Offering the finest fair in all of Beaumont isn’t exactly a difficult achievement, but we here at Chez Thomas are proud of our creations none the less. Last night, I invited my very best friends (also known as guinea pigs) over for a dinner party to try out a couple of new dishes I had been itching to try.
I’ve been holding off on buying a Dutch Oven for years. The good ones are just so expensive. There’s just so many uses for them, and since my main course called for cooking in a Dutch Oven; I splurged. I’m now the proud owner of a 7 quart Le Creuset in flame orange and red. And yes, it’s very wrong that I’m this happy about a cooking vessel. I’m okay with that.
My new pride and joy!
The main course was Coq au Vin, which I had never prepared before. True to its reputation, creating this dish requires some serious planning. Although I have to hand it to Alton Brown for creating a recipe that allows you to do most of the cooking and cleanup days in advance. All that remains on the day of service is to roast the dish for a few hours and then to prepare the sauce. Which means the cook can partake in the conversation and the wine without worrying too much about the cooking!
The lucky diners...
I have to say that the Coq au Vin turned out just perfect. The meat was extremely tender and very flavorful and the wine sauce was absolutely delicious. My only regret was not being able to make more servings! Next time around, I’m gong to have a white roux standing by to help thicken the sauce. Try as I might with the suggestion of mixing flour with butter then adding it to the sauce; it still was too thin.
Dessert was a Crème Brulee Tart, recipe courtesy of Wolfgang Puck. Wow. Just wow. The Crème Brulee turned out absolutely perfect, although I had problems getting the tart shells just right. I did not have a blow torch on hand, so I used the oven broiler, which turned out to be a mistake since it turned the Crème Brulee into soup. Delicious soup, but not the consistency I was going for. And what’s the deal with a vanilla bean costing as much as $12 at the store? That’s the only downside to this recipe.
Plenty of champagne and wine!
As always, the night was full of conversation, wine and great friends becoming even greater. It’s difficult to get everyone’s schedules together so that we can spend an evening together, but when it happens, it’s nothing short of magical! I’m already looking forward to next time!
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6 comments:
You mean Chez Robert, right?! Glad it was a good party...also glad that the creme brulee soup was tasty!
If you wanna try the broiler trick for Creme Brulee, you can try one of two things. First, keep the broiler open or ajar while you roast the tops; that way, the heat won't build up. Second, you could place the dishes in a tub of ice, under the broiler. Just be careful with the latter in case you aren't using a good dish (they can crack).
And to thicken a sauce without adding too much to the roux (it can get "floury" tasting if you're not careful), mix some corn starch and cold water and add a very little at a time to the sauce. Corn starch is the best thickening agent when you have a sauce that you don't want to mess with the flavors too much.
dear son... we gave you a mini butane torch and creme brulee dishes last year for Christmas... better look around for it. have you tried the flavor injector into any of the meats or poultry you have cooked yet??? love mom.....
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dear mom, the butane torch is AWOL. I've looked.
hi again.. the torch is in a blue and white box . the dishes were in it also... happy huntinh.. love mom
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