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Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Obama's Inaugural Lunch: You could not be there? Here is the the menu try the recipes

Obama's Inaugural Lunch Menu has an interesting menu which was based on Lincoln’s favorite foods. Here is a good link with videos and more and the recipes here below in this blog.
http://www.newsday.com/features/food/ny-food-inauguration-recipes,0,7480868.story

The theme of the 2009 inauguration is ‘A New Birth of Freedom’ (honoring the 200th anniversary of President Lincoln’s birth), so the luncheon will feature some of Lincoln’s favorite foods like wild game and root vegetables. The president, his family, and members of congress dined on seafood stew in puff pastry, duck breast with cherry chutney, herb roasted pheasant with wild rice stuffing, molasses whipped sweet potatoes, winter vegetables (which curiously include asparagus and wax beans), and a dessert they are calling “Cinnamon Apple Sponge Cake,” which is more like an apple charlotte made with brioche. Recipes below.

DUCK BREAST WITH SOUR-CHERRY CHUTNEY



-1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
-1/2 cup chopped onion (1 small)
-3 garlic cloves, crushed
-1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
-1/2 teaspoon black pepper
-1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
-Scant 1/4 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes
-3/4 teaspoon salt
-1/2 cup coarsely chopped red bell pepper (1/2 medium)
-1 plum tomato, coarsely chopped
-1/4 cup dry red wine
-1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
-2 tablespoons sugar
-1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
-1 can (3 cups) Bing cherries, quartered



1. Heat oil in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook onion, garlic, and shallot, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 7 minutes. Add tomatoes, black pepper, cumin, hot pepper flakes, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, 30 seconds.

2. Reduce heat to medium and add bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in wine, vinegar (to taste), and sugar and simmer about 5 minutes. Stir in mustard, 1 cups cherries, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and simmer 1 minute.

3. Allow to cool slightly and reserve all but 1/4 cup of the mix to the side. Place 1/4 cup mix in a blender and puree until very smooth, about 1 minute (use caution when blending hot liquids). Reserve for glazing duck. To finish the chutney, add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of cherries, tarragon or chives and all the golden raisins. Can be prepared one day ahead.

4. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450 degrees. Score duck skin in a crosshatch pattern with a small sharp knife and season duck all over with salt and pepper.

5. Heat water in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet over low heat until hot, then add duck, skin side down. Cook duck, uncovered, over low heat, without turning, until most of fat is rendered (melted) and skin is golden brown, about 25 minutes.

6. Transfer duck to a plate and discard all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet. Brush duck all over with cherry glaze and return to skillet, skin side up.

7. Roast duck in oven until thermometer registers 135 degrees, about 8 minutes for medium-rare. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

8. Holding a sharp knife at a 45-degree angle, cut duck into slices. Serve with cherry chutney and molasses-whipped sweet potato. Makes 10 servings.

**

HERB-ROASTED PHEASANT WITH WILD RICE STUFFING


-1 pound wild rice, long grain
-2 quarts chicken stock or canned chicken broth
-1/2 onion, diced
-2 tablespoons garlic, roasted
-2 carrots, diced
-1/2 cup dried apricot, finely diced
-1 tablespoon salt and pepper mix

* previous
* 1

-10 pheasant breasts, boneless (remove tenders and reserve for stuffing). Cut small pocket in side of breast for stuffing.
-1/2 cup olive oil with chopped rosemary, thyme and sage

1. Boil the rice with the chicken stock until soft and most of the liquid is gone.

2. Add the onion, carrot, garlic and apricot. Cook until the vegetables are soft and all liquid has been absorbed. Refrigerate rice mixture until cold.


3. In a food processor, puree pheasant tenders to a paste consistency to use as a binder for rice mix.

4. When rice is cool, add the pheasant puree to the rice until well mixed. Season with salt and pepper and return to refrigerator until ready to stuff.

5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

6. Make 10 small football-shaped patties of the rice mix, stuff inside the pheasant breasts, being careful not to overstuff the pheasant. Rub herb-oil mixture on top and bottom of the pheasant, season with salt and pepper. Place the pheasant in a heavy-gauge roasting pan and then in a preheated oven for approximately 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cover with lid or foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Serve over saute of spinach. Makes 10 servings.

MOLASSES-WHIPPED SWEET POTATOES


-3 large sweet potatoes, about 3 pounds
-2 tablespoons unsalted butter
-1 teaspoon kosher salt
-1/4 cup orange juice
-1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
-1 tablespoon molasses
-1 teaspoon ground cumin
-2 tablespoons maple syrup

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and roast until easily pierced with a fork, about 1 hour.

3. Peel the skin off the sweet potatoes while still hot. By hand or mixer, smash potatoes until all large chunks are gone. Combine the potatoes, butter, salt, orange juice, brown sugar, molasses, ground cumin and maple syrup in a large bowl. Continue to mix together until all lumps are gone. Adjust any of the seasonings to your specific tastes. Can be made the day before. Makes 2 quarts.


WINTER VEGETABLES


-2 bunches green asparagus, bottom 1/3 of stem removed
-2 pounds carrots, peeled, cut oblong or into large dice
-1 pound fresh baby Brussels sprouts, cleaned (frozen can be used)

Video



SEAFOOD STEW


-6 (1-pound) Maine lobsters
-20 medium-size sea scallops
-36 large shrimp, peeled, cleaned and tail removed, about 2 pound.
-10 (1-ounce) pieces of black cod
-1/2 cup finely diced carrots
-1/2 cup finely diced celery
-1/2 cup finely diced leek
-1/2 cup finely diced peeled Idaho potato
-1 teaspoon kosher salt
-1 teaspoon ground white pepper or black pepper
-1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
-1 quart heavy cream
-1 cup dry vermouth (optional)
-10 (5-inch) puff-pastry rounds
-10 (3 1/2-inch) terrines or ramekins, or serving dish of your choice

1. Bring 1 gallon of water to a boil; poach lobsters, then shrimp, then black cod and last scallops. After seafood is cooked, remove from water; reserve water and bring to boil.

2. Cook all vegetables in liquid that was used for the seafood; remove vegetables when tender. Allow the liquid to continue to boil until only 1 quart of liquid remains. This will be the base for the sauce.

3. Bring seafood liquid back to a boil and add the vermouth and heavy cream and reduce by half, season with salt, white pepper and nutmeg to taste. You have reached your desired thickness when the sauce will cover the back of a wooden spoon. Set aside to cool.

4. Cut lobster, shrimp and scallops into bite-sized pieces.

5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

6. Fold seafood and vegetables into cool sauce, being careful not to mix too much as this will break up the seafood. Scoop mixture into terrines or ovenproof baking dish of your choice.

7. Cover terrines with puff-pastry rounds, brush them with egg wash and bake them until golden brown, about 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving. You can cook this 2-3 hours ahead of time and keep warm at 150 degrees. Makes 10 servings.


**

-1 pound wax beans, ends snipped
-2 ounces butter
-Zest of 1 orange
-4 ounces olive oil
-Salt and pepper to taste.

1. Asparagus: Preheat grill or large heavy-bottom saute pan. Rub 2 ounces olive oil on asparagus and season with pinch of salt and pepper. Lay flat on grill or saute pan until lightly browned. Using long fork or tongs, rotate the asparagus to brown other sides, 2 or 3 minutes per side. The asparagus is done when you can use a fork to cut through. Do not overcook, which will cause asparagus to become stringy. Keep warm until ready to serve.

2. Carrots: Bring 3 quarts salted water to a boil, add carrots to water and cook until fork tender (a fork will easily pass through the carrot). Drain the water from the pot and toss 1 ounce butter and zest of orange and mix until carrots are coated. Season with pinch of salt. Keep warm until ready to serve.

3. Brussels sprouts: For Fresh: Bring 3 quarts salted water to a boil, cut into the stem of the sprouts with a pairing knife to create an "X" on the bottom, allowing stem to cook more evenly. Place sprouts in boiling water and cook until bottom of sprout is tender and easily cut with a knife.

4. Preheat a heavy-bottom saute pan while the sprouts are cooking. Remove sprouts from water and drain completely. Add 2 ounces oil to saute pan and add the sprouts. Season with salt and pepper while tossing the sprouts around to evenly brown in the pan. If sprouts are too big, cut them in half. Keep warm until ready to serve. (For Frozen: Bring 3 quarts salted water to a boil and drop frozen Brussels sprouts into water. These are precooked so you are only thawing them out. Remove from water and saute as above.)

5. Yellow wax beans: Bring 3 quarts salted water to boil, add snipped wax beans to water and allow to cook until fork tender or to desired doneness. Remove from water and toss with 1 ounce butter and season with salt and pepper. Makes 10 servings.



**

CINNAMON APPLE SPONGE CAKE


-Apple filling: 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
-4 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
-1/4 cup water
-1/3 cup granulated sugar
-1/3 cup applesauce
read crust:

14 tablespoons unsalted butter, 10 tablespoons melted 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 35 slices brioche bread (or white bread) 10 ceramic baking ramekins or metal molds (3-inch diameter)


:::
Apple-cinnamon-caramel sauce:


-2 cups caramel sauce (store bought)
-2 cups Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, finely diced
-Pinch sugar
-Pinch cinnamon
-1 tablespoon butter

For serving: 1 quart vanilla ice cream

1. Filling: Melt butter in 6-quart saucepan over medium-low heat. Add apples and caramelize. Add water, cover and cook, stirring occasionally for 15 to 20 minutes, or until apples are completely soft. Remove cover and add sugar, nutmeg and salt. Increase heat to medium-high and continue to cook, stirring apples frequently, until liquid has completely evaporated, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest, applesauce and vanilla. Set aside to cool while making crust. The filling can be made one day ahead.

2. Crust and assembly: Position oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 425 degrees. With the 4 tablespoons of un-melted butter, grease 8 ceramic dishes. Sprinkle sugar in dish and tilt to coat bottom and sides. Tap out excess sugar and set aside.

3. Using a bread knife, remove crusts from bread. Center the bottom of mold over one of the bread squares. Cut around mold to form circle to use as the top. Make a total of 20 of these round pieces. Ten will be for the bottom and 10 will be used for the top. Dip each of the 10 "bottoms" in melted butter and place at the bottom of mold.

4. Cut each of the 15 remaining slices of bread into four rectangular pieces. Dip one side of each strip in the melted butter and arrange strips, upright, around the inside of molds, buttered-sides against mold and overlapping by about 1/2 inch to completely line mold. Use 6 rectangles to line the mold. Spoon the apple filling into bread-lined molds, mounding it slightly in center.

5. Take the remaining 10 rounds of bread, dip into the melted butter and place on top of filling, buttered-sides up. Press down lightly.

6. Bake for 30 minutes, then cover loosely with aluminum foil. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, until top is deep golden brown and side slices are golden brown (slide a thin-bladed knife between bread and pan to check). Remove from oven, uncover and let rest for 15 minutes on wire rack. Run thin-bladed knife around edges of molds to be able to flip the mold out onto serving plates.

7. For the apple cinnamon caramel sauce, saute 1 cup of peeled and diced Granny Smith apples in butter, add a pinch of sugar and cinnamon. Allow to cook until apples are lightly browned and all sugars have dissolved. Remove from heat and add 2 cups caramel sauce to the apples and stir to coat apples.

8. To assemble, pour caramel-apple sauce over warmed apple cakes and serve with vanilla ice cream. Makes 10 servings.

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