Hoisin Roasted Portabella Sushi and Chocolate Candy Éclairs filled

ROMANTIC VALENTINE’S DAY RECIPES ~ HOISIN ROASTED
PORTABELLA SUSHI AND CHOCOLATE CANDY ÉCLAIRS
FILLED WITH CRÈME PATISSERIE
When planning for a romantic meal with my love, I’m an advocate of
finger foods. The sensual quality of feeding your lover a sweet bite
of deliciousness, really lends itself to the romance factor of the
moment.
Main Course: Finger Sandwich Sushi, with Hoisin roasted Portabella
mushrooms, is a lighter low calorie appetizer, the perfect recipe to
alleviate any quilt associated with the over indulgence of too many
Valentine sweets, and the perfect balance to this romantic meal.
Dessert: Chocolate Candy Éclairs made with tender Pate A` Chou, are
filled with French pastry cream, and can be made to resemble heart
shapes, traditional Éclair shape, or made into mini bite sized
Éclairs.
The dough is very easy to work with, and can be formed
into just about any shape.
Pate A` Chou-cooked and
ready to fill
Mini Éclair Bites
I use pre- cut and packaged, Roasted Nori Seaweed, that is readily
available in most supermarkets. The roasted brand has a crisp nutty
flavor, and a touch of sea salt; a nice alternative to traditional
Nori, but a little harder to work with given their small square
size.
However, they are easily layered into a sandwich style sushi,
which maintain all the sushi flavors without the fuss of all the
gadgetry needed for making sushi.
With a little more care it’s also
possible to make a sushi roll by using three or four overlapping
squares, and a bit of clear wrap to hold the roll together.
Hoisin Roasted Portabella Sushi
Recipe Type: Appetizer
Cuisine: Japanese
Author: Rebecka Evans Owner At Home with Rebecka
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 5 mins
Total time: 15 mins
Serves: 2
Ingredients
1 cup sushi rice, prepared to manufactures instruction
1 portabella mushroom
2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
1 package roasted, square cut Nori
1 carrot
1 cucumber, seeded
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
2 tablespoons dry Wasabi powder made into paste
Instructions
1.
Steam sushi rice, keep covered and warm
2.
Clean and slice portabella lengthwise into 1/4 inch pieces
3.
Brush each slice with Hoisin sauce, toast under broiler for 3
minutes, turn and brush other side with sauce, broil additional 3
minutes, set aside
4.
Using a mandolin thinly slice carrot and cucumber lengthwise,
julienne half of the sliced vegetables, reserving the remainder
5.
Assemble Sandwich: wet finger with cool water, pinch about 2
tablespoons cooked sushi rice into log shape, place rice on Nori,
layer carrot, wasabi, cucumber and portabella on rice and top with
a pinch of sesame seeds and another Nori sheet
6.
Assemble Roll: cut a 6×6 piece of plastic wrap and place on
counter, overlap three or four Nori sheets onto wrap, wet fingers
with cool water, pinch about 2 tablespoons sushi rice into a log
shape and place on Nori, layer with vegetables and wasabi, pull
one side of Nori sheet over the rice using the plastic wrap, tuck
the end under the rice and continue to roll, cut into pieces with
a very sharp knife, remove wrap, serve.
Candy Frosted Éclairs filled with Crème Patisserie (French pastry
cream) Pate A` Chou:
Crème Patisserie
Recipe Type: Dessert
Cuisine: French
Author: Rebecka Evans Owner At Home with Rebecka
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 30 mins
Total time: 50 mins
Serves: 4
Ingredients
5 egg yolks
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup heavy cream, whipped
Directions
1. Beat eggs and sugar, in a heavy bottom saucepan cook mixture over medium heat till thick
(about 20 minutes), add flour, cook additional 8 minutes stirring constantly
2. Add milk, cook until thick and smooth
3. Cool, add vanilla, and fold in whipped cream, refrigerate until ready to use
Ingredients: Pate A` Chou
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
4 eggs
Directions
1. Bring water, butter and salt to a bowl, add flour all at once, and stir vigorously until
mixture pulls away from the sides of the bowl
2. Remove from heat and add eggs 1 at a time till well blended
3. Fill a large pastry bag with dough, using a large tip, pipe dough into heart shapes or
mini éclairs
4. Place in preheated, 400 degree oven and bake for 30 minutes, reduce heat to 350 and bake
additional 5 minutes.
Heart Shaped Pate A` Chou