Delicious Details

Theme: Foods for Lovers
Guests:
6
Starter:

Poached Oysters and Artichokes with Champagne Cream
Oysters were documented as a aphrodisiac food by the Romans in the second century A.D as mentioned in a satire by Juvenal. He described the wanton ways of women after ingesting wine and eating "giant oysters". An additional hypotheses is that the oyster resembles the "female" genitals. In reality oysters are a very nutritious and high in protein and zinc and thus excellent for men's reproductive health and endurance. Casanova, the legend goes, would eat 50 raw oysters for breakfast. In Greek times, it was believed that artichokes were not only aphrodisiacs but also ensured the birth of sons.

Bread:

Homemade Honey-Butter French Bread & Frommage Fort
Who doesn't love fresh bread, and when you top it with our cheesy spread you'll feel like falling in love.

Main Course:

Barely Cooked Salmon with Parmesan Polenta and Mushroom Consomme
Here, salmon is poached simply in salt water and served very rare with mushrooms and a mushroom broth, along with creamy polenta. The polenta adds a starch that the salmon needs, but it is also delicate and won't overwhelm the flavors of the fish.

Dessert:

Chocolate Ravioli in a Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce
The Aztecs referred to chocolate as "nourishment of the Gods". Chocolate contains chemicals thought to affect neurotransmitters in the brain and a related substance to caffeine called theobromine. We just think it tastes good...

Board Game:
No game due to excellent conversation and considerable amounts of alcohol.

Drinks

raspberry smash cocktail
based on the recipe from Epicurious.com
Makes 6 servings



ingredients

• 1 pint raspberrie
  
• 1/3 cup Chambord (black raspberry liqueur)
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• 1 bottle Champagne or other semidry sparkling wine, chilled

Preparation

1. Gently stir together raspberries, Chambord, and sugar in a small bowl, then macerate, covered and chilled, at least 1 hour and up to 2.
2. Spoon 2 tablespoons raspberries with some juice into each Champagne flutes or other glasses and slowly top off with Champagne.

Appetizer

Poached oysters and artichokes with champagne cream
based on the recipe from Epicurious.com
Makes 4 servings.

We used jarred oysters to save money on this recipe, and I wouldn't recommend it. They were unpredictably gigantic and mostly scared the crap out of our guests. That said, the jarred artichoke bases were way better than wasting and preparing the artichokes ourselves. The original recipe called for about an hour of preparation and wasting 90% of the artichoke, including the heart. The end result was very nice, but the size of the oysters were intimidating. Do it with smaller, fresher oysters and it should turn out great.i

ingredients
For artichoke bottoms

• 1 cans artichoke bases
  

For spinach

• 1 1/2 lb spinach (2 bunches), stems discarded and leaves coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons minced shallot (1 small)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste for oysters and sauce

For oysters and sauce

• 2 jars large, shucked oysters
  
• 1 cup Champagne or other sparkling white wine
• 2 tablespoons minced shallot (1 small)
• 1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

preparation

1. Put 1 inch of water in a 3- to 4-quart pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Add spinach, 1 handful at a time, stirring with tongs, and cooking until all spinach is wilted. Drain spinach in a colander and press firmly with back of a large spoon to remove excess liquid.
2. Cook shallot in butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add spinach, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Keep warm, covered. Spinach can be cooked 1 day ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, then chilled, covered. Reheat in a small baking dish, covered with foil, in a 300°F oven 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Pour oyster juice into a nonreactive 8-inch heavy skillet and add Champagne, shallot, and vinegar. Bring to a boil and boil, skimming foam, until reduced to about 1/3 cup, about 5 minutes. (Reduce heat if necessary to keep from boiling over.) Pour liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a measuring cup, pressing on and then discarding shallot. Return liquid to skillet, then add cream and oysters and cook over moderate heat, turning oysters over if not completely covered, until edges curl, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.
4. To assemble dish and finish sauce transfer artichoke bottoms with tongs to paper towels to drain, arranging them upside down. Transfer to plates, turning them right side up, then top with spinach. Arrange oysters on top of spinach, lifting them out of sauce with a slotted spoon.
5. Boil sauce until reduced to about 1/2 cup, 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add butter, then chives, and swirl skillet until butter is incorporated. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over oysters.

Bread

honey-butter french bread
based on the recipe from Epicurious.com
Makes two 9-inch loaves.

This bread turned out good, but was not exceptional. We wished it had more honey or more French flavor. I guess we are still learning...

ingredients

• 2 cups warm water (105°F to 115°F)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 envelope dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 5 cups (about) unbleached all purpose flour
• preparation

directions

1. Mix 1/4 cup warm water and sugar in large bowl. Sprinkle yeast over; stir to dissolve. Let stand until foamy, about 8 minutes. Stir in remaining 1 3/4 cups warm water. Mix in butter, salt and honey. Using wooden spoon, stir in 4 cups flour.
2. Turn dough out onto floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky, about 8 minutes. Form dough into ball. Butter large bowl. Add dough, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then with clean towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled, about 1 hour.
3. Punch down dough. Cover dough with plastic wrap and let rest 10 minutes. Divide dough in half; roll each dough piece between hands and work surface into 9-inch-long loaf. Transfer loaves to baking sheet. Cover with plastic, then with towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled, about 30 minutes.
4. Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 425°F. Make 5 diagonal slashes crosswise in surface of each loaf. Lightly brush water over tops and sides of loaves. Bake loaves 20 minutes, brushing occasionally with water. Continue baking until loaves are golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool.

Dinner

barely cooked salmon with parmesan polenta and mushroom consomme
based on the recipe by Epicurious.com
Makes 6 servings.

This dish turned out a delightful, delicate flavor, and the mushrooms were the real star. We used way more Parmesan than the recipe called for, and had a little bit too much salmon. Also, we wsihed we had salted the salmon a bit more, but in the end, we were all happy!

ingredients

• 1 pound button mushrooms
• 10 cups water
• Fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
• 1 pound oyster mushrooms
  
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped shallots
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 7 to 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
• 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2 cups milk
• 1/3 cup instant polenta
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• One 2 1/2-pound salmon fillet

preparation

1. Place the button mushrooms in a pan, cover with 8 cups of the water, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 3 hours.
2. Strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing on the mushrooms to release the liquid. You should have at least 2 cups mushroom stock. Season to taste withy salt and pepper. Pour into a saucepan and set aside. (The stock can be made in advance and refrigerated for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to a month.)
3. Trim the gyromitre or morel mushrooms, discarding the stems, and halve them. Because these mushrooms can be particularly sandy, soak them in cold water to remove any dirt. Lift out of the water, rinse, and repeat two more times.
4. Heat the canola oil in a large sauté pan over high heat. Add the mushrooms, shallots, and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and sauté until the mushrooms are tender and have given up their liquid, but are not dry, 10 to 15 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons of the butter and the parsley and toss to incorporate. Set the pan aside.
5. Bring the milk, the remaining 2 cups water, and 4 tablespoons of the butter to a boil in a medium saucepan. Lower the heat to a simmer. Whisking constantly, slowly add the polenta, continuing to whisk until the polenta is completely incorporated. Cook for 5 minutes. The polenta will be very thin. Add the Parmesan and stir to incorporate. Set the pan aside.
6. Cut the salmon crosswise into 1-inch slices. Pull the ends of each side together, as if you were closing a book, and secure with a toothpick. In a flameproof shallow casserole large enough to accommodate all the salmon fillets, bring 1/4 inch of generously salted water to a simmer. Season each fillet on both sides with salt and pepper and add to the casserole. Gently poach for 3 to 5 minutes, until the salmon is warm to the touch on top, but still quite rare on top and inside.
7. Meanwhile, gently reheat the mushroom broth, the wild mushrooms, and polenta. If the mushrooms are dry, add another tablespoon of butter and a bit of water to moisten.
8. To serve, spoon a circle of polenta into the center of each plate. Spoon 1/4 cup of the mushroom broth around each polenta circle. Place 2 salmon fillets on each bed of polenta and spoon the mushrooms over the salmon. Serve immediately.

Dessert

chocolate ravioli in bittersweet chocolate sauce
based on the recipe from Epicurious.com
Makes 6 servings.
These ravioli are amazingly delicious. It makes way too much filling, so you may want to cut down the ingredients a bit. Also, we made them a day ahead and refrigerated them thinking it would save us some time. Instead, we had one giant ravioli as the filling deteriorates the pasta dough. Might have worked if we froze them. Even still, they tasted phenomenal!

ingredients
THE PASTA DOUGH

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder, plus more for dusting
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 3 large eggs

THE CHOCOLATE PASTRY CREAM FILLING

• 3 cups milk
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 5 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 pound bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp Chambrod, raspberry liquor
  

THE SAUCE

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

THE POACHING LIQUID
8 cups water
2 cups sugar

preparation

1. For the pasta dough, sift the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt into a large mixing bowl and whisk to blend. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and place the eggs in the well. Using a fork, slowly incorporate the eggs into the flour, until all the eggs have been absorbed. Transfer the dough to a work surface and, using the palm of your hand, lightly knead the dough for 3 to 4 minutes. If the dough is sticky, sprinkle a little flour on the kneading surface. The dough is ready if, when you make an impression in it with the tip of your finger, the dough bounces back. Shape into a disk and tightly wrap in plastic film. Let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
2. Meanwhile, make the pastry cream: In a medium saucepan, combine the milk and vanilla bean. Place over high heat and bring to a boil (be careful not to scorch the milk). Meanwhile, using a whisk, in a medium bowl, whip the sugar and egg yolks until pale yellow and frothy, about 2 minutes. Add the cornstarch and whisk to dissolve any lumps.
3. Remove the vanilla bean from the milk and discard. Temper the egg yolk mixture by pouring a little of the steaming milk into the yolks, whisking to incorporate. Whisk the egg yolks into the remaining milk in the pan, set the pan over medium heat, and whisk quickly and constantly until the mixture thickens and comes to a boil, then whisk for another minute. Add the butter and stir until incorporated. Transfer the pastry cream to a storage container and place plastic wrap directly against the cream to prevent a skin from forming on top. Refrigerate until fully chilled, about 2 hours.
4. Once the pastry cream has chilled, place the hazelnut chocolate in a microwave-safe container and microwave on high for 1 minute; or melt the chocolate in a double boiler over low heat. Remove the chocolate from the microwave and stir. Heat the chocolate for another minute, remove, and stir to melt the remaining chocolate. Add to the pastry cream and chambrod and stir to incorporate. Return to the refrigerator and chill for at least 30 minutes.
5. Divide the pasta dough into 4 pieces. Using a pasta machine, one at a time, roll out each piece from the widest to the thinnest setting. Keep the remaining dough covered to prevent it from drying out.
6. To make the ravioli, dust a work surface with flour. Place one pasta sheet on the work surface. Starting about 2 inches from one end, place a teaspoon of filling every 4 inches down the pasta strip, ending about 2 inches from the other end of the strip. Brush the pasta dough with water, fold the dough over, and press to seal, being careful not to trap air inside the ravioli (or they will burst during cooking). Cut the ravioli into half-moons using a cookie cutter or pastry wheel. Press the edges together and squeeze to make the edges of the dough as thin as possible. Set the finished ravioli on a baking sheet lined with parchment and sprinkled with flour, to prevent sticking. Repeat with the remaining dough. You should get at least 24 ravioli. Refrigerate until ready to cook.
7. For the sauce, bring the heavy cream, milk, and sugar to a simmer in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate, and stir until melted. Add the butter and stir to incorporate.
8. To cook the ravioli, bring the water and sugar to a boil in a large pot and boil until the sugar has dissolved. Add the ravioli to the pot and cook until al dente, about 5 minutes.
9. Meanwhile, gently reheat the chocolate sauce.
10. To serve, remove the ravioli with a slotted spoon, letting the excess liquid drain, and arrange 4 ravioli on each plate. Drizzle the sauce over each plate. Serve immediately.