This weekend was easier than the previous one. There were very few things to chop and slice, and the only thing that worried me was desert. I've never been a good cook of deserts, mostly because I'm not a big fan. I'll replace a desert with a savory dish any time.
The recipes were:
- Country-style Vegetable Soup with Noodles (Soupe Villageoise)
- Veal Scallops with Apples and Calvados (Escalopes de Veau Vallée d'Auge)
- Caramel Custard (Crème Reversée au Caramel)
I was very worried about the soup because it used a lot of leeks. I had no idea what a soup with that much leek would taste like. Not only that, but the soup called for Chicken Stock, but not any chicken stock, your own home-made chicken stock. So, two days before I cooked my own chicken stock. The only thing it didn't go so well for the chicken stock was that I didn't do a good job a removing the fat on the top.
Finding the veal scallops was not that hard (I went to Whole Foods), but it was expensive. At the meat counter, there was a debate between me and the butcher if "veal scallops" was the same thing as "veal scallopinis", since he only had "scallopinis" and he told me "scallops" was a shelfish (oh, really?). I still don't know the difference if there is any.
Cooking the desert was never wrecking. First, because I had to pour hot milk into an egg custard, and I heard if you don't do it right you end up with scrambled eggs. Second, because I never did caramel, and I know that sugar boils very hot and just a tiny amount dropping on you can hurt quite a bit. Plus, the book said going from great caramel into burnt caramel was very fast.
Results
The soup was outstanding, it was thick and hearty. It didn't have a strong taste at all. My only complaint would be that it end up looking "too green", a contrasting color would've made it much more appealing. The veal... Is there any possibility that veal, wish mushroom and crème frâiche can go wrong? Nope. So it did taste amazing. Although I do think I could have undercooked the veal a little bit, so by the time I served it was just perfect.
The apples that went with the veal also tasted good.
Finally, the desert was what I expected. I failed to make it perfect. Although it tasted pretty nice, the caramel end up being too light -- I took it too early from the stove.
Technical data:
Guests: Toninho, Marta, Marcone & Ilka
Total cost: $98 (what did you expect of a veal meal?)
Item hard to find: none
Utensils bought: none
Appliances bought: none
Best Dish: Veal, followed by a close second by the Soup.
Worst Dish: Caramel Custard -- it wasn't bad, but end up in 3rd on the final rank.
January, 2008
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