Cheese Terrine with Maple Balsamic & Pecans

A terrine  is a French forcemeat loaf similar to a pâté, made with more coarsely chopped ingredients. Terrines are usually served cold or at room temperature.  I love making layered cheese terrines. The ingredients are forced, or pushed together to create many layers  flavorful ingredients.   The first one I made was with goat cheese, pesto, sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts I served at a cocktail party - style wedding reception.  It is an elegant display of food and offers an interesting combination of flavors.  For the NCAA Tournament games last evening I made a cheese terrine made from cream cheese seasoned with Herbs de Provence and layered it with a Balsamic Maple Dressing and honey roasted pecans.  Served with a light water cracker, this spread takes center stage.  

Ingredients

6 oz. cream cheese 1/4  cup heavy cream Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 3 Tbs. Herbs de Provence

3 Tbs. maple  dressing (homemade or store-bought) 1/4 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped More dressing  for drizzling

Directions

1. Line the inside of a custard cup or another small dish, about 2-3 inches across, with plastic; let the ends extend over the sides a few inches. 
2. In a mixing bowl, mash the cheese and  cream with a fork, or in a food processor, and season with salt and a few grinds of pepper; 
3. Add Herbs de Provence. 
4. Spoon about one-third of the cheese into the lined bowl and pack it into an even layer. 
5. Spread half  the dressing almost completely to the sides of the first layer of cheese. 
6. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp. of pecans.
7. Top with another third of the cheese, more dressing, and another Tbsp. of pecans.
8. Top with the remaining cheese. Smooth out.
9. Pack down, fold the plastic over, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
10. Half an hour before serving, take the bowl out of the refrigerator. 
11. Pull on the edges of the plastic to loosen the terrine from the bowl.
12. Invert the terrine onto a plate, drizzle with dressing, and let sit for 1/2 hour to warm up.  
13. Sprinkle with the remaining pecans, season with more herbs.

Layered Croque Monsieur

Oh wow. I just tasted one of the best things ever. In preparation for Leave a Happy Plate's party for letter "G",  I was going to post my Croque Monsieur recipe that showcases the flavor of  Gruyere cheese. Well to be quite honest,  I had posted that recipe a while ago when I was still using pictures from Google images. I've been trying to go back and re-create my recipes, updating them,  and using my own photos. This was one of those days. So I made Croque Monsieur for my lunch today.   I made it much differently then I would typically make it. I wanted to try ot out for a future brunch or ta event I would be catering in the spring.  It was amazing.   What a bright spot in my otherwise boring  cleaning day. 

I can see that  interacting with many bloggers via Facebook has been a great GOOD for me. I've been going back, updating my recipes and taking pictures of them and this has enabled me to have a bit more excitement and passion in the kitchen. So with all of that said… Here's my updated version of croque Monsieur,  the French version of grilled ham and cheese.

A croque-monsieur is a warm and bubbly grilled ham and cheese sandwich. It originated in French cafés and bars as a quick snack. Typically, Emmental or Gruyère cheese is used. These are both SWISS cheeses. 

Interesting facts:
The name is based on the verb croquer ("to crunch") and the word monsieur ("mister"). The sandwich's first recorded appearance on a Parisian café menu was in 1910. Its earliest mention in literature appears to be in volume two of Proust's In Search of Lost Time in 1918.
Variations
A croque-monsieur served with a fried egg or poached egg on top is known as a croque-madame (or in parts of Normandy a croque-à-cheval). The noted French chef Jacques Pepin also makes a version using chicken instead of ham, which he demonstrated in the "Our Favorite Sandwiches"episode on the PBS series (and its coordinating cookbook of the same title) Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home in which he worked with Julia Child. Many dictionaries attribute the name to the egg resembling an old fashioned woman's hat. The name croque-mademoiselle is associated with many different sandwiches, from diet recipes to desserts.A ham and cheese sandwich snack, very similar to the croque-monsieur, is called a tosti in the Netherlands, and toast (pronounced "tost") in Italy. A version of this sandwich in Spain replaces the ham with sobrassada, a soft sausage from the Balearic Islands that can be easily spread.
Versions of the sandwich with substitutions or additional ingredients are given names modeled on the original croque-monsieur, for example:

• croque provençal (with tomato)
• croque auvergnat (with bleu d'Auvergne cheese)
• croque gagnet (with Gouda cheese and andouille sausage)
• croque norvégien (with smoked salmon instead of ham)
• croque tartiflette (with sliced potatoes and Reblochon cheese)
• croque bolognese / croque Boum-Boum (with Bolognese sauce)
• croque señor (with tomato salsa)
• croque Hawaiian (with a slice of pineapple)
• the "Croque McDo" sandwich at McDonald's locations in France

Here is the recipe for the traditional version, but with MY TWIST!

Ingredients for 6 Servings

•  8 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

• 1 1/2  tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 1 cups milk

• salt

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• Freshly grated nutmeg

• 2 1/2cups Gruyere, grated and divided

• 12 slices white sandwich bread.

• Dijon mustard

• 4 ounces  ham, shaved or chopped

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 
2. Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter over low heat in a small saucepan and add the flour all at once, stirring with a wisk for 2 minutes. This cooks out the floury taste.   
3. Slowly pour the hot milk into the butter–flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thickened.  
4. Off the heat, add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1 cup grated Gruyere, and set aside. 
5. Get out your favorite 12 welled muffin pan.  I use a Demarle muffin FLEXIPAN.  If you don't have one,  then spray with a non-stick cooking pray.   
6. Melt remaining  6 tablespoons of butter and set aside.
7. Take each slice of bread, flatten it a bit and using a biscuit cutter or other round cutter, make 2 cuts to form to round slices of bread.  You will have 24 pieces all together.
8. Lightly brush half the  breads with melted butter, put butter side down into wells of muffin pan.  
9. Layer ham, then 1 cup of the cheese, dividing it up between the 12 wells.  
10. Spread mustard on top of remaing bread slices, and place ontop of cheese, mustard side down. 
11. Brush tops with remaining melted butter.
12. Heat in the oven about 5 minutes until the tops are toasted.
13. Remove from oven.  Cool five minutes.
14. Lift each "muffin" out onto a plate, STACKING 2 on top of each other.  
15. Ladle with WARM cheese sauce, divided among 6 plates. 
16.  Garnish with leftover Gruyere and grated nutmeg.   

Mushroom and Cheese Brioche

I hope to  continue my series on recipes that picture "Pure Michigan"  however, I haven't had time to develop anything new this week.
In searching through my old recipes in preparation for the holidays, I was excited to come upon another favorite.
 I read the recipe through, and my heart started beating in anticipation.  Not many recipes do that! Well, not too many!  Don't be intimidated...Try it.  It's not  labor intensive, just a few extra steps in the process. 

Serves:

6 servings

Ingredients

For the Truffle Bread Pudding

• 1 pound loaf brioche
• 4 cups milk
• 6 eggs
• 1 truffle, sliced, optional 

 Saute

• 2 cups sliced morel mushrooms
• 2 cups chopped button mushrooms
• 2 cups sliced oyster mushrooms
• 1 shallot, minced 

• 4 cups grated Gruyere cheese
• Salt and freshly grated black pepper

Poached Eggs

• 6 eggs
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar

 For the Salad Garnish

• 1 cup microgreens ( you can use baby greens, spring mix, Arugula, frisee)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 1 tsp. agave nectar
• splash of vinegar
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

For the mushroom and cheese brioche:

1. Cut the brioche into 1-inch cubes.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the milk and eggs.
3. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Add the cubed brioche, truffle peelings, and chopped thyme to the bowl.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight.

1. In a skillet over medium-high heat, saute the morels, button, and oyster mushrooms with the shallots for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Add 1/2 the Gruyere cheese to the brioche mixture, then add the mushroom- shallot mixture to brioche and cheese mixture.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

1. Pour the bread pudding mixture in an oven-proof baking dish.
2. Add the remaining cheese. Season with salt and pepper. 
3. Bake for 45 minutes or until puffed and golden brown.

For the poached eggs:
Fill a saucepan with 3-inches cold water, add a pinch of salt and bring to a boil.

1. As the water reaches the boiling point, reduce the heat and allow the water to simmer.
2. Add 1 tablespoon vinegar to the water.
3. Swirl the water around.
4. Break the eggs into a small plate or bowl and gently slide it into the water with care,
5. holding the plate as near to the water as possible before allowing the
6. egg to slowly slip into the water.
7. Once the eggs are in the water, you can help shape it using a spoon or spatula. Let the eggs cook for 3 to 3 1/2 minutes, allowing for the size of the egg and the preferred doneness of the egg yolks.
8. Remove each egg with a slotted spoon and drain for a few seconds on kitchen paper.
9. Trim any stringy or dangling bits with a knife or scissors, if you wish.

Serve the poached egg on top of the truffle bread and garnish with a little bit of the microgreens dressed with olive oil and salt and pepper.



 Chefs note:
For your first attempt at preparing poached eggs, you may want to carefully break each egg onto a small cup, ramekin, plate or bowl before adding it to the water.

A perfectly poached egg has a lovely rounded shape, a soft yet firm white and a deliciously runny yolk. Time is of the essence when it comes to poaching eggs.

Problems will most definitely arise if the eggs are cooked at a temperature that is too high, if the eggs are not very fresh or if there is not enough water in the saucepan.

Use a saucepan or a deep frying pan, which allows you to fill it with about 3-inches of water. The eggs should be covered with water during cooking and the 3-inch depth of water ensures that the eggs will not stick to the pan.

Poached eggs must be cooked in water that is very gently bubbling or simmering. The water is first brought to the boil and then by turning the heat down on the cooker, is allowed to gently simmer. The eggs are carefully added to the pan at this point. If the water is boiling too fiercely, the eggs will be forced to move around too much, causing them to break up and lose their shape. A gentle simmer allows the egg to sit in one place throughout cooking and cook nicely.
By using the freshest eggs possible, eggs that are less than 4 days old, you are more likely to achieve a perfectly poached egg that keeps its shape. With a fresh egg, the white will stay close to the yolk and should not spread out thinly.

Vinegar should be added to the water as it begins to boil, as this will help the egg white to coagulate more quickly and form a neat and compact shape. Without the vinegar, disaster may occur. Use about 1 tablespoon vinegar for each pint of water. Bear in mind that the vinegar may slightly flavor the eggs, so do not use too much or a vinegar that is too strong, if you are not so keen on a vinegary tasting eggs.