Happy Birthday Kathleen

The class this week was given to Kathleen as a birthday present from her husband. Kathleen brought her sister-in-law, Diane to partake in the celebration. Kathleen is an avid cook which brought on a little pressure to impart some new information and advice. We packed in a LOT! We forwent our sit down meal at the end in exchange for more time at the stove.
This day we managed to prepare: Buttermilk scones with candied ginger. A rosemary lemon fougasse. Bourride with monkfish*. Cherry balsamic glazed pork tenderloin. And we revisited the fresh ginger chocolate torte.
*One note before going ahead - Here's a link to Seafood Watch. Monkfish is on the avoid list and therefore I rarely eat it despite liking it.
I've posted the Scones, Fougasse and Bourride recipes.....

Buttermilk Scones:
2 c unbleached white flour
1/4 c sugar
1/2 c butter (1 stick)
1/2-3/4 c buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Orange zest from 1/2 orange
1/2c fruit
1 egg for wash
sugar crystals

Preheat oven to 400F degrees
Sift dry ingredients together and put in cuisinart.
Cut butter into pieces and add to dry ingredients in cuisinart and pulse blend
Mix in orange zest and dried fruit.
(Adjust liquid for wet fruit and fold in after mixing in buttermilk:)
Add buttermilk and mix. Knead lightly. Form into log and cut into rounds or form traditional round and cut into wedges
Place on cookie sheet with parchment paper or silpat.
Brush on egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Lighly cut rounds into wedges.
Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes till golden.

Fougasse taken from Epicurious.com
Fougasse is a favorite in southern France. It is said that the holes cut into the flatbread served a very specific purpose — they allowed a field worker to slip his arm through and carry the bread to work along with his tools. Serve this with the Bourride or as an appetizer, brushed with a little olive oil.

Makes 2 loaves.

3 cups warm water (105°F to 115°F)
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
5 cups semolina flour* (pasta flour; about 30 ounces), divided
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt_5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided_1 1/2 cups (or more) unbleached all purpose flour, divided
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon peel_4 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary

Pour 3 cups warm water into large bowl of heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with dough hook. Sprinkle yeast over; stir to blend. Mix in 1 cup semolina flour. Let stand until small bubbles begin to rise to surface of mixture, about 40 minutes. Mix salt into yeast mixture, then beat in remaining 4 cups semolina flour, 1 cup at a time. Mix in 3 tablespoons oil, then 1 cup unbleached flour (dough will be slightly sticky).
Turn dough out onto floured work surface; knead in lemon peel, rosemary, and 1/2 cup unbleached flour. Knead until dough is smooth, elastic, and satiny, adding more unbleached flour by tablespoonfuls if dough is too sticky, about 10 minutes. Form dough into ball; return to same bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.
Punch dough down. Turn dough out onto floured work surface and knead 5 minutes. Divide dough in half. Sprinkle 2 baking sheets lightly with semolina flour. Roll out each dough piece to 12x8-inch rectangle. Transfer 1 dough rectangle to each prepared baking sheet. Using sharp knife, cut several 3-inch-long slits in each dough rectangle, cutting through completely.

Pull slits apart, creating large holes in dough. Cover dough with kitchen towels and let rise in warm draft-free area until dough is doubled in volume, about 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, position 1 rack in bottom third and 1 rack in top third of oven and preheat to 425°F. Bake breads until puffed and golden brown, reversing baking sheets halfway through baking, about 30 minutes total. Transfer breads to racks; brush remaining 2 tablespoons oil over top of breads. Cool at least 10 minutes. (Can be made ahead. Cool completely. Wrap breads separately in foil, then enclose in resealable plastic bags and store at room temperature 1 day or freeze up to 2 weeks. If desired, rewarm thawed breads wrapped in foil in 350°F oven for 10 minutes.)
Serve breads whole or cut into thick crosswise strips.
*A coarsely ground durum wheat flour that is available at some supermarkets, specialty foods stores, and Italian markets.

There are many recipes out there for Bourride - I encourage you to check out a few and see which ones strike you. I do this with many recipes and then sometimes make my own blend.

Bourride: -A Provençal stew containing fish, vegetables, and white wine, thickened with aioli and served over bread.
In one book they serve this with boiled potatoes which I tried and liked.

Serves 4

1 1/2 lb (approx) firm fish ,traditionally monkfish, or halibut
1 lb fish trimmings from non oily fish (if available)
1/4 c Olive oil
1 medium onion
1 leek (white part only)
1 carrot
1 stalk of celery
1/2 bulb fennel
2 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs of thyme
2 large strips of orange peel
1 c white wine
3 c water or clam juice
1/4c cream
1 1/2 c. aioli
Baguette sliced, rubbed with garlic and olive oil, toasted

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add fish trimmings if available and sweat for 5 minutes. Add onion, leeks, fennel, carrots celery; sauté 10 minutes. Stir in garlic, thyme, bay leaves, and orange peel, then deglaze with white wine and reduce till almost dry. At this point if you have the fish trimmings you can just add water, if not add clam juice. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 20 minutes. Then pass all ingredients and liquid through a chinoise and return to heat. Add 1/4 c of cream and bring back to simmer. Carefully add fish and cook until fish is just opaque in center about 8 minutes, occasionally spooning liquid over fish to submerge if necessary. Using slotted spoon, transfer fish to bowl and cover. Bring liquid back to a boil and reduce slightly. Remove from heat.
Temper aioli by slowly whisking in 1 c liquid into bowl with 1 cup aioli. Season with salt and pepper.
Divide fish into 4 bowls, with a baguette crouton and cover with liquid. Garnish with chervil or parsley. Serve immediately with remaining aioli alongside.

Aioli -you can double this if you want to have a generous amount to serve with the bread-
4 cloves garlic
2 yolks and a dash of water
1 T lemon juice
1 c olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

Macerate garlic either in mortar and pestle - (doesn't really work for me). I chop in fine then crush it with the back of my knife to form a paste- use a little of the salt for this.
Mix garlic, lemon juice, salt into yolks. Whisk or use electric beater to double the volume and bring yolks to a lighter color. Slowly stream in olive oil while whisking until aioli thickens. Season to taste.
Can be prepared ahead.
* One can also pasteurize this by whisking yolks in a pan over simmering water and bringing to 140 degrees for 3 minutes before adding olive oil.

Comments

[Kathleen]

My husband showed exceptional brilliance in the selection of this gift. I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys cooking or simply wants to have a fun time.

My favorable impressions were made even before the day of the class as Wendy was keen to receive my input into the day’s menu. Upon arriving, you find a lovely setting with an ideal kitchen equipped with a knowledgeable and experienced instructor. We had a full agenda but Wendy’s relaxed and fun manner of imparting knowledge about the dishes and various techniques made for an enjoyable time.

After the day’s cooking was concluded, we celebrated our efforts and the good food by toasting glasses and sampling the day’s creation. We then left with a doggie bag for my husband, new cooking techniques Wendy imparted as asides during our cooking, and a new confidence to create some new and wonderful dishes. This is definitely a worthwhile class and one I am looking forward to attending again.

[Wendy]

Kathleen,
Thanks so much for your appreciation- it was such a pleasure working with you and Diane and I too look forward to the next time. Wendy

[Dianne Tudor]

I am the sister-in-law that was lucky enough to be included in Kathleen's gift and "Wendy's Excellent Adventure"! What a wonderful afternoon and incredible learning experience...all in a cozy, relaxed setting! Wendy, thank you for your generous culinary tips and introduction to fine ingredients. I wish you continued success with your wonderful store and classes.