Tastes of the Season

September 28, 2017 The Classic Catering People

Apple Kuchen with Hot Cream Sauce, by Chef Cathy Ferguson (Photo courtesy the Classic Catering People)

The onset of autumn brings cooler temps, fall foliage, football games and an appetite for heartier foods. Satisfy your cravings with meals that make the most of the season’s fresh vegetables, flavorful meats and apple- and pumpkin-filled everything. These recipes from The Classic Catering People are guaranteed to please your taste-buds and your tummy!

Wild Mushroom and Sweet Potato Arancini by Chef Bryan Davis

Ingredients:

2 cups assorted wild mushrooms

3 cups vegetable stock

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion (diced)

2 garlic cloves (minced)

1 cup Arborio rice

½ cup Parmesan cheese

1 cup Manchego cheese

¼ cup fresh sage

1 sweet potato (bake 350 degrees)

1 cup flour (seasoned)

3 eggs (whisked)

4 cups Panko bread crumbs

Instructions

Chop mushrooms by hand until finely diced.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil and sauté mushrooms until all liquid dissolves
Bring stock to boil.
In another pan, sauté onions and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes until soft, stir in rice and add stock. Reduce heat to low and stir every 5 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir in mushrooms. Let cool on sheet pan.
Remove sweet potato from skin and mash with a fork and ½ of the Parmesan cheese
Add remaining cheese to cold risotto, mix together, add salt and pepper to taste.
Create ping pong-sized balls by using ¼ cup of rice mixture and a small amount of the sweet potato mixture.
Place risotto balls in flour covering completely. Then dip them into the egg mixture and then into the Panko crumbs.
Heat oil to 350 degrees. Drop risotto balls in frying oil until golden brown.

Note: After frying you can cool for 5 minutes in 350 degree oven to assure the center to get cooked.

Apple Kuchen with Hot Cream Sauce by Chef Cathy Ferguson
(top photo)

Ingredients:

Apple Cake

6 tablespoons unsalted butter (room temperature) plus a little extra butter for greasing pan

¾ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

½ cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (or ground nutmeg)

½ cup milk or light cream

Gravenstein or Golden Delicious apples

Cinnamon sugar (optional)

Icing sugar for sprinkling (optional)

Hot Cream Sauce

3 cups heavy cream

½ cup granulated sugar

8 tablespoons unsalted butter

Instructions:

To make the cake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch round spring form pan.
In a mixing bowl with a paddle attachment or by hand in a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, and egg until mixture is fluffy and lightened in texture, about 2 to 4 minutes.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Add dry ingredients and milk alternately to the creamed butter mixture. Do not over-beat. Mix only until ingredients are combined.
Peel and core apples. Slice them into ¼- inch wedges
Spoon batter into the pan and level with an offset spatula
Press apple slices, core side down into the batter, about ¼-inch apart. Work the apple slices in a circular pattern like the spokes of a wheel.
Sprinkle cake with cinnamon sugar, if desired.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
Set on rack to cool.

To make the hot cream sauce, combine cream, sugar, and butter in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Then, immediately reduce heat (to prevent scorching) and let simmer for 5 to 8 minutes until slightly thickened.

Sprinkle with icing sugar (if desired). Pour hot cream sauce over warm apple kuchen.

Note: To make cinnamon sugar, mix 1 tablespoon sugar with ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon.

Pistachio Pesto Roasted Carrots by Chef Jason Moffitt

Ingredients:

1 cup pistachios

1/4 cup olive oil

Zest from one lemon

Juice from one lemon

Salt and pepper to Taste

Instructions:

Add all ingredients to blender. Mix until paste-like. Toss with baby or large diced carrots. Place on cooking sheet and roast at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until tender

Hasselback Potatoes by Chef Jason Moffitt

Ingredients:

1 large Yukon Gold potato

1/2 stick melted butter

Salt and pepper

Instructions:

Slice potato carefully, but not the whole way through, the size of knife blade from one end to other. Brush with melted butter and season with salt and pepper. Roast in oven at 300 degrees for 35 minutes. Take out and brush with butter again. Finish roasting at 350 degrees for an additional 25-30 minutes.

Stuffed Lamb Loin by Chef Jason Moffitt

Ingredients:

1 lamb loin

1/4 cup dried dates

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup dried apricots

1/2 cup chopped shallots

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

Salt and pepper

Oil

Instructions:

Dice the dried fruit and add to mixing bowl. Sauté onions and garlic in the oil for 3-4 minutes. Add to bowl. Toss ingredients and sit aside. On a cutting board. slice the lamb loin length-wise in one direction and then back the other. Pound out with mallet until thin. Spread out the filling and roll from one end to the other. Season with salt and pepper. Pan sear in oil on each side and finish in oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Let sit and slice to serve.

Beet Nage by Chef Joseph Burton

Ingredients:

1 large red beet

1 shallot

1 tea ginger

1 cup pineapple juice

1 cup orange juice

Instructions:

Sauté all ingredients together except the two juices. Once slightly caramelized, deglaze with both juices and reduce heat to a low simmer and cook until beets are tender. When beets are tender, strain off liquid and blend beet mixture while gradually adding the liquid. When you have reached desired consistency, chill and serve cold or serve it hot. The consistency should be slightly loose but not so loose that it runs on the plate.

Seared Ahi Tuna by Chef Joseph Burton

Ingredients:

4 ounces Ahi tuna

Salt and pepper

Instructions:

Generously season tuna steak with salt and pepper to create a slight crust for searing. Take about a tablespoon of canola oil and heat it in a pan until it begins to lightly smoke sear all four sides of the tuna, about 30 seconds a side. D rain on a paper towel. When you ready to serve, slice to your desired thickness.

Vegetable sauté by Chef Joseph Burton

Ingredients:

1/2 head of Napa cabbage

4 Shiitake mushrooms

1/2 Red Delicious apple

1/4 cup edamame

Salt and pepper as needed

Instructions:

Heat a sauté pan with 1 tablespoon of oil. When oil is slightly smoking, toss in mushrooms and sauté until crispy. Then add edamame and sauté for 1 minute. Add cabbage and apples until lightly wilted. Add salt and pepper to taste.