Goat Cheese Mousse Verrine

"Verrine de Mousse au Chèvre"

3 Pears
1 tsp Butter
2 tsp Sugar
1 (17 oz) container plain Greek-style Yogurt
1 (5.3 oz) package Fresh Soft Goat Cheese (I used Chevre)
2 cups Aged Goat Cheese (I used Cypress Grove’s Midnight Moon)
1 Bag (or 0.33 lb bulk ) Salad Mesclun Mix
8 Cherry Tomatoes
2 cups Chives (slice them with scissors— it’s easier)
1 cup Chopped Arugula
3 cups Parmesan, grated (to make 12 tuiles)
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Salt and Pepper

A sheet of Parchment Paper to line a baking sheet
   
In a saucepan, cook the cubed pears with the butter and sugar on the stove top until they have softened and slightly caramelized.

Prepare the Parmesan Tuiles:
Grate the Parmesan. With a spoon, create small mounts of cheese on the parchment paper you prepared ahead of time. Cook in the oven under the broiler (leave some distance between the baking sheet and broiler to avoid burning). Once the Parmesan has grilled to a golden color, remove from the oven and place each tuile on a rolling pin, to give them a curved shape. This step has to be done while the tuiles are still soft, otherwise they will break. Set aside to cool.

Season the salad mix with a simple vinaigrette made of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

Mix together the fresh goat cheese and the yogurt. Add the aged goat cheese and salt, pepper and sliced chives to taste.

To dress the verrines, layer starting with the pear compote, the chopped arugula, the goat cheese and yogurt mixture. Top with the salad mix, and the cherry tomato cut in half. Place the tuiles on top. Serve with you favorite toasted bread. You may also serve tapenade, or simply olives on the side.

Roasted Garlic Mashers

Note from Sylvie:
Roasting the garlic will bring these mashers to a new level of flavor. The caramelized garlic adds an intense sweetness to the potatoes, and the roasting makes them much easier to digest. This recipe can accompany many meats, such as a stuffed beef tenderloin, pork roast, roasted chicken or even barbecued salmon.

4 lb. Large Yukon Gold or Red Potatoes, peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces
Pinch of salt
1 ½ c. Milk
2 tsp Unsalted Butter
1/3 c. Roasted Garlic
1 tsp Salt
½ tsp Pepper

To Prepare the Roasted Garlic:
You may use regular garlic, but I like to use elephant garlic. You can buy terra cota dishes that are designed to roast garlic or you can simply peel off the outer layer of the garlic skin and wrap the whole garlic bulb in aluminum foil. Place in the oven at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes. An amazing aroma will invade your house!

To Prepare the Mashers:
Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Add a pinch of salt and simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Shortly before the potatoes are done, place milk in a small saucepan, bring to a simmer over moderate heat, and set aside. Drain potatoes well. Add hot milk, butter, roasted garlic, salt and pepper, and mash with a potato masher or electric mixer just until smooth (I prefer to use a traditional vegetable mill, it makes the potatoes much lighter and fluffy).

Caribbean Turkey Soup

Serves 4-6

8 cups Broth (vegetables or chicken)
3 cups Chopped Leftover Turkey
2 tsp Olive Oil
1 cup Orange Juice
2 Large Sweet Potatos, peeled and diced
1 Yam, peeled and diced
1 Medium Yellow Onion, minced
1 Green Bell Pepper, diced
3 Cloves Garlic, minced
2 tsp Madeira or Marsala
1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
½ tsp Dried Thyme
¼ tsp fresh Ground Ginger
¼ tsp Ground Allspice
¼ tsp Nutmeg
¼ tsp Chili Flakes
Salt and Pepper

To Garnish:
Fresh-Squeezed Lime
Fresh Chopped Cilantro

Heat the olive oil over medium heat, add the onions and sauté until they start to caramelize. Add the sweet potatoes, yam, bell pepper, garlic and turkey. Add the seasoning and spices. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add the Madeira, vinegar and broth. Bring to a boil, then turn to very low heat and cook for 45 minutes. Adjust the seasoning. Serve with the fresh lime and cilantro.

Stuffed Tenderloin with Wine Sauce

A Note from Sylvie:
There are so many ways to simply cook beef tenderloin, but I think a delicious stuffed version will bring it right onto the holiday table. Your guests are sure to enjoy this version. Even though the recipe looks complicated and lengthy, it is not difficult and is actually quite quick to prepare. The port wine sauce adds a richness and is a great flavor complement for the beef.

Serves 6-8
1 (3 to 4 pound) Organic Beef Tenderloin, center cut
1 (10-ounce) package Frozen Spinach, thawed
8 ounces Soft Goat Cheese, room temperature
1 tsp chopped Rosemary
1 tsp chopped fresh Thyme
1 (12 ounce) jar Roasted Red Peppers, drained
Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
1 Bunch fresh Basil Leaves
2 tsp Olive Oil
2 Shallots, minced
½ cup Port Wine
1¼  cup Beef Stock
1 tsp Cornstarch
1/3 cup Tomato Paste
1 tsp fresh Rosemary
¼ cup more Beef Stock
1 Tbsp butter, cold, cut into pieces

Butterfly the beef tenderloin by cutting the meat lengthwise down the center about two-thirds of the way through the beef. Open the beef tenderloin. Use a meat mallet to pound the meat to 3/4-inch thickness.

Place the spinach in a colander and squeeze out as much of the moisture as possible. Mix together the spinach, goat cheese, fresh rosemary, and thyme in a large bowl.

To stuff and roll the beef tenderloin, season the flattened beef with salt and freshly ground pepper. Place the red peppers on top of the beef leaving a 1-inch border. Place the fresh basil leaves on top of the red peppers.

Spread the cheese mixture on one end of the peppers and basil. The cheese will be at the center of the rolled beef. Roll the beef around the cheese end in a tight cylinder shape. Continue rolling jelly roll fashion, Use butcher string or bamboo skewers to secure beef roll. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a large roasting pan over medium high heat. Add the beef tenderloin roll to the pan and quickly brown on all sides. Place the tenderloin on a rack in a roasting pan. Roast for 30 to 40 minutes.

Dissolve the cornstarch in ¼  cup beef stock and set aside. Cook the shallots over medium high heat in the pan used to brown the beef. Cook until just soft. Add the port wine to the pan and cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the remaining 1 cup beef stock and bring to a boil. Add the dissolved cornstarch and stir until thickened. Add the tomato paste and fresh rosemary. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove the stuffed beef tenderloin from the pan and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes.

Remove the rack from the roasting pan. Place the roasting pan over medium high heat. Add ¼ cup of beef stock to the roasting pan to deglaze. Stir to loosen the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the port wine sauce to the roasting pan. Simmer for 2 minutes, Reduce the heat. Stir in the cold butter until just combined.

Cut the stuffed beef tenderloin into 1-inch slices. Pour the port wine sauce onto a dinner plate. Place a slice of beef on top of the sauce. Garnish with fresh basil leaves.

Adapted from homecooking.about.com