Tuesday, May 19, 2009

5-Star Restaurant Cuisine (January Dinner Night)

I was feeling inspired by some of the 5-star restaurants in LA and wanted to pick recipes that I thought would have been served in one of these restaurants. Fittingly, my theme was “5-star restaurant cuisine”. We had never cooked Cornish hens so I knew that I wanted to design the menu around that entrée. The other picks just fell into place and all in all, the meal was really successful.

Fried Cheese Bundles – Rachel Ray

I really enjoyed using Heather’s fancy deep fryer. I added it to my Christmas list after that, too! I find that recipes which require “individual assembly” take me a while even though it was so simple. Literally, just put a piece a string cheese in the middle of a wonton wrapper, edge the wonton with water, and then fold into a “bundle”. It would be different if it was just a triangle fold, but the bundle required technique. From there it was really easy. My only complaint is that the recipe didn’t have any sauce to accompany the bundles. I would definitely serve it with either a marinara or sweet and sour (preferred).


K: Thumbs down. A little too bland for me.
N: Thumbs up.
R: Thumbs up!
H: Thumbs up! These were stringy, cheesy, and delicious.



These were a bit heavy on the workload but well worth it. We first had to marinade the Cornish hens for a few hours. Once we got everything into the roasting pan and popped it into the oven, we just had to make the au jus. Not too complicated but a lot of steps. I would definitely recommend this recipe for a dinner party as it seems like a gourmet entrée and no one would guess how little you spent! J


K: Thumbs up. My first time eating cornish hen!
N: Thumbs up.
R: Thumbs up. I wasn’t sure if I would like Cornish hen but it was great and beautifully served.
H: Thumbs up – The Cornish hens were really flavorful but a few of the smaller pieces were a little over-cooked.

Au Gratin Potatoes – Weight Watchers
This was relatively easy to make but I would highly recommend using a mandolin to slice the potatoes if you have one. It makes it much easier to perfect the thin slices you might see in a restaurant’s au gratin. For being a Weight Watchers recipe, these potatoes were surprisingly decadent, great comfort food. Just a little too much salt, even for my taste.

K: Thumbs up. These were yummy.
N: Thumbs up.
R: Thumbs up.
H: Thumbs up –


Green Salad with Feta, Candied Walnuts, and Dried Cranberries
(No recipe)
K: Thumbs up- thanks to Heather’s awesome impromptu vinaigrette
N: Thumbs up.
R: Thumbs up - a classic.
H: Thumbs up – I love the combination of flavors in this salad with the saltiness of the feta, the tartness of the cranberries, and the sweetness of the walnuts. Yum!

Apple Tartlets with Cinnamon-balsamic syrup and Butter-toffee ice cream
Bon Appétit

This recipe takes a lot of time because of the number of steps involved, but overall it was not too difficult. We did not have two hours to chill the ice cream mixture, and it worked fine to put it in the freezer for less than a third of that before putting in the ice cream maker. We used butterscotch liqueur since Heather had purchased it, but thought that it would work equally well with Scotch if one already has that. The results of this dish were fantastic, and this is a great special occasion dessert.

K: Thumbs sideways. I didn’t like the tarts but thought the ice cream was awesome.
N: Thumbs way up! My plate was completely clean after dessert.
R: Thumbs way up. I don’t care for ice cream much but the dessert altogether was amazing!
H: Thumbs up – This was delicious and definitely reminded me of something you would eat in a restaurant.

Butter-toffee ice cream
3 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
½ cup half and half
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons butterscotch liqueur or Scotch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup toffee bits (such as Skor)
Cinnamon-Balsamic Syrup
½ cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
2 tablespoons water
Apple Tartlets
½ cup (packed) golden brown sugar
¼ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 large Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/8-inch slices
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 large egg, beaten to blend

Ice-cream: Melt butter in heavy saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in sugar, then half and half and salt. Bring just to simmer, stirring to dissolve sugar. Whisk eggs in medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in hot half and half mixture. Return mixture to same saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat until mixture thickens and finger leaves path on back of spoon when drawn across, stirring constantly, about 3 minutes. Stir in cream, butterscotch liqueur, and vanilla. Strain into medium bowl. Cover and chill until cold, about 2 hours.
Process cream mixture in ice cream maker according to instructions. Add toffee bits about 3 minutes before ice cream is done. Transfer to container; freeze.











Cinnamon-balsamic syrup: Bring all ingredients to boil in heavy small saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat to medium and boil until syrupy and reduced to generous ½ cup, about 6 minutes.











Apple Tartlets: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix sugar and butter to blend in small bowl. Divide mixture among four 1-cup ramekins or custard cups, pressing to cover bottom evenly. Layer apple slices over sugar mixtures, pressing slightly on apples to compact and almost filling cup. Open pastry sheet. Using biscuit cutter or small plate, cut out 4 rounds the same size as top diameter of ramekins. Using fork, pierce dough all over. Place 1 dough round atop apples in each ramekin. Brush tops with beaten egg. Bake tartlets until pastry is puffed and deep golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool at least 5 minutes. Invert warm tartlets onto plates. Drizzle with syrup and serve with scoop of ice cream alongside.