Supper Club

NEW ZEALAND DINNER

The recipes were chosen from great dinners that the Cooke's had during their wonderful two years living in New Zealand.

MENU
COURSE	DISH TO PREPARE
Host (not really a course)	Beverages*
Appetizer	Leek & Goat Cheese Tartlets
Soup	Roasted Butternut Squash Soup & Bread
Entrée	Beef Wellington
Vegetable	Garlic mashed potatoes
Vegetable	Julienne carrots and beans
Dessert	Pavlova with kiwi & blueberries

* Hosts will provide white wine (any good New Zealand Sauvignon blanc - suggest Nobilo, Villa Maria, or Kim Crawford) and red (any New Zealand or Australian Cabernet Merlot - suggest Jacobs Creek, Greg Norman, Lindeman, Marlborough).

APPETIZER - LEEK & GOAT CHEESE TARTLETS
(Recipe makes 60 tartlets)

2 medium leeks, washed, cut in small pieces
1/2-teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 eggs
A pinch fresh grated nutmeg
2 egg yolks
4 ounces mild goat cheese, crumbled
2/3 cup whole milk
4 packets of 15 mini filo tartlet cases
2/3-cup heavy cream

1. Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Wash leeks thoroughly! Chop into small pieces and sauté white parts leeks in butter over medium heat until soft, 5 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk all remaining ingredients except goat cheese in medium bowl.

3. Spread goat cheese and leeks evenly in the bottom of the tartlet cases. Pour in custard mixture to the very top of each case (I find using a Pyrex liquid measuring jug with a good spout makes this much easier). Bake until golden brown 18-20 minutes. Serve warm (they reheat well).

STARTER -BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP
(Recipe serves 8 people)

1 1/2 - 2 lbs. butternut squash, 1 inch cubes
2 tablespoons all-purpose white flour
2 medium parsnips, sliced
4 cups chicken stock
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cups half and half
4 tablespoons butter
3/4-teaspoon salt
4 shallots/green onions, chopped
3/4-teaspoon white pepper
1 small onion, minced
Croutons
1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
Sour cream for garnish

1. Place the butternut squash and parsnips on a large nonstick baking sheet. Spoon olive oil over them and turn to coat well with the oil. Bake for 45 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Set aside.

2. Melt 3 tbsp. of the butter until foamy, add onions and ginger and sauté until limp. Sprinkle with flour, cook and stir for 3 minutes, then gradually add chicken stock. Cook and stir until smooth and thickened.

3. Add cooked squash and parsnips, seasonings, and half-and-half. Bring just to a boil and reduce heat to low, cover and simmer on low for 15 minutes. Cool slightly.

4. Puree the soup in a blender or food processor, in batches if necessary. Add the remaining 1 tbsp. butter and season to taste with salt and pepper. 5. Reheat before serving. Garnish with sour cream & croutons and serve with crusty fresh bread or rolls.

ENTRÉE - INDIVIDUAL BEEF WELLINGTONS WITH GORGONZOLA
(Recipe serves 12)

Recipe is best prepared over course of Friday and Saturday. No great stress either day.

Beef:

2 packets Pepperidge farm frozen puff pastry
2 1/2 - 3 lbs good quality beef** 12 3-4 oz. pieces
2 oz. Gorgonzola, crumbled
3 tbsp. butter
3 egg yolks + 3 tsp. Water

** Dependent on price: center cut filet mignon, beef tenderloin, or beef in marinade - You might use a very inexpensive cut from Genuardi's called Ranchers Reserve Petite Tender Beef Filet (pepper version) that comes in a bag with marinade that you can use as part of the gravy.

Mushroom filling:

8 large mushrooms (about 1/2 pound total)

Sauce:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot/green onion
1 cup red wine
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoon cornstarch

Beef:

Sauté fillets in butter in a skillet just until lightly browned on both sides.

Reserve pan for gravy. Place filets on a dish, cover and freeze 10 minutes.

Move from freezer to refrigerator for 2 hrs.

Mushroom Filling:

Thinly slice mushrooms and in a heavy skillet cook in butter with shallot/green onion, garlic, and salt and pepper, to taste, over moderate heat, stirring, until mushrooms are lightly browned. Puree and transfer mushroom mixture to a bowl to cool completely. Chill at least 2 hours.

Gravy:

Put pan used to brown the beef back on the heat. Loosen the bits (using the reserved juices from the marinade if you chose the Genuardi's option) and transfer to a saucepan. Stir in beef stock, red wine and tomato paste and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain if necessary (if you used a marinade) and add cornstarch dissolved in few tbsp. of red wine and stir into the gravy and cook stirring constantly until thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Pastry:

When beef and mushroom filling are ready, place thawed pastry on lightly floured surface - you should have 4 14x14-inch in squares. Cut 3 of the sheets each into 4 (7x7-inch) sections which leaves 1 sheet to use for decorating the mini Wellingtons with your own design.

Assembly:

Put a heaped teaspoon of Gorgonzola crumbs in center of 1 pastry square and top with 1/12 of the mushroom mixture. Top mushroom mixture with a piece of beef, pressing it down gently. Wrap 2 opposite corners of puff pastry over filet, overlapping them and sealing them together with egg wash. Wrap 3rd side and seal with egg wash, 4th side sealed with egg wash and then using egg wash in the 4 slits down the seams, press pastry around filet to enclose completely. Seal any gaps with egg wash. Arrange beef Wellington, seam side down, in a non-stick-baking pan. Brush tops with egg wash then decorate the tops of Wellingtons and brush with remaining egg mixture. Make 11 more beef Wellingtons in same manner. Chill beef Wellingtons, loosely covered, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

Cooking:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Bake 20 minutes, or until pastry is golden and the meat temperature is 117-120 degrees F using a thermometer to control doneness. For best results, bake at the host's house to avoid reheating.

VEGETABLE - ROASTED GARLIC MASHED POTATOES
(Recipe serves 12 people)

1 garlic head, unpeeled
1 tbsp. chopped chives
5 lbs. red potatoes, unpeeled
2 tbsp. olive oil
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
2 oz freshly grated Parmesan
2 cup sour cream
Generous salt & ground white pepper

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut top 1/4 inch off of a garlic head and wrap head in foil. Roast garlic 40 minutes, or until very soft. Remove from oven and let cool. Squeeze roasted garlic from head and reserve. In a large saucepan, cover potatoes with water by 2 inches and simmer until very tender. Drain potatoes in a colander (do not peel). Transfer potatoes while still hot to a large bowl and add butter. With an electric mixer on low speed, mash slightly. Beat in sour cream, chives, and oil until combined well. Add Parmesan, reserved garlic, salt & pepper to taste, beating until smooth.

VEGETABLE - JULIENNE CARROTS & FRESH GREEN BEANS
(Recipe serves 12)

1 pound carrots, peeled and cut in julienne strips (same size as beans)
1 pound green beans, peel down sides to remove strings
1 tbsp. honey
4 tbsp. butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Steam carrots in a small amount of water with honey until just fork-tender. Steam beans separately. Drain vegetables and add 1-2 tbsp. butter each and season to taste with salt and pepper.

DESSERT - PAVLOVA
(Recipe serves 6-8)

4 egg whites, room temperature
1/2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 cup sugar
Filling:
1 tsp. white vinegar
Whipping cream, whipped (unsweetened)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Kiwi fruit, sliced & fresh Blueberries

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F and place rack in center of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and draw a 7 inch circle on the paper. In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until they hold soft peaks. Start adding the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, and continue to beat until the meringue holds very stiff peaks. You can test to see if the sugar is fully dissolved by rubbing a little of the meringue between your thumb and index finger. The meringue should feel smooth, not gritty. If it feels gritty the sugar has not fully dissolved so keep beating until it feels smooth between your fingers. Sprinkle the vinegar, vanilla and cornstarch over the top of the meringue and, with a rubber spatula, fold in.

Gently spread the meringue inside the circle drawn on the parchment paper, smoothing the edges, making sure the edges of the meringue are slightly higher than the center. You want a slight well in the center of the meringue to place the whipped cream and fruit.

Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until the outside is dry and takes on a very pale cream color. Turn the oven off, leave the door slightly ajar, and let the meringue cool completely in the oven. The outside of the meringue will feel firm to the touch, if gently pressed, but as it cools you will get a little cracking and you will see that the inside is soft and marshmallowy. The cooled meringue can be made and stored in a cool dry place, in an airtight container, for a few days.

At the host's house:

Just before serving gently place the meringue onto a serving plate. Whip the cream, until soft peaks form. Mound the softly whipped cream into the center of the meringue and arrange the fruit randomly, or in a decorative pattern, on top of the cream. Serve immediately as this dessert does not hold for more than a few hours.