COOKING WILD AND WONDERFUL by L. J. Martin

Don't ever forget, cowhands can be gourmets too….

Here's a quote from one of my very favorite and hard to find cookbooks:



Here's a continuation of that gourmet supper, the sorbet and meat course:

Gourmet Supper for Eight

Appetizers:

Served with Champagne
Crab artichoke dip or tapanade
Crunchy Parmesan Onion Squares
Bruchettas:
Mushroom
Tomato
Zucchini

Soup:

Shellfish in clear bullion

Salad:

Lobster, avocado, fresh grapefruit on butter lettuce

Fish Course:

Salmon and asparagus in parchment (en pappette)

Citrus Sorbet

Beef Course:

Tenderloin strip basted in simple sauce (see recipe)
Mushroom Gravy
Port wine reduction
Red & Yukon Gold potatoes, boiled and braised

Dessert:

Berry mélange in phyllo cups with Cointreau whipped cream

After dinner: Coffee, liquors, and a great single malt


Sorbet

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 cups cold water
• 1 ½ cup fresh lemon and/or lime juice (retain 8 lemon halves)
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon or lime zest (optional)

I use a Cuisinart Automatic Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker for this preparation but you can use any ice cream maker or merely freeze in a bowl if you wish, stirring a couple of times during freezing so you don’t end up with a block of ice.

In a saucepan bring water and sugar to a boil then set aside to cool. I’ve made this without taking the time to dissolve sugar first and it works fine. When cool, add lemon/lime juice and zest.Pour into frozen bowl of ice cream maker and mix until thick (twenty five minutes or more).Place in a covered bowl in the freezer at least three hours before serving. Clean the pulp from the lemon halves and trim the bottoms just so they’ll stand upright (don’t cut all the way through). When sorbet has hardened, use an ice cream scoop and shape scoops so they fit nicely into lemon halves. Kat and I serve in martini glasses between fish and meat courses to clean the pallet, but they also look great on the plate alongside the salmon.

If it’s too hard to scoop when fresh out of the freezer, slip in the microwave on high for 20 seconds and it should scoop easily.


Meat Course

Tenderloin strip [filet] cooked whole and sliced

Filet and simple sauce:

Filet strip w/simple sauce and port wine reduction.
Red and Yukon Gold new potatoes
Mushroom gravy

• 1 whole tenderloin 6 lbs plus or minus)
• 2 tblsp garlic salt
• 2 tblsp pepper (or lemon pepper)

Simple sauce:

• ½ cup soy sauce
• 1 cube butter
• 2 beef bullion cubes

I usually trim the last narrow eight inches or so off the loin and slice into steaks for Kat and I as the remaining thick end of the loin will easily serve eight, particular with the double entrée. The rest we’re cooking whole either in the oven or on the grill.

Simple sauce: Mix all ingredients and heat in a small sauce pan until the butter is melted and the bullion cubes are dissolved. Set aside, but keep warm enough so the butter doesn’t coagulate.

I use a three burner barbeque, spray the grill with cooking oil to help prevent sticking, then preheat it as hot as I can get it.

Garlic salt and pepper the room temperature loin. Place the loin to one side (so the burner under that side can be turned off) and sear on all sides. If there’s fat on the loin it may flame up, but that’s okay so long as you don’t get a real carbon layer. When browned well, just a few minutes, turn the burner off under the loin, reduce the other burners to medium, close the lid if you have one, or if you don’t tent with aluminum foil. Cook until the internal temperature of the thickest part is 120 to 125 degrees. Pour simple sauce over loin, turning to coat all sides, and remove. Let steep a few minutes before slicing. Serve in sliced portions floating on light coating of port wine reduction.

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec or Shiraz


Port wine reduction:

• 1 ½ cups of decent port wine
• 3 tsps granulated sugar
• ½ tsp Accent or other MSG* (if you use, if not, ignore; see note hereinafter)
• salt

In a saucepan reduce port wine, sugar, and MSG to ½ volume. Salt lightly. Keep warm.


Potatoes:

16 Small Yukon potatoes
16 Small red potatoes
½ cup rough chopped parsley (preferably Italian)
season salt
pepper

Drop potatoes in pre-salted water for ten minutes. Preheat a large skillet with a combination of olive oil and butter, at least a couple of tablespoons each until oil and butter begins to brown. Add potatoes and pepper then brown, turning until spotted brown on two or three sides. Salt lightly with season salt. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Toss and serve.


Mushroom gravy:

8 ounces white or crimini mushrooms (or any mushroom you prefer)
1 ½ cup water
½ cup rich red wine, cabernet sauvignon or burgundy
3 bullion cubes
½ teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tblespWondra or all purpose flour
butter or olive oil if you prefer
Pinch of cumin
pepper

Sauté mushrooms in butter in medium frying pan just to soften, remove from pan and set aside. In same frying pan deglaze by adding all but ½ cup water, wine, bullion cubes, and soy sauce and bring to a boil until bullions cubes are dissolved. Make slurry of remaining water and flour or Wondra and stir into boiling liquid. Thicken to desired consistency; if necessary add a little more flour and water slurry. Add cumin and pepper to taste. Add back mushrooms and serve hot.

*I’ve long used MSG and never had a problem with it, nor met anyone who has. I researched it on the web and again found no proof or even claim that it causes headaches, etc. But as always, it’s your kitchen, please use your own discretion.


See you soon for more from The Kitchen at Wolfpack Ranch and Cooking Wild & Wonderful.