Chestnut Soup With Armagnac Prunes And Cappuccino Foam Recipes

Steps:

• Trim the top off the leek, slice it lengthwise and chop it roughly. Soak the leek briefly in water to remove sand and grit, then drain. Heat a heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat, and butter and sweat celery and leeks in the butter until very soft DO NOT BROWN. Add the roasted chestnuts and chicken stock and bring to a simmer. If you are using frozen chestnuts, simmer for approximately 20 minutes, or until the starch begins to develop and the soup begins to thicken. If fresh chestnuts are used, simmer for approximately 30 minutes or until the starch begins to develop and you can easily crush the nuts against the side of the pot with a spoon. Turn off heat and allow the soup to cool slightly, otherwise the stream from the hot soup may cause the blender to malfunction. Pour the soup into a blender (or use an immersion blender right in the pot) blend until there are no longer any large pieces of chestnut, celery and leeks and the soup is somewhat smooth. Very small pieces of chestnut should remain. Return soup to pot and bring to a simmer again, add the cream and the port. Reduce until slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If the soup becomes too thick, adjust the consistency by adding a bit of water. The soup should be stirred well before serving, if it is in a thermos, shake it very well before pouring into bowls.

Steps:

• To make the Armagnac prunes, start early in the day or the night before. In a saucepan, mix 1/2 cup of water and the 1/2 cup of Armagnac or Cognac. Add prunes, and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, cover and let steep 6 hours or overnight. Prunes can be kept in an airtight jar at room temperature until ready for use.
• To make the mushroom juice, wash the mushrooms, put them in a saucepan, cover with water and simmer for one hour. Strain, and then discard mushrooms. There should be a cup or more of mushroom juice. Refrigerate if not using immediately.
• To make the porcini powder, place dried mushrooms in a blender or coffee grinder, and pulverize. Store in an airtight container until ready for use.
• To make the soup, preheat oven to 375 degrees. With a sharp paring knife, score each chestnut by making an "X" on the round side. Place chestnuts in a single layer on a baking tray, and roast on middle level of the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until the shell skin curls. Remove from oven, and let rest until cool enough to handle. Peel off and discard the shells, and reserve the chestnuts.
• In a large, heavy saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add diced celery root, and cook gently for 5 minutes without browning. Add peeled chestnuts, seasoning with salt and pepper. Stir in the sugar, raise the heat and cook a few minutes, until mixture caramelizes. Add the 1/4 cup of Armagnac or Cognac, and cook a minute. Add the mushroom juice and the chicken stock, lower heat and cook slowly for 15 minutes. Add heavy cream, and cook 5 minutes longer.
• Remove mixture from the heat, and let cool about 5 minutes. Transfer to a food processor or blender, making sure the lid is on tightly. Working in two batches if necessary, puree the soup. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Strain through a fine sieve. (The soup can be made up to this point a day in advance. Cover, and refrigerate.)
• Return soup to a saucepan, and reheat. Put one drained prune in each of 8 soup bowls or cups. Put skim milk in a tall, slender container, and add 1/4 teaspoon of the porcini powder and the nutmeg. Using the nozzle on an espresso machine or a separate foaming device, foam the hot milk.
• Pour equal amounts of the soup into the soup bowls, top with a scoop of the milk foam, a shaving of optional black truffle, and a parsley leaf. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Place 3 cups of water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat, add the tea bags, and steep for 5 minutes. Discard the tea bags, add the prunes and honey, turn the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 3 minutes to plump the prunes.
• Pour the prunes and all the liquid into a medium bowl and stir in the Armagnac, vanilla, orange juice, vanilla bean, and cinnamon sticks. With a vegetable peeler, cut 4 large strips of zest from 1 lemon and add to the mixture. Cut the lemon in half, cut 4 (1/2-inch-thick) slices, and add to the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 6 to 12 hours. (If you're not serving the prunes that day, refrigerate them in their liquid.)
• To serve, place the prunes in shallow dessert bowls and serve cold, at room temperature, or slightly warmed, spooning the macerating liquid over them. Add a scoop of ice cream, a drizzle of Armagnac, a drizzle of honey, and a sprinkling of grated lemon zest. (You'll be surprised how much flavor this adds!) Serve immediately.

Steps:

• In a 2-quart saucepan, combine gelatin with the water. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir in granulated sugar. Place over medium heat,and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in confectioners' sugar, and beat with a whisk until foamy. Whisk in baking powder and vanilla. Transfer to the large bowl of an electric mixer, and beat at high speed until thick and cool, about 10 minutes. The frosting is bright white, but it can be tinted in small batches with food coloring.
• Use the icing as soon as it is made. For frosting cookies, spread with a metal spatula; for decorating, use in a pastry bag. Spread out the cookies in one layer to dry completely, about 40 minutes.

Steps:

• Put whole, unpitted cherries into a deep, wide, heavy pan. (No need to remove stems.) Add vanilla bean, candied orange, and wine or wine and water. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer 30 to 40 minutes, until thickened and reduced by half.
• Let cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a food processor in batches and pulse briefly, just until fruit is in very small pieces. Transfer fruit, pits, stems and liquid to a fine-meshed sieve placed over a large bowl. Press hard with a wooden spoon to extract all the liquid. Cover, and chill 4 hours or overnight.
• To serve, ladle into shallow bowls. Put a scoop of sorbet or ice cream or a spoonful of sliced fruit in the center. Garnish with candied orange peel or a biscotti, if desired.

Steps:

• Rinse the peas in a colander under cool running water. Put them in a large, nonreactive bowl and cover with water by 2 inches. Let soak uncovered in a cool place overnight.
• Put the peas and soaking water into a heavy 6-to-8-quart pot. Add water to cover again by 2 inches. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and let boil two minutes. Skim off and discard any foam and skins that rise to the top.
• Stir in the chopped onion. Cut the piece of bacon crosswise into two pieces, and add to the pot with 3 tablespoons fresh marjoram or thyme leaves, stripped of stems and chopped.
• Let the soup boil gently for 40 to 90 minutes until it becomes very thick and buttery yellow. Whole peas will take longer and will be soft but still whole when cooked. Split peas will take a shorter time to cook and will almost disintegrate. If the soup becomes too thick, add more water.
• Remove the pot from the heat. Remove the two pieces of bacon, and cut off and discard the rind. Cut the bacon crosswise into 1/2-inch slices. Reserve.
• Stir the soup well, and season with 2 to 4 tablespoons mustard. Add salt, if necessary, and black pepper. Add more fresh thyme or marjoram if desired.
• Serve with soup in shallow bowls with slices of bacon on the side. Pass additional mustard to stir into the soup. In Sweden, this soup, called artsoppa, is served with crisp rye bread covered with grated vasterbottem, a sharp, hard cheese. Aged cheddar and Parmigiano Reggiano are good substitutes.

Steps:

• Combine prunes, stock, 1 1/2 cups wine and 1 cup prune juice in heavy medium saucepan. Simmer 10 minutes. Remove mixture from heat. Transfer 12 prunes to small bowl, using slotted spoon.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Pat goose dry. Pull out fat from cavity. Rub inside and out with cut side of orange. Combine salt and pepper and rub inside and outside goose. Place orange, onion, bay leaves and 12 drained prunes in goose cavity. Tie legs together. Place goose on rack in roasting pan. Pierce all over with small metal skewer or toothpick.
• Roast goose 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F and roast 30 minutes longer. Remove fat from roasting pan. Combine remaining 1/4 cup wine and 1/4 cup prune juice and brush some over goose. Continue roasting goose until juices run clear when pierced in thickest part of thigh, basting goose with wine mixture and removing fat from pan occasionally, about 2 hours.
• Transfer goose to platter and tent with foil. Let stand 20 minutes.
• Strain prune poaching liquid, reserving prunes. Degrease roasting juices. Add 1/2 cup poaching liquid to roasting pan and bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Transfer to heavy medium saucepan. Add Armagnac, remaining poaching liquid and degreased roasting juices. Boil until flavors are intense, about 15 minutes. Knead butter and flour together. Whisk into sauce in small bits and simmer until thick, about 8 minutes. Add poached prunes and chestnuts and heat through. Sprinkle with parsley.
• Carve goose into thin slices. Spoon sauce, chestnuts and prunes over.