Connie Elder: Lipo in a Box

To order Lipo in a Box or for more information visit www.lipoinabox.com.  To learn more about Soles For Souls visit www.soles4souls.com.

Travis Maier: Seny

For more information about Seny visit www.senycincy.com.  To make a reservation call 513.221.SENY.

Andy Keller: Chico Bag

To find out if you have a single bag use addiciton visit www.chicobag.com.

Chef Philippe Audax

For Philippe's French Christmas recipes click read more!

Kir Royale

1 measure of Cassis (blackcurrant liqueur)
5 measures of chilled dry Champagne or Prosecco

Place the measure of cassis into a wine glass.  Add chilled wine.  Serve.

Millefeuille with Goat Cheese and Smoked Salmon
Serves 4
 

1 head Iceberg lettuce
7 ounces smoked salmon
Juice of 2 lemons
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch chives
5 ounces fresh goat cheese
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

Lay the lettuce on its side and cut 3 (½”) slices from the middle; carefully set them aside.  Cut the salmon into cubes; place in a bowl to marinate for ½ hour with the lemon juice, salt & pepper.  Chop half of the chives, and combine them in a bowl with the goat cheese, salt and pepper.  Clean and grill the peppers; remove the skin and julienne them.  Place the first slice of lettuce on a serving platter. Cover with julienne of peppers and the cheese mixture.  Cover with a second slice of lettuce, lay more pepper julienne and the marinated smoked salmon.  Finally, cover with the third slice of lettuce.  For the garnish, top with julienne of salmon and herbs.  Serve with lemon vinaigrette made with one part lemon juice, 2 parts olive oil, salt and pepper.

Potato, Leek, and Watercress Soup with Scallops
Serves 4

4 Idaho potatoes, peeled and sliced
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large Spanish onion, peeled and medium diced
3 medium leeks, cleaned and chopped
1 bouquet garni: cheesecloth packet containing, parsley, peppercorns, bay leaf and thyme sprigs
Salt
White pepper
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
1½ bunches watercress, cleaned, stems removed and coarsely chopped
1½ pounds fresh bay scallops (rock shrimp or crabmeat can be substituted)
Chopped chives, for garnish

In a medium saucepan, cover ½ of the potatoes with cold water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and blanch until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and reserve.  In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onions and leeks and stir. Cover the pot and sauté the onions and leeks until they are translucent, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Uncover, and add the raw potatoes, the bouquet garni, salt and pepper, chicken stock and cream, and stir. Bring the soup to a simmer over medium heat, uncovered. Simmer until the potatoes are soft, cooking for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat.  Using a blender, puree the soup in batches. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper. Return the soup to the pot, add the blanched potatoes, and place over medium heat. When the soup begins to simmer, add the watercress and scallops, and cook for 30 seconds, stirring once. Ladle the soup into hot bowls and sprinkle with chives. Serve immediately.

White and Green Asparagus with Morel Sauce
Serves 2

8 ounces each, white and green asparagus
2 ounce Mesclun mix
Salt & pepper

Tie the asparagus into a bundle and cook in boiling salted water.

Sauce:
2 ounces fresh morel mushrooms
Butter
2 teaspoons shallots
¾ cup white wine
¾ cup chicken stock
¾ cup heavy cream
1 ounce lemon juice
1 drizzle walnut oil
Cayenne pepper

Cook the morels in butter, covered for 3 minutes.  Add the chopped shallot, deglaze with white wine and reduce until the liquid is almost evaporated.  Add the chicken stock, cream, lemon juice and walnut oil, simmer a few minutes.  Add seasoning to taste with a hint of cayenne pepper.

Roast Goose with Prunes
Serves 6

Stuffing:
12 pitted prunes, finely diced
3 tablespoons Armagnac
3 tablespoons butter
2 red apples peeled and finely diced
Cinnamon
3 tablespoons oil
8 ounces ground beef
1 turkey liver, chopped
10 ounces ground veal
2 eggs
1 cup heavy cream

Goose:
1 - 9 pound goose
Salt & pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil

Preparing the stuffing:
Macerate the prunes in Armagnac for 1 hour.  Melt the butter in a sauce pan; add the apples and cook over low heat with cinnamon.  Heat the oil in another pan and cook the ground beef or 5 minutes.  Proceed the same way for the liver; add the Armagnac used to macerate the prunes and flambé.  Combine the ground veal with the eggs, add the cream and mix until the mixture is smooth and creamy.  Add the liver, ground beef, prunes and apples.

Cooking the goose:
Salt and pepper the goose inside and out; stuff and truss.  Place the bird in a roasting pan with 3 tablespoons of oil, roast at 425ºF for 1½ hours, basting often.

Deep-Fried Chocolate Truffles
Makes 3 dozen truffles

16 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
8 ounces heavy cream or whipping cream
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
½ pound French bread, preferably stale
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup sugar
½ cup all-purpose flour (for dusting)
3 eggs, beaten
Vegetable oil (for frying)

Use a heavy serrated knife (or a chocolate chopper) to shave off shards of chocolate; these can then be chopped again with the knife, or transferred to a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulsed briefly; be careful not to let the chocolate melt in the processor bowl. NOTE: Ganache can be lumpy if the chocolate is not chopped into very fine pieces before being combined with the hot cream. If the chocolate pieces are larger than ¼ inch, they will not melt completely and the resulting ganache will have lumps. 

Place chocolate pieces in a large bowl.  In a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, heat the cream just to a slight boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate pieces and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir mixture in a slow, circular motion. Add the Grand Marnier.  The molten chocolate and cream will blend slowly, and then become smooth and glossy (this glossiness is a good sign that the suspension is stable. This is now called a "ganache."  When the ganache is first made, it is still too warm and soft for easy handling. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, pressing the film onto the surface of the chocolate to prevent a thin skin from forming.  At this point, place ganache in the freezer for approximately 3 hours or until it is the consistency of modeling clay. Every 30 minutes give it a gentle stir to keep it from separating.  Line a sheet pan or cookie sheet with waxed paper and roll the ganache into small balls about ¾ inch diameter and arrange them on the sheet pan. Put them back into the freezer for about an hour (while you were working them, the chocolate began to melt and they must be stiff for the next step).  You will want the bread very dry for this. NOTE: If you have fresh bread, slice it very thin and place it in a barely warm oven for ten minutes until it feels dry. Use a food processor to grind the bread into crumbs, adding the sugar and cinnamon. You're looking for the consistency of kosher-salt.  Set three bowls out across your work surface, left-to-right (if you're right handed). In the 1st bowl you'll have the flour; in the 2nd bowl, the beaten eggs, and in the 3rd bowl, put about a quarter of the bread crumbs. As you progress, the crumbs will become contaminated with the eggs, so you'll want to freshen them with dry crumbs from the stock.  Using your left hand, take a piece of the ganache and roll it in the flour, and drop it into the egg. With your right hand, coat well with the egg, and transfer it to the bread-crumbs. Coat well and transfer to another half-sheet tray covered with waxed paper. After all the balls have been coated, repeat the process - flour, egg, bread-crumbs. At the end of the second coating they should be almost the size of a golf-ball. Back into the freezer for at least an hour, or even overnight. If you're going to keep them longer than that, put them on layers of waxed paper in an air-tight container.  When ready to serve, put vegetable oil into your fryer and bring it to 375ºF. Fry two balls at a time. Transfer the cold truffles into the oil and let them fry for almost a whole minute. The coating will be golden brown and slightly hard (the sugar will be nicely caramelized). Let dry on paper-towels. Serve them while still hot.