Cooking Demo Party at Home

October 30, 2011

We had a rollicking cooking demo party at my home last night, organized by a couple of my dear friends. They brought the people (there were 12 of us), the fun and laughter, plus lots of wine; they not only bore the cost of the ingredients but also handled the washing up and clearing up throughout the evening. With great friends like these, who could ask for more?

Where are the men?

There they are!

The best Sous-Chef ever!

We set up two tables in the family room.

 The evening's MENU:

Salmon en Croute (demo'ed)

"Smoked" Miso-Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Spinach Sauce and Tomato/Sweet Onion Gremolata

Couscous Salad

Fresh Greens & Fruits Salad with a Sherry-Mustard Vinaigrette (demo'ed)

Tarte Tatin with a Non-Sweet Whipped Cream (demo'ed)

Fresh Fruits (Raspberries, Macerated Strawberries, & Blueberries)

[Note: I'll make sure the recipes for the above are posted on this blog; some of them already are.]

After my hubby had made sure everyone had a glass of wine, I started the session by showing the group how to "supreme" an orange, that is, peeling the orange and neatly slicing off the individual segments (to go into the green salad). 

 This is an elegant way to serve orange segments on a platter by themselves, garnished perhaps with some mint leaves (great for brunch!), or mixed with other fruits. After slicing the segments, you can squeeze the remaining pulp for a good amount of juice which you can use for the salad dressing. [Cook's Note:  When handling food (especially those that are not going to be cooked, always always always wear clean gloves.)

Next was the made-from-scratch simple sherry-mustard vinaigrette. Any recipe for a vinaigrette should serve simply as a guide or a starting point -- you can be as flexible as you want regarding the ratio of the ingredients, as it all depends on your taste. I wanted to show that you could "eyeball" the preparation, so I poured some good-quality sherry vinegar into a medium bowl without measuring it (about 1/3 cup), then sprinkled some salt and freshly ground pepper on it and whisked the mixture to completely dissolve the salt, noting that we could adjust the saltiness later. I then scooped some Dijon mustard (about a couple of tablespoons) into the mixture and whisked vigorously until it was well combined with the liquid. I slowly poured extra-virgin olive oil and kept whisking until the mixture had emulsified nicely--everyone had a little taste and all agreed it tasted good and didn't need any more salt.

 The entire process took all of 3 minutes and 3 ingredients (not counting salt and pepper) and, voila, a delicious, inexpensive, and healthful vinaigrette without the preservatives that you'd certainly get from store-bought vinaigrette.

We then tackled the dough for the Tarte Tatin because it needed to chill out in the fridge for at least half an hour before baking. (It's a highly complex process to make puff pastry from scratch, as I learned at culinary school, so I might send some foodie purists reeling when I admit that I use store-bought frozen puff pastry. Oh well.) The Pepperidge Farm brand is good enough for me for now, but I will experiment with other brands later. I pointed out that the butter and eggs should be cold, so cube the butter and beat the eggs beforehand and keep them in the fridge until needed.

This is very simple to make--combine the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and give it a few pulses to mix thoroughly (or you could use a hand whisk); add the butter and pulse a couple of times until they resemble coarse crumbs (you could also use your fingertips to squeeze the butter cubes, although it would take longer); add half of the beaten eggs and stir with a fork until a dough forms (add a bit more egg if needed until the dough comes together without it getting too sticky or soft, but don't overwork it). Form into a ball, sprinkle lightly with flour, then flatten into a disc about 4 inches in diameter. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge.

While the dough was chilling, we moved on to the main attraction of the evening - Salmon en Croute (salmon in puff pastry) with a spinach/cheese/pine nuts filling. I had cooked the filling beforehand (saute minced garlic in olive oil, add spinach and cook till wilted, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and freshly grated nutmeg, then drain to draw out excess liquid). I had also cleaned, skinned and sliced the salmon into two long strips (2 1/2 inches wide)--we were making two logs--seasoning them with salt and pepper. On a floured surface, I laid one puff pastry (thawed in the fridge), sprinkled it with water, and placed the second piece on top; I rolled it out on top and bottom until it was longer than the salmon strip (by 1 1/2 inches at each end), occasionally sprinkling some flour so it wouldn't stick to the work surface. With my gloved hand, I spread the cheese (spreadable kind) along the middle, leaving 1 1/2 inches clear at each end, topped it with the spinach mixture, then carefully placed one salmon strip on top.

I brushed egg wash (beaten egg yolks) all around the edges of the pastry, picked up the pastry on one side and folded it over the salmon; I did the same with the other side, overlapping the edges of the pastry. After brushing each end with the egg wash, I folded them onto the log to seal the "package." I carefully lifted the log and placed it, seam-side down, on a baking sheet lined with nonstick foil. As a final step, I brushed the whole log generously with egg wash, and put it in a preheated 350F oven to bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown. (The log should be allowed to cool slightly for 10 minutes before being carefully transferred to a serving dish and, with a very sharp knife, sliced into serving pieces.)

With the salmon safely in the oven, it was time to prep the apples for the Tarte Tatin. I asked the ladies to help peel the apples and slice each into 6 wedges (using that amazing kitchen tool, an apple corer), while I melted the butter over medium heat in an oven-safe, heavy-bottomed, 10-inch tart pan. I sprinkled the sugar over the melted butter and laid the apples, core-side down, in a concentric circle, squeezing in as many pieces as possible. The pan was returned to the heat to caramelize the apples. At this point, I took the chilled dough from the fridge and rolled it out on a floured surface into an 11-inch circle. The syrup in the pan had started to turn to an amber color, and I flipped the apple pieces so their wide sides were at the bottom; I cooked them for a couple more minutes, then took the pan off the heat and carefully laid the dough on top, pushing the edges up the sides of the pan and folding them in. I put the pan in the preheated 375F oven to bake for about 30 minutes.

The salmon had finished baking a few minutes before, so we quickly assembled and tossed the salad (lettuce, arugula, mache, grapes, oranges, apples, pears, and goat cheese) in the sherry-mustard vinaigrette that we made earlier.

I had cooked beforehand the other two dishes on the menu: the "Smoked" Miso-Glazed Pork Tenderloin with a Spinach Sauce and Tomato-Sweet Onion Gremolata; and the Couscous Salad (with bits of red bell pepper, cucumber, scallions, parsley, lemon rind and juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper). [Note that "Smoked" is in quotes--the pork was faux-smoked by braising it in broth spiked with liquid smoke; check out the recipe on this blog.]

So we all dug in, wine glasses were refilled, and we enjoyed our dinner while this wonderful aroma of the apples in syrup wafted from the oven. I was very very happy to note that almost everyone had seconds of everything -- the best compliment one could bestow on a cook.

Just before the Tarte Tatin finished baking, I quickly whipped up a non-sweet cream (the tarte was already sweet enough) by whisking together a cup of heavy cream, 1/2 cup of sour cream, and grated rind from one small lemon. As for the berries, I had sliced and macerated the strawberries with a bit of sugar, then added blueberries and raspberries before serving spoonfuls of the mix with the Tarte Tatin. A delicious dessert to round off a wonderful meal. It was a perfect evening, full of love, laughter, and good eats!