Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Chocolate - Pate Du Chocolate With Creme Anglaise ================================================= 4 Ounces semisweet chocolate 1/2 cup butter 5 egg yolks 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 1/2 cups whipping cream Creme Anglaise (recipe follows) Toasted sliced almonds . Melt chocolate with butter; let cool. In bowl, beat egg yolks with sugar until thick and pale in colour; beat in cocoa. Beat in cooled chocolated mixture Whip cream and fold into chocolate mixture. Turn into 8 X 4 inch loaf pan lined with plastic wrap. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. To serve unmould pate and remove plastic wrap. spoon Creme Anglaise onto dessert plates. Top each with 1/2 inch slice of chocolate pate. Sprinkle with toasted almonds. Creme Anglaise 5 egg yolks 1/3 cup granulated sugar 2 cups hot milk 1 tsp vanilla. In bowlw beat egg yolks with sugar until thick and pale in colour; gradually whisk in hot milk. Transfer to very heavy saucepan; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon, for 5 minutes or until thickened slightly and sauce coats the back of a spoon. Be careful not to boil. Stir in vanilla. Strain through fine sieve into bowl. Let cool; cover and refrigerate until chilled or for up to 1 day. Makes about 2 cups. This one comes from Marilyn it's YUMMY! Golden Lemon Cake Roll CAKE: 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoons salt 9 egg yolks 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup water 2 teaspoons fresh grated lemon zest Powdered sugar FILLING: 1/2 cup sugar pinch of salt 3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice 3 egg yolks 1 teaspoons fresh grated lemon zest 1/2 cup whipping cream Heat oven to 375. Grease bottom only of 15X10-inch jelly-roll pan. Line with parchment paper and grease again. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup, level off. In medium bowl, combine flour, first 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, beat egg yolks at high speed until a light lemon color. Add second 1/2 cup sugar and continue beating until thickened. Add cold water and 2 teaspoons lemon zest, mix well. Gently fold flour mixture into egg mixture, blend well. Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake 15 to 18 minutes until light golden. Remove from oven and immediately turn out of pan onto a towel sprinkled with powdered sugar. Quickly remove paper. Starting at short side, roll up in towel; cool completely. In a small heavy saucepan, combine sugar, salt, lemon juice and egg yolks. Cook over low heat until thickened; stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in lemon peel; cool. Whip cream to soft peaks and fold into cooled filling. Unroll cake, spread with filling and roll again without towel. Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours. (Inspired from recipe in "Pillsbury Bake-Off Classics III.) *One lemon yields 1 tablespoon (3 teaspoons) lemon zest and 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) juice. Marilyn

How about a broccoli cheese?....just add steamed broccoli florets to this recipe....or leave out the broccoli....or a carrot soup?...or roasted red pepper...I think you need something with assertive color. Recipes included....scroll down. Cheddar Cheese soup 1/2 cup onion chopped very fine 1/2 cup celery chopped very fine 1/2 cup shredded carrots Melt 1/2 a stick of butter in a heavy pot and sautee veggies. When they are no longer crisp but not brown, add 4 T flour Stir and cook about 1 minute and add 1 qt chicken broth, slowly whisking so there are no lumps cook at a simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Mix: 1/4 cup ( or if you really like a thick soup 1/2 cup) AP flour with 2 cups cold milk until smooth. Slowly add to cooking soup. Simmer for 5 or 6 minutes to thicken and cook the flour.Add: 1 Tsp worchestershire sauce pinch cayenne pepper of a couple of dashes of Tobasco. Add: 8 oz grated sharp chedder cheese...and heat and stir until smooth...do NOT boil! Serve! LESLIE'S RED PEPPER SOUP "My husband and I spent a weekend in Mendocino, and one evening out we were served a red pepper soup," says Leslie Cohen of Loomis, California. "Not being a red pepper aficionado, I was surprised at how delicious the soup was and vowed to replicate the recipe." Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr 6 large red bell peppers 2 onions, chopped 1/2 stick unsalted butter 8 cups chicken stock or low-salt broth 1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried herbes de Provence 1 to 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh tarragon Dash of cayenne Accompaniment: sour cream Preheat broiler. Quarter peppers lengthwise, discarding stems, seeds, and ribs. Put skin sides up on rack of a broiler pan, and broil about 2 inches from heat until skins are blistered and charred, 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer peppers to a bowl and let stand, covered with plastic wrap, until cool enough to handle. Peel peppers and thinly slice. Cook onions in butter in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, covered, stirring occasionally, until soft. Stir in peppers, stock, and herbes de Provence and simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes. Pur�e soup in a blender in batches (use caution when blending hot liquids). For a smoother texture, force pur�e through a food mill into a large bowl. Return soup to pot and season with salt, tarragon, and cayenne. Reheat soup. Cooks' note: � Peppers can be roasted 2 days ahead and chilled, covered. Serves 6 to 8 (10 1/2 cups) Gourmet October 1999 Ginger Carrot Soup 2 tablespoons sweet cream butter 2 onions, peeled and chopped 6 cups chicken broth 2 pounds carrots, peeled and sliced 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger 1 cup whipping cream Salt and white pepper Sour cream Parsley sprigs, for garnish In a 6-quart pan, over medium high heat, add butter and onions and cook, stirring often, until onions are limp. Add broth, carrots, and ginger. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until carrots are tender when pierced. Remove from heat and transfer to a blender. Don't fill the blender more than half way, do it in batches if you have to. Cover the blender and then hold a kitchen towel over the top of the blender*. Be careful when blending hot liquids as the mixture can spurt out of the blender. Pulse the blender to start it and then puree until smooth. Return to the pan and add cream, stir over high heat until hot. For a smoother flavor bring soup to a boil, add salt and pepper, to taste. Ladle into bowls and garnish with dollop sour cream and parsley sprigs. *When blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth. Recipe courtesy Maxine Bonneau Show: All American Festivals Episode: Carrot Festival

Update - the meal was great, I was very happy with it. I roasted the pears with brown sugar and butter in the oven, which was a lot easier than poaching them and then making caramel. However, the latter *is* a superior dish, but maybe not enough to justify the vast increase in effort. Full fat yogurt (or creme fraiche) is the perfect touch as the pears are so sweet. I made the corn pudding from the NYT. I switched out nutmeg for just a dash of cayenne, because I did not want it to taste like dessert. I 1.5x the recipe to match my quantity of corn, but kept the sugar to 1/3 cup. Raves. Delish. For the halibut, I ended up using the Heavenly Halibut recipe Chickadee posted (thank you!) because I agreed when she pointed out that my version had a LOT of garlic. I added 2 cloves of garlic to the HH recipe. I sized the recipe for my quantity of fish, and it made just a top coating. It was very good but quite subtle; everyone liked it but asked what was in it; it surely did not taste cheesy per se. I will make it again! We have the cutest little fish store right on the water here and their halibut was wild caught from Canada, delivered that day. It was perfection.

There will be 18 attendees.. but we're working around some diet limitations mostly covered above but also add in a few who do not eat shrimp and some other "i'll eat this but not thats" (I can't eat beef yet.. mom doesn't eat chicken, etc) While the list of food is long-- the "mtn bar" model for serving will allow us to prepare "just enough" of various fillings. I must have traditional ground beef tacos for mom-- and fajita filling for nephew with stage 4 kidney disease. I could cut pork without an issue. Some of the others are preferences of the cooks or cooks' children ;) I thought the overall variety/qty was good because.. We are back to an afternoon AND evening event-- with some guests traveling from OOT Cocktails will be flowing so *I* feel it is important to have food available all day Taco meats can be made ahead-- Fajita meats will be grilled together. No extra work. A few sides I could see removing.. some more reluctantly than others.. Sopes are somewhat duplicative-- but such nice little bites for someone who didn't grab lunch. I am 75% likely to outsource these. Tamales are not required-- but they a fav of mine and I'm outsourcing them I could swap out charro beans for Mtn's bean salad which i think is fresher/prettier Mexican street corn salad-- but there are two attendees who won't eat vegetables if there is no corn-- plus it's prime corn season. Mexican shrimp cocktail is overkill, i guess-- but it is celebratory and so easy What would you suggest is overkill and an option to cut (keeping in mind the menu was a group effort so lil sis has veto power)?