Culinary Delights: 220 Recipes For Masterpiece Dishes

Culinary Delights is a classy collection of fine recipes(236 recipes). Here are just a few of the masterpieces in food you will find in side:

Asparagus Cornet With Lemon Dressing
1 lb Asparagus,fresh, young,
preferably thin,stalks,
bottoms off,Trimmed
--
PASTRY =========================
1/2 lb Puff Pastry **
LEMON DRESSING =================
2 lg Egg yolks
Salt (to taste)
2 t Mustard,Dijon
Pepper,white (to taste)
1 md Lemon,juice of
1 c Oil,olive, extra-virgin
** See recipe for Puff Pastry.
For the pastry cornets:
Roll the pastry out onto a lightly floured work surface to 3" x
20" rectangle, 1/4" thick. Cut the rectangle into 4 long strips, each
3/4" wide.
Wrap each strip around a long metal cone (which can be made from
heavy-duty aluminum foil), beginning at the tip and rolling the strip
around and around, overlapping slightly. Place these on an ungreased
baking sheet and refrigerate for 1 hour or more.
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Bake pastry cornets until golden, about 15 minutes.
Cool briefly, then very carefully the metal or foil cones.
For the lemon dressing:
Combine the egg yolks, mustard, lemon juice, and salt and pepper.
Whisk in the oil a drop at a time. When the dressing begins to
thicken, add the oil 1 teaspoon at a time, then continue adding oil in
a thin stream. Adjust seasonings to taste.
Cook the asparagus, tied in bundles, in boiling salted water until it's just crisptender;
drain.
Construction:
Pour a small amount of dressing on each serving plate.
Place a cornet on top of the dressing and tuck the asparagus into the ends of the
cornet, fanning the tips outward.
Auntie Yuan Duck Salad
ROAST DUCK =====================
5 lb Duckling,excess fat removed
1 T Soy Sauce
1/2 t Salt
1/2 t Peppercorns,Szechwan,
--,Coarsely Ground
2 T Honey
2 T Vinegar,Chinese, rice
DRESSING =======================
1 t Mustard,dry
Salt
Pepper,white, ground
2 t Sugar
1/2 t Garlic,finely chopped
1 1/2 T Soy Sauce
1/3 c Stock,chicken
1/3 c Vinegar,Chinese, rice
1/3 c Oil,vegetable
Oil,vegetable (for deep fat frying)
3 1/2 oz Mai fun,(rice sticks)
2 c Lettuce,iceberg, shredded
6 T Scallions,slivered (garnish)
Cilantro (coriander) (garnish)
1 t Sesame seeds,lightly toasted
For Roast Duck:
Preheat the oven to 400 F. Rub some soy sauce, salt and pepper into the cavity of the
duck and place the duck on a rack in the roasting pan. Stir together the honey and the
vinegar and brush some over the duck. Roast the duck until crisp and golden, about 1
hour, occasionally brushing with honey-vinegar mixture. Cool.
With a sharp knife, remove the skin from each side of the breast and cut into thin
slivers. Remove the meat from each side of the breast and cut it into thin slivers.
Combine the slivers of skin and the slivers of duck, reserve 1 cup. The remainder of the
duck can be saved for another use.
For Dressing:
In a small bowl, blend together the dressing ingredients and set aside.
In a wok or wide casserole, heat 2 inches of vegetable oil over high heat to 450 F.
Carefully, add mai fun noodles, in a few seconds they will puff. Turn carefully with a
skimmer and cook the other side. Remove the noodles and drain on paper towels.
Break up the noodles and arrange them on 4 chilled serving plates. Scatter shredded
lettuce over the noodles and top with the reserved duck. Garnish with scallions and
cilantro. Stir dressing and drizzle a small amount over each salad. Sprinkle with
sesame seeds and serve, passing remaining dressing separately