whole grains...

so emily and i hosted the very first "healthy gourmet club" at my home last thursday.  there was a lot of pressure and a lot of trial and error. unfortunately not everything i had in mind was recognized but lets focus on our successes. k? k.

here we go

we started our night with this menu:

 

the flowers

my schedule to keep me on track

bruschetta with peppers, capers and gargonzola

i had every intention of making this with a homemade, 12 grain baguette but ran out of time and bought crostinis...not a good idea, they were dry and didn't absorb the flavors of the peppers like when i made them in the past.

spinach salad with barley and oranges

emily made this and it was delicious. for an entree it is fantastic with salmon but seeing as we served it as a salad to showcase a grain you may not think to use regularly, we opted out of using the protein. emily felt like an addition of dried cranberries would have been nice. it did need a tart twist. we both found that we would have like more vibrancy in the orange vinaigrette. another night of the week i made this with whole grain Israeli couscous and it was delicious.

mushroom dill soup with barley

(this was from my sister in law)

7 Tablespoons butter

2 cups chopped maui onion

3/4 lb. mushrooms (i used crimini and baby bella but you can use whatever you like)

1 Tablespoons fresh dill

4 cups chicken broth

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

3 Tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon paprika

1 cup milk (recipe calls for 2% and up but i used 1% and it was great)

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/2 cup sour cream (i didn't add this at all because i don't like sour cream but i also didn't think it needed it (or the extra calories) and nobody complained.)

instructions:

sautee onion in 4 Tablespoons of butter and brown with salt and pepper

add mushrooms, dill, chicken broth and soy sauce and boil for 15 minutes

add the remaining butter, flour, paprika and milk. boil to thicken.

add lemon juice and sour cream

whole grain pizza crust

i have made this crust a million times, adjusting the all purpose flour to a whole grain white flour. i love this exact recipe with the arugula salad on top but my hus does not so i usually make it with bbq chicken and scallions or fresh tomatoes and basil or with a crispy proscuitto.

the key to this fabulous pizza is the mix of 3 cheeses and the herb oil you dust the crust with and drizzle over the top.

maple chipotle bbq sauce (from everyday food magazine)

Makes 1 1/4 cup

1 cup ketchup

1/4 maple syrup

1/4 dark brown sugar

2 Tablespoons dijon mustard

2 to 3 teaspoons adobo sauce (without chipotles- i left the adobo sauce out completely because i didn't think it complimented the rest of the meal)

instructions:

in a small saucepan, whisk together ketchup, maple syrup, brown sugar, mustard, and adobo sauce. simmer, whisking occassionally, until the sauce is reduced to 1 1/4 cup, about 10 to 15 minutes.

roasted fennel and tomato (from March 2011 food network magazine pg. 80)

in an attempt to lighten our whole grain themed night i added a simple yet delicious tomato and fennel side. i loved trying fennel in a new to me way.

2 fennel bulbs

1 garlic bulb

1 lemon

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 pint grape tomatoes

Core and thinly slice fennel bulbs; chop some of the fronds,

peel the cloves from garlic bulb and toss with the fennel and fronds, 1 quartered lemon, olive oil and salt and sugar on a baking sheet.

Roast in a 500 degree oven until golden, about 20 minutes. ( i found this was a little too long, so keep your eye on it so the fennel doesn't go limp). Toss in 1 pint grape tomatoes; roast until the tomatoes burst, about 7 more minutes.

dessert- after making 4 different desserts, trying healthy approaches, trying unhealthy approaches tried and true recipes and new kind  i was failing miserably. i realized that my usually stellar dessert skills were not in the cards this week, how disappointing... but i did end up with a fantastic recipe that with a little more practice i know will be a favorite of mine.

i made one for the chocolate lovers and one for the fruit lovers.

brownie pudding

there is not much "gourmet" about this. it is simple. rich. very rich.

French Pear Tart with Almond Paste

so as i said i was down to the wire with my desserts. i have never worked with almond paste before but it really is what makes this recipe. when they say "spread" the almond paste, it wont spread. i heated it but it didn't liquify at all, it just got hot. hmmm. i am anxious to do some research and figure out the best way to work with the paste. i hear rolling it out with a rolling pin is a good idea. i will have to try it. i also opted to not do the discs. i baked as one big pastry and cut with a pizza cutter. the discs are probably more eye pleasing though.

1 sheet puff pastry ( i felt like i was cheating not making this from scratch, but i haven't a clue how to do it)

6 teaspoons almond paste

6 bartlett or au jour pears, peeled, cored and cut in half

3 teaspoons sugar

3 teaspoons unsalted butter

caramel sauce

vanilla ice cream

Roll out dough to get smooth and slightly larger.  Cut six circles of dough, approx 5 inches across.

Spread 1 teaspoon of almond paste on each disc, leaving a 1/4 inch border.

Fan thinly sliced pears on top of each pastry disc.  Sprinkle with sugar and 1/2 teaspoon butter. put on baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes.

serve with vanilla ice cream and drizzle with caramel sauce.

had i had the time i would have loved to try a homemade fleur de sol caramel sauce but i didn't, so the Trader Joes kind is fantastic substitute.

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

divine.