Food for Thought with Suzanne Dunaway

‘Tis the season to eat, drink and be merry, so if you’re looking for recipe ideas, look no further… Suzanne has you covered!

Filet of beef with red wine

I love this sauce with tornedos or any tender cut of meat. It is also good with chicken and I once served it with grilled filets of loup de mer or any white fish, cut into fairly thick portions. It is best to make this sauce ahead of time because it will take some time to reduce the onion sauce and then crisp the saturated onions in the oven to go with the beef, chicken or fish.  The sauce keeps well until the steaks or whatever you are serving are done, but I often make a bit more to have on hand for other uses as I adore the sweet onions of the Pyrénees-Oriéntales

Recipe

Ingredients

• 6 pieces of filet/tournedos, 1″ thick
• 10 sweet red onions, sliced very thin
• 1 1/2 bottles of red wine
• 3 cups rich chicken or beef stock
• 6 tablespoons butter
• pinch of salt
• 4 tablespoons olive oil

Method

Heat oven to 400° (200°C).  In a large skillet filled with the red wine, cook the onions until the liquid is reduced by half, about 20 minutes. Add the stock and continue simmering until reduced by half again.

Strain the sauce into another pan, and remove the onions to a large oven-proof pan. Pour the olive oil over all.  Place in the hot oven to cook.

Meanwhile, salt and pepper the pieces of filet, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a hot pan and sear the meat on both sides for only 2 minutes to keep it rare.

Heat the red wine sauce and swirl the rest of the butter in it, pour over the meat and serve.  Serve the crisped onions as a garnish.

Cornbread stuffing

This recipe was handed down to me from my mother. It’s a great recipe for any farci of a bird and is enough for a large goose or turkey. Cut the recipe for smaller birds.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups yellow corn meal (semolina—the large-grain kind. You can use fresh, vacuum-packed or canned corn, but NOT instant!)
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups buttermilk, milk or yogurt
• 4 tablespoons melted butter or extra virgin olive oil
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 cup corn kernels, preferably fresh off the cob
• Handful of toasted sage leaves

Method

Preheat oven to 185°C or 400°F.

Butter a large baking pan or iron skillet and heat it in the oven. Add a spoon of butter to melt.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients, not the milk, butter or olive oil, and eggs.

Add  the milk, butter and eggs, beat well, and stir into the cornmeal mix, just until moistened.

Remove the hot pan from the oven and pour the mixture into the prepared hot pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden and firm.

Alternative method:  Heat a large iron skillet and melt 2 tablespoons of butter in it. When it is bubbling, pour the batter into the skillet and immediately transfer to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. This gives the cornbread a nice crispy bottom for your dressing.

Let the cornbread sit out for a day or two to get a little stale.

Break up the day-old cornbread into rough pieces and place in a large bowl.

Sauté in olive oil 2 cups each of sweet onion and celery, chopped fine and 4 cloves of garlic, minced.  Put the mixture in a large bowl, and add a handful of chopped grilled almonds, a small bunch of fresh sage leaves, chopped fine, and a tablespoon of toasted chili powder.  Moisten the mix with 4 cups rich chicken broth, 4 tablespoons of melted butter or olive oil, and just before stuffing the bird, stir in 3 eggs, beaten well.

Stuff the bird, pressing the cornbread mixture into cavity to fill it. Brush the bird with melted butter and olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika.  Make a ‘tent’ of aluminium foil and let it rest on the bird’s breast while baking until the last 20 minutes. Roast the bird at 15 minutes to the pound at 325 F or 175 C until the leg wiggles easily. Baste with chicken broth and a bottle of white wine to keep the bird moist during cooking.

DO NOT OVERCOOK.  The bird will continue cooking for 10 more minutes OUT of the oven!

TOP TIP: YOU CAN ADD CORN NIBLETS TO THE CORN BREAD TO GIVE IT A GREAT TEXTURE AND FLAVOR

Plum pudding

Nothing says holidays, at least in the UK and our house, like plum pudding and the perfume of spices wafting through the rooms. Before I knew that a ‘pudding’ is simply a dessert in England, I thought a plum one would be a custard of some sort like a flan or like, well, a pudding, as in chocolate or corn, etc.

How wonderful to have discovered the rich flavors of a plum pudding and even to have been so crazy as to freeze plums for winter in order to be authentic! The plums in plum pudding are actually prunes and dried fruits but I will say that if you have any plum pulp, more power to your pudding!

I make small ones for gifts, as a plum pudding is rich and one only needs a little slice with brandy butter on the side to feel festive and full!  I have made these for years, always tweaking a bit here or there, so if you don’t have all of the ingredients, use what you have.

By the way, a fish poacher works very well, holding about three puddings at a time but I also use a large kettle with a deep dish turned upside down inside and the puddings resting on the top. One can even bake a plum pudding, but don’t spread that around…they are better when steamed.

Recipe

Ingredients

FIRST:

• 1 1/2 cups dried apricots
• 1 cup dates or figs
• 1 cup dried prunes
• 1 cup golden raisins
• 1 cup black raisins
• 1 cup toasted almonds, pecans, or hazelnuts
• 1 large cooking apple, peeled
• Zest and juices of 1 orange and 1 lemon
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cardamom
• 1 teaspoon mace
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon clove
• 1 cup plum puree (frozen from summer’s crop, optional)
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup Cognac

SECOND:

• 1 cup flour
• 200 g butter, softened
• 6 eggs, beaten
• Softened butter to grease the pudding molds
• Cognac to flavor puddings after steaming

Method

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse all of the fresh and dried fruits, nuts and the apple until semi-fine. Mix all the first batch of ingredients in a very large bowl, and moisten with a good slosh of Cognac. Let sit overnight or up to two days.

Butter small glass heatproof dessert bowls for individual puddings of 6-8 ounces

Add the rest of the ingredients to the fruit mixture, stirring well.  Have your poacher or kettle going with simmering water.

Pack the mold dishes well, leaving about 1/2″ a the top.

Cover tight with foil and place dishes in the poachers. Simmer on low heat, covered, for about an hour. You can tell if they are done when the puddings are firm to the touch and come out easily from their dishes,

Remove from the steam bath and let cool.

Remove the foil and loosen puddings with a sharp knife around the inside of the bowl. Invert the puddings onto sheets of foil, and sprinkle Cognac over each one.

The foil will make a nice holiday wrapping for each pudding.

The puddings will stay fresh in the refrigerator for 1 year.

To serve, heat oven to 350.  Wrap pudding in foil and place in oven for 15 minutes or in a microwave for only about 3-4 minutes.

Serve with hard sauce:

Mix 1 stick softened butter with 2 cups powdered sugar and 3 teaspoons Cognac or rum until the sauce has the consistency of soft icing. Serve over the heated pudding.

To flame the pudding:  Place 1/2 cup rum or Cognac in large ladle.  Hold over an open flame to heat the spoon and the booze will ignite.  Pour over the hot pudding at the table so everyone can enjoy the Dickens moment.

All content and recipes are copyright of Suzanne Dunaway.