In any event, we had some cocktails on Saturday night, and it was evident this French fellow knew food, so, we agreed to get down to buisness on Sunday evening, which was perfect as I had just finished the heaps of left-overs from the week before.
During the day, we brain-stormed what to make. I offered several suggestions, but my foodie-interlocutor was having none of my haute-french suggestions. So, after some back-and-forth, it was decided we would go try to make some classic American dishes.
Now, the night before, I said we were going to make fried chicken, which is great. But, one too many Jamesons wiped out that particular thought from the memory banks. In any event, we finally settled on pain bouef--which translated into American is meat loaf--cauliflower gratin, hericot vert, and a simple salad with vinagrette. Then is was off to the races.
I actually don't have a recipe for meatloaf, but, I though my burger recipe would end up makeing a great meatloaf--which it did. The cauliflower was just blanched cauliflower added to a quick sauce mornay (with chedder and Gruyere). Hericot Vert sauteed in some olive oil and garlic. Simple but really good.
Now, my burgar recipie is not your typical McDonald's fair. There are 24-separate steps in this particularly detailed recipe.
The picture above is taken from the mushroom-shallot-white wine reudction step. Its kind of intense, but the results are excellent. The recipie I gave above is for the hamburgers--I'm too lazy to rewrite it. To change the from hamburger to meatloaf, just put the whole mix in a baking pan, add some bread crumbs, and bake at 375 for about 45 minutes. Check for doneness with a thermometer.
Sauce Mornay for Gratin--Also great for Impromtu Fondu
Cauliflower Gratin
Everything on a Plate
Thanks also to Laura for doing the vinagrette! It all looked lovely, but, my European salt-sense is still off. The meat was a little bit bland, but when mixed with a little cheesy gratin it all mellowed out. One thing that really could have helped was the ground pork and ground veal. We could only get minced beef, and it ended up being a bit heavy and not as fatty as it should have been. American ground chuck really has a better taste and texture. But, it was still pretty good.
A bit disappointed with my performance, I am aiming high for Thursday with Cassolutte. Its a 3-day cooking marathon. Today I roasted a pork shoulder and made a brown stock (Fonds Brun).
Simmering Fonds Brun
Roasted Pork Sholder
I'll give more details and recipes tomorrow! Until then!
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