French Luxury on a Hamburger Budget

Yes, I'm on a starving, soon-to-be-student budget, but I've decided that's no reason not to feel like I'm living well! So...dinner last night with Joan and Herman was an attempt to eat well and somewhat luxuriously, on a bare-bones budget.

Here's our menu:

Green Olive Pesto Cream on Croutons
Pureed Lentil Soup (sorry I forgot to serve that, Joan and Herman!), garnished with chopped Italian parsley
Bifteck Haché
Potatoes Parisienne
Carrots Vichy
Orange Sorbet in Whole Oranges

Here's how:
Green Olive Pesto: Make a pesto using 1 c green olives with pimentos, 1 c parsley, 1/3 c walnuts, 2 cloves garlic, mashed with 1/4 tsp salt; 1/4 c olive oil. Add equal amount of mayonnaise (that's right -- I used Best's, I confess, though homemade is better), freshly squeezed lemon juice and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Makes two cups. (I used just part of the pesto and mixed it up, saving the rest to make into pesto palmiers.)

Bifteck Haché
Surprise! This is French for hamburger ("beef steak chopped")! But what a hamburger...
Serves 4

1 c chopped onions, sauteed in 2 T butter
2 T plus 2 tsp butter
1 lb lean ground beef, the best you can afford
1/2 tsp each salt and freshly ground black pepper (less if using salted butter)
dash of white pepper
2 tablespoons mixed, minced fresh herbs -- I used what was left in the garden -- a bit of thyme, a bit of rosemary (not too much!) and half Italian parsley
a few tablespoons flour
2 c dry red wine
1/2 c whipping cream

Saute the onions just until soft but not brown, then add to a bowl with hamburger, herbs, salt, peppers and mix everything well. Shape into patties about 3 inches across, dust with flour (and shake off excess) and saute in the remaining butter. Remove from saute pan, pour off fat and add wine to pan. Reduce it by half, then add the cream and cook, stirring, until it thickens a bit. Season with salt and peppers and pour over the patties. Voilà! Just don't call it hamburger!

Potatoes Parisienne
Serves 2 or 3

2 pounds Yukon Gold or other boiling potato
3 - 4 T butter
1 tsp salt, or to taste (less if using salted butter)
melon baller

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Peel the potatoes and keep in cold water to prevent discoloration. Get your melon baller and make little balls, and put them in cold water, too. Drain potato balls, dry them. Heat the butter in saute pan or other pan that can go in the oven. Roll the potatoes around to coat with butter, toss some salt on and put in the oven. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, shaking or stirring the pan occasionally to brown potatoes on all sides.

Carrots Vichy
Serves 3

3 medium-sized carrots
3 or 4 T butter
salt
pepper
2 T brandy or cognac
chopped parsley to garnish

Peel the carrots, then slice in half, lengthwise, and in half again. (You'll have some nice long-legged carrots in fairly slim pieces.) Place in a saute pan and cover with water. Bring to a simmer and cook about 10 minute or more, until tender. Drain. Put back on hot burner, slide around a bit to dry them out, then add butter. Saute, tossing a bit to get all sides somewhat cooked, not brown. Off heat and away from low-hanging cupboard, add the cognac, flame it with a l-o-o-ng match, very carefully, and shake the pan to toss the carrots a little until the flames die out (a few seconds). Add salt, pepper, sprinkle parsley over.

Orange Sorbet in Whole Oranges (adapted from "Le Cordon Bleu at Home")

3 large oranges, preferably with leaves (I got Mineolas from Metropolitan Market -- seet, delicious, juicy!)
2/3 cup sugar cubes
5 T water
1-1/2 tsp lemon juice

Wash the oranges (I used diluted Neutrogena or other glycerin soap), rinse and pat dry. Rub the sugar cubes on the orange skins until the cubes are orange (I rubbed on the bottom of the oranges so I wouldn't spoil the looks of the oranges.) Set aside.
Meanwhile, cut the top third off the oranges, cut a small slice off the bottom of the oranges (so they can stand up) and gently juice the oranges. Strain juice, then set aside. (I had about 1.5 cups of juice.)
Put the cubes in a heavy saucepan, add the water, bring to a boil and boil a couple minutes. Add the orange and lemon juices, stir and chill.
Remove the pulp from the oranges with a knife, carefully cutting and peeling it off the rind, until you have a nice, clean inner shell. Do the same with the orange tops, which will be the caps for the finished, filled oranges. Freeze.
When the sugar/orange syrup is thoroughly chilled, put in your ice cream maker and make the sorbet.
Either stuff the sorbet into the frozen oranges, mounding to 1-1/2 inches above the top or, better yet, put in a pastry bag with a large star tip and pipe into the orange shells. Put the tops on. Freeze.
Serve them immediately after taking from the freezer.

Bon Appétit!