Veal Paupiettes

Today is all about a recipe. A recipe for a nice meal, a recipe to surprise your guests or just for the pleasure of food.

Bon appetit !

Veal Paupiette – Serves 6
6 veal filets
2 onions
1 cube of chicken stock
20 cl of white wine
2 branches of thyme
10 bay leaves
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt and pepper

For the stuffing
200g of bacon
200g of mushrooms
2 garlic cloves
1 handful of parsley

For the mushroom sauce
300 g of mixed wild mushrooms
1 finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 crushed garlic cloves

Preparation
The stuffing
In a food processor, chop 200g of mushrooms, the bacon, the garlic, the parsley and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Fry the mixture in a non-adhesive frying pan at high heat for five minutes. Set aside.

The paupiettes
Finely chop the onions and set aside.
Flatten the veal filets with a rolling pin.
Place a tablespoon of minced meat in the centre of the filets.
Roll filets and tie them to create rolls with the minced meat at the centre to create ‘paupiettes’.
Dilute a chicken stock cube in 25 cl. of boiling water.
In a frying pan, cook the paupiettes with a drop of olive oil and the onions until browned.
Add the white wine and bouillon to the paupiettes and onions.
Add the thyme and bay leaves, season and leave to simmer for 30 minutes.
Remove the paupiettes from the fire and filter the cooking juice.

The mushroom sauce
Chop the mushrooms
Put a pan on a high heat until warm and a drop of olive oil.
Add the mushrooms with the crushed garlic and cook over a gentle heat for 7 – 10 minutes
Pour in the white wine and chicken stock
Bring the sauce to a boil once again and cook for 5 minutes or until the mushrooms have softened.
Add the mushrooms to the paupiette cooking juice.

Serve with rice and the sauce on top.

Mac ‘n’ Cheese, a comfortable food

MACARONI and cheese, or macaroni cheese, or Mac ‘n’ Cheese is one of the most popular quick ‘n’ easy dishes in the States and the British people are making it one of their favourites as well. But did you know that its popularity has been attributed to Thomas Jefferson serving it at a White House dinner in 1802 (according to Wikipedia, of course)?

It may not be the finest or most exquisite meal the culinary world has ever created but it contains heaps of that wonderful feeling that makes up the best of “Comfort food”.

With two words, food becomes an instant grandma’s recipe, curing any ailment and putting a silver lining through even the darkest cloud, giving you the strength you need to face the rest of the day.

Two words, but so powerful. And that’s exactly what food is all about: to bring you the pleasure you’re looking for.

The lovely, cheese-loving Fiona Beckett came back from a trip to the States where she hoped to find the ultimate Mac’n’Cheese. Her quest proved harder than she imagined, though, as nothing seemed to live up to her expectations.  Naturally, then, it was time to step things up and call upon that most trustworthy found of inspiration and creativity, the UK Food Blogger, and challenge them to the Ultimate Macaroni Cheese.

Coming from France, I couldn’t resist giving this American/British meal a unique French touch inspired by the pinnacle of Alpine Comfort Food.  For those who have spent some time in the Alps during winter, they will always remember their first experience of Fondue.

With that idea in hand, two artisanal French cheeses, a baguette, some white wine and some mushrooms later, the Mac ‘n’ Cheese à la française recipe was born!

Mac ‘n’ Cheese à  la française – Serves 6/8
120g butter plus more for the gratin dish
A de-crusted baguette, diced into small cubes
200g of oyster mushrooms
100g of chesnut mushrooms
20cl crisp, dry Chasselas (Fendant from Valais – Switzerland) or Sauvignon Blanc
1.3 liter milk
125g flour
2 tsp salt, plus more for the macaroni water
¼ tsp grated nutmeg
¼ tsp ground black pepper
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
350g of grated Comte
150g of grated Mimolette
225g grated Gruyère
500g elbow macaroni

Preheat the oven to 190°C.

Butter a large gratin dish. Set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter and add the diced bread. Cook until golden. Set aside.

In a saucepan over high heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter and add the mushrooms. Once the juice has evaporated, pour 10cl of white wine and stir for a couple of minutes. Set aside.

Warm the milk in a saucepan over medium heat.  Melt the remaining butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When the butter bubbles, add the flour.  Cook and stir for 1 minute.

While whisking, add 10cl of white wine and let it cook for 2 minutes. Then, add the hot milk a little at a time to keep the mixture smooth. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and thickens, for 8 to 12 minutes.

Remove the pan from heat. Stir in the salt, nutmeg, peppers, 300g of the Comté/Mimolette mix and 100g of gruyere. Set the cheese sauce aside.

Cover a large pot of salted water and bring to a boil. Cook the macaroni until the outside of pasta is cooked and the inside is underdone, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold water and drain well.  Stir the macaroni into the cheese sauce.

Pour mixture into the gratin dish. Sprinkle the remaining Comté/Mimolette mix and gruyère and bread crumbs over top. Bake until golden, about 30 minutes.

Let sit 5 minutes on a wire rack.

Darwin

According to Wikipedia, fount of all modern knowledge, evolution is the product of two opposing forces: processes that constantly introduce variation and processes that make variants become more common or rare.
So, just like species of life been affected by variation and evolution over time, recipes can evolve in time as well, passing from one generation to another, to be adapted and altered through the progress of eras and civilizations .
But, despite what some purists may say, that traditional recipes  are made to evolve, to be improved upon  and, sometimes,  even transgress the established rules.
Just like every person with a passion, foodies can’t help but add their personal variation to a traditional recipe, keeping it fashionable and ready for the ever evolving palates of its connoisseurs.

Mushroom Burger – 2 persons
The full-mushroom variation of the traditional burger…
4 flat portobello mushrooms
100g chestnut mushrooms, chopped
2 beef burger patties
4 tomatoes, chopped
2 slices of cheese
Balsamic vinegar
1 clove of garlic
10 cl of crème fraiche
A handful of rocket

In a pan at medium heat, cook the chestnut mushrooms for 10 minutes.
Add the cream and stir for a couple of minutes before setting aside to cool.
Heat a knob of butter and a splash of oil with the chopped garlic in a large pan and sauté the large flat mushrooms. Set aside.
Heat frying pan until very hot, then turn the heat down to medium.
Cook the burger patties for 2 or 3 minutes on each side before
covering each with a slice of cheese and let it melt.
Place one large flat mushroom in the middle of a plate and top it with two tomato slices, some rocket, the chestnut mushrooms cream, the meat with the cheese and cover with another flat mushroom.
Your mushroom burger is ready!