Almond Financiere with Candy Cap Mushroom Confit,
Coffee Poached Pears, Mascarpone Truffle Gelato,
and Black Tea Crème Anglaise
By Executive Chef Gary Roth, Los Altos Country Club, Los Altos, CA

A French word for an expensive Haute Cuisine presentation. Presentation revolves around high end produce and other delicacies.

Financiere: Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients:
3/4 cup Sugar
1/3 cup All Purpose Flour
3/4 cup Almond Powder
4 Egg Whites
1 tbls. Honey
1/2 cup Butter

Procedure:
Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. In a sauce pan, melt butter. Add whites to dry ingredients, whisk, add butter and honey. Let rest for an hour in the refrigerator. Pipe into buttered silicon rum baba molds. Bake at 350°F until golden and dry, when checking with a knife.

Coffee Poached Pears Ingredents:
2 Cup Water
2 Cup Sugar
4 oz. of Espresso
1 cup of Coffee
6 Small Pears (i.e., Forelle, Seckle, or French Butter Pears need a hard pear)
In a pan, mix together 2 Cups of Water, 2 Cups of Sugar, 4 Shots of Espresso, and 1 Cup of Coffee.

Procedure:
Peel and core pears, then cook on low heat in espresso syrup until tender. Cool in syrup on stove, completely covered. Cook on low heat in small pan, so pears are completely submerged.

For the Dried Mushrooms Procedure:
Slice cleaned and dried porcini or matsutake mushrooms to 4 of an inch thick. Place a sheet pan with silicon mat. Leave out in a warm, dry area where there is good cross ventilation. You may use an oven which has only pilot light heat , and leave oven door slightly ajar. Leave overnight or until warm, dry area where there is good cross ventilation. You may use an oven which has only pilot light heat , and leave oven door slightly ajar. Leave overnight or until quite dry, but not brittle.

Black Tea Crème Anglaise Ingredients:
(Yield: 3 cups)
2 Cup Milk
1 Cup ream
8 Egg Yolks
1/3 Cup Sugar
4 Black Tea Bags

Procedure:
Heat cream and milk. Add sugar. Infuse with 4 bags of tea. Take tea bags out. Cool milk slightly. Add 4 of milk mixture to the yolks, and stir. Add another 4 to the milk mixture and stir. Add rest of milk mixture and cook on low heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Don t boil. Strain in fine wire strainer. Cool in ice bath.

Candy Cap Mushroom Confit Ingredients:
(Yield: 2 cups)
2 Cups Candy Capped mushrooms, cleaned and dry
2 TBL Butter
2 Cup Maple Syrup

Procedure:
Sauté mushrooms in butter, then cook in syrup until tender.

Mascarpone Black Truffle Gelato Ingredients:
3 cups Whole milk
10 Egg Yolks
1 cup Sugar
2 oz. Black Winter Truffle (diced very fine)
1 1/4 cups Mascarpone

Procedure:
Combine milk and half the sugar, and bring to a boil. Beat egg yokes and remaining sugar until fluffy. Add this mixture to milk. Thicken to a custard consistency in a bain-marie. Stir diced truffle and mascarpone into the hot mixture and allow to cool. Churn in an ice cream machine, following manufacturer s instructions. Store in freezer until ready to use. May need to be warmed  if too cold for smooth scooping.

Recommendation: Chef Roth recommends either William and Sonoma, or the Krupps machine, due to churn structure.

Caramel Sugar Garnish Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Water
1/4 Cup Glucose
Coffee Beans
Tiny Mint Leaves (for plating)

Procedure:
Mix sugar, water and glucose together in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil until caramelized golden brown. Use a wooden spoon and make shapes desired on a silicon mat. Add coffee beans to garnish while caramel is still hot. Let cool before using.

To Assemble:
Place financiere in center of plate. Spoon mushroom confit on top. Sauce around financiere leaving a 1/2 inch gap. Quarter pears and fan them out. Place 3 fanned pear sections on sauce around financiere. Scoop truffle gelato and place on mushroom confit. Cut slit in dry mushroom and slide sugar caramel garnish through. Place in or on gelato. Garnish with tiny mint leaves.

More Chef Recipes:
Abalone Mushroom Canneloni with Braised Short Ribs,
Apples and Ginger with a Sherry Syrup

Almond Financiere with Candy Cap Mushroom Confit,
Coffee Poached Pears, Mascarpone Truffle Gelato,
and Black Tea Crème Anglaise

Cauliflower Custard with Butter Browned Cauliflower,
Fried Cauliflower Mushrooms and Lamb Demi Glace

Cumin Crusted Lamb Loin with Coriander Basmati Rice

Lundberg Family Farms Lobster Mushroom Risotto with Fresh Pumpkin

Lobster Paella

Maine Lobster, with Grilled Matsutaki Mushrooms, and Buckwheat Jus

Porcini Tart with Goat Cheese and an Arugula Salad

Spinach Tortellini with Castelfranco and Gorgonzola

Veal Fillet with Organic Wild Rice, Baby Vegetables and Morel Mushroom Jus

Venison Carpaccio with Sautéed Foie Gras,
Chanterelles, Caramelized Figs and Port Demi Glace

Wild Mushroom Cappuccino

Other Related Links:
Cooking with Wild Mushrooms

The Secret's in the Rice

Executive Chef Gary Roth - Bio