Classic French Cuisine
Recipes by Bruce Bain, head chef at rue franklin restaurant
 |
|
Bruce Bain, head chef of the Rue Franklin Restaurant.
|
Corn Bisque, with roasted red pepper relish
12 ears fresh corn
2 ounces butter
1 medium onion, diced
6 cups water
Salt and fresh ground white pepper to taste
1/4 cup heavy cream (optional)
Pepper Relish:
1 red bell pepper
1 teaspoon minced cilantro
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Cilantro leaves for garnish
To prepare soup: Remove husks from corn; cut kernels from cob, reserving both kernels and six cobs. Melt two ounces butter in a four quart saucepan. Add onion; cook on a medium-low heat to soften, 4–5 minutes. Add water and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil. Add six corn cobs, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain corn (reserving liquid), and transfer to food processor or blender. Process, adding just enough liquid to allow corn to puree. Strain puree through sieve, using spoon or ladle to push any solid through mesh. Adjust seasoning and consistency using cooking liquid.
To prepare relish: Roast red bell pepper over open flame until skin is blackened. Set aside for several minutes. Remove all blackened skin, stem, and seeds. Slice pepper into very fine dice; mix in olive oil, cilantro, cumin, salt, and pepper.
Reheat soup (heavy cream can be added now, if desired). Place hot soup into bowls; garnish with spoonful of relish and cilantro leaves.
Venison Medallions with caramelized apple tart,
braised celery and aromatic red wine sauce
For the venison:
3–4 ounce venison loin medallions, 1/2 inch thick
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
For the apple tart:
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/8-inch thick
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1-1/2 ounces softened butter
1 tablespoon apple or ginger preserves
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
For the red wine sauce:
1 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup port wine
3 allspice berries
2 cloves
1 tablespoon minced ginger
Apple cores from tart apples
1/2 cup demi glace
1/2 ounce softened butter
For the braised celery:
4 hearts of celery, split in half lengthwise
1 ounce softened butter
1 cup chicken stock or canned broth
Salt and pepper
To prepare tarts: Preheat oven to 375°. Melt butter in sauté pan, add ginger, and sauté briefly. Add apples, lemon zest, and sugar. Continue to cook on low heat until apples start to soften. Fold in preserves, set aside to cool, drain off any excess liquid. Arrange apple slices in two circular patterns on a non-stick cookie sheet, layering. Bake on bottom rack until apples brown on bottom. Keep warm or reheat when needed.
To prepare sauce: Combine red wine, port wine, apple cores, ginger, and spices in a sauce pan. Reduce by half; strain. Add demi glace; reduce by half again. Wisk in butter and set aside.
To prepare celery:
Sauté celery hearts in butter, cut side down until slightly browned, add stock or broth, season with salt and pepper, cover and cook on low until celery is tender. Set aside.
To prepare venison:
Season medallions with salt and pepper. Heat oil in sauté pan until it begins to smoke, add venison, lower heat slightly, sear until well browned. Around 30–45 seconds for each side; venison should be rare to medium rare.
To serve:
Place warm apple tart in center of plate, browned side up; arrange warm celery on opposite sides of tart. Place venison medallions on top of tart. Spoon hot sauce over venison.
Baby Halibut Filet, with pink and black peppercorns, braised vegetables and red wine glaze
4 (7 ounce) baby halibut filets
1 tablespoon crushed black peppercorns
1 tablespoon crushed pink peppercorns
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
4 ounces softened butter
2 carrots, peeled and 1/4-inch diced
4 ribs celery, 1/4-inch diced
2 parsnips, peeled, 1/4-inch diced
1 small onion, peeled, 1/4-inch diced
1/2 cup chicken stock (canned broth may be substituted)
3 cups dry red wine
Salt and pepper
In a saucepan, reduce the red wine until it becomes syrupy, approximately 1/4 cup. Set aside.
In another saucepan, melt two ounces of the butter. Add diced carrots, onion, and celery. Lower heat and cook covered for 2–3 minutes. Add remaining vegetables and chicken stock, season with salt and pepper. Cover and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until all vegetables are tender. Drain any excess liquid and set aside. Preheat oven to 375°.
Brush halibut filets lightly with some of the softened butter. Season with salt and sprinkle with parsley and pink and black peppercorns. Arrange halibut filets on a lightly buttered baking sheet and place in 375-degree oven for approximately 7 minutes, or until slightly firm to touch. Remove from oven and keep warm.
Return vegetables to stove and heat through. Bring reduced red wine back to simmer. Remove from heat and wisk remaining softened butter into reduction.
To serve:
Arrange circle of hot vegetables in center of warm plates. Place halibut filet on top of vegetables and drizzle red wine glaze around the arrangement.
Marscarpone Filled Crepes with banana caramel sauce
Crepes:
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1-1/2 cup milk
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons melted butter
Place all ingredients into food processor or blender. Process until smooth. Let batter rest 1 hour.
Pour just enough batter in a hot, oiled, sauté pan to cover bottom of pan. When crepe starts to color, flip over and cook for a few more seconds. Stack cooked crepes on plate.
Marscarpone Filling:
8 ounce Marscapone cheese
8 ounce cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
Whip cheeses and sugar in mixer bowl until smooth; add vanilla and egg, mix until smooth.
Banana Caramel Sauce:
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup cream
Sliced banana
Bring sugar and water to a boil until mixture starts to brown. Lower heat and watch carefully. When the mixture is golden to dark brown, slowly add heavy cream, whisking constantly. When smooth, remove from heat and add banana slices.
Assembly: Fill crepes with a spoonful of Marscorpone filling. Fold in half and then in half again (you will end up with a triangle). Place on wax paper.
To serve: Heat crepes at 375° for 5–7 minutes or until warm. Place two to three crepes on plate and drizzle with banana caramel sauce.
Recipes by Alain Jorand, head chef at Enchanté
 |
|
Alain Jorand, head chef at the Enchanté Restaurant
|
1 side of fresh Norwegian Salmon
1 pound unsalted butter, softened
1 bag fresh clean spinach
1 tablespoon shallots, finely chopped
5 ounces cider vinegar
3 ounces dry white wine
2 ounces heavy cream
2 frozen puff pastry sheets
1 bunch fresh basil leaves, chopped
6 whole basil leaves
sea salt and fresh ground pepper
To prepare the salmon millefeuille: Defrost the puff pastry sheets. Preheat the oven to 325°. On a sheet pan, cook the puff pastry, keeping the thickness of the dough under an inch by using another sheet pan or using the other oven shelf on top of the pastry. Bake for fifteen minutes. Turn the pastry sheet over and bake for another fifteen minutes to obtain equal color on both sides. Cut each pastry sheet into three bands.
With a sharpened slicing knife, cut the salmon lengthwise in paper-thin slices. Salt and pepper each slice. In a teflon pan, cook the salmon very lightly. Cook the bag of spinach for one minute in the same teflon pan. Carefully place the salmon slices on four of the pastry bands. Cover the salmon with the spinach, layering the pastry, salmon and spinach. Finish with the plain pastry on top.
To prepare the basil beurre blanc: In a saucepan, reduce the wine and vinegar with the shallots. Add the cream and reduce again. At low flame, wisk the butter until creamy. Do not boil. Add the chopped basil.
Warm the salmon millefeuille in the oven for two minutes. On individual plates, serve the millefeuille bands with the basil beurre blanc drizzled on top and an elegantly placed whole basil leaf. Serves six.
Seafood à la Nage
1 large carrot
1 medium leek
1 small turnip or rutabaga
1 celery stalk
1 bouquet garni
8 garlic cloves
1 tsp crushed peppercorn
1/2 pint heavy cream
1/4 cup soft butter
1/2 bottle Chardonnay
1 bunch chopped chive
16 seascallops
8 peeled shrimp
2 lobster tail
2 whole calamari sliced
8 cubes tuna
8 cubes halibut
8 filet of sole
16 New Zealand mussels
(Your fish and shellfish may vary according to the fish market).
To prepare the sauce and vegetables: Wash and peel vegetables. Shape the turnip like a tube; slice the carrot, leek, celery, turnip and shallot 1/4 inch thick. In a large stock pot, combine the Chardonnay, the sliced vegetables, peppercorn, bouquet, and the garlic. Season with sea salt. Bring to a boil and season for about ten minutes until the vegetables are tender but still crunchy. Remove the bouquet garni and add the heavy cream, boiling for ten minutes. Reduce until lightly thickened. To make things easier, separate the sauce into two sauté pans.
To prepare the fish: Cook the fish in one saute pan, and the shellfish in the other pan, for about five minutes each. Arrange seafood on each plate.
Wisk the soft butter gently in each pan. Spoon the sauce and vegetables over the seafood; garnish with chopped chive. Serves eight.
Venison Loin & Blueberry Sauce
with braised belgian endives and celeriac mashed potato
1 whole venison saddle, deboned, including bones trimmed from both sides
For the marinade:
1 bottle of red wine
3 large carrots, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
1 sprig of fresh thyme, or
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon of crushed peppercorn
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 garlic head
For the braised Belgian endive:
6 Belgian endives
1 tablespoon of sugar
1/2 cup of water
1 tablespoon of butter
salt and pepper
For the celeriac mashed potato:
1 celeriac or celery root
1 tablespoon of butter
1/2 cup of heavy cream
salt and pepper
For the sauce:
1 pint of fresh or frozen blueberries
2 tablespoons of honey
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons of butter
To prepare the meat: Marinate the meat in a large container with all the ingredients of the marinade for at least 48 hours, or two to three days. Make sure that the wine covers the meat. Keep refrigerated.
To prepare the stock: In a stock pot, roast bones and the vegetables from the marinade (keeping the wine with the meat) for a half hour until brown.Cover with water and add the tomato paste. Let simmer for five hours. Strain the juice and thicken the stock with a little corn starch if necessary. Now take the venison loins out of the wine and dry with a clean cloth.
To braise the Belgian endive: Place all six endives in a large saute pan and cover with all the ingredients. Cook over low flame until the water is evaporated and the endives begin to caramelize. Set aside and keep warm until ready to serve.
To prepare the celeriac mashed potatoes: Peel the celeriac and potatoes. Cut the celeriac 1/2 the size of the potatoes, as the potatoes cook twice as fast as the celeriac. Cover with water and seasoning, boiling until done. Drain the water as soon as they are cooked. Continue as with regular mashed potatoes, adding butter and warm cream. Keep warm.
In a large saute pan, over a high flame, warm two tablespoons of olive oil. Season the venison loins, cooking each side for five minutes or more according to the temperature of the flame. Remove from the pan and set aside. After de-greasing the pan, pour in the wine marinade, soy sauce and honey. Let reduce over a high flame until it thickens. Add three cups of the stock and the blueberries; let reduce. Finish the sauce with butter, over low flame, seasoning to taste.
Warm up the loin for a few minutes in the sauce. Remove and cut each loin into 12 slices. On each plate, scoop the celeriac mashed potatoes on one side of the plate, one belgian endive on the other side of the plate, and arrange four slices of the loin. Cover with blueberry sauce. Serves six.
Back to the Table of Contents
Back to Top