2017 Formal Dinner - Photos and info added

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

We just held my 2017 formal dinner on the 14th. I would have to check, but I think this is the 15th year in a row.
I will post the menu now, and in the next few days post the photos and recipes. Patrice and I will move them to the cookbook later.

As before the seating was for three couples. The main entree was Beef Wellington.

If you are not familiar with Beef Wellington, it is a wrapped beef dish. You start with a high grade center cut beef tenderloin, which would be a chateaubriand if you just cooked it as-is ... sear it completely in a very hot cast iron skillet, ... coat it with stone ground mustard, wrap it with prosciutto covered with duxelles, sprinkle with herbs, .... and wrap all that in puff pastry. The preparation and baking has to be just right to get the puff pastry golden brown and the meat a perfect rare pink. The final served slice is a lovely sight. The duxelles I made were a finely processed paste of shiitake and oyster mushrooms, pate' fois gras, pate' truffe', black garlic, shallots, regular garlic, and fresh herbs. It takes much longer to prepare the dish than to bake it.

Here was last years dinner:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1402694-Formal-Dinner-Photos-Added
Here is 2011:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...-New-Year-s-Day-and-you-know-what-that-means-!

 

[mete]

My taste buds and digestive juices are flowing !!

 

[timos-]

mmm very nice

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

The room is ready for guests. The chaffer is ready for the Beef Wellington, The bucket is ready for the champagne.



I just saw that the float and other stuff from it are in the background of the beverage window

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

In order of photos 3-2-1-4-5

Tenderloin seared well
Prosciutto laid out on plastic
covered with duxelles
rolled up
chilling before covering in puff pastry

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Photo order 4-1-5-3-2

Wellington rolled in puff pastry
Going in the oven
coming out done
test cut
half of the last one in chaffer

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Guests arrive at 4PM Saturday. Champagne is served after introductions, and the guests get to know each other in the living room by the fire. Hors d'oeuvres are brought out. Soup course is served at 5PM. Salad course followed at 5:15. The champagne was served through these courses ( four down, three to go).Table was cleared and the red wines were served.

All ingredients were prepped Friday evening.
The reduction was done for about an hour while prepping the items.
The duxelles were made in the food processor. They smell a bit strong of garlic and shallots until cooked, so pureeing them is done and the house aired out on the evening before the dinner to have a fresher smelling room for the dinner. They are chilled until used the next day.

My one luxury beyond good scotch and an occasional good cigar is having the maids come once a month to do a good cleaning of the house. It worked out that they were due the same day, They got an easy morning, as I had the kitchen in use, and had shampooed the carpets two days earlier. They did make everything else glisten and the bathrooms were spotless. They came at 10AM, and were done by 11. Last year, I made both of them nice kitchen knives as gifts to show how much I appreciate their work.

The desert was started at 9AM Saturday along with setting up the house.

The rolled and tied tenderloins were seared in a very hot pan, then transferred to a baking pan to chill well before wrapping. This creates a good bit of great smelling smoke, so it is done early in the morning to allow the house to clear the air. I open all the windows during this step and run the stone exhaust at full blast. If I don't the smoke alarm will go off.

Potatoes and root veggies are prepped and oiled, then chilled.
Once all the prep work and pre-cooking is done, I clean the kitchen, put all the prep dishes in the dishwasher and start it, clean the stove top, mop the kitchen floor, and set the table. I light the house candles and take a good shower so I don't smell like a short-order cook.

Once back down in clean clothes, I put on a clean chef's jacket and start the canapes, then start the soup. Canapes are set in a small cooler I put in the kitchen ( for easy access), and the soup is kept warm on the stove.
Champagne is chilling in another cooler on ice.

The Wellington is rolled and wrapped about 2PM and chilled in the refrigerator until it goes in the oven. It cooks in about 40--45 minutes, so you don't need to start it early. I put it in at 4:30PM and took it out at 5:15. It rested for 15 minutes, and was cut and plated immediately. Enter course hit the table at 5:35.

During the meal I put all dished immediately in the dishwasher and run it before desert is served. That way I have only a load or two to do in the clean up time and everything is clean and ready to put away the next morning.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

canapes
soup course
dessert

Refrigerator packed with prepped items at 9AM.



Soup is lobster bisque garnished with white truffle oil, cognac, and fennel garnish



Dessert was made in a small fish bowl. The assembly was:
Bottom layer of limoncello gelato
Thin layer of lemon pound cake
Sprinkle with limoncello liqueur
Push from middle to push up on sides a bit and leave a 1.5" hole in center
Back in freezer for 20 minutes to re-freeze
Layer of dark chocolate gelato on next ... layer of pound cake ... limoncello ... re-freeze
Sea salt caramel gelato ... push all toward sides to leave a empty center
Freeze firmly for 3 hours
Whip 2 cups heavy cream with the scrapings of three whole vanilla beans until thickened. Add some powdered sugar and whip to stiff peaks.
Spoon dark chocolate sea salt caramel ganache down center, cover with whip cream, decorate with a raspberry, mint, and half a vanilla bean hull.

Finished dessert looked a bit like the sand art you did in a jar as a kid with colored sand.

 

[mete]

You did very well !! I learned as a kid that a successful dinner requires a very well planned system .Timing , like yours, what to cook , how, time in time out ,etc is the trick !
The Italian in me likes the prosciutto touch. If you ever cook skinned wild goose or duck I strongly suggest prosciutto substitute for the skin.

 

[jdm61]

Dang!!!!!!! That is one serious spread!!!!!