Subject: COLLECTION: an original work of art

From: [email-masked] (Bill Maddex)
Date: 18 Feb 94 21:42:40 GMT

Yours for only the price of the groceries.  No, no, I'm not that egotistical.
To be frank, I'm not even sure this is so great, but hey...

It's been awhile, hasn't it?  Guess I'm due...OTOH, y'all have to bear
w/me--it's such a bitch writing down the amounts when you're making it
up....

My SO's bday was last week and I told her she should invite some friends
over for dinner (surprise).  She did.  In keeping w/my newfangled style
of cooking, I didn't agonize about the menu.  Rather, I thought about
what she likes (and if you believe that...).  Well, anyway, I did find
some nice produce, which is what really matters after all.

So, w/o my typical ugly Fri PM right up until three minutes before 
sundown kluge, I made the following, for four hungry people w/varying
amounts of leftovers.

Also, believe it or not, these are all (more or less) original recipes:-)

Garlic-shallot bread 
(inspired by a Marcel Desaulnier recipe)

5C unbleached flour
1C warm water
2T yeast
4t Sucanat
2t salt
1 small clove garlic, minced
2T minced shallots
1 1/2C soy milk, curdled w/1T fresh lemon juice

Combine yeast, flour and water and let stand until foaming rabidly.

Combine flour and salt in a large mixing bowl.  Mix in proofed yeast
and combine thoroughly.  Mix in soy milk and knead until medium stiff,
about seven minutes, but varying wildly depending on your kneading 
proficiency.  Mix in shallots and garlic and let stand, covered, until
doubled in volume, about an hour and small change.  

Grease two 9"x5"x3" loaf pans.  Punch down the dough, knead it once
and divide it in half.  Form into loaves and place in the loaf pans,
seam on the botom.  Cover and let rise until doubled yet again.

Preheat oven to 325F.

When dough has risen, place the loaves into the oven and bake 45-55 minutes,
until done.  To test bread for doneness, put a potholder in each hand,
remove a loaf from the oven, turn out of the pan onto your insuated hand
an thump the bottom w/your fist.  If it sounds hollow, it's done.  Remove
from oven and let cool 15 minutes in the pans.  Don't leave it longer or
condensation will make the bottom soggy.

Wild mushroom consomme w/tricolor ravioli

Consomme
1 oz dried poricinni mushrooms, dirt brushed off
10 dried shiitake, dirt brushed off
1/2 lb fresh shiitake, cleaned and quartered
2 lb button musrooms, cleaned and quartered
black peppercorns to taste
9C (2l) water

1/4C fresh sage, coarsely chopped

Cover all mushrooms w/water, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and
cook, uncovered, 2 hours.  Strain through a coarse strainer, pressing
hard to extract all liquid, add sage and pepper, return to flame and 
simmer 10 minutes.  Strain again, then strain through a coffee filter 
or a fine strainer lined w/several layers of cheesecloth.  Return to
a simmer and reduce to 6C (if it's not already that concentrated).

Tricolor Ravioli w/yam 

OK, this is a lot of work, but hey, it was her birthday!-)

1 1/8C semolina
1 1/8C unbleached flour
1/2t salt
1t olive oil
1/2 small beet, trimmed
1/2 small bunch spinach, washed and stemmed
1/3C dry white wine
water

1 large red garnet yam
1T shallot, minced
1t olive oil
1 ancho chili
a little light veg stock, as needed
salt, allspice and nutmeg to taste

Combine flours and divide into three equal portions.  Preheat oven to 350F.
Place the beet in an oven proof dish w/water to go halfway up the beet.
Cover w/foil and bake until a fork stuck into the beet meet no resistance.
Remove from oven.  Puree the beet w/4T warm water in a blender.  It must
be absolutely smooth.  This should take about four minutes on high, allowing
for periodic scraping down.  Strain the puree.
 
Bring 3C lightly salted water to a high boil, add spinach and cook 30 seconds.
Drain and plunge into ice water.  Puree spinach w/enough water to form 1/3C
puree.  Mangle until completely smooth.  Strain the puree.

Aren't you glad you don't hafta strain the wine?

Make a mound out of one of the bunches of flour.  Make a well in the top and
add 1/3t oil, 1/6t salt and about 1T of the beet puree.  Gently combine the
flour w/the other ingredients, using a fork to mix from the outside of the
well in.  Add remaining beet puree, about 2T at at time until all is combined.
Knead until dough is dry and resilient.  Cover surface of dough w/plastic
wrap and let rest >30 minutes @room temp.

Wash your hands, scrubbing the pink stuff off w/a little kosher salt.

Repeat the above, substituting the spinach puree for the beet puree (d-uh).

Repeat w/wine, being careful not to use more than is necessary to get
the flour to mix and stick together.

Make the filling (see below) and let it cool enough that you can work
w/it by hand.

When dough has rested, roll out a walnut sized ball of each until translucent.
Get a cup of warm water and set it to the side of your work space.
Cover the rolled out dough w/a barley moist towel until you are redy to use 
it.  Cut each strip of dough into bands 1/2" wide.  Arrange strips of dough
barely overlapping, moitening the edge of each strip w/your finger tip (dip
it into the water, genius:-).  When you have a sheet about 6" wide, roll a
rolling pin gently over the whole mess, trying not to scream if the bands
split.  If they do, roll out a little ough as thin as you can, moisten it
and press it onto the split, then roll over the whole strip again.  Roll the
whole strip out until it's fairly flat.  Cover the strip w/a moist towell
and reapeat to form a second strip.  Lay one strip out on a barely floured
surface and place about 1t of the filling every 2" along the strip.  Mosten
all exposed dough, then lay the other strip over it, pressing down between
the mounds of filling.  Cut between the mounds w/a ravioli cutter and transfer
to a lightly floured pan.  Freeze >1 hour.

Bring 3" salted water to a high boil in a large saute pan.  Add ravioli
right out of the freezer, cover and watch carefully.  When ravioli reach 
the surface of the water, count to ten, take the lid off and drain.  

Serve consomme in soup bowls and spoon the ravioli on top.

To make filling, preheat oven to 425F.  Punch a few holes into the yam
w/a fork and wrap in aluminum foil.  Bake until very tender, about 1 1/2
hrs.  Remove from oven and let cool enough to handle.   

Toast the chili in a non stick skillet over medium high until fragant.
Remove from pan and split in half lengthwise (it's advisable to wear
gloves when doing this) dump out *all* seeds and crush the chili.

Heat oil to medium low in a medium saucepan.  Add shallot and saute about
a minute.  Scrape the yam from it skin and add to the pan, mashing brutally.
Add the chili and cook until you have a very smooth, silky mousse, adding
a little veg stock if needed to prevent scorching.  Season to taste.

Now wasn't that easy?

Cous cous timbales w/wild rice

1C instant cous cous
1/3C wild rice
1/2 lb carrots
1/3 lb celery
1/2 small fenel bulb
1 lg onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt, cinamon and cayenne to taste
2t olive oil
large pinch of fresh rosemary
1/4C dry white wine
1 1/2C veg stock
1/2 small red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded, deveined and julienned
2T toasted pine nuts

Wash the carrots, celelery and fenel and juice them.  Yeah, I said juice
'em.  That's right, folks, I'm the only vegan in the world who bought a
juicer just so I could do contemporary American food.  Aren't you ashamed
of me?  

Heat 1t of oil in a saucepan and saute half the onion and garlic until 
fragrant.  Add juice, season, bring to a boil and stir in cous cous, stirring
until thickened.  (Sorry, I didn't really measure this--you may need to
add either a little more liquid or a little more cous cous--deal.)  Pack
the cous cous into 4 6oz ramekins and place them into a baking dish w/enough
water to go halfway up the ramekins.  Cover w/foil and keep warm in a 200F
oven.  Am I helpful or what?

Saute remaing onion and garlic until translucent.  Add wild rice and stir
for about a minute, until glazed.  Add wine, raise to a boil and cook until
liqid is gone.  Add stock, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover.
Cook until liquid is absorbed, about 45-50 minutes.  Let stand, covered,
about 15 minutes more, then fluff w/a fork.

To serve, run a knife around the edge of each ramekin, then invert onto
a plate.  Tap the center sharply (not hard enough to break the plate, 
wise guy), the lift up the ramekin.  Surround the cous couse w/a ring
of wild rice and garnish w/roasted pepper strips and pine nuts.

Bitter greens w/cherry vinaigrette

1 small head raddichio
about 8 leaves romaine lettuce
half a small head of butter lettce
2T shallot, minced
2T dried cherries
1 1/2T balsamic vinegar
3T high quality x v olive oil
1t boiling water.

Cover cherries w/vinegar and let stand until softened.  Combine 
cherry/vinegar mix and oil in a blender and whizz.  Add water w/motor 
on.  Transfer to a cruet.

Remove the outer leaves of the raddichio.  Peel off 8 whole leaves and 
julienne the rest.  Julienne lettuces and toss w/shallot.

Lay out the whole radiccio leaves on each plate to form an open globe.
Fill w/salad and lightly dress.

Feutille (well, sort of) of chocolate and fruit w/brandied chocolate ganache
(subtitled:  the kid finds decent strawberries in Feb and gets horny)

11 oz bittersweet chocolate
3 ripe bananas (organic--otherwise they're made by exploitation)
1 pt strawberries
2T vegan turbinado sugar
1/2C heavy cashew creme (no, I'm not gonna key this in yet again--look it up)
1/2T brandy

Stem berries, toss w/sugar and let stand, covered, for at least four hours.
(Even w/all my hard searching, strawberries in Feb need help.)

Melt 10oz chocolate in the top of a double boiler over low heat and whisk
until very shiny.  Line a large baking sheet w/parchment.  Spread the 
chocolate as thinly and smoothly as you can over the parchment and cover
w/plastic wrap.  Chill at least four hours.

Melt remaining chocolate in a double boiler over low heat and whisk in
cashew creme and brandy until smooth.  Chill at least an hour, then whisk 
until fluffy.

To serve, Slice strawberries thinly lengthwise.  Peel bananas and slice in
half lengthwise, then into 2" long sections.  Beat the ganache until very
fluffy.

Carefully pull the plastic from the surface of the chocolate and cut it into
16 2"x3" rectangles (or 16 relatively even rectangles of the biggest 
dimensions you can manage:-).  Set one rectangle onto each of four plates.
Cover w/a layer of strawberry slices, then put on another chocolate leaf,
then a layer of banana slices, another leaf, some ganache and berries,
another leaf, a little dollop of gananach and a berry in the middle.
Garnish each plate w/ribbon of ganache and strategically placed berry 
and banana slices.  Sit back and enjoy the compliments, and try, just 
try, to eat it slowly...

Oh yeah, the whole meal was served w/champagne...

Happy eating,

Billy Magic