Vegan Farce de Porc

[Vegan Pork and Herb Stuffing] ...I thought I'd try this recipe out before Thanksgiving...the one right above it looks good too...Farce aux Herbes...so I may try that one too...

...Julia says to use fresh white bread crumbs...so I got some frozen hot dog buns out of the freezer...always trying to use things up before they go too long...

...so...I just crumbled those up...and mixed up some vegan bouillon and poured that over...then you let it soak...and drain it in a sieve...Julia says you can save the bouillon for your sauce...

...then I took two forks and crumbled up some vegan porc cutlets...

...finely minced an onion...

...and as you often do...sauteed until translucent and not browned...

...got out my herbes...Julia suggests 1/4 tsp. of ground rosemary, sage, or thyme and 1/4 cup minced parsley...I didn't add any rosemary though...

...and oddly a pinch of allspice...so I added a small pinch...it's a pretty strong flavor...and it didn't want it to be an allspice stuffing...

...and then you just mix everything together...

...we served it over the vegan pork cutlets with sweet potatoes and broccoli...

...it's a pretty delicious stuffing...I'd make it again...

Substitutions:

Vegan pork for the pork
vegan butter
Vegan bouillon

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking (p. 336)

Vegan Céleri à la Grecque

[Vegan Celery à la Grecque]

...I don't know about y'all...but I don't generally think of celery as a 'cooked' vegetable...I mean...we often use celery as a cooked flavoring ingredient...like as part of mirapoix...and I have made Julia's VEGAN CÉLERIS BRAISÉS...and it was good...it was served warm...and this recipe is for cold cooked celery...so I'm a little bit unsure of it...

...Julia says to "Buy bunches labeled “celery hearts.” Remove any tough outside stalks...

...Cut off the tops of the bunches to just below the main body of leaves. Halve or quarter the bunches lengthwise, wash thoroughly under running water...

...and arrange them in a baking dish...

...and then you need to make the Vegan Court Bouillon...

...and pour that over the celery...

...cover and bake for 30 to 40 minutes...

...and then chill before serving...

...I've tasted the broth and a bite of the celery and it's good and flavorful...but we've not actually eaten this dish with a meal yet...I'll come back and let you know...😉

...OK...I'm back...and we had Julia's chilled Vegan Céleri à la Grecque...on the side with our Spicy Masala...which was a nice cool down for this spicy meal...



Substitutions:

None...

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking (p. 538)

VEGAN CRÊPES DE POMME DE TERRE

[Vegam Grated Potato Pancakes] ...Julia says that these are excellent with roasts, steaks, or chops...so we had ours with in improvised vegan tofu steak......you can check that simple 'recipe' out over at Affectioknit...

...you start these 'crêpes' out with a sort of cream sauce...made with vegan cream cheese, vegan eggs, and some flour and salt and pepper...and then you stir in some vegan swiss cheese if you have it...I did not...so I just used the Violife mozzarella...and it was fine...

...then you peel and grate your potatoes...Julia specifies baking potatoes for this recipe...so we used Idahos...and then like we often do with sort of wet things...you take a scrupulously clean kitchen towel and wring the excess moisture out of the potatoes...

...and then you add some vegan cream a little at a time...and Julia specifies the texture for the mixture "the consistency of a thick, creamed cole slaw — not runny."...

...then you just melt some vegan butter and oil in a skillet over medium high heat...

...and then again...Julia is pretty specific about the size of these little crêpes..."ladle 3 piles of batter into the skillet to form 3 crepes approximately 3 inches in diameter and 3/8 inch thick..."

...and then you just fry them for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown...

...we had ours with our vegan tofu steaks...carrots and spinach...and applesauce...

...they were perfect...

...so delicious...and different from my usual potato pancakes made from leftover mashed potatoes...the texture was a little bit different and they tasted fresher...really really good...

Substitutions:

Violife Cream Cheese for the Cream Cheese
Violife Mozzarella for the Swiss Cheese
Aqua faba for the eggs
Earth Balance for the Butter
Cashew Cream for the cream

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking (pp/ 521-523)

VEGAN CRÈME SAINT-HONORÉ

[Vegan Custard Filling with Beaten Vegan Egg Whites]

...Julia says this recipe is just the VEGAN CRÉME PÂTISSIÉRE with the addition of the beaten vegan egg whites...and basically any flavoring you want to use...chocolate...orange...vanilla...etc...

...but I cheated a bit and just used this powdered Birds custard made with almond milk for the custard...and I didn't flavor it with anything else...

...it made a lovely vegan custard...

...and then of course I whipped up some aqua faba...which is always amazing...

...Julia says to stir one quarter of the vegan egg whites into the hot custard...

...and then fold in the rest...

...we had ours chilled...but apparently you can have it warm too if that's your thing...because Julia says..."If the cream is to be served cold, chill it in the refrigerator"...

...it was fluffy...and good...just a different texture than your general 'pudding' texture...

Substitutions:

Bird's Custard for the VEGAN CRÉME PÂTISSIÉRE made with almond milk
Aqua faba for the egg whites

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking (p. 591) 591

Vegan Côtes de Porc Robert/Côtes de Porc Charcutière

[Vegan Pork Chops Braised in Fresh Tomato Sauce]

...this is one of those recipes with two names...for some reason...

...so you start by browning your vegan pork chops...

...chop up some onion and fresh tomato...

...sauté the onions...then add the tomatoes...

...add some herbs...and some flour...

...and some broth...I used some vegan beef bouillon...

...cook everything together for a few minutes...

...add your vegan chops...

...and then put everything into a casserole and put it into the oven fro 25-30 minutes...

...we had our chops with a salad, some steamed broccoli and rice...I don't know what it is aboug Julia's long simmered tomato sauces...but they have all been delicious...

Substitutions

Earth Balance for the butter
seitan for the pork chops
Vegan bouillon for the broth

Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 388-389

VEGAN MOULES AU BEURRE D’ESCARGOT / MOULES À LA PROVENÇALE

[Vegan Mussels on the Half Shell, Gratinéed]

...Julia says these are delicious as a first course...

...so...I got out my vegan half-shells...haha...aren't they cute...

...and I made my go to taste-o'-the'sea broth...just nori sheets and water...

...and I found some regular firm tofu...which is a better texture for fish-y dishes than the extra firm...although I couldn't really even say that I know what 'texture' actual living breathing mussels are...

...cut the tofu into little mussel-y shapes...I think...and popped them into the simmering broth...

...while they were simmering...I mixed up the beurre d'escargot...

...just smashed together Earth Balance, parsley and finely shallot...

...then added some panko bread crumbs...Julia suggests fine white breadcrumbs...and I also added the nori from the broth for even more flavor-o'-the-sea...and just smooshed it into the topping...

...placed a little vegan mussel on each vegan half shell...

...and covered with the topping...

...put them on a baking tray...

...and ran that under the broiler until the topping was golden brown and crispy...

...served with a white wine...and a little fork...haha...

...oh my goodness are these little amuse-bouches delicious...I mean...really really good...my bouche was definitely amused...

...so delicious...definitely need to make these again...



Substitutions

Earth Balance for the butter
Tofu for the mussels simmered in a broth with nori sheets

Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 228-229