MENU for JANUARY 9, 2016

Oysters Rockefeller
Bouillabaisse
Tournados Marchand de Vin
(Filet Mignon with Winemaker’s Sauce)
Baked Onion au Gratin
Okra Tomato Salad
Napoleons
Café Brûlot

Tournados Marchand de Vin
(Filet Mignon with Winemaker’s Sauce)

Filet mignon or sirloin steak for 8. Grill until desired doneness is reached.

1 cup beef boullion	2 Tbsp butter
½ cup red wine	1 medium red onion minced
¼ lb ham, chopped fine	1/3 lb fresh mushrooms sliced

Combine and simmer for 20 minutes. Place over meat before serving.

Baked Onions Au Gratin

8 medium Spanish onions	dash white pepper	1/8 tsp nutmeg	2 Tbsp heavy cream
Boiling salted water	1 cup grated mild cheddar cheese		½ tsp salt

1. Peel onions, cook in enough boiling water to cover for 8-10 minutes until partially tender. Drain carefully. Remove centers.
2. Combine rest of ingredients including the removed centers chopped fine. Carefully stuff onions with this mixture. Place in a shallow baking dish, and cover with foil.
3. This maybe refrigerated in the morning. Add ¼ inch of water to dish.
4. Bake at 375º for 30 minutes. If they have been refrigerated, increase time by 15 minutes.

Bouillabaisse

½ lb mushrooms	2 Tbsp butter	2 large onions chopped	2 cloves garlic chopped
2 Tbsp flour	2 cups tomato pulp	2 cups water	8 cloves
3 bay leaves	1 ½ tsp curry powder	½ cup sherry wine	Dash Tabasco sauce
1 tsp salt	4 pounds fish fillets	1 ½ quarts boiling water	hot buttered toast

1. Red snapper and red fish in equal amounts are the preferred fish for Bouillabaisse. Cut into 2 inch pieces.
2. Cut mushrooms into thin slices. Melt butter and sauté onion and garlic until golden brown. Then add flour. Add tomato pulp and 2 cups water. Add 4 bay leaves, curry powder, ¼ cup sherry, and Tabasco sauce. Simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Simmer fish fillets in salted water with 4 cloves and remainder of sherry for 15 minutes. Drain. Add fish fillets to the sauce after removing bay leaves. Add mushrooms to sauce.
4. Remove pieces of fish from sauce, and place on buttered toast in a soup bowl. Pour sauce over fish and serve. This makes 12 to 15 portions.

Tomato and Okra Salad

2 cups frozen or fresh okra	4 tomatoes, quartered	2 hard cooked eggs, grated, blanched and cold water shocked
2 Tbsp lemon juice	1 tsp salt	1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp white pepper	2 Tbsp chopped parsley	salad greens

Combine okra and tomatoes in a bowl with lemon juice, seasonings, and parsley. Serve on greens. Garnish with hard cooked egg. Serve with New Orleans dressing.

New Orleans Dressing

¾ tsp salt	1 tsp sugar	½ tsp white pepper
1 tsp paprika	1 tsp prepared mustard
¼ cup mild vinegar (champagne)	¾ tsp Worcestershire sauce	¾ cup salad oil (grape seed)

Oysters Rockefeller

24 oysters (2 each)

Sauté ¼ cup butter with 1 medium onion finely chopped.
Add 3 Tbsp chopped celery, 3 Tbsp finely chopped parsley, and 3 Tbsp lettuce.
Cook for 5 minutes.

Add ¼ cup butter, ¾ cup toasted bread crumbs, 1 ½ cup fresh shredded spinach, ¼ tsp salt, dash thyme, dash anise, dash Tabasco sauce, and 1 ½ Tbsp anchovy paste. Stir and cook for one minute.

1. Wash fresh oysters to remove seaweed and salt. (I buy them at Ranch 6.) Open                   oysters, and carefully remove centers. Spray 1 or 2 9”x15” pyrex baking dishes with oil, and arrange open shells on bottom with oyster centers on top. In preheated 400º oven, bake on a middle rack for 6 minutes until juice starts to come out, and they begin to curl on the edges.
2. While oysters are baking, sauté the topping. (You can get the ingredients done earlier in the day.)
3. When oysters are almost done, put on the spinach topping, return to the oven, and bake for 3 minutes more.
4. Carefully place them on a salad plate, and serve with a small fork.

Napoleons

2 pkgs frozen phyllo dough

half and half cream filling

Puff Pastry

Remove phyllo dough, that has defrosted overnight in the refrigerator, from container, and follow directions on container for handling. Roll dough in a rectangle. With a floured sharp knife, trim off edges. Prick surface with a fork. Cut into 16 oblongs. Place on baking sheets covered with parchment paper. Chill thoroughly. Brush with mixture of slightly beaten egg white and ice water being careful not to get on sides or they won’t puff up. Bake in 350º oven about 55 minutes until pastry is well puffed and golden brown. Let cool, or store in oven until ready to assemble. With a serrated knife, split each Napoleon into 4 layers. Spread half and half cream between layers. Spread confectioner’s glaze on top, and drizzle with chocolate glaze running a fork to make design.

Half and Half Cream Filling

1 envelope gelatin	¼ cup cold water	cooled pastry cream
1 cup heavy cream, whipped and flavored with rum or cognac

Soften gelatin in cold water in a small metal cup. Place cup in boiling water until mixture is clear. Stir dissolved gelatin into pastry cream. Fold pastry cream and whipped cream gently together. Chill before using.

Pastry Cream

2 Tbsp flour	1 cup light cream or milk	3/8 cup sugar
4 egg yolks	1/8 tsp salt	1 tsp vanilla

Combine flour with ¼ cup cream. Stir until smooth. Gradually add the remaining ¾ cup cream. Place in heavy saucepan, stir in salt and sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring until mixture is as thick as a medium white sauce. Stir a little of mixture into slightly beaten egg yolks. Then pour egg yolks into saucepan. Stirring briskly on low heat. Do not let sauce boil. Add vanilla. Cool. To prevent a skin from forming on top of pastry cream, brush with melted butter.

Confectioner’s Glaze

2 cups sifted confectioners sugar

Dash salt

¼ tsp vanilla

3-4 Tbsp boiling water

Combine sugar, salt and vanilla. Add boiling water, mixing well. Makes ¾ cup.

Chocolate Glaze

1 1-ounce square unsweetened chocolate

1 tsp butter

3 Tbsp sifted confectioner’s sugar

Dash salt

Melt butter and chocolate over hot water. Cool slightly. Stir in confectioner’s sugar and salt. Mix until smooth. Makes 1/3 cup.

Café Brûlot

3 cups of Café Noir (strong black coffee)	1 cup Brandy	Sliced peel of one small orange
Peel of 1 lemon slice so it comes in one piece	1 stick cinnamon
4 cloves	¼ vanilla bean	4 sugar cubes

1. Assemble ingredients earlier in the day and set up your tray. Café Brûlot is made in a pan over fire. This could be a chafing dish or Brûlot bowl over an alcohol burner.
2. Just before taking tray to living room, stick cloves in fruit peel, and assemble peel, sugar cubes, and vanilla bean on tray. Pour brandy into pan. Have hot coffee ready and demitasse cups.
3. In living room, turn lights low, light alcohol burner. Add peel, cinnamon, and all but 2 sugar cubes. When brandy is warm, light it. Let it flame for a minute, and add hot coffee. Ladle into demitasse cups.