To Colleen, the White Chocolate Raspberry Mousse cake, posted by MoNJ, was perfect!

J

joe

Well-known member
Thanks for asking.

For such a rich menu this was a lighter solution than a cheesecake, but I do want to try the cheesecakes that were offered another time by Cathy and others.

I attempted to do a trial run first, but licking the spoon, I realized this was going to be just right, and I served it without sampling it. One of the advantages of a frozen dessert is you can make it way ahead!

Thank you Mo for a great suggestion.

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/frozen-white-chocolate-and-raspberry-mousse-torte-102719

 
Here is the Menu:

This was a wine-tasted event put on by a wine club for 6 couples.

Hors d'oeuvres were accompanies by sparkling wines and roses. The first two courses featured Pinot Gris from the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. The second two freatured Pinot Noir from the same area

HORS D'OEUVRES: 
Beer-batter Fried Sage Leaves
Seared Scallops with Lemon Butter
Harvest Flatbread with rosemary, grapes and raisins.
 
COURSE ONE:
Shrimp Bisque
 
COURSE TWO:
Pacific Northwest Cheeses with homemade fig-rye and walnut breads
Cured meats
Grilled Pears and Figs
Baby Salad Greens in lemon vinaigrette
 
COURSE THREE:
Duck Ragout, braised with tomatoes and white wine, with caramelized shallots and carrots
Homemade Pappardelle
 
COURSE FOUR:
Seared Rib-eye Steak with red wine reduction sauce
Pommes Duchesse
Roasted Vegetables
 
DESSERT:
White Chocolate Raspberry Torte
Cornmeal Almond Biscotti

Notice how non-commital I was with the naming of the dessert? Just in case the mouse torte didn't turn out, I could have slipped in a cheescake and called it a torte.

 
Fried Sage Leaves. All purpose beer batter:

1/2 cup flour
2 eggs.
Salt
Beer

Whisk the eggs and flour together with a little salt until smooth. Whisk in dribbles of beer until you reach a batter consistency (less than half a bottle).

Fry anything! Fish, sage leaves, zucchini blossoms, etc.

Other times I have doubled the sage leaves with a piece of anchovy in between, then battered and fried--a trick I saw on David Rocco.

 
Julia Child's Shrimp Bisque, a variation on her lobster bisque from Mastering...Voume II

(Don't make me type it.)

 
Duck Ragout with Homemade Parpardelle

I've got to type this up before I forget it. I started with Richard's duck recipe, in the link, but only the first cooking. I got some advice from a Facebook friend as well.

After the halved roasted ducks cooled, I tore them up and separated the dark meat in one pile, the breasts in another, and the skin in another. I put the bones and wings in a roasting pan with chopped onions and carrots, and roasted until dark. That all went into the stockpot with water, celery, thyme and some lemon thyme.

I chopped up the skin and baked it in a small dish to render fat and make cracklings.

I made a sauce with more onions and carrots, sauteed in duck fat, the stock, white wine, and roasted garden tomatoes (canned tomatoes would be fine). It was reduced way down. Wow!

I braised some julienne rainbow carrots in a little duck fat, lemon juice, and a speck of grated ginger.

I sauteed peeled shallots in a little duck fat until browned, then added duck stock and braised until caramelized and glazed.

For serving, I reheated the sauce with the dark meat. I reheated the vegetables separately. The breasts got heated up in the sauce, then sliced and set aside.

The cracklings were seasoned with salt, pepper and allspice and went back into the oven on a paper towel to crisp up.

We tossed the noodles with butter and parsley, then set the duck ragout to the side, garnished with breast slices, carrots, shallots, with cracklings on top.

http://eat.at/swap/forum/index.php?action=display&forumid=1&msgid=16170

 
Rib-eye Steak with red wine reduction sauce.

For the first time, I made Julia's Classic Brown Sauce (Sauce Espangole). It took a while but it wasn't hard!

We bought three large rib-eyes for $54. (Thank God this was a small-plate dinner). Sauteed them, then set aside. Added shallots to the pan, then red wine, then some of the brown sauce, and reduced. Easy peasy!

I roasted halved Brussels sprouts and slivered parsnips to go with this, and made Julia's Pommes Duchesse, very small. The steak was sliced with a few nice slices per person. (The chunkier pieces were for the crew.)

 
Julia's Pommes Duchesse

POMMES DUCHESS
Duchess Potatoes

From The Way to Cook by Julia Child

1½ lb. baking potatoes
3 egg yolks
3Tbs. butter
2 Tbs. heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg
½ cup grated Swiss cheese

A potato ricer, (potatoes mashed another way may clog the pastry tube), a pastry bag with a ½-inch star tip, 1 or 2 baking sheets, lightly buttered and floured.


Peel and quarter the potatoes. Boil in salted water until tender. Drain, then put through a ricer. You should have about 2 cups.

Beat the egg yolks one by one into the warm potatoes, then the butter and cream. Season to taste. While still warm, pipe them onto the prepared baking sheets; sprinkle lightly with the cheese. Set aside at room temperature.

Half an hour before serving, reheat and brown lightly in the upper third level of a 400°F oven.

NOTE: Duchess Potatoes can also be piped as an edible border onto an ovenproof platter.

 
Wow. That sounds so amazing, and I am sure everything was fabulous! Hope you are staying cool

in this heat, Joe!

Melting here in no a/c. We went to Del Amo Mall for dinner in the food court to cool off. They "upscaled" it so now they have a few more interesting offerings, I had Bibimbap at a cool little Korean place.

 
Yes, I have noticed the food court has really improved! We managed to survive yesterday

with our hot tub turned way down. I hope yesterday was the worst of it.

 
What a delectable food selection! You certainly outdid yourself. A most impressive menu!

 
I'm so glad you liked it. It's very festive for the holidays as well. Make ahead at it's best!

After all of your great recipes you've shared over the years, it's a thrill to share one with you! Sounds like it was a wonderful event. Great menu.
Did you make much ahead?

M

 
I made everything I could possibly make ahead of time! This dinner was crazy

The clients made it clear that they like things to move along at a nice clip, so I tried to get each course on 30 minutes apart. I had way too many pans for their 4-burner stove so I was rotating them like crazy, lol! At one point I caught a towel on fire, which was fully visible from the dining room.

 
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