• Number of Persons Served: 4
• Preparation Time: 1 Hour
• Cooking Time: 1 Hour
• The Shopping List:
  • A little more than ½ bottle of white wine
  • 1 shallot, chopped
  • 1 bay leave
  • 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • ¼ pound shelled and deveined shrimp
  • ¼ pound of cleaned mussels
  • ½ pound of shelled & cleaned scallops
  • ¼ pound of sliced mushrooms
  • 1 pint of thick crème fraiche
  • 1 soup spoon of chopped parsley
• The Initial Preparations [can be done the day before]:
  • Clean the beards off the mussels. Then, place the mussels in cold water for at least 15 minutes. Replace the cold water and let sit 15 minutes. Repeat once more.
  • Soak the shrimp and scallops in milk for 15-30 minutes to reduce the strong sea taste. Then wash off the milk.
  • Place the shallot, wine, bay leave and thyme into a large frying pan. Cover, bring to a boil, drop in the mussels and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mussels open [3 – 5 min.]. Remove the mussels, throwing away the ones that didn’t open. Remove the mussel shells, saving the flesh.
  • Bring the casserole’s liquid to a boil. Add the scallops and shrimp, stirring. Cover and let simmer until the seafood is firm [about 5 minutes]. Remove the seafood from the liquid, saving the liquid.
  • Line a strainer with cheesecloth and strain the contents of the frying pan into a casserole.
  • Bring the liquid to a boil, add the mushrooms and some salt and freshly ground pepper. Let boil until the liquid is almost evaporated [around 25 min.].
  • The Final Preparations:
    To finish, bring the liquid to a boil. Add the crème fraiche and boil another 5 minutes. Add the seafood and simmer until piping hot. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  • Suggestions For Serving
    • Garni with parsley just before serving.
    • Serve a Vouvry, a Sauvignon Blanc or a white Alsatian wine. 

 Agneau roti jardinier  

• Number of Persons Served: 6
• Preparation Time: 1 ½ Hours
• Cooking Time: 1 Hour
• The Shopping List: 
  • 3 pound boneless and tied leg of lamb. If the butcher bones it, have him chop up, in about ½ inch slices, the bones for you to use.
  • If the leg of lamb is boneless, then buy 1 lb of lamb shank, chopped into ½ inch thick slices
  • 3 ½ ounces of olive oil
  • 4 chopped carrots
  • Ground pepper
  • Herbs de Provence
  • 4 chopped Spanish onions
  • 2 celery sticks, chopped
  • 2 large garlic sections, crushed
  • Enough garlic to slip into slices in the leg of lamb
  • 1 sprig of fresh thyme or ¼ teaspoon of dried thyme
  • 1 bay leave
  • 1 lb of pealed new onions or large bulb onions
  • 3 oz. Butter
  • 2 tablespoons of milk
  • 1 tablespoon of sugar
  • 7 lbs mushrooms
  • 2.5 lbs of peeled red or California potatoes
  • 12 oz. of chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoons of fresh, chopped parsley
  • The Initial Preparations:
    • Simmer the chicken broth 1 hour with 1 chopped carrot, and a chopped celery branch, 6 peppercorns and a bouquet garni. Set aside.
    • If using lamb shank, bone the shank, setting aside the meat for another meal.
    • Saison the lamb with herbs de Provence & ground pepper and slices of garlic.
    • Place half of the oil in an oven-proof casserole and heat over a fast fire.
    • Place the leg of lamb into the casserole and uniformly brown it, in the heated oil, and put aside.
    • Uniformly brown the sliced bone & its meat in a frying pan over a high flame. Then slowly brown the sliced shank bone on both sides. When well browned, drain.
    • Mix 2 teaspoons of butter with enough milk to make 2 tablespoons of liquid.
    • Add 2 chopped onions to the frying pan with 1 tablespoon of the butter/milk mixture, the sugar, 2 oz. water, salt & freshly ground pepper to taste. Let cook until the liquid evaporates and the onions are golden brown.
    • Cut the mushrooms in quarters and sauté, with a tablespoon of the butter/milk mixture, over a hot fire until done. Season and drain.
    • Peel the potatoes and place into a casserole of cold water. Bring them to boiling and keep boiling for 1 minute, before draining.
    • Place the rest of the oil into a Pyrex casserole and heat over a hot flame. Once hot, add the potatoes and turn them in the oil until they are uniformly coated. Let cook 2 to 3 minutes, or until browned.
• Last minute preparations:
  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  • Put the chopped carrot, onion, celery, garlic, thyme and bay leave into the oven-proof casserole. Place the lamb bones into the casserole and place the leg of lamb on top of the bones. Place into the 400 degree oven for 1 hour [for medium] or 40 min. [for rare]. Baste 2 or 3 times.
  • When the lamb has been the oven for about 30 minutes, place the potatoes in the 400 degree oven for 35 minutes, or until tender. Drain the excess oil. Mix a tablespoon of butter/milk with the potatoes, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  • Remove the lamb from the oven and from the casserole, and let it sit on a plate to rest. Drain the excess grease from the casserole, take out the bones and waste and discard. Place the remainder on a medium flame. Let cook 2 to 3 minutes, until the vegetables brown, and remove them from the casserole. Then pour the chicken stock in the empty casserole, stirring to loosen and dissolve the remains. Boil for about 10 more minutes, until the liquid is reduced to a third. Filter through cheese cloth and season the bouillon to taste.
  • Mix the vegetables, the potatoes, the mushrooms. Reheat if necessary.
• Garni:
  • Sprinkle the chopped parsley over the vegetables.
  • Slice the lamb thin. Serve with the vegetables mixed, surrounding the lamb.
  • Serve with sauce on side. 

Ragout d’Agneau à la Champenoise 

• Number of Persons Served:  4
• Preparation Time: 1 Hour
• Cooking Time: 1 ½ Hours
• The Shopping List:
  • 3 lbs of 1 inch cubed lamb stew meat with fat trimmed off
  • The grease from sautéing 4 rashes of bacon
  • 3 onions, diced
  • ½ lb sweet carrots, sliced thick
  • 3 large cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 cups white wine [preferably Gewurztraminer]
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • ½ cup Madeira
  • 6 sprigs parsley
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 teaspoons of Herbs de Provence
  • 1 large branch thyme or ¼ teaspoon
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • ½ teaspoon sugar
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • 8 small potatoes, quartered; peel if they are baking potatoes
  • 12 oz package mushrooms, quartered
  • 2 teaspoons of fresh minced parsley
• The Initial Preparations: 
  • Sprinkle the Herbs and pepper over the lamb and vegetables [with exception of mushrooms] and brown in the bacon drippings.
  • Add the wine, Madeira and broth and bring to a boil.
  • Remove from the heat and add the parsley, sprigs, bay leaves, thyme, salt and sugar.
  • Cover and place into a 350 degree oven for 1 ¼ hours. Check the liquid. If it reduced very much, during this period, add more broth.
• Last minute preparations: 
  • Add the mushrooms.
  • Replace in oven, uncovered, at 350 degrees, for another 15 minutes.
  • Adjust seasoning and mix in beurre manie to thicken sauce.
  • Ladle into individual bowls.
• Garni: 
  • Sprinkle the minced parsley over the top of the contents of each bowl. 

Beurre Manie 

• In the European Francophone countries, beurre manie is used, instead of water and flour mixtures, to thicken some sauces. It can be made ahead of time, in a reasonably large quantity, and then frozen until you need it for a recipe. It can also be refrigerated for at least a week. If you freeze it, divide it up into quantities of about 1 teaspoon and separately wrap in saran wrap. This way, you can easily use what you need without defrosting all of the beurre manie. 
• To make beurre manie, merely mix together ½ lb of butter and 16 tablespoons of flour into a paste consistency. 
• You can use it directly from the freezer, mixing it into hot liquids and stirring it until dissolved.

Fondue Savoyard 

• Time: 1 Hour
• Cooking Time: 1/3rd Hour
• Number of Persons Served: 4
• The Shopping List: 
  • 1 cub white wine [Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay]
  • 1 lb Guyer Swiss cheese
  • 1 lb Emmenthaler Swiss cheese
  • 4 tablespoons liquor
  • 4 tablespoons corn starch
  • 2 baguettes, one day old
  • 2 cloves of fresh garlic [optional]
• The Initial Preparations: 
  • Shred the cheese.
  • Cube the baguettes into bite sizes.
  • Mix the 2 shredded cheeses together.
  • Put the wine & liquor in a fondue casserole and bring to a simmer; do not boil.
  • Add the garlic [optional]
  • Add the shredded cheese, a handful at a time and stir.
  • Mix the cornstarch with some water and add some to the cheese, while stirring. Continue to stir until all the cheese is liquid and the blend is homogenous. If the cheese and the liquid separates, add more cornstarch and stir until the mixture become well blended.
• The Service:
  Place the pot over warming flame from Sterno. Furnish everyone a long fondue fork and cubed bread. Serve with wine.

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