Elegant Cuisine

Welcome to the adjunct cooking page for

Elegant Survival: Stylish Living on a Shoestring.

Drinking Vessels by Claesz, National Gallery London

M-J de Mesterton’s Cornish Pasties

Cornish Pasty Made by M-J de Mesterton

I’ve been making Cornish pasties since the age of 20. My mother wrote a book about the pasty and its history which was published in 1990, but my method and ingredients differ from hers. The following is  my pasty (pronounced “pass-tee”) recipe: I will not formally transcribe my recipe and method for making pasties, because  I never use measurements. I can tell you, however, that they are made with a short crust containing both butter and lard, water, a teaspoon of malt vinegar, and unbleached, plain white flour. Since salted butter is used in the dough, add just a dash of salt to it.  I add sea-salt and hand-milled pepper to the filling, which consists of  four ingredients, diced very finely: tri-tip steak, which is always well-marbled and never tough; ordinary, high-starch brown-skinned potatoes, turnips, butter bits, and white or Spanish onions. The finely-diced beef and vegetables are tossed together in a mixing bowl with the salt and pepper before being laid upon the dough, dotted with butter and enclosed. The edges are crimped, either on top or on the side of the pasty, and a couple of well-placed slits are made in the top to allow steam to escape. The final product is brushed with a beaten egg mixed with a teaspoon of cream. The pasties are then baked in a very hot oven for close to one hour. Once the pasties have cooled for about twenty minutes, serve with an oil-and-vinegar-dressed lettuce salad. Offer Cornish cream, Spanish or Mexican Crema, or sour cream as an optional condiment. The pasties depicted here, which I made,  are the optimum size for a meal; the dough for them was shaped into a ball about half the size of a woman’s closed hand, then was rolled out and cut around a 7″ luncheon plate.  Making giant pasties just isn’t elegant, nor is it traditionally Cornish. I also make miniature pasties for parties, by using a tin can or the bottom, inner ridge of the same luncheon plate as a cutting guide. These mini-pasties are easily eaten by hand with a cocktail napkin to catch any pastry-flakes. For a basic short-crust guide, please see my Elegant Apple Pie recipe.~~Recipe and Pasty Photos Copyright M-J de Mesterton

Cornish Pasty Made by M-J de Mesterton, Copyright 2009

Autumn Harvest, by M-J

Autumn Harvest, by M-J de Mesterton 2009

M-J’s Golden Potatoes

High Praise for the Lowly Potato

Potatoes: the much-maligned tubers aren’t guilty of fattening us. The added fats in potato-preparation are the culprits. Spuds contain a “resistant starch” that aids in burning body-fat. This humble vegetable that grows low on the ground is high in nutrients.

A potato supplies more potassium per ounce than a banana. Potassium helps to regulate blood-pressure and blood-sugar. Potatoes also contain vitamin C, B-6 and about 60 anti-oxidants.

M-J’s Recipe for Golden Brown Potatoes

Peel and cut into quarters or eighths, as many potatoes as you think you need for dinner. The cut potatoes should resemble chunks or nuggets. One potato per person is a safe bet; the leftovers can be re-heated and eaten the next day.

Boil water in a pot, with salt or chicken bouillon to your taste. Add the potato chunks and boil them for twenty minutes. Drain potatoes and then sauté them in butter or the fat of your choice until brown. Alternatively, you may coat the potatoes in lemon, olive oil and salt, then bake them on a cookie sheet until brown. A good way to evenly distribute the coating is to put the potatoes, oil and seasoning in a Zip-Lock bag and shake gently, being careful not to break the potato chunks.
Baked or sautéed, these potatoes are soft on the inside, and crispy on the outside.
~~Copyright M-J de Mesterton, 2008

M-J’s Savoury Fougasse

M-J de Mesterton's Savoury Fougasse, Copyright 2009

Fougasse is similar to the Italian bread known as foccaccia. Here is my recipe for a savoury version of the Provençal bread, which was named for the wild gasses created by its yeast-starter. It is different from the sweet, anise-and-orange-flavoured fougasses which are popular at Christmastide.This fougasse serves as an accompaniment to dinner or cheese:

Ingredients for the Yeast-Starter, or “Sponge”

• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 cup warm water (105–115°F)
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast (from a 1/4-oz package)
• 1/2 cup of unbleached white flour

Ingredients for the Dough

• 1 more teaspoon of sugar, or a teaspoon of honey if available
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, your choice
• 1 tablespoon of dried herbes de Provence
• 2/3 cup of lukewarm water
• One teaspoon of lemon juice
• 1/3 cup of extra-virgin olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons for brushing your pans and loaves
• 3 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus another half-cup on-hand for the counter, and kneading
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of flaked (Fleur de Sel) sea salt, Himalayan salt crystals, or coarse sea salt

Preparation of Savoury Fougasse
Make the Yeast-Starter:
Stir together sugar and warm water in bowl of mixer. Sprinkle in the yeast, and let stand for about five minutes, until bubbly. Using a whisk, incorporate the half-cup of unbleached white flour into this mixture. Let the starter rise, loosely covered with plastic wrap, 30 minutes.

To Make the Fougasse Dough:
Add sugar, salt, herbes de Provence, water,  lemon juice, 1/3 cup of olive oil, and 11/4 cups flour to the prepared starter, and beat the mixture until smooth. Mix in the remaining 2 cups of white, unbleached flour, 1/2 cup at a time, to form a soft dough.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, regularly sprinkling the dough’s surface with flour, until smooth and elastic (dough should still be a bit sticky), for about 8 minutes. Form this into a ball and transfer to large bowl with enough olive oil in it to coat the fougasse dough. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise at warm room temperature until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Punch down the dough (do not knead), then, with a light hand, divide it into two sections. Flatten each one into an ovate leaf-shape (about 12 inches long and 1/4 inch thick), and then transfer them to baking sheets that have been brushed with olive oil.

With a very sharp knife, make 2-inch incisions at angles, alternating left-to-right, down the length of each oval “leaf,” cutting all the way through. Leave an inch at the outside edges as uncut area. Gently pull the incisions open with your fingers, so that they don’t close during baking. Let the dough rise for about 40 minutes.

Heat the oven to 375°F.
Brush the two fougasse loaves with olive oil, and sprinkle with your preferred salt. Bake until the fougasses are golden brown, and sound hollow when tapped—this should take approximately forty minutes. Remove fougasses from oven and place on a rack to cool. A French rule: never cut and eat bread until it has cooled to room-temperature.

My Savoury Fougasse Dough Is Ideal for an Artisanal Pizza (Photo Shows Dough In the Rising Process)

Photo and Recipe Copyright M-J de Mesterton 2009

M-J's Pizza Provençal, Made with Her Fougasse Dough Recipe

Potée Lorraine

Potée Lorraine
Preparation time: three hours;

Serves approximately six people:

One cup of dried white beans

1 pound of cooking sausage (Italian sausage is fine),
Two pounds of pork shoulder or pork filet, using the smoked variety if available.

Eight ounces of bacon, chopped
One ripe, green cabbage
Four carrots, diced
Two turnips or one rutabaga, diced
Two leeks, white and light green parts chopped

Ten small potatoes
Two cups of trimmed green string beans
Two onions, one of them chopped and one of them left whole, spiked with 3 cloves
Two garlic cloves, ends cut-off and then crushed
One bouquet garni

Directions:
Soak the white beans overnight.

In a large cast-iron or other heavy pot, sautée the chopped bacon. Add the onion, chopped leeks, finely diced carrots and turnips. Stir-in the crushed garlic, and drop-in the bouquet garni.
Cover the pot and allow the vegetables to sweat for 15 min. Then add the pork shoulder and cover with water. Add salt, pepper, and the spiked onion.
Simmer for 1 hour.
Cut the cabbage into quarters, add it to the pot, discarding its core. Add some water or stock and leave to simmer for another hour and a half.

Add the sausage (pricked with a needle to ensure even cooking), green beans (peeled, washed and cut into long “sticks”) and the peeled potatoes.
Add water if needed and leave to cook for 30 more minutes. The total cooking time will be about 3 hours.
Place the white beans and other vegetables in a large, sturdy serving dish. Slice the meats and peeled sausage, and place them on top. Allow your guests to serve themselves.

Hamburger Buns

Hamburger Buns Ready for Outdoor Barbecue, Photo Copyright Elegant Survival 2009

Hamburger Buns
Ingredients:
• 2 tablespoons of active dry yeast
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of warm water (110° to 115°)—hotter water will kill the yeast
• 1/3 cup of vegetable oil (do not use canola oil, which tastes fishy in baked goods; peanut, corn or pure vegetable oils are preferred)
• 1/4 cup of sugar, any variety
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 3 to 3-1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Directions:

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water. Add oil and sugar; let stand for 5 minutes. Then, add the egg, salt, and flour.
Turn onto a floured surface; knead for about four minutes, until smooth and elastic, adding flour as needed. Form the dough into a ball, cover, and let it rise for ten minutes. Divide the dough into 12 flat, round pieces. Place 3 inches apart on buttered baking sheets.
Cover and let rise for 30 minutes. Bake on top oven rack at 400° for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Monitor closely to prevent burning. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. This recipe makes twelve hamburger buns. For dinner rolls, do not flatten but shape your twelve dough pieces into balls.

~~Copyright M-J de Mesterton, Elegant Survival 2008

Making an Elegant Salad

Elegant Salad Design, Ready to Be Tossed by Your Dinner Guest (Photo Copyright M-J of Elegant Sruvival 2009)

When preparing a salad, arrange the components in such a way that they sit in layers or groups.  It looks neater this way, and more appealing than the already-tossed salad. Let individual guests mix and dress it  in their respective bowls. This idea is a bit like the “composed salad” of old. Pass around the dressing, and perhaps offer a couple of varieties, such as  vinaigrette and Roquefort/bleu cheese.

~~M-J de Mesterton Copyright 2009

Composed Salad with Lettuce, Cucumber, Avocado, Grated Gruyère Cheese, Tomatoes and Chile-Roasted Pecans (Photo Copyright Elegant Survival 2009)Elegant Salad Design, Ready to Be Tossed by Your Dinner Guest (Photo Copyright M-J of Elegant Sruvival 2009)

Keep Your Salad Covered before Serving to Prevent Fruit-Flies (Photo Copyright Elegant Survival)

Elegant, Economical British Dishes Presented by Elaine Lemm on Video

Delicious, Economical British Classics Presented by Elaine Lemm

Here are three classic British recipes presented in video form by Elaine Lemm on about.com: the Cornish Pasty (a favorite in my family for four generations, which I made for English-Speaking Union parties at my house many times); Bakewell Tart (invented in Bakewell, England), an elegant dessert, the taste of which  reminds me of Danish pastry; and Irish Colcannon–a vitamin-rich, green-and-white dish that could serve as an economical meal, which contains three vegetables.

M-J’s Low-Carbohydrate Celery Soup

M-J de Mesterton's Potage de Celeri (Cream of Celery Soup), Copyright 2007

Cream of Celery Soup, by M-J de Mesterton Photo Copyright 2009

My Original Recipe: Low-Carbohydrate Celery Soup

Potage de Celeri

Wash thoroughly a whole head of celery, by cutting the bottom off and bathing the stalks in a sinkful of water. With French chef’s knife, chop finely. Include the celery leaves, which are packed with flavour. In a large pot, melt two tablespoons of butter. Put the chopped celery in, and add a teaspooon of salt, one half-teaspoon of cumin, and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Saute until bright green and almost soft. Stir in a tablespoon of cornstarch (cornflour), which has seven grams of carbs. Saute for two more minutes, and then add one cup of cream and two cups of water. Simmer for ten minutes. Serves six. This soup is a good accompaniment to croques monsieurs for luncheon.

~~Copyright M-J de Mesterton, February 2007

More of M-J’s Original Recipes are Found on Elegant Survival

Tarte Bourbonnaise, Created by Taillevent for King Charles VI of France

Photo from Certi'Ferme, France

Quiche, which is said to have originated in Lorraine, was preceded by such cheese tarts as this 600-year old one, prepared by Taillevent for the Well-Loved King Charles VI of France.

Tarte Bourbonnaise

Short pastry (dough made with flour,  lard and butter–see my Apple Pie recipe),  for a one-crust pie or tart

2 cups of cream

1 egg-yolk

1 tablespoon of flour

4 whole eggs

1/2 teaspoon of salt

Cayenne pepper to-taste

1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

2 cups of shredded or grated Gruyère cheese

2 tablespoons of butter

Method:

Roll short pastry dough and line a pie-plate or pie-pan with it.  Make a series of tiny holes all over the dough with a fork. Line the dough with parchment or foil and fill with dry beans, then bake in a hot 425* oven for ten minutes. This step prevents the crust from puffing up during baking. Empty the pie-shell and let it cool.

In a saucepan, cook the cream until it scalds, not quite boiling. Let it cool.

In a large bowl, beat the egg-yolk into the tablespoon of flour. Beat in the two whole eggs, and gradually add the scalded and cooled cream. Beat this mixture until smooth. Add salt, nutmeg, and Cayenne pepper. Spread the Gruyère cheese evenly around the bottom of the crust. Pour the smooth custard from the bowl into the pie shell to cover the cheese. Sprinkle the two tablespoons of butter over the top in little bits. Bake in a moderately hot 375* oven for about forty minutes. If the pie puffs up too much, just pierce it with a fork. Serve Tarte Bourbonnaise warm; this recipe is enough for six people.

~~M-J de Mesterton, April 2009