VEGAN GRATIN AUX FRUITS DE MER

[Vegan Gratin of Creamed Salmon or Other Fish]

Julia says..."A quick and delicious main-course dish can be made by combining a good cream sauce with canned salmon, tuna, or clams"....

...and I happened to have some vegan canned tuna hanging around in the freezer that I wanted to use up...

...I double bagged it and labeled it...so hoping it's still good...it's been in there a while...

...as you often do with Julia...cook the onions until tender but not browned...

...then stir in the flour...and also cook for a couple of minutes without 'colouring'...

...then stir in the boiling vegan milk...I used almond milk...

...and the wine...

...then Julia says to boil for several minutes to evaporate the alcohol in the wine, and allow the sauce to thicken considerably...

...which is odd...because then you thin it with a couple of spoonfuls of vegan cream...I used cashew cream...

...then you add salt, pepper and oregano...

...and then you 'fold in' the vegan tuna...I thought folding was a term used for fluffy aqua faba...not for a cream sauce...but I folded it in...maybe it's so you don't break up the delicate vegan fish...

...then you spread in baking dish or pastry shell...

...sprinkle on the vegan cheese...

... and distribute the vegan butter in pea-sized dots...

...and then bake in upper third of preheated oven for about 15 minutes, or until top is nicely browned...

...I wasn't really sure how to serve this dish...but we had it over toast...like you would have vegan chipped beef...

...and it was OK...not bad...I don't think I would have ever liked any type of tuna casserole back in the day when they were popular so this is not something I'll make again...

Substitutions:
Vegan milk for the milk...I used unsweetened almond milk...
Vegan cream for the cream...I just used cashew cream...
Vegan canned Tuna
Earth Balance for the butter

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 156-157

VEGAN SUPRÊMES DE VOLAILLE EN CHAUD-FROID, BLANCHE NEIGE

[Vegan Breast of Chicken in Chaud-froid]

...Julia says that this is "a decorative, delicious, and easy-to-execute aspic which lends itself to numerous variations"

...and this was such a fun little recipe to make too...

...see what I mean...aren't these just the CUTEST!...

...so remember the Trader Joe's Chick'n tenders...I thawed those out and peeled the breading off of them...leaving these little nekkid vegan tenders...

...and poached those in some Earth Balance...

...and took those out of the pan...and added the vegan cream...

...to which I had added some Vegeta...for some chick'n-y flavor...

...and some tarragon...

...and stirred that all together...

...and added some agar agar powder...

...and then you just cook that until it thickens up nicely...

...and then I strained the sauce/coating through a fine mesh sieve...

...and then poured it over the poached vegan tenders...

...now for the fun part...the coating starts to set up as it cools...so I took a toothpick and positioned tarragon leaves on each little tender to make a flower stem...

...and then I took a thin slice of a tomato...

...and cut out a little red flower to put atop the stem...

...and I mean...they are just too CUTE!...

...served on a bed of lettuce with a small side of wild rice...

...such a fun and springlike luncheon dish...

...and you know me and my waste not want not ways...I took the leftover sauce/coating...and put a vegan tender into a small ramekin...

...and just poured over the remaining sauce...

...and let it cool and set up...then I took a knife and ran it around the rim...

...and popped it upside down on a bed of lettuce too...

...so you could definitely do the recipe that way and not go to the fun...er...I mean trouble of decorating the tenders with flowers...haha...

...I can't really say this was a delicious meal...and I'm not sure it's really supposed to be...it's definitely light fare...and definitely pretty and fancy...

Substitutions:
Vegan cream for the cream...I just used almond milk...
Vegan Chick'n tenders
Earth Balance for the butter
Vegeta for the chicken broth

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 551-552

Vegan Gratin de Pommes de Terre Provençal

[Vegan Scalloped Potatoes with Onions, Tomatoes, Anchovies, Herbs, and Garlic]

...this is what Julia says about this delicious casserole..."its full-bodied Mediterranean flavor goes widi roast lamb or beef, steaks, chops, or grilled mackerel, tuna, or swordfish. It is also good served cold. The potatoes need no other liquid than that rendered by the tomatoes as they cook together."

...so you start with some tomatoes and onions...just thinly sliced...Julia has you cook the onions first...but I just tossed them in with everything else...

...add some basil, thyme, pepper and garlic...

...layer in a casserole dish...

...I'm using capers as a sub for the anchovies...

...top with some vegan parmesan...

...Julia says the covering is optional...but since I didn't precook my onions and I wanted the trapped steam to cook those a bit faster...

...it baked up perfectly...and smells wonderful...

...we served this delicious cassserole with vegan meatloaf...mashed and peas...

...this was really really delicious...I'll definitely be making this again...

Substitutions:
Vegan Parmesan for the cheese
Capers for the anchovies

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

pp. 525-526

VEGAN MOUSSE DE FOIES DE VOLAILLE

[Vegan Chicken Liver Mousse] ...Julia says to pack into a decorative jar and used as a spread for cocktail appetizers...

...start with some finely minced shallots...and sautee them for 2-3 minutes...

...the to make the vegan liver...I'm using walnuts...

...and lentils again like I did in the timbale recipe...

...they are mildly flavored...you'll need some vegan cream...but set it aside...and I added the salt, allspice, pepper, and a pinch of thyme to the lentil/walnut mixture...along with the Madeira...

...once the lentils are done...Julia says to add the mixture to a blender...but I'm going to use my stick blender...it's just less messy...

...add some vegan butter...

...and the vegan cream...

...and then just blend everything up...

...until it's nice and smooth...

...then Julia says to pack it into a pretty jar...and I had saved this Bonne Maman jelly jar...I love those...they always remind me of my time in France...

...so...I packed it in there...and put it into the fridge to chill...

...and then we fixed a platter of crudites and different kinds of crackers and pretzels and put the jar of mousse in the center...

...it was a really delicious snack...I liked it with all of the different things...but probably my favorite was just the simple saltine...

Substitutions:
...vegan butter...we used the new Blue Bonnet Plant Based...
...vegan liver...we used lentils and walnuts for that
...vegan cream...

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

pp. 559-560