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It's not a real bachelor party menu, of course; I only called it that because Rebecca was out of town for the weekend.   If that disappoints you, just imagine eating each dish off of the firm stomach of a long-legged exotic dancer. 

I get listless and irritable when Rebecca's out of town unless I have something to do, so I try to make plans that will occupy my time while she's gone.  Hosting a dinner for ten people is definitely a time-suck.  And the fact that Rebecca was out of the picture meant I got to put onions in everything.

The go-to appetizer for those pressed for time.  From zero  to oven in 15 minutes or less, assuming you're using a prepared filling (which I didn't use) and storebought pastry dough (which I did) and that you've already defrosted it.  Far less classy than many of its proponents  believe, the baked brie is nonetheless quite useful and should be in your bag of entertainment tricks.  The master recipe is as follows:  Roll the sheet of pastry dough thin enough to wrap around the round of brie.  Optionally lay down some spices or brown sugar on the dough.  Cut the brie in half. Place the bottom half on the pastry crust.  Slather on a thick layer of your filling of choice. Put the top half on.  Sprinkle brown sugar and/or spices on the top of the brie (or don't). Wrap the pastry around the brie, sealing the top and cutting off any excess dough.  Toss it in the oven until it's ready, which should be 40-45 minutes or so for a medium-sized brie. There you go.  It's not cooking so much as configuration management.

I made the apricot chutney using dried apricots and fresh pears.  It turned out pretty well despite the recipe being created completely ad hoc.  My rule of thumb is:  A jam is basically equal parts fruit and sugar, cooked down.  A chutney is equal parts fruit and sugar plus onions, ginger, vinegar, "pumpkin pie" spices, and perhaps peppers.  This, of course, only one style of chutney -- a sort of "Major Grey" style. Authentically Indian chutneys vary widely in style and are often more like relishes than jams.

Some tips:  There is no need to cut the rind off of the brie, even if you're one of those weirdos who insists on only eating the middle out of a cheese with a perfectly edible rind.  (Let me guess, princess -- you made your mom cut the crusts off of your sandwiches as a kid, too, didn't you?)  During baking, the rind will soften and melt just like the insides.  And speaking of melting, you really want the insides molten-lava hot, as the dish is best consumed before the brie begins to congeal.  You should nevertheless warn your guests about the temperature, unless they've already offended you somehow and the insides of their mouths are just begging for a good searing.  If the pastry is browning too quickly, throw some aluminum foil over it. You know the drill.

My intent had been a thin, frothy, milky, corn-flavored broth slightly thickened with fish and corn puree and flavored with lemon, Pernod, tarragon, and fennel, with bits of corn, peas, shrimp, and herbs floating sparsely in the broth around a pile of lobster in the middle.  Alas, things did not work out the way I imagined.  After cooking the kernels from six ears of corn in four or five cups of milky liquid, pureeing the result in the Cuisinart, and attempting to strain it, I got...somewhere around two cups of liquid and a huge mass of wet corn that wouldn't go through the strainer no matter what I did to it.  I had honestly thought things would go differently.  Since I was serving ten people, I had no choice but to mix the liquid back into the corn and serve a chowder that was pretty much like my normal corn chowder recipe.  Which, you know, I like a lot, but several of the guests have had it before, and I was looking to add something to my repertoire.

But it wasn't a total loss.  It turns out that the Pernod and fennel are an amazing addition to my standard recipe (the original already has the tarragon and the lemon), giving it an extra oomph that I didn't even know it needed.  Care must taken, of course; you can easily overdo it with the Pernod.  But I think the recipe has definitely gone up a notch in quality.

I'd still like to explore my vision; I'm just not sure how.  Using more liquid would just require more corn to in order to get enough corn flavor in the broth.  That means you'd still just wind up with a big mass of unused corn that won't strain and that soaks up all of the liquid.  Is there any way to get the corn flavor?  Can you put corn through a juicer? Does anyone sell corn juice? Maybe if I could find something else to do with the corn, that would be alright.  But what? There would be far too much for ravioli.  A gratin?  I don't know.

The bread was just a regular french loaf cooked in the breadmaker with finely chopped rosemary added.  The result was very aromatic, although if I hadn't been so rushed I would have shaped the dough into a boule and cooked it in the oven instead.

The concept of the dish is simple:  Pasta stuffed iwth ground goat meat mixed with goat cheese and fresh basil.  It's also simple to execute:  Buy a (half of) a goat leg.  Debone it, trim it, and grind it (a food processor will do for this).  Cook the meat with garlic and spices.  In a large bowl, combine the meat with a log of goat cheese (8 oz for every 2-3 lbs of goat or to taste) and basil in chiffonade.  Mix well, stuff it in some nearly-cooked pasta, top with a sauce, and bake for 30 or 40 minutes.

This dish works perfectly well with lamb, which is the only way I've made it in the past. I'm glad I tried it with goat, though.  I felt there was a particular compatiblity between the flavors of the goat meat and the goat cheese, a subtle interplay that wasn't there with the lamb.  On the other hand, I could be totally imagining that, because I remember thinking it was pretty damn good with the lamb.

Most of the goat meat I've had in my life has been in Indian- or Mexican-influenced dishes. It was interesting to taste it prepared in a more Continental style, even in a dish as straightforward as this one.

I'd originally intended to make fresh pasta for this dish, but as afternoon slid into evening it was clear that something would have to give.  I used large pasta shells that I had sitting around, which is unfortunate because cannelloni (or even manicotti) are a much better format for serving to company.  Shells are far clumsier; they have an unfortunate tendency to slide around (or off) your plate as you try to cut them.  On the other hand, you have much finer portion control with the shells, which is important for a large meal.  On the other other hand, with fresh pasta I could have made the cannelloni any size I wanted to.

The sauce was a basic tomato sauce recipe with the addition of minced sun-dried tomatoes and a touch of red pepper.  This was a quick, functional sauce; the sun-dried tomatoes added just a touch of depth and flavor interest without dominating the sauce, and the red pepper supplied a little sleight of hand (those tricksters!).  I've found a secret about buying sun-dried tomatoes that you will almost certainly want to know, but you will have to wait for a later post.

Beef cheeks are actually the muscles which control and power chewing, which, as you might imagine, are relatively large in cows.  They're a dark, tough muscle that turns very tender during a long braising. I've never made them before, but I thought they turned out well, and with some experimentation I think they'll prove to be a strong addition to my repertoire.  They're relatively inexpensive to boot.  I paid under $3/lb for mine, although they were untrimmed; I probably lost a third to waste.

For this dish I braised them in homemade beef stock, red wine, and vegetables.  I then strained the vegetables out and cooked fresh ones separately to serve with the cheeks, as per Bouchon.  I then reduced the sauce and served the meat and the vegetables with a few tablespoons of sauce over it.

The cauliflower dish was straight out of the aforementioned Bouchon. It was good even though I undersalted it.  I don't know if it was worth all of that butter and cream, though.  I like my mixed root vegetable gratin better.  Or better yet, Keller's glazed turnips.

Creme Brulee is the perfect dinner party dessert.  It's straightforward, you can make it a day ahead, and it's percieved as classy.  What impresses me is the huge differences in basic creme brulee recipes, despite the fact that there are only a few ingredients.   This was my first time, so I have no idea which recipes are better and which are worse.

The most important point of variance, I'd imagine, is the ratio of cream to egg yolks.  This will determine how firm the custard is.  I think I used 3 cups of cream to 7 egg yolks.  The custard was firm -- still very good, but a little on the firm side.  Next time I think I'll drop it to 6 or maybe even a little less.

I made a standard creme brulee recipe, but added a tablespoon of brandy and 1 1/2 tablespoons of a freshly ground masala chai (I think I used cloves, cardamom, cinnamon stick, and maybe a dash of nutmeg).  I don't usually make desserts, but this was a breeze.  Masala Chai and brandy really work in this dish.  It'll be even better next time when it's a little creamier.

(Actually, I forgot to serve these with the raspberries and the truffles, but I had one that way the next day, so I'm pretending that everything went off without a hitch. Come to think of it, several things went wrong.  I thought I had vanilla in the pantry, so I didn't buy any when I was shopping, but when I got home I couldn't find it.  I had to leave it out.  I put one (or two) too many eggs in the batter, as I mentioned -- not by mistake, just out of ignorance. I forgot to get butane for the kitchen torch, so I had to use the broiler, which isn't nearly as good at carmelizing the top of the custard.  The dessert turned out great anyhow, which is a testament to how easy it is to make.)

Some notable creme brulees across the blogosphere include:  Clotilde's Pear Rosemary Creme Brulee and her Lemon Thyme Creme Brulee, A Spoonful of Sugar's Strawberry Liqueur Creme Brulee, food.indiboi's Classic White Creme Brulee, which uses white chocolate, and the Barefoot Kitchen Witch's base Creme Brulee Recipe.  Check them out!

As you can see, what's been turning me on lately is Alsatian wines and varietals.  I've had a background interest in Alsace for years, but that interest has always taken a back seat to lust for German wines.  Lately, though,  Alsatian wines and varietals are all I want to drink.

Pinot Grigio is the Bud Lite of the wine world, as far as I'm concerned.  It's worlds away from Alsatian Pinot Gris, despite the fact that they're made from the same grape (Gris = Grigio = Gray).   The latter is rich and opulent, with flavors of peaches, apricots, lychee, almonds, and honey often making an appearance.  Despite these rich flavors, Alsatian Pinot Gris usually has the acidity and minerality to keep the wine in balance.  This is the perfect antidote to Chardonnay.

I've had some success with Pinot Blanc  picks lately as well.  In fact, the first (and only, as far as I can remember) wine that I've bought at Trader Joe's that was surprisingly good was a Pinot Blanc.  Oh, I've bought plenty there that I thought were fine -- you know, the usual Californian suspects.  But I picked up the 2001 Lorca Monterey County Pinot Blanc on a whim; it was $8 or so, and I really didn't want another Chardonnay that day.  Lo and behold, I found the perfect house white:  forward and friendly, but still packing.  And inexpensive.

The Charles Schleret selections are definitely a step up from the Lorca.  This is unsurprising, as they are twice as expensive.  But  these are fabulous wines that deserve your attention.  I promise you, you will never get as much pleasure out of a $16 California Chardonnay -- or a Chardonnay anywhere, at that price -- as you will from these picks.   Take a chance!

February 7, 2005 in menus | Permalink

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