Festive Fall Feast (cont.)
Food & Wine 1995
Food & Wine Books, Editorial Director: Judith Hill,
American Express Publishing Corp., 1995

This menu by the late master chef Patrick Clark was featured in Food &
Wine as a Christmas Dinner. It certainly could be. Seems to us, however,
that this menu would make a marvelously festive meal for any autumnal
occasion worthy of it. Therefore, we present it to you early enough to use
as you choose, whether it be for a Halloween feast, a significant fall birth-
day or anniversary bash, or a slightly different take on your Thanksgiving
feast. First and foremost - enjoy!

Menu

1993 Rothbury Estate Reserve Chardonnay or
1993 Chateau Ste. Michelle Cold Creek Vineyard Chardonnay
Bay Scallop Chowder or
Jerusalem Artichoke Soup with Garlic Croutons

1992 Matanzas Creek Merlot or
1992 Sterling Three Palms Merlot
Racks of Pork with Cider-Pepper Glaze
Sweet Potato and Mushroom Hash
Braised Mixed Greens with Glazed Rutabagas
Fig and Apple Chutney

1990 Chateau Raymond-Lafon Sauternes or
1991 Far Niente Dolce
White Chocolate Banana Cream Pies
Cranberry-Orange Cheesecake

Timetable:

Three days ahead
Make the Fig and Apple Chutney.

Two days ahead
Make the Cider-Pepper Glaze.
Start the Bay Scallop Chowder.
Make the pastry for the pies.

One day ahead
Make the cheesecake.
Make and puree the Jerusalem Artichoke Soup with Garlic Croutons.
Cook the mushrooms for the Sweet Potato and Mushroom Hash.
Cook the vegetables for the Braised Mixed Greens with Glazed Rutabagas.
Marinate the pork racks.

About eight hours ahead
Make the filling for the White Chocolate Banana Cream Pies.

About three hours ahead
Roast the pork racks.
Cook the sweet potatoes and finish the hash.

About two hours ahead
Fill the banana cream pies.

Shortly before serving
Finish the chowder or the soup.
Make the gravy for the pork.
Finish the greens and rutabagas.
Rewarm the hash.
Finish the banana cream pies just before dessert.
 

White Chocolate Banana Cream Pies

“Deliciously rich, this festive dessert features white chocolate in the filling and
the topping. The shavings are easily made with a piece of room-temperature
white chocolate and a vegetable peeler. If the pie dough gets too soft during
rolling, refrigerate it to firm it up.”

Makes two 9-inch pies

Pie shells:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon shortening
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
About 3 tablespoons of ice water

Filling:
4 cups milk
1 vanilla bean, split
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
1/2 cup cornstarch, sifted
5 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
6 medium bananas, sliced 1/4 inch thick

Topping:
4 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped, plus
about 2 ounces of white chocolate shavings for garnish
3 cups heavy cream, chilled
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

1. Make the pie shells: In a large bowl, sift together the flour and salt.
Using your fingers, rub in the shortening and butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in the ice water to form a soft dough. Divide
the dough in half and shape it into two 6-inch disks. Wrap each disk in
plastic and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, roll
out each disk of dough to a 12-inch round. Transfer each round to a 9-inch
pie pan and press the dough into the corners. Fold in the edge of each pie
shell and crimp the rim of each with a fork. Prick the bottoms with the
form and bake in the middle of the oven for about 30 minutes, or until
golden brown. Let cool.
3. Make the filling: In a medium saucepan, combine 3 cups of the milk
with the vanilla bean, 1/2 cup of the sugar and the salt. Bring just to a boil
over high heat. Remove from the heat, cover, and set aside for 15 minutes.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining 1 cup milk
and 3/4 cup sugar and the cornstarch until smooth. Whisk in 1 cup of the
warm milk. Bring the remaining warm milk just to a boil over moderately
high heat and whisk in the egg yolk mixture in a steady stream. Cook,
whisking constantly, until the custard is thickened and starts to bubble
around the edge, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain
into a bowl. Stir in the chopped white chocolate and let cool. (Make
ahead: The custard can be refrigerated overnight; let the pie shells
stand at room temperature.)
5. Arrange the sliced bananas in the baked pie shells, covering the
bottoms. Spoon the custard over the bananas. Set a lightly buttered
round of waxed paper directly on the filling of each pie and refrigerate
until chilled, about 2 hours.
6. Make the topping: Melt the chopped white chocolate in the top of a double boiler, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Let cool to tepid. In a
large bowl, beat the cream with the sugar until soft peaks form. Gently
whisk one-third of the whipped cream into the melted white chocolate.
Fold the white chocolate mixture into the remaining whipped cream just
until combined.
7. Discard the wax paper from the pies. Using a spatula, swirl the whipped cream over the filling. Garnish with the white chocolate shavings.