The last time I cooked this meal, I had just remodeled my kitchen and every appliance in it was new and clean and pristine. I was expecting my husband’s brother and his new girlfriend for dinner and I wanted the evening to be special and memorable. I had made this menu so many times before, I knew it would be good and I didn’t spend a second pondering what to do or how to do it.

While shopping for the ingredients needed, I discovered a new brie at the store, rindless and triple crème—it sounded like a great idea to me. I loved the idea of not having to cut the rind off the brie. So, I substituted what I would normally use with my new find.

That evening everything was going well, all I had to do was bake the brie en croute, and bring the tenderloin to 135°F. in the oven at the last minute. While everyone was busy with cocktails and appetizers, I tucked the puff pastry encrusted brie in the oven, knowing I had a winner in both taste and impressiveness.

Soon, the entire first floor of the house was filled with smoke, and everyone was coughing and chocking, wondering what was going on. I ran into the kitchen to see what had happened and found that the triple cream brie reacted to the high temperature the same way cream would boil over on the stove if left unattended.

There was a disastrous explosion of creamy cheese and crispy dough all over my brand-new oven. We got rid of the smoke and tossed the ruined brie en croute outside. I decided to power on and serve the meal without the star attraction —then I realized there was no way I could use the oven again that evening.

I called a local restaurant and made reservations for four. The evening was definitely memorable, and I learned a more than valuable lesson—never take anything for granted.  That said, learn from my mistakes.

A Sister Comes to Dinner

Brie en Croute with Mesclun-Tomato Salad

Basil & Garlic Marinated Pork Tenderloin

Fresh Corn Risotto

Pan Roasted Mushroom Mélange

Sugar Snap Pea and Bell Pepper Sauté

Browned Butter Tart with Grand Marnier Infused Strawberry Sauce

 

Brie en Croute with Mesclun-Tomato Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients

• Dressing
  • 3 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 2-3 teaspoons honey
  • 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• Brie en Croute
  • 6 ounces Brie, chilled
  • 1 large egg
  • One 17 ¼-ounce package frozen puff pastry sheets (Note: 2 sheets, only 1 Pepperidge Farm pastry sheet will give you enough puff pastry to use for 3 muffin cups.)

• Salad
  • 2 vine-ripened tomatoes, peeled, quartered, seeded and sliced (see directions below)
  • 4 cups Mesclun (4 large handfuls)

Instructions

For dressing: In a small bowl whisk together vinegar, mustard, and chutney and add oil in a stream, whisking until emulsified.  Season dressing with additional salt and pepper if needed.

Note: Dressing may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.

For Brie: Discard rind from Brie (optional—if you keep the rind on the cheese, the filling will not be as creamy, but the brie en croute will still be delicious) and cut into ¼-inch dice. Freeze Brie cubes, covered, until hard, at least 1 hour, and up to 3 days.

To assemble pastry cups: In a bowl lightly beat egg. With a 3 ½-inch round cutter cut out 4 rounds from 1 pastry sheet and fit rounds into four ½-cup muffin cups that have been sprayed with Pam. Fill cups with frozen Brie cubes. 

With a 2 ½-inch round cutter cut out 4 rounds from remaining pastry sheet. Brush 1 side of each round with egg and put 1 round, egg side down, onto each filled cup. With a sharp small knife make steam vents in pastry tops. Chill pastries 30 minutes.

Note: If you do not have the appropriate size round cutters the type I use may be ordered from Amazon the link is below.  There are many others, but these do come with a container to keep them in.  Amazon Round Cutters-Graduated Sizes

To Prep Tomatoes:

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Fill a saucepan with enough water so that one tomato will be totally immersed. Place saucepan over high heat and bring the water to a full rolling boil. Drop-in one tomato at a time and count to 7. i.e., 1 and 2 and 3 and … and 7. Remove the tomato from the water and place on a paper towel to drain. Repeat with the remaining tomato. When cool enough to handle use the tip of a small knife of the tip of a fingernail to loosen a small piece of tomato peel at the core end, pull the strip down. The rest of the peel should easily come off using your fingers.

Once peel is removed, Slice the tomatoes in quarters, scoop out the seeds, creating 4 petals for each tomato. Drain/blot on paper towels. Slice crosswise into thin strips. (This may be done several hours ahead. Place in a covered container and refrigerate.)

To Bake: Preheat oven to 425 F. Bake pastries in middle of oven until deep golden, about 25 minutes. Cool Brie en Croute in cups on a rack 5 minutes and lift from cups, keeping upright.

Place mesclun in a salad bowl.  Whisk dressing to combine and pour a little less than half of it around the edge of the bowl. Toss the mesclun with the dressing until it is lightly coated, adding a bit more dressing if needed. Add tomatoes and toss, or plate the salad and scatter tomatoes on top of greens.

Serve warm Brie en Croute with the salad.

Basil & Garlic Marinated Pork Tenderloin

Serves 4

Ingredients

• Marinade
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
  • 2 large garlic cloves minced
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• Pork
  • One 1-1¼ pound pork tenderloin
  • Kosher salt for seasoning

Instructions

Combine first three ingredients.  Coat pork with basil mixture.  Cover and chill 10 hours or overnight.

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Preheat oven to 350º – Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat for 8 minutes.  Add oil.  If desired, season pork lightly with kosher salt.  Add pork to skillet and brown on all sides, about 8-10 minutes.  Transfer skillet to oven and roast pork until thermometer inserted into center registers 135ºF, about 5-10 minutes.  Use an instant-read thermometer.  I prefer Thermapen from ThermoWorks, available on Amazon or the ThermoWorks website.

Transfer pork to work surface and let rest 5 minutes. Slice pork and serve.

Note: If you are preparing this for a dinner party, you may cook the pork to the point it has been browned on all sides. Leave it in the pan and place it in the preheated 350°F oven when ready to plate the main course.  Check the temperature of the roast after 5 minutes. Because it has had time to cool off, you may need to leave it in a bit longer to achieve the 135°F temperature.

Fresh Corn Risotto

Serves 4

• Ingredients
  • 3 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 4 ears)
  • ¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter
  • 3 tablespoons chopped shallots
  • ½ cup Arborio rice
  • ¼ cup dry white wine or dry vermouth
  • 3 cups (or more) chicken stock
  • ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

With a sharp knife, remove the kernels form each ear of corn.  One way to keep the corn from going everywhere when you do this is to place the ear of corn in the middle of a half-sheet pan. Puree 2 cups of the corn kernels in a food processor until a fine puree is formed. Set puree and whole corn kernels aside in separate dishes.

Note: this may be done ahead up to 6 hours in advance. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before proceeding.

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Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add chopped shallots and sauté until translucent about 5 minutes.  Mix in rice and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Add dry white wine, and cook until all liquid is absorbed, about 4 minutes.  Add 3 cups chicken stock and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Increase heat and boil until rice is thick and creamy, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.  Add corn kernels and stir to combine. Then add corn puree and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  Cook rice 3 minutes.  Thin rice with more chicken stock if necessary.  Season risotto with salt and pepper to taste and serve alongside the sliced pork tenderloin.

Note: You may keep the risotto at an ultra-low temperature on your stovetop with a lid on the pan to keep it warm until you are ready to serve. If you do this wait to add the parmesan cheese at the last minute. If risotto become too thick, add a bit of hot water to thin it.

If fresh corn is not in season and you want to use frozen corn, thaw the corn before pureeing the kernels and sauté the whole kernels for 2-3 minutes before using.

 

Pan-Roasted Mushrooms

Serves 4

• Ingredients
  • 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, wiped clean, stemmed and slice thick
  • 8 ounces Baby Bella’s, wiped clean, stemmed and sliced thick
  • 1 medium shallot, chopped fine
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • ¼ – ½ cup dry sherry

Place an empty cast iron frying pan over medium heat for 8 minutes. Add butter. As soon as the butter is melted add the shallots to the pan and stir for 30 seconds.  Add the mushrooms. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. After a minute or two, toss/stir the mushrooms. Cook until there is no liquid in the pan and the mushrooms have been slightly browned.  Add the dry sherry and cook until all liquid has evaporated. Scatter over risotto.

Note: The mushrooms may be cooked ahead, place in a covered container and refrigerated.  Before plating them, warm in the mushrooms in a microwave for 1 minute, then scatter them over the corn risotto.

Sugar Snap Pea & Red Bell Pepper Sauté

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• Ingredients
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into julienne strips lengthwise
  • ¾ – 1 cup sugar snap peas cut in half lengthwise
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Kosher salt to taste

Sauté in hot oil until tender-crisp and vegetables still retain their color, 3 – 5 minutes. Season with kosher salt to taste while sautéing.

 

Browned Butter Tart with Grand Marnier Infused Strawberry Sauce

One 4½ x 14-inch tart

Note: this sized tart pan is available online from 8 different vendors with prices from $11.60 to $26.95. Price does not include taxes or shipping. This tart is lovely and can be made a day ahead.

Ingredients

• Crust
  • 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 10 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 2 egg yolks

• Filling
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup, plus 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup butter, warmed until medium brown, then cooled
  • Dash of vanilla

• Fresh Strawberry Sauce
  • 3 cups sliced strawberries
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier    

Instructions

For Crust: Combine flour, sugar and salt in food processor.  Cut in butter using on/off turns till mixture resembles coarse meal.  Add yolks and process just till mixture holds together. Flatten into a disc.  Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour. 

Spray Pam on the inside of a 4-½ x 14-inch rectangular tart mold with removable bottom.  Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface, into an 8 x 16-inch rectangle.  Fit dough into pan, pressing gently; trim and form edges. 

Note: Because there is not water holding the dough together, it has a tendency to break. Don’t worry, simply piece it together in the pan, pressing pieces together to seal.

Freeze until firm, at least 30 minutes or up to several hours.

For Filling: Preheat oven to 450˚F.  While crust is in freezer, whisk together sugar and flour in medium bowl to blend, then whisk in eggs.  Add cooled melted butter and vanilla. Pour into crust. 

Bake 5 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to 325˚F.  Bake until firm, 30 to 50 minutes.  Cool.  Dust top with powdered sugar.

For fresh strawberry sauce: Combine all ingredients, and macerate strawberries for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.

To Serve:  Slice in 1-inch or 2-inch horizontal strips, and serve each slice topped with fresh strawberry sauce.