and finish as above
BASIC WHITE SAUCE ( FRENCH )
White sauce, or bechamel in French, can be used on its own as a sauce or flavored in myriad ways.
The base for so many different things is an excellent white sauce. It is essential to know how to make a good white sauce. Actually it is useful to know how to make 3 different white sauces. A thin white sauce is used for soups and thin sauces. A medium white sauce is used in gravies, over vegetables, and in thicker sauces. A thick sauce is used for croquettes and souffles. The technique is the same for all of the sauces, the proportions are just different. It is essential to use very low heat when cooking a white sauce. It is also essential to add the milk very slowly. If you poor in the milk too fast, you get a lumpy sauce. Please, use white pepper it is an essential part of a spice cabinet. White pepper not only looks attractive, it has a lighter taste that blends better into dishes than black pepper does.
Thin medium thick
¼ cup ¼ cup ¼ cup white wine
1 cup 1 cup 1 cup half and half
1 cup 1 cup 1 cup milk
2 ozs. 4 ozs. 6 ozs. butter
2 ozs. 4 ozs. 6 ozs. flour
½ tsp. ½ tsp. ½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. ½ tsp. ½ tsp. white pepper
When it comes to adding bold flavors to beef, there's nothing like a marinade. Marinades do double duty, because they can also tenderize. So you can take advantage of the many economical beef cuts available like London broil.
Marinating Tips:
Always marinate beef at room temperature for some of the time, about, say 6 hours a day the remainder of the time under refrigeration. The tenderizing effect of a marinade usually penetrates to about ¼ inch from the surface of the beef so it is necessary with tough cuts of meat to tenderize it mechanically to ensure that the marinade penetrates throughout the beef. To tenderize (using an acid-based marinade): Marinate beef at least six hours, or as long as overnight.
Note that marinating longer than 24 hours with marinades that contain citrus juices causes surface meat fibers to break down, resulting in a "mushy" texture.
Always discard
leftover marinades that have been in contact with raw meat. You may add a little chicken
stock boil the marinade for at least 10
minutes if you wish to use it for other purposes
Pat’s favorite marinade for beef ( 1 cup) : -
2 Tbs. Worcestershire Sauce
I Tbs. soy
1 Tbs. pepper coarse ground
1 tsp. thyme, dried
6 Ea bay leaves
3 Tbs. olive or Canola oil
Mechanically tenderize the meat and immediately hand rub the Worcester sauce into the meat. Rub in the soy sauce and coat with pepper. Place in a Zip-lock bag and add the bay leaves, thyme and oil. Press out all the air from the bag and seal. Rotate the bag several times a day to allow the juices to flow through the meat.
16 each prepared crepes folded into triangles
4 ozs. unsalted butter
2ozs. sugar
2 ozs. Grand Marnier
4 ozs. orange juice concentrate ( frozen)
1 tsp. orange zest
Gently melt the butter in the pan. Add sugar and allow to caramelize slightly. Do not overcook.
Add orange juice and zest. Gently slide the crepes into the pan overlapping them as needed.
Cook gently until crepes are warm, about 2 minutes, turning carefully once.
Then turn up the heat. Add the Grand Marnier and flame. Carefully sprinkle sugar down through the flames to caramelize. Serve on a warm plate spooning some juice over the crepes.
Accompany with a sweet wine or cream sherry.
A crepe is simply a thin, tender pancake that can wrap around an endless variety of fillings, including leftovers. As an appetizer, entree or dessert, crepes can add elegance to any meal occasion.
Crepe-making is a skill, but not difficult to learn, especially if you follow the directions given below. With a little practice, you'll find it takes no time at all to prepare a batch of crepes. Just remember, there are two keys to success. First, ensure that your pan is at the correct temperature, just hot enough to sizzle a droplet of water; and second, the batter is similar in consistency to that of heavy cream.
Blender, crepe pan and spatula.
8 oz. all
purpose Flour
3 ea. large
Eggs
20 oz. Milk
2 Tbs Olive Oil
and spray butter or oil for cooking,
Mix half the milk, the
oil and eggs in a blender and pulse.
Add the flour and rest of milk until it forms a smooth mixture having
the consistency of thin cream.
This mixture is better
if kept for 24 hours before use to allow the gluten to relax.
Cook gently Store between sheets of wax paper. May be frozen. Makes about 20 crepes.
For immediate use: Stack crepes as they are baked between sheets of grease proof paper. Store at room temperature.
To refrigerate: Separate crepe layers with wax paper, as above, wrap stacked, crepes well in foil or plastic wrap and store in refrigerator for no more than a few days. Let the crepes stand at room temperature about an hour before filling or serving.
To freeze: Separate crepe layers with wax paper and put in a tightly sealed container. Crepes will freeze well for up to four months but handle with care as frozen crepes are fragile and will break easily. Filled crepes may be frozen but use discretion in selecting fillings.
Allow crepes to thaw completely before unwrapping and separating to prevent tearing. Frozen or chilled crepes may be warmed gently in the microwave to aid in handling.
Yorkshire puddings originate in the County of Yorkshire, in England and were normally cooked in the juices in the pan that the beef had been roasted in whilst the beef was resting, prior to carving. They are served as a separate course prior to the “roast beef”, entrée to help reduce the amount of beef needed at the meal. They were an economy measure used by the less well to do that turned into a adjunct to a roast beef entrée in its own right.
Use the ingredients for crepes plus a little salt and
pepper to taste and *lard or oil for cooking,
As above for
crepes. Then add the seasonings.
Pour into individual
greased muffin pans and bake for about 30 minutes at 400º F. The puddings should be hollow and fully
risen when done and have no wetness inside.
Left over puddings can be used as a dessert flavored with honey or jams. Also the tops may be removed and the puddings reheated in the oven briefly to crisp them. They then may be filled with fruit and garnished with whipped cream, the tops replaced and a mint leaf added.
Salt makes the mixture a
little thicker.
*Note: The Cordon Bleu School recommends using
lard for this type of cooking since it imparts a better , savory, flavor to the
end product. We generally use a neutral oil, Canola,
since we seek the benefit of using leftovers for desserts.