Nothing really new for me in this menu, so I took some liberties. I did a lot of things ahead of time. I did the beans yesterday through the adding of the tomatoes. All I had to do tonight was to brown the fish, layer the cassoulet and put it in the oven for 15 minutes. The beans weren't as soft as the ones I remember from cassoulet in Toulouse, but it made an interesting and healthier variation. The picture shows the cassoulet half eaten.I made a different starter, as we don't have many Spring Veggies at this time of year. I made a kohlrabi remoulade, using kohlrabi left from our CSA this summer. Since I've made home-made mayo many times, and since we are a little squeamish about raw eggs, I made a home-made vegan mayonnaise for the remoulade. The advantages of the vegan mayo were 1) raw eggs replaced by silky tofu and 2) many fewer calories, as there was only about 1/3 cup of oil in addition to the tofu. Verdict: it made a tasty starter mixed with the kohlrabi, but I wouldn't use it where the flavor and texture of the mayo is important. It was grainier and.... well.... less oily than real mayo.
I also did the Creme Anglaise last night. That didn't go so well - it got too hot and 'split'- I think it's called. Annoying, since I have made it many times with no problem. In fact, I made it last week for the plum pudding and it was fine. Anyway, rather than start from the beginning, I used a cheat. I strained it, then re-heated it with a little cornstarch. It wasn't as good as it would have been, but it was OK. Next time I'm going back to Julia Child's recipe.
The sponge cake was fine. I've also made it before many times, so no surprise. I sprinkled powdered sugar through a doily to create a pattern. This would have been better if the doily had been round, not square.
Tomorrow.... the lamb!
2 comments:
I'll write on my cassoulet tomorrow, but I notice that yours seems quite moist. Ours was splendid, but rather dry, and my only guess why is that the tomatoes were dry? I used Romas, as they seemed the ripest choice at the market. Any thoughts?
It may look moister than it really was.
I used canned diced tomatoes, juice and all. Even so, I was worried that it was too dry because the liquid completely cooked down. But it was OK in the end - the strange chemistry of cooking.
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