Welsh Rabbit
- from Chowning's Tavern, Colonial Williamsburg
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients:
1 cup beer
2 teaspoons mustard powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1½ cups grated Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt to taste
4 to 6 tomato slices
8 to 12 slices (½inch thick), toasted French or Italian bread
Directions:
1. Preheat a broiler. Place the beer, mustard, cayenne and Worcestershire sauce in a saucepan, and heat over medium heat until boiling. Slowly whisk in the cheese, making sure each addition is melted before adding the next. Add the butter, and whisk until smooth. Season with salt to taste, and set aside.
2. Place the tomato slices on the rack of a broiler pan, and broil for 1 minute, or until lightly browned.
3. To serve, place the toast slices on the bottom of an ovenproof gratin dish or in individual gratin dishes. Pour the cheese over the toast, and then top with the tomato slices. Place under the broiler and broil until the cheese is bubbly and brown. Serve immediately.
Note: The components of the dish can be prepared up to a few hours in advance and kept at room temperature. Reheat the cheese until hot, whisking until it is smooth, before the final broiling.
Pennsylvania Dutch Apple Dumplings
– from Christiana Campbell's Tavern, Colonial Williamsburg
Serves 4
Pastry Ingredients:
¼ cup shortening
1¾ cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, chilled
4 to 6 tablespoons ice water
Apples Ingredients:
4 small tart apples, such as Granny Smith
1 tablespoon raisins
1 tablespoons dark rum
4 teaspoons unsalted butter
Syrup Ingredients:
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1½ cups water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Directions:
1. To make the pastry, combine the shortening, flour and salt in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Using on and off pulsing action, combine until the mixture resembles fine meal. Cut the chilled butter into small pieces, and pulse a few times, or until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle with 4 tablespoons of the ice water, and pulse a few times. The mixture should hold together when pinched. Add more water, if necessary. (This can also be done using a pastry blender or two knives.) Scrape the pastry onto a floured board, form it into a ball, and wrap it with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes,
2. Preheat the oven to 450°F. While the pastry is chilling, peel and core the apples. Divide the raisins and rum into the core holes, and place 1 teaspoon of butter in each core hole. Combine the syrup ingredients in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 3 minutes, and set aside.
3. Divide the pastry into 4 parts. Form one part into a ball, and place it between two sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper. Flatten with your hands into a "pancake." Roll the pastry into a circle large enough to cover the apple. Place an apple in the center, and bring up the sides to encase it. Pinch the top together, holding the dough with a little water. If the folds seem thick, trim them off and seal the seams with water. Repeat with the remaining apples.
4. Place the apples on a baking sheet, and brush them with the syrup. Place them in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 330"F, and brush again with the syrup. Bake an additional 35 minutes, brushing every 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Note: The pastry and syrup can be prepared up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated. The apples should be peeled just prior to baking.
Pumpkin Gnocchi
Serves 6
Ingredients:
3 medium potatoes
1 1/2 c. sifted all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. sifted cake flour
2 eggs
1/2 c. pumpkin puree
1 tsp. salt
Directions:
1. Boil potatoes whole and unpeeled.
2. Combine flours on workbench.
3. Crack eggs into center of flour.
4. When potatoes are cooked throughout, strain, then peel. While still hot, process potatoes through food mill directly into flour and eggs. Add pumpkin puree. Knead softly until everything is combined evenly.
5. Cover dough ball with plastic wrap. Working swiftly while dough is warm, roll dough into small logs in increments of about two centimeters in diameter. Cut log into — inch pieces. Roll pieces into balls.
6. Roll balls into boiling salted water off the back of a fork. When they float, they are done.
7. Strain and add sauce.
Collops of Salmon with Braised Winter Cabbage and Fennel Seeds
Serves 6
Ingredients:
12 thin slices, salmon (3 ounces each)
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small head cabbage, cored and thinly shredded
Lemon wedges and chopped parsley, for garnish
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Directions:
Working with one slice at a time, place the salmon between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Use a heavy rolling pin, the back of a knife, or a mallet to pound each 1/2?inch thick. Place the slices on a plate and refrigerate, tightly covered, until ready to serve.
In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the fennel seeds and cook, stirring, often, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Stir in the cabbage and vinegar, season with salt and pepper, and reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook stirring often, until the cabbage is very tender, about 45 minutes. Check often. Add small amounts of water if necessary to prevent scorching.
Season the pounded salmon slices on both sides with salt and pepper. In a large shallow bowl, place the flour and add the salmon, one slice at a time. Turn to coat and shake off the excess flour In a large skillet over high heat, heat the vegetable oil. Add the salmon and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side.
Place the cabbage: on a warmed serving platter and arrange the salmon slices on top, overlapping. Garnish with the lemon wedges and parsley.
Week 7: Days of Wine and Roses
Classic French Chicken in White Wine Sauce
Serves four
Ingredients:
2 Tbs. butter
4-lb. chicken, cut into 6 pieces (or 3-1/2 to 4 lb. chicken pieces)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
1/2 rib celery, finely chopped
2 oz. prosciutto or country ham, finely chopped
3/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup homemade or low-salt canned chicken stock
3 Tbs. heavy cream (at room temperature)
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Directions:
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and cook it in the skillet on the skin side to brown it and to render the fat from the skin, about 15 min. Turn the chicken over and cook on the bone side for about 5 min. Remove and reserve the chicken.
Pour off all but 2 Tbs. of the fat from the pan. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and prosciutto or ham and sauté until the onion is browned and the vegetables are softened, 8 to 10 min. Add the wine and chicken stock to the pan and stir to combine with vegetables. Put the chicken back into the pan. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover the skillet with a lid, and simmer the chicken in the sauce until cooked through, 20 to 25 min.
Remove the chicken from the pan, turn the heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the volume of liquid by half, about 5 min. (or 6 to 7 min. if you want a thicker sauce). Add the cream, stir to combine, and remove the pan from the heat. Transfer the chicken to wide soup plates; taste and season the sauce with salt and pepper if necessary and spoon it over the chicken. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley.
Beef Stew with Red Wine
Serves six to eight
Ingredients:
1-2 cups flour
2 pounds beef, cubed
1/2 cup butter or olive oil
2 cups red wine, (merlot is best)
5 cups prepared beef buillion or beef stock
5 carrots, thickly sliced, washed, pared
7 stalks celery, sliced
2 medium onions, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
5 medium potatoes, cubed
2 bay leaves
a pinch of paprika
1 tablespoon parsley, minced
pepper, to taste
Directions:
In a large frying pan, heat 1/2 the butter or olive oil and sauté the carrots, celery, onion, potatoes, and garlic until slightly browned. Set aside.
Combine flour, paprika, parsley, and some pepper in a shallow bowl, and roll the beef in it until well coated on all sides. Melt remaining butter or pour oil into in a large stew pot, and then add meat.
Sauté the meat until well browned. Add the previously prepared vegetables and sauté for about two minutes with the beef in the stew pot.
Add the wine, and sauté another three or four minutes.
While the pot is hot, pour in the prepared bouillon and the bay Leaves and simmer covered for about 2-5 hours. After such time the vegetables and beef should be very tender.
At this point remove the lid, sift in any additional flour required to thicken to desired consistency (use fresh flour - not from bowl), and allow the liquid to simmer 30 minutes or until ready.
Salmon Poached in Wine
Serves four
Ingredients:
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup water
2 pounds salmon fillets, cut into 4 pieces
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped garlic
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Heat wine and water over medium high heat in a large non-stick skillet for 5 minutes.
Slide salmon pieces into poaching liquid and dot with butter. Sprinkle with dried parsley, garlic, salt and pepper.
Bring to a slow boil, reduce heat to medium and poach until salmon flesh is firm, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Mussels in Wine and Tomato
Serves four
Ingredients:
1 cup white wine
1 cup tomato and clam juice cocktail
4 cloves garlic - peeled and sliced
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 to 1 1/2 lbs. mussels, cleaned and debearded
¼ c. butter
Directions:
In a stock pot, combine the wine, juice cocktail, garlic and pepper flakes. Bring to a boil and add mussels.
Cover and boil for about 4 to 6 minutes or until all the mussels have opened. Discard any mussels that haven't opened.
Remove mussels from liquid and keep warm. Pour off liquid to leave about 1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups. Try to retain the garlic. Boil the liquid until it's reduced to about 1 cup.
Add butter and stir until butter has melted and sauce has thickened slightly. Serve mussels with sauce.
Apricot Ginger Game Hens
Serves four
Ingredients:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup apricot preserves
3/4 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
2 Cornish game hens, halved lengthwise
Directions:
In shallow dish, mix the soy sauce, apricot preserves, ginger, garlic, wine, and sugar. Place the hens in the dish, and coat with the marinade. Cover, and allow them to marinate in the refrigerator 8 hours, or overnight.
Arrange the hen halves in a baking dish. Pour remaining marinade over the hens. Bake uncovered 1 hour and 15 minutes in a preheated 325 degree oven, basting frequently with the marinade, or until juices run clear.
Wine Poached Pears
Serves four
Ingredients:
4-6 peeled, cored and sliced pears, preferably Bosc or Anjou
1 1/2 cups of red wine (recommend Zinfandel, Shiraz or Merlot)
3/4 cups of granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons of lemon juice (can also add lemon zest if desired)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
Directions:Combine all ingredients, except pears, and bring to a boil. Once the wine mixture is boiling, turn heat down to a simmer and add the pears. Simmer pears for 10-12 minutes and then turn pears and simmer for an additional 8-10 minutes - until they are tender and are easily poked through with a fork. Remove pears and let them cool. Boil wine sauce until the liquid has been reduced by half. Pour sauce over pears and serve with either marscapone, crème fraiche or Devonshire cream.
