Weekly Cooking (and related issues) Thread

[Jamestown1630]

I've had a recipe for a long time that I've hesitated to post. It's something that I enjoyed at a friend's home many years ago, and for which I only have very sketchy instructions. I've made it myself once, a long time ago, when my friend's verbal directions were still fresh in my mind - but I'm thinking that the great FR cooks can figure it out - and Good Luck to you :-)

I believe that this recipe originally came from a magazine, back in the 1980s, but I don't know which one. It's a twist on Beef Wellington, involving an expensive cut of meat and a LOT of work - but very 'worth it' for an exceptionally special occasion. It was called:

Australian Fillet

2-1/2 lb. Fillet of Beef (tenderloin), trimmed

8 oz. Mushrooms, finely chopped

4 to 6 oz. Butter

11 slices Cooked Ham or Bacon (Canadian Bacon)

1 Egg Yolk

1 Onion, finely chopped

1 clove Garlic, crushed

Brandy (!)

Softened Butter

Bearnaise Sauce

and:

PUFF PASTRY (the recipe actually says 'make 1 lb. of Puff Pastry in the usual way, using plain flour' - and knowing my friend, she probably did that! But you can buy Puff Pastry ready-made now :-)

Directions:

Saute the mushrooms and onions, seasoned to taste in a little butter, and reserve.

Season the fillet with Garlic, or rub the pan with it for a milder flavor. Brush the fillet with Brandy, and slice into 12 equal parts, without completely separating the slices.

Place a thin slice of ham or bacon, cut to fit, between each slice, and spread with one-half of the sauteed Mushroom-Onion mixture. (I believe in this recipe that the half of the mushroom mixture was spread between the slices.)

Reform the fillet, using metal skewers, and roast in a moderate oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until about half-cooked.

Allow filet to cool slightly, and remove the skewers, and any fat. Spread with softened butter, season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and spread thinly with the remaining mushroom-onion mixture.

Roll out the Puff Pastry to a thin sheet, and wrap the fillet in it, securing neatly. Brush the pastry with cold water, and bake in a hot oven for 12 to 15 minutes.

Brush the pastry with the lightly-beaten egg yolk, and continue baking until the crust is browned. Serve on a heated plate with Bearnaise Sauce.

Bearnaise Sauce

1/4 C. Tarragon Vinegar

1/2 C. Water

4 oz. Butter

6 to 8 Shallots, finely chopped

2 egg yolks

Salt, Pepper, and a little Lemon Juice

Chopped Chervil and Tarragon (I'm assuming 'fresh')

Boil the shallots in the vinegar and water until liquid is reduced by 2/3. Place the shallot/vinegar mixture in top of a double boiler (or other 'bain marie' setup) and stir in the well-beaten egg yolks. Add the butter in small pieces, stirring steadily as the sauce thickens. Season to taste, and gradually stir in the Lemon Juice. Sieve the sauce (!) add a little chopped Chervil and Tarragon, and SERVE (after you've taken your tranquilizer, of course!)

Here are some links that include pretty ways to do the crust; recipes for the more classic Beef Wellington; and last is an excellent video showing how to assemble the classic dish that includes the traditional pate and inner lining of crepes (the video is about 6 minutes long):

http://www.womanandhome.com/recipes/533320/beef-wellington-recipe

http://www.foodtolove.com.au/recipes/beef-wellington-14786

http://www.finecooking.com/videos/how-to-make-classic-beef-wellington.aspx

-JT

[Jamestown1630]

This week, a recipe for an easier version of the great Beef Wellington; and links to the classic one.

Also, please see HisKid’s recipe for a very unusual dish, posted on last week’s thread, in post 131:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3404372/posts?page=131

My schedule has been odd lately, and I’ve been posting on Wednesdays; hope to soon be back routinely to Thursday or Friday.

(If you would like to be on or off of this weekly cooking ping-list, please send a private message.)

-JT

[dirtboy]

Dang my cholesterol went up just looking at those pics. Yum.

I tend to stick to chicken breast and fish and lean pork nowadays.

[Jamestown1630]

I’m certain that once or twice a year wouldn’t hurt ya ;-)

It’s definitely a ‘Grand Occasion’ dish.

-JT

[SkyDancer]

Tried a couple of those fried chicken recipes and the experiment went great - guys wanting more experiments LOL.

[Jamestown1630]

I will have to try. Fried Chicken is one of those ‘everyone loves it’ things; and I’ve been a wimp about trying ;-)

-JT

[Rushmore Rocks]

Wow! That looks and sounds awesome. I have a whole tenderloin in the freezer and I shall use your recipe this weekend. I'm tempted to try bleu cheese sauce instead of the Bearnaise.

[SkyDancer]

It was on a Saturday and I announced what I was going to do so the men folk helped out and the recipe using cornflakes seems to have won out .... so far.

[Jamestown1630]

I think blue cheese would be great - I’m a fan of it, but my husband hates it. (He’ll eat Feta, though - go figure...)

-JT

[heartwood]

I have developed a recent aversion to red meat and chicken, so that rare bleeding chunk is not calling to me.

Yeah, go ahead, start the heresy trial. This is Free Republic, home of the proud, nay, devout, carnivores.

OTOH, I still crave vegetables that are “meaty”, that fill and satisfy and have some chewiness and umami to them.

Experimental successes, in past couple of weeks:

Portobello mushroom burgers. Just cook a big mushroom as you would a meat patty. Add your toppings, which could include a meat patty, I suppose.

General Tso’s cauliflower. Toss cut up cauliflower with peanut oil, then with corn starch, fry it up in a hot heavy pan with generous amounts of oil. Serve with General Tso sauce, cilantro, scallion and rice. (Oven frying with just the initial oil toss did not work - had to transfer it to that hot skillet with oil.)

Szechuan eggplant.

Balti paneer, with stir-fried potatoes, onions and grey squash, cumin and nigella seeds. Paneer is Indian cheese that doesn’t melt, high protein low fat. Grey squash is like zucchini but much better, more nutty, less watery. And admittedly paneer is not a vegetable.

There are recipes on line - I adapt according to my tastes, what ingredients I have on hand, and how much effort/time I want to spend.

[Jamestown1630]

Thanks for your ideas. I’m always looking for new ways to do vegetables.

I’m not a big fan of red meat myself - though I do crave the Great American Cheeseburger frequently. But I’m married to a very red-blooded guy who wants his ‘slab-o-meat’ every day.

We have an arrangement: he generally cooks the meat dishes, and I cook the veggies and other sides, and desserts.

-JT

[Twotone]

Oh my, that looks wonderful!

[Jamestown1630]

It is wonderful. I’m not crazy about a big steak, or even a chicken breast - I like my meat ‘goofed-up’ with sauces, crusts, stuffings, etc. A little goes a long way, then; and it’s a lot more interesting to eat.

-JT

[Focault's Pendulum]

I’ve got people coming over this weekend. I have to make this.

[Jamestown1630]

Well, all I can say is: Start Early ;-)

-JT

[Aliska]

Instead of chicken, I picked up a piece of turkey breast to eat plain or make some sandwiches. I'll try not to get carried away this week but somebody might post something and get me going again heh.

I'm really out of sync as I had two beef round roasts, different weeks, awhile back.

I looked at whole chicken to roast, my mind balked at it, don't want to fry until I catch up on dirty dishes, not too many but can't stand to cook and make more.

My next project is a recipe similar to a white cake someone posted for me, but this one is a layer cake which ordinarily I don't like frosting them. It's lemon velvet with buttermilk. Did you know you can use buttermilk in frosting? It comes out nice and smooth. I got some lemon extract, didn't like it in the past, will use less until I'm sure. It smells fine.

The frosting is so pretty. It's regular buttercream but part is tinted so it will be all yellow between the layers, then white, then top is dotted in the center with yellow somethings. I will have to drag out pastry tips & bag, but I want to try it.

What is that yellow on the top? I can't tell. It looks like something blobbed on. I didn't think I could get the photo to embed, worked at it and finally success! Those are the recipe blogger's words in the link, not mine as I haven't tried it yet. Won't wait for Easter but would be pretty for that. I'm a sucker for yellow and white.

I will make extra frosting because I want lots. The recipe at link is confusing. Looks like 3 layers. Well, I want two. I don't know what the yellow in the centeris but I will use frosting, thought about lemon curd but not what I'm after.

This Zesty Lemon Cake Has The Best Frosting I Have Ever Tried In My Life & The Cake Is Super Moist & Really Tangy – It’s A Must Try Recipe.

[Jamestown1630]

That looks luscious, Aliska; I’ve bookmarked it.

Just looking at it reminds me of the flavor of the lemon cake that my maternal Grandfather always baked for our birthdays, when we were kids.

(And, Yes: you always have to make extra frosting ;-)

Thank You!

-JT

[Aliska]

I like blue cheese but only on certain things. Did make a yummy blue cheese salad dressing that was a great success just for me.

There is a recall on Maytag blue cheese. You can google it. I called our store and they pulled it in every store. I had been holding some in my hand to put in my cart but wanted a little less so chose another brand which wasn't the buttermilk kind I bought a couple weeks previously. It's all about the same to me.

Chef John at it again. Blue cheese croutons. Bluetons. I will try to use part of my chunk for some of those. He said to freeze it to fine shred.

Also, I saw an article about our midwest style pizza in WAPO, gave a recipe. I want to find some mozzarrela like our pizza place uses but they probably buy it shredded. It has to be full milk, not part skim, about 3% milkfat? Grande is one brand but only sold at Costco or Whole Foods. We have neither. On Amazon, they have a 6# hunk of it but $19 shipping, no way. Someone said she cut it in 2# sections and froze some. That would be great if you could freeze some. Most cheeses you shouldn't.

The mozzarella cheese I like forms a pillow that looks like it's floating on the top, just little spots of brown, doesn't ooze grease, completely covers everything with specks of some herb, and nice and stringy.

[Aliska]

Glad I posted something that looks good to you. Hope it's like your grandmother's. The next best lemon cake I like is Daffodil cake, but it's too much work and eggs. Angelfood marbled with yellow lemony sponge. I did love some lemon glaze my aunt-by-marriage used to drizzel on her lucious angel food cakes.

I really hope this one will be a winner for me. If I don't like the extract, I can leave the cake plain and flavor the frosting with zest and some lemon juice. I don't like lemon cake mixes; other flavors are ok.

I guess you can't use lemon juice for flavoring in cakes with baking soda or baking powder. This has both. You can use zest; I like the taste fine but don't want any specks. Maybe someone in your family will have your grandmother's recipe?

[Yaelle]

I am sure that cake is indeed luscious.

But Maida Heatter, somewhere around 99 years old, has already reached Lemon Cake Nirvana.

She calls it the Best Damn Lemon Cake, because it is.

http://davebakes.com/2014/10/27/maida-heatters-best-damn-lemon-cake/

You will NOT be sorry you made it. A chocoholic guy who has no interest in lemon cake, if he dares have a bite, could finish off 3-4 slices.

I’ve made it for years, and it has spoiled me for all other lemon cakes.