Mother's Day Menu - Low Temp Roast Beef, Nigella Roasted Potatoes, Herb Soup with Parmesan Dumplings, Bavarian Cream with Raspberry Coulis

Mother's day dinner
this is the dinner i cooked for my Mother and the whole family today:
Antipasti variation with a crisp italian bread, we had different kinds of olives, artichokes, sardines, a feta-herb spread and a roasted tomato-bell pepper pesto

Spring Herb soup with Parmesan dumplings

adapted from Rainer B Chefkoch

800 ml vegetable stock
100 ml white wine (dry Riesling for example!)
100 ml whipping cream
50 g cold butter
30 g wild garlic
60 g flat parsley, plucked
30 g salad burnet, plucked
30 g chevril, plucked
60 g sorrel
30 g fennel green
salt
sugar
black freshly ground pepper

Bring the vegetable stock, wine and cream to a boil and reduce to 2/3 of the amount. Wash and pluck the herbs and add to the pot and mix with a hand-held blender (or fill in a regular blender) add very cold butter and mix again- the soup will thicken. Taste with salt, pepper, and sugar. Serve

Roast beef, Redwine Sauce, Golden Crisp Potatoes, Green Asparagus, and Hollandaise Sauce

Roast beef (low-temperature method)

2,5 kg roast beef
Dijon mustard
Salt
pepper
goose grease

Preheat the oven to 150°C with an oven thermometer!

Then massage salt, pepper, and mustard into the meat on all sides and then brown it in piping hot goose grease sharp on each side - takes about 15 min.

Then put a thermometer into the roast and then place it on the grill and put a baking sheet underneath (it will drop!) turn the temperature down to 80°C and keep it at that temperature.

Roast the beef for 2 1/2 hours on 80°C - but if you add another 30 min won't harm the meat!

I took the beef out when the meat had 63°C - (pink meat - medium)

That's all it is... Alissa

Nigella's Perfect Roasted Potatoes

6 lbs medium potatoes
2 tablespoons semolina
2 cups goose fat

Preheat the oven to the hottest possible temperature. I do this as soon as the turkey is out of the oven, which (for me) is very much later than the parboiling stage, but let's start with the oven since you may be cooking in different circumstances, or prefer different procedures.

Peel the potatoes, and cut each one into three by cutting off each end at a slant so that you are left with a wedge or triangle in the middle.

Put the potatoes into salted cold water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil, letting them cook for 4 minutes. Drain the potatoes into a colander and then tip back into the empty saucepan, sprinkling over the semolina. Shake the potatoes around to coat them well and, with the lid clamped on, give the pan a good rotation and the potatoes a proper bashing so that their edges disintegrate or fuzz and blur a little: this facilitates the crunch effect later.

Meanwhile, empty the goose fat into a large roasting pan and heat in the oven until seriously hot. (I often parboil the potatoes a few hours in advance, so the "meanwhile" doesn't always hold. And you can start heating up the fat in the oven that the turkeys in, turning it up to really hot once the bird comes out.) Then tip the semolina–coated potatoes carefully into the hot fat and roast in the oven for an hour or until they are darkly golden and crispy, turning them over halfway through cooking. If the oven's hot enough they probably won't need more than about 25 minutes a side, and it's better to let them sit in the oven (you can always pour off most of the fat and leave them in the pan) till the very last minute.

Boastfulness and vainglory are not attractive nor would I want to encourage them in you (or myself), but when you've cooked these and see them in all their golden glory on the table, I think you're allowed a quiet moment of silent pride.

by Nigella Lawson

Bavarian creme, Raspberry coulis, Raspberries, and Green Earl Grey Tea Madeleines

Bavarian Cream

For the Bavarian Cream
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3 (1/4 ounce) envelopes unflavored gelatin
6 egg yolks
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
2 cups milk
Seeds from 2 vanilla beans, or 2 tablespoons pure vanilla paste

For the coulis
1 1/2 pints fresh raspberries, or 2 (12-ounce) packages frozen raspberries
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Chill a metal bowl and the whisk attachment of an electric mixer in the freezer for a few minutes. Then whip the cream until it stands in soft peaks. Chill until needed.

Soak the gelatin in 2/3 cup cold water for 10 minutes.

Beat the egg yolks with the confectioners' sugar in a large metal bowl until they are pale yellow and have a thick, creamy consistency.

Bring the milk and the vanilla seeds to a boil in a saucepan, stirring occasionally to make sure the milk does not scorch at the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat and slowly pour the milk into the egg yolks, stirring constantly.

Transfer the mixture to a double boiler, or place the metal bowl over a pot of gently boiling water. Continue stirring until the mixture coats a wooden spoon.

Gradually stir in the dissolved gelatin and place the bowl over a large bowl of ice water. Make sure that the mixture is lump-free. If you discover any lumps, quickly strain the cream through a fine sieve. Continue stirring vigorously until the cream starts to cool and stiffen. This is the time to fold in the whipped cream.

Immediately pour the Bavarian cream into a large glass serving bowl or individual serving dishes and chill for several hours until set.

For the coulis
Cook the raspberries and confections' sugar over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain through a fine sieve to remove any seeds and chill.

Take the Bavarian cream and the coulis out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving so they can develop their full flavor. Top each serving of Bavarian cream with a few spoonfuls of coulis.

from Epicurious.

MUTTERTAGS MENÜ 2009

mit der liebevollen und super Unterstützung der Chefkoch Menühelfer habeich dieses Menü zusammengestellt und für meine Mutter gekocht... es ist soweit gut gelungen und mit Freuden verspeist worden.. Ganz besonders der Hauptgang!

Lg Alissa

Kräuterschaumsuppe

Erfrischend - Einfach - Lecker - RainerB Chefkoch

800 ml Gemüsebrühe
100 ml Wein, weiß (trockener Riesling)
100 ml Sahne
50 g Butter, kalte
30 g Bärlauch
60 g Petersilie, glatte, gezupft
30 g Pimpinelle, gezupfte
30 g Kerbelblättchen, gezupfte
60 g Sauerampfer, gehackter
30 g Fenchel, das Grüne davon
Salz
Zucker
Pfeffer, schwarzer, aus der Mühle

Die Gemüsebrühe mit dem Weißwein und der Sahne zum Kochen bringen und auf ca. 2/3 der Menge einreduzieren. Dann die geputzten und gezupften Kräuter zugeben und alles mit dem Pürierstab mixen. Die kalte Butter zugeben und das Ganze - ebenfalls mit dem Pürierstab - aufschäumen. Zum Schluss mit Salz, Zucker und Pfeffer abschmecken. Heiß servieren.

Niedrigtemperatur Roastbeef (80°C)

2,5 kg Roastbeef
100 g Butterschmalz
etwas Salz und Pfeffer
Dijon Senf

Backofen auf 150 Grad heizen.
Roastbeef salzen und pfeffern und mit Senf einmassieren, dann in dem Butterschmalz 20 Minuten (Wichtig!!!!) scharf rundherum anbraten. Den Ofen auf 80°C runterschalten und den Braten sofort auf den Backofenrost legen und - die Luft muss frei zirkulieren können, und etwa 5-6 Std. bei konstanten 80 Grad Celsius garen. Eine Fettpfanne verhindert, dass der wenige Bratensaft, der austritt, den Ofen verdreckt. Wichtig sind wirklich das lange, scharfe anbraten und die konstante Temperatur!!!!
Die Zeit ist dann eher nebensächlich: Eine halbe Stund mehr oder weniger macht gar nichts. Das Fleisch ist butterweich, durchgängig rosa und sehr würzig. Ich habe das Thermometer im Roast und bei 63 Grand Kerntemepratur rausgenommen. Im Backofen hatte ich auch ein Thermometer das konstant auf 80°C stand.

Golden Potatoes

also du nimmst 1,5 Kg vorwiegend festkochenden Kartoffeln, schälst die, dann gedrittelt, dann 4 min in kochendem Wasser gekocht, dann in einem Topf mit 30g Gries geschüttelt bis alle Kartoffeln mit Gries bedeckt sind, das die Kartoffeln dabei an den Kanten etwas abgestumpf werden ist erwünscht. Die Kartoffeln zur Seite stellen.
Nun ca 400 g Gänseschmalz in einem Bräter im Backofen auf höchster Stufe schmelzen bis es anfängt zu rauchen und dann die Kartoffeln gold braun ausbacken... die schmecken himmlisch. aussen knusprig und innen schön weich (ähnlich wie Kroketten nur VIEL besser.... )