Volume III: Catching Up

Volume III: Catching Up


Another week has gotten away from me - the first 90 days in a new job are always an adjustment both in and outside of the office and I have been relying on takeout much more than I anticipated as I get my schedule sorted out and fall into a rhythm.

No soufflé this week, but it is next in the pipeline.  Keep an eye out for it next post!  In the meantime, I wanted to share some other recipes from the book that I prepared over the last few weeks:

Croque Monsieur:

In my preparation efforts to begin regularly posting with the group, I took a look back at the recipes you all have completed to this point.  When I saw that this was included on that list… I couldn’t help myself!  I was fortunate enough to travel to Paris years ago and have very fond memories of eating these in more than one café.  Normally I would go with the Croque Madame, but in light of the recipe and my first go at this I decided to start simply and forget the egg.

"Before and After"

Overall I think this was a success!  It tasted good (and after all that’s the important part) and is definitely a recipe I will keep on hand.  That being said, there is always room for improvement.  I didn’t melt enough butter (or maybe melt some a second time?) because after making the bechemel and applying to the insides I had nothing to coat the outsides of the bread.  In future efforts I believe this would definitely help me achieve that nice browned look without as much effort.  I was also hoping to get a block of gruyere at the store so I could slice for the inside and then shred for the topping.  Making due with deli slices sufficed for this round, but I think having actual shredded cheese would allow for a more even melt across the top.

A sandwich and chips is one of my favorite lunches.  This did not disappoint. 

Looking forward to completing more of these “makeup” recipes – there are a ton I can’t wait to get to!

Black Olive Tapenade:

Not having a real taste for olives, I have never cooked with them and have rarely sought them out in the past.  With no pictures of the end product in the book to go by, I decided to go into this one relatively blind and see how my interpretation compared to the rest.

Doesn't get much easier than this, throw everything in the blender and pulse it.

The final product 

This was super easy to make, thanks to my roommate’s Ninja Blender.  I simply threw all of the ingredients in the container and pulsed it a few times!  I was surprised at how tasty the tapenade came out and my roommates who were around to taste test with me gave positive reviews as well.  Next time I would do a better job at pairing this with some cheese and wine to accentuate the flavors and make this a more well-rounded hors d'oeuvre.

Hard-Cooked Eggs with Chervil Mayonnaise:

It’s true that you learn something new every day; I have to confess I did not know that hard-cooked was the same (and more accurate) name for hard-boiled eggs.  After reading the recipe, I was curious about how this recipe would taste since it seemed like a traditional deviled egg only without removing the yolk to make the topping. 

The mayo came out great - it was an apartment favorite as a topping on the eggs and as a dip for veggies and pretzels!

I was impressed with the chervil mayo.  The Dijon added a great flavor and the spice contrasted with the egg for a great combo.  The consistency was a bit runny to be a topping, and made the eggs hard to handle when it overflowed from the top of the egg.  While this leaves room for improvement, as I will definitely be making this again, I would still say it was a success as the excess became a coveted dip for just about everything from pretzels to potato chips and even carrots.  The taste-testers confirmed that some of those options were a better match than others, but the consensus remains that we would all like to explore what else might taste great with it!

Really liked this recipe.  This will definitely be useful for summer parties as a light snack!