The SND kitchen is officially open again. We just cooked our first big meal in the new digs. To christen the place, Hungry Bear and I wanted to make a decadent multi-course dinner to celebrate the end of our moving process. We tossed around a few ideas for the main course, including braised pork belly, but went with veal chops with morel mushrooms. I couldn't pass up making the fantastic morel sauce. So, we created the menu as...

Chicken and Duck Mousse with Peppercorns 
with a sweet French baguette and cornichons

~

Red Butter Lettuce with Baby Vegetables
carrots, radishes, cherry tomatoes, avocados and lemon Dijon vinaigrette

~

Veal Chops with Morel Mushrooms 
served with roasted parsnips purée and sautéed asparagus

~

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
topped with mini M&Ms, chocolate nibs or crushed pistachios

We picked up the liver mousse last week at the Serramonte Farmers' Market and saved it for this occasion. And this past Saturday, we bought the baby vegetables and some fresh morels at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market. In our first SND post, we made the chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting, so I thought it was fitting to make the dessert again.

The veal chops on their own are really good, but they're even better with a morel sauce made with cognac, dijon mustard and coconut cream. Yes, I said wrote coconut cream. Eric Ripert's recipe calls for crème fraîche, but we substituted coconut cream for two reasons. First, we have many cans of coconut milk in our pantry. Second, one of the SNDsters is a little lactose intolerant, so we try to minimize dairy products whenever possible.

Dinner was fabulous and fun. The liver mousse was a great starter and the salad with baby vegetables was much needed with this heavy meal. The veal chops and morels were delicious and no one missed the crème fraîche. The sweet parsnips purée paired well with the rich morel sauce. All in all, it was a very successful Sunday nite dinner. However, we're still getting a feel for the new stove and figuring out where the the best lighting is for photos.

Next up on SND is the recipe for these chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting.

SNDsters: Garry, Karen, Jane, Mark, Hungry Bear, Chuck

Veal Chops with Morel Sauce Recipe

SND Note: The original recipe calls for 1/2 cup of crème fraîche. We substituted it with coconut cream because our pantry was full of cans of coconut milk. Coconut cream is the thicker top layer when the cream and coconut liquid separates in the can. In the original recipe, the veal was also served with an herb butter sauce. We felt the morel sauce was rich enough for the dish.

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons of canola oil
• 1 pound morel mushrooms, cleaned, halved if large
• 2 tablespoons shallots, minced
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 6 thick-cut veal chops
• 1/2 cup Cognac
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 3-4 tablespoons unsweetened coconut cream
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large ovenproof sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the morels and sauté until they are tender and give up their liquid, about 5 minutes. Add the shallots, garlic and parsley and sauté until softened, about 3 minutes. Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Generously season veal chops with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in two large ovenproof sauté pans over high heat. Add 3 chops to each pan and sear until golden brown on both sides, about 3-4 minutes per side. Place the pans into the oven to finish cooking the veal, about 5-6 minutes, or until desired doneness. Transfer the chops to a plate.
3. Deglaze the pans with Cognac, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan, then combine the liquid into one pan. Add Dijon mustard and stir to incorporate. Add the coconut cream, mushrooms, and any juices from the resting chops and bring to a boil. Adjust seasons to taste. To serve, place one chop on each plate and spoon the morels over the veal chops.

Makes 6 servings

[Adapted from A Return to Cooking by Eric Ripert | Michael Ruhlman]

[tags]veal, beef, chops, morels, mushrooms, cognac, dijon, mustard, coconut[/tags]

9 Comments on “Veal Chops with Morel Mushrooms”

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1. Paula said:

   Yummm SND looks like it was awesome! Great menu.

   

   May 6th, 2008 at 6:23 am

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2. East Coast Lover of SND said:

   Yum! By the gorgeous photos, it looks like the new kitchen is off to a great start and is going to work out just fine… :)

   

   May 6th, 2008 at 6:53 am

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3. Erin said:

   You put my dinner parties to shame! Seriously this looks amazing. I could use a glass of wine right about now.

   

   May 6th, 2008 at 8:22 am

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4. Wandering Chopsticks said:

   Freaky in sync tastebuds again Chuck! I made chicken liver pate last week!

   Nice use of the new kitchen. I expect to see some really fancy action shots or something now! Perhaps even pictures of you peeling fruit? ;)

   

   May 6th, 2008 at 11:04 am

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5. bb said:

   That looks awesome you guys. It even looks like tomorrow night’s dinner. Luckily we’re exceedingly lacto-friendly, so bring on the creme fraîche! Thanks for sharing, and congrats on the new cooks playhouse!!

   

   May 6th, 2008 at 3:26 pm

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6. PaniniKathy said:

   Wow, you may have just converted me to a mushroom fan on the photo alone!!

   

   May 6th, 2008 at 3:58 pm

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7. [eatingclub vancouver ] js said:

   Lovely.

   Interesting twist of creams, and the morel sauce looks scrumptious.

   

   Jun 2nd, 2008 at 6:45 pm

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8. Janet Ching said:

   I still have some morel mushrooms in the kitchen. Have to try out your recipe, it looks so delicious!

   

   Mar 3rd, 2009 at 7:49 am

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