Elegant Hummus bi Tahina Dip

 

M-J’s elegant recipe for hommos bi tahina, hummus bi tahine, or whichever way you prefer to spell chickpea and sesame dip: mash the chickpeas and add sesame paste, preferably a very liquid one with lots of natual oil in it, and squeeze into this mixture the juice of a lemon, add salt, red pepper and olive oil to your taste. Mix until almost smooth. Serve hummus bi tahini with warm pita bread, Moroccan olives, shawarma, and whatever else you have on your meze table. Hummus is a perfect dip for summer entertaining. And without the addition of raw garlic, which no one will miss, this dip is more socially acceptable. The lemon component is very refreshing, the sesame paste is tasty, and the garbanzos (chick-peas) are light and airy. Combining these simple ingredients results in a magical dish that is very popular at parties.

©M-J de Mesterton

M-J’s Elegant Guacamole

M-J’s Elegant Guacamole Recipe

There are so many recipes for guacamole that contain anti-social ingredients like raw garlic and/or onions. My elegant, all-green version contains avocados, lemon or lime juice, olive oil, strained or dried green chiles, a hint of onion powder and some Himalayan salt. No tomatoes, please! Elegance, purity of flavour and colour go hand-in-hand.

M-J’s Elegant Burger Canapés

See Elegant Cook for M-J’s Recipe

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

What is Fromage à la Crème?

Cream cheese! It’s wonderful stuff, and so versatile that it is used in both desserts and savoury dishes.

Fromage à la Crème

Here is my original recipe:
Dole Pineapple Tidbits, No Sugar Added

One can of pineapple as pictured

One pound of cream cheese

One tablespoon of honey or sugar of your choice

Method:

Drain pineapple bits as well as possible by dumping the can contents into in a sieve and pressing with a bowl. Spread pineapple bits on a baking sheet, and drizzle with honey or sprinkle with sugar. Bake until golden brown.

In a mixing bowl, combine pineapple with cream cheese until smooth.

Use as a spread for crackers.

~~M-J de Mesterton, Copyright January 2009

Elegant Canapes and Dessert: Pâte à Choux; Choux à La Crème; Petits Choux au Fromage

Pâte à Choux; Choux à La Crème; Petits Choux au Fromage

Croquembouche: Photo and Recipe Copyright Elegant Survival, 2008 (click image to enlarge)

Two Cups Makes about Forty Choux or Puff Shells

In a two-quart, heavy saucepan, boil one cup of water,
Six tablespoons of butter,
One teaspoon of salt,
One teaspoon of sugar (OR one 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, depending upon whether the choux-paste will be used for cream puffs or savoury cocktail offerings),
and a pinch of nutmeg.

When butter has melted, remove pot from heat.
Pour into the mixture one cup of flour. Beat with a wooden spoon until the lot is blended.
Put pot back on cooker at high heat, and continue to beat until the contents separate from the sides of the pot. Remove pot from heat again.

Now, you will need four large eggs.
Making a well in the potful of paste, break one egg into it. Beat it into the mixture, and repeat with the following three eggs, one at a time. Continue beating by hand until the paste is smooth.

You are now ready to fill a pastry bag and squeeze the paste onto a buttered baking sheet. In the absence of a pastry bag, you may use a gallon-sized, disposable zipper-bag like Zip-Lock, cutting off a 1/2 inch at one corner of it to emit pâte à choux. If this is still a problem, you may use a spoon to drop the paste onto the baking sheet.

Preheat the oven to 425* Fahrenheit.

Use the pâte à choux while it is still warm.

Form the pâte à choux into one-inch diameter circular mounds, 1/2 inch high. Space them two inches apart.

Brush each mound very lightly with beaten egg.

Bake for about twenty minutes. When the puffs are double their original size, golden brown and crusty, they may be removed from the oven. Make a 1/2 inch slit on the side of each puff to release steam.

I like to fill these puffs with Crème Pâtissière, or pastry cream:

In a 3-quart mixing bowl, beat
One cup of granulated white sugar into
6 egg yolks. Continue beating until the mixture is pale yellow.
Add one half cup of full-fat milk.
Beat in one cup of sifted white all-purpose flour. Mix this very vigorously until the small lumps of egg-yolk disappear into the flour and sugar.

Boil 4 cups of full-fat milk. Add it gradually, in a small stream, to the egg and flour mixture, while stirring. Pour the mass into a heavy 6-quart saucepan and set the stove burner on medium high heat. Stir with a wire-whisk or an electric mixer, careful to include the mixture at bottom of pot. Scrape the bottom of the pot with a spatula at intervals. When this reaches the boiling-point, turn down the heat to low, continue to beat for 2 to 3 minutes in order to cook the flour thoroughly. Don’t let the custard at the bottom of the pot get scorched.

Remove from heat, and incorporate one tablespoon of butter and one teaspoon of vanilla.

Choux à La Crème

When the crème patissière is cool enough, use it to fill choux. Dust choux with powdered sugar, drizzle with melted chocolate or with hot caramel sauce.

Crème patissière will keep in the refrigerator for a week, or may be frozen.

Petits Choux au Fromage

To make these savoury cheese puffs: omit the sugar, add a half-teaspoon of cayenne pepper, and add a cup of grated Swiss or Parmesan cheese to the warm pâte à choux. Bake at 425*F for about twenty minutes or until golden brown. Pierce to release steam from each cheese-puff.

~~Copyright M-J de Mesterton, 2008