orange, roasted-beet & arugula salad

Ingredients

Serves 4 as a starter

• 1 large beet
• 2 navel oranges
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 bunches arugula, washed well and dried
• 5 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wrap beet tightly in parchment paper-lined aluminum foil; place on a rimmed baking sheet. Cook until tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife, 45 to 50 minutes. When cool enough to handle, rub off skins, using paper towels to keep your hands from staining. Cut into wedges.
2. Meanwhile, prepare oranges; Slice off both ends of each with a paring knife. Cut away the peel and white pith, following the curve of the fruit. Holding the fruit over a bowl, cut along membranes to release whole segments. Squeeze juice from membranes into another bowl, and add any accumulated juice from the segments.
3. Add oil, vinegar, and mustard to orange juice; season with salt and pepper, and whisk to combine. Add arugula, and toss to coat with dressing. Divide arugula among four plates. Top with beet wedges, orange segments, and goat cheese. Serve immediately.

salmon mousse

 

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (from a 1/4-ounce envelope)
• 4 ounces smoked salmon, coarsely chopped
• 1 1/4 cups sour cream
• 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• coarse salt
• fresh dill, for garnish (optional)
• crackers or baguette slices, for serving

Directions

1. Place 3 tablespoons cold water in a small saucepan, and sprinkle with gelatin; let soften, 5 minutes. Gently heat over low, stirring, just until gelatin dissolves; set aside.
2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine salmon, sour cream, and lemon juice. Puree until smooth; season with salt. With motor running, add slightly cooled gelatin mixture, and blend until combined.
3. Pour into two 8-ounce ramekins or bowls. Without touching surface, cover container with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm but spreadable, about 2 hours or up to overnight. Garnish mousse with dill, if desired, and serve with crackers or baguette slices.

fennel & orange salad

 

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 5 navel oranges
• 3 to 4 fennel bulbs (about 2 pounds total), ends trimmed, quartered lengthwise, cored, and thinly sliced, crosswise, plus 1/4 cup roughly chopped fennel fronds (optional)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar and oil; season with salt and pepper.
2. Using a sharp knife, slice off both ends of each orange. Following the curve of the fruit, cut away the peel and white pith. Halve orange from top to bottom; thinly slice crosswise. Transfer oranges, along with any juices that have accumulated on work surface, to bowl with dressing. Add fennel and, if desired, fronds. Toss to combine.

galletas de zanahoria

Ingredientes:
1/2 taza de mantequilla a temperatura ambiente
1/2 taza de azúcar morena
1 yema de huevo grande
3/4 taza de harina
1 teaspoon (cucharadita) de jengibre en polvo
1/2 teaspoon (cucharadita) de sal
1 taza de copos de avena
3/4 taza de zanahoria rallada
1/3 taza de pasas

Preparación:
En un bol, mezclamos la mantequilla, el azúcar y la yema de huevo. Por otro lado, mezclamos la harina, el jengibre y la sal. Añadimos la mezcla de harina a la mezcla de la mantequilla y removemos hasta que se mezclen. Cuando tengamos todo bien mezclado añadimos la avena, las zanahorias y las pasas de Corinto.

Preparamos la bandeja del horno con papel, hacemos con la masa bolas, las ponemos en la bandeja y las chafamos con la mano o un tenedor…

Precalentamos el horno a 180º y en unos 15 o 18 minutos estará listo, si no estamos seguros, pinchamos, estará listo cuando empezamos a ver que se ponen un poco doraditas por los bordes.
Dejamos enfriar en una rejilla!

puré de puerros y peras

Ingredientes

3 peras, 1 puerro, 1 patata mediana, 1 litro de caldo de pollo, 1/2 cucharadita de jengibre, 1 yogurt natural, nuez moscada, sal, pimienta y aceite.

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preparacion

Lavamos muy bien las peras, ya que vamos a aprovechar las cáscaras. Las pelamos y les quitamos el corazón.
Ponemos el caldo de pollo al fuego y echamos las cáscaras y los corazones de las peras, dejamos que hierva durante unos 15 o 20 minutos.
En olla con un chorro de aceite, ponemos la patata cortada a cuadritos, al igual que el puerro, y las peras.
Cuando estén rehogados le agregamos el caldo filtrado y el jengibre. Dejamos cocer durante unos 20 o 25 minutos.
Cuando todo esté bien hervido, lo trituramos, le añadimos el yogurt, una pizca de nuez moscada, de pimienta y rectificamos de sal. Batimos y servimos.
Serviremos el puré de puerros y peras caliente y decorado con pera por encima, o en cuadritos pequeños o en forma de abanico.
Podemos añadirle más o menos caldo en función de si nos gusta más o menos espeso.
Esta vez le he puesto caldo de pollo, pero si lo cambiamos por caldo de verdura, además de riquísima tendremos un puré totalmente vegetariano

Zucchini Tarte

150g of ricotta (I use brousse which is a fresh cheese from Provence)
2 tablespoons of cream
3 eggs
3 leaves of mint
4 leaves of basil
1 tablespoon of freshly grated parmesan
2 big zucchini
1 clove of garlic
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 roll of puff pastry

Turn on your oven on 180 degrees celsius (350F)
Wash and finely slice the zucchini. Using a frying pan cook the zucchini and crushed garlic in olive oil for 8 minutes or until golden. In a mixing bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, cream, eggs, parmesan , and herbs finely sliced.  Add the zucchini to the mixture. Place the puff pastry in a round ceramic dish and fill it up with the ricotta and eggs mix.
Place it in the oven and let it cook for half an hour or until golden.

onion & thyme buns

For the onions:

• 30–36 red or white pearl onions
• 15 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2–3 pinches sea salt
• 2 pinches freshly ground pepper
• 3 tablespoons neutral oil (safflower, vegetable, or canola)

Peel and slice the pearl onions in half horizontally. Place 12 small sprigs of fresh thyme in the bottom of a roasting pan, arrange onions atop, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with thyme leaves without the stems. Finish with salt and pepper and roast at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the onions are golden and slightly charred around the edges, reminiscent even of the roasted vegetables you might find alongside a Thanksgiving turkey. While they cool, add the dough.

To Assemble the Buns

Place a couple sprigs of the roasted thyme from the onion pan in the bottom of each skillet and arrange 7–10 roasted onion halves atop them. In a small saucepan melt the butter and dip each, covering both sides, then place one round of dough on the onions in each pan and press down firmly so it feels as though the onions have stuck to the dough and pour remaining butter over the buns. Transfer all six skillets to a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 450-degree oven for about 15 minutes or until the buns have puffed up and are lightly brown and bubbling around the edges. Flip onto a wire rack and tap the bottom of each pan to loosen the onions; if they happen to stick, scoop them out with a small spoon and place them gingerly on the buns, finish with a sprinkling of sea salt and there you have it, Onion and Thyme Butter Buns!

A Simple Alternate Version: Traditional Butter Buns
Skip the onion step and instead of using the 6″ x 3.25″ cast iron pans, use only one 8″ cast iron skillet. Pour the melted butter into the bottom of this pan, roll it roughly into the shape of the skillet and make two cuts horizontally and two vertically then place the buns in the pan, flip each bun once and bake at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes or until golden and bubbly.

Honey Goat Cheese-Stuffed Medjool Dates

Yields: Approximately 10 pieces
Ingredients:
4 ounces fresh goat cheese (chèvre)
1 tablespoon honey
10 Medjool dates, pitted and sliced halfway through lengthwise
¼ cups walnuts, finely chopped
(1) Make a lengthwise cut in each date, remove pit, and gently pinch open to form a pocket.
(2) In a medium-size bowl, blend together goat cheese and honey. Using approximately a teaspoon of honey goat cheese at a time, shape into 10 balls.
(3) Fill each date with a honey goat cheese ball and with index finger, lightly press the ball into each date and smooth the top.
(4) Press the cheese side of each stuffed date into the chopped walnuts. Lightly tap to remove excess nuts, arrange on a platter and serve. Can be made a day ahead and refrigerated.
Note: Experiment with other soft cheeses and toppings. Chef Lea often makes stuffed Medjool dates with Brie cheese and freshly chopped chives.

Pear Muscat Marmalade

Yields: 1 quart
Ingredients:
2 ½ pounds Bartlett or d’Anjou pears, peeled, cored, and chopped
½ pound Granny Smith tart apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
2 cups sweet Muscat dessert wine
3 cups granulated sugar
¼ cup fresh tangerine juice
2 teaspoons tangerine zest

(1) Add pear, apple, muscat dessert wine, sugar, tangerine juice, and tangerine zest to a 5- to 7- quart slow cooker insert; cover and place insert in slow cooker heating base. Cook on high for 9 to 10 hours. When it is ready, the mixture should be dark amber-brown with a sweet caramelized flavor.
(2) Using a whisk or masher, break up softened fruit pieces. Cool to room temperature. Store in air tight containers in the refrigerator up to two weeks.
STOVETOP ALTERNATIVE:
(1) Add pear, apple, muscat dessert wine, sugar, tangerine juice, and tangerine zest to a 5-quart shallow sauce pan. Cook on medium heat for approximately 2 1/2 hours, stirring about every 20 minutes for first 2 hours of cooking. During last half hour, stir every 5 to 10 minutes to prevent sticking or burning. Timing may vary slightly depending on pan or temperature used. When ready, marmalade mixture should be a dark amber-brown color with a sweet caramelized flavor.
(2) Using a whisk or masher, slightly break up softened fruit pieces. Cool to room temperature. Store in air tight containers in the refrigerator up to two weeks.

Truffle Honey Holiday Baked Brie:

Ingredients:

1 sheet puff pastry

1 tbsp salted butter {melted"}

2 tbsp pecan pieces

1 tbsp white truffle oil

2 tbsp honey

1 eight oz. wheel brie

1 whole egg {beaten}

1 piece kitchen twine

Method:

1. Defrost puff pastry for approximately 15 minutes and unfold onto a baking sheet covered with parchment.

2. Ina small bowl, combine butter, pecan pieces, white truffle oil and honey; set aside.

3. Place brie in middle of pastry; pull flaps of dough up around edges to top of cheese, pressing dough against side of brie and gathering together at the top.

4. Before sealing dough flaps, pour honey mixture over brie right before squeezing together excess dough and tie with a piece of kitchen twine.

5. Brush beaten egg over top and side of pastry.

6. Bake in 375 degree oven about 20 minutes until pastry is golden. Serve warm with French baguette slices.