So on the menu this windy evening, panzanella salad over Bibb lettuce, beef tenderloin filets, potatoes au gratin, haricot verts, with fluted mushrooms and a red wine shallot pan sauce accompanied very nicely with two bottles of Educated Guess (Napa Valley 2009, Cabernet Sauvignon). Unfortunately, we don't get wine with the menu at school...
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| Educated Guess, $16/bottle |
I also wanted to test a dessert that was shot down...bleu cheese custard with pan-roasted pears, honey, and candied walnuts.
Panzanella Salad
3 Roma tomatoes, seeded and cut into small dice
1/2 french baguette, cut into small dice and toasted
1 shallot, thinly sliced
basil, chiffonade
balsamic vinegar
olive oil
*you can either make a viniagrette (1 part vinegar to 3 parts oil - add a little dijon and whisk the hell out of it) and toss the salad, or simply add the balsamic and oil. All the bread to absorb the oil/balsamic - it is traditionally moist. Finish on a bed of Bibb lettuce...
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| Panzanella Salad |
The potato au gratin takes some time to cook, so while they are baking, you can get the other components of your meal together...
Potato Au Gratin
1 tbsp butter
2 russet potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
1/2 yellow onion, minced
1 garlic clove
1 1/2 c heavy cream
1/2 c whole milk
3 thyme sprigs
salt and pepper
1/2 gruyere cheese, shredded
Heat oven to 350 degrees. You want your potatoes to be uniform and thinly sliced.
Melt butter in sauce pan, saute onion until tender, then add garlic.
Add cream, milk, thyme, salt, pepper, and potatoes to pot and bring to simmer. Cover and allow to cook until tender at a simmer, 15 minutes.
Remove the thyme and transfer to a 1.5 qt gratin dish, putting half in, sprinkle with gruyere, add the rest and top with the remaining cheese. Bake until cream has thickened and bubbly, 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool some before serving.
I blanched the haricot verts and hit them in the saute pan for a quick saute. Tenderloins were cooked medium rare. Mushrooms were fluted and some were sliced, sauteed over high heat.
Red Wine Pan-Sauce
Remove the meat from the pan, keeping the heat on, pour 1/2 cup of red wine into the pan. Deglaze, removing all the bits off the bottom. Add the mushrooms and shallots. Allow to reduce. Remove from heat and whisk in 1-2 tbsp of cold butter. Season with salt and pepper.
Dessert - Bleu Cheese Custard with Pan-Roasted Pears
Very tasty! I think next time I will try pan-roasting the pears with balsamic and honey. It could've used a little acid to offset the sweetness of the pears/honey/bleu cheese.
Luckily for Lexington, we live in a protective bubble when it comes to storms. At one point, we were completely surrounded with hail and tornadic activity. Unfortunately, there were many areas of the state that were devastated by this second round of storms. My thoughts go out to the many people that have lost everything.
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| West Liberty, KY 2 March 2012 www.kentucky.com |
So sad!
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