Beef Wellington with green peppercorn sauce
Herb roasted fingerling potatoes
Warm wilted winter greens
Fallen Chocolate Souffle Cake with peppermint ice cream
and, of course, champagne
I did a trial run with individual beef Wellingtons and found that there was too much pastry, and the recipe I used didn't have enough flavor. So, I moved on to Tyler Florence's recipe on the Food Network website. Here's what's good about this menu: the cake can be made early in the day, since it's served at room temperature, and much of the preparation of the Beef Wellington can be done in stages and refrigerated, which is actually of benefit to the final outcome. Right now it's two hours until dinner is served, and I'm sitting here writing this. So, very relaxed.
When I throw a dinner party, I assume I'll spend the day cooking and preparing, and today was no exception. The first thing I did was to bake the cake, which I haven't made in many years (maybe 10), which led to the first challenge of the day. Now I have an oven that actually holds its temperature, and I mistakenly set the timer for the minimum time in the recipe. By then it was dry and burned, so into the trash it went. Luckily I had all of the ingredients to make it again, so right after lunch I made it again. This time I made sure that it wouldn't dry out: I lowered the temperature slightly, cooked it 5 minutes less, and put the springform pan on a baking sheet, double insulating the bottom. Results, as you will see, are perfect.
FALLEN CHOCOLATE SOUFFLE CAKE
12 oz fine quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
1 1/2 sticks (6 oz) unsalted butter, cut into Tablespoon pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (6 oz) superfine sugar
5 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1/4 cup AP flour
Because you are going to be making a meringue, it is important that not a speck of yolk get into the whites when you separate the eggs. I will do the separating over a small bowl before adding the whites to the mixing bowl, like this:
That way, if one of the yolks breaks, I can discard it, and get a new small bowl before continuing (which happened once on this particular day).
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 345 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and line bottom with a round of parchment, then butter paper.
Melt chocolate and butter in a large metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water (or in a microwave-safe large glass or ceramic bowl in a microwave at 50 percent power for 4 to 5 minutes), stirring frequently, then cool completely.
Whisk in vanilla, salt and 6 Tablespoons sugar. Add yolks 1 at a time, whisking well after each addition.
Whisk in flour.
Beat whites and a pinch of salt with the whisk attachment of an electric mixer at medium-high speed until they hold soft peaks,
then add remaining 6 Tablespoons sugar a little at a time, beating, and continue to beat until whites hold stiff glossy peaks.
Whisk about one fourth of whites into chocolate mixture to lighten,
then fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly.
Pour batter into springform pan, spreading evenly.
Bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs adhering, 30 to 32 minutes.
Cool cake in pan on a rack. Remove the side of pan and cool cake completely. At this point, the recipe says to invert the cake onto a rack and remove the bottom paper and then invert it onto the plate. Because I prefer it on the moist side, this usually results in an explosion of cake on a plate. Tastes good, but not too pretty to look at, so I just slid the cake onto the cake plate. This necessitates taking care to not include the parchment paper when you serve the cake.
This cake pairs well with sweetened whipped cream, but is especially good with ice cream. Since it was close to the holidays, I used Edy's Peppermint stick ice cream.
BEEF WELLINGTON
For the Duxelles:
1 1/2 pounds baby bella mushrooms
2 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the Beef:
1 (3-pound) center cut beef tenderloin (filet mignon), trimmed and tied
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 thin slices prosciutto
6 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
Flour, for rolling out puff pastry
1 pound puff pastry, thawed if using frozen
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt (like Maldon)
Minced chives for garnish
To make the Duxelles:
Add mushrooms, shallots, garlic and thyme to the food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
This was a large load for the food processor, and I would suggest doing it in two batches.
Add butter and olive oil to a large sauté pan and set over medium heat. Add the shallot and mushroom mixture and sauté for 20 or even 30 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated.
The bain of Beef Wellington is the moisture from the mushrooms making the pastry soggy, so get it really dry. Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.
To prepare the beef:
Be sure the tenderloin is tied in 4 places so it holds its cylindrical shape while cooking. Drizzle with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper
then sear all over, including the ends, in a hot, heavy-based skillet lightly coated with olive oil, about 2 to 3 minutes a side.
Meanwhile, set out your prosciutto on a sheet of plastic wrap (plastic needs to be about a foot and a half in length so you can wrap and tie the roast up in it) on top of your cutting board. Shingle the prosciutto so it forms a rectangle that is big enough to encompass the entire filet of beef.
Using a rubber spatula cover the prosciutto evenly with a thin layer of duxelles.
Season the surface of the duxelles with salt and pepper and sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves.
When the beef is seared, remove from heat, cut off twine
and smear lightly all over with Dijon mustard. Keep the pan with the drippings in it for the Green Peppercorn sauce.
Allow to cool slightly, then roll up in the duxelles covered prosciutto using the plastic wrap to tie it up nice and tight.
Tuck in the ends of the prosciutto as you roll to completely encompass the beef.
This will create some insulation from the moisture in the mushroom mixture. Roll it up tightly in plastic wrap and twist the ends to seal it completely and hold it in a nice log shape.
Set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or more (I'm in favor of more so that it is completely chilled through) to ensure it maintains its shape and that the heat from the searing does not damage the pastry.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F about 30 minutes before you plan to bake it.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry out to about a 1/4-inch thickness. Depending on the size of your sheets, you may have to overlap two sheets and press them together. Remove beef from the refrigerator and cut off plastic. Set the beef in the center of the pastry and fold over the longer sides, brushing with egg wash to seal.
Trim ends if necessary, then brush with egg wash and fold over to completely seal the beef--saving ends to use as a decoration on top, if desired. Top with coarse sea salt. Place the beef seam side down on a baking sheet.
You can cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate again at this point. What's nice about this recipe is that you can do so much preparation well in advance of your guests arriving, allowing you to clean up your kitchen and look oh so relaxed when they get there.
When you are ready to bake it, brush the top of the pastry with egg wash and make a couple of slits in the top of the pastry using the tip of a paring knife--this creates vents that will allow the steam to escape when cooking. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until pastry is golden brown and beef registers 125 degrees F on an instant read thermometer for rare (which is traditional with Beef Wellington). If your guests desire medium rate, go to 145 degrees F, which will take another 10 to 15 minutes.
You can see that mine had some seepage. I think it would help to brush egg wash on the underside of the pastry to seal it.
Remove from oven and rest before cutting into thick slices.
Garnish with minced chives and serve with Green Peppercorn sauce.
Green Peppercorn sauce
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 shallots, sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
1 cup brandy
1 box (4 cups) beef stock
2 cups cream
2 Tablespoons grainy mustard
1/2 cup green peppercorns in brine, drained
About 10 minutes before you are going to serve the beef (maybe while the beef is resting), add olive oil to pan used to sear beef. Add shallots, garlic, and thyme; sauté for 1 to 2 minutes, then, off heat, add brandy and flambé using a long kitchen match. We didn't have one, so we took a regular match and used kitchen tongs to extend the length.
Pretty impressive, huh? Even with the hood fan on full blast, it did manage to set off the smoke detector.
After the flame dies down, return to the heat, and add stock and reduce by about half.
Strain out solids, then add 2 cups cream and mustard. Reduce by half again, then shut off heat and add green peppercorns.
Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Fresh Herbs and Garlic
2 pounds fingerling potatoes
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 to 3 sprigs fresh sage
3 sprigs fresh thyme
6 cloves garlic, left unpeeled
3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus for sheet pan
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 500 degrees F and place a baking sheet inside to heat.
If you only have one oven, what I would do is raise the temperature to 500 as soon as you take the beef out to rest.
In a medium bowl, add potatoes, rosemary, sage, thyme, and garlic.
Drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Remove sheet pan from oven, lightly coat with olive oil, and pour potatoes onto pan. Place potatoes in oven and reduce heat to 425 degrees F. Roast for 20 minutes, or until crispy on outside and tender on inside.
Warm Wilted Winter Greens
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 pint walnuts, for garnish
3 bunches winter greens (Swiss chard, radiccio, kale, or escarole), washed, stemmed, and torn into pieces
1 Tablespoon grainy mustard
Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds, for garnish
Parmesan shavings, for garnish
Earlier in the day you can toast the walnuts. I usually put them in a 375 degree oven for about 9 or 10 minutes on a baking pan. Let them cool completely.
The pomegranate seeds can be done early in the day also. I love the color, taste, and crunch, so don't omit this part. Here's a beautiful, heavy pomegranate (heavy = juicy):
First you cut off the blossom end:
Then you score the outside along the line of the pith sections:
Using a bowl of cold water, begin picking the seeds out of the fruit.
The extras will keep in the refrigerator in an air-tight container and are wonderful on salads.
Steve liked this picture because it looks like the scene of a crime:
About 15 minutes before you are going to serve dinner, cook honey and balsamic together over medium-high heat in a large sauté pan, about 5 minutes.
Pile greens on a platter or mixing bowl.
Stir mustard into balsamic-honey dressing, then whisk in about 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil; pour over greens. Season greens with salt and pepper and garnish with walnuts, pomegranate seeds, and shavings of Parmesan.
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