• Entrees
• Maindishes
• Entremets
• Deserts
• Sauces
• Drinks

 

 

LMQR's cookbook

Many guests ask us for the recipes of the dishes we cook for them, so here we start to publish some of them. Bon appetit!

• It will be a growing collection, so come back often.

 

Entrees

Champignons on toast

Aumoniere, stuffed pastry with ground beef

 

Aumonière ground beef

4 persons

Tools:

• Skillet
• Cuttingboard
• fork & spoon
• Kitchen knife (sharp!)
• wooden spoon
• wipper + small bowl
• butter brush

Ingredients:

• 100 gramm of ground beef
• 2 large champignons
• 2 thin slices of small onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/2 small apple
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ginger sirop
• sniff of salt
• 4 drops green peppersauce or green tobasco
• 1 tblsp olive oil
• 8 squares feuilleté
• 1 egg

preparation:

• Cut onion and garlic in very fine particles or use gqrlic press
• Remove stems from champignons and cut in thin slices
• cut apple in thin and small pieces appr. 2 cm length
• heat the oil in skillet and cook the onion + garlic untill glazy
• add ground beef and cook untill medium rare
• put fire on 5/6
• add cinnamon and ginger sirop stirr well
• add cut apple and cook 1 minute
• add and cook champignons until allmost all water has evaporated
• turn fire off andl let things have cool down
• put 4 squares on "vetvrij" papier
• put 1 tblsp of mass in middle of 1 square of "feuilleté, 4 in total
• cover the 4 squares with the remaining squares, press sides firmly and let air out
• take corners between fingers turn them around in a kind of swirl and pull the ends to the center attach to top
• brush cover with beaten egg
• put oven on 175ºC and let cook for 30 mins or until paste is light brown
• serve when hot

notes:

• technically speaking this is more a pastry then an aumoniere
• when you scoup out the mass try to separate the fat that may have come from the ground beef
• It is important that after the ground beef is medium cooked you turn your fire down
• if you have an oven that has a forced circulation you don't have to pre-heat it, otherwise preheat to 175ºC 5 minutes in advance

Champignons on toast: 4 persons

Tools:

• Skillet
• Cuttingboard
• wooden spoon
• Kitchen knife (sharp!)

Ingredients:

• 500 gramm Champignons
• 1 small Onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 200 gramm of chive (fressh from your garden)
• salt & pepper
• 15 cl cream
• 4 whole weat toast or french bread
• 2 tblsp olive oil
• tomato, lettuce, parsley

preparation:

• Cut onion in very thin slices
• Remove stems from champignons and cut thin slices
• Either cut the garlic in very very small pieces or use a garlic press
• Chop chive in very small pieces of a few mm.
• heat the oil and cook the onion + garlic until glazy
• add champignons, turn fire down to medium 5/6, and cook until allmost all water has evaporated,
• add chives
• turn fire off and wait till things have cooled down enough to receive the cream
• put toast or french bread (thin slices) on for small plates
• put mass on toast, add slices of tomato, a small piece of parsley and lettuce asside
• serve inmideately

notes:

• It is important to cook the champignons on a medium high fire.
• You might add a few slices of tomato and some parsley and a small leave of lettuce to make this entree looking nice.
• Be carefull with salt, you can't take it out again.
• You may take any type of champignons you can get your hands on this time of year
• the reason to cut the garlic in very small pieces is because it has little time to give off its flavour to the rest of the stuff, if you cut it finely the flavour releases itself more quickly. I do not favour a garlic press.
• You might add some lardons fumée, cook this first of all, be careful not to use more than a few lardons. I leave it out because it affects the taste of the champignons too much.
• In stead of olive oil you could use duck fat, it gives a special flavour to the dish
• You might want to experiment with cheeses like reblochon or one of these very fresh cheeses. Don't ever use cheddar!

Maindishes

• Boef Bourguignon
• Lambs stew

Boeuf Bouguignon

Serving for 4-6

tools:

Cooks knife, small kitchen knife, cutting board. Large cast iron chauldron with lid. Large bowl.

ingredients:

• 1kg beef blade, chuck or arm clod, ask at your butchers for "boeuf Bourguignon", he knows what to offer you
• 150gr smoked bacon cut in matchsticks
• 4 parts of garlic
• a small bundle of parsley, thyme, sage about 100 grammes tied together
• 1 bottle red wine (pinot noir), let is get to room temp first!
• 200 gr champignons
• 2 large (red) onions
• 800 gr chalottes (small onions)
• 2 medium sized carrots
• 100 gr butter
• 2 tsp salt
• pinch of black pepper
• 2 cloves,
• 2 leaves of bay leaf
• a few drops of tabasco
• 1 shot of vodka, rhum, cheap cognac, grappa, or scotch to give it a pinch

for the mashed patatoes

• take two medium size patatoes per person
• 20 grammes of roquefort or blue cheese
• pinch of salt
• whole milk
• egg yoke

preparation:

• cut the meat in small chunks of about 4-5 cm
• put 50 gr of butter into the pot, at high temp, butter must not get brown
• put meat into pot and just let it brown
• put fire low (5) get the meat out into a large bowl and put the bacon into the chauldron until it starts to brown leave it there
• put onions, garlic, chalottes into pot, stir and let it cook until the onions become slightly brownish
• put the meat back into the chauldron
• add salt, cook for a minute
• add all the rest of the herbs, cloves, bay leafs etc. and have it cook for 1 minute.
• empty the bottle of wine onto the beef
• put lid on chauldron
• let it cook at low temp (positiion 4 or at 80ºC) for at least 5 hours

you may want to add a little water after a while

Mashed patatoes

• peel and cut patatoes in small chunks
• cook patatoes and mash them to a smooth patte with the milk. Patte should not be too firm and not to fluid
• add rest of butter (the real stuff not margerine)
• add egg yoke, stir firm and well
• add 1 tsp salt
• add roquefort
• serve when hot

serving:

Transfer the BB from the cast iron pot into in a pre-heated large china serving vessel
Serve out the mashed patatoes on your guests plates and create a craddle in the middle to receive the BB.
You may want to add a few slices of tomatoes a few leaves of parseley to have it look nice

Provide a set of olive oil, pepper, salt, moutarde, maggi so people can make the dish to their taste.

Of course a bourgundy red wine goes best with it.

notes:

This is a very traditional French dish that has evolved during the decades into something like "haute cuisine". It is very easy to make but oh so tasteful. You may want to experiment a bit with different types of wine. We like the Luberon to go with it. Select a wine not too sweet and not a too strong bouquet for best results.

This classic dish is prepared by the french to make tough meat soft and tender. Use the cheapest meat from collar or breast that goes well with the long duration of the cooking

Start this dish in the early afternoon. Let it cool down after a 3 hours hours cooking and restart it at least one hour before serving on a low fire. Or start cooking it at least 5 hours before serving leaving it on your furnace if you practise slow cooking like we do.

Here at Le Mouton Qui Rit this dish is one of the favourites of our guests. Especially in late summer early autumn.

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Lambs stew

serving for 4

Tools:

Cook's knife, butcher's knife, 2 cutting boards, large plate to keep the cuttings and ingredients until they are needed, container.

Ingredients:

• 800 gr Lamb
• 6 tbs olive oil
• 100 gr butter (not salted)
• 200 gr Dried prunes or 500 gr fresh
• 2 tsp Cinnamon, ground
• 2 tsp Ginger powder (fresh preferred)
• 1 tbs Honey
• 100 gr slightly roasted Almonds*
• 200 ml milk
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 1 large onion
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 pinch pepper
• 1-3 ltrs Water

Preparation:

* Crush the almonds slightly in a blender, or cut them with a knife in small bits (I prefer the knife) and simmer the almonds (#4 ) in milk for about 2 hours. Put in fridge when cooled for at least a day. Some prefer to cook the almonds in water but I found that the taste benefits from the milk. You might even add 1 tsp of coconut milk and/or a tsp of suger.

Cut garlic and onion in thin slices, the thinner the better

Cut if you use the fresh ginger, in very thin slices

Cut the prunes in slices of about half a cm

Cut the lamb up in 4 cm's large cubes (cut perpendicular on the meatfibers);

If you bought a lambs leg cut out the bone and use the lower parts for the stew.

Put all your cuts - except for the meat - on a plate or separate cutting board to have at hand when needed

Siphon the almond milk in a cup, you might want to add just a tbs of the ground almonds

Put your fire high and add butter and oil, just when the butter has molten add the lamb cubes. Fry the meat slightly

Put fire on low, #4 or 150º C

Add salt and pepper

Add garlic, onion, fry until the onion is light brown

Add cinnamon, ginger, prunes stir well simmer for 1

Pour the almond milk onto the mass

Add honey

Stir and add water until the last part of the meat has been covered

Let it cook for 3 hours at #4 with the cover on the pot. If it starts to boil turn down your fire a bit until it simmers.

Serving:

Take out the mass from you casserole on a serving platter and pour some of the fluid onto the meat. Top it off with a branch of parseley and a slice of orange for decoration. You may want to starch the sause a bit, which I don't advice because the starch influences the taste too much.

You may want to serve this dish with a light salade and a few spoons of boiled rice

Notes:

This recipe stems from the 16th century and is an adaptation from the one I found in Michèle Barrière's book.

In the 16th century cooks were very liberal with spices, she writes. In our century cooks tend to be prudent with spices. Personally I feel spices have to support the taste of the dish one is preparing so I am not only very conservative in using salt and peper but also in the use of spices. A good piece of meat or fresh vegetables really don't need that much spices as normally given in recipe's, less is best.

The combination with almond milk, cinnamon and prunes makes this dish very delicate. And is on its best when prepared on the day when it is served. If you are tempted to prepare the stew a day ahead I advice to add some more cinnamon and ginger than prescribed.

Prunes and almonds give the meat a particular sweetish tast, so be prundent with salt and pepper, adding too much may spoil the effect.

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Entremets

Deserts

fruitocktail
pear w. pineapplesauce

Fruitcocktail

Serving for 4-6

tools:

2 liter bowl, small kitchen knife, measuring cup, cutting board - one that keeps the juices on the board, 4 - 6 cocktail glasses, a bowl to prepair the whipped cream, a small serving bowl, a whisk to whip the cream or a creamer with CO2 gas.

ingredients:

• 2 banana's, 2 oranges, 2 pears (soft and juicy), 1 sweet grapefruit, 250 grammes of sweet grapes (blue)
• 20 cl cognac
• 250 cl bordeaux rose
• 125 cl sparkling water*
• 100 gr cane sugar
• 250 cl cream
• 1 package of vanille sugar
  

preparation:

Start this desert as the first thing you do to prepare your dinner in that way you are sure the desert is well cooled.

• slice bananas in 5 mm slices
• peel pears and remove the core / pits etc, cut the remainders in small chunks
• peel the oranges and grapefruit with a knife - like a patatoe, you should see the fruit's flesh, keep the fruit above the bowl while peeling, cut into little chunks, pour the juice from the cutting board into the bowl too.
• slice the grapes in half
• put everything into the bowl if you haven't done so
• ad sugar, rose, cognac
• put into fridge for about one hour at least
• add vanille sugar into cream, prepare whipped cream, put into small serving container or small bowl, put into fridge

* if you haven't found a slightly sparkling rosé then add the sparkling water into fruitsalad and stir just before serving.

serving:

put mass into 4-6 large cocktail glasses
serve the whipped cream in a separate small bowl (some people do not like whipped cream)

notes:

the flagrances of the fruits do not allow for apple or apple juice to add
take only really ripe fruits, not the stuff that comes out of the cold storage houses, pears are known to loose their taste in cold storage.

you may want to replace the cognac with old cuban rum (12 years) reduce the cane sugar with 30%

if you do find a slightly sparkling rose (Zinfandel would do) leave out the sparkling water, take care that the rose you select is not too pronounced

sparkling water affects the sugar's sweetness, that is why you should add this at the last possible moment

if you have a sweet tooth add honey or add some artificial sugar

Here at Le Mouton Qui Rit the desert is served in ice coupe glasses bought at a local glass foundry La Rochelle

Pear w. pineapple buttersauce

Serving for 4

tools:

a medium size saucepan, small kitchen knife, measuring cup, cutting board, 4 small plates (put them into fridge).

ingredients:

• 1/2 fresh medium size pineapple - when out of season take 1/2 litre can of pineapple (chunks) and drop the juice.
• 20 cl fruit alcohol or cognac
• 50 gr cane sugar
• 100 gr butter
• 2 packages of vanille sugar
• 6 tblsp honey (miel de foret)
• 2 realy ripe pears
  

preparation:

• peel the pears and cut them into moderate size pieces of 3-4 cm. put the pieces into the freezer for about an hour.
• put fire on low and melt the butter, just melt it!
• add cane suger, vanilla, stir until desolved, this might take a minute
• add honey and the small chunks of pineapple
• cook until the moisture of the pineapple and butter has been evaporated and liquid becames slightly gold colored. The liquid should be thick like sirup before you get if off the fire. Stirr well while having the liquid thickening.

serving:

• Just before serving, put out 4 small plates you have put into the fridge
• get the cut pears out of the freezer and devide that in small stacks over the 4 plates
• heat up the cognac and the sauce, mix it gently,
• put the plates on the table
• set the mix to fire just before serving it (flambé)
• and pour the sauce over the pears
  

notes:

If your guests do not drink alcohol just leave it out
take only really fresh and ripe pears, not the stuff that comes out of the cold storage houses, pears are known to loose their taste in cold storage.

this sauce is very sweet! Do not serve more than a table spoon over the pears it will ruin the taste of the cold fruit

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Sauces & Dressings

• Buttersause
• Chocolate sauce
• Tomato cream sauce
• Salad dressing 1

Buttersauce

Tools:

sauce pan, fork, cooks knife, whipper, cuttingboard, measuring cup

Ingredients:

• 150 grammes pure butter (non salé)
• 1 small pinch of salt,
• 2 cm leek
• 1 clove garlic
• optional: ground nutmeg
• optional: tobasco
• 1 tsp of cornstarch or binder
• 1/2 cup water; to solve cornstarch
• a few leaves of fresh basil

Preparation:

• cut the garlic very fine
• cut the leek in very thin slices
• cut basil in small stripes
• solve cornstarch in water @ room temperature in a measuring cup
• melt the butter, just melt! and turn stove down just to keep the temperature up and butter liquid
• add garlic and leek
• optional (for smokers) add some grains of nutmeg & 3 drops tabasco
• stir for 2 mins,
• add just enough of the prepaired starch to bind the mixture very slightly.Liquid butter should no longer be visible
• add a small pinch of salt and stir until mass is smooth,
• serve directly from stove onto patatoes

Serving:

Serve a few spoons directly from stove onto (crumby type of) patatoes; do not allow to cool down. Spread some of the cut basil over the sauce when served.

Do not serve all the sauce, put it in a preheated bowl so guests can help themselves for more.

Notes:

We serve this in combination with carrots (1 pp) cooked with patatoes (2 pp). It doesn't go well with rice or pasta. But about taste...

This sauce goes excellent when served along with Salmon

If you are serving people who smoke, you could add a few grains of nutmeg and/or a few drops of tabasco to enhance taste.

Please try to avoid processed or enhanced butter (contains too much water) go for the natural thing.

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Chocolate sauce for poires Bèlle Hélène

Tools:

porcelain bowl, whipper, small serving bowl, ladle, oven gloves, small cutting knife, cutting board

Ingredients:

• 1 tablet pure chocolate 82%
• 100 ml creme, at room temperature
• 5 tbs pure honey (general type)
• 30 gramms of fine bakery sugar
• 20 gramms vanilla sugar (2 sachets a 10 gramm)
• 1 tbs Amaretto
• optional: ground nutmeg
• 5 drops of tobasco
• 6 very ripe pears

Preparation:

• peel pears but leave the stem on, chill them well
• make small chunks from the chocolate tablet
• put chunks into porcelain bowl
• put bowl into oven at 175ºC, stir from time to time until liquid
• put on gloves to remove bowl from oven
• add honey, sugar, vanille, tobasco
• stir well
• add crême slowly while stirring well until mass is smooth
• add Amaretto, stirr

Serving:

Put pears on separate desert dishes
Serve a few spoons of sauce directly onto the cold pears
Add ice creame and or whipping cream (not from a can!)

Do not serve all the sauce, put it in a preheated bowl so guests can help themselves for more.

Supply desert knifes and fork with this desert.

Notes:

The sauce should drip very slowly off the ladle. That is why you should add all liquids before you add the crême. You keep adding crême until it reaches this consistency

!!! Why is the consistency so important?
When you serve the sauce onto the pears the trick is that the chocolate sauce does not reach the bottom but stays on the pears.
That is also the reason for chilling the pears, so the sauce solidifies on the pears cooling off the sauce very fast. In the summer you might even want the pears to cool down near freezing.

Often we serve this with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream AND the pears

The wipped cream should NOT come from a can but use the natural thing. The can stuff tastes bad and that's a waste of all your efforts to use the natural products. Do not add sugar to the cream but vanilla.

IF you happen to have a leftover of the sauce, what I hardly believe, put it in the fridge. The next day it will be a solid mousse, an excellent filling mass to make bonbons.

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Tomato Cream Sause

To serve with medaillions of filet mignon or any other tender meat or even fish ;=)

Tools:

Sharp kitchen knive, cutting board, can opener, kitchen spoons and measuring cups, frying pan, casserol, serving plate, small porcelain bowl, ladle

Ingredients:

• 1 large clove of garlic
• 1 small oniion
• 100 gramms smoked lardons allumenttes
• 1 small can of tomato concentrate 20gr
• 2 tblsp of creme fraiche
• 100 ml cream 30%
• 2 tblsp olive oil
• 2 tblsp green depitted olives
• 1 tsp provençal herbs
• snif of salt
• 3 drops of tobasco

Preparation:

• Start by frying the lardons on 7, not to hard or brown,
• Meanwhile cut onion and garlic very fine,
• Cut olives in thin slices,
• Add olive oil when lardons are done,
• Fry onion and garlic until glazy,
• Add olives,
• Let simmer for 20 secs,
• Turn fire down to 4,
• Add Provençal herbs and simmer for 20 secs,
• Add tomato concentrate,
• Add creme fraiche, stirr well,
• Add halve of the cream,
• Add 3 drops of tobasco,
• Reheat all till steam escapes,
• Add salt to taste, less salt is better,
• Add the rest of the cream until the saus reaches a consistancy between sirup and juice, just thick enough to flow slowly off the meat,
• Pour the sauce into a small casserol and put the fire on 2, just to hold it warm, stir the sauce from time to time until serving.

Notes:

When you have added something always wait till the sauce temperature goes up again. This is important with the crème and cream. Don't boil the sauce just have it steaming.

When you think you have too little sauce either double the recipe or add cream and or water. As long as the consistency stays the same. Adding a bit of tomato sauce thickens the sauce again. Repeat this until you think you have enough sauce.

When you have put the sauce into the casserole, clean the frying pan with kitchen paper, don't wash it! Now add olive oil and fry the filet mignon like beefsteak, the meat should be jùst rosé inside. Get the meat out of the pan and put it on a hot serving plate. Then pour some of the sauce over it. The rest of the sauce goes in a serving bowl. Serve immediately

Take care serving platter and bowl should be preheated in the oven @ 100C.

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Salad dressing 1

Tools:

bowl, fork, measuring cup, spoon, serving spoon

Ingredients:

• 250 cl Fromage blanc,
• 1 ts salt,
• 4 tbs olive oil,
• 8 drops of tabasco,
• 1 tbs moutarde de dijon,
• 1 small tbs pesto sauce,
• 1 small tbs capers

Preparation:

• put everything except the fromage blanc into bowl and mix with fork,
• leave the mixture settle down for 30 mins,
• add fromage blanc and mix well.
• Put bowl into fridge.

Serving:

clean rim of bowl with kitchen tissue and serve apart from salad

notes:

can be used excellent as a dip for baked patatoes too!

We seldom put dressing on the salads we prepare, in this way everyone can select his of her own dressing to go with the salad

Fromage blanc is very a young cheese, never use the one with 0% fat because that does not have the nice smooth texture you might expect from a sauce.

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DRINKS

This part is about aperitives, digistives and other tasty liquids to drink. Befor or after dinner or using it for one of your deserts for example.

Liqueur Mandarine 3/4 litre

Ever tried to brew your own liqueur? Its easy.

Tools:

1 liter measuring cup with cover
Sauce pan
Kitchen knife
Wine bottle & screw top + / - .75 liter

Ingredients:

2 mandarins (medium size)
1 tbsp raisins (non sulphured)
1 clove
1 piece ginger (fresh)
2 sachets vanilla sugar or vanilla pod
300 grams of white sugar
150 grams of cane sugar
2 tbsp honey
200 ml water
0.5 or 1 liter 40% alcohol (white rum or fruit alcohol)

Preparation:

Cut mandarins in small parts,
Cut from ginger 4 thin slices,
Mix everything together except the alcohol, in a saucepan
Bring the mix to boil and turn your fire low right after,
Boil for one hour at a low temp (3) while stirring regulary to prevent caramelization of the sugar
Put liquid into the jar and let it cool down until it has reached the room temperature. Do not cool it in the freezer!
Add half a liter of the alcohol, stir well, close cover and let it rest one day before filtering. (You can use the left over for a nice cake, icecream, or pudding though, put it in a blender first)

Notes

For at least one day leave the mixture inside the jar, stirring every now and then. Filter the liquid through a cheese cloth or something similar into a wine bottle and cork it.
Serve with an ice cube or slightly cooled if you can not resist. Not too coId. This type of liqueurs taste best at room temperature , because of the subtle flavor of the mandarins. The alcohol percentage is slightly above the 20% ( much lower than normal: 42%) Serving it with ice cream or crêpes is a garanteed success.

The amount of sugar seems a little high, that is done because this type of alcohol is rather sharp to the tongue. If you take a cheap white rum or even Vodka you can reduce on the white sugar, but whatch out. Rum has its own taste as well and that influences the delicate taste of your mandarins. Therefore I use this tasteless alcohol preserving the delicate aroma of mandarins

One could vary with the sugar and honey, to ones particular taste. Don't get drunk while tasting though ;=) My experience with other types of liqueurs is that you must find the balance between the three sweets. But that is very personal.
If you want the taste more pronounced: more honey less white sugar. Or more cane sugar less honey. But if it is the taste of the mandarin you want to accentuate you use proportionately more common sugar.

The taste of the mandarin is subtle, if you want to have that more pronounced, what you would like to do is to scrape a little
off the outer shell and cook that with the rest of the ingredients. Less is better, so be conservative in adding stuff.

You do not have to peel the manadarin segments, some feel like that should be done. But removing the white stuff and seeds will make your liqueur slightly smoother.

Keep the raw liqueur in its bottle a couple of days and strain the liqueur. Than leave the liquid in the jar for a couple of weeks, if you have the patience and endurance, to give the impurities a change to settle. Then decantate the liquid in one of your nice crystal bottles before serving.

Personally, I do not mind a liquor to be a bit murky, I feel there remains slightly more of the natural taste if you leave it like that.

The longer you leave the liquid alone the clearer it becomes. For that purpose you could use a large 15 liter glass bottle and siphon with a small tube the impurities off the bottom of the jar after a certain time. That seems to be working perfect too! The volume you siphon off can be used for icecream or over your crêpes. Don't waste anything.

It takes time to make a clear liqueur, that's for sure.

© Le Mouton Qui Rit 2010 laatste wijziging: 05/02/2012