Summer Fruit Galette

                                                         

Ingredients

3 Peaches, pitted and sliced

1 cup Blueberries

1 cup Strawberries, sliced

¼ cup Lime Juice

1 cup Dark Brown Sugar

1/4 cup Cornstarch, heaping

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon Pink Himalayan Salt

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Turbinado sugar

1 package refrigerated Puff Pastry Sheets (17.3 oz)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a sauté pan on medium heat, add the blueberries, lime juice, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, and cinnamon until incorporated.  Add the peaches and strawberries then stir until the blueberries soften and start to burst.

On a floured surface, unroll the first pastry sheet and roll to 1/8 inch.  Place the crust onto the parchment.  Unroll the second pastry sheet and roll to 1/8 inch.  Lightly brush the teaspoon of water on the sheet, then place the sheet on top. 

Drain liquid from the fruit mixture.  (I use a slotted spoon to place fruit on dough)

Top with the fruit, spread to 2" from the edge of the pie dough, evenly.

Fold the crust over in 2" sections, making overlapping folds as you go.

Brush with egg white, then sprinkle with Turbinado sugar.

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.  Cool, but serve warm.

 

ALAN’S STEAK AU POIVRE

INGREDIENTS

4 eight ounce venison, elk, bison or beef tenderloin steaks / boneless medallions / filet mignons cut 1 ½ inch thick

Sea Salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

1/3 cup minced shallot

½ cup beef stock

2 TBS roughly cracked black peppercorns

1 TBS green peppercorns

2 TBS brandy

½ cup heavy cream

1 TBS Alan’s Whole Grain Mustard

DIRECTIONS

Remove the meat from the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour prior to cooking. Pat the meat dry and season liberally on both sides with salt. 

Crack the black peppercorns and spread them evenly onto a plate. Press the meat on one side into the pepper until it coats the surface (add peppercorns to fully cover) and set on a wire rack set to air-dry, uncovered.

Heat 3 TBS butter in a Cast Iron Skillet over medium high heat.  As soon as the butter begins to turn golden and smoke, gently place the meat in the pan, peppercorn side down. For medium-rare, cook for 4 minutes on each side carefully turning the meat as not to break the peppercorn crust.  Transfer meat a warmed plate and tent with foil to keep warm while you prepare the sauce.

Make sure you have only about 2 to 3 tablespoons of fat in the pan then add the shallot and sauté scraping up the brown bits until it begins to brown, about 2 minutes. Add the beef stock, green peppercorns and brandy bringing to a boil.  Cook until raw alcohol smell has burned off and the liquid has reduced by half.

Whisk in the cream and mustard as well as any juices that have accumulated on the plate with the meat.  Gently simmer for 3-5 minutes swirling in the last of the butter in the last minute.  Salt to taste.

Transfer the steaks to four warmed plates and spoon the sauce over top.  Serve with Brussels sprouts.

 

 

Alan’s Baklava

 

Ingredients

Phyllo Sheets

1 C Pistachios

1 C Pecans

1 C Almonds

2 tea Ground Cinnamon

½ tea Ground Cloves

¼ tea salt

3 tea Orange Zest

Melted Unsalted Butter

 

1 C Water

1 C Sugar

¼ C Honey

1 tea Vanilla

1 Cinnamon Stick

½ tea Orange Extract

Pistachios for Garnish

 

Instructions

In a food processor, add in the almonds, pecans, pistachios, orange zest, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Pulse until the mixture is just roughly chopped. You do not want them to be fine as they will not have the right consistency for the baklava.  Set aside.

Grab your phyllo dough and a medium baking dish (ours was 10×8″).  Place the phyllo dough on a clean work surface, place a baking dish on top making sure not to press down hard enough to compact the phyllo.  Use a sharp knife to trim the phyllo to the size of the pan - bigger than smaller as once it bakes you won’t be able to tell.

Cover the phyllo with a slightly damp tea towel to keep it from drying out. Set aside.

Brush the bottom and sides of the baking dish with a thin layer of melted butter.  

Place two sheets of phyllo and brush with butter.  Repeat the layering, buttering every 2 sheets of phyllo until you have a base of 8 sheets.

Add 1/4 of the ground nut mixture to the pan and spread it out evenly to the edges of the pan.

 Place 4 more sheets of phyllo, buttering them every two layers, and then add on another 1/4 of ground nut mixture. Repeat two more times. 

Add the final 6 sheets of phyllo, brushing them with butter every two layers evenly drizzling any remaining melted butter over the top.

Place the baking dish into the refrigerator for 1 hour so that the butter can set. 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. 

Remove the pan from the refrigerator and using a very sharp knife, cut the uncooked baklava four times lengthwise (into long rectangles). Then, cut across diagonally to create diamond shapes.

Bake the baklava for 40 - 45 minutes or until golden brown and the edges of the phyllo is flaky.

While the baklava bakes, prepare the syrup. Combine all of the syrup ingredients except for the vanilla extract in a small pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil and simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until it has thickened but still the consistency of syrup. Set it aside to cool. Once cooled, mix the vanilla in. 

Remove the baklava from the oven, set it on a heat-proof surface and drizzle the cooled syrup evenly over the baked baklava while it is still hot (this is key!). 

Top the baklava with crushed pistachios and allow it to sit at room temperature for several hours or overnight before serving.

 

Alan’s Mincemeat Pie

 

Ingredients:

1 lb Venison Neck Meat

3/4 tsp Salt

3 cups Apple, peeled and chopped

1/3 cup suet

3/4 cup Apple Cider

1 Tbs ground Mace 

1/2 TBS Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

1/2 cup Raisins

1/2 cup dried Currants

3 TBS chopped candied Lemon peal

  

Directions:

Boil the meat and then chop it finely into small pieces.

In a large bowl, combine chopped apples, chopped suet, cider, spices, and fruit. Add the beef and apple cider and mix well until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.

 Line a 9″ pie plate with your favorite pie pastry recipe.

 Pour the mincemeat filling inside, spreading it evenly, and then put on the top crust. Seal the crust around the edge with a fork and cut little slivers in the middle to let out steam.

Then bake in a 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes, or until the crust looks golden brown.

 

Alan’s Cranberry – Apple – Pear Galette

INGREDIENTS

3 TBS Cornstarch

¼ Cup Lime Juice

2 Large Honey Crisp Apples, peeled and thinly sliced

2 Large Anjou Pears, peeled and thinly sliced

1 Cup Cranberries, fresh

1 Cup Dark Brown Sugar, firmly packed

1 tea Cinnamon, heaping

1 pinch Nutmeg, freshly ground

Dash of Cloves

¼ tea Kosher Salt

1 package refrigerated pie crusts (14.1 oz)

1 tea water

1 large egg, beaten

2 TBS Turbinado sugar

 

DIRECTION 

1 – Preheat the oven to 425*F.  Place a piece of parchment paper on to a baking sheet.

2 – On a floured surface, unroll the first pie crust and roll into a 14-inch circle.  Place the crust onto the parchment.  Unroll the second pie crust and roll it out to a 14-inch circle.  Lightly brush the teaspoon of water on the first crust, then place the second crust on top

3– In a small bowl whisk together the lime Juice and Cornstarch.

4 – In a sauté pan on medium heat, add the lime mixture, cranberries, spices and brown sugar stirring until incorporated.  Add the apples and pears and stir until mixture comes to a boil (and the cranberries soften and start to burst).

5 – Take the mixture from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes before spooning into the middle of the pie crusts leaving a 2-inch space around the edge.

6 – Fold the excess dough onto the fruit mixture in a pleating pattern to partially cover the fruit.  Brush the egg mixture around this top edge then sprinkle with Turbinado sugar.

7 – Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown.  Cool, but serve warm.

 

 

Alan’s Fish in Creamed Dill Sauce

 

Ingredients

6 four-ounce pieces of firm white fish (Cod/Halibut/Haddock/Snapper)

2 small leeks (last 5 inches of white and green) sliced thin

1 shallot sliced thin

4 cloves garlic smashed

1 heaping cup fresh dill chopped fine

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup half & half

1 stick unsalted butter

2 lemons

kosher salt

fresh white pepper

splash of olive oil

fresh chives for garnish

Directions

 

Turn on oven to pre-heat to 350*

Set fish on parchment paper and season both sides with salt and white pepper.  Set aside and allow to get to room temperature.

Place a splash of olive oil and a stick of butter in a large oven safe sauté pan over medium heat.

When butter begins to bubble, add the leeks and shallot.  Cook until soft and become a golden color. 

Add the garlic and heat through allowing them to bloom.

Add the heavy cream and half & half and stir to blend with the leeks and shallot sauté.  Add the fresh dill and heat until sauce is infused with its flavor. 

Zest one lemon into the pan and fold in then add the juice of that lemon to the pan.

Place the six pieces of fish in the cream sauce making sure each is covered.

Cut the other Lemon into 6 slices and place a slice on each piece of fish (removing all seeds).

Put the pan in the oven for 30 minutes.

Garnish with the fresh chives at serving.

 

Alan’s Cocktail Sauce

Ingredients

2 cups ketchup

4 tablespoons prepared horseradish

juice and zest of one lime

2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon Cholula Chile Lime sauce

1 teaspoon Cholula Chile Garlic sauce

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

¼ teaspoon fresh finely ground black pepper

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk together