VEGAN MOULES EN SAUCE MOUCLADES/MOULES À LA POULETTE/MOULES À LA BÉARNAISE

[Vegan Sauced Mussels Served in Scallop Shells]

...this recipe has three titles...

...Julia says "This is a more formal recipe for mussels. They are steamed open with wine and flavorings, then a rich, creamy, buttery sauce is made with their cooking liquid...

...I'm using just regular ol' mushrooms for the vegan mussels...having never eaten mussels in my life...I searched the interwebs for a photo...

...and the poor little things look a lot like mushrooms...so I just slice the stems off and cut them into bite sized pieces...

...put them in a pot with white wine and the spices...which I actually thought were rather odd...garlic (not odd)...but fennel and curry powder...

...and I added some wakame for some flavor of the sea...

...while the mushrooms are cooking...

...stir together some flour and vegan butter...

...then mix up some vegan egg yolks...

...and some lemon juice...salt and pepper...

...strain the hot vegan mussel cooking liquor into the flour and butter roux...

...bring to a boil...

...then add your egg yolk mixture...

...add in your vegan mussels...

...and right before serving stir in some vegan butter...

...and Julia says to 'heap' the mixture onto the scallop shells...

...we served them with a little spoon and fork...Julia doesn't say how to eat them...and I don't imagine that you slurp them off the little shells...but maybe you do...they were quite delicious...

Substitutions

Vegan mussels...I used mushrooms...
Cashew Cream for the Cream...
Vegan egg replace for the eggs...
Vegan Margarine for Butter - I used Earth Balance...

Mastering the Art of French Cooking (pp. 230-231)

VEGAN TRANCHES DE JAMBON À LA CRÈME...again...

[Vegan Sautéed Ham Slices — Fresh Vegan Cream Sauce]

...so...of course I re-did the recipe from last week with the tomato sauce...

...the same sauce...just with tomato paste added...

...and it's prettier for sure...but...

...I liked it better with just the Dijon mustard...it's still good though...

Substitutions

Vegan Ham...this was just the leftover vegan ham that I made using TVP and VWG...
Cashew Cream for the Cream
Vegan Margarine for Butter - I used Earth Balance...


Mastering the Art of French Cooking (pp. 398-399)

VEGAN TRANCHES DE JAMBON À LA CRÈME

[Vegan Sautéed Ham Slices — Fresh Vegan Cream Sauce]

...Julia calls this recipe "famous"...but says that it is made with a richer and more delicate sauce than the previous VEGAN TRANCHES DE JAMBON MORVANDELLE...and since I had some ham slices left over from our little Thanksgiving celebration here...I thought I'd use them up for a quick leftover type of a dinner...

...sauté the vegan ham slices in vegan butter and oil...

...in the same oil/vegan butter sauté some shallots...

...add the cognac and Madeira...

...Julia specifies using a wooden spoon here...but I was already using this silicone spatula...so I didn't change to a wooden spoon...

...and I stirred in the cashew cream that I'd whisked some Dijon mustard into...***ERROR ALERT***I was also supposed to stir in some tomato paste...which I totally had...not sure how I overlooked that in the recipe...but you are SUPPOSED to add some tomato paste as well...

...BUT...this sauce...lightly flavored with Dijon is delicious...!

...we served the vegan ham with just some frozen peas and VEGAN RIZ À L'INDIENNE - RIZ À LA VAPEUR...we had Julia's steamed rice with Mom on Monday...and she asked how I got it so perfectly fluffy...so I'm including the recipe here...it's how I always make rice now...and it turns out perfectly every single time...

...so IF you add the tomato paste...imagine a slightly rosy sauce here...

...this is really delicious...the mustard cream sauce perfectly compliments the slightly salty vegan ham...

Substitutions

Vegan Ham...this was just the leftover vegan ham that I made using TVP and VWG...
Cashew Cream for the Cream
Vegan Margarine for Butter - I used Earth Balance...

Mastering the Art of French Cooking (pp. 398-399)

Vegan Jambon Braisé au Madère

[Vegan Ham Braised in Madeira Wine]

...Julia says that "The combined flavors of Madeira and ham have always been a favorite in France."...and I must say that the amber tea coloured Madeira is not very easy to acquire here...

...first of all...I made the braising liquid...vegan beef bouillon, carrots, onions, Madeira, and oil...

...then I added a slab of vegan ham...I just whizzed some ham flavored tvp with some VWG in the foodprocessor...added a little bit of water to make a 'dough'...shaped it into a patty and did a preliminary cooking to brown it a little bit in the Griddler...added it to the stock and put it into the oven...until I was sure the seitan was completely cooked...

...when it's tender Julia says...

...glaze it with powdered sugar from a shaker...

...then put the braising liquid in a saucepan...and bring it to a boil...

...Julia specifies Arrowroot powder as the thickening agent as it won't 'cloud' the sauce...

...add some truffles or mushrooms and simmer for about 5 minutes...

...the sauce won't be very thick...

...the slice of ham...with its slightly sweet coating...

...spoon over the sauce...

...we served it with all the regular Thanksgiving sides...vegan mac-n-cheeze...green bean casserole...corn...and dinner rolls...and it was really really delicious...

Substitutions:

Vegan Ham...I just made a quick ham patty using TVP and VWG...but if you're more ambitious than that...I often make Tracy's Version...but you'll have to go to the WayBackMachine to get that...
Vegan Beef Bouillon
Vegan Margarine for Butter - I used Earth Balance...

Mastering the Art of French Cooking (pp. 392-393)

Vegan Charlotte Basque

[Vegan Almond Custard with Chocolate]

Julia says that this is lighter than the Vegan Charlotte Malakoff because the base is a custard and no whipped cream is folded into it...

...first you need some vegan Ladyfingers...so make some VEGAN BISCUITS À LA CUILLER...I made them just a little bit firmer this time by adding more flour...as I didn't want to pipe them...

...but rolled them out and used my little fluted cutter to cut strips...and then cut those little rectangles the height of the straight sided corningware dish I'm using...and I also cut some little triangles for the bottom...as the bottoms (which end up being the tops) of my previous Charlottes have been a little bit messy...

...then I melted some chocolate in some strong coffee...

...to make a chocolate flavored VEGAN CRÈME ANGLAISE...

...then the Ladyfingers were done...

...I lined my dish with waxed paper...

...and neatly arranged the cookie wedges in the bottom...

...and lined up the little fluted Ladyfingers along the side of the dish...they're perfect...

...then I made the Vegan Crème Chantilly...Take Deux......that's the version using aqua faba...

...it turns out perfect every time...it's amazing...

...then you cool the custard sauce...add some pulverized almonds...and gradually beat in some almond extract (go very sparingly with this if you don't love the strong almond flavor)...and fold in the Chantilly...

...it makes a gorgeous chocolate mousse...

...pour it into the lined mold...layering in more Ladyfingers...

...cover with cling film and chill until set...

...then uncover it...it's not deflated at all...still just as mousse-y as ever...

...put the plate over the mold...

...and invert...it should come right out...

...peel off the waxed paper...

...Et voilà!...it's so perfect...

...I love how it looks...

...and it slices perfectly too...

...we had it with tea...of course...

...it's just delicious...chocolate mousse and ladyfingers...

...I'll definitely make this version again...so...so ...good...

Substitutions:

Vegan Margarine for Butter - I used Earth Balance...
Vegan Whipped Cream - I used whipped aqua faba...


Mastering the Art of French Cooking (p. 608)