Whisk Wednesday -- Oeufs Mollets Florentine

This week for Whisk Wednesdays we made Oeufs Mollets Florentine or Eggs Forentine. I love brunch and so served this on Sunday during the Chicago Bears football game and it was perfect and very, VERY good!!! I made some English Muffins the night before and as usual the English Muffins were delicious and perfect side with the eggs.




Oeufs Mollets Florentine
Recipe adapted from "Le Cordon Bleu at Home"

12 eggs (I used 4 eggs)
Salt
2 lbs of spinach (I used 1 lb but should have used more!)
5 TBL butter

Mornay Sauce:
1 TBL butter
2 TBL flour
1 c. cold milk
salt
white pepper
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 egg yolk
1/3 c. creme fraiche or heavy cream
1 oz Gruyere cheese, grated (abt 1/2 c.)

Topping:
bread crumbs
1 1/2 oz Gruyere cheese, grated


All Rights Reserved 2008 © Big Black Dog

English Muffins!

This week for Whisk Wednesdays we made Eggs Florentine and I decided to make some English Muffins as a compliment. And compliment they did! English Muffins are a snap to make and adding some sourdough starter makes all the difference.

I do use my griddle on my Wolf range but you can use a flat-bottomed frying pan and it works just as well. My griddle does take some time to heat so a frying pan is much quicker although you do need to be careful that the pan is thoroughly heated and it's not too hot.



English Muffins
Recipe adapted from "I don't have a clue"

Sponge Ingredients:

110 grams ripe 100% hydration sourdough starter
160 grams flour
100 grams whole wheat flour (I just used all white flour)
276 grams milk

Final Dough Ingredients:

75 grams flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp honey
all of the sponge

1. In a medium bowl, mix the sponge ingredients until just combined. Cover and let rest for 8 hours or overnight.
2. Add the final dough ingredients and mix to roughly combine. Turn the dough out onto the counter and hand mix for about 7 or 8 minutes, or until the surface becomes quite smooth. The dough will be very soft, and sticky at first. The recipe says to resist adding extra flour but the dough is way too sticky to knead without adding a little extra flour. The more you knead..the better the muffins!
3. Flour the counter and your hands well, and roll or pat the dough out to a thickness of about one-half inch. I just take a handful of dough and pat until it's about 1/4" thick and cut the 3" muffins individually. Place them on semolina-dusted parchment paper.
4. Cover and let proof for 45 – 60 minutes.

5. Lightly oil a griddle, I spay with Pam. Heat griddle to about 350 degrees or medium heat. Cook the muffins for a total of about 7 or 8 minutes on each side, until browned and the sides are firm. I find I get a better shape to the muffins if I flip them every couple of minutes for the first few minutes.
6. Cool on a wire rack. To get the best nooks and crannies for toasting, split the muffins with a fork rather than a knife.





All Rights Reserved 2008 © Big Black Dog

Whisk Wednesdays -- Comfort Food Extraordinaire

Our recipe for this weeks Whisk Wednesdays is Gratin Dauphinois or Scalloped Potatoes. And oh boy were these potatoes ever good! I made the full recipe but only simmered the potatoes in 4 cups of milk and it worked out just fine. However, since Gruyere cheese is one of my favorites, I did add a bit more cheese!



Gratin Dauphinois
Recipe adapted from "Le Cordon Bleu at Home"

6 c. milk
salt
freshly grated nutmeg
1 Bouquet Garni
2 1/2 lbs potatoes
fresh ground pepper
2 cloves of garlic
2/3 c. heavy cream
4 oz grated Gruyere cheese (about 1 cup)
unsalted butter, softened for gratin dish





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Whisk Wednesdays — Brochet au beurre blanc

Our recipe this week for Whisk Wednesdays is Entrecôte Lyonnaise or Steak Lyonnaise style.

This is one of the simplest recipes we've done so far. And personally I have a hard time calling this french cooking as it seems pretty down home steak and potatoes to me! But the onions saute in butter, EVOO, stock, white white and red wine vinegar are too die for!!!!!! I ate some onions with every bite of steak and every bite of potato! And my husband, Mr. Tastebuds, loved them too!

I did read the recipe incorrectly and now understand that I was supposed to mix onions in with the potatoes and then make separate saute onions with the wine and stock for the steak. Oh well, it still was good!



Entrecote Lyonnaise
Recipe adapted from Cordon Bleu At Home

Lyonnaise Potatoes
2 lbs medium waxy potatoes (red or white), unpeeled
6 TBL butter
2 TBL vegetable oil (I use EVOO)
2 medium onions, sliced fine
Salt and Pepper

1 TBL veg. oil (I used EVOO)
3 sirloin steaks, 14 oz each
Salt and Pepper
6 TBL unsalted butter
6 medium onions, sliced fine
1/2 c. white wine
1 1/2 TBL red wine vinegar
1 c. brown stock (I used chicken stock)
1 TBL chopped parsley
1/2 bunch watercress for garnish (I used fresh parsley)


We had a gorgeous fall this year in Northern IL. My oaks were were in full color along with the maples. It was so pretty and even the weather cooperated with warm temperatures until late last week! Below is the view from my office window. Isn't it gorgeous!!




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Whisk Wednesdays — Pavis de Rumsteak au Poivre Vert

This weeks recipe for Whisk Wednesdays is Pavis de Rumsteak au Poivre Vert or Pepper Steak which is one of my favorites. Although one of my favorites, I've never made it and it's so easy and fun!

I thought I had all the ingredients but when I went to get the cream I knew I was in trouble. I had less then 1/4 c. of cream so had to substitute 2% milk. But even with this small substitution the steak was delicious. I served it with steamed, buttered broccoli and roasted potatoes. YUMMY!!

Pavis de Rumsteak au Poivre Vert
Recipe adapted from Le Cordon Blue at Home

2 TBL green peppercorns
6 sirloin steaks abt 6 oz each
Salt
1 TBL vegetable oil
2 TBL butter
3 TBL cognac (I used brandy)
3/4 c. brown veal stock (I subbed my own beef stock)
3/4 c. heavy cream


All Rights Reserved 2008 © Big Black Dog

Whisk Wednesdays — Goes Diner!

Last week our Whisk Wednesdays recipe was Beignets de Langoustines (shrimp fritters) with Sauce Tartare. So I decided to serve it as a Shrimp Basket "a la diner-style"! Also made some homemade potato chips which are one of my favorites!

The shrimp were marinated in EVOO and lemon juice before breading and they were out-of-this-world delicious. I will from now on marinate my shrimp before breading...gawd they were so good!

The breading was so light and easy to work with, although I did add a few extra drops of water to thin it just a tad. It was delicous and perfect for shimp.




Beignets de Langoustines, Sauce Tartare
Recipe adapted from Le Cordon Bleu at Home

36 Langoustine, in the shells or 36 large shrimp
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Juice of 1 lemon, strained
1 TBL chopped parsley
EVOO

Savory Fritter Batter
1 1/4 c. flour
1 1/4 potato flour
1 TBL baking powder
Salt
1/4 c. EVOO
1 c. cold water
3 egg whites

Tartar Sauce
2 egg yolks
1 TBL dijon mustard
2 TBL white wine vinegar
salt and pepper
1 1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 hard boiled eggs
2 TBL gherkins
2 TBL fine chopped capers
1 TBL fine chopped onion
1 TBL chopped parsley
1 TBL chopped fresh chives

Parsley sprigs for garnish
3 lemons, wedges
Vegetable oil for frying



Just an update on my home life lately. I have sort of a late start on preparing for winter this year. But our gorgeous fall weather has been so wonderful I am beginning to think I can catch up. So I washed 61 windows including the screens in the last 6 days and I am pooped.

And last weekend Joe cut down our vegetable garden. As he removed the frost damaged tomato plants he laid the green tomatoes on the ground. Eva, our 1 year old female Rottweiler, stole about 10 of the tomatoes and OH BOY did she have fun. But what's really funny is that she only took the BIG ones!

All Rights Reserved 2008 © Big Black Dog