The Ardent Epicure

Today we are taking a journey to France...well our taste buds are anyway. The 5 Star
Makeover Cooking Group has set the Month of Mays challenge as Gourmet Picnic
 Foods.Specifically we have been challenged to makeover traditional picnic foods.
So I have chosen both the classic Tuna Salad Sandwich and Cole Slaw.

The 5 Star Foodie Makeover Group is hosted monthly by two very talented friends,
Natasha of 5 Star Foodie and Lazaro of  Lazaro Cooks


Starting Friday May 27th they will be showcasing the groups fabulous
contributions. So stop by for a little Gourmet Picnic inspiration.

Our Salade De Chois or French Cole Slaw has a bit of it's own twist

here. We are going to create our Slaw with cucumber, ridicchio, carrot 

and mint. No cabbage here guys...

What you will need:
For the French slaw
1 medium head of  ridicchio, shredded
2 large carrots, shredded
1 medium sized cucumber, sliced into strips
2-3 large mint leaved, sliced into thin strips
1 tablespoon agave or raw sugar
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

For the tuna
8 ounce tuna steak
1 tablespoon herbs de Provence
1 teaspoon salt flakes
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
heavy sauté pan

For the sauce
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 small garlic bulb, cloves mashed
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves or whole
4 leaves tarragon, finely chopped
2-3 large sage leaves, finely chopped
whisk

In addition you will need 6 rolls our desired sandwich bread. I used
Challah Rolls which are slightly sweet.

Let's get cooking:
For the French slaw
Prepare your vegetable and place in a large bowl or container that you will
be transporting in. Add all other ingredients and toss. Allow to rest for at least
1 hour or longer before serving.

For the tuna
Place pan on a medium/high heat until hot. Add oil and tuna, sear on each
side 2-3 minutes each side for medium rare, or desired doneness.

For the sauce
Once your tuna is done, reduce flame to low then add oil, lemon juice and garlic
 to the same pan you prepared your tuna in. Whisk the mixture until your garlic
become fragrant and lightly golden. Add herbs and continue heating for another
minute or so.  

Notes: If transporting your food to another location do not assemble sandwich
until ready to serve. The cole slaw should be kept cool but not cold as the
oil will begin to coagulate. The tuna however should be kept cold until ready.
And don'r forget the Champagne :)
Makes 6 sandwiches

This is a very simple snack to put together that has been a favorite around here

for years. I was originally planning to grill these beauties, but instead opted for
steaming. They will work wonderfully any way you choose to prepare them.

I also picked up a lovely papaya to serve both as a purée and a fresh fruit
side to accompany our artichokes. The purée was used as a spread with
cheese and the dipping sauce for the artichokes was the champagne
mustard aioli. However some chose to dip with both sauces.

What you will need:
For the champagne mustard aioli
8 tablespoons of French mustard aioli
8 tablespoons of plain Greek-style yogurt
2 tablespoons of champagne
(or a very dry sparkling wine)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
1 clove of garlic, minced
Pinch salt and pepper
Whisk and bowl

For the Papaya Purée
1 large papaya, halved
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1-2 pinches chipotle chile pepper, ground
1 pinch cumin, ground
3-4 fresh mint leaves
Blender

To go along with our artichokes I picked up a few Pretzel Sticks, mainly because they
were just too cute :) And a couple of cheese selections, my favorite The Triple Cream
Brie and Rosemary Olive Oil Asiago. Both paired wonderfully with the Papaya Purée.

 Crimini Mushroom and Plum Wine Consommé

As some of you may already know this is my first piece as a
Contributor to Honest Cooking the Food Magazine. Please stop by
and say hello, you will find a glorious variety of recipes, food news,
articles and so much more. So please join me...


I chose a Classic French starter the Consommé with just a few minor
changes :) You are more apt to find this dish served as a beef or even
chicken soup or broth, and likely during a five to seven course menu.
Today however we are going to create a wonderful vegetarian version...

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, halved

2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar, halved

8 ounces crimini mushrooms, sliced

1 large onion, sliced

1 large shallots, sliced

5 cups vegetable broth, chilled

2 cups plum wine, chilled

2 tablespoons butter

4-5 sprigs thyme

2-3 sprigs tarragon

2 sprigs meadow rue, optional

1 teaspoon pepper corns, whole

A pinch of sea salt, course

3 medium tomatoes, chopped

1/2 head celery, chopped

4 ounces carrots, chopped

1/2 ounce ginger, sliced

4-5 egg whites

Large sock pot, large sauté pan, food processor,
fine mesh sieve and cheese cloth

1 large leek, sliced and par boiled

2 baby carrots, shaved and par boiled

Finishing salt to taste

Begin by slicing mushrooms, onions and shallots as uniformly as possible.

 Heat half of the olive oil in a sauté pan and the other half in a stock pot. Place

 mushrooms in a single layer into the sauté pan while placing onions and shallots into

 the stock pot. Caramelize these on each side for about 2 minutes without stirring. 

Set aside and allow stock pot to cool.

Place broth, wine, butter, salt, pepper corns, herbs, mushrooms and onions/shallots

 in a cooled stock pot and set aside.

Place chopped tomatoes, celery, carrots and ginger in a food processor until finely 

chopped. Place egg whites in a large mixing bowl and whip slightly, add vegetables 

and mix until incorporated.

Add this mixture to the chilled broth mixture then bring to a boil stirring frequently. 

Once the mixture has come to a full boil, reduce heat to low and allow to simmer until 

liquid has reduced by at least 1/3 for a single Consommé or by 1/2 for a double 

Consommé (preferred). You will begin to see a foamy crust layer at the top, do not

 stir or disrupt this foam know as a raft. Continuing to simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours uncovered.

Once your liquid has reduced by at least 1/3 you can push aside a small are of the raft

 with a spoon for a taste test. Continue to reduce further if desired.

Now that you have reached your desired taste and consistency, begin by pushing 

aside your raft and ladling out your broth into a fine mesh sieve placed over a large
 bowl. Continue this process until you have removed all of your base broth.

Taking another large bowl repeat this filtering process until you have a clear broth. 

Generally  about 4 times. Then for final clarification process take your clean sieve and
place a double layer of cheese cloth over it, running your broth though this to remove
any final impurities replacing cheese cloth as necessary.

Return your clarified broth to a clean pot and keep very hot until ready to serve, 

adding desired garnishes just before serving.

It is best to sever this dish in warmed or heated bowls and severed immediately.

 And for both a lovely presentation in addition to a functional way to keep the bowls
 hot, try using a larger serving bowl filled with stones then placing a smaller dish of
the Consommé on top. These rocks can be purchased at any gardening center.

Alisha ~ Magic of Spice

I have been a bit of a mood to change a few things up...or explore new

ways to enjoy the classics. The Insalata Caprese for instance, then the thought
of a super comfort food, the grilled cheese. How could combining these two be
bad? A rhetorical question guys...the answer is it can't be bad. Sure maybe not
exactly what a historian wants to jot down in the culinary classics, but still,
oh so good :)  So if you are looking to try out a different grilled cheese...:)

What you will need:
Per sandwich 


Bread of choice, sliced
3 slices of fresh tomato
3-4 large leaves basil, trimmed
4 slices Buffalo mozzarella
 2 tablespoons butter
A pinch of garlic salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
A pinch of salt and ground pepper

Let's get cooking:

Simply brush the inside of your bread with the olive oil, salt and pepper mix.
Coat the outside of each slice with the butter mixture. Lining each with cheese,
tomato and basil. Grill until browned or until cheese has melted

With an Herbed Pineapple Cocktail

We would like to wish all of the Mom's out there a 
Very Happy Mother's Day...

This will be a short post but with a relaxing and fun cocktail. As many of you 

know we have a rather extensive herb garden, so needless to say these were 

harvested from that very garden. Choose the herbs that you enjoy and find

 most soothing, then have a cool refreshing cocktail out on the patio.

What you will need:

A small bunch of each herb
Rosemary
apple mint
chamomile
4 1/4th cups water
4 cups pineapple juice
4 cups spiced rum
Large pitcher, chilled glassed and ice

Let's get cooking:
Bring water with herbs to a rolling boil, continuing to boil for about 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and steep for about 10 minuted. Allow to chill completely.

Once your herb tea is chilled, fill a large pitcher with about a cup or so of ice. Add
pineapple juice and rum...stir and serve ;)

Alisha~Magic of Spice 


This is going over to Seasonal Saturday 

This is a very simple but fun way to serve fruit and a cheese dessert.
And awards as you may already know if reading us here for awhile,
come with a dessert :) So today I have prepared something simple,
fresh and just a tad on the sassy side...

What you will need:

6 fresh plums, sliced and pitted
1 cup spiced dark rum
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 whole vanilla bean, split
1 cinnamon sick
1 pinch nutmeg, ground
1 pinch cardamon, ground
6 ounces mascarpone cheese
6 large mint leaves,chiffonade style
Dark chocolate or cocoa shavings, optional
Large sauté pan with lid

Let's get cooking:

Start by adding rum, water, butter, honey, lemon juice and spices to a
large pan. Bring liquid just to a boil, then reduce heat to medium/low and
add plum slices. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes or until firm but tender.

Note: When slicing the plums it is easies to slice in half running from the navel
portion the around. Remove the pit and then slice into circles like above, as
thinly and uniformly as possible. This will prevent some slices from over or
under cooking.

Once your plums are done, lay them out individually on a flat clean surface.
Allow them to reach room temperature before spreading on the mascarpone,
like you would frost a multi layer cake. Place a layer on mint chiffonade on
top of alternating plum/cheese slices. Now begin to stack them, leaving the
final layer topped with cheese. It is best to place a toothpick through the
center and allow to sit for a few minutes, then remove before serving.
Garnish with additional mint and chocolate shavings if desired.

The Awards


We were honored with this wonderful group of awards by two very amazing
 bloggers. First we received these from Jan the author of I Love, Therefore I Cook.
Jan is a lawyer by day and a serious foodie by night. Her site is full of enthusiasm,
passion and humor. And if that were not enough, how about "Jan’s Cupcakery".
Thats right she is on her way to fame in the cupcake world :)

Next we received these awards from Jill the author of Mad about Macrons,
 both the site as well as the Book. Aside from mastering everyones favorite
treats she provides us with wonderful recipes of both savory and sweet, plus
she takes us with her all around Paris...even to those gorgeous markets!


Then we received The Stylish Blogger Award from my favorite Cajun cooking beauty
 Marguerite the author of Cajun Delights . I let me tell you delights is right on target,
Wow! There is always great food, music and dancing...then more great food :)
As Marguerite would say, stop on over and let the good times begin, cest bon, cher!


This group of lovely awards came to us from a new friend Cooking Rookie 
author of Cookbook of Trial and Error. A beautiful site, with even more
beautiful food. What I am loving the most so far is her willingness to experiment
and continue to stretch herself. If you are not yet acquainted please stop by :)

A warm and heartfelt thank you to each of you, from all
The Ardent Epicure Team!
Please take a moment to stop by these wonderful sites
and see some passioned food lovin'...

Enjoy~
Alisha~Magic of Spice