Fun with onions; 8/2 dinner - Discuss Cooking

Poppinfresh · 03:55 PM

Credit to Frank Jefferson on the assist here with tonight's meal, as well as taking some great pictures. Glory hound :P

Amuse Bouche:
Prosciutto Purse

Ingredients:

1 cup chicken stock
1 sprig rosemary
8 peppercorns
6 cipollini onions
3 sheets prosciutto
2 scallions
6 small squares cheese (mild and sheep's milky works best)
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
5 tablespoons olive oil
6 basil leaves
twine

1. add rosemary and peppercorns to broth, bring slowly to a boil, reduce heat
2. poach onions in stock until just tender, about 3 minutes
3. cut prosciutto in circles, center a square of cheese, place onion on top
4. form purse, tie off with twine (sorry used wrong photo there)
5. brush with olive oil
6. reduce balsamic vinegar to syrup
7. roast purses at 350 for 10 minutes, or until prosciutto crisps slightly
8. fry basil leaves in oil until crisp, blot excess oil
9. remove twine, tie off with scallion ribbon, plate leaf, then syrup, then purse

Appetizer:

Salmon and Onion Dip with Curry Chips

Ingredients:

1/3 red onion
4 oz cream cheese
3 tablespoons sour cream
smoked salmon
pinch flaked chile
half a lemon
fingerling potatoes
scallions
cherry tomatoes
olive oil

1. repeat the same photo as before
2. finely mince onion, smoked salmon, lemon rind
3. combine step 2 with cream cheese, sour cream, lemon juice, chile and pepper
4. stir that **** all around
5. thinly slice fingerling potatoes
6. fry in olive oil (in this case reserved from basil leaf above) until crisp
7. blot out oil, toss with curry powder and salt
8. mince scallions
9. plate a lil' blob of dip, fan out chips, garnish with scallion and tomato half

Main Course:
Onion Marinated Steak with Roasted Shallot and Lamb Jus
Potato Scallion Pave and Mixed Greens

Ingredients:

Steak:
New York Strip Steaks
3 tablespoons cognac
3 tablespoons onion juice
thyme
salt and pepper

Jus:
2 small roasted lamb bones
1 cup chicken stock (reserved from poached cipollini dish)
3 sprigs thyme
6 roasted shallots

Pave:
2 potatoes
3 scallions sliced
2 cloves garlic
2 sheets prosciutto
2 tablespoons jarred horseradish
2 tablespoons shallot oil

Poppinfresh · 08-02-2007, 03:49 PM

Continued

Salad:
mixed greens
1 sprig thyme
1 minced shallot
olive oil
salad vinegar
salt and pepper

1. marinate steaks in thyme, salt, pepper, onion juice, cognac
2. combine ingredients for salad dressing
3. roast shallots in their skins until soft
4. squeeze shallot juice into chicken stock, thyme and lamb bones, reduce to 2 tablespoons
5. line ramekin with prosciutto, layer potato, shallot oil, scallion, garlic and horseradish alternatively
6. fill to top, cover with prosciutto
7. weigh down for a few hours with something heavy, cover with foil, bake at 300 for 2 hours, unmold, remove prosciutto
8. sear steaks, place in hot oven to your liking
9. toss salad with dressing

Dessert:
Caramelized Onion Figs with Cognac Cream and Prune Port Reduction

Ingredients:

1 small onion
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup panko
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup port
6 cloves
3 dried prunes
4 dried figs
1/2 cup cream

1. hollow out dried figs, mince onion and prune
2. heat cloves in port until boiling, remove cloves, add prunes
3. reduce until you get a nice reduction
4. caramelize onions in 1 tablespoon butter, add a lil' sugar to get things going
5. remove onions from heat when well caramelized
6. add pinch of sugar and cognac to cream, whip to stiff peaks
7. toast panko in remaining butter until golden
8. mix panko with caramelized onion
9. stuff into figs, serve with prune port reduction and whipped cream