Ingredients:
6 Lobster tails, cooked and chilled
6 T. Mayonnaise
1 t. Prepared mustard
1 t. Lemon juice
1 t. Tarragon wine vinegar
1 T. Chives, chopped
1 T. Parsley, chopped
Salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Procedure:
Remove the lobster meat from tails. Reserve tails
Chop the lobster meat into bite sized pieces
Combine remaining ingredients, seasoning to taste and blend well
Add chopped lobster, blend with a fork, and refrigerate until chilled
To serve, stuff the lobster tails with chilled lobster mixture
Notes:
Serve as first course on lettuce lined small plates
Can be garnished with lemon, sprigs of fresh tarragon or parsley, etc.
Do not over cook the lobster
Ingredients:
2 T. Unsalted butter
1 (unpeeled) Onion, chopped
3 Celery stalks, chopped
2 Carrots, chopped
2 Bay leaf
2 T. Herbs de Provence (see notes)
3 Pheasants (2 to 2-1/2 Lbs.)
4 Wings chicken
2 Backs of chicken
1 C. Unsalted butter
1/4 C. Madeira
4 C. Chicken stock
1 T. Unsalted butter
1 T. All purpose flour
Sprig of parsley
Procedure:
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in large roasting pan. Stir in onion,
celery, carrots, bay leaves and 1 tablespoon herbs de Provence. Top with
pheasant giblets, necks, chicken wings and backs
Roast in a preheated 450°F oven until well browned, turning
frequently, for about 40 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F
Meanwhile, make herb butter by mixing 1 cup butter with 1 tablespoon
herbs de Provence
Pat pheasants dry inside and out. Loosen breast skin on each by gently
sliding fingers under neck flap and down between breast meat and skin,
being careful not to tear skin
Spread 1 1/2 tablespoons herb butter evenly over breast under skin of
each. Sprinkle each cavity with salt and pepper. Place 2 tablespoons herb
butter into each cavity. Truss pheasants to hold shape
Arrange the pheasants on sides atop vegetable mixture in roasting pan.
Roast for 15 minutes, basting frequently with pan juices. Turn on second
side and roast 15 minutes, basting frequently
Turn pheasants breast side up. Add Madeira to pan and continue
roasting until juices run pale pink when thickest part of thigh is
pierced, basting frequently, about 15 minutes
Transfer pheasants to platter and discard string. Tent with foil
Add the stock to the roasting pan. Boil until reduced to 3 cups
liquid, scraping up any browned bits, about 6 minutes
Strain the sauce and degrease
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy small saucepan over low heat. Add
flour and stir 3 minutes. Whisk in sauce in a thin stream
Simmer 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Adjusting seasoning. Pour into
a bowl
Garnish pheasant with parsley. Pass sauce separately
Notes:
Herbs de Provence is available at specialty foods stores
Can also be garnished with sprigs of fresh herbs
Serve as an entrée with a side of potato or rice and vegetables
Ingredients:
1/4 C. Butter, softened
2 t. Fresh parsley, chopped
1 1/2 t. Garlic, minced
1 t. Lemon zest
1 1/2 C. French tomato sauce
2 1/2 C. Cooked snails
Salt
Fresh ground black pepper
8 inch Round disk of puff pastry
1 Egg, beaten
Procedure:
In a bowl combine the softened butter, parsley, garlic, and lemon zest
and season with salt and pepper
In another bowl combine the tomato sauce, snails, mixing well to coat.
Season with salt and pepper
Place the snail mixture in a 1 quart souffle dish. Dot the top of the
snail mixture with butter. Lightly brush the edge of the souffle dish with
some of the beaten egg
Top the entire dish with the puff pastry disk pressing it over the
edges of the souffle dish to form a seal. Brush the surface with the
remaining egg
Bake in a preheated 400°F oven for 20 minutes or until the pastry
puffs up and turns golden brown in colour
Serve and garnish
Notes:
Serve as an appetizer
Can be garnished with lemon, sprigs of fresh herbs, etc.
a premade, store bought puff pastry can be used
Ingredients:
2 Lbs. Ground beef
1/3 C. Fresh bread crumbs
1/8 C. Milk
1/2 t. Salt
1/4 t. Fresh ground black pepper
1/4 C. Flour
3 T. Butter
3 T. Sour cream
3 T. Consomme
1 Onion, diced
2 Cloves garlic, minced
Procedure:
Soak crumbs in milk. Squeeze crumbs to remove excess milk
In a bowl, combine moistened crumbs, ground beef, salt, pepper, onion
and garlic. Mix well preferably with your hands
Form the above beef mixture into six approximately 5.5 ounce patties.
Dredge patties with flour, remove excess flour
In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the meat
patties and cook for 5 minutes on each side. Do not overcook. Remove
patties to a heated serving dish and keep them warm
Add sour cream and consomme to skillet and cook for two minutes.
Season to taste. Bring to boil, stirring all the time to prevent sour
cream from curdling and constantly keep on scraping the bottom of the
skillet until all the brown meat crust from frying is dissolved
Pour resulting sauce over the meat and serve immediately
Notes:
Can be garnished with sprigs of fresh parsley, onion curls, etc.
Ground pork or chicken can be used in place of the beef
Ingredients:
Pastry Cream
2 C. Water
1 C. Butter
1 pinch Salt
1 1/2 C. Flour
7 Eggs
1 T. Sugar, powdered to dust
Almonds, slivered
Procedure:
Add flour all at once and beat vigorously until dough pulls away from
the sides of the pan and forms a ball
Off the heat, beat in eggs, one or two at a time, until incorporated
and smooth
Put mixture into a pastry bag and pipe in a circle on a buttered and
lightly floured baking sheet. Make another circle just inside the first,
and a third on top of the first two
Brush with melted butter and top with almonds
Place it ina preheated 375°F oven and bake for 30 minutes
Remove and cool on a cake rack
When cool, split horizontally and fill bottom ring with pastry cream.
Replace top ring and dust with powdered sugar
Serve and garnish
Notes:
The preceding recipe is a basic pate a choux, or cream puff pastry, and it may be
used in other recipes
Serve as a dessert
Can be garnished with whipped cream, sprigs of fresh mint, fresh
fruit, etc.