The Voluptuous Table goes beyond virtual reality

This past Saturday night, something very special happened.  I experienced the realization of a long-time dream.  I launched The Voluptuous Table as a prix fixe dinner venture with a premier event featuring a dinner buffet of rustic French cuisine for 30 people.

It was a perfect day, weather-wise.  The house looked great, the back yard looked stupendous (thanks to my husband), and the menu was full of rich, fall flavors.  Wine flowed like the river Loire.  And there were charming tables and seating areas everywhere, both inside and out.  Candles twinkled, Edith Piaf warbled, incredible aromas emanated from the kitchen.  I was running a French bistro for the night!  Where were the black-turtlenecked existentialists with their sour looks?  They must have stayed in Paris.

There were many memorable moments and I enjoyed my guests--many familiar to me and several not.  One of the highlights of the evening was that some friends of mine have a lovely 14 year old daughter who sang for us beautifully in Italian, French and English.  She brought the house down with her rendition of "The Lady is a Tramp."  End-of-the-evening entertainment is always one of those little surprises that I like to arrange for specific gatherings and my guests were both surprised and delighted.

If the appetites of my guests are any indication, I'm going to have a very successful business.  They ate almost everything.  Every toast point (with plenty of pate and handmade goat cheese loaded on top), every spoonful of rich, silky cassoulet, every slice of the five pounds (and five varieties) of artisanal breads I baked, most of the homemade butter, practically all of the two salads served and every last dainty slice of the banana cake with caramel frosting.  All washed down with countless glasses of wine and pots of coffee.   Bon appetit!

Wines served: Jean-Luc Colombo Cotes du Rhone 2010 (France), a lemony, floral, medium-bodied white suggested to accompany the goat cheese appetizer; Domaine Sarcin Cotes du Rhone 2009 (France), a medium-bodied red with earthy herbal notes, dark red fruit and wild strawberry suggested to accompany the pate; Chateau Tuilerie Pages Bordeaux 2007 (France), with mild tannins and good, firmly structured red fruit to accompany the main course of cassoulet, artisanal breads and salads.

Here's what I cooked and the recipes:


Lemon Goat Cheese with Lemon Oil, Herbes de Provence and Nicoise Olives

For the cheese:
Follow procedure for making homemade goat cheese here, or purchase 16 oz. chevre or montrachet.  Whether you make your own or buy it, knead in about 1 tsp. fresh lemon zest.  Form into a ball and chill until ready to serve.


For the lemon oil:
Heat one cup of the lightest olive oil you can find slowly and gently.  Add the zest of one lemon and steep for at least one hour.  Strain, cool and set aside until ready to use.

To present the cheese:
Place cheese on serving plate.  Drizzle generously with lemon oil.  Sprinkle with about 1 tsp. herbes de Provence.  Scatter about 1/2 cup pitted nicoise olives around the cheese.  Garnish with Prince Edward pansies, violets or other small flowers and small sprigs of parsley.  Serve with toast points.  Serves 12. 


Rustic Pate
This pate recipe sets up into a creamy and rich finished product.  Don't be alarmed by how loose it is before it chills down.  Superb flavor and beautiful on the plate with the pistachio garnish.   Adapted from http://larry-ervin.suite101.com/how-to-make-two-easy-chicken-liver-pate-recipes-a43473.

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
8 oz chicken livers, chopped
1 tsp chopped fresh sage
1/4 cup marsala (or sherry or Madeira)
2 anchovy filets, drained and coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp capers, drained
1/4 cup shelled pistachios plus 2 Tbsp chopped for garnish
Freshly ground pepper

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add the celery and garlic and cook two minutes.
2. Turn the flame up to high and add the chicken livers. Cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until the livers are crisp outside but still a bit pink inside, about 3 minutes.
3. Stir in the sage and deglaze briefly with the marsala. Transfer all to the bowl of your food processor.
4. Add the anchovies, capers and whole pistachios. Process until fairly smooth, but not puréed. Taste and adjust the seasoning. The anchovies are salty enough that you should not need to add more salt.
5. Transfer to your serving dish and serve warm or at room temperature.  You can also chill this pate in a mold and serve it slightly cold.  It is highly seasoned enough for the flavors to come through.  Serve with thin slices of toasted baguette or dress it up by using it to fill individual endive leaves. Garnish with the chopped pistachios and strands of fresh chives.  Serves 12.

Artisanal Breads

I've run this recipe before under my first blog entry in February of this year.  You can do it as you like and add chopped scallions, herbs, raisins, orange peel, chopped olives or anything you like.  It's great bread and very versatile.  This recipe made five one-pound loaves.
 


Homemade Compound Butter

Homemade butter is ridiculously easy if you have the right equipment.  Pour a quart of heavy cream and about 2 tsp. kosher salt into the bowl of your food processor, blender or stand mixer.  Turn on the machine and let 'er rip.  Let it go beyond the proper stage for whipped cream and when the whey splatters out of the bowl, it's done.  Squeeze all the whey out with your hands and form into balls.  At this stage, you can flavor your butter with fresh herbs, garlic, spices, etc.  Press into ramekins or form into logs wrapped in parchment paper or plastic wrap.  Chill until ready to serve.  Makes about 2 cups.


Peppery Green Salad with Toasted Walnuts and Mustard Vinaigrette

Combine 12 cups mixed greens such as arugula, watercress endive, spinach and/or romaine in a large salad bowl.  Toss with several tablespoons of Mustard Vinaigrette (recipe below) until leaves are coated lightly.  Do not overdress!  Scatter with about 1/2 cup toasted walnut pieces.  Serves 12.

An Excellent Mustard Vinaigrette

¾ cup olive oil

1 tablespoon grainy Dijon mustard

1 clove garlic, minced

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and emulsify.  Makes about 1 cup.  This is wonderful on bitter greens with toasted walnuts, bleu cheese and pickled onions.  Yummm!  Enjoy…

Note: I like to experiment with different vinegars (like tarragon and champagne vinegar) and also like to use white Worcestershire instead of the regular kind for variety.

Celery, Fennel and Apple Salad with Tarragon Vinaigrette


Cassoulet Toulousain 

This cassoulet recipe (affectionately and forevermore known as French Beanie Weenies in my circle of friends) has enough richness, meat, pork fat and duck fat to, as one of my friends says, give a small child a coronary after the first bite.  It is, by far, the best cassoulet I have ever made in my cooking career.  I will warn you: the preparation is very labor intensive and long and if you don't like to cook, then get a plate of cassoulet at Justine's instead.  But if you do like to cook, if you covet the aromas of the French countryside in your kitchen and if you're looking for good, hearty peasant fare on a blustery day, then do make the effort and try this dish.

You can take a shortcut and purchase rendered duck fat and prepared duck confit, but it is very expensive to do so.  It was almost as expensive to buy a pound tub of rendered duck fat and a fresh duck, but I thought it a very satisfying venture to make my own.  You can see an excellent procedure for making duck confit here.  Start this procedure at least 7 days before you plan to make the cassoulet.  Duck confit and duck fat keeps for up to 2 months.  And since you can use the duck fat to again confit another duck (or to make duck fat-roasted potatoes or duck fat fries), it is truly the gift that keeps on giving.  And...you can use duck confit in so many other ways...


Gateau de Banane with Caramel and Toasted Pecans

This banana sheet cake is exceptionally moist and is delectable with the caramel icing and toasted pecans.  I literally cannot make this anymore without seriously overeating it.  It is beautiful when you cut it into diamonds before serving on large, frilly pastry papers (I got mine at Hobby Lobby).  Serves 20 to 24.

Banana Cake recipe.  Use butter, not margarine--it really does make a difference.  Cool the cake until ready to frost.

Caramel Frosting recipe.   I use half and half in place of the milk for a creamier, richer frosting.  Use frosting while it's still quite warm; it will be easier to spread.

Garnish with toasted pecans if desired.

What I had for dinner last night...

Wednesday, 9 February 2011 dawned a rather wintry and blustery day and icy conditions suggested barricading myself indoors for most of the day.  I had been at the supermarket early that morning, and decided that beef short ribs would make a wonderful dinner.  I gathered herbs, aromatics, wine, the beef, and my favorite Dutch oven.  I began to cook.  The perfume from these short ribs was nothing short of intoxicating.  I thought they might be nice stacked on a mound of buttery garlic smashers, but I wanted rustic bread for what would be a fabulous sauce.  Served alongside a salad of chopped hearts of romaine, campari tomatoes and celery leaves with "Almost Floyd's Olive Salad Dressing," these short ribs were beyond delicious and got rave reviews.  As dinner simmered in the oven, I opened a bottle of Salentein Reserve Cab 2006 (Argentina), recommended by my fabulous wine guys at Spec's, sipped contentedly, and inhaled the magic.

I'm sending along three recipes today, Short Ribs for an Icy February Day, Artisanal Bread in Five Minutes, and Almost Floyd's Olive Salad Dressing.  Mangia!  And may your tastebuds always dance.

Short Ribs for an Icy February Day (with thanks to the Barefoot Contessa)

• 12 beef short ribs, trimmed of fat ( I used a combination of bone-in and boneless)
• kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 cups chopped onions (2 large onions)
• 4 cups large-diced celery (6 large stalks)
• 2 large carrots, peeled and large-diced
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 (750 ml) bottle dry red wine (I used a Spanish Petit Verdot)
• 1 Tbs. dried rosemary
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 tsp. fennel seed
• 6 cups beef stock
• 1 Tbs. brown sugar
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 Tbs. butter
• 1 lb. sliced mushrooms
• 1 small garlic clove, smashed
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup fino sherry (I used Savory and James, my go-to cooking sherry)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  Place the short ribs on a sheet pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast for 20 minutes, or until browned.  Remove from the oven.  Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven and add the onion, celery and carrots and cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.  Pour the wine over the vegetables, bring to a boil, and cook over high heat until the liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes.  Add 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.  Add fennel, rosemary and thyme.
3. Place the roasted ribs on top of the vegetables in the Dutch oven and add the beef stock and brown sugar.  Bring to a simmer over high heat.  Cover the Dutch oven and bake for 2 hours or until the meat is very tender.
4. Carefully remove the short ribs from the pot and set aside; skim excess fat.  Cook the vegetables and sauce over medium heat for 20 minutes, until reduced by about one-third.
5. Meanwhile, heat butter and EVOO together in skillet on medium-high heat.  Add mushrooms, and as Julia says, “Do not crowd the mushrooms.”  Saute until well browned, adding the clove of garlic after a few minutes, along with the kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.  When the mushrooms are well-browned, add the sherry and continue to cook, lowering heat if necessary, until sherry is evaporated and absorbed.  Add mushrooms to sauce.
6. Put the ribs back into the pot and heat through. Garnish generously with chopped parsley—because it’s pretty and because it’s good for you.  Serves 4 lavishly.

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes

Adapted from ”Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day,” by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François
Literally, this dough thrives on neglect.  It is absolutely the best bread I’ve ever baked—and it’s ridiculously easy.  Try it—you’ll be astounded at the results.

• 1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
• 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse salt (kosher or sea salt)
• 3 to 4 cups water
• 6 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, more for dusting dough (you can replace about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of white flour with any whole grain flour with great results).
• Cornmeal

1. In a large bowl, mix yeast and salt into 3 cups warm water. Add flour, and stir to combine completely.  Add more water if you like a looser dough.  Let dough rise in a warm place for at least two hours, until it rises and collapses (up to 8 hours – or even overnight won’t hurt it). The dough may be baked at this point, or refrigerated for later use.

2. Cover dough, but make sure it is not airtight – gases need to escape – and place in fridge. The longer this dough sits (and it can sit in your fridge up to two weeks), the better it tastes.  When you are ready to use it, throw a small fistful of flour on the surface and use a serrated knife to cut off a piece of the size you desire. (The authors recommend a 1 pound loaf – which means cutting off grapefruit-sized piece of dough). Turning the dough in your hands, stretch the surface of the dough and tuck in under. The surface will be smooth, and the bottom with be bunched. *

3. Dust a pizza peel (or any flat surface such as a rimless cookie sheet) with cornmeal. (This prevents sticking, and adds a nice, rustic crunch. You can use flour instead, but you’ll need to use a very generous dusting).  Allow dough to rest in a warm place for 40 minutes – longer (sometimes up to five hours) if you use some whole wheat flour in place of the white, if your house is cooler, or if you make a larger loaf.

4. Twenty minutes before baking, preheat oven to 450 degrees with baking stone (or overturned baking sheet) inside on the middle rack, plus a shallow pan on the top rack. Throw a small fistful of flour over the dough, slash it 2-4 times with a serrated knife (in a cross, a tic-tac-toe, or a fan), and slide it into the oven, onto the baking stone (I have already risen the dough on a cornmeal-dusted baking sheet and bake it directly on that).  Pour 1-2 cups of tap water into the shallow pan, and quickly shut the oven door to trap steam inside. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until crust is well browned and bread sounds hollow when you knock on the bottom.

*Personally, I don’t want to handle the dough at all.  I scoop it out with a rigid utensil directly onto a cornmeal-covered baking sheet, let it shape itself as irregularly as it likes, sprinkle it with flour and cover it with a light cloth.  Then I let it rise for quite a while.

Almost Floyd’s Olive Salad Dressing

You all know I try to replicate things other people make that I really like.  This is my version of a salad dressing that I had at Floyd’s (on I-10 near Beaumont).  Make a lot, because you’re going to like it too.

1 extra-large clove garlic

1 cup pitted black olives, drained

1 cup pimento-stuffed olives, drained

1/2 cup (slightly heaped) dill pickle slices, drained

1 tsp. Italian herb seasoning mix (I used Penzey’s)

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 cups EVOO

1 cup good-quality red wine vinegar

Mince garlic in food processor, then add olives and pickles, pulsing until everything is coarsely chopped.  Transfer mixture to a large jar and add Italian herb seasoning, black pepper, EVOO and red wine vinegar.  Mix well and cover.  Stores for several weeks in the refrigerator (but I don’t think it will last that long…)