This New Year's Eve dinner is courtesy of three Food Network chefs with whom I will be cruising at the end of January.
I will be aboard The Globe and Mail Caribbean Odyssey, which features cooking classes with top chefs, food-and-wine matching seminars with Beppi Crosariol and myself, as well as forums with Globe journalists, including editor-in-chief Edward Greenspon and publisher Phillip Crawley.
Lynn Crawford, executive chef of the Four Seasons New York, Anna Olson, star of Sugar, and Anthony Sedlak, the young star of The Main, will all be holding classes on the ship. They are also planning some of the dinners, which will include the three following dishes.
I have adapted their recipes for home cooking. Together, they make a sensational New Year's Eve celebration.
Anthony Sedlak's Spice Poached Pear and Aged Cheddar Salad
The poached pears have all the wonderful aromas and tastes of the holiday season.
What you need
Pear Poaching Liquid:
6 juniper berries or 1 tablespoon gin
3 cloves
4 black peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
1 red chili
½ cup roughly chopped fresh ginger
1 cup granulated sugar
1½ cups apple cider vinegar
1½ cups water
4 ripe pears (preferably Bartlett), peeled and cored
Pear Vinaigrette:
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons strained poaching liquid from pears
¼ cup olive oil Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Salad:
1 large bunch arugula
4 ounces shaved old Cheddar cheese
what you do
Combine all ingredients for pear poaching liquid except pears in a wide pot. Place pot over medium-heat high and bring liquid to boil. Boil 2 minutes, reduce heat to low and add pears.
Make sure that the liquid completely covers the pears, adding more water if needed. Poach for 10 minutes or until pears are fork tender. Remove from heat.
Cool pears in liquid. When ready to use, slice pears. Reserve.
Whisk Dijon mustard, vinegar and pear poaching liquid together. Whisk in olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Toss arugula, cheese and pears with vinaigrette. Serves 6.
Lynn Crawford's Slow-Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Bourguignon Garnish
This is deconstructed beef bourguignon. To blanch onions, place in cold water, bring to boil, cook 1 minute, drain and peel.
what you need
½ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped chives
250 grams (½ pound) cherry tomatoes, halved and seeded
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
½ teaspoon sugar
500 grams (1 pound) cremini mushrooms, quartered
300 grams (2/3 pound) pearl onions, peeled and blanched
10 slices of prosciutto2.5 kilograms (5 pounds) beef tenderloin, cleaned and trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sauce:
½ cup red wine
2 cups beef or veal stock
what you do
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Combine oil with parsley and chives.
Place cut cherry tomatoes in bowl and toss with salt, sugar and 2 tablespoons herbed olive oil. Place cut-side up on baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until slightly shrivelled. Reserve.
Toss mushrooms with 3 tablespoons herbed olive oil and salt and pepper. Place the mushrooms on baking trays. Roast until mushrooms are golden brown and cooked all the way through, about 15 to 20 minutes. Reserve.
Add remaining 3 tablespoons herbed olive oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add blanched pearl onions and sauté until caramelized, about 10 minutes. Reserve.
Arrange prosciutto slices on cutting board, overlapping slightly to form rectangle. Place the beef tenderloin in the centre of the rectangle, perpendicular to slices. Wrap prosciutto slices around tenderloin. Tie wrapped beef with butchers twine.
Reduce oven heat to 375 F.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat in a large ovenproof sauté pan. Carefully place the beef in the pan and cook on all sides for about 6 minutes total to brown the prosciutto. Place pan in oven in oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 125-130 F.
Let beef rest for 10 minutes. Add red wine to sauté pan and reduce to 2 tablespoons, scraping up any bits on the base. Stir in stock and reduce again until sauce is slightly thickened. Slice meat and serve with reheated cherry tomatoes, onions, mushrooms and potatoes. Drizzle with sauce.
La Tur Potatoes
If rich Piedmontese La Tur cheese (made from cow and goat milk) is not available, substitute a full-flavoured, salty and rich triple cream rind cheese. Triple Crème Fromagerie Côté (from Quebec) or Delice de Bourgogne (from France) are good choices, but triple crème brie will work.
Do not flinch at the amount of butter: You drain off most of it.
what you need
500 grams (1 pound) butter
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme6 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and sliced into ¼-inch slices
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
200 grams (6 ounces) La Tur cheese
what you do
Melt butter in a large sauté pan or deep skillet over medium-low heat. Add thyme and potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook slowly until potatoes are cooked through, tossing occasionally, about 20 minutes. Drain butter off and place potatoes in serving dish.
Melt cheese slowly in a separate sauce pot over medium heat. Pour melted cheese over potatoes. Reheat gently when needed. Serves 8.
Anna Olson's Goat Cheese Torte with Limoncello Cream and Berries
People can rarely guess that fresh goat cheese is the base for this torte. Its fallen soufflé appearance leaves a great sunken centre to fill with cream and fruit.
what you need
Goat Cheese Torte:
325 grams (6 ounces) fresh goat cheese
3 tablespoons sugar
4 large eggs, separated
Limoncello Cream:
¾ cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons limoncello
Berries:
1 cup fresh raspberries
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup fresh blackberries
Icing sugar
Preheat oven to 350F.
what you do
Grease and line bottom and sides of an 8-inch cake pan (or 8 baking dishes) with parchment paper.
Cream goat cheese with electric beaters to soften. Beat in sugar.
Add egg yolks, one at a time, stirring well after each addition. In a separate bowl, whip egg whites with clean electric beaters until they hold a stiff peak.
Fold 1/3 of egg whites into goat cheese until blended, then gently fold in the rest. Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the cake has risen and turned an even golden brown. Cool to room temperature.
Don't worry when the centre of the cake falls. Remove cake from pan and peel away parchment.
Whip cream to soft peaks and whisk in sugar, lemon zest and limoncello. Dollop cream over top of torte.
Spoon berries over limoncello cream and dust with icing sugar immediately before serving. Serves 8.
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