Sample recipe from Entertaining: Veal blanquette

This is a classic French dish. Blanquette refers to its colour, which is white (or whiteish). The sauce is béchamel or white sauce, one of the French "mother sauces".

1 kg (2 lbs) pie veal (whatever than is), cut into 2,5 cm (1 inch) cubes
2 onions, chopped
2 carrots, sliced
1 tbs lemon juice
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper
50 g (2 oz) butter
50 g (2 oz) plain flour
3 tbs single cream (cooking cream)

Garnish:
6 rashers streaky bacon
1 lemon, cut into wedges
Parsley sprigs

Put the veal into a saucepan with the vegetables, lemon juice and bay leaves. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add enough water to cover and simmer, covered, for 90 minutes. Remove the meat and vegetables from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Discard the bay leaf. Strain the stock, reserving 600 ml (1 pint).
Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour. Gradually add the stock and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream. Adjust seasoning if needed and put in the meat and vegetables. Heat gently until warmed through.
Roll up the bacon rashers tightly and thread onto a skewer. Place under a preheated hot grill until crisp.
Transfer the veal to a warmed serving dish and garnish with the bacon rolls, lemon wedges and parsley.

Makes 6 servings.

Recipe from The Diner's Club Cookbook: Chopped beef à la Lindstrom

Chopped beef à la Lindstrom or Biff à la Lindström is a Swedish dish with Russian influences. It is thought to have been brought to Sweden in the mid-1800s by one Hendrik Lindström, who may have invented it or learned to make it in Russia. From Sweden it has spread all over the world.

To serve 4:
500 g (1 lb) ground beef
1/2 cup minced onions
1/2 cup cooked or canned beets, diced
1/3 cup capers
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp white pepper
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup ice water
3 tbs butter

Mix together all ingredients but the 3 tbs butter.




Shape into 4 patties. Melt the 3 tablespoons butter in a skillet and sauté the beef in it until it has reached your preferred stage of doneness.

Fry 4 eggs and serve the patties with the eggs on top.



From the Stockholm Restaurant, Worcester, Massachusetts.


A note on ground beef:
I always cook ground beef through unless I have done the buying and grinding myself. If you are using supermarket ground beef or beef not prepared by your local butcher from a cut you chose, it is safer to cook it through.

Edit:
I made some for dinner. The beef I used was not finely ground enough for patties, so they fell apart and I ended up with something resembling dog food, which, however, tasted all right. It was remarkably mild considering the amount of onions and capers. I think another time I would use more beets and onions and less capers.

Recipe of the week: Pasta Carbonara

The recipe of the week is for a simple and delicious Italian dish that I have eaten in restaurants but have only ever made once myself. In that recipe, like in the Silver Palate recipe below, pancetta (Italian bacon) was replaced by regular bacon. I was unhappy with that recipe and decided to try the Silver Palate version.





The recipe:

Serves 4-6.

500 g (1 lb) thick-sliced bacon, diced
2 tbs salt (I am inclined to think this is an error and it must be 2 tsp)
500 g (1 lb) spaghetti or linguine
3 eggs
1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley
Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Sautée the bacon in a skillet until crisp. Remove and drain well on paper towels

Bring 4 liters (4 quarts) of water to the boil in a large soup pot. Add the salt and drop in the pasta. Stir to separate the strands. Cook until al dente (tender but not mushy) according to instructions on packaging (if you make it yourself, you will know best yourself when it is cooked).

While the pasta cooks, beat the eggs well in a serving bowl large enough to take the cooked pasta and other ingredients. Have the bacon and parsley at hand.

When the pasta is cooked, drain quickly in a colander and shake briefly to get rid of excess water.

Pour the drained hot spaghetti into the bowl of eggs and immediately begin tossing it. Toss until the pasta is coated with egg and the heat of the pasta has cooked the eggs.

Add the bacon and parsley, toss again to mix and serve immediately. Grated Parmesan is delicious with this dish, freshly ground black pepper is essential.


My alterations and substitutions:

The book mentions that in the original authentic dish pancetta or proscuitto would be used, and I decided to try it with Proscuitto di Parma: dry-cured ham from Parma. Knowing that Parma ham is both saltier and more flavourful than the local bacon, I used less of it than I would have of bacon. Additionally, I was unable to get Italian parsley, and had to use curly parsley instead. I used a lot less salt than the recipe calls for, since I knew the ham would add to the saltiness of the dish.

Since there were only two of us, my mother and myself, I made half a recipe. The final recipe I used looked like this:

160 g Parma ham, thin slices cut into small squares and sautéed until cooked through but not crisp (about 1 minute)
1/2 tsp salt
250 g spaghetti
2 small eggs
About 1 1/2 tbs curly parsley
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste (as you can see in the photo, I had not added the pepper when it was taken – in fact we had started eating when I remembered the pepper and added it, and we agreed that the pepper was a good but not necessary addition)
Grated Parmesan cheese (we tried it, but decided the dish was better without it)

The instructions are the same as for the above version.




Review:

Magnifico! This is such a simple dish, and it is so good. I like it with bacon, but with proscuitto it it is simply delicious.

The halved amount of proscuitto was just right. If I had used more the dish would have been too salty. The rich, salty flavour of proscuitto, the freshness of the parsley and the mild flavour of pasta and eggs combine beautifully and deliciously and this dish will definitely be going in my recipe notebook for further use.

My mother is already "threatening" to make me cook it for her again.



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More information about carbonara

Recipe from The Silver Palate Cookbook: Zabaglione

Makes 6 portions.

8 egg yolks
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup Marsala wine

Mix ingredients together in the top part of a double boiler* and cook over rapidly boiling water, whisking constantly until mixture doubles in bulk and thickens.

Remove from heat and continue whisking for about a minute.

Pour mixture warm over fresh berries, serve by itself in tall glasses, or chill and use as a sauce for berries.

*If you haven't got a double boiler, do what I do: use a bowl that fits tightly into the mouth of a cooking pot so that little or no steam can escape, and hold it tight with an oven mitt-clad hand while whisking with the other hand.

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If I make this, how can I use the egg whites, besides making a ton of meringue?
Suggestions welcome.

Recipe of the week: Strawberries Romanoff (liqueur-marinated strawberries)

Named for the Russian royal family, so it is at least 90+ years old, quite a bit older if this website has the story right (check out the variations they give).

This is a classic dessert dish that can be found in a number of different variations and seems to be quite popular – at least considering that I got more than 50 thousand hits when I googled it.



Original recipe: (as it is in the book – I make no claims to its being the authentic original recipe)

Serves: 4 persons.
Prep time: Under 15 minutes.
Standing time: 30-40 minutes.

1/2 kg (1 lb) fresh strawberries
2 tbs sugar
200 ml (approx. 4/5 cup) freshly pressed orange juice
3-4 tbs Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur (e.g. Cointreau or Curaçao)
100-200 ml (2/5-4/5 cups) whipping cream

Wash the strawberries and reserve 4 large ones. Hull the rest. Cut the hulled berries into slices, sprinkle with sugar and divide between four tall dessert glasses or highball glasses.

Mix together orange juice and liqueur and pour over the strawberries. Cover and refrigerate for 30-40 minutes.




Whip the cream until it is thickened but not stiff and top the dessert with it. Decorate with the whole berries and serve.

Review:
I only made 1/4 recipe, which was enough for two small dessert glasses.

After 1 hour and 30 minutes, which is about triple the marinating time given in the recipe, the tastes of Grand Marnier, orange juice and strawberries had not blended well. There was a strong, almost raw taste of cognac that didn't at all go with the rest of the ingredients. I also thought the dessert could do with a touch more sweetness, so I added a teaspoon of sugar to the other glass, lightly bruising the strawberry slices when I stirred in the sugar. Then I gave it an hour more to marinate.

After the extra hour the taste at first seemed the same, but when I stirred up the mixture and tasted it again, it became evident that the cause of the overly strong cognac taste was that it had begin to separate and the Grand Marnier had floated to the top while the orange juice sank to the bottom. Stirring melded the flavours and the result was quite good: not too strong a cognac flavour like the previous serving, and a little sweeter. Quite good, in fact. There did seem to be an awful lot of marinating liquid left in the glass when I had finished the strawberries – another time I would reduce the liquid.

Alterations that suit my tastebuds:
Increase the sugar to 3 tbs (for a whole recipe), or reduce the liquid by 1/4. Marinate for 2 hours minimum. Stir up the mixture before adding the cream and then serve immediately.




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Here's another good recipe that pairs strawberries and Grand Marnier: Drunken Strawberries:
Inject whole strawberries with Grand Marnier or other liqueur of your choice (go in under the hull so the hole will not be seen), dip in melted chocolate and cool for at least 2 hours before serving. Will keep for up to 24 hours.