The Monster Island Theater French Recipes

Gougères

Preheat the oven to 375°. Put the butter in a heavy saucepan with 1 cup water and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and remove from the heat. Add the flour all at once, and beat until smooth with a wooden spoon. The mixture will pull away from the sides of the pan and form a ball. Put the pan back on low heat and beat for a minute or so to dry the paste somewhat. Remove from the heat and let cool about 3 minutes.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating vigorously with a wooden spoon after each addition. What you want is a smooth, soft glossy paste that falls easily from the spoon. Stir in the cheese. Using a pastry bag, pipe 1-inch rounds onto a buttered baking sheet, or simply drop the mixture by spoonfuls. Brush with milk, so they will emerge golden. Bake until puffed up and nicely browned, about 25 minutes.

Makes 40 to 50 gougères.

Recipe courtesy of French Food at Home, by Laura Calder.

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Soupe au Pistou (Provençal Vegetable Soup with Pistou)

In a large soup pot, bring the soaked beans and fresh water to a boil. Add all the vegetables and herbs, bring to a second boil, then reduce the heat, cover the pot, and simmer for an hour. Meanwhile, make the pistou if you don't have any handy in the freezer.

Add the salt and pepper to the soup, stir well, and continue simmering uncovered for another 15-20 minutes.

When ready to serve, ladle the soup into big bowls. Pass the pistou — and extra Parmesan cheese, if you like — so people can load up the bowl with flavor that releases itself right under their noses.

Pistou

Press the garlic, then whisk the tomato paste, basil, cheese, oil, and parsley with it in a blender until it is a rich paste.

Serves 6 to 8.

Recipe courtesy of Soup of the Evening.

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Oeufs en Meurette (Poached Eggs in a Red Wine Sauce)

Fry the bacon in a large sauté pan. Remove and set aside. Wipe out any excess fat, then add a tablespoon of the butter and the oil to heat. Sauté the onion until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the carrots and garlic and sauté about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with the flour, stir to blend, and cook 5 minutes more. Return the bacon to the pan, along with the bay leaf and a branch or two of parsley. Pour in the wine and stock. Boil to reduce almost to a sauce consistency, about 20 minutes.

Remove the parsley, bay leaf, and garlic. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, then whisk in the remaining tablespoon of butter to make it nice and glossy.

Meanwhile, bring 4 cups water and the vinegar in a deep skillet to a boil. Stir the water to get a whirlpool going and crack the eggs one at a time into the moving water. Poach until set, about 2 to 3 minutes, turning once with a spoon to wrap the whites a bit around the yolks. Remove to drain on paper towels.

To serve, spoon the hot sauce into soup plates. Set a piece of toast in the center of each, and top with a poached eggs. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with chopped parsley, and serve immediately.

Serves 6 as a first course, or 3 as a light main course.

Recipe courtesy of French Food at Home, by Laura Calder.

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Roquefort Potato Gratin

Preheat oven to 425°. Butter 15 x 10 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Layer potatoes in prepared dish, sprinkling each layer with salt and pepper. Bring cream to boil in heavy medium saucepan. Reduce heat to medium. Add Roquefort to cream; whisk until cheese melts. Pour cream mixture over potatoes. Cover with foil. Bake until potatoes are tender, about 1 hour.

Preheat broiler. Mix breadcrumbs and rosemary in small bowl. Sprinkle over potatoes. Dot with butter. Broil until butter melts and crumb mixture is golden brown, watching closely, about 4 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes. Serve warm.

Serves 12.

Recipe courtesy of Epicurious.com

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Cassoulet

1. Place beans in large Dutch oven and add water to cover by 3 inch. Heat over medium heat to boiling.
2. Meanwhile, prepare bouquet garni. Scrub 1 carrot and trim ends. Peel 1 onion and stick it with the cloves. Add bouquet garni, onion, 1 head garlic, pork rind (if using) and duck giblets (but not the liver) to beans. Reduce heat to low and simmer covered, adding water if necessary, until tender, 1 and 1/2 hours.
3. Drain beans, reserving liquid. Discard herbs and vegetables. Chop giblets and pork rind; mix with beans in large bowl. Add salt and pepper.
4. Meanwhile, fry bacon in large heavy saucepan over medium heat until golden, about 5 to 7 minutes. Drain on paper towels, then stir into beans. Discard fat.
5. Trim fat from duck and prick skin thoroughly with fork. Brown duck on all sides in same saucepan over medium high heat, about 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Pour off duck fat and reserve.
6. Pare and thickly slice remaining carrots; coarsely chop remaining onions. Add to the same saucepan; cook stirring occasionally, over medium heat until softened about 5 minutes. Mince 5 cloves garlic, add to pan, and cook 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes; cook 3 minutes. Add 1 cup bean liquid and scrape brown bits from bottom of pan.
7. Return duck to saucepan; sprinkle with thyme. Add enough bean liquid to partially cover duck. Simmer covered over low heat until duck is tender, about 1 and 1/4 hours. Remove duck. Spoon off as much fat as possible from the broth.
8. Meanwhile, add sausage to large pan of simmering water; simmer 5 - 7 minutes. Drain and cool slightly. Peel and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices.
9. Heat oven to 325°.
10. Halve remaining clove garlic and rub over inside of large Dutch oven, then coat with 2 tablespoons reserved duck fat.
11. Sprinkling each layer with pepper, add ingredients to pot as follows; one fourth the beans; half the sausage, one fourth the beans; one third the duck broth with the vegetables, the duck pieces, one third the broth, one fourth the beans, then remaining sausage, broth, and beans. Add bean liquid if necessary to come to the top of the beans without covering them. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup bread crumbs and drizzle with 2 tablespoons duck fat.
12. Bake covered 35 minutes. Remove cover and bake 45 minutes longer, breaking crust and turning top crust under with large spoon 2 or 3 times.
13. Increase heat to 400°. Add some reserved tomato liquid if cassoulet seems dry. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup bread crumbs and drizzle with 2 tablespoons duck fat. Bake until top is crusty and golden, about 20 minutes longer. Serve hot.

*Tip for bouquet garni, tie 1 bay leaf, 1 leek, 1 rib celery, 3 sprigs parsley, and 1 pinch dried thyme in cheesecloth. (Or purchase prepared bouquet garni.)

Serves 12.

Recipe courtesy of RecipeSource.

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Pan Bagna

1. Slice the bread or rolls in half lengthwise. Combine the garlic and oil and, using a pastry brush, brush both the bottom and top portions with the garlic oil, pressing the mixture firmly into the bread.
2. Drain the anchovies and soak them in water to cover for several minutes. Drain again, and pat dry.
3. Combine the tuna, undrained, with the capers and spoon the mixture evenly over the bottom portion of the bread, pressing it firmly into the bread. Then, layer the onions, pepper, tomatoes, anchovies, and roasted peppers. (You want a very moist sandwich.)
4. Cover the sandwich with the top portion of bread. If using a baguette, cut the sandwich into four equal portions. Press down firmly on the bread. Do not be concerned if the crust cracks. Cover tightly and securely with plastic wrap, then weight the sandwiches down to flatten them even more. Refrigerate, with the weights for several hours or overnight. Serve lightly chilled.

Serves 4.

Recipe courtesy of Bistro Cooking, by Patricia Wells.

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Gâteau Breton

Preheat oven to 350°. Butter 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 1 1/2-high sides; dust with flour. Grind nuts finely in processor. Sift flour, cornstarch, baking powder, cinnamon and salt into medium bowl. Add 1/3 cup ground nuts; reserve remainder for garnish.

Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Set aside 1 teaspoon yolks for glaze; gradually add remainder to butter mixture, beating until fluffy. Mix in peel and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix until jut blended. Transfer to pan, smoothing top.

Mix milk into reserved 1 teaspoon yolk. Brush atop batter for glaze. Draw tines of fork across top of cake in crisscross pattern. Top with reserved nuts.

Bake cake until just firm to touch, about 45 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool. Turn out cake from pan; arrange top side up on platter. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap tightly; store at room temperature.)

Serves 8.

Recipe courtesy of Epicurious.com

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