Cured Beef... Cooking with no heat around...

In one of the last issue of the magazine Plate presenting the inovative cuisine of Scandinavia, I found that recipe of cured beef. I love that method of cooking : the protein stays moist and flavorful, energy free, not much work, just let sit in the fridge while the curing process works alone...

By the way, check that post about gravlax salmon...

Ingredients (yield = 12 servings)

• 2 TBS coriander seeds
• 1 1 /2 fennel seeds
• 1/2 TBS black peppercorns
• 5 bay leaves
• 180 g sea salt
• 180 g cane sugar
• 1 kg beef top round
• Chervil sprigs
• 12 rye bread slices, toasted
• 3/4 cup celery cream*

Procedure

• In a hot, dry pan roast coriander seeds, fennel seeds and black pepper until aromatic. Coarsely grind with a mortar and pestle and combine with bay leaves, salt and sugar. Spread onto beef and refrigerate for 4 days, rotating daily and allowing liquid to accumulate.
• Remove beef from liquid, transfer to cutting board and slice very thin.
• For each serving, arrange 5 slices beef on rye bread, top with 1 tablespoon celery cream and serve.

*Celery Cream     

Ingredients (yield = 3 cups)

• 300 g celeriac, peeled, very thinly sliced
• 1 TBS salt
• 1 bunch ramson, chives, chervil or tarragon  leaves, fresh, chiffonade
• 3 dl sour cream, 38% fat
• 1.5 dl  mayonnaise
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• 1 TBS salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Procedure

• Toss herbs with 1 tablespoon salt and set aside for 30 minutes. 
• Rinse briefly and squeeze to drain. Reserve. 
• In a mixing bowl, combine herbs, sour cream and mayonnaise. 
• Add celeriac and lemon zest and stir to combine. 
• Season with lemon juice, salt and pepper. 
• Keep refrigerated.

Source www.plateonline.com / Executive Chef Adam Aamann - New York, N.Y., USA

Make your own Dijon Mustard

I just watched on TV5 channel an episode of a French documentary serie called Epicerie Fine, presented by a famous French Chef Guy Martin. The topic was La Moutarde de Dijon. You can still view the whole program here (in French).

Actually, it is pretty straightforward to do your own whole grain Dijon Mustard.

You just need a mortar, mustard seeds, verjus (pressed juice of unripened white grapes) and some salt.

Just crush all ingredients in the mortar. To get rid of the bitterness and strong acidity, let mature for a few days. Here is the result...

Book : Bite by Bite

This book is primarily about small size hors d'oeuvres, canapés et petits fours. It is full of great ideas for presentation and modern canapés with a little twist of everything. As any decent book about cooking in US, it is foreworded by Martha Stewart (the other option being Rachael Ray). This book doesn't need this foreword for being a great book to buy. My only critic would be that some of the ideas look great on the page but are not easily "transportable" in real cocktail life (you have to think of the waiters sometimes when they have to pass around trays among crowded mob and starving guests!). That is a common critic for most of the cooking books I read :  not much practicability....

For example how do you pass those tacos on lime or mini pitas on trays ? Mystère...

If you like comfort food as hors d'oeuvres, you have cool recipes of mini bun, mini hot-dog bun and mini toast loaf... And this great twist of salmon in the blanket (as a close cousin to pig in the blanket...)

Syrup Recipe with Exotic flavors...

A recipe for an exotic syrup mixing tastes of mango, ginger, lemon grass and vanilla. A syrup is traditionally cooked sugar and water which formes a syrupy texture. It is traditional used in French desserts to soak biscuits (genoise, jelly roll...) and can be flavored with rum for the famous baba au rhum...

Ingredients

• Water 1 l
• Sugar 250 gr
• Mango coulis 200 gr
• Fresh Ginger 30 gr (shredded)
• Lemon grass 2 sticks (cut in 2 or 3  lengthwise)
• Vanilla 2 beans
• Liquor 25 gr

Procedure

• Add all ingredients (except liquor) in a pot and boil until sugar is dissolved
• Off the heat, cover to infuse for 5 mn
• Strain and add the liquor. Cool down

Indispensable : Almond Financiers

Ingredients (yields 24 large financiers or 96 mini financiers)

• 200 gr brown butter (noisette)
• 6 egg whites
• 200 gr confectioners sugar
• 80 gr flour
• 80 gr almond flour
• 1 TSP honey
• 50 gr sliced almonds

Procedure

• Using a Kitchen Aid robot, whisk the whites until bubbling
• Mix in sugar, flour, almond powder, honey and finally pour slowly the lukewarm brown butter to incorporate
• If using a metallic mold, brush with melted butter
• Pipe in the dough and sprinkle the sliced almonds
• Bake until golden brown (7-8 mn for mini-financiers)

Recipe from P. Hermé

Indispensable : Lemon Madeleines

Ingredients (yields 24 large madeleines or 96 mini madeleines)

• 125 gr melted brown butter
• 3 eggs
• 130 gr sugar
• 1 TBS honey
• 150 gr flour
• 3 gr baking powder
• Zest of 1 organic lemon

Procedure

• Using a kitchen aid robot, whisk eggs, sugar, honey and a pinch of salt until white pale
• Add flour, baking powder, lemon zest and finally slowly incorporate the lukewarm butter
• If using a metallic mold, brush with melted butter
• Pipe in the dough forming a small ball shape at the base of each indentation of the mould (it will help the Madeleine to form its typical belly while baking and rising). You can also use a spoon and your thumb to distribute the dough
• Bake at the last minute at 325 F./160 C. until golden brown (7-8 mn for mini-madeleines).
• Unmould and serve right away

Recipe from P. Hermé