*VEGAN POULET POÊLÉ À L’ESTRAGON

[Vegan Casserole-roasted Chicken with Tarragon]

...not sure if I ever mentioned this before but an asterisk before a recipe indicates that the recipe can be prepared ahead of time or in part...this was to help home cooks make the most of their time by allowing them to prepare some elements in advance...

...Julia is using a whole chicken...but I'm using to 'breasts' that I cut out of tofu...but you brown them in vegan butter...

...then you set your casserole on the heat and add vegan butter, onions and carrots...and cook slowly for 5 minutes without browning...

... then add some tarragon...

...and set the vegan chicken over the vegetables...

...cover with foil and roast for an hour and twenty minutes...

...of course we didn't roast this small casserole for that long...but about a half hour so that everything melded together well and cooked through...

...then you make a brown tarragon sauce, with vegan broth, and cornstarch that you've blended with Madeira (which I never have so I used white wine)...

...pour the sauce over the casserole...

...we served it with rice and peas...

...really delicious...

Substitutions

Tofu for the chicken
Vegan butter
Vegan broth

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 249-251

VEGAN CÉLERl-RAVE BRAISÉ

[Vegan Braised Celeriac — Celery Root]

...Julia says that Celeriac, a delicious winter vegetable, is not nearly as common in American markets as it should be...

...and based on how difficult it is to find...I definitely agree...

...since I wasn't thrilled with the raw version of celeriac...I'm happy to try a cooked version...

...you start by peeling the celeriac...

...which is not super easy to do...

...cut it into a 1/2 inch dice...

...drop it into a saucepan of boiling water...

...and cook for 5 minutes...

...mince some onions...

...and then cook the onions and bacon in a casserole without browning...I used vegan bacon bits...

...then arrange the celeriac in the casserole...

...and spread the onions and bacon on top...

...pour over some vegan bouillon...and bring to a simmer on the stovetop...

...then cover with buttered foil and bake for an hour...

...the celeriac is done when it is tender...

...we served it with beans and greens and cornbread...as I thought it was kind of like turnips...and I definitely prefer the cooked celeriac...still not my favorite food...and these are the only two recipes in MtAoFC...so I won't need to go searching for it again...

Substitutions:
Vegan Bouillon

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 492-493

Vegan Petits Oignons à la Crème

[Vegan Creamed Onions]

...Julia only tells you what to serve this side dish with... Serve creamed onions with roast veal, chicken, or turkey, chops, steaks, or hamburgers, sauteed veal, chicken, or liver.

...I couldn't find any cute little 'fresh' onions...but I did find a bag of frozen pearl onions at Suff Mart...so I'm going with that...(you can see a page of my spreadsheet in the corner...not many recipes are left ...and like this one they mostly require a special purchase)...

...first you braise the onions...for a long time...40-50 minutes...

...then you just need a VEGAN SAUCE BÉCHAMEL...

...then you just fold the cream sauce into the braised onions and simmer for a few minutes...correct seasoning...and off heat, fold in the vegan butter

...turn into a hot vegetable dish...and I must say that it's not the prettiest dish ever...

...we served it pretty simply with vegan meatloaf and green beans and some French bread...

...still not a very pretty side dish...

...but it really is so delicious...slightly sweet and definitely creamy...I'll make this again...

Substitutions

Vegan cream
Vegan butter

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking p. 482

VEGAN FILET DE BOEUF BRAISÉ PRINCE ALBERT

[Vegan Braised Filet of Beef Stuffed with Foie Gras and Truffles]

Julia says this is "a magnificent recipe for an important dinner"...and it's got quite a few steps on this 2 1/2 page recipe...most of it is pretty simple though...but to make it vegan...you'll need a vegan filet...I used Tracy's recipe again...

...and you'll need some vegan foie gras...you've seen my version before...but this is what I usually do...

6 oz of cooked green lentils
¾ cup red wine
2 Tbsp chopped black walnuts
2 tsp chopped black olives
3 Tbsp nutritional yeast
2 ½ Tbsp vegan chicken bouillon
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt

...Julia says to quarter the truffles...but I chopped them rather fine because I don't love truffles...and I don't think I want to get a big piece in a bite...

...then you dice some carrots, onions and celery...and cook that with some vegan ham and an herb bouquet...until tender but not browned...then boil down until the liquid is almost entirely evaporated...

...then mix some green onions (or shallots if they're readily available where you live) with the foie gras, some butter, and a pinch of thyme and allspice...and a little bit of Madeira and cognac...I subbed white wine because I didn't have madeira...

...cut a deep slit in your filet...

...and stuff it with the foie gras mixture...

...put it into a casserole and lay a piece of bacon over the slit...

...pour over enough vegan beef stock to come halfway up the filet...

...cover with foil and braise in a 350° F (176° C) oven...

...after braising...I didn't have much sauce left...

...mix some corn starch in some madeira (or wine)...and add that to the juices from the casserole and the diced vegegables...

...and spoon that over the filet...

...Julia says to pass the rest of the sauce in a bowl...

...we served this impressive dish with Italian green beans and white sweet potatoes...

...it is a pretty dish...

...and it's good...I think it would be better without the truffles though...

Substitutions

Tracy's Seitan as listed above
Vegan butter
Vegan broth
Vegan ham

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 303-305

Vegan Jambon Farci en Croûte

[Vegan Stuffed Ham Baked in a Pastry Crust]

...Julia says that this is "A splendid way to serve the preceding sliced and stuffed ham is to bake it in a pastry crust."

....she says to follow the instructions for the VEGAN PÂTÉ EN CROÛTE/VEGAN PÂTÉ DE CANARD EN CROÛTE...

...so I made the pastry crust and rolled it out between two sheets of opened up organic chip bags...these things are so awesome for rolling out pastry/cookies/dough of any sort...absolutely nothing sticks to them...they are just so slick...and you don't have to add any flour...

...then I made the stuffing from the Vegan Jambon Farci et Braisé...

...and cooked it pretty dry...

...then I took the slices of vegan ham...and layered on the stuffing...

...and rolled them up...

...and placed it in the middle of the pastry...

...and folded it up in the dough...

...added some decorative petals...and cut some slits...

...and then added a little knob for the center of the flower...

...brushed it with almond milk for a nice brown crust...

...and baked until golden...

...sliced it open...it looks perfect...

...we served it with peas and carrots and a salad...

...definitely pretty delicious...but also a lot of trouble...

Substitutions

Tracy's Ham Seitan as listed above
Vegan butter

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 395-396