Panna Cotta & Boeuf en Croute

America's Test Chicken consists of two separate chickens, each with her own take on this cooking thing. Check out Chicken One's related blog, A Travel for Taste where she shares travel stories and authentic local recipes collected whenever she ventures abroad. And give Chicken Two's new, also-related blog, Poop from the Coop a read. There you can find stories about her personal adventure re-experiencing the kitchen after many years away. Please join our Facebook group to share your own recipes, kitchen practices and know-how. We are also on Pinterest and Instagram.

This time the Chickens cooked an entire meal. The star of the meal was the boeuf en croute, which Chicken Two handled expertly. The star of the dessert was panna cotta, which Chicken One turned out with ease. The whole reason for the meal was to try something that we'd always wanted to attempt but somehow intimidated us. You might say we overcame our chicken-heartedness!

Complete recipes appear at the end of this post. 

From Chicken One: Panna Cotta with Raspberry Sauce I chose panna cotta, the light, creamy dessert from Italy. I'm not sure why this one always intimidated me, but it did. Note: it no longer does! I got the recipe from my Culinaria Italia cookbook, whose photos alone make me want to go immediately to Tuscany. Squelching my desire to travel, I forged ahead with the recipe. It turns out it's really quite simple.  Hydrate some unflavored gelatin in some water.   Whisk the gelatin into hot cream.  The recipe calls for light cream. All I could find in the local market was regular cream, which I used to great success. I've since tried heavy whipping cream, and it yields totally different flavor. I much prefer the regular cream.     Ya gotta strain it in case your whisking abilities are lacking The only SCAFU of the day: spilt milk. But I didn't cry; I just poured it into ramekins and put them in the fridge to chill while Chicken Two did her meat thing.    I did manage to whip up a raspberry sauce for the panna cotta. I put some fresh raspberries and sugar into a saucepan and mashed them over heat until there was only juice and seeds. I strained out the seeds and returned the liquid to the stove to reduce, adding a little cornstarch and water to thicken at the end. I turned out the set panna cotta on a plate, drizzled the chilled raspberry sauce around it and garnished with fresh berries and mint leaves.  A fitting, relatively light end to a wonderfully rich main course.

From Chicken Two:   Boeuf En Croute I've always loved the idea of boeuf en croute but was terrified to attempt it. Frankly, every recipe I found made it sound so complicated, I wasn't sure I could pull it off ( at least not if it was going to take all day…short on endurance…very short on patience!) Finally, bolstered and encouraged by Chicken One, I decided to brave it. Next came picking a recipe! You won't believe the variations! I finally chose one from the Cooking Channel that I thought I could live with, and made a couple of changes/additions. We were so pleased (and I think a little surprised!) with the results. Hope you will be too! The recipe is below the pictures. Beef tenderloin sprinkled with  salt and pepper Mushroom duxelles Horseradish sauce on top, mushroom duxelles beneath the roast   After rolling out the dough, gently place over the roast   and make sure the sides are pinched tightly Brush with egg wash    Bake, then remove from oven and let sit for about 10 minutes And serve! Isn't it pretty???

Panna Cotta with Raspberry Sauce

Ingredients

For panna cotta

• 1 packet (1 ounce) unflavored gelatin

• 2 tablespoons water

• 4 cups light cream

• 1/3 cup sugar

• 2 pints fresh raspberries

For raspberry sauce:

• 2 pints fresh raspberries

• 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon water

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

• 1 bunch fresh mint

Cooking Directions

1. Panna Cotta: Mix gelatin with about 2 tbsp water in small bowl – set aside til gelatin absorbs water. Bring cream and sugar to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in moistened gelatin until smooth. Strain and pour equal portions into ramekins. Chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours until set. Turn out onto serving plate. Drizzle raspberry sauce around panna cotta. Garnish with fresh raspberries and mint leaves.
2.  Raspberry sauce: Reserve 1/2 pint fresh raspberries for garnish. Combine rest of raspberries, 1/2 cup water and sugar in saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir constantly and mash berries until mixture is liquid with seeds. Remove from heat and strain out the seeds. Return liquid to low boil. Combine cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water and whisk into raspberry liquid. Boil, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool. Other suggestions: serve with a small dollop of whipped cream on the side. Garnish with dark chocolate.

Boeuf en Croute
Ingredients

• 1 1/3 pounds beef tenderloin roast

• about 1 tablespoon each kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 3 tablespoons butter

• about 1 tablespoon olive oil for drizzling

• 2 shallots, minced

• 1 pound mushrooms, very finely chopped

• 1 sprig fresh thyme, leaves picked

• 1 bay leaf

• 1/2 cup Madeira (or Marsala, which is what we used)

• 2 tablespoons crème fraîche

• 1 handful chopped fresh parsley leaves

• 2 one-pound packages puff pastry (thaw if frozen)

• 1 egg

• 1 teaspoon water

• about 1/4 - 1/2 cup prepared horseradish sauce

Cooking Directions

1. Season the beef with salt and pepper. Melt a tablespoon of butter with a drizzle of the olive oil in a saute pan until hot, then sear the beef on all sides. Remove from the pan to a board and let cool completely, then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
2. In the same pan as the beef, prepare the mushroom duxelles: Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and fry the shallots until translucent. Add the mushrooms, thyme, and bay leaf and cook until very tender. Pour in the Madeira, and bring to a boil. Cook until all the liquid has evaporated. Add the  crème fraîche and cook down to a very thick paste. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. Stir through the chopped parsley. (OK, I confess - I didn't really chop up the mushrooms. I used my trusty Cuisinart food processor and did the job right! And fast. Short on patience, remember?) We searched the grocery store for Madeira, but because it's fortified, it is only sold (at least here) in a liquor store. However, we found Marsala and used it instead. The result was wonderful, so don't panic if you can't find the Madeira!
3. Roll out one block of pastry to a rectangle large enough to fit the meat with a roomy border. Place on a baking sheet. Remove the fillet from the refrigerator and unwrap. Spoon the mushroom mixture into the center of the pastry and set the meat on top. Here's where I spread a very generous layer of horseradish sauce on top of the meat. I must say, it really gave the roast a punch! Roll out the second sheet to fit over the whole fillet generously. In a small bowl, beat together the egg and 1 teaspoon water. Brush the margins of the bottom pastry with egg wash, then drape the second sheet over, pressing to seal well. Trim the edge to a 1-inch border. Crimp the edges with your fingers. Refrigerate until ready to bake.
4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
5. Brush the whole surface of the pastry with egg wash and make two slits in the top with a knife to allow steam to escape. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees F, and continue to bake 20 minutes, depending on how well you like your meat done. Remove from the oven and let stand about 10 minutes before serving in slices.
6. Let us know how yours turns out!