Delicious Details

Theme: Autumn Harvest Foods
Guests:
8

Starter

Fresh Pumpkin Soup
We took a whole pumpkin, chopped it up, scoop it out and turned it into a very orange, but delightful soup! Garnished with a swirl of sour cream, it is sure to warm you up as you step inside.

Bread

Hot Cross Buns
Spiced with love and risen to perfection, these hot cross buns are a bite of happiness right out of the oven.

Main Course

Crown Roast Lamb with Vegetables
What is a crown roast lamb? Well, we didn't know either, but it turns out that it is two racks of lamb ribs strung together to form a circle of deliciousness. We complete this dish with asparagus, new potatoes and baby carrots.

Dessert

Scarlet Poached Pears
These pears have been bathed in a scarlet pool of orange muscat, beets and cinnamon to delicately flavor and brightly color them for this festive menu.

Soup

bel's pumpkin soup
based on a creation from Bel's imagination
Makes 8 servings

We never intended to make pumpkin soup, but owing to a lack of butternut squashes in the world we bought a pumpkin.

ingredients

• 1 medium pumpkin, seeded, stemmed and skinned
• 2 chicken bullion cubes
• water
• 3 large carrots, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• italian parsley, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp butter
• salt & pepper to taste
• sour cream

preparation

1. Sautee garlic and onions and garlic in the butter until tender
2. Add the remaining ingredients and boil for a while (about an hour or two) until everything is soft
3. Blend in batches until smooth. Garnish with a swirl of sour cream

Bread

hot cross buns
based on the recipe from Epicurious.com
Makes 24 buns

We made an entire batch of another recipe that turned out horribly. These were better, but we forgot to add the currants. Doh!

ingredients

• 1 cup warm milk (105°–115°F.)
• two 1/4-ounce packages (5 teaspoons) active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 sticks (1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter
• 2 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 cup dried currants
• 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh orange zest
• 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest
• 3 tablespoons superfine granulated sugar

preparation

1. In a small bowl stir together milk, yeast, and 1 teaspoon granulated sugar. Let mixture stand 5 minutes, or until foamy.
2. Into a large bowl sift together flour, allspice, cinnamon, salt, and remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Cut butter into bits and with your fingertips or a pastry blender blend into flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse meal. Lightly beat 1 whole egg with egg yolk. Make a well in center of flour mixture and pour in yeast and egg mixtures, currants, raisins, and zests. Stir mixture until a dough is formed. Transfer dough to a floured surface and with floured hands knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Transfer dough to an oiled large bowl and turn to coat. Let dough rise, covered with plastic wrap, in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.
3. Butter 2 large baking sheets.
4. On a floured surface with floured hands knead dough briefly and form into two 12-inch-long logs. Cut each log crosswise into 12 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball and arrange about 1 1/2 inches apart on baking sheets. Let buns rise, covered, in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 400°F.
6. Transfer buns to a rack to cool slightly. Top buns with a simple frosting of powdered sugar and lemon juice.
   

Main Course

crown roast of lamb with shallots, mustard and mint
based on the recipe from Epicurious.com
Makes 6 servings

We went to our favorite butcher for the crown roast, and they failed us. They wouldn't make a crown smaller than 3 racks and they wants $100 for it. That seemed ridiculous, so we went to Whole Foods where they happily made a double crown rack for around $35 (the cost per lb). We ended up cooking the roast for about half the estimated time, and it was perfect. ABSOLUTELY use a meat thermometer. The early finish meant that we ran behind in cooking the veggies, but it all tasted good. Also you should invest a good knife and ask the butcher how to carve the lamb. We had no idea...

ingredients
For lamb:

• 3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
• 1 crown of lamb made from two 8-rib racks (about 4 1/2 pounds total)
• 2 large shallots, chopped
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup chicken stock or canned unsalted broth
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

For Spring Vegetables with Mint:

• 1 1/2 pounds new potatoes, halved
• 1 baby carrot bunch, stems trimmed to 1 inch, peeled
• 1 10-ounce basket pearl onions, peeled
• 1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed, cut crosswise into thirds
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

preparation

• Preheat oven to 450°F. Mix 2 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon mustard and 1 1/2 teaspoons rosemary in bowl. Season generously with salt and pepper. Place lamb in roasting pan. Rub all over with butter mixture. Roast 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. and continue roasting until thermometer inserted into lamb registers 140°F. for medium-rare, about 40 minutes. Transfer lamb to platter; let stand 15 minutes.
• Pour off fat from roasting pan and set pan aside. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy large skillet over low heat. Add shallots and 1/2 teaspoon rosemary; sauté until shallots are tender, about 5 minutes. Add wine to roasting pan and bring to boil over high heat, scraping up any browned bits. Add wine to skillet. Add stock; boil until slightly thickened, about 6 minutes. Mix in 1/2 teaspoon mustard and mint. Season with salt and pepper.
• Spoon vegetables in center of and around roast. Serve, cutting lamb into chops and spooning sauce over.
• To make spring vegetables place potatoes in vegetable steamer and steam 10 minutes. Add carrots and onions and steam until vegetables are almost tender, about 10 minutes longer. Add asparagus and steam until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes more.
• Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add mint and vegetables. Season with salt and pepper and stir until vegetables are coated with butter.

Dessert

scarlet poached pears
based on the recipe from Epicurious.com
Makes 6 servings

We saw a picture of the final product and knew we had to try it. The end result was a surprising and subtle new flavor. The beets stained the pears a shocking scarlet color, and flavored them in a way we could not have imagined. definitely worth making again.

ingredients

• 2 cups Orange Muscat such as Essencia (from a 750-ml bottle)
• 1 medium red beet (1/4 pound), peeled and sliced
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 (2-inch) cinnamon stick
• 2 Turkish bay leaves
  
• 3 small firm-ripe pears (3/4 to 1 pound total), such as Forelle, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cored

preparation

• Bring wine, beet, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and bay leaves to a boil in a 1 1/2- to 2-quarts saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved.
• Add pears and cover with a round of parchment paper. Simmer, turning occasionally, until pears are tender and liquid is syrupy, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer pears to a bowl. Discard cinnamon stick and bay leaves and pour syrup over pears. Cool completely in syrup, about 30 minutes. Poached pears can be made 1 day ahead and chilled. Bring to room temperature before serving.
• Serve in individual ramekins.