Culinary Fool

Fall Brunch

September 24, 2005

 Assorted Beverages

Crab & Shrimp “Quiche”

Oven Omelet with Vegetables

Tomatoes with Shallots, Basil and Balsamic

Risotto con Zucca

Chicken and Apple Sausage

Roast Pork with Apple Stuffing

Bacon Fritters with Balsamic Onions

Whole Wheat Orange & Cranberry Rolls

I’d 86ed the risotto when I realized I’d forgotten to prepare the squash when I was supposed to.  (I must have been wandering around at the time…)  And, since I always have way too much food anyway, I figured it wouldn’t really be missed, although it was already on the menu/placards that were at everyone’s places.  Oh well. 

If you read this blog with any regularity you may notice that the applesauce donuts didn’t make the cut.  I was really torn about that but I wanted to make the Bacon Fritters.  The Orange and Cranberry Rolls are one of those great make-ahead items so I didn’t want to replace them, so the donuts were regulated to "next time". 

Unfortunately I only took a couple photos and they turned out poorly so you can’t really see how good everything looked.  I’ll stick a couple of thumbnails in so you can get an idea.  However, overall I felt like this brunch was really not up to par in many ways.  Even some of the things that I normally count on just didn’t work out as well as they could have.  What’s odd is that I still believe the recipes are good.  I think it was my lack of groove, timing and concentration that impacted it all.  I was a little disappointed with the food but the brunch itself was a lot of fun! 

I have to say that I have really great friends: they are good, friendly and fun people.  These events are always interesting since I bring people from all parts of my life together and normally not everyone knows everyone else.  Over the years they’ve gotten to know each other but each time I introduce one or two new people just to keep everyone on their toes! :-)  And they eat everything I give them with no complaints.  Which actually is not exactly what I’d like but that’s okay. 

I’ll give you the play by play on the food, as I think there are some good ideas here and you may be able to pull them together better than I did!

The Crab-Shrimp Quiche was actually a big hit.  This is something I’ve been making for years!  I received the cookbook as a gift in 1989 and know I made it soon after so that will give you some idea!  I’ve modified it a bit but the basic idea is really good.  And, it’s something that can be mixed together the night prior and then baked in the morning.  Bonus!  I’ll add the recipe below. 

The veggie oven omelet was okay.  It needed a bit more seasoning. This is also something that you can assemble the night before.  However, one thing was not so great.  I’d used crimini mushrooms in it and when they sat overnight they started turning the egg mixture kind of dark.  I mixed it up a bit before placing it in the oven and it wasn’t too noticeable when cooked but next time I’ll stick with white mushrooms unless I’m putting the dish in the oven right away. 

The tomatoes were great!  I used cherry tomatoes and basil from my garden.  With the balsamic dressing they provided a nice sweet-tangy element to the meal. 

The chicken-apple sausage is always a hit.  I use Aidells‘, a really great sausage company out of California.  They have several variates that I really love.   The Roast Pork with Apple Stuffing was one of those things that was okay but I think I could have really done a better job with it.  I used one of Donna Hay’s recipes and changed several things to, what I thought would be, my liking.  First, I was worried that it wouldn’t cook all the way through in the time the recipe suggested but it did.  Since I had allowed extra time, I turned off the oven, covered it with foil but then left it in the oven to keep warm.  Nice thought but I ended up drying it out.  Also, Donna had an actual stuffing in her recipe (with bread crumbs and milk to bind it) but I thought I wanted something I bit chunkier.  I think that idea was okay, but the apples I chose (not sure what variety they were, I had several types I’ve bought from Farmers’ Markets around) stayed too firm and didn’t have great flavor as a cooked apple.  Plus, I had a little challenge getting the exact cut of meat she used (she’s Australian) and that may have affected the whole thing, too.  I liked the idea and it was close so I may need to try again!  It was really beautiful when sliced – which you can almost see, in the very bad photo to the left! :-)

The Bacon Fritters were also one of those things that seemed like they should be better than they actually were. This was another Donna Hay recipe but from a different cookbook. During the party someone asked me what a fritter actually was – these were actually more like a pancake – and I got to thinking that I really don’t know what constitutes a fritter so I’m going to need to check that out.  My idea of a fritter has always been something sort of mounded and normally deep-fried or pan-fried but that’s not what these were – and I know I did them right because they looked just like the picture in the cookbook! :-)   I had leftover batter from these and the next day I tried a couple of experiments and liked the results better than what I’d had the day of the party – so there is still hope.  However, everyone loved the Balsamic Onions that topped the fritters so that was a good note! 

The most disappointing item were the rolls.  This is one of my standard recipes that I’ve used a million times – although this was a variation that I’ve only done a few times.  I like this recipe because you make the dough and form the rolls the night before, then refrigerate them overnight.  In the morning you let them rise in a warm place and then bake them.  So the timing is perfect.  But from early on I knew there was something a bit off with these.  When I rolled them out for shaping they didn’t feel right. In the morning, they really didn’t raise correctly and then I over baked them because they never got to the "hollow" stage.  (When you tap bread that is completely baked it should sound a little hollow.) I guess they couldn’t get hollow because they were just too solid!  We joked about them at breakfast – I dubbed them the "bad rolls" and everyone took to that, asking for the "bad rolls" to be passed.  All but one was eaten however, so I guess the flavor wasn’t too bad, just the form factor. 

Well, my education continues and so far my friends continue to accept my invitations so I guess they are willing to put up with me!  I’ll continue to try to get better but in the meantime, I always have fun having people over!   

 

Crab Quiche

4 eggs
1½ cups sour cream
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup flour
1 tsp. onion powder
¼ tsp. salt
4 drops red pepper sauce
1 can (6.5 oz) crabmeat – I used fresh crab on Saturday but have used canned in the past and it’s okay
4 oz. mushrooms
2 cups shredded Swiss Cheese (about 8 oz)

Mix eggs, sour cream, Parmesan, flour onion powder, salt and pepper sauce in a 4-qt bowl. Beat with hand beater until smooth (either a hand beater or stand mixer works okay). Stir in crabmeat, mushrooms and Swiss cheese. Pour into ungreased 10” pie plate. Cook at 350°F until knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before serving.

I generally double the recipe and use ½ crab and ½ baby shrimp and then bake in a 9”x13” pan. Allow a bit more time if you double. I sometimes sauté the mushrooms before adding them (the original recipe called for canned…) but didn’t on Saturday. On Saturday I used regular sour cream but have used lowfat or nonfat and that works, too.

I’ve been thinking for quite some time that I really needed to learn how to shuck oysters. I can sort of do it okay, but mostly I fumble and crumble (the shells) as I attempt to find the magic spot to place the oyster knife so that it slips between the top and bottom shell and allows you to separate the muscle from the top of the shell, remove it, and then loosen the oyster from the bottom of the shell so that you can easily slurp in the briny, metallic nectar and flesh.   

With that in mind I bought a dozen Kumamotos at the U-Dist Farmers’ Market today.  Taylor Shellfish Farms always has a booth at the market and they bring in the freshest, right-from-the-farm selection.  Elliott’s Oyster House has a really great Frozen Champagne Mignonette that I adore!  I’ve been wanting to figure out how to make it.  Last time I was in, I asked if the chef would share the recipe.  They took my Email address and said he’d send it to me, but I’m still waiting…

I decided I could probably come pretty close on my own.  So I took some red wine vinegar, thinly sliced and chopped one very small shallot, added some freshly ground black pepper, a bit of horseradish and a teensy tiny bit of sugar.  I let that sit while I shucked six oysters. (I’m getting better but need more practice – luckily I still have six to go!)  Then, once the oysters were shucked,  I added a dash of champagne (then poured the rest into my glass).  I used the same mini-champagne I’d taken with me to Friday Harbor in July. 

For this half dozen I used the mignonette as is – I wanted to check the flavor – but then I stuck the rest in the freezer.  In a little while I’ll take a fork and "rake" it, so that I get a kind of sno-cone texture to the ice.  The challenge is to make sure you don’t get too high a percentage of champagne, as the mixture will not freeze at all if there is too much alcohol in the mix. If I was making a larger batch I’d use my ice-cream maker to freeze the mixture but for this little tiny batch the fork method will be just fine.

You may notice that the photo above contains empty shells.  Well, yes this is true.  Once I had them shucked and the mignonette complete I was dying to try them out!  I slurped them all down right there at the counter!  :-)  Time to go check the freezer – I’m getting ready for my final six!