Turtle Soup

[For six people]

1 ½ pounds of turtle meat

1 quart of consommé (half chicken stock, half beef stock)

[Consommé is nothing more than a stock that has been perfectly clarified until completely clear and sparkling.]

1 pint chicken stock (enough to cook the turtle in)

Madeira (or sherry)

1 bouquet garni (basil, marjoram, rosemary, savory, thyme and parsley tied together in muslin)

1 bouquet garni of peppercorns and coriander

2 medium carrots

½ of a small cabbage

½ of a turnip

1 small unpeeled apple

salt and pepper to taste

croutons for serving

1.  Place consommé in saucepan with both bouquet garnis, the vegetables and the apple and bring just to a boil. Over a high flame bring just to a boil. Immediately lower the flame and simmer gently, uncovered.
2. While the consommé is simmering, cut the turtle meat and cut into ½ inch cubes. Place the meat in the chicken stock, bring just to a boil, reduce the flame and let simmer just until the meat is tender (about 2 hrs). Keep the meat warm in the stock.
3. Add 1 cup of Madeira (or sherry) to the beef consommé. Heat through. A few minutes before serving stir in two tsp. of the Amontillado sherry to be served with the meal.
4. Strain the consommé so that it is perfectly clarified, clear and sparkling.
5. Immediately before serving strain and place the turtle pieces in the soup. Garnish with the croutons and serve at once.

Note: This soup should be served with a medium-dry Amontillado wine.

Consommé is nothing more than a stock that has been perfectly clarified until completely clear and sparkling. To clarify stock, bring stock to a boil, add egg whites and let it foam. the protein in the egg whites will attract the particles and clarify the liquid. Then strain.

Chicken Stock

Chicken Stock

Chicken Stock is easy!

So, the ingredients are:

3+ quarts water

1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped

1/2 celery stalk, coarsely chopped

1 head garlic, top third sliced off

3 carrots, coarsely chopped

6 sprigs fresh tarragon

6 sprigs of fresh thyme

1 bay leave

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

Salt to taste

Chicken parts – I use chicken feet and necks along with the carcass from a roasted chicken.

Spread all the chopped up veggies and the chicken feet on a roasting pan, sprinkle the salt, pepper and herbs on top (except the bay leaves). Roast all of this, stirring them up on occasion, until brown.

Here's the roasted feet and veggies. 

Dump the roasted chicken parts in a stock pot along with the carcass and the bay leaves. Add the water, ensuring that everything is covered by at least an inch.

Bring to a boil and then simmer for at least six hours. Strain, degrease and then let it cool. Transfer to airtight containers. Refrigerate or freeze until you want to use it.

Roast Pheasant with Orange Sauce

Another Sunday afternoon experimenting in the kitchen. Today's effort was to feature pheasant. Here's the final dish with glazed carrots and a rice pilaf. 

I used the following for the pheasant.

Pheasant

Salt

Fresh ground pepper

1 small orange, halved

1 small onion, coarsely chopped

1 small carrot, coarsely chopped

1 sprig of fresh thyme

3 or 4 slices of bacon

Splash of Madeira

1/3 cup or so of rich chicken stock

Tablespoon of butter

Position oven rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat oven to 500 F.

Season the cavity and the outside of the pheasant with salt and pepper.

Juice the orange and reserve the juice for the sauce. Take about ½ of one of the halves of orange (so, about ¼ of the orange) and roughly chop it up. Mix with the chopped onion and carrot and stuff the pheasant with the vegetables and the fresh thyme. Truss the bird closed. 

Here's the pheasant ready to be stuffed.

 

Arrange the pheasant on a rack on a pan that can be put in the oven. Could use a roasting pan. I found a small frying pan works well. 

Here's the pheasant on the rack on the pan.

Arrange the bacon on top of the pheasant so that the bacon will stay in place (I weaved the bacon) and covers the top of the bird.

Here's the pheasant with bacon on it.

Roast for 15 minutes and then remove the bacon.

Here's the pheasant ready to remove the bacon.

Roast for another 30 – 40 minutes until it is done. Important not to over cook! Pheasants are lean and can dry out in a hurry. Check the bird after 20 minutes to see if it needs to covered with aluminum foil (if there is a nice brown to it, cover it!).

When the pheasant is done, tent it on the cutting board while you make the sauce.

Here's the pheasant ready to be tented.

Now it is time for the sauce.

Here are the main ingredients (also need that Tablespoon of butter!).

Pour off the grease in the pan and then deglaze the pan with the orange juice and the Madeira. Let this reduce down to half.

Now add the chicken stock and reduce it down to half again. Here it is ready to strain.

Strain the liquid into a bowl and add the butter, swirling to melt the butter.

Carve the pheasant by removing the carcass. Place half of the pheasant on each plate and spoon over some of the sauce.

Enjoy!

Cornish Hens with Fig - Cranberry Sauce

Here is the final product, served with lobster mashed potatoes (yes, a part of a lobster tail as well!), roasted pickled cauliflower, and some fresh fig slices.

This is for two!

For the Hens:

2 Cornish Hens

Salt and Pepper

1 cup of croutons

¼ cup wheat germ

¼ cup finely chopped celery

¼ cup chicken broth

3 Tablespoons melted butter

½ teaspoon sugar

Clean the hens and pat dry with paper towel inside and out. 

Then sprinkle body cavity with salt and pepper. Twist wing tips up and back, tucking neck skin under wings to secure. In large bowl, combine croutons, wheat germ, celery, broth, 1 tablespoon melted butter, sugar, ½ teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper. 

Spoon into body cavities and tie legs and tail of each hen together. Place on rack in roasting pan and brush with melted butter. Roast, breast side up, in open roasting pan at 425 F for one hour. Brush occasionally with melted butter, then baste with the juices that collect.

For the Sauce:

Some figs, stems removed and chopped

Handful of dried cranberries

A couple of minced cloves of garlic

A shallot, finely minced

A bottle of good Porter or stout – something you enjoy

Mix everything together in a sauce pan. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer. After 30 minutes or so, use an immersion blender and roughly blend. (Don’t want a smooth consistency. Nice to have some chunks of cranberries and figs in it. This is to help thicken it.)

With 15 or so minutes left on the roasting time, coat the hens with some of the sauce, reserving the rest of the sauce to serve with the meal.

Microwaved Corn on the Cob

Wish I knew this when I was young. Of course, we did not have microwaves then.

Leave the husks on.

Remember: 2, 4, 6, 8! That is how many minutes to microwave if there are 1, 2, 3 or 4 ears.

After microwaving, wrap in a dish towel and leave for 5 minutes.

Then, cut off the stem ends, grab hold of the silks and husk at the top and just slide the corn on the cob out.

Lobster Mashed Potatoes

These are so good!

For two servings the following is needed:

½ pound of Russet Potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes

½ teaspoon kosher salt

2 cups cold water

Less than ¼ cup of cream (call it about 1/6 of a cup)

1-1/2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

Chunks of cooked lobster meat

Chives – if you like them

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

To cook the lobster, just take the tails out of the shells, removing any vein. I like to then brine them for 15 minutes.

To get the tails out and keep the shells whole, use a scissors and cut the membrane along the shell on each side. Then it becomes pretty easy to get the meat out. Here's some pictures showing the process.

 

Skewer the tails to keep them from curling when then cook. 

Place the skewered tails on a rack on a rimmed baking sheet. Then, brush the lobster with butter. Put a couple of tablespoons of water into the pan and place the pan into a 450 oven for about 3 or 4 minutes. Lobster should be white, do not overcook or it will be tough.

Place the potatoes in a sauce pan, add salt and cold water. Cover the pot and place over high heat. Bring to boil, then simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

Drain the liquid, reserving it, leaving the potatoes in the pan.

Place pan back on heat for 1 to 2 minutes to remove excess moisture. Want the potatoes to be somewhat dry.

Pass the potatoes through a ricer into a clean mixing bowl.

Place the cream and the butter into a small sauce pan. Place over medium heat until the butter is melted, add the chunks of lobster and simmer until the cream is warm.

Fold this hot liquid into the potatoes. Add, by drops, the reserved liquid to the potatoes if the potatoes appear to be too dry.

Roasted Pickled Cauliflower

We love roasted pickled veggies. Here’s how we make cauliflower. First cut the cleaned cauliflower into bite size pieces.

Then, take these ingredients (note – better to use a glass bowl! The metal bowl ain’t the best for this.) What these ingredients are: favorite vinegar (this was a wild cherry, we love a good red wine vinegar as well), a pinch of sugar and a large pinch of salt and olive oil.

Place a few tablespoons of the vinegar into the bowl, add the sugar and salt, then start whisking in the oil until you get a good dressing consistency that you like the taste. Blanch the cauliflower in boiling water for no more than 2 minutes, until you like the softness. Then immediately toss the cauliflower into ice water to stop the cooking. Then toss the cauliflower into the wine/oil mixture and toss and let it set for at least 15 minutes.

Now place the cauliflower on a rack on a rimmed baking sheet and under the broiler until browned.