VEGAN FONDUE AU GRUYÈRE VARIATIONS - Ham

[Vegan Cream Filling with Swiss Cheese with Ham]

...this is just a variation of the VEGAN FONDUE AU GRUYÈRE


...just dice some vegan ham...I used Smart Deli Baked Ham Style here but if I'd had more time I would have made a homemade recipe like the one here...
and then all you really do is sauté the vegan ham in some Earth Balance...and add it to your VEGAN FONDUE AU GRUYÈRE

...and then fill your cute little Tartelettes...

...they are so yummy...



Substitutions: from the VEGAN FONDUE AU GRUYÈRE
Earth Balance for butter
Vegan Ham for the ham - homemade recipe here but I used Smart Deli Baked Ham Style here...

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

p. 201

VEGAN FONDUE AU GRUYÈRE

[Vegan Cream Filling with Swiss Cheese]

...so sorry - I meant to post this immediately after the Tartelettes...so without further ado...this is the first filling for the Vegan Tartelettes

...you cook the Earth Balance and flour together for a couple of minutes...of course without browning...

...add some boiling almond milk...I heated mine really hot in the microwave...but it wasn't quite boiling...but you want it to be very hot so that it doesn't make lumps...

...add your seasonings and about 1/8 cup of flax seed goo for the egg yolk...and whisk that in well...

...add some vegan cheese...I used Daiya Cheddar...if I'd had a stronger flavored cheese like Sheese Blue Cheese...I might have used that...but the cheddar was nice...

...whisk that in and add a little more Earth Balance...

...spoon it into the little Tartelettes...

...and serve...

...they're really good...crispy and creamy and cheese-y...

...they're good for 2 or 3 small bites...or you can easily pop a whole one in your mouth...so good and we'll definitely be making them again...

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

p. 201

Vegan Tartelettes

...I needed an appetizer to take to a Church gathering...so of course I consulted MtAoFC first...and I found these little Tartelettes with different fillings in the Entrées and Luncheon Dishes section...

...so I just made a VEGAN PÂTE BRISÉE...

...and cut it into little fluted rounds...

...then instead of following Julia's instructions to place the rounds in the cups and fill with paper and beans to weight them down...I formed them over the bottoms of my mini muffin tin...clever eh?...

...much easier and you get the perfect cute little crisp shallow cups...

Substitutions: Willow Run for Butter

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

p. 200

VEGAN TOMATES GRILLÉS AU FOUR

[Whole Baked Tomatoes]

...this is just about the simplest recipe ever...

...and my new grocery store had these adorable little trays of tomatoes for $1...

...first you cut out the stem...leaving as small a hole as possible...

...sprinkle with salt...

...and pepper...

...and put them stem side down in a roasting dish...Julia says not to crowd them...but I put ours in cute little individual cups...

...brush with olive oil...

...and bake on the middle rack for about 10 minutes...I thought this was extreme for Julia...because of her propensity to cook vegetables for a very long time...but she says they are done just when the skin breaks...and not left until they burst...

...so this was done...

...but I left mine in a little longer...maybe another 10 minutes...because they were just barely warm above and I wanted them really 'roasted'...

...simply served with some Gardein 'beef' tips...just roasted in the oven while the tomatoes were baking...peas and a roll...it was a super quick and easy supper...

...and the tomatoes were delicious...tender and juicy...unadulterated...

...I must admit that I've never had a simple baked tomato before...sometimes simple roasted vegetables are just the best...

Substitutions: None! - a truly simple vegan recipe...

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

p. 506

Vegan Haricots Verts à la Provençale

...I know you all thought that I had dropped off the face of the earth...but I've not...I've just moved from ND to WV...there's a standing joke around here that I can only live in states with directions in them...HA!...In the last ten years I've moved from NC to SC to ND to WV...kinda funny...

...so now I'm in a completely new kitchen...freshly unpacked and sorted...so I kinda know where everything is...and I intended to do one of Julia's spectacularly complicated recipes...but alas...it was suppertime and I needed a nice side dish...and fresh green beans are readily available here...all the time...

...you start with some sliced onions...

...and as usual...you cook those in some olive oil until translucent but not browned...

...then you add some chopped tomatoes...

...cook and stir...

...add some of the reserved tomato juice...

...and an herb bouquet...I used my tea ball to hold the herbs I'd be discarding...the tarragon and parsley are just added to the sauce...

...then add your blanched green beans...

...and cook for a few more minutes...until the green beans are tender...most of the liquid should have evaporated by now...mine had...but Julia says to raise the heat and boil off rapidly...tossing the beans...

...it was dark so sorry for the artificial light...the dish looks very Christmas-y with it's red and green...so I may file it away and make it again then...

...the dish was fine...but I do think that this is not the best way to cook tender fresh green beans as they are really overpowered by the zesty sauce...they're just sort of lost...and you really could have just as well used frozen...in fact Julia suggests this recipe as one that would work well with frozen green beans...


Substitutions: None...YAY!

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

p. 447

VEGAN CANETON RÔTI

[Roast Duckling]

...we had our little Thanksgiving celebration a little bit later because we celebrated the actual day with friends...

...I had the day off on Friday so after we got our tree up I decided we should celebrate with another Yuba duck recipe...

...I used the same procedure as before to make the yuba...and really once you have that done...it comes together pretty quickly...

...some of the instructions about the handling of the dead body are quite gruesome...

...first you place your vegan duck in a roasting pan...and sprinkle on the herbs and some salt and pepper...

...then you strew some vegetables around it...carrots and onions...donchajusluv the word 'strew'...how often do you get to use that word...

...pour on some brown stock...

...I used Washington's Rich Brown Seasoning and Broth...

...of course you don't have to worry about medium rare or any such thing...just roast until everything is heated through and the vegetables are done...

...then add the 'optional' port...I definitely recommend adding this...you cook off the alcohol and it just adds another layer of flavor...

...mash up the vegetables...

...and stir in some Earth Balance right before serving...

...taste and correct seasoning...

...pour into a gravy boat...

...and pour some over the roast...

...slice and serve...

...we had ours simply with some plain steamed rice...

...and fresh peas...

...this was so (SO VERY) good...tender and a little bit chewy...the sauce was delicious...as all of Julia's sauces are...we really enjoyed it...and if I could get ready made yuba...I might make it a little more often...

Substitutions:
Vegan Yuba Duck for the duckling
Vegan Brown Broth for the Stock
Earth Balance for Butter

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

p. 274-275