North Central France Recipes

LECTURE NOTES AND RECIPES - APRIL 12TH, 2014 NORTH-CENTRAL FRANCE map of france

NORTHERN & CENTRAL EASTERN

WESTERN

SOUTHERN

Knife Skills

• SCS 1| Basic Knife Skills - http://www.stellaculinary.com/scs1 • Knife Skills Video Index - http://www.stellaculinary.com/cks

Stocks

• SCS 2| Veal Stock - http://www.stellaculinary.com/scs2 • SCS 3| Chicken, Fish & Vegetable Stock - http://www.stellaculinary.com/scs3 • Sauces & Soups Video Index - http://www.stellaculinary.com/sns

Blanching & Kitchen Prep

• SCS 4| Blanching - http://www.stellaculinary.com/scs4 • Kitchen Prep Video Index - http://www.stellaculinary.com/kp

The Five French Mother Sauces

• Mother Sauce Resource Page - http://www.stellaculinary.com/mother • SCS 9| Hollandaise - http://www.stellaculinary.com/scs9 • SCS 10| Sauce Veloute - http://www.stellaculinary.com/scs10 • SCS 11| Béchamel - http://www.stellaculinary.com/scs11 • SCS 12| Sauce Tomat - http://www.stellaculinary.com/scs12 • SCS 13| Brown Sauce and Demi-Glace - http://www.stellaculinary.com/scs13

Basic Cooking Techniques

• SCS 5| Basic Starches - http://www.stellaculinary.com/scs5 • SCS 6| Sautéing, Searing & Pan Roasting - http://www.stellaculinary.com/scs6 • SCS 7| Braising, Poaching and Roasting - http://www.stellaculinary.com/scs7 • SCS 8| Frying, Conﬁt and Fat Poaching - http://www.stellaculinary.com/scs8 • Cooking Techniques Video Index - http://www.stellaculinary.com/ct

Charcuterie

• Charcuterie Video Index - http://www.stellaculinary.com/hcc

Bread Baking

• SCS 18| Four Pillars of Bread - http://www.stellaculinary.com/scs18 • SCS 19| Twelve Steps of Bread Baking - http://www.stellaculinary.com/scs19 • SCS 20| Bread Classiﬁcations - http://www.stellaculinary.com/scs20 • SCS 21| Sourdough and Pre-Ferments - http://www.stellaculinary.com/scs21 DUO OF PRESERVED DUCK liver pate, orange, tarragon & frisee, confit de canard, lavash & preserved mustard seeds

Duck Liver Pate with Frisee, Orange Supreme, and Pickled Red Onion

When it comes to appetizers served with champagne, duck conﬁt is perhaps one of the most classic French dishes one can make. It uses the duck’s organ meat or “giblets” (liver, gizzards and hearts), which is a constant theme in French cooking; not only is nothing wasted, but the best dishes are usually constructed using offal or extremity cuts.

Yield: 1000g Duck Innards = 1 14” Triangular Terrine Mold

• 1000g duck innards • 2000g water • 100g kosher salt • 60g sugar

• cooking oil, as needed • 140g yellow onion, julienned • 140g shallot, julienned • 30g ginger, peeled and sliced • 60g butter, cubed • 500g cream • 2 eggs • 20g kosher salt • 2g sodium nitrite • 3g white pepper 1. Combine 2000g grams water, 100g kosher salt and 60g sugar and whisk until dissolved to create a brine. Cover duck innards with brine, and place in the refrigerator overnight (12-24 hours). The next day, strain innards and rinse thoroughly under cold running water and allow to drain. 2. Heat a large skillet over high, and once hot, cover the bottom with a thin film of cooking oil. Sauté together the onions, shallot ginger with the butter, until the ingredients are soft and aromatic. Do not brown. 3. Add heavy whipping cream and bring to a gentle simmer, reducing heat as necessary to maintain the simmer without the cream mixture boiling over. Simmer for 4 minutes. 4. Combine cream mixture in a blender, and blend on high for about 30 seconds, or until completely smooth. 5. Blend giblets in food processor for 30 seconds. Add in egg and cream mixture from blender. You may not need all of the cream mixture depending on the water content of the giblets. Your goal is a thin, pancake batter. 6. Pass giblet batter through a tamis, pushing it through using a plastic hand spatula. 7. In a separate container, mix together 20g salt, sodium nitrite an white pepper. Disperse mixture into pate batter and stir to combine. 8. Line terrine mold with plastic wrap, making sure you have some hanging over on all sides. Pour in pate batter, and fold in plastic wrap, starting with the two long edges first, and then folding in the two ends. Tent with tin foil, and place in a 4” hotel. 9. Place hotel in 375F/175C oven, filling the hotel pan with enough warm water so that it comes half way up the side of the terrine mold. 10.Cook for 1.5 hours. 11.Remove terrine mold from oven, place on a sheet tray, and remove tinfoil tent. 12.If the pate mixture hasn’t risen above the edges of the terrine, cut some strips of cardboard that fit perfectly inside the terrine, and place directly on the pate mixture, with a sheet tray or other flat object placed on top of the ‘spacers.’ 13.Place heavy weights on top of the terrine and press overnight.

Step by Step Video: http://stellaculinary.com/podcasts/video/hcc-3-duck-pate

Serving

To serve as a canapé or amuse bouche, place a small amount of the pate inside a miniature ﬁllo cup (a piping bag works nicely for this). Top with 1 orange supreme, a single strand pickled red onion, and a small piece of cleaned frisee.

To serve as an appetizer, make a salad by combining cleaned frisee and pickled red onion, lightly dressing it with Stella’s Sherry-Shallot dressing, or a vinaigrette of your choice. Arrange the pate on a mound of this salad, garnish with orange segments, and serve with slices of toasted baguette or brioche. Sherry-Shallot Vinaigrette

This vinaigrette is our all purpose house dressing used for simple salads, or to add ﬂavor to a salad component, like the frisee salad served underneath our duck pate appetizer. This will yield about 20 servings of vinaigrette, but because of it’s acidity, it will easily last a few months in your fridge.

• 1 medium shallot, sliced • 90g sherry vinegar • 200g champagne vinegar • 70g stone ground or dijon mustard • 120g honey • 40g salt • 21g sugar • 85g olive oil • 570g Canola oil

1. Start by adding all the ingredients, including the oil, to the blender. 2. Blend ingredients, starting the blender on its lowest speed, and gradually working it up to the fastest speed possible. As the vinaigrette starts to come together, an emulsion will form, illustrated by the vortex hole about the size of a quarter shown in the picture above. Once this vortex is formed and the vinaigrette appears to have a smooth consistency, simply turn of the blender. 3. Store the in a food safe squeeze bottle and refrigerate. It will hold in the refrigerator for at least 2 months. Duck Conﬁt, Seeded Lavash, Pickled Mustard Seeds

This is a classic amuse bouche at Stella, made up of three separate recipes. The mixture of rich, hammy conﬁt, in concert with the crunchy seeded lavash and sweet- sour/punch of the pickled mustard seeds, creates a complex ﬂavor in a deceivingly simple bite of food.

Duck Conﬁt - “Conﬁt de Canard”

This recipe is formulated using a percentage, which allows the cook to easily scale based on how many duck legs they will be preparing. If serving this duck conﬁt as a canapé, plan on one duck leg for every 4 people. If serving as a plated entree, plan on 1 duck leg per person.

For more information on how to scale recipes using a percentage, please watch our video lecture on the baker’s percentage: http://stellaculinary.com/podcasts/video/what-is-the-bakers- percentage-video

Duck Conﬁt Curing Salt Mix

• 100% kosher salt • 0.2% sodium nitrite • 10% sugar (optional) • 0.5% black pepper • .25% orange zest • .25% fennel seed • .5% grains of paradise • .5% mustard seed • .25% clove • .25% coriander seed

1. Toast spices whole in a dry sauté pan until they become fragrant (do not burn). 2. Grind ﬁnely and combine with salt, sodium nitrite and sugar (optional). 3. Follow duck conﬁt method below section.

For The Duck Conﬁt

• 100% duck legs • 10% conﬁt curing salt mix • 0.5% grains of paradise, toasted • 0.25% cloves • 1% garlic cloves, crushed • bay leaf and fresh thyme to taste

1. Line a sheet tray with a piece of parchment paper and lay down a thin layer of confit salt. 2. Place duck legs on top of salt, skin side up, and cover with the rest of the salt. Lay another piece of parchment on top, and weigh down with a sheet tray and weights (#10 cans, bricks, etc.) 3. Place in the fridge for 12-24 hours. 4. Rinse legs thoroughly under cold running water and pat dry. 5. Place in an appropriately sized, oven safe container, add in GOP, cloves, garlic, thyme and bay leaf, and cover with melted duck fat. 6. Cover container tightly with foil, and place in 200F oven for 6-8 hours, or until cooked through and tender. 7. Gently remove duck from duck fat, place in a new container, and strain duck fat on top, making sure the duck legs are completely covered. 8. Place in the fridge and allow to cure for at least one week, but as long as 6-12 months. For longer curing times, cover the fat cap with plastic wrap so it won’t absorb the aromas from other food in the fridge. 9. Duck confit video part one: http://www.stellaculinary.com/podcasts/video/hcc-1- duck-confit 10. Duck confit video part two: http://stellaculinary.com/hcc5

Seeded Lavash

This simple lavash recipe yields a full-ﬂavor cracker that pairs well with cheese plates, pates and rillettes. It's versatile in the sense that the seeds can be mixed and matched as desired, with my favorites being a mixture of sesame, poppy and sunﬂower seeds. Use this like you would any other cracker, but you can take pride in the fact that it's home made. Wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored in a cool place (but not refrigerated), these crackers will last for 1-2 weeks before going stale.

• 190g Flour, Bread (100%) • 4g Salt (2%) • 2g Yeast (1%) • 15g Honey (8%) • 15g Canola Oil (8%) • 100g Water (52%) • 60g Seeds (31%)

1. Dissolve yeast and honey in warm water. 2. Stir in ﬂour, salt, seeds and canola oil until a loose dough is formed. 3. Cover dough with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 15-20 minutes before mixing. This resting period will allow for the gluten to fully hydrate before kneading. 4. After resting period (technically called an "autolyse"), knead dough by hand for 8-10 minutes or by machine with dough hook attachment for 4 minutes. The dough will be stiff and become somewhat smooth. It is not necessary for the dough to pass the window pane test, (meaning you are able to stretch a thin membrane with a small piece of dough), simply knead long enough for the dough to become smooth. 5. Place dough in an appropriate sized container, cover with plastic wrap so it doesn't dry out and proof at room temperature for about 2 hours. Alternatively, you can retard in your refrigerator for up to 2 days, removing the dough from the fridge 1-2 hours before baking. 6. Divide dough into half (if making a full batch), roll as thinly as possible, and place on a half sheet tray. 7. Poke the surface of the dough liberally with a fork to keep the it from ballooning up during the baking process, and bake at 375°F/190°C for 8-10 minutes in a convection oven, 400°F/204°C for 20 minutes in a conventional oven, or until the crackers are crispy and golden brown. 8. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before breaking apart and consuming.

Notes

I usually prefer the rustic shape of breaking these large crackers apart by hand. There's something appealing to me about the randomness of the breaks and the jagged edges. You can however cut the dough into circles or squares before baking to achieve your desired shape.

Pickled Mustard Seeds

• 1 c. mustard seeds • 1.5 c. water • 1.5 c rice wine vinegar • 1.5 c sugar • 1 T salt

1. Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pot. 2. Bring to a simmer, and gently simmer, stirring often. 3. Add water if needed. 4. Simmer until done (mustard seeds are tender and pop in your mouth). At sea level, these will take about 20 minutes. In Truckee, at 6,000ft, they tend to take about an hour. The best way to know if they’re done is to pull some off, let cool slightly, and try. To Serve Duck Conﬁt Canapé

Allow conﬁt to come to room temperature and shred off the bone. Pile conﬁt on top of a bite sized piece of seeded lavash, and garnish with a small spoonful of seeded mustard seeds.

BOEUF A LA TARTARE diced prime beef tenderloin, dijon, minced shallot, capers, quail egg, brioche

Note: Plan on 50g of beef per person for a small tasting portion, and 90g for a basic, appetizer size.

• 100% beef tenderloin, diced • 1.5% worcestershire sauce • 1% chives • 7% dijon • 4% shallots, minced • 4% capers, minced • 7% extra virgin olive oil • salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste • duck or quail egg for garnish • frisee & mustard oil for garnish (optional)

Combine all ingredients except for egg, mustard oil and frisee, in a mixing bowl. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Pack in ring mold and garnish with frisee, egg yolk, mustard oil and toasted brioche. Brioche - Simpliﬁed Recipe

Brioche is traditionally a difﬁcult bread dough to work with because it contains so much fat. This brioche recipe was developed to have a tender, buttery ﬂavor of a traditional brioche, but with a slightly lower fat content, making it much easier to handle at room temperature.

• 1000g Flour (AP) • 115g Cream (Heavy Whipping) • 220g Butter (Melted) • 4 Eggs (Whole) • 105g Sugar • 210g Water (Room Temperature) • 15g Salt (Kosher) • 7g Yeast (Instant Dry)

1. Combine all ingredients in a standing mixer bowl and mix using dough hook attachment for about 5 minutes on speed # 2. 2. Form into a tight ball, place in a greased mixing bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Place in refrigerator overnight, or for up to 48 hours. 3. Remove chilled brioche dough from the fridge, and allow to temper at room temperature for about 2 hours. 4. Degas dough, form into balls or loafs, and allow to proof for 1-2 hours. 5. Pre-heat oven to 375ºF/190ºC (or 350ºF/175ºC for convection ovens). 6. Brush proofed brioche with either melted butter or egg yolks (gives more sheen), and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the crust is a rich golden brown and the internal temperature is 195ºF/90ºC. 7. Allow to cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Notes

This brioche dough can be scaled into 3oz rounds for burger buns, shaped into an oblong roll for a homemade hot dog bun or shaped into loafs for brioche bread. My favorite way to make brioche loafs is to divide dough into 6 equal rounds, and place three rounds each into a standard 9" loaf pan. Allow to proof as normal and bake as instructed above.

Leftover brioche can be tightly wrapped in plastic and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to two months. POTEE AUVERGNATE EN TERRINE cabbage wrapped pork terrine with fat poached potatoes, bacon-consommé gelée, toasted rye bread croutons

Pork Stock

In this approach we make a white stock, meaning the bones are blanched before the stock is set to simmer. This will give the stock a cleaner, more subtle ﬂavor.

• 100% pork bones • 10% mirepoix, chopped • 5% onion • 2.5% celery • 2.5% carrot • water to cover • sachet to taste • peppercorns, thyme, parsley stems, bay leaf

1. Cover pork bones with cold water, place over a high ﬂame, and bring to a boil. Pour off water, remove bones monetarily from the pot, washing the inside to remove any protein particles. 2. Place blanched bones back in the stock pot along with mirepoix, sachet, and enough cold water to cover all the ingredients by about 3 inches. 3. Bring to a simmer over high heat, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 8 hours or overnight. 4. Strain stock through a large colander or china cap, and then again through a chinois (ﬁne mesh strainer). 5. Video Technique - How to Make White Stock: http://stellaculinary.com/podcasts/ video/how-to-make-white-chicken-stock Reinforced Pork Stock

• 100% pork stock • 10% dry white wine • 10% mirepoix, chopped • 10% bacon diced

1. In the bottom of a large sauce pot, combine bacon and mirepoix, and cook over medium heat until soft and fragrant. Do not brown. 2. Deglaze with dry white wine and reduce by half. 3. Add in pork stock, bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, and reduce by half. Use this reinforced and reduce pork stock (which a concentrated bacon ﬂavor) to make the consommé below. 4. Video Technique: How to Reinforce and Reduce Stock (demonstrated with chicken stock, but this technique is universal): http://stellaculinary.com/podcasts/ video/how-to-reinforce-and-reduce-chicken-stock-video

Bacon-Pork Consommé

• 100% reinforced pork stock (see above) • 30% ground pork • 20% ground bacon • 5% Egg Whites • 15% Mirepoix, Ground or Julienned • Herbs and Spices to Taste

1. Whisk egg whites in a mixing bowl until they become frothy (about 30 seconds). By hand, combine eggs whites, pork, bacon, mirepoix, and any herbs and spices you wish. 2. Place mixture in the bottom of an appropriately sized sauce or stock pot, and cover with cold pork stock. 3. Heat of high heat, while stirring constantly, until the stock reaches 120F (use an instant read probe thermometer). 4. Poke a whole in the center of the raft as it forms, and bring pot to a gentle simmer. 5. Reduce heat to low and continue to simmer for 60 minutes, while basting the raft occasionally. 6. To strain, press the raft down with the back of a large ladle, gathering up the clarified stock, and pass through a fine mesh strainer lined with cheese cloth. 7. Reserve. 8. Consommé Video Technique: http://stellaculinary.com/podcasts/video/how-to- make-consomm%C3%A9-clarfied-stock-or-broth Bacon-Consommé Gelée

100% bacon consommé from above 1.4% silver leaf gelatin

1. Bloom gelatin sheets in cold water to soften. 2. While the bacon consommé is still hot (right after it’s been strained), whisk in bloomed gelatin sheets. If the consommé has already cooled, heat to 130F, whisk in gelatin sheets until dissolved. 3. Place in an airtight container and let set overnight. If making the pork terrine below, it is not necessary to chill the gelée as long as you use it within 2 hours (simply hold at room temperature). 4. Remember to make a little extra of this gelée to use as a garnish for the pork terrine.

Pork Terrine

Note: this recipe utilizes an overnight brine to help the pork maintain it’s pink color and juices during the long braising process. To formulate this brine, weigh enough water to comfortably cover the cubed pork shoulder. Add in 5% salt, 3% sugar, and 0.2% sodium nitrite based on the water’s weight. For more information on this style of formulation, please watch our video on the baker’s percentage: http://stellaculinary.com/podcasts/ video/what-is-the-bakers-percentage-video

Yield Note: 1200g Pork Shoulder = 1 Triangular Terrine Mold

• 100% pork shoulder • curing brine to cover • 100% water • 5% salt • 3% sugar • 0.2% sodium nitrite

• 10% shallots, minced • 2% butter • 15% white wine

• 0.5% activa rm (optional) • 0.5% salt • 0.2% sodium nitrite • 0.5% white pepper • 0.5% sugar • 1% chives, minced • .3% chervil • 20% bacon-pork gelée, hot • large cabbage leaves as needed

1. Remove excess fat and gristle from pork shoulder, dice into 1” cubes, and weigh out 1200g for every large terrine mold you plan to ﬁll. Cover with curing brine and refrigerate for 24 hours. Note: a terrine can be formed with any container that you are able to line with plastic wrap and then apply weights to. 2. Vacuum pack and cook sous vide at 185F/85C for 6 hours. Alternatively, cover pork with stock and braise in a 200F/97C oven for 8 hours, or until falling apart tender. Reserve braising liquid for consommé (recipe given above). 3. While pork is cooking, remove the core from the cabbage head (keeping the head whole) and steam cabbage for 20 minutes, or until the outer, large leafs are tender. Shock in an ice water bath and reserver. Peel off outer leaves and set aside to line the terrine mold. Save the inner part of the cabbage for another application. 4. Combine white wine, shallots, and butter in an appropriately sized pan and place on medium low. Allow this mixture to slowly come to a simmer, and continue to simmer of low until all the white wine has evaporated. Stir occasionally to ensure even evaporation and to make sure the shallots do not stick to the pan and scorch. Set aside. 5. Mix together activa rm, salt, nitrite, white pepper, sugar, and set aside. 6. Line a terrine mold with plastic wrap and set aside. 7. As soon as the pork is done cooking, drain off any excess cooking liquid, and place the pork in a large mixing bowl while it’s still warm. 8. Add in dry ingredients and thoroughly mix together by hand (gloves are helpful for this step). 9. Dip cabbage leaves in hot bacon-pork gelée, and use to line the terrine mold. 10.Pour the remainder of the bacon-pork gelée into the mixing bowl, along with the chives and chervil, and mix cooked pork until all the ingredients are evenly dispersed. 11.Pack into cabbage lined terrine mold, top with cabbage leaves, folding the plastic wrap over the top. Place a ﬂat board or sheet tray on top of the terrine, and apply heavy weights. 12.Place in refrigerator for 24 hours before slicing and serving.

For more information on using gelatin, what this video lecture series: http://stellaculinary.com/guide-to-gelatin Rye Bread

• 100g bread ﬂour • 100g rye ﬂour • 124g water Preferment • 100g sourdough starter (see note)

• 800g bread ﬂour • 80g rye ﬂour • 15g caraway seed • 15g fennel seed • 22g salt • 550g water • 55g butter, melted (plus extra for brushing the bread before baking)

1. The night before, mix together all the ingredients in the pre-ferment. Cover with plastic wrap, leave at room temperature, and allow to ferment for 12-16 hours, or until a teaspoon of the preferment will ﬂoat in a cup of room temperature water. 2. The next day, combine the preferment with the rest of the ingredients, and mix just enough so that it forms a shaggy mass. Allow to rest for 20 minutes (autolyse), and then mix either by hand or machine until a piece of the dough can be stretched thin enough to see light through (this is known as the “windowpane test”). 3. Allow to bulk ferment at room temperature for 2-3 hours, or until it has doubled in volume. 4. Gently degas dough, divide into two even pieces, and form into rectangular loafs. 5. Place in a 9X5” loaf pan, cover with plastic wrap, and proof at room temperature for 1-2 hours, or until the loaf has risen to one and a half times its original volume. 6. Remove plastic wrap, brush with melted butter, score, and bake in a 375F convection oven for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. 7. Allow to cool on a wire rack before slicing and serving.

Further Techniques

The rye bread recipe above uses a lot of techniques that would take a good amount of time to explain here. Instead, below is a list of video techniques plus audio lectures that will give the information you need to better understand this recipe.

Bread Video Demonstrations

• How to Make a Sourdough Starter • European Style Brown Bread - Pay attention to how the dough is kneaded, the ‘windowpane test,’ and how the loaves are formed and baked. Every technique and step illustrated in this video is use in the recipe above; the only difference is the actual ingredients. • Complete Bread Video Index

Audio Lectures

• SCS 18| Four Pillars of Bread - We kick off our bread baking series with a lesson on the four pillars of bread; yeast, water, salt and flour. Understanding these four ingredients and how they effect your overall loaf will allow you to produce a better, more consistent product. • SCS 19| Twelve Steps of Bread - The twelve steps of the bread baking process are discussed. • SCS 20| Bread Classifications - In this episode we discuss the various ways breads are classified and take a more detailed look at the science behind the bulk fermentation process. • SCS 21| Sourdough Starters and Preferments - We discuss how preferments can take your bread to the next level by providing better extensibility, oven spring, and complexity of flavor. In the technique segment; how to make your own sourdough starter. SOLE MEUNIERE sautéed dover sole with lemon, capers and brown butter, served with chilled delta asparagus and slivered almonds

Sole meuniere is a classic French dish that’s more about technique than an actual recipe. Traditionally, dover sole is used, but this approach will work with any thin, white ﬁsh including cat ﬁsh, basa, and snapper.

When serving this dish, plan on half a fillet of sole for every entree served. However, since this is a light, thin fish, you may want to serve a whole fillet per person you you don’t plan on serving any appetizers or desserts.

One of the secrets to cooking fish is a brief soak in a brine solution. The brine will hold the albumen in during the cooking process, keeping the fish from drying out. The dish as pictured above is has a few components which we’ll discuss first, and then we’ll talk about how to actually put this dish together.

Brown Butter

When making brown butter, simply start with whole butter in an sauce pot placed over medium heat. As the butter melts, some of the milk proteins will ﬂoat to the surface in the form of froth, while others will sink to the bottom of the pot and start to brown. As the butter melts, skim the froth from the top, monitoring the butter’s color. Once the butter turns a medium golden brown and starts to smell “nutty,” do a ﬁnal skim to remove as much of the surface scum as possible, and then pass through a strainer lined with a cheese cloth.

Brown butter has about a 50% yield, so if you start with 100g of whole butter, you will yield around 50 grams. Plan on 1-2 ounces (28-50g) of brown butter for every portion of sole meuniere served.

Any left over brown butter can be used for sautéing meats or vegetables. In fact, clariﬁed brown butter (as described above), is called ghee, a cooking fat originating from and widely used in India, as well as South Asian cuisine (Bangladeshi, Nepali, Sri Lankan and Pakistani).

Chilled Delta Asparagus Salad

The light, subtle flavor of sole necessitates it being served with a harmonious side that won’t over power the fish. Since delta asparagus was in season at the time this menu was served, we decided the sweet, minerality of their stalks would complement the fish nicely.

To prepare the asparagus, cut off the bottom 1/2” of their woody stems. Peel the stems with a Y peeler to remove their ﬁbrous skin, and blanch in boiling, salted water until al dente (tender but still with a ‘bite’ or crunch). Once the asparagus has achieved your preferred texture, shock in an ice water bater until completely chilled (about 3-5 minutes).

Drain the asparagus and pat dry. Slice on a bias and reserve.

When ready to serve, dress the asparagus in your favorite olive or nut oil, and season with a few dashes of vinegar and salt. Place on the plate next to the sole, and garnish with toasted, shaved almonds. The vinegar used for this lunch was an aged sherry, which is common in French cuisine. However, any acidic ingredient will work here to bright the asparagus’ ﬂavor including lemon juice, champagne vinegar, moscato vinegar, balsamic, etc.

For a video demonstration on preparing and blanching asparagus, please watch the following video: http://stellaculinary.com/kp6

For The Sole

Make a 5% brine with enough water to comfortably cover all the sole ﬁllets you plan on serving. For example, if you have 1000g of water, multiply that by .05 (5%), which yields 50g of salt.

Submerge sole in brine for 20 minutes, remove, rinse under cold, running water and refrigerate until read to cook. Heat a heavy bottom skillet over medium high heat. When water is ﬂicked into the pan, it should bead up and bounce around like little balls of mercury. If the water instead sizzles away, continue to heat the pan. For water to sizzle and turn into steam, it needs nucleation points, which open pours of a warm pan offer. However, when the pan is heated sufﬁciently, the pours close, reducing the pan’s nucleation points, and causing the water to form into beads and bounce around.

This is important because once the pours of the plan close, only then should the oil be added. This will lead to less sticking and more even browning.

Once pan is sufficiently heated, pour in enough cooking oil to form a thin film across the bottom. Dust the sole in a little bit of flour (all purpose, bread, or cake flour will all work), shaking off any excess so only a light coat remains. Place sole in the pan, laying the fillet away from you.

Cook until a light golden brown on one side, carefully ﬂip, add in a knob of butter, and continue to cook until the other side is a light golden brown.

Remove sole from pan and place on a serving plate. Sauce with brown butter and garnish with capers and a lemon wedge. PIGEONNEAUX AUX PRINTEMPS LEGUMES pan roasted squab breast, vichy carrots, fava beans & morel mushrooms, sautéed with goose liver, spiced squab reduction

As with the sole meuniere, this dish is more about technique than an actual recipe.

The Prep

• Break down a whole pigeon, just like you would a chicken, planning on one breast per serving. Save the carcasses for the sauce. • Peel/blanch baby carrots, and reserve. • Prep/blanch fava beans, and reserve. • Cut morel mushrooms in half. • Slice shallots thinly. • Make a roasted chicken stock (one cup per serving). • Dice goose liver (optional).

For the Sauce

• Dust squab carcasses in ﬂour and brown in the bottom of a large pan using whole butter. • As the squab carcasses brown, add in whole pepper corns, grains of paradise, and a cinnamon stick. Continue to cook until fragrant. • Deglaze with red wine, and reduce until almost dry. • Cover squab carcasses with roasted chicken stock, and gently simmer for 3 hours. • Strain sauce into a fresh pot, and reduce to 1/8th it’s original volume. • When ready to serve, bring back to a simmer, mount with a knob of butter, a squeeze of lemon juice, and taste for seasoning.

For the Squab Breast

• Brine in a 5% salt solution for 4 hours. Rinse under cold running water, pat dry, and rest in your refrigerator, uncovered, overnight. • At Stella, we sous vide the squab breast at at 131F/55C for 30 minutes and then chill in an ice bath. • Right before serving, the squab breast is seared in a hot pan with oil, and then ﬁnished with a little whole butter basted over the top until the core of the breast is warm (you can check this by inserting a cake tester for 3 seconds, hold it to your bottom lip, and if it’s warm, then it’s ready to serve). • If not cooking sous vide, pan roast squab breast as if it were a miniature chicken breast. I prefer squab breast mid rare (131F/55C internal temperature), but feel free to cook it however you like. • Serve immediately.

A Note on Vichy Carrots

Vichy carrots are carrots glazed using mineral water from the Vichy region of France. For this dish, we used bottled mineral water, along with some butter and a pinch of sugar, to glaze baby carrots. The glazed carrots are then combined at the last minute with the sautéed vegetables, and served underneath the pan roasted squab breast.

How to Glaze Carrots - Video Technique

For the Sautéed Vegetables

Remember that these can be any vegetables that are currently in season. Because this lunch took place in spring, it was natural to choose fava beans, morels, and baby carrots. Some examples for other seasons would be:

Summer: corn, baby tomatoes, shallots, wilted spinach Fall: brussels sprout leaves, chanterelles, fennel Winter: green lentils, minced shallots, cara cara orange supremes

* Plan on 2-3 ounces of vegetables total per serving.

Heat an appropriately sized sauté pan over high heat. When the pan is thoroughly hot, add in enough cooking oil to cover the bottom with a thin layer, and add in shallots. Sauté until the shallots are soft, then add morel mushrooms, fava beans and diced goose liver. Once all the vegetables are heated through, combine with vichy carrots, season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately. You can also sauté the blanched baby with the rest of the vegetables, and fore go the glazing step. Pro-Tip: Whenever you do a vegetable sauté, you should always ﬁnish with a little white wine and butter. Right before serving, add in about two ounces of white wine, and reduce until almost dry. Right before white in fully reduced, add in a pat of butter, and continue to sauté until the butter is just barely melted and coats the vegetables.

This “finishing” step will glaze the vegetables, giving them a shinny, appealing appearance, as well as adding to the overall flavor of the dish. Be sure to adjust final seasoning with salt and acid, right before serving.

How To Sauté - Video Technique

Execution - Putting It All Together

The squab sauce can be made, and the vegetables can be prepped, up to a few days in advance. Start by pan roasting the squab breast ﬁrst, and when ﬁnished, rest at room temperature on an oven-safe sheet tray. Start the vegetable sauté while simultaneously heating the squab sauce to a simmer.

Right before ﬁnishing the sauté and sauce as described above, place the squab breasts in a 400F oven just long enough to reheat the exterior (about 60-90 seconds).

While the squab breast is re-heating in the oven, place the vegetable sauté in the center of a plate. Remove squab breast from oven, place skin side up on the vegetable sauté, and sauce with a spoonful of squab-reduction sauce.

INTERMEZZO orange sherbet, hazelnut oil, sel de gris

• 454g fruit puree or juice (in this case, orange juice) • 200g sugar • 944g whole milk • 5g lemon juice

1. Whisk together milk and sugar until the combined. 2. Next, whisk in fruit puree and lemon juice until thoroughly dispersed. 3. Spin for the duration recommended by the manufacturer of your ice cream machine. FRAISE A LA SAVARIN yeasted sweet brioche, macerated strawberries, bartlett pear syrup, spring basil, honey-sherry créme fraîche

Sweet Brioche

• 440g bread ﬂour • 190g ap ﬂour • 440g whole milk • 50g butter • 50g sugar • 5g salt • 3g yeast

1. Combine milk and butter in small sauce pot and scald (heat to 180F/82C). Cool to 105F/40C. 2. Mix together sugar, salt, and yeast, and whisk into milk. 3. Add both ﬂours to milk and mix together just long enough to form a shaggy dough. Allow to rest for 30 minutes. 4. After rest period, knead dough until it passes the window pane test (you can stretch a small piece of dough thin enough so light shines through). This will take about 3-4 minutes if using the dough hook attachment on a stand mixer, or 5-8 minutes if kneading by hand. 5. Place dough mixture in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to bulk ferment at room temperature for 1-2 hours or until the dough has doubled in original volume. 6. Divide dough into two loaves, placing each loaf into 9X5” bread pans. 7. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to proof at room temperature for 1 hour, or until doubled in size. 8. Score the top of the loaf with one single slice down the length of the loaf. Bake at 375F for 30 minutes, or until a dark golden brown. 9. Allow to cool to room temperature on a wire rack before slicing and serving.

For the Strawberries

• 1 clam shell strawberries (2 lbs/907g) • 200g sugar • 7 basil leaves, chiffonade • 2 lemons, juice only

1. Combine all ingredients together and allow to sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours before using. 2. This mixture can be stored in the fridge for up to three days.

Pear Simple Syrup

• 2 bartlett pairs (~400g), diced • 300g sugar • 300g water • 3g salt

1. Combine all ingredients together and bring to a simmer. Gently simmer for 20 minutes. 2. Remove from heat, cover with a lid, and allow to steep for 40 minutes. 3. Strain simple syrup through a ﬁne chinois and reserve. This will hold for a few months if refrigerated, and can be used to garnish desserts, pan cakes, or as a sweetener for cocktails.

Honey-Sherry Creme Fraîche

300g creme fraîche 100g honey 50g sherry vinegar 1. Mix all ingredients together and taste. It should have a sweet/sour ﬂavor structure. Add additional honey and sherry to taste if necessary. 2. Reserve in fridge until ready to serve. 3. This will hold for about 2 weeks in the fridge. 4. Note: sour cream can be used as a substitute for creme fraîche. It won’t be the same, but it will still be delicious.

Putting It All Together

• Slice sweet brioche about 3/4-1” thick, cutting off outer crust. • Place brioche in the center of a plate, and spoon the pear simple syrup over the bread, allowing it to soak in. • Top bread with strawberries, and drizzle some of the juice around the plate. • Garnish with honey-sherry creme fraîche. • Serve immediately. MIGNARDISES chocolate truffles rolled in dehydrated peanut butter; raspberry macaroon; grapefruit pate de fruit

Mignardises are small, bite sized sweets traditionally served at the end of the meal, along with coffee. The name is derived from the French word, “mignard,” which means small child or can be used to describe something as graceful, pretty and delicate. Mignardises are customarily presented with the check at the end of a ﬁne dining meal.

Mignardises can also be referred to as ‘petits fours,’ meaning ‘small oven’ in French.

French Macarons

French macarons are notoriously ﬁnicky, but when perfected, are well worth the effort. The exterior shell is simultaneously crunchy and chewy, and gives way to any number for creamy ﬁllings. Please see the notes at the end of this recipe for tips you can use to ensure macaron success.

Yields about 60 shells or 30 macarons (depending on size)

• 100g almond flour • 180g powdered sugar • 100g egg whites • 1g cream of tartar • 359g granulated sugar 1. Combine almond flour and powdered sugar in a food processor and blend until very fine (about 30 seconds). Sift into a bowl and set aside. 2. Whisk together egg whites with cream of tartar and granulated sugar until firm peaks are achieved. 3. Add food coloring and flavor extract if desired and whisk for a couple more seconds. 4. Fold almond flour and sugar mixture with the whisked egg whites, working in thirds. Adding a third of the mixture at a time will help to keep the macaron batter from clumping and becoming heavy. The proper motion for mixing is to scrape all the way around the inside of the mixing bowl using a rubber spatula, then dipping the spatula tip down underneath the batter, and then gently folding up, into the center. 5. Continue to fold the almond flour mixture into the egg whites until fully incorporated. 6. Test the batter’s thickness by spooning a little mound on a plate. The mixture’s peak should fall within 10 seconds. If it doesn’t, continue to mix the batter as described in step four, and then test again. 7. Place macaron batter in a pipping bag, and pipe onto a sheet tray lined with parchment paper, to the desired circumference. Tap the bottom of the sheet tray on the counter top a few times. This will allow the batter to settle and get rid of any large air pockets. 8. Allow macrons to sit uncovered at room temperature for 20-60 minutes depending on the humidity of you environment (the more humid the kitchen is, the longer the macarons will need to rest). Touch the top of the macaron with your finger; it should be dry and slightly tacky, with no batter sticking to your finger. 9. Once the macarons pass the finger test from step 8, bake in a 300F/148C oven for 10-15 minutes, turning the sheet tray 180˚ half way through the baking process. 10.Allow macaron shells to cool at room temperature before creating a sandwich with cream filling. For best results, allow macarons to ‘age’ for at least a day in the refrigerator. This will allow them to absorb some of the flavors from the filling, and the shells will absorb a little moisture, giving them a desirable, chewy texture.

Tips for Macaron Success

• When separating the egg whites from the yolks, use the shell or an egg separator, not your fingers. The natural oils on your hands will cause the egg whites to have less volume when whisked. Also, make sure the bowl you place the egg whites in is completely clean, and no yolks get mixed in. • Be careful not to compact the almond flour and powdered sugar by stirring with a spoon. Once the almond flour and powdered sugar are sifted together, it should be left as is, until it’s incorporated into the whipped egg whites, one third at a time. • If using a stand mixer to whisk the egg whites, set it on the second lowest speed possible. Although a slower speed will take longer to achieve a stiff peak, the resulting foam will be much more stable (due to small, evenly dispersed air pockets), yielding a better overall texture. • Use powdered or gel based food coloring, since the water based versions will slightly collapse your egg whites.

Raspberry Macaron Filling

• 1 c. powdered sugar • 1.5 oz butter, room temperature • 1 oz heavy whipping cream • 1 oz raspberry puree • 1/8 tsp vanilla extract

1. In a stand top mixer, whisk together butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and raspberry puree until thoroughly combined. 2. Whisk in heavy whipping cream, continuing to whisk on medium speed until light and ﬂuffy.

Chocolate Trufﬂe Rolled In Dehydrated Peanut Butter

This version of the classic chocolate truffle is a ganache base that can be rolled in any number of coatings. At Stella we opt to roll the them in dehydrated peanut butter to replicate the flavor structure of one of my favorite childhood treats - the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. Other common coatings include finely chopped nuts, powdered sugar, and spices.

Yields 50 Trufﬂes

• 3 1⁄2 oz Chocolate (Unsweetened) • 2 1⁄4 oz Cream (Heavy Whipping) • 2 1⁄2 oz Butter (Unsalted) • 2 1⁄2 oz Glucose • 2oz Tapioca Maltodextrin • 1oz Peanut Butter (Creamy)

Before we get started, I know that you're looking at the yield of "50 truffles" and wanting to cut this recipe down to size. But this truffle base is so versatile, I guarantee that you'll be kicking yourself for not making the whole recipe. Not only is this stuff great as a truffle base, but you can spread it on toast at room temperature, add it to your waffles or pancakes, or even stir it into your morning coffee to make a great mocha on the fly. You might even catch yourself eating spoonfuls, as is, as a midnight snack; but don't worry, it'll be our secret.

To make the chocolate trufﬂe base, combine butter, cream, and glucose in an appropriately-sized sauce pan. Use a rubber spatula to scrape all the glucose from the measuring container, and then use a metal whisk to scrape the rubber spatula. You'll later use this whisk to stir your mixture, insuring the glucose is accurately incorporated into the chocolate trufﬂe recipe.

Glucose is a common ingredient in the pastry kitchen, used to increase sweetness and also added to sorbets, ice creams, and syrups because it inhibits crystallization in contrast to raw sugar. It also adds elasticity, which is a key component to a chocolate trufﬂe's texture and mouth feel.

Place your pot over a high flame, using the whisk from above to occasionally stir contents. Bring to a boil, turn off heat, and whisk in unsweetened chocolate until thoroughly incorporated. Once the chocolate is completely incorporated, pour into a storage container, like the metal service pan shown below. Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the truffle base and then cover the entire container with plastic wrap. Chill in refrigerator overnight, or until the truffle base has solidified (this will depend on the dimensions of your storage container and batch size). In a pinch, you can place the truffle base in the freezer for an hour or two and then transfer to your fridge.

In the meantime, combine tapioca maltodextrin and peanut butter in a food processor and pulse until thoroughly incorporated. Tapioca maltodextrin is a light weight bulking agent that has the ability to absorb fat, but will also quickly dissolve in the presence of moisture, like the saliva present in your mouth. This gives your palate the unique sensation of having a "de-hydrated" fat "re- hydrating" back into its original form. Generally speaking, you'll need a 2:1 ratio (by weight) of maltodextrin to fat. To be completely honest though, we never measure. As you can see below, we start by adding the maltodextrin into the food processor and then the peanut butter right on top.

After a few pulses the mixture still looks a little dry, so we'll add in more peanut butter until we get the proper consistency.

After the truffle base has set, remove plastic wrap and scrape off any fat that has risen to the top using a metal spoon. Dip a parisian baller into hot water and then scoop a round ball out of your truffle base as shown below. Drop chocolate truffle into dehydrated peanut butter and shake gently to coat. Repeat until desired amount of truffles are created.

If you want to get fancy about it, you can buy some paper trufﬂe sleeves as shown below, which will come stacked together, so you'll need to take the time to separate them. Remove the chocolate trufﬂe from the dehydrated peanut butter and gently roll between the palms of your hands to create an even sphere. Place in a paper sleeve (optional) and refrigerate until you're ready to serve. Tools Used

• Tamis • China Cap • Chinois • Hotel Pan • Blender • Food Processor • 9X5” Loaf Pan • Escali Digital Scale

Specialty Ingredients Used

• Sodium Nitrite • Activa RM • Fleur De Sel • Sel De Gris • Apple Pectin