Vegan Croquettes

[Crèmes Frites, Fondues, Cromesquis]

...I've been putting this recipe off for quite a while because I really though these little 'fried crèmes' would be a total fail...I thought they would just burst and disintegrate when they were fried...

...so I was quite shocked when they turned out perfectly...haha...

...Julia says to make your cream extra thick as you spread it in a dish about an inch deep and let it solidify...I used vegan cheddar instead of vegan swiss...

...after it sets up you cut it into one inch cubes...

...dredge it in flour and a vegan egg wash...I mixed some almond milk and flax seed goo for that...

...and then into some white bread crumbs...

...if they get misshapened...Julia says to sort of squish them back into little cubes...

...I set up the deep fryer on the back porch...I almost never deep fry food...and I always fry outside...

...they did not explode as I thought they would...but fried to a perfect golden brown...

...you can see that one in front has just started to ooze a little bit of cream...

...so I broke one open and gave it a quick taste...it is so delicious...crispy and creamy...

...we had them on little sticks as an appetizer with a glass of wine...

...these are really delicious...and I think that I'll use this exact recipe and method to make them into jalapeno poppers in the future...really really good...

Substitutions:

Earth Balance for Butter
Almond milk for the cream
Flax Seed Goo for the egg yolk
Vegan Cheese for the cheese

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking (pp. 202-203)

Vegan Quenelles de Crustacés

[Vegan Shrimp, Lobster, or Crab Quenelles]

...these are just a variation of the VEGAN QUENELLES DE POISSON...so you just follow that method for making the Cream Puff Paste VEGAN PÂTE À CHOUX...and instead of shredding up the vegan fish...

...so I got some vegan seitan shrimps out of the freezer...and shredded those with two forks...

...using Julia's two spoon method of making cute little dumplings...er quenelles...haha...

...and cooked them in a Nori based broth...

...plopped them onto a heated server...

...and spooned over some melted Earth Balance...

...served with a salad, peas and carrots and crusty French bread...I got the heel...YAY!

...these little dumplings are pretty delicious...

Substitutions:
Vegan Butter...we used Earth Balance...
Vegan eggs...we used Just Egg for the yolks and Aqua Faba for the whites
Vegan Cream...we used Silk cashew cream
Vegan seitan shrimp

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking p. 187

VEGAN ROGNONS DE VEAU EN CASSEROLE

[Vegan Kidneys Cooked in Butter— Mustard and Parsley Sauce]

...Julia says this can be a main course or an hors d'oeuvre...

...once again...first your sauté the Vegan Kidneys...I used the mushroom/walnut idea from this recipe Vegan Farce aux Rognons...and made that into a paste and added it to the veal seitan recipe...it makes a tender and tasty seitan...

...then you remove those to a chafing dish...

...next...you'll need some minced shallot...not much...

...and some lemon juice...

...I used the same pan...

...added some white wine...but you can use vermouth...which I never have on hand...

...then make some mustard butter...I used violife plant based butter...

...and then swirl that in a spoonful at a time...

...and then for some reason you're supposed to 'rapidly' cut the vegan kidneys into 1/8 inch slices...

...and add them to the sauce...heat them through but don't bring them to a boil...

...mince some parsley...and sprinkle that on top...

...we served ours as an hors d'oeuvre...with rounds of toasted French bread...

...it was good...and relatively simple...especially if you already had the seitan on hand...

Substitutions

Vegan butter...we used Violife
VEGAN GIGOT DE PRÉ-SALÉ RÔTI
black walnuts and mushrooms for the rognons

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 415-416

Vegan Fondue de Volaille

[Vegan Cream Filling with Chicken or Turkey]

...Julia says "Using exactly the same method and proportions as for the preceding VEGAN FONDUE DE CRUSTACÉS, substitute" vegan chicken instead...haha...

...so you start with sautéing some onions...

...I'm using some Beyond Chicken...and shredding it with a couple of forks...

...add that to the onions...

...add some white wine...(or vermouth or Madeira)...

...she lists the herbs as optional...I'm just going to use some Herbes de Provence...

...then make your white sauce the regular way...vegan butter, flour, she specifies mixing the vegan egg with the cream separately...but since I'm using flax seed goo...it's not going to 'scramble' the vegan egg sub...so I just added it all at once...

...add the shredded vegan chick'n...

...and fold in the vegan cheese...I used Violife mozzarella...but use vegan swiss if you have access to that...

...although Julia calls this a cream filling...I'm using it more like a gravy...over some leftover vegan cream biscuits...

...this was really good...I'd definitely make it again...served over biscuits like this it was like a really flavorful pot pie...

Substitutions:

Vegan Chick'n
Earth Balance for Butter
Almond milk for the cream
Vegan Cheese for the cheese

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking (p. 203)

Vegan Crabe ou Homard en Chaud-froid, Blanche Neige

[Vegan Crab or Lobster in Chaud-froid]

...Julia says this recipe follows the general pattern of the VEGAN SUPRÊMES DE VOLAILLE EN CHAUD-FROID, BLANCHE NEIGE...

...I'm using regular mushrooms for the lobster this time...as Julia says to shred the crab or lobster...I'm adding a nori sheet to get that flavor of the sea...

...the Man came into the kitchen while it was cooking and said..."What smells like fish?"...haha...

...I removed the nori...because we're going to save this cooking liquid and boil it down later...

...shredded the mushrooms just using two forks...

...then we sauté some shallot or green onion...

...add the shredded mushrooms...

...1/8 teaspoon of english dry mustard...

...a pinch of cayenne...I only did about 1 shake...

...add some cognac and boil it down rapidly...

...then boil down the cooking liquid we reserved earlier...

...we're going to use it in place of the fish sauce...

...add vegan cream...this is almond milk mixed with about a tablespoon of flour...just to thicken it up a bit...

...add the tarragon...Julia says a sprig...mine was dried and I added a pinch...

...fold the sauce into the vegan crab (mushrooms)...

...and then arrange it in little porcelain shells...I was thrilled to find these when we cleaned out the cupboards for painting as I was almost certain that I gave them away before we moved...

...and then we decorate each one with some tarragon leaves...and I added a little red pepper flower at the top...

...they turned out really cute...again...this was probably more of a 1960's' dish...I'm not sure anyone really serves little decorated appetizers anymore...but they are fun...cute and tasty...

Substitutions

Vegan crab or lobster - we used mushrooms and nori
Vegan Cream - we used homemade almond milk with a little bit of flour - cooked until thick like cream
Vegan butter...we used Earth Balance

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 553-554