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Chilled Summer Melon Consomme With Gazpacho Vegetables and Mint
Rick Boyer

Dolmades
Regina

Wild Mushroom Bread Pudding with Fennel and Baby Corn Truffle Essence
Rick Boyer

Chilled Summer Melon Consomme With Gazpacho Vegetables and Mint

Begin by blending the melon and sparkling water together in a blender. Add the sweet chili sauce and continue to blend. Strain the mixture through a fine strainer into a pre-chilled container and chill on ice. 

Next, combine the vegetables and fruits making a relish and lightly season. Mold (or mound) the vegetable mixture into the individual serving bowls. Pour the soup around the outside of the mold. 

Garnish with freshly chopped mint.

2 servings

3 cups Watermelon, seeded and chopped

1 cup Crenshaw or cantaloupe melon, seeded and chopped

2 cups Sparkling Water

1-2 tsp. Sweet Chili Sauce

2 Tb. Red peppers, finely diced

2 Tb. Cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely diced

2 Tb. Yellow tomato, peeled and finely diced

2 Tb. Zucchini, finely diced

2 Tb. pineapple, finely diced

6 Mint leaves, torn

pinch of salt

sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper

Dolmades

In a saucepan, place the broth, oil, salt and rice. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes, until the rice is almost done, adding more water if the rice is too firm.  Add the sun-dried tomatoes and finish cooking rice to the desired texture.

Add the olives, chives, lemon, vinegar, salt and pepper.  Mix gently and allow set aside to cool.

Rinse the grape leaves in water and pat them dry with a kitchen towel. Place a tablespoon of the rice mixture at the bottom end of each grape leaf. Fold each side into the center, then roll it up. Place them on a tray and repeat until all of the rice is used up.          

Ingredients:

2 cups vegetable broth

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

salt

1 cup white rice

1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, finely minced

1/3 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and finely minced

1/3 cup chives, finely chopped

parsley, minced

garlic, minced

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste (go lightly on the salt, there's salt in the cured grape leaves)

1 jar grape leaves

Wild Mushroom Bread Pudding with Fennel and Baby Corn Truffle Essence

Begin by making the custard.  In a bowl or a blender mix the half and half, eggs and roasted garlic together.

Cut the croissants into small pieces and cover with half of the custard mixture.  Let this sit for about 10 minutes so that the croissants absorb the liquid.

Meanwhile, sautÈ the shallots, chanterelles, shitakes and oyster mushrooms in the olive oil until softened, then set aside. Once the mushrooms have cooled down add them to the croissants. Add the remaining custard mixture, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper, to taste.  Add this mixture to a buttered deep baking dish, or 2 individual buttered ramekins, and put it in a water bath in a 300-degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes. 

While this is in the oven, juice the fennel and bring the juice to a simmer in a small saucepan.  Simmer for 20 minutes, pour through a strainer and back into the saucepan. Continue to reduce, and add the butter and white truffle oil, a pinch of salt and cracked pepper. 

When the bread pudding is done, let it set up for a few minutes before removing it from the dish. Remove it gently to the serving plate. 

While the bread pudding is cooling, sautÈ the baby corn in a small amount of olive oil for 3-4 minutes. Add the fennel juice and cook for a few seconds until bubbly. Spoon this mixture around the bottom of the bread pudding. 

You can garnish this dish with cherry tomatoes, fresh chervil and sliced frisee lettuce.

2 servings

2 Croissants (pre-baked), cut into cubes

2 cups Half and Half

4 Eggs

1 cup Golden Chanterelle Mushrooms

1 cup Oyster Mushrooms

1 cup Shitake Mushrooms (or any favorite mushroom combination)

2 Shallots, sliced

2 Tb. Garlic, roasted

olive oil, for the skillet

Salt and white pepper to taste

1 TB. Italian parsley, chopped

1 tsp. Thyme, chopped

1-2 bulb of Fennel, (for a total of about 1 cup) juiced (in a juicer or by blending with a small amount of water, then straining the liquids out)

2 Tb. unsalted Butter

1 Tb. White Truffle oil

6 Baby corn, sliced into small chunks

Fresh chervil, chopped, for garnish

Frisee lettuce, sliced thinly, for garnish

6 Red Currant Tomatoes, garnish

6 Yellow Currant Tomatoes, garnish

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