Escoffier At Home

Tag: escoffier recipes

  • 0234. Beurre d’Ecrevisse, Crayfish Butter

    0234. Beurre d’Ecrevisse, Crayfish Butter

     

    Escoffier recipe for making beurre d’écrevisse, crayfish butter, at home (Escoffier 238).

    Crayfish, crawfish, crawdads, crawdaddies, freshwater lobsters, mudbugs or écrevisse – whatever you call the crustaceans — most people love ’em.

    Beurre d’écrevisse can be used for a multitude of dishes, on breads, in sauces, on eggs — you name it.

    Let me know how you use it!

    Crayfish

     

    Beurre d’Ecrevisse

    This recipe for a compound butter is adapted from those of Escoffier and Julia Child. I just had to — Escoffier’s had no extra seasoning added, so I spiced it up a bit with fresh thyme, Old Bay, paprika and cayenne. If you don’t like spice, leave them out…

    Mise en place:
    crayfish butter - mise en place

    Sauté the carrots, onions and leek in butter for about 10 minutes.

    crayfish butter - add mirepoix

    Add the tomato paste, crayfish, thyme, bay leaves, Old Bay seasoning, paprika, cayenne…

    crayfish butter - add crayfish

    … and cook covered for 30 minutes on low heat, to infuse the flavors.

    crayfish butter - cover and steam

    Turn out onto a cookie sheet to cool.

    crayfish butter - lay out to cool

    Place in a food processor with butter and blend until smooth.

    crayfish butter - add butter

    The shells will give the butter a reddish color.

    crayfish butter - process until smooth

    Take your time and press the mixture through a tamis or sieve, and refrigerate. (The longer you process, the easier this part will be.)

    crayfish butter - push thru a sieve

    Can be frozen for future use.

    Escoffier recipe for crayfish butter.

    Ingredients
    64g (1/2 cup) finely chopped carrots
    58g (1/3 cup) finely chopped onion
    50g (2/3 cup) finely chopped leek
    35g (7 1/2 teaspoons) unsalted butter
    50g (3 tablespoons) tomato paste
    1000g (about 2 pounds) whole cooked crayfish bodies
    2g (2 teaspoons) fresh thyme sprigs
    4 bay leaves
    6g (1 tablespoon) Old Bay seasoning
    4g (2 teaspoons) sweet paprika
    1g (1/2 teaspoon) ground cayenne pepper
    908g (2 pounds) unsalted butter

  • 2921. Côtes de Porc à la Flamande, Baked Porkchops with Apples

    2921. Côtes de Porc à la Flamande, Baked Porkchops with Apples

     

    Escoffier recipe for making côtes de porc à la flamande, baked porkchops with apples, at home (Escoffier, 2921).

    Have you ever made pork chops with apple sauce for dinner before? Well then, if you have, you’ve already cooked côtes de porc à la flamande. This Escoffier recipe is a very simple, but delicious dish of pork chops with baked apples. It’s a quick dinner to make, too!

    Côtes de Porc à la Flamande

    Côtes de Porc à la Flamande, Baked Porkchops with Apples

    Preheat oven to 375ºF. Quarter, core, and peel the apples (allow one apple per chop). Cut them up in thick slices and coat with the lemon juice to prevent their browning. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper.

    sear the pork chops

    Melt the butter in a hot pan, and quickly brown the pork chops on both sides. Remove them to an earthenware or ceramic baking pan in a single layer. Save those pan juices!

    Seared pork cutlets in a pan for baking

    Cover the chops with apple slices and drizzle them with the leftover butter and pan juices.

    Porkchops covered with apple slices

    Bake in a 375ºF oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the apples are tender. Remove and let rest, then dish ’em up!

    Baked porkchops and apple

    We served our côtes de porc à la flamande with some leftover mashed potatoes and stuffing from Thanksgiving.

    Recipe for Côtes de Porc à la Flamande, Escoffier 2921, from Escoffier At Home
    Ingredients
    4 boneless pork loin chops
    4 Granny Smith apples
    Juice of one-half lemon
    35g Challenge unsalted butter
    salt and pepper to taste

    Equipment
    Cutting board and kitchen knife
    Salter digital scale
    Measuring bowls
    Small bowl
    Frying pan
    Set of tongs or spatula
    Baking dish

  • 0202. Sauce Mayonnaise

    0202. Sauce Mayonnaise

     

    Easy, 30-second recipe for making your own mayo, sauce mayonnaise, at home (Escoffier 202).

    Escoffier’s traditional recipe for Sauce Mayonnaise takes a little time and elbow grease to complete. He tells us to whisk, whisk, whisk. That’s fine and dandy… but with an immersion blender you can do it in 30 seconds.

    I use a Cuisinart SmartStick brand immersion blender to emulsify the mayo.

    Cuisinart SmartStick immersion blender

    You can use a light oil like canola, or a heavy oil like olive. You can use vinegar or lemon juice, or a combination of both. Just as long as you have enough acid for the emulsion to work. Some people add pepper, dijon mustard or sugar to taste (personally, I don’t like sweet mayos like Miracle Whip). But it doesn’t matter. Whatever suits your own taste. It’s up to you!

    Mise en place for mayonnaise:
    Mise-en-place for mayonnaise

     

    Sauce Mayonnaise, Mayo

    Add the egg yolks, lemon juice or distilled white vinegar, and salt into a tall, narrow container. Pour in the oil and allow to settle.

    Position the immersion blender head in the oil at the bottom of the container. Pulse gently several times to get the emulsion going, then longer until all the oil is blended. It will be very thick.

    If you let ’er rip too fast at the beginning, the emulsion will break, and you’ll get nothing usable.

    Here’s a video of how easy it is:

    Store in a sealed container or squeeze bottle in the fridge, just as you would for store-bought mayo.

    30-Second Mayonnaise Recipe

    Ingredients
    2 egg yolks
    200g (1 cup) canola or olive oil
    16g (1 tablespoon) distilled white vinegar or fresh lemon juice
    2g (1/8 teaspoon) salt

    Equipment
    Cutting board and kitchen knife
    Salter digital scale
    Measuring cup
    Cuisinart SmartStick immersion blender
    Rubber spatula
    Plastic container

    From the Book:

    202 Sauce Mayonnaise
    Many composed cold sauces are derived from Mayonnaise and it is therefore classified as a basic sauce in the same way as Espagnole and Velouté.
            Its preparation is very simple provide note is taken of the principles outlined in the following recipe:

    Ingredients:
    6 egg yolks (these must be unblemished)
    1 litre oil
    10g fine salt
    pinch ground white pepper
    1 1/2 tbs vinegar (or its equivalent in lemon juice if the sauce is required to be very white)

    Method:
    1) Whisk the yolks of egg in a basin with the salt, pepper and a little of the vinegar or a few drops of lemon juice.
    2) Add and whisk in the oil, drop by drop to begin with, then faster in a thread as the sauce begins to thicken.
    3) Adjust the consistency occasionally by adding the vinegar or lemon juice.
    4) Lastly add boiling water which is added to ensure that the emulsification holds if the sauce is to be reserved for later use.

  • Bouillon de Moules, Mussel Stock

    Bouillon de Moules, Mussel Stock

    Recipe for making bouillon de moules, or mussel stock, at home.

    Mussel Stock
    Escoffier mentions using the ‘cooking liquor,’ or broth, from mussels, in Le Guide Culinaire. But as with mushroom stock, there is no specific Escoffier recipe for mussel stock included. You can use the leftover broth from steaming mussels in white wine and lemon. But what ingredients specifically should you use?

    Mise-en-place for mussel stock

    This seafood stock is used in making Sauce Normande, and is based on one from the Alinea Restaurant cookbook. You can use either fresh fennel bulbs or fennel seed, depending on what you can get. I used a package of frozen greenshell mussels from New Zealand for this stock, but you could use any type you can find. I like a little extra kick in mine, so I use dry vermouth and a hint of absinthe to flavor the broth.

    Vermouth and absinthe for mussel stock

    In a medium stockpot, sauté the mirepoix of onion, celery and fennel (bulb or seed) in butter until translucent. Add the vermouth, absinthe (or any licorice-y spirit), bay leaf, peppercorns and bring to a gentle simmer.

    Add vermouth to the mirepoix

    Add the mussels and cover. Steam until the mussels open, about 5-10 minutes. If you are not eating them and want to get the maximum flavor from the mussels, steam for up to 30 minutes.

    Escoffier mussel broth

    Remove from the heat, let cool, and strain the broth into plastic containers. Reserve the mussels for another use or for eating!

    Ingredients
    35g (7 1/2 teaspoons) unsalted butter
    100g (2/3 cup) diced onion
    100g (2/3 cup) diced celery
    100g (2/3 cup) diced fennel bulb, or 4g (2 teaspoons) dried fennel seed
    375g (1 small bottle) Dolin dry vermouth
    25g (1 ounce, or 1 jigger) La Fée Absinthe Parisienne absinthe
    1 fresh bay leaf
    12 whole, black peppercorns
    1000g (2.2 pounds) fresh or frozen mussels

    Equipment
    Salter digital scale
    Kitchen knife and cutting board
    Measuring bowls
    Medium stockpot with lid
    Wooden spoon
    Rubber spatula
    Strainer or chinois
    Medium Saucepan
    Plastic containers

    Sources:
    A. Escoffier. H.L. Cracknell & R.J. Kaufmann, transl. Le guide culinaire: the complete guide to modern cookery.
    G. Achatz, D. Beran & N. Kokonas. Next Restaurant Paris 1906. eBook: Achatz, LLC, 2011.