brunosdream

Menu for Hope is a holiday fundraising campaign involving food bloggers which is now in its third year.  The campaign was started by Pim of Chez Pim, who recently announced that this year’s campaign will be benefitting the U.N. World Food Program. See Kalyn’s Kitchen and Cream Puffs in Venice for more details.

Happy Holidays,

Bruno

I was tagged by Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen to participate in a meme called “Foodbloggers Welcome Dinner” started by Angelika at The Flying Apple.

I’ve prepared some new creations to serve at this cyber dinner. Hope you like them!

Stuffed Flank Steak w/ Herbed Polenta and Broccolini (serves 8)

Ingredients:

3 pounds flank steak (2 pieces)

1 box polenta

2 bunches of broccolini

10 oz. crimini mushrooms – sliced

4 large cloves of garlic – minced

7 oz. log of goat cheese (chevre)

2 quarts veggie stock

8 sundried tomatoes – rehydrated and chopped

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh sage

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

Twine for trussing steaks

Procedure:

1) Pound out steaks to tenderize (or have your butcher put the steaks through their tenderizing machine like I did to save time)

2) Cook polenta using veggie stock, mix in herbs while cooking, season w/ salt and pepper, set aside enough polenta to stuff steaks then keep remainder on a warmer

3) Saute’ mushrooms in olive oil w/ garlic and pepper flakes, season w/ salt and pepper

4) Lay out steaks, then on each steak spread polenta on end that is closest to you, sprinkle w/ 1/3 of mushrooms, 2 ounces of crumbled goat cheese and half of the tomatoes

5) Roll and truss steaks, then season exterior w/ salt and pepper

6) Brown the steak rolls on all sides

7) Finish cooking steaks on a barbeque grill until 130 degrees F internal temperature for medium rare

8) Remove steaks from grill, cover w/ foil and let rest for 8 minutes

9) While steaks are resting, steam the broccolini until tender then sprinkle w/ lemon juice

10) Melt the butter in a pot and gently toss the broccolini in it

11) Remove twine and cut steaks into 1 3/4 inch slices, then place on serving tray

12) Gently fold remaining mushrooms and crumbled goat cheese into polenta and place in serving bowl

13) Place broccolini in serving dish

14) Pour some wine and dig in!!

Milk Chocolate and Tarragon Gelato w/ Dark Chocolate Chunks

Ingredients:

1 oz. fresh tarragon – stemmed and chopped

1 quart half +half

1 cup sugar

2 oz. bittersweet chocolate – coarsely chopped

5 oz. milk chocolate – finely chopped

8 egg yolks

Procedure:

1) In medium saucepan heat half + half and tarragon gently to a simmer, then turn off heat

2) Strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove the tarragon

3) In medium size mixing bowl combine egg yolks and sugar and beat together until pale yellow

4) Beat 2 tablespoons of the warm half + half into the egg mixture (do this slowly to avoid curdling the eggs), then beat in the remaining half + half little by little

5) Place bowl over a pot of simmering water and cook over a gentle heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon (do not let temperature exceed 170 degrees F or mixture will start to curdle)

6) Remove from heat, stir milk chocolate into the mixture and while continuing to stir place back on heat to completely melt chocolate (again, making sure mixture temperature doesn’t exceed 170 degrees F)

7) Cool in an ice bath

8) Chill mixture in fridge for at least 4 hours

9) Churn in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions, adding the bittersweet chocolate halfway through the churning process

10) Transfer gelato to a 2 qt plastic container, cover top w/ parchment paper cut to size (this will reduce air exposure and prevent ice crystals from forming on the surface of gelato), and freeze until firm

Yield: Approx. 1 ½ quarts

Now its my turn to tag a few people to keep this meme flowing…

I tag my co-blogger Duane at Zinfully Delicious

Sam at Becks & Posh

Barbara at winosandfoodies

Bron at Bron Marshall

and Brilynn at Jumbo Empanadas

OK, it’s past midnight and I’m going to get some sleep before I turn into a smashed pumpkin or something like that!

Bruno

I was tagged by Alanna of A Veggie Venture to participate in this fun assignment that has been making the rounds of food blogs worldwide. The meme was started by Melissa of The Traveler’s Lunchbox. I wonder how many times it has circled the globe by now!! Narrowing my choices to just 5 items was a real challenge, as it seems to have been for most all who have done this before me. Well, after some pondering I came up w/ my list. So without further ado I present my list to you…

1) Marron Glace’  -  I love the way candied chestnuts melt in my mouth and fill it w/ such a wonderfully unique flavor!! It would be doubly good to eat some of these delicacies in Paris at Christmastime!

2) Raclette – When I traveled to Switzerland in January 2004 to bring my mom’s ashes to her homeland, I spent an evening at the home of one of my cousins. They prepared a wonderful feast consisting of raclette and all the fixin’s. They had this amazing machine that fits an entire half round of that lovely cheese and melts the surface, then the melted goodness is scraped onto your plate… simply awesome!!

3) A Paper Towel and an Apple Core – A funny thing happened  as I was hiking in a redwood forest near Santa Cruz, California on New Years Day 2003… I got lost!! Well it wasn’t very funny at the time, but I get a good laugh every time I tell this story to someone. I ran out of food and was starving, so I dug into my pocket and pulled out the remnants of the apple I had w/ my lunch earlier that day. The apple core was wrapped in a paper towel and it sure looked good at that very moment, so… I ate both of them! Well, believe it or not, this can be a veritable delicacy when you’re lost in a redwood forest w/ nothing else to eat!!

4) A Cup of Hot Chocolate w/ a Big Hunk of Fresh Bread

5) My Mom’s Homemade Pizza – My mom’s pizza was, and still is, the best I’ve ever had!! The pizza parties she would have were such a great way to gather some good friends together for an evening of deliciousness!! This has since become a tradition in my home too! Thanks mom…

My turn to tag some people. I tag:
Duane – My co-blogger at Zinfully Delicious
Michelle – My food stylist friend
The Culinary Chase
HomeMadeS
Barbara at winosandfoodies

Later…

I was going to post this recipe last week but my life

(and power) was knocked out of sync by the huge storm

that rolled through St. Louis on July 19th! My power has

finally been restored and I’m in the process of getting back

to my routine as well as repairing all the storm damage to

my house. I count my blessings because the tree that fell

through my fence could have fallen on me as I was chasing

my patio umbrella around the yard!! Next time, the umbrella

dies alone….

 

On to the recipe…

This recipe is so good, easy and refreshing it would be a

pity not to share it, especially while berry season is at its

peak! This is from my mom’s recipe archives. She called it

tutti fruitti, but when I took it to the Bastille Day party I went

to, these English people were calling it a trifle. To me, it was

more than a trifle, plus I like the name tutti fruitti better!!

I didn’t realize it until I was at my friend’s house, but if you

categorize the ladyfingers and creme as white, this dessert

encompassed all the colors of the French flag. Perfect to

celebrate Bastille Day!

Call it what you like, it will always be tutti fruitti to me!!

My view…

and Duane’s eye view…

Ingredients

for creme anglaise:

1 quart half and half

1 cup sugar

8 egg yolks

1 vanilla bean – split, seeds scraped

remaining ingredients:

1 pint strawberries – quartered

1 pint raspberries

1 pint blackberries

1 pint blueberries

24 ladyfingers

Procedure

for creme:

1) In medium saucepan, heat half + half, vanilla beanand seeds gently to a simmer, then turn off heat.

2) In medium size mixing bowl combine egg yolks

and sugar and beat together until pale yellow.

3) Remove vanilla bean then beat 2 tablespoons of

the warm half + half into the egg mixture (do this

slowly to avoid curdling the eggs), then beat in the

remaining half + half little by little.

4) Place bowl over a pot of simmering water and cook over

a gentle heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats

the back of a spoon (do not let temperature exceed 170

degrees or mixture will start to curdle).

5) Cool in an ice bath.

Assemblage

1) Set aside a small amount of each berry for garnishing top

of dessert (see photo).

2) In a large, clear glass bowl, layer berries and

ladyfingers, starting w/ one of your berry choices,

then a layer of ladyfingers, then berries (alternating

color and choice of berries between layers), then ladyfingers,

then berries until you are almost to the top of your bowl.

Save enough room at the top for a final layer of ladyfingers,

then garnish the top w/ a row of each type of berry used.

3) Cover dessert and creme w/ plastic wrap and place in fridge.

4) One hour before serving, pour creme anglaise into dessert,

cover, and return to fridge.

5) When it’s dessert time, remove from fridge, uncover and

have at it!

Vive la Tutti Fruitti and Bon Appetit!!

Bruno

I hadn’t intended on doing a post on some of St. Louis’

oldest neighborhoods. Initially I was just planning on

making a visit to the city’s largest farmers market,

Soulard Market, to see what had changed (I hadn’t

visited the market in over 10 years). As you can see

by this photo, the market is located just south of downtown.

I found that the market hadn’t changed much, but it

 

is on the verge of some new and welcome additions

such as this new fish and meat store under construction.

Also, many loft apartments are popping up next door

in the old baby carriage factory.

The market still has a long way to go before reaching the level

of the farmers markets in San Francisco,or even the one I

discovered awhile back in Columbus, Ohio. The pickings were

slim, but maybe that’s because I visited on a Wednesday.

Hopefully on a Saturday these empty stalls will be brimming

w/ fresh produce from the many local farms that surround

St. Louis. By the looks of the market map they will!

Even though I wasn’t impressed by the market on

day I visited I was taken in by the beauty, charm and

vibrancy of the neighborhoods that surround it. Here are

a few shots from my walking tour of the Soulard neighborhood:

Soulard is also home to many good restaurants. One of my

favorites is Norton’s which serves good Cajun and Creole

cookin’ and has a great outdoor seating area. Take a look:

One of the largest Mardi Gras celebrations also happens

in the Soulard neighborhood and as you will see I stumbled

across some remnants of the tradition…

 

On my way back home I decided to stop at one of the former

city hospitals (just west of Soulard) which sat abandoned and

crumbling for years but is now being converted into

apartments and commercial space. It’s looking pretty good…

From there I headed west to Lafayette Square.

St. Louis’ French heritage is reflected in the names of certain

neighborhoods as well as in some its architecture.

Located on the northern edge of Lafayette Square is

Eleven Eleven Mississippi Restaurant 

and their new sister restaurant Vin de Set which just

opened in mid-June.

These restaurants are both located in old warehouses,

giving them an open, rustic feel. New loft apartments and

townhouses are springing up all around. I haven’t been to

Vin de Set for a meal but plan to very soon w/ a group of my

food loving friends! Keep an eye out for the post.

Until then, eat well and play hard….

Bruno

Nestled in a quaint neighborhood in the village of “Cla-Due” lies the
home of our foodie Matriarch, Paula, who graciously hosted a
scrumptious, scintillating, springtime supper.
Parties are always less stressful when enlisting the cooking skills
of the Zen Zin kids.

Menu
Mixed Green Salad
Grilled NY strips
w/zinfandel Sauce
Grilled Asparagus
Organic fingerling Potatoes
Mandarin Orange Cake
w/fresh strawberries
Zinfandel Chocolate Gelato
Assorted wines
Port
Coffee

Bruno shares culinary secrets
w/Paula while Mandy does
salad duty.

Zinfandel Sauce

1 bottle (750 ml) red zinfandel

4 oz brown beech mushrooms

10 shallots (whole, peeled)

1 cup demiglace

2 cups veggie stock

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp black truffle oil

1 tbsp butter

salt + pepper

Procedure

1) Combine wine and shallots in heavy saucepan and boil over high heat until reduced to 2 tablespoons

2) Add demiglace and veggie stock and reduce to 2 cups

3) Strain shallots from sauce and return sauce to the saucepan

4) In a small nonstick pan, saute’ mushrooms in olive oil and truffle oil

5) Add sauteed mushrooms to the wine sauce

6) Whisk in butter

7) Salt and pepper to taste

Yield: Approx. 2 cups

    finished product

-The dessert challenge was
to counter balance our
awesome but heavy dinner
fare

Mandarian Orange Cake w/ strawberries
1 ½ cups all purpose flour

2 cups white sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

4 eggs

¾ cup vegetable oil

1 11 oz can mandarian oranges w/juice

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350⁰F – Grease and flour 3 round cake pans

Mix flour, sugar, b powder – add eggs oil, oranges w/juice and 1/3 c OJ and vanilla – pour into pans

Bake for ~45 min

Icing –

1- 3 oz pkg instant vanilla pudding mix

1- 9 oz carton Cool whip

1 large can crushed pineapple – drained

Mix together – spread on layers – refrigerate

We ended the night with a lovely Port & Gelato

Zinfandel Chocolate Gelato¾ bottle (750 ml) red zinfandel

10 egg yolks

4 cups half + half

1 cup sugar

6 oz bittersweet chocolate (chopped)

** I originally used ½ bottle of zin and 8 oz chocolate, but in order to be able to taste more zin and less chocolate I changed the proportions

Procedure

1) Reduce wine to ¾ cups, then add chocolate and stir until melted, set aside but keep warm

2) In medium saucepan heat half + half gently to a simmer, then turn off heat

3) In medium size mixing bowl combine egg yolks and sugar and beat together until pale yellow

4) Beat 2 tablespoons of the warm half + half into the egg mixture (do this slowly to avoid curdling the eggs), then beat in the remaining half + half little by little

5) Place bowl over a pot of simmering water and cook over a gentle heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon (do not let temperature exceed 170 degrees or mixture will start to curdle)

6) Cool in an ice bath and thoroughly blend in the wine/chocolate mixture during the cooling process

7) Chill mixture in fridge for at least 4 hours

8) Churn in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions

9) Tranfer gelato to a 2 qt plastic container, cover top w/ parchment paper cut to size (this will reduce air exposure and prevent ice crystals from forming on the surface of gelato), and freeze until firm
Yield: Approx. 1 ½ quarts

Zin sauce & gelato– Bruno
M.O w/S Cake- D.E.W.
Photos &  Prose – Duane

Noooo… It wasn’t really a festival of Tuna.
It was the 50th Birthday  Party for Le
Bruno.

I want to thank everyone who helped with
making it a great event…Kristin-My co-planner.
The folks @ Remy’s  Jay, Rachel, Lisa & Phillip
Photographer du jour- The D.E.W.

The Birthday Boy cutting his cake

Decadent Triple Chocolate Cake by the
Sugaree Baking Company

 

Thanks for coming  out to party
on a “school night”, it was a  Blast!

Duane

In order to commemorate my 50th birthday here’s a

special post on one of my favorite foods… bread!

    I love bread!! I don’t know how people can do that

no carb diet or why they would intentionally deprive

themselves of something so good. In fact, I don’t have

much faith in any of those fad diets. I believe eating

whatever you want in moderation (including carbs)

is the best diet. I’ve read several studies that state your

body needs carbs to function properly. That’s my excuse

and I’m sticking w/ it! Enough said, let’s get on w/ a great

recipe to satisfy your carb cravings!!

*From Bon Appetit May 1999

Fougasse Aux Herbes de Provence (makes 2 loaves)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 teaspoon dry yeast

4 cups unbleached all purpose flour

2 tablespoons dried herbes de Provence

2 teaspoons fine sea salt

4 tablespoons olive oil

Yellow cornmeal

    Pour 1 1/2 cups warm water into large bowl; sprinkle

yeast over. Let stand for about 10 minutes. Stir in 1 cup

flour, 1 tablespoon herbes de Provence and sea salt, then

2 tablespoons olive oil until well blended. Mix in enough

flour, 1 cup at a time, to form thick and slightly sticky

dough.

    Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface; knead

until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Form into ball.

Oil large bowl, add dough; turn to coat. Cover w/ plastic

wrap, then towel. Let rise in warm draft-free area until

doubled, about 1 hour.

    Position 1 rack in center and 1 rack in top third of oven

and preheat to 450 degrees F. Sprinkle 2 baking sheets

generously w/ cornmeal. Punch dough down. Turn out onto

floured surface; divide in half. Press out each half into

11×8 inch irregular shaped oval. Transfer to prepared

baking sheets. Brush each w/ remaining olive oil, then

sprinkle w/ the rest of the herbes de Provence.

Using a sharp knife, make several 2 inch long cuts in

each oval (do not cut through edges), spacing cuts evenly

apart and cutting through dough to work surface. Pull apart

at cuts to create openings. Cover loosely w/ plastic;

let rise in warm draft-free area until slightly puffed (about

20 minutes).

    Place dough in oven. Immediately pour about 1/4

cup water onto bottom of oven, creating steam. Bake

breads until golden on top and slightly crisp on bottom,

switching sheets between racks and turning front of each

sheet to back of oven halfway through baking (about 9

minutes). Bake for another 9 minutes. Transfer sheets to

racks; cool for 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room

temperature.

 

Et voila, the finished product! Enjoy this delicious bread

and remember… share w/ your best friends!!

A Votre Sante’,

Bruno

Not as strange a  combination as one would think…

  The gourmet homemade pizza is nothing new.
It’s just a great way to use the freshest ingredients
and personalize pizzas for the gathering.

Wine… Well, wine goes with everything.

The Jewel of the evening…

           Truffles

The Truffles courtesy of
Cindy, Her bother Jason
and his wife Ana  of
Posh Chocolat

Tasting Time w/ Cindy as
our guide

garam masala, mojito,
classic, grand marnier,
coconut curry, cafe com leche,
10 year old balsamic vinegar
& strawberry, fennel, toffee,
rosemary honey, smoked paprika,
white truffle oil & tahitian vanilla

Later that Night Bruno shows
What can be done with extra
pizza dough

Before

After

Josh & Amy

Bruno,Cindy & Josh
toasting a job well done

Text & Photos- Duane

Buche de Noel w/ Expresso Buttercream Icing   

   

 

Ingredients 

For cake:

6 eggs

1 ¼ cups sugar

¾ cup flour

¾ cup cornstarch

 

For icing:

2 ¼ cups sugar

1 ½ cups expresso
coffee

4 egg yolks

3 ½ sticks butter

 

Icing is made by beating egg yolks until light yellow in
color. Next, cook sugar and coffee
together over medium high heat to a temperature of 234 degrees. Then very
slowly add sugar/coffee mixture to the yolks while beating at low speed until
mixture is cold (if you go too fast, the yolks will curdle). Butter is softened
at room temperature before it is cut into pieces and beaten into the cold
egg/syrup mixture. Continue beating at low speed until mixture is very firm.
Set aside in a cool spot.

 

Cake batter is made by adding sugar to beaten whole eggs
then continue beating mixture over very low heat until it doubles in size
(approx. 15 minutes). The flour and cornstarch are sifted together and gently
folded into the mixture. The mixture is then poured into a well buttered half
sheet pan and baked at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan while
still warm and roll it up in a kitchen towel that has been sprinkled w/ sugar.
Set aside to cool (a warm cake will melt the icing).

 

When cool, unroll the cake and spread ¼ inch layer of icing
on the inside. Reroll the cake then cut off ends diagonally, each piece being
about 1 by 3 inches. Place the cake roll on a cutting board wrapped in foil
(the foiled cutting board was my serving platter, but feel free to use the
platter of your choice) then spread a ¼ inch layer of icing on the exterior of
the cake roll. The diagonal pieces are then placed on the top of the roll and
spread w/ icing to resemble stubs of cut-off branches. Tines of a fork are
drawn through the icing to simulate the texture of bark; the ends are marked w/
circles to resemble tree growth rings. Place the cake in a cool spot or
refrigerate until it’s time to serve. One hour prior to service, remove cake
from fridge and decorate cutting board w/ holly branches.

 

Chef’s notes:

 

The recipe from the magazine article was not very
specific regarding certain aspects of the preparation so I’m adding some info
for your benefit. For example, when making the icing, it is important to beat
the mixture until very firm, otherwise it will not be properly emulsified and will “break”. Also, when beating the cake
batter over heat I used a double boiler to prevent sticking and burning.
 

When removing the cake from the sheet pan be particularly
careful to unstick it from the pan so it doesn’t get broken. (I cracked the
cake at this stage and it made the remaining steps much more challenging!!).
Make sure your kitchen towel is generously sprinkled w/ sugar and gently roll
up the warm cake. I applied a little too much pressure while rolling which
caused the cake to stick to the towel and crack even more when unrolled!
Believe me, you don’t want your cake cracked because icing it, then rerolling
will be a pain in the a_ _!! Fortunately, through the miracles of icing, I was
able to cover up all my mistakes!
 

For a first effort, I think the final product turned out
fairly nice. I wish my mom and dad were around to sample it. I did have a group
of friends over for cake and champagne, and by the looks of it, they seemed
pretty satisfied!