Despite several frosts over the last week, my basil on the side porch still looks good
This is how my mind works: A week or so ago I watched an interview Charlie Rose did with Daniel Boulud. They discussed “teaching” a chef to season. I wondered to myself if you should have to teach a Chef to season. This led to thinking about how to decide if ingredients have an affinity for each other. Yesterday, I was doing my usual: diving into food venues, recipe ideas and personality profiles. As is often the case, a recipe idea will pop into my head at the most random of moments – last night it was while I was watching The Graduate for the first time in many moons (wow, I had forgotten how good this movie is). Somehow I got to thinking about using Maple Syrup and Basil in a savory dish. Somehow I like the idea of the earthy sweetness of the maple syrup contrasted with the bright bite and herbal depth of Genovese basil.
This morning I circled back to this idea and decided upon two examples to try out this synergy – one is savory and one is sweet:
a. Duck Breast with Maple-Plum Glaze and Basil
b. Pumpkin-Vanilla Bean French Toast with Sauteéd Pears and Basil
Off to the test kitchen I went with my brain. I often like to construct a test recipe on “paper” before I execute it. Here’s what coagulated:
Duck Breast with Maple-Plum Glaze and Basil (in this month you may wish to use Figs unless you live in California):
two boneless duck breast halves, skin on
3 plums, pitted and sliced into1/4″ slices
1 shallot
1/4 cup dark amber maple syrup
splash or two dry white wine or dry sherry
1 bunch fresh basil – with about 10 leaves cut into chiffonade
1/4 cup toasted pignoli nuts
Sprinkle duck breasts with salt. In an oven proof skillet large enough to hold the two duck breasts, roast at 400F, skin side up for 20 minutes. Remove from the pan, tent with foil and set aside. Deglaze the pan with the wine/sherry, up to 1/4 cup and add the shallot. Cook for 2-3 minutes until slightly softened. Add the maple syrup and the plums and cook for 4-5 minutes or until the sauce reduces to a syrupy but pourable consistency. Add the pignolis and the chiffonade of basil. Remove the pan from the heat immediately and swirl the sauce around the pan. Pour over the duck breasts and serve immediately with a few more basil leaves as garnish. Serve with a Wild Rice Dish.
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Ryan has been after me to perfect a recipe for Vanilla Bean French Toast so that I can make it for him over the holidays. This is not as easy as it seems as I often find French Toast overly soggy and by the time you sit down to eat it — it has disintegrated into a pile of soggy carbohydrate, well, mess, which I dislike. There is nothing worse than beginning a recipe with optimism and vigor and when you sit down to “enjoy” it, it is deflated and soggy.
Those of you who follow Ina Garten will note that she has mutated the traditional french toast recipe into a baked casserole version which is more reminiscent of a bread pudding. I’d guess she did this for the obvious reason of not having to stand at the stove and make individual portions, which she often discusses, but also because of the serving issues. I think serving-time texture is very important in French Toast and so I have adapted the method below found from carnaldish.com for this recipe.
Pumpkin-Vanilla Bean French Toast with Maple Syrup, Sautéed Pears and Basil – adapted from carnaldish.com
Bake a loaf of the Pumpkin Broiche from www.culinaryconcoctionsfrompeabody.com and cut 4 1″ thick slices when the loaf is thoroughly cooled.
3 ripe Bosc Pears, peeled, cored and cut int 6 slices each, and sautéed in 2 tblsp butter, turning as needed for 5-6 minutes, depending on firmness of the pears – they should be just cooked through, not mushy
For the Sauce:
1 cup dark amber maple syrup whisked together with 2 tblsp brandy plus juices from sautéed pears
Warm this mixture over low heat in a heavy saucepan. When it is warm, remove from heat and gently stir in 4 chiffonaded basil leaves. This must be done at the very last minute to avoid basil leaves from discoloring
For the French Toast:
3 large egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split in half
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1 tsp granulated sugar
3 tblsp butter
extra granulated sugar for sprinkling on top
Preheat oven to 400F. In a shallow dish, whisk together the egg yolks, cream, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar and vanilla bean until smooth. Dry the bread slices out in the oven for 15 minutes – it should not be toasted to color, just dried out. Soak slices in the liquid mixture for 20 minutes per side. Do not let them get to the point of falling apart – remove immediately if they begin to look like they will. Heat 2 tblsp butter in a cold sauté pan over medium heat. When butter starts to sizzle, place the french toast slices in the pan and let cook for about 3 minutes per side. Add the remaining 1 tblsp butter to a large baking dish (8×12) – and butter the bottom of the dish. Add the french toast slices and bake for 15 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from the oven and turn on the broiler. Sprinkle slices with a light coating of sugar. Place under broiler and let cook just until the sugar caramelizes.
Serving: Remove the french toast slices from oven, arrange on a warm serving platter, cover with the pears and drape with the maple syrup/brandy/basil sauce. Garnish the dish with extra basil leaves.
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The Sun Also Rises – another memorable sunrise:
beautiful barn in the Catskills:
