First Course:
Dates Stuffed with Goat Cheese
24 Medjool dates
¼ lb soft goat cheese
2 tablespoons of bread crumbs
Slice dates open and remove pit. Stuff 1 teaspoon of goat cheese into cavity of date. Arrange dates on a baking pan and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes or until warmed through.
Blue Cheese, Pear and Walnut Strudel
2 Pears, peeled, cored and diced
½ cup chopped walnuts
1 cup blue cheese
1 package (2) puff pastry dough
Melted butter (1/2 stick)
Add pears, walnuts and blue cheese in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle with white balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste. Lay out pastry dough on hard surface, brush with melted butter, spoon filling on to dough and roll up, sealing ends as you roll. Brush outer dough with butter. Refrigerate until baking. Bake at 375 until golden brown about 20 mins. Slice in diagonal pieces and serve warm or room temperature.
Second Course:
French Onion Soup
3 lbs of any combination sliced (yellow onions,scallions, shallots, leeks, red onions)
1 clove garlic crushed
Butter
3 cups white wine
3 quarts of beef stock and water
3 teaspoons of Worchester sauce
Homemade Croutons
Cheese (gruyere, swiss, mozzarella, provolone, parmesan)
Cook onions and garlic in butter in a large pot over medium heat for 30mins,stirring often until onions are a golden color, do not overcook. Add wine and reduce to half. Add broth/water mixture, the Worchester sauce and bring to boil.Reduce heat and cover pot. Simmer 30 minutes. Check taste for any needed salt.
Place slice of homemade croutons in individual ovenproof (broil) bowl or mug. Ladle in soup to cover bread and top with a slice of cheese. Broil until cheese melts.
Third Course:
Pork Loin Stuffed with Winter Fruits and Port Wine Sauce
4-5 lbs Pork loin (butterflied)
Stuffing:
1 cup of dried fruit any combination (cranberries,cherries,apricots,prunes)
2/3 cup of Port wine
1 tble butter
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 small shallot or ½ onion minced
½ cup bread crumbs
1 teaspoon thyme
4 oz goat cheese
Salt and pepper
Combine fruit and port wine sauce in a saucepan and bring to boil, simmer for 15 mins until fruit are plump. In another saucepan melt butter and sauté garlic and shallots and add bread crumbs and thyme and lightly toast bread crumbs (1 min),season with salt and pepper. After both are cooled add bread crumbs to fruit mixture in a mixing bowl and then add goat cheese.
On your butterflied pork loin spoon stuffing in a line across meat and either roll or fold other end of pork and tie with kitchen twine to hold together and seal it. Season outside with salt and pepper. Place in roasting pan (fat side up) and bake at 375 for 1 hour or until inside reaches 155°. Take out of oven and let rest, covered under tin foil to keep warm. Serve in slices.
Port Wine sauce:
1 cup port wine
1 cup beef stock
2 teaspoons cornstarch (dissolved in ¼ c cold water)
1 stick of butter
Bring port wine to boil, add beef stock and reduce, slowly add butter in pieces wisking to dissolve, add cornstarch and let cook until thicker. Add more port wine to get desired taste. Serve warm over Pork loin.
Root Vegetable Puree
2 sweet potato, cooked, skin removed
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 turnips, peeled and chopped
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
In a pot cover carrots, turnips and parsnips with water and bring to boil and simmer until soft. Transfer to food processor, add sweet potato, butter and heavy cream and puree until a smooth consistency. Salt and pepper to taste.
Braised Kale
2 pound bunch kale
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chicken stock
Directions
Wash, trim stems and chop the kale. In a large pot heat oil and sauté garlic, season with red pepper flakes. Add kale and chicken stock. Cook covered for 12 minutes or until chicken stock is absorbed. Season with salt and pepper.
Fourth Course:
For Custard:
3 cups whipping cream
2 tablespoons chopped peeled fresh ginger
6 large egg yolk
3 cups whipping cream
2 tablespoons chopped peeled fresh ginger
6 large egg yolk
¾ cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 315°. Heat cream and ginger in a saucepan till scalding hot (almost boiling). Cover and remove from heat and let sit. In a large mixing bowl beat yolks, sugar and vanilla on low speed. Strain cream to remove ginger. Slowly pour cream into egg mixture and beat on low. Pour into 8 (7oz) ramekins until almost full. Place the ramekins in a baking pan and pour boiling water into pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the custards are set when gently shaken. Remove the custards from the water bath, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until firm. Chill at least 3 hours and up to 2 days.
Crème Brûlée:
Sprinkle 1 tablespoon brown sugar evenly over custard to cover completely. Broil on middle shelf just until carmelized. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours again before serving.
Cranberry Pinapple Spritzer
Cranberry Juice
Pinapple Juice
Ginger ale
Club soda
Dash of Almond Extract
Mix all ingredients together, chill and serve.
