Monday, March 8, 2010

CULINARY MONDAY

Fricassee (FRIHK-uh-see): A dish of meat (most often chicken) that is sauteed in butter. Then used in stews with chunks of vegetables. The results are a thick, chunky, hearty tasting stew. Often wine is used to deglaze the pot after the meat has been sauteed.

Yorkshire Pudding: Make no mistake, this is NOT pudding. But according to the British, it's just as loved. No good Brit would consider Roast Beef with out it. The name comes from the Yorkshire region of England.
It is a souffle/ popover type bread that is made from eggs, flour, milk & meat drippings. Then cooked in either a popover pan, a small baking dish or even in the roast pot.
I had the opportunity to serve this at a catering I did a few years ago. I had NO idea what in the world it was. I looked for a recipe and made some in advance. They were "perfect" according to the clients. Here's my recipe.
Yorkshire Pudding
Save leftover beef drippings from your roast- at least 1/2 or more cups.
1 cup of flour
1 tsp. of salt
1 cup of milk
2 eggs, beaten
a dash of black pepper
1/2 cup of drippings (melted butter will work in place of drippings)
Muffin Tin
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Sift salt & flour. Beat eggs with milk and add black pepper. Mix with flour until smooth. Set aside to rest.
Pour a little of the drippings into each muffin well. Place in warmed oven for about 10-15 minutes. Remove and quickly pour the mixture 1/2 the way up into each well. Place in the preheated oven and cook for 20 minutes. DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR DURING THIS TIME. Reduce heat to 375 and continue baking for 15 minutes or until golden & puffed.
Let cool and remove from pans. The puddings will deflate after baking- this is normal. ENJOY!!

7 comments:

Angela McRae said...

Hmmm ... I just happen to have some leftover drippings from a roast. Is that a sign I need to make these?

Joyce said...

Okay Teresa,
I make what we call "Fricassee" all the time. However a friend of mine and I were chatting one day and I always make mine with "brown" gravy...usually a "Roux."
We were talking about how to say "Fricassee" and I say it the correct way. HA! Because I used to live with the "Cajuns"....my friend says it wrong and I had to inform her of that once I had proof which happened to be a website that had a "voice" pronouciation activation to it.
Very nice.
But on the same cooking website to..it said the gravy for a "Fricassee" is usually "White."
What say you about this???

I was very shocked because the ladies that taught me to cook that way always used "Roux" or brown gravies....never white.
Hummm....

parTea lady said...

I think Yorkshire Pudding is delicious with roast beef. Now why don't I make it myself? I also enjoy creamed horseradish with my roast beef.

Thanks for the recipe.

Teresa's New Life said...

Well, Joyce very good question! You are both correct. The French version is made with white meats, ie., chicken, veal, pork. And the gravy is a thick, white milk gravy. But there is indeed an actual "Cajun" version. It uses any of a wide variety of meats and does in fact use the darker version by starting with the roux. Thanks for keeping me in check!!

Joyce said...

Teresa,
Good to know....you see it does get a bit confussing living in FRENCH Louisiana because we have the "Cajun French" techniques and we have the "French, French" techinques. It's crazy sometimes.
However.... I can say Fricassed correctly. HA!

Lia at Petite Little Bee said...

Your tablescape is absolutely adorable. I love the china, birdie and the bunny. The flowers are also exquisite. I am going to try your great recipe for Yorshire Pudding. I love these too. Thanks so much for sharing with us. Cheers, Lia

Anonymous said...

We had roast tonight, so I must make these tomorrow. Thanks!!!