Search Results for “pot de creme”

Chocolate pot de crème with raspberries

Ingredients

2/3 cup whole milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons hazelnut liqueur or Amaretto
4 dessert glasses or demitasse cups
Fresh raspberries, optional

Directions

Heat milk in a small pan over moderate heat until it comes to a boil.

In blender or food processor combine egg, sugar, a pinch of salt, semisweet chips, and liqueur. Turn on blender to low setting. Pour in boiling milk in a slow stream. The hot milk will cook egg and melt chocolate. Blend 1 minute, until smooth.

Spoon chocolate into serving dishes and chill. To serve top with a few raspberries, or whipped cream.

Place cups on saucers and serve with demitasse spoons. If you use teacups, this recipe will yield 2 cups, rather than 4. read more

On Golden Plank

August 19, 2015August 20, 2015 David5 Comments

Planked Prime Rib

So this past weekend, Steph and her group “Schola Magdalena” performed at a medieval reenactment near Waupoos, sang Mass at the lovely St. John’s Church, and then ambled back to Toronto after a swim in Lake Ontario, and some wonderful wine tastings.

Everyone was so friendly, and they traded their CD for some wine glasses with winery logos! They visited 4 Prince Edward County wineries. Hillier, Long Dog, Exultet and LightHall. Some of these wines will be featured with tonight’s menu. read more

A quiet Monday Night

March 4, 2017 DavidLeave a Comment

Penumberal lunar eclipse

We recently had a penumbral lunar eclipse… This means 2 things… First of all werewolves… Now I have nothing against werewolves, if they are well behaved, but the fur… Second is everyone seems to go bat crap crazy!!! With our trio all dealing with people on a day to day basis, we needed a quiet evening. So our trio gathered with Luke, for what turned out to be a great meal that we should have invited guests to… but no werewolves, Enzo hates werewolves.

We have been working on a recipe, for the past while, to tweak it just right. I think it really works well now, so we served the new and improved Twice baked goat cheese souffles. read more

we give thanks

October 10, 2015 David3 Comments

Fresh tomato soup with garlic crostini and basil

For this week, prep time was at a minimum, and our trio could not all be together, but Monday Night Dining, like “the show” must go on. For our pre-Thanksgiving MND, we have invited Jennifer and Virginia to join us. The menu this week was partially inspired by the cooler weather and partly because we had a pheasant in the freezer. So maybe the theme is soups and stews, with pheasant…. Or maybe just comfort food.

Our guests arrived with wonderful wines, to go with the meal. We had a bit of a catch up, while sipping on Astoria – Prosecco Doc, which also paired with our first course, Fresh tomato soup with garlic crostini and basil. read more

History

May 30, 2014July 21, 2014 David1 Comment

A big thank you…

September 9, 2019September 9, 2019 David5 Comments

This little bear, eating grapes, became a bit of a friend to us, while in Andlau, which was our home base for our recent trip to France. The lovely apartment that we stayed in was loaned to us, by a friend’s family, so we thought that this week, we should invite the family patriarch for Monday night dinner, to thank him for the amazing hospitality.

This week’s Monday Night Dining gathering actually took place on a Monday, which has not been the case often this summer. Our trio gathered with Cate and Bill, for a little french inspired dining, with a small twist. We started with a lovely Cremant D’Alsace, from Pierre Sparr, to welcome our guests, and some bruschetta featuring tomatoes, from the garden. read more

A dream duet

March 4, 2016March 5, 2016 David1 Comment

Hot fudge molten chocolate cake

This week, in honour of family day, MND was moved to Tuesday. This also means that we did not have rehearsal immediately afterward, so we moved the venue to Steph’s house, where we can stretch out a bit. This week’s guests were to be Teri and Larry, but alas Lar could not attend, so he sent us special guest Juliet, in his place.

For those not in the know, Teri was Shawn’s voice teacher for years, and he used to read Juliette bedtime stories after his lesson. I did not realize until just a few years ago, that Teri and Steph go much further back.

When our guests arrived, Steph broke out the bubbly, to welcome them properly, and Shawn broke out the blinis.

Blinis with crème fraiche, smoked trout and dill

These were topped with Ontario smoked trout, crème fraiche and dill. This gave us a wonderful time to catch up on our lives, since we saw each other last.

For our first course, we gathered at the table to enjoy ricotta gnocchi with mushroom cream sauce.

This was a new twist on an old favorite, but gnocchi is always a winner with us.

For our main we served Supreme de volaille, Jerusalem artichoke puree, potato pave and parsnip chips.

Supreme de volaille, Jerusalem artichoke puree, potato pave and parsnip chips

potato pave

Chicken supremes are a favorite of ours. You have also seen Jerusalem artichokes on the blog before, but here we have a bit of a new treatment. The potato pave is quite unique. Pave is the word for paving stone and refers to the square shape. It’s kind of like a high-end scalloped potato, with much thinner potatoes. The potatoes are then cut into cubes and sautéed on their sides, to warm and brown them. Parsnip chips are just nice. They add visual interest, crispness and a lovely light flavor.

For dessert, a new twist on the individual molten chocolate cake.

hot fudge molten chocolate cake

The tricky part of the molten cake is to get the perfect doneness. Too little and you have uncooked cake, too much and it’s not molten. The answer in this cake is hot fudge. We made hot fudge (great on ice cream) chill it and form it into balls, which are then frozen. The cake batter is chilled until it thickens slightly, then the hot fudge balls are pressed into the batter. These are then chilled completely and cooked right from the fridge. The result… molten hot fudge inside a chocolate cake. Much more reliable and I think a big improvement. The extra hot fudge is in the fridge, for ice cream.

Once dessert was complete, we predictably gathered around the piano. Steph played and Juliet regaled us with some lovely pieces. We can definitely hear some of her mother’s sound in her voice. I think the moment of the evening for us was a duet with mother and daughter. Hearing Shawn’s voice teacher singing with the little girl who used to interrupt his lessons singing so beautifully together. Quite a treat. One humorous moment was when Teri sang “I know my redeemer liveth” off book, from the couch, with her feet up… you would think it would sound phoned in, but she sang it with all of the ornamentations, it was an interesting juxtaposition.

We do love to have an MND without having to rush off to rehearsal. Such a lovely evening.

MND double bill

February 21, 2016February 21, 2016 David1 Comment

chicken breasts baked with green chilis and onions

Sometimes when planning a menu for Monday Night Dining, we just don’t know where to start. This was one of those weeks…. We were just stumped. Until our friend Luke came over. We were eating Tim Tams and talking about Australian food, when he mentioned Halva. Shawn pulled out a Madhur Jaffrey cookbook, with a Banana Halva recipe and we knew it was time for Indian food. I know, seems like a stretch from Pavlova, pot pies, and fairy bread to Indian, but sometimes that’s how we get inspired.

So our trio gathered with perennial favorite Jennifer, to break bread Naan, and catch up. Once we had settled in, we gathered at the table to enjoy one of our favorites, Gingery cauliflower soup.

Gingery cauliflower soup

This soup has a lovely delicate taste, with subtle spices and a hint of heat at the end, from the chili powder. It’s a wonderful wintry soup. I also have to say the leftover soup was even better.

For our main, we had chicken supremes baked with green chilis and onions, basmati rice, Baignan Achari and Naan.

chicken breasts baked with green chilis and onions

Well…. we have tried out many new recipes on guests, but this chicken, with indian spices and chilies for a hint of heat… Wow… And I can honestly eat baingan achari with every meal. Something about indian food is warming and familiar… I think we combined the warming and the familiar well here. Jennifer paired this beautifully with a 2013 Angels Gate Sussreserve Riesling, this is an off dry wine, due to unfermented grape juice being added before bottling (from the German susreserve technique).

After some catching up and a bit of shop talk, we ended our meal with the dish that inspired the meal. Banana Halva.

Banana halva

When I checked out this recipe, I thought that it could not be anything worth while…. lets saute bananas with some sugar….. I have to admit, the carmelized bananas, with crème fraiche, was a revelation. Simple yet elegant. We just have to work on the colour….

This night was a relaxed, yet invigorating night of food and friends. There are times when I kinda wish we didn’t have to head to rehearsal… Then again, I need the rehearsal time, plus we have the music director with us, so we must.

Now for the double bill part of this blog…. I have been remiss in our blog entries and with a busy work and social life (I’ve really just had a cold) have gotten behind in my entries. So this week will feature 2 weeks in one entry. That’s enough food porn to keep you going for a while.

This week we another of our favorite people Ann, join our trio for MND. I did not realize, but it was the perfect time to reconnect with Ann, as her family has an upcoming wedding to celebrate, so we had a chance to get some of the details.

When planning for this meal, we realized that we had some of the twice baked souffles in the freezer. This was the prefect opportunity to test to see if they really could be baked the second time, from frozen. You just plate them, add a little cream around the bottom and some bread crumbs and pop them in the oven. They puffed up nicely, with a little crust on the top. So our experiment was a success.

Twice baked cheese soufflés

Our main is really what this meal revolved around. Shawn had found some beautiful Ontario Arctic Char. We broiled the Arctic char, with our almost famous mediterranean spice rub, and going with the char theme served it atop a charred tomato risotto.

Charred tomato risotto

broiled arctic char with charred tomato risotto

We paired this with one of Ann’s favorite wines, a 2015 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough. This wine works wonderfully with fish. We had a hint of zing, from the spiced rub, which worked well with the subtle flavours of the risotto.

Originally we were concerned about time tonight, but we ended up with a nice relaxed time for dessert and tea. Our desserts were clove infused orange tartlets brulee.

clove infused orange tartlets brulee

This is lovely dessert, with sweet, tangy orange curd, infused with clove, nestled in a buttery tart shell, painted with dark chocolate. Just before serving, you add a golden caramel, brulee crust, with the blow torch, and a dollop of whipped crème fraiche. Lovely, subtle and light.

And as usual, we are off to rehearsal, to learn our acapella program for our big spring show.

Pumpkin & apple spiced soup with candied pecans and apple crisps

Pumpkin and apple spiced soup with apple crisps and candied pecans

¼ cup (50 mL) butter
3 cups (750 mL) chopped onion
6 cups (1.5 L) chopped pumpkin
2 cups (500 mL) peeled and chopped Spy apples
1 tsp (5 mL) brown sugar
Pinch ground cinnamon
Pinch ground allspice
Tiny pinch cayenne
1 tsp (5 mL) salt
5 cups (1.25 L) chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground pepper

=&0=&
2 tbsp (25 mL) pecans (candied with hone and maple syrup)

Apple crisps

1. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the pumpkin and apples and cook until softened, another 3 minutes. Add the brown sugar and spices, then pour the stock over and simmer for 30 minutes.

2. Remove from heat, blend until smooth with a hand blender or in a food processor. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. For candied pecans. Place pecans in a cast iron or non-stick pan. add honey and stir over medium-high heat, until glazed. place on parchment paper to cool.

4. Using a mandolin slicer very thinly slice apples. Arrange slices in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet; sprinkle with icing sugar. Top with another sheet of parchment and another baking sheet. Dry in a 225ºF (110ºC) oven for 45 minutes. Remove top baking sheet and top layer of parchment; continue drying in the oven for at least another 45 minutes, until crisp. The more moist the fruit the longer it will take to dry. Let cool completely; store in an airtight container.

5. To serve, Place pecans in the serving bowls, ladle in soup and float and apple crisp on the surface. Crème fraiche can be warmed and drizzled on top.

=&1=&

Over the Moon

October 3, 2015October 11, 2015 David1 Comment

Blood moon

On Sunday, before this week’s Monday Night Dining experience, it was both the super moon and the blood moon. The super moon occurs when the moon is at its closest point to the earth or (perigee-syzygy ) and looks 7-8% larger. The blood moon occurs during a total lunar eclipse, when the light reflecting off the moon has already passed through the earth’s atmosphere, which filters out much of the blue light and makes the moon appear red. This night was the combination of both of these phenomenon. Some believe this is a sign of the apocalypse, or the next coming of Christ. Also werewolves…. Don’t forget werewolves…. Whether this marks the end, or a new beginning, or as I believe just a cool astronomical anomaly, we want to celebrate, and how better to do that than share beautiful food with dear friends???

This week we are serving things that have been on our list for a while. It just so happens that all the dishes have a French origin, so that worked out nicely. Joining our trio this week last minute is Trish. Trish’s wine club has just been on an excursion, in wine country, and we were gifted with three lovely bottles of wine, which we hope to pair with one of our menus. The menu was planned, when we realized the app has an ingredient that she is allergic to. Luckily Shawn thinks well on his feet. So after greetings, and bribing Enzo with treats, we sat down to sample Lobster guacamole salad with vodka spiked tomato sauce. For Trish’s plate the tomato puree was replaced with olive oil and balsamic reduction.

Lobster and Guacamole Salad with vodka-spiked tomato sauce. from Le Bernardin Cookbook: Four-Star Simplicity by Eric Ripert and Maguy Le Coze

Lobster and Guacamole Salad with vodka-spiked tomato . from Le Bernardin Cookbook: Four-Star Simplicity by Eric Ripert and Maguy Le Coze sauce

This dish looks like a flower, opening its petals. Steph commented that the sauce, with the vodka, tomato, and hot sauce, was like eating a bloody Caesar. The star of this dish was not the home-grown tomatoes, but the lobster. We knew we had a hit, when diners used their dessert spoons to scoop up the extra sauce. And Steph said “that’s a keeper”, so this dish will be making future appearances, on our table.

The main was giving us a bit of trepidation, as we had issues with the test run, when the “scales” kept coming off the fish. Shawn peaked for performance, and the fish was perfect. Our main this week was Potato crusted halibut, sautéed swiss chard, and vichyssoise sauce (based on one of Lynn Crawford’s signature dishes.)

Potato encrusted halibut, sautéed swiss chard and vichyssoise

The layered potatoes on the fish are supposed to represent the scales of the fish. We purchased the halibut from our favorite fish guy, Chris at Blue Marlin Seafood. If you are even on highway 11 heading toward Gravenhurst, you need to stop in. When I thought of the ingredients for this dish, I thought it just might not stand out, but I was so wrong. The perfectly cooked fish, in the crunchy potato coating, the freshness of the swiss chard and the silky smooth vichyssoise, made for an elegant and refined dish. Plus it was fun to prep.

The dessert this night was one we had looked at the longest, but first we had to source the dishes, to make it in, and wait for them to arrive. We finally got to serve Coeur a la crème with raspberry sauce.

Coeur a la crème with raspberry sauce

This light as air dessert, is a bit reminiscent of a cheesecake, in flavour. Once the filling is made, it is spooned into the cheesecloth lined molds and covered, then pressed lightly into the molds. The holes allow any excess liquid to drain from the hearts. The spiked raspberry sauce adds a lovely colour and flavour to the dish, but I am now thinking of lots of other fruits that would work with this dessert. We can also imagine that the red sauce represents the blood moon, but with a happy heart eclipse….

The night seemed to have flown by, with talk of music, and schedules, and stories of wine tours, which we all enjoy. It seemed no time before was had to head out to Pax Christi Chorale rehearsal. It’s a good thing we enjoy rehearsals, or it would be too easy to just have another glass of wine and continue entertaining each other, with stories and songs. There may have been a super moon, but we were over the moon, to finally serve some of the items from our bucket list, and thankfully no werewolves….