Beef Wellington (aka Fillet of Beef in a Pastry Crust)

Mmmm. Pastry. Mmmmm meat in pastry. There are about a thousand variations on it, but almost all of them (let's be honest, all of them) are absolutely delicious. And don't the British know it. This perhaps could be the most supremely British of all dishes, I mean it's named after a duke for goodness sake. Of course, the French, being French, insist on calling it simply by the descriptive name: beef en croute. And that, since we used a French cookbook to make it, is perhaps the best way to describe this epic dish.

This dish brings "multi-step cooking" to a whole new level. Not only do you have to make your own pastry. Not only do you have to make your own crepes to be a "buffer layer" within the pastry. Not only do you have to make the mushrooms and blanched spinach that goes within the pastry. But the cookbook insists on accompanying this fine meal with a lovely bearnaise sauce which, you guessed it, you also have to make yourself. All in all, this escapade probably took about 36-48 hours. So if you're looking for a dish to impress dinner guests with, this one will take the cake. But set aside your whole weekend, folks. You're gonna need time.

So let's get to it. For simplicity's sake, I've isolated the various components of the dish into the main wellington/beef en croute, so that you can follow the steps of assembly in order. Because, if you hadn't guessed already, there are many.

Serves: 6

For the wellington pastry (similar to a brioche dough but a little firmer and less rich)

Ingredients
260ml tepid milk
12g fresh yeast (8g active dry)
450g plain (all-purpose) flour
10g fine salt
3 egg yolks
90g butter, slightly softened
45g caster sugar

Method

Put the milk and yeast into a bowl and stir to dissolve the yeast. Put the flour, salt, and eggs in an elective mixer fitted with a dough hook and pour in the milk and yeast mixture. Mix on low speed to combine and knead the dough for 5 minutes.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then knead at medium speed for about 10 minutes. By this stage, the dough should be smooth, elastic, and well amalgamated.

Meanwhile, in another bowl, mix the butter and sugar together well. Add a few small pieces to the dough, then with the mixer running at a law speed, add the rest, a piece at a time. When the butter mixture is all incorporated, increase the speed and work for 6-10 minutes until the dough is very smooth and shiny, and comes away from the bowl with perfect elasticity.

Of course, if you're feeling particularly vigorous, you can always forgo the electric mixer and do the whole thing by hand. It will take a bit more time, but will yield the same result (and tone your arm muscles quite nicely).

Remove the dough hook, leaving the dough in the bowl. Cover with a tea towel or cling film and leave to rise at approximately 24 degrees C or 75 degrees F for about 2 hours until the dough has doubled in volume.

Knock the dough back by flipping it over 2 or 3 times with your hand. Cover the bowl again and refrigerate for several hours (but not more than 24 hours). The dough is then ready to use and mould.

Herb Crepes (to serve as a buffer between the main pastry and the beef)

Ingredients 
60g plain flour
150ml milk
2 eggs
salt and freshly ground pepper
15g chopped or snipped fresh herbs (parsley, chervil, chives, etc.)
30g clarified butter (I explain below)

Method

In order to make the clarified butter: melt the butter very slowly/gently in a saucepan and then bring it to the boil. Ladle the clear butter through a muslin-lined sieve, leaving the milky deposit in the bottom of the pan.

Put the flour into a bowl and make a well. Add 1/3 of the milk (50ml), the eggs, a pinch of salt and a grinding of pepper. Mix lightly with a whisk to make a smooth batter, then pout in the rest of the milk and mix thoroughly. Pass the batter through a chinois (a fine mesh sieve). Cover with cling film and leave to rest for about 30 minutes. Stir the herbs into the batter just before cooking the crepes.

Lightly grease a large frying pan with a touch of clarified butter. Give the batter a stir, then ladle in just enough to cover the bast of the pan. Cook quickly for about 1 minutes, then turn the crepe over with a palette knife (or spatula) and cook for barely a minute. Repeat until you have used all the batter.

Stack the cooked crepes on a plate, layering a piece of greaseproof paper between each one to prevent them sticking together.

Wellington Filling and Main Recipe

Ingredients
1 fillet of beef (about 800g- 1kg)
salt and freshly ground pepper
80g clarified butter (see recipe for crepes on how to make clarified butter)
60g butter
500g button mushrooms, finely chopped
juice of 1 lemon
60g shallots, finely chopped
100ml, double cream
12 large spinach leaves
4 herb crepes (see recipe above)
eggwash (1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tbsp milk)

Method

For the beef filled, preheat the oven 200 degrees C or 400 degrees F. Trim the fillet of any membrane, then season all over with salt and pepper. Heat the clarified butter in a roasting pan over a medium  high heat and sear the beef for 3-4 minutes until golden, turning to color evenly. Transfer to the oven and roast for 6 minutes, turning the meat over after 3 minutes. Lift the beef onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely. At this stage, it will be very rare.

For the mushroom duxelles, heat the 60g butter in a pan over a medium heat. Add the mushrooms and lemon juice and cook, stirring from time to time, until all the moisture has evaporated. Add the shallot and cook for another 2 minutes, then pour in the cream and cook, stirring until it is all absorbed. Season to taste and set aside to cool, then chill.

Blanch the spinach leaves in boiling salted water for 30 seconds, then drain and refresh in cold water. Drain well, separate the leaves and pat each one dry with kitchen paper.

To assemble, roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to a 40 x 25 cm rectangle, 3-4mm think. Trim the sides to neaten. Place 2 crepes along the middle of the rectangle and cover them with 8 spinach leaves. Spoon and spread a 1 cm thick band of mushroom duxelles along the middle of the spinach and crepes. Put the cold beef fillet on top and thickly cover the whole surface, including the ends, with the remaining duxelles.

Cover the mushroom duxelles with the remaining spinach and crepes. Fold the crepes over the beef and if necessary cut off any remaining parts with scissors. Lightly brush the 2 ends of the pastry rectangle with eggwash. Fold one side over the beef, brush it and the ends with eggwash, then fold the other side over the beef.

Roll out the 2 ends of the pastry to a 5-6 mm thickness, and trim to an 8cm length. Brush these with eggwash and fold them over the beef. Turn the pastry-wrapped beef over onto a baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 200 degrees C/400 degrees F.

Brush the entire surface of the pastry with eggwash and score it with leaf patterns using a knife tip. Cut a small aperture in the middle of the pastry to allow the steam to escape during cooking. Bake for 25 minutes if you like your beef rare or 35 minutes for medium. If the pastry becomes too brown as it cooks, cover loosely with foil and lower the oven temperature slightly.

Use a palette knife to transfer the cooked beef to a wire rack and leave it to rest for 5 minutes. Carve the beef in its crust into thick slices and serve on warm plates, with a generous spoonful of bearnaise sauce and roast potatoes.

Heart-Stopping Cinnamon Rolls

And that's the picture of these babies without the frosting. I just couldn't bring myself to take a picture of the completed item. It hurt my arteries too much. I mean, look at the sugar on those rolls. Go ahead, look again. That's all sugar. Well, that and a little cinnamon. Imagine what these things will do to you with frosting.
Which is to say that they'll be the most delicious things you've had in your life. You won't be able to eat more than one. Your body won't let you. There's a point at which your body can't handle any more sugar. You hit that point when you eat half of one of these. And then you keep going. Why? Because they're wonderful. Because they're tasty. Because they're everything that's good and right about waking up too early in the morning to make fresh cinnamon rolls.
Not that I did that. No way. These cinnamon rolls were a late evening snack. Being a yeast product, they require at least 3 hours of rising. Now, whoever wants to get up early enough to enjoy these things right out of the oven as a breakfast item is welcome to it. I, however, will be sleeping late and enjoying my cinnamon roll in the more sensible hours of the afternoon.
Paula Dean, in her infinite wisdom, provides this recipe. And it shows. There are about 2 1/2 sticks of butter in this recipe. At least. Thank you southern comfort.

Ingredients

Dough:
1/4-ounce package yeast (or 7 grams)
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:
1/2 cup melted butter, plus more for pan
3/4 cup sugar, plus more for pan
4 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup raisins, walnuts, or pecans, optional

Glaze:
4 tablespoons butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 to 6 tablespoons hot water
Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside. In a large bowl mix milk, sugar, melted butter, salt and egg. Add 2 cups of flour and mix until smooth. Add yeast mixture. Mix in remaining flour until dough is easy to handle. Knead dough on lightly floured surface for 5 to 10 minutes. Place in well-greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in size, usually 1 to 1 1/2 hours (mine took about 2).

When doubled in size, punch down dough. Roll out on a floured surface into a 15 by 9-inch rectangle. Spread melted butter all over dough. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over buttered dough. Sprinkle with walnuts, pecans, or raisins if desired. Beginning at the 15-inch side, role up dough and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into 12 to 15 slices.

Coat the bottom of baking pan with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in the pan and let rise until dough is doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake for about 30 minutes or until nicely browned.

Meanwhile, mix butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Add hot water 1 tablespoon at a time until the glaze reaches desired consistency. Spread over slightly cooled rolls.

Mushroom and Shallot Quiche

Right, another quiche recipe. Hey, I was on a pastry roll if you know what I mean (no pun intended). Anyway, this presented a nice change for the cheesey gorgonzola quiche. A little more savory and earthy, but just as delicious. I recommend using as many kinds of mushrooms as you can find (or want) for this one. I used a combination of white and shitake mushrooms, but I think you'll get even more flavor out of this deceptively simple dish.

Ingredients
1 1/2 tbsp. unsalted butter
3 shallots, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 lb mushrooms (at least), trimmed, wiped clean, and cut into 1/4 inch slipes
2 tbsp. minced thyme (fresh or dry)
1 9- 9 1/2 inch tart shell made from Tart Dough, partially baked and cooled
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 large eggs
2 scallions, white and pale green parts only, thinly sliced
2 tbsp. finely grated Gruyere cheese

Method
(Tart Dough should already be made and partially baked)
Melt the butter in a large skilled, preferably one that's nonstick. Toss in the shallots, season with salt and pepper and cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, season again with salt and pepper, turn the heat up to high, and cook, stirring, until they are softened and browned, 5 to 8 minutes. The mushrooms will first sop up all the liquid in the pan, then they'll exude it, then it will disappear. Sprinkle the mushrooms with 1 tbsp of thyme and cook for 30 seconds more, then turn the mushrooms into a bowl to cool for at least 15 minutes.

Center a rack in the over and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Put the crust on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper.

Sprinkle the remaining tablespoon of thyme over the bottom of the crust. Spoon over the mushrooms, avoiding any liquid that has accumulated in the bowl. Lightly beat the cream and eggs just until well blended, season with salt and pepper, and pour over the mushrooms. Top the custard evenly with the sliced scallions and grated cheese.

Carefully slide the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the custard is uniformly puffed (wait for center to puff), lightly golden, and set (mine took over 40 minutes). Transfer the quiche to a rack, remove the sides of the pan, and cool the quiche until it's only just warm or until it reaches room temperature before serving.

Gorgonzola Apple Quiche + Tart Dough

Quiche. Strikingy elegant (nothing says class like pastry dough) and yet amazingly humble. Quiches are ubiquitous now on lunch menus both in the States and in England. They can be served warm or cold, alone or with a salad, and, really, (in my opinion) are appropriate at any part of the day. Tea time? Quiche! Breakfast? Quiche!

Anyway, so you now understand my abiding love of this French dish, but it was only recently that I tried making one (or rather two) for myself. Despite my ongoing love of French pastry, I have a healthy ongoing fear of it. It seems so delicate. Any one of a thousand things can go wrong with it. It also takes patience. Almost every pastry dough will require at least a few hours of fridge time. And, honestly, most of the time, I don't have the patience for it. Not when there's quiche on every corner now.

But, on a whim, and thanks to the Around My French Table cookbook, I decided it was time to try my hand at it. The quiche dough was, as predicted, tricky to figure out. I made two batches. The first came out beautifully. The second was a crumby mess. Even after some time in the fridge, it didn't resemble the moist yet delicate dough that I was hoping for. In a moment of panic, I decided to use cold tap water to get the crust to hold together. This was sacrilege, I know. But, to be fair, after I baked it, you couldn't tell the difference. And, to me, that's all that matters.

Getting off the subject of dough, I will also say that, while this recipe is delicious, go crazy with the blue cheese/gorgonzola. Greenspan calls for 2 ounces of the stuff. Bah! That's barely a hint of the stuff. I put in twice the amount and still thought it needed more blue cheese flavor. But, of course, use your own judgment on this one. 

Note: I've included the basic "Tart Dough" that Greenspan uses for her quiches below. It should work on most savory pastry dishes and the recipe makes enough dough for 1 9 - 9 1/2 inch tart shell. 

Gorgonzola-Apple Quiche

Ingredients
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
1 9 - 9 1/2 inch tart shell made from Tart Dough recipe (see below), partially baked and cooled
1 apple (tart-sweet works best, such as Empire or Gala), peeled, cored, and cut into small dice
2 ounces Gorgonzola dolce (I used 4 ounces or more. Go crazy with the cheese!)
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 large eggs

Method
Center a rach in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.

Melt the butter in a small skillet over low heat and toss in with the onion. Season the onion lightly with salt and white pepper and cook until it is very soft but not at all colored, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Put the tart shell on the lined baking sheet. Spread the onion, wiht whatever buttern remains in the pan, evenly over the bottom of the crust. Scatter the apple over the onion. Cut the Gorgonzola into small cubes and scatter it over the onion and apple. Beat the cream and eggs together until well blended, season with salt and white pepper, and pour into the tart shell.

Gently slide the baking sheet into the over and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the filling is uniformly puffed (wait for the center to puff), browned, and set (mine took at least 45 minutes). Transfer the quiche to a cooling crack and allow it to cool and gather itself for 5 minutes or so.

Carefully remove the sides of the pan and slide the quiche onto a platter if you want to serve it hot, or onto a rack if you want to cool it. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

Serving: You can keep the quiche lightly covered on the counter for a few hours if you're going to serve it at room temperature. If you want to keep it overnight, wrap it well and store it in the refrigerator. It's best to bring it to room temperature or t warm it briefly in a moderate oven before serving.

Tart Dough
Makes 1 9- 9 1/2-inch tart shell

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
6 tbsp. (3/4 US stick) very cold (or frozen, see note) unsalted butter, cut into bits
1  large egg
1 tsp. ice water

Note on butter: A friend of mine gave me great advice when it comes to incorporating butter into dough. Instead of spending time cutting it into bits, put the butter in the freezer for a few hours and then use the grater on it. The butter will shave into nice small, manageable pieces that serve the exact same purpose as cutting it up by hand.

Method
To make the dough in a food processor: Put the flour, sugar, and salt in the processor and whir a few times to blend. Scatter the bits of butter over the flour and pulse several times, until the butter is coarsely mixed into the flour. Beat the egg with ice water and pout it into the bowl in 3 additions, whirring after each one (Don't overdo it- the dough shouldn't form a ball or ride on the blade). You'll have a moist malleable dough that will hold together when pinched. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, father it into a ball and flatten it into a disk.

To make the dough by hand: Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Drop in the bits of butter and, using your hands or a pastry blender, work the butter into the flour until it's evenly distributed. You'll have large and small butter bits, and that's fine; uniformity isn't a virtue here. Beat the egg and water together, drizzle over the dough and, using a fork, toss the dough until it is evenly moistened. Reach into the bowl and, using your fingertips, mix and knead the dough until it comes together. Turn it out onto a work surface, gather it into a ball and flatten into a disk.

Chill the dough for at least 3 hours (but it can be refrigerated up to 5 days).
When you're ready to make the tart shell, butter a 9 - 9 1/2 inch tart pan with a removeable bottom (butter it even if it is nonstick).

To roll out the dough:
Either between two sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap, or on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 12 inches in diameter and about 1/4 inches thick.

Transfer dough to tart pan, easing it into the pan without stretching it. Press the dough against the bottom and up the sides of the pan. If you'd like to reinforce the sies of the crust, you can fold some of the excess dough over, so that you have a doubl thickness around the sides. Using the back of a table knife, trim the dough even with the top of the pan. Prick the base of the crust in several places with a fork.

Chill, or freeze, the dough for at least 1 hour before baking.

To partially bake the crust: Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F. Press a piece of buttered foil (or use nonstick foil) against the crust's surface. If you'd like, you can fill the covered crust with rice or dried beans (or special baking beads if you have them) to keep the dough flat, but this isn't really necessary if the crust is well chilled. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper and put the tart pan on the sheet.

Bake the crust for 20 minutes in the center of the oven, then carefully remove the foil (with rice or beans). Return the crust to the oven and bake for another 3-5 minutes, or until it is lightly golden. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and allow the crust to cool before you fill it.