VEGAN CRÊPES FOURRÉES ET FLAMBÉES

[Vegan Crêpes with Orange-almond Butter, Flambées]

...this is really similar to the VEGAN CRÊPES SUZETTE...just with the addition of some almonds to the orange butter...

...so first you'll need some crêpes...of course...

...Julia says you can choose which crêpe recipe to use...

...I used the VEGAN CRÊPES À LA LEVURE...

...Julia says it's the best for stuffing...

...and they brown up so nicely...

...make a bunch and let them cool a bit...

...then make the same orange butter as for the VEGAN CRÊPES SUZETTE...

...then I blanched and pulverized some almonds in my old coffee grinder...

...if you're going to use the almond extract...I'd suggest a smaller amount that the 1/4 teaspoon...maybe half of that...or just a few drops...unless you really really like a strong almond flavor...as I found 1/4 teaspoon to be too strong...

...add your pulverized almonds...

...and make a paste...

...and spread that on the crêpes...

...Julia says you can fold them...form them into wedges or roll them...arrange in a baking dish and sprinkle with sugar...

...bake them for about 15 minutes or so...

...until the sugar starts to carmelize...

...pour over the warmed cognac...

...and then flambée them at the table...or bring them to the table flaming...which I thought would be a lot more difficult...

...and of course they were delicious...

Substitutions:
Vegan Butter...we used Earth Balance...

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 651-652

Vegan Choux de Bruxelles à la Milanaise

[Vegan Brussels Sprouts Browned with Vegan Cheese]

Julia says "These cheese-coated Brussels sprouts are good with (vegan) steaks and chops...

...so...instead of browning the Brussels the "Julia Way"...I used my Griddler to perfectly brown them without any oil...

...but then I buttered my baking dish with some Earth Balance...

...sprinkled it with vegan parm...

...loaded in the browned Brussels Sprouts...

...and topped with Chao shreds...my vegan Swiss would have been better...but I don't have any right now...

...then you just brown that in the oven for 15 minutes or so...

...and we served it with vegan steak...and mashed potatoes and gravy...

...it really is a perfect side dish for this meal...

...I already love Brussels Sprouts...but I've never really had then with cheese like this...it's really good...

Substitutions:

...vegan Parm and vegan Swiss...
...vegan butter...
recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking p. 453...

Vegan Timbale de Crêpes

[Vegan Molded French Pancakes with Various Fillings]

...Julia gives specific instructions about the mold for this timbale...about 3 1/2 inches high and 6 1/4 inches in diameter...so I got out my medium sized French White corningware dish...

...then you need to make some Crêpes

...we're filling this timbale with VEGAN FONDUE DE CRUSTACÉS...so you'll need to hop over to that recipe and make it as well...but you can fill this with anything you like really...

...Julia says if your crêpes are large to cut them in half...

...so I did...I also did not use 10 crêpes as I didn't want that thick of a layer of 'crust'...

...then you just scoop in your filling...

...and bake...

...invert and turn it out onto a plate...

...ooops...mine fell apart a little bit...

...I could have left it in the dish and served it like a pot pie...that's what the Man called it anyway...

...we had peas, rice, sweet potato, and Griddler-ed okra with our Timbale...

...it was really good and really a lot like a pot pie...the edges of the crêpes get nice and crispy...

Substitutions:

...so you'll need the Subs from the VEGAN PÂTE À CRÊPES...
Flax Seed Goo for the eggs
Earth Balance for Butter
Almond Milk for the milk


recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking p. 195...

VEGAN FONDUE DE CRUSTACÉS

[Vegan Cream Filling with Shellfish or Clams]

...Julia says you can fill your Vegan Timbale de Crêpes with several different fillings...

...but I had these Lobster mushrooms still in the freezer...

...so I got those out...

...and got some nori boiling in some water...

...sautéed some green onion...

...added some white wine...

...and the mushrooms...minus the nori...

...then I removed the nori...

...because I'm going to make my thick roux using this sauce along with some almond milk for more lobster flavor...

...Julia says to rapidly boil down the liquid...

...until it's almost all evaporated...

...and then add it to your very thick sauce...

...then hop back over to your Timbale mold and fill that with the sauce...

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 TIMBALE DE CHOUX DE BRUXELLES

[Vegan Brussels Sprouts Mold]

...this is another one of those recipes where you just sub out one of the ingredients of the master recipe...in this case it's the VEGAN TIMBALE D'ASPERGES...and you just sub Brussels Sprouts for Asperagus...Julia just says to..."Use the same method and ingredients as for the asparagus mold, page 440, substituting blanched, chopped Brussels sprouts for asparagus."..

...so first...butter some molds with Earth Balance...or your favorite vegan butter...

...then add your VEGAN CHOUX DE BRUXELLES BLANCHIS to the food processor...along with...salt...a pinch of nutmeg and vegan butter...grated Vegan Swiss...and stale, white bread crumbs...and then as a sub for the vegan eggs and milk...I made a sort of thick vegan gravy...just using almond milk and some flour...

...and process for a few pulses...until it's the consistency you want...I didn't want it completely smooth...

...pack it into your prepared molds...and set it into a pan of water and bake in the oven for 30 minutes or so...

...ours rose up almost like little soufflés...

...unmold them...Julia suggests several sauces...but we had ours unsauced...

...with some grilled tofu and rice and mushrooms...

...it was really really delicious...

Substitutions

vegan butter
Vegan milk and flour thick gravy for the eggs

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking (p. 454)