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Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Sur La Table: Cooking Class - New Year's Celebrations Recipes!



Over this past weekend, I met a friend and we went to Sur La Table for a cooking class. 
Theme:  New Year's Celebration!  It was 2 hours of working in groups of 4 and I'm excited for these recipes which I've included below!  Happy Cooking!

**all recipes and instructions taken exactly from Sur La Table handout!

Menu:
Mini Crab Cakes with Herbed Aioli
Rosemary Crusted Steak with Porcini Butter
Roasted Beet and Arugula Salad with Herbed Walnut Vinaigrette
Lemon Pot de Creme with Pistachios

Mini Crab Cakes with Herbed Aioli
(Yield:  4 servings)


These crab cakes are perfect for an elegant dinner party or an appetizer at a cocktail party.  You can form and chill the crab cakes up to 8 hours before cooking and serving.  The aioli can be made 1 day ahead and kept refrigerated; bring aioli to room temperature and whisk before using.

Crab Cakes:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs, divided
1 large egg, beaten
2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
1 pound lump crabmeat, picked
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Herbed Aioli:
2 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
1 garlic clove, chopped
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup minced fresh chives
1 tablespoon minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Vegetable oil, for pan frying

To make crab cakes: To a medium bowl, add mayonnaise, 1/2 cup bread crumbs, egg, parsley, mustard, and Old Bay; using a silicone spatula, stir to combine.  Gently fold in crab meat, taking care not to break up the lumps of crab.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook a small amount of crab mixture in a nonstick skillet, taste and adjust seasonings of the remaining crab mixture with salt and pepper accordingly.  Using moistened hands, gently form the mixture into 12 crab cakes.  Place on a parchment-lined plate or baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

To make the herbed aioli:  To the bowl of a food processor, add egg yolks, lemon juice, and garlic; pulse to combine.  With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the oils to form a thick sauce.  (Be careful not to add the oil too fast or the aioli will break.)  Once all the oil is incorporated, fold in chives and parsley.  Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.

To cook crab cakes:  Prehead oven to 200 degrees fahrenheit with a rack in the center position.  To a shallow bowl, add remaining 1 cup breadcrumbs.  Gently roll crab cakes in bread crumbs, pressing lightly to coat.  To a large nonstick skillet set over medium heat, add vegetable oil  When oil is shimmering, place crab cakes in skillet, working in batches, leaving 1 inch of space around each.  Cook until crab cakes are golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes.  Flip with a fish spatula and cook until golden brown on the other side, 3 to 4 more minutes.  Transfer crab cakes to a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet and season immediately with salt.  Transfer crab cakes to preheated oven to keep warm while you cook remaining crab cakes.

To serve:  Top crab cakes with a spoonful of aioli and serve immediately.

Rosemary Crusted Steak with Porcini Butter
(Yield: 4 servings)



Always allow steaks to come to room temperature before cooking to make sure they cook evenly.  The technique of searing and then oven-finishing works for any cut of steak.

Porcini Butter:
1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
6 tablespoons unslated butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon brandy
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Steak:
4, 1 1/2 inch thick New York strip steaks, about 8 ounces each, at room temperature
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup minced fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

To make porcini butter:  To a spice grinder, add porcini mushrooms and grind into a powder.  Set aside 1 teaspoon of powder for seasoning the steaks and add the remaining powder to a medium bowl along with butter, parsley, brandy, salt, and pepper.  Stir to combine using a silicone spatula.  Mound butter onto a sheet of plastic wrap and gently roll into a log approximately 1 to 2 inches in diameter.  Refrigerate until set, about 10 minutes, or freeze to firm up.  This can be done in advance and frozen.

To prepare steaks:  Prehead oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit with a rack placed in the center.  Pat steaks dry with paper towels and season on all sides with salt, pepper, reserved porcini powder, and rosemary, gently pressing seasonings onto the steaks.

To a large ovenproof skillet set over medium-high heat, add oil.  When oil is shimmering, carefully place steaks into the skillet and sear on both sides until browned, about 3 minutes per side.  Transfer skillet to the preheated oven and roast until an instant-read thermometer registers 125-130 degrees for medium-rare, 6 to 8 minutes.

Remove skillet from oven and transfer steaks to a cutting board with a well to rest.  Loosely tent with foil to keep warm.

To serve:  Place each steak onto a warmed plate and top with a slice of porcini butter; serve immediately.

Roasted Beet and Arugula Salad
with Herbed Walnut Vinaigrette
(Yield: 8 servings)


The various components of this salad can be made in advance and assembled just before it is time to be served.

2 pounds medium red beets, trimmed
2 tablespoons water
2 medium oranges, cut into supremes, juice reserved
1 small shallot, minced
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons walnut oil
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 ounces baby arugula

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

To roast beets:  Arrange beets in a baking pan, add water, and cover with aluminum foil.  Transfer to the preheated oven and roast until tender, about 1 hour.  Let the beets cool slightly, then peel, and cut into 1/2-inch thick wedges.

To prepare vinaigrette:  To a medium bowl, add shallot, reserved orange juice, mustard, and vinegar; whisk together.  While whisking vigorously, slowly drizzle the walnut oil and olive oil into the vinegar mixture until emulsified.  Stir in the parsley.  Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

To serve:  To a large bowl, add arugula and toss with enough vinaigrette to coat lightly.  Divide arugula among 4 chilled plates, top with beet wedges and orange supremes, lightly drizzle with vinaigrette, and serve immediately.


Lemon Pot de Creme with Pistachios
(Yield: 4, 6-ounce servings)


You can make components of this dessert up to 1 day in advance, refrigerating the custard separately and keeping the pistachio topping in an airtight container.

Lemon Pot de Creme:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
2 tablespoons lemon zest
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

Pistachio Topping:
1/4 cup (2 ounces) water
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped pistachios

Preheat oven to 325 with rack positioned in the center.  Place ramekins in a 9 x 13-inch rectangular baking pan being careful to leave at least 1 inch between the ramekins for proper baking; set aside.

To make the pot de creme:  To a medium saucepan set over medium heat, add cream, 1/4 cup sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, and salt.  Stir to combine and bring to just boiling while stirring occasionally; remove from heat.

To a medium bowl, add egg yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar; whisk until smooth.  Temper the eggs by whisking in a ladle of warm cream mixture into the yolks, adding more cream, a ladle at a time, until at least half of the cream has been added.  Add the tempered mixture back into the pan with warmed cream and stir in lemon juice.  Strain mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a large measuring cup with a spout.

Divide custard evenly among ramekins, filling each ramekin to 1/4 inch below the top.  Transfer the baking dish to the oven.

Pour enough hot water into the baking dish to reach half-way up the sides of the ramekins.  Loosely cover the baking dish with a large piece of aluminum foil  Bake the custard until it trembles or wobbles when gently shaken, about 50 minutes.  If the mixture appears not to be set, continue to bake custards in the oven, monitoring every 5 minutes.  Carefully remove the ramekins from the pan and transfer to a wire rack; cool to room temperature.  Cover the ramekins with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

To make pistachio topping:  Spread pistachios in a very thin layer over silicone mat and set aside.

To a small saucepan, set over medium heat, add water and sugar; stir to combine.  Cook, without stirring, until the mixture turns a caramel color, about 6 minutes.  Remove from the heat immediately to prevent caramel from burning.  Using a spoon, drizzle the hot caramel over the pistachios in a random, lacey pattern.  Set aside to cool.

To serve:  Break pistachio brittle into pieces and arrange on top of pot de creme.  Serve immediately.


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