This year’s Mother’s day dinner was a lot of fun. I did 11 courses this year. I focused a lot more on ingredients and less on plating and extravagance. You’ll probably notice that if you compare this year’s photos with last year’s, but we had a ton of fun and ate some great food.

Trio of Profiteroles

Smoked salmon mousse, locally grown oyster and egg, and a bocarones tapenade

This was probably the weakest course of the night. The salmon mousse ended up a little runny but was the best tasting of the three. The eggs were fresh from my chickens and the oysters were from Penn cove, a local oyster farm. The bocarones (Spanish oil packed anchovies) with a medley of Spanish olives were also nice and briny. Several of the courses for this dinner had a briny profile which was fun and interesting. A big thanks goes out to all who helped with this night!

Torchon au Foie Gras

Foie gras with macerated persimmons and papaya, yerba gelee, and brioche

The foie gras in this course was executed very well but the kitchen was a bit too hot and so the plating was a little soft. Also, when I noticed that the liver was getting too warm, I had already plated it so I had to rush the rest of the items on the plate. Go here for a better example of how to plate this dish.

Duck Prosciutto

Home cured mallard duck breast with farmhouse cheddar and an apricot chutney

This was one of my favorite courses. I cured the duck breasts for 1 month. It came out sweet, salty, and a hint smoky. The cheddar was also homemade. I used raw jersey milk from Dungeness Farm. I actually used the natural microbes in the milk as the source culture. The apricot chutney balanced well with the sweet creamy tanginess of the cheese and the earthiness of the duck. This is also when I brought out the tray of freshly baked breads.

Lobster Bisque

 Lobster bisque with nettle and maitake mushrooms

This was a favorite of many of my guests. The bisque (tomato based, not cream) started as a 5 gallon stock pot of roasted crab and lobster shells and ended up as about 4 cups worth. It was rich, briny, but not overpowering (in my opinion). I then poached the lobster and maitake mushrooms in butter and served the bisque with a small dollop of nettle paste and some lobster brine foam. It was the taste of the sea.

Bovre Salad

Whipped bovre cheese with pickled fava beans

This course also offered another homemade cheese, along with some fresh pickled fava beans (I can’t believe I found some!) and mesclun from my garden. It was a light, tangy salad that reflected spring.

Striped Sea Bass

Striped sea bass with fingerling potatoes, Guanciale, and greens

The bass was sautéed so that the skin was crispy like a cracker, the fish light and buttery. The potatoes were smoked then roasted with Guanciale. It was served with a light lemon caper sauce and greens from the garden.

Smoked Saddle of Squab

Young squab with pickled beats and turnip puree

Young saddle of squab, smoked, poached, then seared. Served with packed leg meat, pickled red and gold beats, a turnip puree, and fresh picked beet micro greens. Served table side with a squab stock and chardonnay reduction. 

Palate Cleanser

Watermelon popsicles with mint and balsamic vinegar

Lamb

Braised lamb and fennel with polenta

One of the easiest dishes to prepare, and a bit of a departure (being Italian rather than French styled) from the other dishes, but also rich, rustic, and earthy. Served with fried polenta and Pecorino cheese.

Dessert

Sponge cake with aerated chocolate, aerated candy, coconut sorbet, and mango curd

This course was playful, fun, and right out of the El Bulli playbook. The sponge cake was done using the microwave technique, the aerated chocolate done using nitrix oxide and a vacuum chamber, the aerated candy using vinegar and baking soda. Served with a coconut cookie crumb, mango curd, and coconut sorbet.

Petite Fours

Caneles, macarons, madeleines, and blood orange marshmallows

The caneles made a second appearance this year, along with lemon macarons, blood orange marshmallows, and warm madeleines. Served with a pero ‘latte’.

 

Canelés are an amazing French pastry. I’ve been obsessed with learning to make them perfectly for over a year now. You can see an example from last May in the final course of my Mother’s day dinner. Allegedly, they were originally created by the nuns of the convent of Annonciades, in Bordeaux, France. The recipe was held in secret for ages. Today they are becoming more common. Personally, I think that these are the next chic French pastry on the culinary horizon. Just as French macarons have taken the foodie world by storm in the past few years, I think that canelés will soon be just as popular. The wonderful thing about canelés is the varying flavors and textures. The outside of a canelé is dark, smokey, caramelized, and crunchy. It is almost burnt on the outside (in a good way). It adds depth and complexity. The inside is soft and custardy. It’s everything that a cruller is, but better and more. Can you tell that I like them?

They are traditionally baked in copper molds which are very expensive! This link points to the best price that I can find on a real copper canelé mold (on amazon) but the molds still cost $22 a piece! Another alternative that has recently become available is to buy a silicone mold. I bought two different silicone canelé molds over time and found that this mold was the best.

Ingredients (originally from here)

2 cups – Whole milk

2 Tbsp. – Salted butter

1 pod – Vanilla, split (optionally, 1 tsp. vanilla)

3/4 cup – All-purpose flour

1 tsp. – Kosher salt

1 cup minus 2 Tbsp. – Granulated sugar

3 – Large eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup – Dark rum

 

Add the milk, butter, and vanilla in a medium sauce pan. Heat on medium heat until it reaches a simmer. Combine the flour, salt, and sugar in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Break the eggs in a separate bowl and beat lightly. The goal is to avoid all air in the batter so in each step, beat very lightly and gently. Once the milk and butter mixture simmers, remove it from the heat and find the vanilla pod. Using a paring knife, scrape every bit of the insides of the pod into the milk mixture and stir to incorporate. The remaining pod can be rinsed, and dried, then added to a bowl of sugar to make vanilla sugar (for other uses). Add the eggs and milk mixture (at the same time) to the flour mixture and gently combine until it is well combined (but don’t over stir!). The flour mixture tends to want to settle and clump so gently work the batter smooth.

Once the batter is well incorporated, pass it through a fine sieve to remove any lasting lumps and bits of unincorporated egg white. Place the batter in a small, airtight container, stir in the rum, then refrigerate for 2 to 3 days.

After 2-3 days, preheat oven to 480 degrees Fahrenheit. While the oven is preheating, place the mold on a baking sheet (if you have copper molds, rub with butter or wax-butter). Place in the oven and preheat for at least 20 minutes or until very hot.

Remove the batter from the refrigerator and while still very cold, add to the hot molds. Fill to the top of the mold and instantly place in the oven.

Bake for 20 minutes at 480 degrees, then, without opening the door (never open the door on this recipe!), drop the oven temp to 400 degrees for another 35-40 minutes (each oven is different). The canelés should be very dark on the bottom but not burnt.

Unmold onto a cooling rack and cool for 10-15 minutes. Serve warm. They can be eaten for up to 4 hours after baking. If eaten after that, return to a 500 degree oven for 5-10 minutes to re-crisp. I don’t drink coffee (I do love me some Pero though!), but if I did, this would be the ultimate companion.