Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Amy,

Speaking as a mostly-veg, a grand aioli sounds tasty ... except, how easy is it to dish out onto a plate in a buffet line? Also, some folks will see it as an appetizer, because it's basically crudites and dip (even if the French consider it a meal), and are likely to bitch about there being no vegetarian entree.

Might also make do to confirm that you don't need to cater to vegans.

Assuming you don't, many of the suggestions above sound great. Vegetarian risotto is also quite good and holds well in a chafing dish. One of my personal favorites from The Basque Table is the white bean and pepper casserole thing with rosemary (in the appetizers section), which would also hold well and is substantial enough to be an entree.

Here's the recipe if anyone wants it:

Spinach and Mushroom Breakfast Casserole

A ricer is an effective way to squeeze out the moisture from the spinach. This is from Cook’s Illustrated. I have made a variation using half spinach and half canned artichoke hearts with cheddar cheese that was also excellent.

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients
• 16 slices Challah bread
• 5 tablespoons butter, divided
• 8 ounces button mushrooms, washed and sliced
• 2 large shallots, minced
• 20 ounces frozen chopped spinach, defrosted, and squeezed dried
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly ground
• 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cup white wine
• 12 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese, or combination of Monterey Jack and Colby
• 12 large eggs
• 3 1/2 cups half-and-half

Instructions
1. If the bread isn't stale and dry, bake the slices in one layer in a low (300 degree oven) for about 30 minutes, turning the slices over after about 15 minutes. Rub a 13 x 9-inch pyrex or other heat-proof casserole dish all over with 1 tablespoon of the butter, and set aside.
2. Over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet, preferably non-stick. Add the mushrooms and shallots and sauté until the shallots are soft and the mushrooms have exuded all their liquid, about 10 minutes. Add the chopped spinach, nutmeg, salt, and pepper to the skillet and combine until mixed and heated through. Put the spinach mushroom mixture into a bowl. In the now empty skillet, add the white wine and reduce (by simmering) to approximately 1/4 cup.
3. When the bread has finished toasting, remove and add enough slices to the casserole dish to cover the bottom with one layer of bread. Dot the bread slices with one tablespoon of the butter. Spread half of the spinach over the bread layer. Top with 4 ounces of the cheese. Repeat the bread, butter, spinach, and 4 ounce cheese layer.
4. Whisk the eggs, half-and-half, and reduced wine together, and pour over the casserole. Sprinkle the last 4 ounces of cheese over the casserole and cover tightly with plastic wrap.
5. Put the casserole on a flat baking sheet. Weigh down the casserole with heavy boxes (three boxes of chicken broth or sugar work well). (The baking sheet is optional, but it helps capture any liquid that may overflow and also helps transport the casserole in and out of the refrigerator.) Slide the baking sheet with the casserole onto a refrigerator shelf. Refrigerate from 8 - 24 hours.
6. Approximately two hours before serving, remove the casserole from the refrigerator. Remove the weights. Let the casserole sit at room temperature while preheating the oven to 325 degrees, about 20 minutes. Bake the casserole until the top is well-browned and puffed, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Josh,

I've done a Grand Aïoli on a buffet before, and it works just fine. And, I don't have to worry about vegans.

I spoke with my client yesterday and they love all the ideas, so I'm actually going to do the Chicken Dopiaza, the strata (thanks for posting the recipe Lindsay!) and a Grand Aïoli. I'll do a salad as well, and something cheap for dessert...maybe a cobbler.

Thanks for all of the input!

Amy

Amy,

Take pictures! I've never made a grand Aioli before!

Grand Aioli sounds so good I think we'll have it for dinner Sunday. We'll have shrimp instead of fish because it's so hard to find a good piece of fish here. Fingerling potatoes, artichokes, olives, carrots, zucchini, hb eggs, cauliflower, chick peas and anything else that sounds good. What do you put on your platter?

fitzie

I love a Grand Aïoli. I'll likely do some SV carrots and fennel (both of which shine SV), roasted beets, haricots verts, HB eggs, some kind of potato (TBD), and I'll have to see what fish my fishmonger has.

I did one for a family event (we're talking 25 people) a couple of years ago and arranged it on a huge platter my SIL has. It was like the vultures had descended...

Even non-veggie people like a Grand Aïoli. Garlic mayo is addictive.

Amy

Lindsay,

While I didn't have any (I can never eat when I cater beyond the necessary tasting), everyone loved the strata. I'm kind of regretting giving away the leftovers...

Thanks for posting the recipe. Scales really well. I used brioche I made instead of challah, and used a combo of spinach and artichokes.

Josh,

Here's a really bad photo of the Grand Aïoli (I had no time), and the platter isn't arranged the way I would have done it (one of my helpers did it), but it gives you an idea. I didn't include fish, because it would have just been too expensive for this particular job. Oh, and it turns out there was not one vegetarian in the group. Virtually everyone had some of everything.



Amy

Amy,

Thanks!

Huh, I'd always assumed that a grand aioli would have a higher aioli-to-vegetable ratio.

Glad you enjoyed it and I did get an idea of the Grand Aioli - one question - what's between the carrots and green beans on the left. I identified the mushrooms, olives, potatoes, and eggs.

Lindsay,

It's SV fennel...twas very popular. And there were no mushrooms or olives...white and red baby potatoes; and roasted candy-striped beets. As I said...it's a REALLY bad photo.

Josh,

Aïoli is rich...you only need a dollop, and the perspective of the photo is off. But, I was a little Aïoli "lite", but not by design...eggs weren't cooperating.

Amy