HOME DESIGN : FIVE-COURSE GOURMET RECIPE

At her recent dinner party, Julie Greenfield of Irvine led the evening with Bruschetta--an appetizer of bread slices topped with tomato sauce. A chilled pear soup, which can be prepared up to 10 hours in advance, began the sit-down dinner. The sauce for the next course--angel-hair pasta with sun-dried tomatoes, prosciutto and porcini mushrooms--also can be prepared ahead of time.

For the main course, Greenfield served duck, glazed with the French liqueur cassis, and a wild-rice dish. Guests were treated to a choice of two desserts: individual raspberry souffles and amaretto-Irish cream cheesecake. The latter was baked and refrigerated by Greenfield the previous night. Following are the recipes that Greenfield used in creating her six-course gourmet meal.

BRUSCHETTA From Judy Zeidler’s “The Gourmet Jewish Cook” cookbook

Ingredients

Makes 6 to 12 servings

1/2 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons minced garlic

12 slices crusty Italian bread, cut 1/2-inch thick

5 tomatoes, diced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

Salt

Freshly ground white pepper

12 whole, small basil leaves for garnish

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Heat olive oil and 1 tablespoon garlic in large skillet over medium-low heat. (Do not allow garlic to brown because it will become bitter.) Add bread slices in single layer and fry on both sides until crisp. Place tomatoes in small bowl, add remaining 2 tablespoons garlic, chopped basil, and season to taste with Parmesan, salt and pepper.

Place bread slices on large serving platter and spoon tomato mixture onto each slice. Garnish with whole basil leaves and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

PEAR AND SAUTERNES SOUP Ingredients

Serves 6

1 vanilla bean, split

1 750-milliliter bottle French Sauternes, Monbazillac or Barsac wine

2 4-inch strips lemon peel (yellow part only)

2 to 3 tablespoons sugar

3 large pears, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped

Preparation

Scrape vanilla seeds into 4-quart heavy non-aluminum saucepan; add bean. Add wine, lemon peel and 2 tablespoons sugar. Boil until reduced to 1 cup, 10 to 15 minutes. Add pears and simmer until soft, about 8 minutes. Add more sugar if desired. Remove vanilla bean. Puree pear mixture in processor until smooth. Cool. Refrigerate until well chilled.

ANGEL-HAIR PASTA Ingredients

Serves 6

1 pound angel hair boiled in salted water until al dente (1 1/2 to 2 minutes).

Strain and cover with sauce (see below).

Sauce

Saute in 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil:

1/4 pound prosciutto juliennes

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon garlic in olive oil

Brown

Add 1/2 cup dry white wine

Reduce

Add 1/4 pound dry porcini mushrooms (that have been soaked in water), 1 cup baby peas and 4 ounces sun-dried tomatoes soaked in olive oil

Add 2 pints diced tomatoes and 1/2 pound butter

Add salt and pepper

Cook until creamy (5 to 10 minutes)

Toss the pasta and sauce together

Add 1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan and some fresh ground pepper

DUCKLING WITH CREAM CASSIS Ingredients

Serves 8

4 ducks each weighing about 4 1/2 pounds

1/2 cup butter

3 shallots, minced

10-ounce jar good currant jelly

8 ounces creme de cassis

3 1/2 cups duck stock

2 8-ounce cans Bing cherries, drained

Cooked wild rice

Watercress for garnish

Preparation

Place the ducks in a shallow roasting pan on a rack. Roast 2 1/2 to 3 hours at 375 degrees until tender, turning halfway through baking time. In a skillet or heavy pan, melt the butter and saute the shallots for about three minutes. Deglaze the pan with the jelly and creme de cassis. Whisk in the stock. Bring to a boil and reduce by boiling for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the ducks into serving pieces and arrange on a warmed serving platter. Stir the cherries into the sauce, then pour sauce over the ducks. Serve with wild rice and garnish with watercress.

WILD RICE WITH SNOW PEAS AND SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS From Bon Appetit magazine

Ingredients

Serves 6

1 cup wild rice

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup chopped peeled carrot

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped celery

1/3 cup long-grain white rice

1 teaspoon dried tarragon, crumbled

2 2/3 cups beef broth

3 1/2 ounces fresh shiitake or button mushrooms, stemmed and cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips

1/3 pound snow peas, stemmed, each cut diagonally into thirds

Salt

Preparation

Add wild rice to medium saucepan of boiling water. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Drain.

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in heavy large Dutch oven or saucepan over medium-high heat. Add carrot, onion and celery and cook until onion is translucent, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes. Add wild rice, white rice and tarragon; mix well. Add broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until all liquid is absorbed, about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook until just beginning to soften, about 45 minutes, stirring frequently. Add snow peas and stir until crisp-tender, about 2 more minutes. Add to rice; season with salt.

AMARETTO-IRISH CREAM CHEESECAKE Ingredients

Serves 12

Crust

1 1/2 cups vanilla wafer cookie crumbs

1/2 cup toasted whole almonds, finely chopped

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon amaretto liqueur

Filling

3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup sugar

4 eggs

1/3 cup whipping cream

1/3 cup blanched almonds, ground

1/4 cup Bailey’s Original Irish Cream

1/4 cup amaretto liqueur

Topping

1 1/2 cups sour cream

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted

Preparation

Crust

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375 degrees. Lightly grease 9-inch springform pan. Mix all ingredients in large bowl until well blended. Press mixture into bottom of prepared pan. Bake until edges brown, about 7 minutes. Cool on rack. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Filling

Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add remaining four ingredients and beat until well blended. Pour filling into prepared crust. Bake until edges are light brown and center is almost set, about 1 hour. Turn oven off. Cool cake in oven with door open until center is completely set, about 30 minutes.

Topping

Remove cake from oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend sour cream, sugar and vanilla in small bowl until smooth. Spread over cooled cake. Bake 10 minutes. Sprinkle with almonds. Cool completely on rack. Cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight before serving.

RASPBERRY SOUFFLES Ingredients

Serves 6

2 large egg yolks

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Superfine sugar

15 ounces raspberries, pureed and strained

8 large egg whites, room temperature

2 tablespoons superfine sugar

Powdered sugar

Raspberry brandy sauce

Preparation

Whisk egg yolks with 1/4 cup sugar in medium bowl to blend. Mix in flour. Bring milk to boil in heavy small saucepan over medium heat. Gradually whisk hot milk into yolk mixture. Return mixture to saucepan and bring to boil, whisking constantly, about 1 minute. Strain into bowl. Stir in vanilla. Cool pastry cream to room temperature. (Can be prepared one day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly butter six 2/3-cup souffle dishes. Coat with superfine sugar, tapping out excess. Mix 1 cup raspberry puree into pastry cream (reserve remainder for sauce). Using electric mixer, beat whites in large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add 2 tablespoons sugar and beat until stiff but not dry. Fold 1/3 of whites into raspberry mixture to lighten. Gradually fold in remaining whites in two batches. Carefully spoon mixture into prepared souffle dishes, filling almost to top. (Can be prepared 30 minutes ahead, covered and refrigerated.)

Arrange dishes in large baking pan. Add enough warm water to pan to come halfway up side of dishes. Bake until souffles puff and tops are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove dishes from water. Transfer to plates. Sift powdered sugar over tops. Serve, passing sauce separately.

RASPBERRY BRANDY SAUCE

Makes about 1 1/3 cups

Ingredients

1 cup whipping cream

1/3 cup raspberry puree (reserved from souffles)

2 tablespoons framboise (raspberry eau-de-vie)

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

Preparation

Bring all ingredients to boil in small saucepan. Cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve sauce warm.