Welcome to another fabulous week, Culinary Sunday followers! Before I begin, just a special shout out to all those brave men and women who have served, currently serve, or plan on serving our country - I hope your Veteran's Day was spectacular!
So our good friends Jeff and Bonnie are our resident vegetarians. And one cold day at the dark park, we were chatting about food and about Jeff's and my deep love for a little thing called "puff pastry." So jokingly, he says something like "I challenge you to make an entire meal with puff pastry as an ingredient." Well... ha! One thing about me... I will step up to any challenge you throw in my direction. And therefore... here is your vegetarian meal that has puff pastry in every course.
Cocktail - Honeycrisp Apple Sangria
So good! The cloves and cinnamon leave a slight lingering spice to the sangria, and the fruits stay nice and crisp, but absorb a lot of the delicious liquids! We did not strain the sangria, just left it as is, and did not include pisco. (Which, as Greg informed us, is pronounced "peace-co".) Pisco is a South American hard alcohol that is made from grapes - similar to a grappa or some even say tequila could be a substitute. We just added more schnapps. And because we are drinkers, and this was doubling as our appetizer wine - we tripled the recipe. :-) (Yes, I have a headache this morning.)
Appetizer - Roasted Garlic Souffle
I already told you that we are having a love affair with souffles this season. This was divine! Absolute perfection! We followed the recipe exactly, and believe it or not, everyone had seconds of these little cups of heaven! The recipe as written filled 9 6-oz ramekins... so you may want to halve the recipe.
Appetizer - Puff Pastry Crostini with Roasted Garlic, Goat Cheese, and Apple Chutney
There's your puff pastry! And honestly... I think they were better than a baguette would ever be! The puffy crunch of the pastry combined with the savory roasted garlic, the creamy goat cheese, and then the sweet and savory apple chutney... absolute magic! We made about 12 of these little babies for 5 of us, and honestly, we should have doubled the recipe because they flew off the table. I don't even like goat cheese too much, and I was practically licking the plate. Definitely make the chutney, don't try to buy one. And definitely half the chutney recipe, because it makes a ton. (Although... I'm thinking grilling up some marinated pork tenderloin and then topping it with apple chutney... yum.) You'll notice in the picture that we forgot the mint (damn!), but it tasted delicious nonetheless. (We also left out the tomatoes, because I just don't like them.)
Entree - Vegetable Pot Pie
Well, look at that... a puff pastry topping for our pot pie!!! This was insanely delicious. The only change was made to the recipe was to use vegetable stock instead of chicken, and we added a handful of frozen peas (needed more green), and some chickpeas. You must follow the recipe! I read a lot of reviews on the recipe that stated people left out the Pernod and the saffron, and I think that would completely change the flavor profile. Pernod is a licorice/anise smelling liqueur. You would think it was created just to match up to the fennel. And saffron is such a strong herb with such beautiful flavor and it gave a gorgeous color to the stew. Yes, saffron is expensive. However, here's my little tip. I buy all my spices from the Latin food aisle of the grocery store. They are about $2 for a huge bottle, and just as good as any McCormick spice you guy for $5 that is half the size. But in that aisle, I also find small containers of saffron that hold about 4 solid "pinches" worth for only about $4. And most recipes that call for saffron only want a "pinch." So splurge people. (However, if I go to Stop and Shop and they're out of saffron, I'll be pissed I gave away my secret.)
Side Dish - Fall Salad and Parmesan Cheese Twists
Let's talk salad - perfection! The dressing is superb and light and the crisp of the salad perfectly matched the richness of the pot pie. This may become the new "house salad dressing." And the parmesan cheese twists - made from puff pastry, I might add... perfect for dipping into the pot pie!
Entree Wine 1 - 2008 Trimbach Pinot Blanc
Wine Spectator - 87/100
This very pale white wine from France was a solid home run. It had aromas of apricot and stone, with a lingering mouth of pear, white fruits, and spice. It was medium-bodied with a smooth finish. Not only a great pairing, but a great all-around drinking wine.
Entree Wine 2 - 2008 Vinedo de los Vientos Tannat
Wine Rating - Not Found
Okay, first off - the label is just cool. This red from Uruguay was another great choice from Greg over at Harry's Wines in Fairfield. It was robust and powerful with aromas of earth, mineral, and asian spice. It had flavors of dark berries and ripe tannins with a smooth finish. Another real great all-around drinking wine.
Dessert - Puff Pastry Napoleon with Salted Caramel Mousse
Looking at the picture now, I realize that I should have taken the picture from the other side, so you can see the layers of puff pastry, but whatever, you can see that in the original recipe's picture on their website. Jennifer took on dessert this week and did a fabulous job! She followed the recipe exactly, expect sprinkling a little sea salt on the caramel mousse, which is a divine idea. And then she made those crazy caramel glass-looking sugar crisps. We all agreed, though, that it could have used more whipped cream. However - spectacular!
So there you have it. Our vegetarian meal that had puff pastry in all 3 courses. And honestly, we did not miss the meat at all! However next week is something that is very near and dear to my heart. When I first ever entertained friends after learning how to cook, I made a "trial run Thanksgiving" about a week before the holiday itself. It became a tradition, and now for the last 8 or so years, I have been cooking a pre-Thanksgiving extravaganza. So this year, you are all invited as we made it part of our Culinary Sunday! Trust me, you'll be saving these recipes to cook yourself for the holiday!
Next Week - Trial Run Thanksgiving
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