This post marks the one year anniversary of Chez Venza. It seems like only yesterday that we wrote that first post… just a couple of kids messing around in the kitchen… making French food!
Well, one year later, we’re still at it, and we marked the occasion in high style with a 4 course, French-themed dinner party. Berets, moustaches, and outrageous accents were the order of the day!
Course 1: Spinach-Cheese Soufflé!
Recently, we took a course at Central Market on soufflé making, and we also visited a soufflé restaurant (of all things) in Dallas. We’d done our research. The time had come for Chez Venza to Soufflé!
The first step to a good soufflé is finding a soufflé dish. Luckily we own 3 (three!). How weird is it that we own 3, but we’ve never made one before? Well, one is normally used as a water bowl for the pets, one sits on the shelf to look pretty, and the other sits in the cupboard. Hmm…. (Don’t worry, we used the pretty one!)
So the REAL first step to a good soufflé is butter (which is how most good things start). Butter the inside of the soufflé dish and then coat it with parmesan. This helps create a nice golden brown crust, and also helps prevent the soufflé from sticking to the bowl.
Next you need to separate some eggs. We’re using a recipe from Ina Garten, which calls for 5 egg whites and 4 egg yolks. Yes, sadly, you end up with an extra yolk. Apparently you can make mayonnaise with leftover egg yolks (who knew?).
Next, it’s time to make a béchamel. This is a standard white sauce that is used in things like macaroni and cheese, gravy, pot pies, etc. You start with butter (of course) and flour to make a roux.
Then you add hot milk and stir it for a few minutes until it thickens. Ta-da, gravy! If you added cheese at this point you would have the sauce for mac n’ cheese.
Now we get fancy and add the egg yolks. This makes it extra rich and creamy.
Now you get to mix in the good stuff. We decided to go with spinach, cheddar cheese, and parmesan. Note to self… next time, add bacon!
Then comes the egg whites. You can’t have a soufflé without egg whites! This is what makes it light and fluffy.
The hard part is mixing it in without deflating the egg whites. Here’s a link to how to fold egg whites.
This all gets piled into the soufflé dish and then into the oven. Most standard soufflé recipes have you bake it in a water bath. That just means you put the bowl in a roasting pan and then add hot water halfway up the sides of the bowl. This allows for even baking (so that the middle isn’t undercooked while the top is overcooked). However, the recipe we were using didn’t call for a water bath, so we didn’t use one. So yeah, I guess Ina is just that good.
And here it is out of the oven. It’s nice and golden brown on the outside and light and airy on the inside. So much so that you forget about all the butter and cheese that’s in there!
Second Course: Zucchini Vichyssoise
Vichyssoise is a potato and leek soup, served cold (though it’s plenty good warm). Perfect for a hot Texas Bastille day. We went to Ina Garten again for the second course. Her recipe added zucchini to this classic dish. The potatoes, leeks, and zucchini all simmer in stock and then get pureed. Add a little cream, salt, and pepper and then chill. Velvety and subtle and tasty.
Third Course: Steak au Poivre with Haricot Verts
Positively one of my favorite dishes to get at a French restaurant. We followed the America’s test kitchen version (sorry Alton). Basically, we coarsely crushed a bunch of peppercorns, stuck them to some strip steaks, and pan-seared them. Then we added some chicken and beef stock that we had reduced. We deglazed the pan with the stock, and then added some cream and brandy to make a delightful gravy! To quote a sagacious friend of ours, “the sauce is boss.”
Alongside, some haricot verts. Pronouced, harry co Ver. Basically green beans, but thinner. Boiled, shocked, and then simmered in butter, shallot, and finished with farm-fresh tomatoes. Delicious!
Fourth course: Tricolore Profiteroles!
The same imagination that brought you red, white, and blue freedom cake on the 4th of July brings you blue, white, and red Bastille day profiteroles!
A profiterole is basically a cream puff, without the cream. Instead you cut it open, put ice cream inside, and top with chocolate sauce. Here we have vanilla, strawberry, and blueberry ice cream. It’s surprisingly difficult to find blue ice cream. This is a great dessert for company because it looks like a ton of work (and it kind of isn’t) and you can do almost all of it well in advance of your guests arriving!
Happy one year blog-iversary to us! Yay us! What on earth will we make next Bastille day? Any suggestions?
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