Vegan Bifteck Sauté Marchand de Vins/Vegan Bifteck Sauté a la Bordelaise

[Pan Broiled Steak with Red Wine Sauce]

...Julia says this is just the Vegan Bifteck Sauté Bercy with Red wine instead of White...

...first sauté the seitan and set aside...

...then sauté the shallots or green onions...I used green onions...

...just for a minute or so...

...then add the wine to the skillet and boil it down rapidly...

...until the liquid has reduced almost to a syrup...

...off heat, beat in the butter a spoonful at a time until it is absorbed and has thickened the sauce...

...add salt and pepper...then spread over the seitan steak...

...it smells delicious...

...we served it...you know...like a steak...with baked potato, broccoli and salad...

...it was really siimple and really good...

Substitutions:

Vegan steak...whatever kind you like...
Vegan butter...we used Earth Balance...

Mastering the Art of French Cooking (pp. 294 - 295)

Vegan Fonds Blanc de Volaille

[Vegan White Poultry Stock]

...Julia says that this stock is used for soups and sauces. Employ the same method and ingredients as for the preceding Vegan Fonds Blanc...white veal stock...

...and I needed some vegan stock for Thanksgiving gravy...and this will be perfect...

...you could (and I have in the past)...just use vegan chicken bouillon for making Thanksgiving gravy...

...but the addition of some veggies will make a much more flavorful stock...Julia suggests onion, carrot, celery and leek...which I didn't have so I used the green onion instead...she also says you can add a couple of snips of a parsnip...but I didn't think that sounded good...I didn't want any strong flavored veggies like that...

...just add the broth base to the pot with some water...

...chop up the veggies...

...and add those...

...and then simmer for a long time...according to Julia...a really long time...4-5 hours...we didn't do that...but let it cook an hour or so...

...and then strained out the veggies...

...and we were left with a perfectly flavorful stock...

Substitutions:

...vegan chicken broth base or bouillon...we used Orrington Farms...it's not too salty...


...recipe here...Mastering the Art of French Cooking (p. 109)

Glazed Orange or Lemon Peel

...this is one of the few vegan recipes in MtAoFC...and it's title is not in French for some reason...Julia says it provides a nice decoration and is easy to make...so I thought I'd make some in advance of the holidays and have it at the ready for decorating...

...she also says it keeps in the syrup for several weeks...

...so...get some perfectly unblemished oranges...organic is probably best as you'll be eating the skins...

...using a vegetable peeler...peel off just the orange part in strips...Julia says 1/16"...

...but I left mine rather large as I don't know how I'll be using them yet...I can cut them later...

...then simmer in water for 10 to 12 minutes or until just tender when bitten....which I thought was an odd way to test...

...then drain...

...refresh in cold water...

...and dry on paper towels...

...then make the syrup...add some sugar and water to a saucepan...

...boil the sugar and water thread stage 230° F...(110° C)...and add some vanilla...

...I went ahead and cut some of the strips to 1/16...and coiled them in the bottom of the jar...

...and then I left the rest of the strips wide...

...and poured over the syrup...

...Julia says to let the peel stand in the syrup for at least 30 minutes...but I'll be using mine much later...Drain when ready to use.

...I did do a little taste test...and they are yummy...not sure what dessert they'll top this season...but I'll let you know...

Substitutions:

None...that hardly ever happens...but has happened twice recently...haha...

...recipe here...Mastering the Art of French Cooking (p. 587)

Vegan Clafouti aux Pommes

[Vegan Apple Flan]

...this is pretty much like all of the other Clafoutis...just with a different fruit...so this is the link to (I think) the first one I did...the Vegan Clafouti aux Mûres

...Julia says you can use 'cooking...or crisp eating' apples...and we had these delicious Galas...so I used them...

...you peel...core...and slice the apples...

...and you'll need some rum...I had this one in the cupboard...so that's what I used...I think the 'spiced' description will be fine as these apples have some spices...

...you sauté the apples in some vegan butter...

...until very lightly brown...

...then you add the rum...

...sugar...and spices...and let that sit for 1/2 hour or so...

...and then you use that liquid to replace some of the liquid in the mater recipe...

...arrange your sautéed apples and pour over the clafouti mixture...

...and baked until puffed and browned...

...this recipe was so easy...and we love clafouti here...this flavor combination was perfect for fall too...

Substitutions:

Almond Milk for milk
Earth Balance for Butter
Flax Seed Goo for Eggs


...recipe here...Mastering the Art of French Cooking (p. 657)

Vegan Glaçage à l'Abricot

[Apricot Glaze with Almonds or Glaceed Fruits]

..this is a good example of the 'textbook' nature of MtAoFC...how entertwined the recipes are and how much they rely on each other...

...so then to 'ice' the Vegan Petits Savarins...we made the Vegan Gelée d'Abricot...apricot glaze...

...I pulverized some almonds in my old---old spice/coffee grinder...

...I left the skins on for this part...I just thought it would be prettier...and tastier...

...I decided not to strain the glaze...I like the little bits of apricot...

...then I blanched and peeled and split a few almonds for the decoration...

...then for the assembly...Julia says to brush crumbs off top and sides of cake...

...and then paint cake with apricot glaze...

...she says to brush almonds against the sides...but that didn't work for me very well...so I just sort of pressed them into the glaze with my fingers...

...then I brushed some more glaze on the top just to make it extra sticky for the almonds...

...and finally decorate top with slivered almonds or with or fruit if you prefer...

...and there you have it...a perfect little cake for afternoon tea...

...if this was meant to be a single serving though...you'd have to be pretty hungry to eat the whole cake...

...but it was so pretty and delicious you might be able to...

Substitutions: None...that hardly ever happens...

...recipe here...Mastering the Art of French Cooking (p. 670)