The Kitchen Table Recipes

January 26, 2010

As promised, the recipes from our evening at The Kitchen Table cooking dishes renown in the Bordeaux region of France (now with metric conversions, and apologies to our European readers).

Mushrooms with Cream and Brandy on Brioche á Tête

2 oz. (59.14 ml) Butter
1 oz. (29.57 ml) Olive Oil
1/2# (0.22 kg) Mushrooms, quartered
1 Shallot, minced
4 Garlic Cloves, minced
1/2 cup (118 ml) Cognac or Brandy
1 tsp (4.9 ml) Flour
1 cup (236 ml) Brown Stock (this is what Cute Redhead had an award-winning argument over)
1 cup (236 ml) Cream
Rosemary
Squirt of Lemon Juice
Salt
Pepper
Brioche, split

Method

Melt butter and oil over medium-high heat and add mushrooms and shallot, season with salt, and let brown. Add more oil if necessary.
Add garlic and cook for one minute
Add Cognac and reduce by 3/4′s
Add flour and stir in and cook for one minute
Add stock (this is what Cute Redhead nearly killed each other over) and stir in and reduce by 3/4′s
Add cream and reduce by 1/2
Add rosemary, lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper.
Serve of Brioche (Cute Redhead and I both agree, however, a fresh croissant would work just as well)

Serves 4.

Here’s my photograph of it (which was not taken with The Camera I Don’t Have Yet).

Beef Tenderloin with Sauce Bordelaise and Potatoes Lyonnaise

4 Tenderloin filets
Salt
Pepper
1 Tbsp (15 ml) Oil
1 Tbsp (15 ml) Butter
1 cup (236 ml) Red wine
1 Shallot, minced
2 cups (473 ml) Glace de Viande Brown stock (I am getting ticked off all over again about this stock because this is EXACTLY what Cute Redhead and I devolved into primal, murderous intentions toward one another. You know, in love, I mean.)
2 Tbsp (30 ml) Butter
Salt
Pepper

Method

Season tenderloin with salt and pepper. Chef Tom overheard me saying to someone, “…people tend to under-season. So get generous with that salt and pepper, and I don’t mean maybe.” And then he stopped on his way over to help the mortals who were trying to cook with the same brilliance I was, and said, “You know, that’s exactly right.” (*pats self on back)
Heat butter and oil over medium high heat and add tenderloin, brown and turn over.
Remove from pan, drain off excess oil, add wine, shallot and reduce by 3/4′s
Add (I’m starting to have this stupid argument in my head all over again) stock and reduce until sauce begins to thicken
Reduce heat to low
Season with Salt and Pepper

Serves 4

Potatoes Lyonnaise

2# (.90 kg) Potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/2″ thick
Oil, as needed
1 Onion, peeled and sliced
4 Garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup (59 ml) Parsley, chopped
Salt
Pepper

Method

Place potatoes in a pot, cover with water, add a little salt, and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain. (Really watch this, they can over-cook very quickly and get too mushy; you want them soft to where you can pierce them with a fork but still firm)
Heat oil in pan and add potatoes and onions. Season with salt and pepper and brown. Add more oil if necessary and adjust heat
Add garlic and cook for a few minutes and set aside
Add parsley

And here’s my photograph of this dish. Without rival, one of the best meals I have ever had.

Look forward to hearing anyone try these out!

Enjoy!

PS – Two Things:

Thing One) I promise I’ll write the story about The Stock &  The Big Argument.

Thing Two) all this cooking brought back a flood of memories of my days as a cook’s assistant when I was 19. I was thrown into the position of head cook when the person holding that title up and quit one week after I was hired. I’ll soon write down the story (and if I can remember it, the recipe) for a dish I prepared one day. The dish became famous and they put it on the menu. What they didn’t know then and still don’t know now, is that I made the recipe up on the spot. Because I was scared to death. Because I forgot to thaw the meat for the recipe I was supposed to prepare.

Fake it till you make it, I always say.

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