Dayrecipe Food Community

DIRECTIONS

In a kettle combine the potatoes with enough salted cold water to cover them by 2 inches, bring the water to a boil, and simmer the potatoes, removing the small ones as they are done, for 30 to 40 minutes, or until they are tender. Drain the potatoes and let them cool until they can be handled. Peel the potatoes and cut them into bite-sized pieces.

In a large bowl whisk together the vinegar and salt and pepper to taste, add the oil in a stream, whisking, and whisk the dressing until it is emulsified. Add the potatoes and the parsley and combine the salad well.

DIRECTIONS

In a kettle combine the beets with enough cold water to cover them by 2 inches, bring the water to a boil, and simmer the beets removing the small ones as they are done, for 40 to 50 minutes, or until they are tender. Drain the beets and let them cool. The beets may be cooked 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled. Peel the beets and cut them into 1-inch wedges.

In a small saucepan combine zest, the orange juice, the sugar, the vinegar, and the bay leaf and boil the mixture until it is reduced to about 1/4 cup. Discard the bay leaf and let the mixture cool. In a large bowl whisk together the orange mixture, the oil, and salt and pepper to taste until the dressing is emulsified, add the beets and the onion, and combine the salad well.

mustard dill sauce
dill sprigs for garnish

DIRECTIONS

In a saucepan combine the wine, 1 1/2 cups water, the sugar, the peppercorns, the coriander seeds, the mustard seeds, the salt, and the onion, simmer the mixture for 15 minutes, and let cool to room temperature. Halve the salmon steaks with sharp knife, discarding as many bones as possible, and re-form the steaks. Arrange the steaks in 2 buttered shallow baking pans, ladle the wine mixture around them, and poach the steaks, covered with a buttered piece of foil, on the upper and lower racks of a preheated 375°F. oven, switching the positions of the pans after 15 minutes, for 30 minutes. Let the steaks cool, venting the foil, and chill them in the poaching liquid, covered, for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Separate the salmon steaks into halves, brush them with some of the poaching liquid, and arrange them on a platter. Garnish the salmon with dill sprigs and the lemon slice and serve it with the sauce.

DIRECTIONS

Spread the bread with the butter and with a 2-inch scalloped cutter cut into 12 rounds. Arrange the salami, the cheese, and the bell pepper decoratively on the bread, spoon small dollops of the mustard onto the canapés, and press the onions into the mustard.

The canapés may be made 30 minutes in advance and kept covered and chilled. Arrange the canapés on a platter.

for the glaze

4 pecan halves

DIRECTIONS

Make the cake:
Line the bottom of a buttered 8 1/2-inch springform pan with wax paper, butter the paper, and dust the pan with flour, shaking out the excess. In a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt the chocolates, stirring until the mixture is smooth, remove the bowl from the pan, and let the chocolate cool until it is room temperature. In the bowl of an electric mixer cream together the butter and the sugar until the mixture is pale and fluffy, add the chocolate, and beat the mixture until it is combined well. Beat in the egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, and beat in the bourbon and the flour. In a large bowl beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they just hold stiff peaks, stir one third of them into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, and fold in the remaining whites and the chopped pecans gently but thoroughly. Turn the batter into the prepared pan and bake the cake in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a tester inserted 2 inches from the rim comes out clean. (The center of the cake will remain moist.) Transfer the cake to a rack and let it cool completely. Remove the cake from the pan, invert it onto the rack, and remove the wax paper carefully. The cake may be made 1 day in advance and kept wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature.

Make the glaze:
Put the chocolate in a small bowl, in saucepan bring the cream to a boil, and pour it over the chocolate. Stir the mixture until the chocolate is melted and the glaze is smooth.

Invert the cake onto rack set on wax paper, pour the glaze over it, smoothing the glaze over the top and side with a spatula, and arrange the pecan halves in the center of the cake. Let the cake stand 2 hours, or until the glaze is set, and serve it with the whipped cream.