Volume 9, Issue 70 - October 7, 2005

Hello Recipe Club,

I would like to thank the fine people at The Culinary Institute of America for sharing their wonderful Breakfast and Brunch recipes with us this week. If you like biscuits and gravy, save the recipe below because it is a good one. If you want to purchase a copy of the book, simply click on the book cover to the right and get your online today.

Next week we have the honor of welcoming our guest host, Paula Wolfert. She is just releasing a revised edition of her classic cookbook, The Cooking of Southwest France and we will have the opportunity to sample some of those recipes and others from her many books. It will be a week of recipes to put in your "Keeper" folder!

Have a great weekend, you deserve it!

www.ciachef.edu The Culinary Institute of America, the world's premier culinary college, offers degree programs in culinary or baking and pastry arts.

Buttermilk Biscuits

Makes 12 biscuits

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 large egg
2 cups bread flour
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup cold butter, diced
egg wash of 1 egg yolk whisked with 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Sausage Gravy (recipe follows), optional

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Prepare a baking sheet by spraying it lightly with cooking spray or lining with parchment paper.

Combine the buttermilk and egg in a small bowl and blend until evenly mixed. Set aside.

Sift the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Add the butter and cut it into the dough until it looks like a coarse meal. You should still be able to see small pieces of butter.

Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture, stirring until barely combined. The dough will look coarse and shaggy at this point.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and press into a ball and knead once or twice. Press or roll out to a thickness of 1/2-inch. Cut out the biscuits using a 2 1/2-inch cutter. Gather scraps together, re-roll and cut additional biscuits. Place the biscuits on the prepared pan about 1 inch apart and lightly brush the tops with egg wash. Refrigerate uncovered for 15 minutes.

Bake the biscuits until they have risen and the tops are golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Serve very hot, directly from the oven.

Sausage Gravy

Makes 2 cups

Ingredients:

8 ounces Breakfast Sausage (recipe follows)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk, plus as needed
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preparation:

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Crumble the sausage into the pan and sauté, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon and breaking up the sausage as it cooks golden brown and thoroughly cooked, about 5 minutes. Transfer the sausage from the pan to a colander set in a bowl and let it drain.

Add the vegetable oil and the flour to the same pan used to cook the sausage. Stir to blend and cook over medium heat, stirring well to scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is a pale golden brown, about 3 minutes.

Add the milk, whisking constantly to remove any lumps. Simmer over low heat, stirring frequently, until the gravy is thickened, about 20 minutes. Taste the gravy and add salt and pepper to taste. If the gravy is too thick, thin it a little additional milk, use only enough to get a pourable consistency.

Return the cooked sausage to the gravy. Adjust the seasoning with additional salt and pepper, if necessary.

Breakfast Sausage

Makes 2 pounds

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground pork, chilled
1 tablespoon salt
1 3/4 teaspoons ground white pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1/3 cup ice-cold water

Preparation:

Mix the ground pork, salt, pepper and poultry seasoning by hand with a wooden spoon, or on low speed with the paddle attachment until evenly blended, about 1 minute.

Mix for an additional minute, gradually adding the cold water.

Mix on medium speed for 15 to 20 seconds, or until the sausage mixture is sticky to the touch.

Make a patty with about 2 tablespoons of the mixture and sauté in a small skillet over low to medium heat until cooked through and browned. Taste and then adjust seasoning and consistency before shaping into patties.

The sausage is ready to prepare now or transfer it to storage containers, cover tightly and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 months.

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Cheese Blintzes with Blueberry Coulis

Makes 12 crepes or 6 servings

Ingredients:

Crêpe Batter:

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 cup whole or low-fat milk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
melted unsalted butter for greasing and drizzling

Cheese Filling:

2 cups cottage cheese
1 three-ounce package of cream cheese
2 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation:

Crêpe Batter:

Sift the flour, sugar and salt into a bowl and set aside. Combine the egg, milk, butter and vanilla extract in another bowl and stir until smooth. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until blended into a relatively smooth batter. Let the batter rest for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. (The batter may be prepared to this point and stored in the refrigerator for up to 12 hours.)

Heat a crêpe pan or small skillet over medium heat. Brush the pan with melted butter. Pour a scant 1/4 cup batter into the crêpe pan, swirling and tilting the pan to coat the bottom. Cook (reducing the heat if necessary) until the first side is set and has a little color, about 2 minutes. Use a thin metal or heatproof rubber spatula to loosen the crêpe and turn it over. Cook on the other side until set and very lightly colored (the crêpe will not be as dark on the second side as on the first), 1 minute more. Stack the crêpes between layers of parchment or waxed paper as you cook.

Cheese Filling:

Purée the cottage cheese and cream cheese in a blender until very smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the sugar, egg and vanilla extract by hand. Keep refrigerated until you are ready to finish the crêpes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly brush a medium baking dish with melted butter.

Spoon or pipe about 2 tablespoons of the cheese filling onto each crêpe. Fold each crêpe into quarters, or fold the sides in to the center, then roll each crêpe up. Place the crêpes seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Drizzle with melted butter and bake until very hot, 8 to 10 minutes.

Serve immediately, 2 crêpes per serving, with warm blueberry coulis.

Blueberry Coulis

Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh or frozen blueberries (3 1/2 cups)
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preparation:

Combine the blueberries, 3/4 cup of the sugar and one tablespoon of the lemon juice in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until the sugar has dissolved, about 10 minutes. Taste the mixture and, if necessary, add more sugar. Continue to heat until any additional sugar is dissolved.

Strain the coulis through a fine-mesh sieve.

After straining, place the coulis in a clean saucepan and bring to a simmer. Make a slurry by blending 2 teaspoons cornstarch with 2 teaspoons cold water. Drizzle the slurry into the simmering coulis gradually, adding just enough to lightly thicken the sauce.

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Horseradish-Marinated Chicken Wrap with Creamy Black Peppercorn Dressing

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

8 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup prepared horseradish
1/4 cup grated Vidalia onion
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon juniper berries, crushed
1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
1/4 cup olive oil, divided use
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
eight 10-inch flour tortillas
4 cups mixed greens, rinsed and dried
1 cup Creamy Black Peppercorn Dressing (recipe follows)

Preparation:

Trim any visible fat from the chicken breasts, cut each breast in half lengthwise and place in a shallow dish.

Purée the horseradish, onion, balsamic vinegar, garlic, juniper berries and rosemary together with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a food processor. Pour the mixture over the chicken and turn each piece to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 and up to 12 hours, turning occasionally to keep the chicken evenly coated.

Preheat the grill to high. Remove the breasts from the marinade, shaking off any excess. Blot the chicken dry with absorbent paper toweling. Brush the chicken with some of the remaining oil and season with salt and pepper.

Grill the chicken on the first side until it is golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the chicken and continue grilling until it is cooked through and firm to the touch, another 3 to 4 minutes. Cut the chicken breasts on the bias into thin slices; reserve.

Warm the tortillas on the hot grill until they are flexible, about 15 seconds on each side.

Toss the greens with the dressing. For each tortilla wrap, place 1/2 cup of salad and a sliced chicken breast on the warmed tortilla. Wrap tightly and secure with a toothpick. Cut the wraps in half on the bias and serve at once.

Creamy Black Peppercorn Dressing

Makes 1 cup

Ingredients:

3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons anchovy paste
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

Preparation:

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and whisk together until thoroughly blended. The dressing is ready to use now, or you can store it under refrigeration for up to 1 week.