Feline Feast: Homey Fudz
Every time I leave town generous, kind-hearted, and saint-like friends cat sit. Good deeds have to be repaid and this means I cook a dinner for my kitty guardians of awesome. The dinners usually have a theme. This time around it was Homey Comfort foods. The menu was:
Ham & Cheese (appetizer)
Scallop Pot Pie Deconstructed (first course)
Moo In A Blanket (entree)
OCD Mac & Cheese (side)
Balsamic Baby Green Salad (side)
Broccoli and Cheese (side)
Caramelized Lemon Tart (From Pete, man of delish and fire!)
Ham & Cheese
(Prosciutto wrapped Marmellata with St. George Aged Cheddar on toasted Challah topped with Mizuna relish)
I fell in love with phopaux 's post http://community.livejournal.com/food_porn/4968250.html. My tweaks were to decreased the sugar by 1/8 c. Since the mizuna was a lot sassier looking than the wilted sprouts I chopped it up and dressed it much like parsley for a taboubleh. I used challah bread to get more of the homey feel and brushed it with olive oil. Instead of draping the prosciutto on top I laid half the slice down, added a slice of cheese, spooned the marmellata on top, then covered with prosciutto. The mizuna relish was added just before serving.
Scallop Pot Pie Deconstructed
(Yellow Finn potatoes, carrots, and carmelized leeks topped with seared scallops glazed Gold Star tea, with a puff pastry)
The puff pastry was little ovals brushed with egg wash baked at 400’F until golden.
The potatoes and carrots were boiled in chicken stock and the leek were carmelized separately. I then made a roux and added the stock used to cook the potatoes and carrots. I also added some proseco and seasoned with salt, pepper, and some ras el hanout. Everything was thrown into a casserole and baked at 350 until it was bubbling and happy.
The scallop sauce was 2 tbs of minced shallots brought to boil with 1 c of Gold Star tea. I then slowly added heavy cream and mounted with butter. The scallops were simply rubbed with evo, salt, and pepper and seared and then glazed with some of the sauce.
The veggies were scooped onto plates, a scallop was placed on top and drizzled with sauce, and then a puff pastry was placed like a hat at a jaunty angle.
Moo in a Blanket
(Prime Rib Roast slathered with Honey Spice Mustard, fresh herbs, and covered with puff pastry)
This was a 3.5 lb roast that was seasoned with salt and pepper and then seared on a skillet. (I saved the drippings for making creamed chipped beef). After it was cooled to room temp it was slathered in honey, minced fresh thyme, rosemary, marjoram and the covered with puff pastry. The puff pastry got a brushing of egg wash before being thrown into the oven.
OCD Mac & Cheese
(Gruyere, St. George Cheddar, Gran Seco, and Sheep Ricotta)
Before Final Broiling
This was the first dish I wrestled with. I call this the OCD Mac & Cheese because I create a cheese mousse or filling and then pipe it into each piece of pasta. Sadly the market near me didn’t have regular elbow macaroni (they only had gluten free - boooo!) so I subbed in a small rigatoni. Since each cheese had its own melting point and consistency I played with different types of filling. For the St. George aged cheddar I grated it super fine and folded it into whipped sheep ricotta (mmmm spoonable delights). The Gran Seco was melted with a little heavy cream and the cooled. While it was cooling to room temperature I whipped cream to soft peaks and then folded it into the cheese mixture. The gruyere was simply melted with a little bit of cream and then cooled. Each mixture was piped into the pasta. They were tossed together in a buttered casserole with caramelized shallots. I made a roux and then added milk, a bay leaf, salt & pepper, dry mustard, and smoked paprika. As the flavors were coming together I added some of the white sauce to a beaten egg and then poured the tempered egg mixture back into the white sauce. After pouring the sauce over the pasta I topped it all with reserved cheese and more paprika. The smell was tantalizing enough that my cat sat for a portion of the morning in front of the oven, seemingly impatient. Before serving I added more cheese and broiled the top.
Balsamic Baby Greens Salad
This is the most basic salad for me, mixed baby greens with a balsamic dressing. I used green peppercorn djion but that was the only deviation from the classic.
Broccoli and Cheese
(Roasted Broccoli and grated Gruyere)
Since there was already a casserole dish I opted for roasting the broccoli and then tossing with gruyere.
Lemon Tart with caramelized Sugar
One of the dinner guests Pete brought an amazing tart made from lemons grown in his back yard. It had a graham crust and not to cloying lemon filling. The after dinner entertainment was watching him dust the tart with sugar and using his welding torch to caramelize the sugar. At some point pyrogenic jumped in and transformed sugar into yummier sugar.
I will be leaving my cat alone for three weeks in February. Is anyone interested in cat sitting? :)