Girl Meets Farm Season 14 Episode 04
Molly Yeh's throwing a fancy dinner on the farm with the best moms she knows! It's a meal to impress with her tender Beef Wellington encased in buttery, flakey puff pastry and served with a hearty, cheesy and surprisingly fresh Sausage and Wild Rice Hotdish on the side. For dessert, she has lovely Lavender Panna Cottas with salty, snappy Pretzel Shortbread.
Year started: 2018
IMDB rating: 6.5
Categories: Food
Stars: Molly Yeh
Molly Yeh's throwing a fancy dinner on the farm with the best moms she knows! It's a meal to impress with her tender Beef Wellington encased in buttery, flakey puff pastry and served with a hearty, cheesy and surprisingly fresh Sausage and Wild Rice Hotdish on the side. For dessert, she has lovely Lavender Panna Cottas with salty, snappy Pretzel Shortbread.
Year started: 2018
IMDB rating: 6.5
Categories: Food
Stars: Molly Yeh
Category
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FunTranscript
00:00I'm having a fancy dinner on the farm with the best moms I know.
00:03We deserve it. Yeah, we do.
00:05It's a meal to impress with tender beef wellington
00:08encased in buttery, flaky puff pastry.
00:11She's so beautiful!
00:13Hearty, cheesy, and surprisingly fresh sausage and wild rice hot dish on the side.
00:18A hot dish for a bunch of hot dishes.
00:20And for dessert, lovely lavender panna cottas with grape syrup and salty pretzel shortbread.
00:26These little guys are just to impress.
00:27Cheers to some exceptional moms.
00:30Oh yeah, all three of us.
00:31All three of us.
00:34Look at these beauties.
00:36Hey, this is me, Molly A.
00:38This is my husband, Nick.
00:40This is our growing family.
00:41And this is our farm on the North Dakota-Minnesota border.
00:44The place where I eat, sleep, and breathe food.
00:51I'm having my mom and mother-in-law over for a fancy dinner, so I'm pulling out all the stops.
00:56For dessert, I'm making my lavender panna cotta with grape syrup and pretzel shortbread.
01:02It's custardy and floral, and it's got sweet, salty, crunchy cookies for dunking.
01:08I just infuse some cream with lavender, set it with gelatin, and then whip up the easiest food processor shortbread.
01:15I'm starting with my lavender.
01:16I've got dried lavender buds here, which lends such a beautiful, delicate flavor.
01:23Two things to keep in mind when you're using lavender, though.
01:26If you use too much, whatever you're making will taste like soap, so don't use too much.
01:31I'm using a heaping tablespoon.
01:32Also, whenever you're buying it, you want to make sure that you're getting a culinary-grade lavender,
01:36and not one that's destined for potpourri or some kind of craft, because those could be treated with chemicals.
01:44I can actually find mine in the tea section at my local grocery, but you can also, of course, order it online.
01:49And then I'll pour in two cups of heavy cream and three-quarters of a cup of whole milk,
01:53and that's a really nice ratio for getting it creamy but not overly rich.
01:57A third of a cup of sugar is just enough to make it sweet and deserty, but it's not going to be full-on ice cream sweetness.
02:05A pinch of salt to bring on all the flavors.
02:08And then what makes lavender really shine is some lemon.
02:12I'll get some big pieces of the lemon zest here so that it can infuse into the cream.
02:17Just use my peeler.
02:19Ultimately, the zest in the lavender will be strained out.
02:22I'll whisk this around to dissolve the sugar and then heat it gently
02:25until I can start to see bubbles forming around the edges and steam coming off the surface.
02:30You don't want to let this boil or scald.
02:34Panna cotta is an Italian dessert that's literally just cooked cream that's thickened with gelatin.
02:40It's silky. It's like a custardy pudding.
02:43And it's a great canvas for flavor, too.
02:45There are so many things you can do with it.
02:47Lavender is such a nice, delicate flavor.
02:50It's an easy way of infusing some true specialness into whatever you're making.
02:54You just can't add too much of it.
02:57Otherwise, you feel like you're eating perfume.
02:59It's happening.
03:00I'm seeing the steam.
03:01I'm seeing the bubbles.
03:03I'll turn the heat off now.
03:04And then just allow this to steep while I get my gelatin ready.
03:08I'll just combine a quarter cup of water with two and a quarter teaspoons of unflavored gelatin.
03:14You can also use the gelatin from a packet.
03:16I'll just give this a whisk to allow it to bloom.
03:18And doing this step, as opposed to just adding the gelatin to the hot mixture, prevents any clumps from forming.
03:25Anytime I make panna cotta, I think of gelatin salad, which is still alive and well in this region.
03:31People make fun of it.
03:32But then I'm like, panna cotta is just a more socially acceptable version of gelatin salad.
03:37Gelatin has bloomed.
03:38And now the lavender buds and the lemon zest have done their job.
03:42They've lent their flavor to the cream.
03:44I can strain them out now.
03:45If your cream has cooled during the time when it's steeping, you do want to reheat it before adding it to the gelatin.
03:51You want the liquid to be hot when it combines with the gelatin so that I can actually melt the gelatin.
03:57Strain this right on through.
03:58Ah, it smells so good.
04:03I feel like I'm in France.
04:05I'll give this a quick whisk.
04:07Make sure that gelatin gets evenly distributed.
04:10I'll grab my serving glasses.
04:11Just have these cute little cups here.
04:13Just dividing the cream evenly.
04:18I love panna cotta because everybody gets their own individual little cup.
04:25Perfect.
04:26I'll let these set in the fridge for four hours.
04:28You could also go overnight.
04:30And top with grape syrup.
04:32Wow.
04:32That is one easy peasy, fancy schmancy dessert.
04:40Coming up, my Chinese-inspired version of beef wellington is going to blow your mind.
04:46For the uncontested, fanciest dinner entree of all time, I'm making beef wellington.
04:59My way.
04:59It's a big honking beef tenderloin slathered in black bean garlic sauce, encased in a layer of spinach and ham, and then wrapped up in buttery puff pastry.
05:10I'll sear my beef, wrap it up in three layers of deliciousness, and then bake.
05:15To start, I'm seasoning a two-pound piece of center-cut tenderloin all over with kosher salt and black pepper.
05:22Not only will this add flavor, but it'll also help develop that great crust on the outside when I sear it.
05:27In my skillet here, which is heating over medium-high, I'll add a little neutral oil.
05:32Make sure you're using an oil with a high smoke point, because this is going to get pretty hot in order to get that crust.
05:39Oh, yeah.
05:40And I'll just sear it on all sides until it's browned all over.
05:44So, my mom moved here shortly after Brittany was born, and she and Roxanne quickly became really good friends.
05:50They go on power walks together.
05:52They own a lot of the same clothes.
05:54And, of course, they love watching the kids together, too.
05:56It is just, like, peak grandma time with the girls.
06:00So, I'm probably going to be the third wheel.
06:03But, whatever.
06:04I'm bringing the meat up with this, and you get the color on the other side.
06:08That's a good crust.
06:11So, in addition to the flavor that I'm developing right now with the crust, I'm also basically creating a shell that's going to hold the juices in
06:18and prevent the puff pastry blanket from getting soggy.
06:22That is exactly the color that I want.
06:24I'll transfer it to a sheet tray.
06:26That looks so good already.
06:28We're off to a roaring start.
06:30I'll cool it down in the fridge now while I make my spinach paste layer.
06:34Traditionally, a beef wellington has a layer of mushrooms between the meat and the puff pastry, but I hate mushrooms.
06:41Sorry.
06:41So, I'm doing a layer of spinach with some Chinese-inspired flavors.
06:46I'll start by wilting down all of the spinach with a little oil in my skillet.
06:50So, this is going to all cook down, and then I'll puree it up into a very thin layer that packs a lot of flavor.
06:58You can use any sturdy green here.
07:00You could use mustard greens.
07:01You could use kale.
07:02A couple of pinches of kosher salt will draw the moisture out of the spinach and allow it to cook down faster.
07:08For the longest time, I thought that beef wellington was just way too fancy for my rustic, casual lifestyle.
07:15But then I realized it's just a giant pig in a blanket with beef.
07:19And I also have been having so much fun changing up the layers and doing fun variations on the flavors.
07:26It's a marathon, not a sprint, but a very satisfying marathon.
07:31Okay, this is super wilty.
07:32I'll toss in my garlic and scallions.
07:35I'll stir these around and cook these only for about a minute or two until I can start to smell them.
07:40All spinach really needs is loads of garlic and some acidity.
07:45So I'll finish up this mixture by splashing in some Shaoxing cooking wine, which is a common Chinese ingredient that's dark and caramely.
07:54It has loads of depth.
07:56Or you can also substitute sherry cooking wine.
07:58I'll let this cook for another minute or two so that the alcohol can cook off.
08:02I'm just looking for the flavor.
08:04Now, before I grind this into a paste, I want to get out as much moisture as I can from this mixture.
08:10So I'll strain it through a fine mesh sieve and then get it into my food processor with five tablespoons of panko breadcrumbs,
08:19which will absorb any moisture that is stubbornly sticking into that spinach.
08:24I'll season with a little more salt and pepper.
08:28And I'll blend it up into a paste.
08:30It looks great.
08:35It's so vibrant and green.
08:37Who needs mushrooms?
08:38Okay.
08:39I'll grab my beef and other accompaniments and I'll get wrapping.
08:43To give this beef the classic Wellington treatment, I'm wrapping it in some meat.
08:47Usually you see prosciutto or pate.
08:49I'm using ham.
08:51To help me wrap it all up tightly, I've got a couple pieces of plastic wrap on my counter.
08:55I'll make a square of ham, three slices by three slices.
09:02I'll spread it with my spinach paste.
09:05These colors are so pretty next to each other.
09:08I'll get the beef bun here.
09:10Before I roll this up, I'm going to brush the beef with some black bean garlic sauce,
09:14which is one of the most flavorful ingredients on the planet.
09:18It's salty.
09:20It's fermenty.
09:21It's kind of a little bit smoky and it consists of little black beans that have been fermented
09:27and it's mixed with loads of garlic.
09:30A little bit goes a long way, so you could just keep this stuff in your refrigerator and
09:33it lasts forever.
09:35And I can actually find mine at my local grocery store.
09:38And then a sprinkle of sugar will help to balance out all the saltiness.
09:42Now to roll this up, I'll use the plastic wrap to help me get a super tight wrap on this thing.
09:48Okay, and then once it's fully rolled, I'll fold in the ends of the ham,
09:53almost as if I were gift wrapping it like a present.
09:56This really is a present for our bellies.
09:58I'll twist the sides up tightly and chill this meaty mass in the fridge while I roll out my last layer.
10:05Finally, it's time for my favorite part of a Wellington, the puff pastry.
10:10And I'm actually using two sheets of puff pastry that I've smooshed together and rolled out to give an extra thick blanket.
10:16This is the part that I'll just be peeling off and eating.
10:21Glue it onto the meat.
10:23I'm brushing it all over with an egg wash, just an egg beat with a splash of water,
10:27leaving a border on the ends to seal up the beef.
10:30A sprinkle of breadcrumbs helps the puff pastry glob onto the ham since the ham is kind of slippery.
10:38And now I'm ready for the meat roll.
10:39I'll unwrap this big, giant piece of meat candy.
10:45I'll position it at the bottom in the center and then roll it on up tightly.
10:50And then I'll situate it seam side down.
10:53I'll just fold the sides in and then tuck these ends under.
10:58All right, I'll transfer this to my baking sheet and brush it all over with egg wash.
11:04A Wellington has got to be super shiny.
11:06You forget this step.
11:07It's just not a Wellington.
11:09I'll sprinkle with flaky salt.
11:10Before I bake, I'll let it chill for two hours.
11:13I'll cut a few slits in it to release the steam and then bake it at 425 degrees for half an hour
11:19until it's golden brown all over and an internal thermometer registers at 125 degrees for medium rare.
11:27I'm getting excited.
11:31Next, the wildest half dish you've ever seen.
11:35Brace yourself for deliciousness.
11:44For a sensational side that is super hearty,
11:47I'm making my sausage and wild rice hot dish.
11:50It's so creamy and loaded with savory sausage, earthy kale, and the chewy star, the wild rice.
11:58Wild like the ladies tonight.
12:00Ow, ow!
12:02It all comes together in my braiser.
12:04I'm starting with half a pound of Italian sausage,
12:07which is just a straight shot to flavor in a hot dish.
12:10Love that I don't need to get out the whole spice cabinet.
12:13It's got that fennel flavor in it.
12:15I'm breaking it up with my spoon into little bits.
12:18Sausage and a hot dish is so good
12:20because the creamy element of a hot dish is sort of like gravy,
12:23so you get kind of sausage and gravy vibes.
12:26This is browned.
12:27I'll pile in my veggies.
12:29I've got a couple of leeks that are super thinly sliced,
12:32just the white parts and the light green parts,
12:34and I've soaked these to get rid of the graininess
12:37that can sometimes get stuck in the tight layers.
12:39Add a good pinch of salt and allow these to soften down.
12:43I love leeks, and they're so great in a hot dish.
12:47They add such delicate, sweet, onion-y flavor.
12:50Oh, it smells delicious.
12:51I'll pile in my kale now.
12:53I've got a bunch of dinosaur kale that I've just torn off the stems
12:57and given a rough chop to.
12:59This will cook down nicely and have that great, earthy bite.
13:03Another pinch of salt.
13:04And I'll allow this to cook down and get soft.
13:07The first hot dish I ever had when I moved here
13:09was my mother-in-law, Roxanne's turkey wild rice hot dish.
13:14She baked it in this big mixing bowl,
13:16and I saw it, and I was like,
13:18mm, I don't know about this.
13:20But then I tasted it, and it was so comforting,
13:22so flavorful, and so delicious.
13:25Hot dishes know that they're not really about the looks.
13:28They're about what's on the inside.
13:30I know she's gonna love this one, too.
13:32My meat and veggies are done.
13:33I'll transfer them to a bowl
13:35so that I can just use this same brazier to build my sauce.
13:37And if you don't have an oven-safe brazier like this
13:40to build the whole hot dish in,
13:41you could just transfer this whole mixture
13:43to a casserole dish and blend a bake in that.
13:47I'll keep this heating.
13:48I'm not even gonna wipe it out before building my sauce
13:50because all the brown stuff stuck to the bottom of the pot
13:53harnesses so much flavor.
13:55And I'm just gonna build a basic roux,
13:56two tablespoons of unsalted butter.
13:59Let this melt.
14:01And this is essentially my homemade version
14:02of a can of cream soup,
14:04which is what you typically see with a hot dish.
14:06Two tablespoons of flour to help it thicken.
14:09I'll whisk this together
14:10and allow it to cook for just a minute or two
14:12so that that flour flavor could cook off.
14:14And then I'll gradually whisk in
14:16one and a half cups of heavy cream.
14:18And I'll do this in a few additions,
14:19allowing it to thicken before adding more.
14:21And you want to do this gradually
14:23so that the sauce doesn't break.
14:24So it stays together, that smooth, thick texture.
14:27This will just be the binder that holds together
14:30all of the sausage and kale and wild rice.
14:37And then I'll also incorporate one cup of chicken stock for flavor.
14:39And again, I just want to do this super duper gradually
14:43to yield the smoothest texture of sauce.
14:47I'll season it with some salt.
14:48And then a little nutmeg is always nice in a cream sauce.
14:51It's that hit of warmth.
14:52And I'll add my sausage and veggies back in.
14:57As well as my wild rice.
14:58This is one cup of wild rice that I've rinsed
15:02and then cooked until al dente.
15:04And I like to throw in a bay leaf when I cook it
15:06to infuse it with herby flavor.
15:09It is quite healthy, too.
15:11So this is basically a health food.
15:14I'll fold this all together.
15:17Now, all the best hot dishes get a pretty topping.
15:20And plot twist, this one has three toppings,
15:22two kinds of cheese and crackers.
15:25I'll sprinkle on a layer of grated fontina.
15:28Fontina is so creamy and melty.
15:31And it also has a bit of funk, which I love about it.
15:34I'll get it all the way to the edge
15:36so that I can get kind of crispy around the edges.
15:38Some Parmesan for salty depth.
15:41I've got my butter crackers here in a zip-top bag
15:44that I'll just crush up with my hands.
15:46And I'll just take some anger out on them.
15:48I'll toss them with just a drizzle of oil,
15:51which will help them brown in the oven.
15:53And pour them all over.
15:59Spread them out evenly.
16:01Yum-o.
16:02This looks so good already.
16:04I'll finish it in the oven now at 400 degrees for 20 minutes
16:09until the crackers are golden and the edges are bubbly.
16:13This is a dream side dish right here.
16:19Smells like it's about to get wild in here.
16:21Mmm.
16:22Oh, yeah, that smells so good.
16:26Look at those golden crackers.
16:29I'll finish this up with a sprinkle of parsley
16:32and dive in for a taste.
16:38The perfect ratio.
16:43Mmm.
16:44It just explodes with flavor.
16:46And the chewiness of the wild rice
16:48with the crunchiness of the crackers is so delightful.
16:52A hot dish for a bunch of hot dishes.
16:53What can I say?
16:58Still to come, a second layer of sweetness
17:00makes the panas sparkle and an easy shortbread
17:03gives them style and crunch.
17:05Plus, the big Wellington reveal.
17:08To give our sweet dessert a salty spin,
17:16I am making my pretzel shortbread.
17:18It's buttery and crunchy and the perfect companion
17:22to the creamy panna cotta's.
17:24And it could not be simpler to make.
17:25It's just three ingredients that all go into my food processor.
17:29Starting with my pretzels, I've weighed these.
17:31These are 240 grams of pretzels.
17:34I like to weigh them just because depending on what shape
17:37of pretzel you have, they might measure out differently
17:39in measuring cups.
17:41And 2 3rds of a cup of sugar.
17:44I'll process this until it's very finely ground.
17:48I'm essentially making pretzel flour.
17:55This looks great.
17:56You definitely want to make sure that there aren't any bigger
17:59clumps of pretzels because those could cause the cookies
18:01to fall apart.
18:02One cup of unsalted butter just straight into the processor.
18:06This is actually one of the first recipes
18:08I ever made for my vlog.
18:10I went through this phase of using pretzel flour and things.
18:14And it just blends that super unique alkali flavor of pretzels.
18:21That was the easiest dough ever.
18:23I'll scrape this down onto a piece of parchment
18:26and then shape into a long skinny log,
18:29like a big sweet pretzel salami.
18:32I'll use my bench scraper to press the parchment.
18:35This helps even out the dough and round it.
18:39I'll wrap this up.
18:43I'll chill this for an hour, slice and bake at 350 degrees
18:46for 20 minutes until they're crisp.
18:49I can't wait.
18:49It smells heavenly in here.
19:01Let me get the shortbread out.
19:02Mmm.
19:07The salt makes them look a little sparkly.
19:09I'll let these cool while I plate up my panna cotta.
19:12To add a little color, I'll finish with some syrup.
19:17This is just grape jelly with some water or lemon juice
19:19and a pinch of salt.
19:20I just cooked it until it dissolved.
19:23And just a very thin layer at that touch of elegance.
19:26I'll nestle the shortbread right next to it.
19:28It almost looks like a fancy cookies and milk situation.
19:31These little guys are dressed to impress.
19:36We've arrived at the finish line.
19:39Oh, look at that.
19:41Look at her.
19:41She's so beautiful.
19:43She's so shiny and sparkly.
19:47Dang.
19:48She's a beaut.
19:49And I'm serving with hot Chinese mustard
19:51for that sinus clearing thing.
19:53I'll let this rest and then slice table side.
19:57Let's get this fancy feast rolling.
19:59This is so beautiful, Molly.
20:01Thanks for giving me an excuse to make beef Wellington.
20:04Anytime.
20:05Does anyone want an end piece?
20:07Well, I would love an end piece.
20:08OK.
20:08I've never had beef Wellington.
20:11So this is a first.
20:12Your first Wellington.
20:13Yes.
20:13Oh.
20:14Oh, wow.
20:14It's so tender.
20:16That pastry wrapped around it really presents it so well.
20:20It's well worth it to come.
20:23Hence the name.
20:25I can't tell you how many times you have worn something,
20:27and I have gone home that day and ordered the exact same thing.
20:31I know.
20:31And then I was worried that people can't tell us apart
20:33because we look so much alike.
20:34Well, I know.
20:35We cook the same, we sing the same, we dress the same,
20:38and we have similar tastes in what we eat.
20:41Mm-hmm.
20:42Well, I almost feel guilty that the guys aren't here.
20:44Almost.
20:45Ha.
20:46We deserve it.
20:47Yeah, we do.
20:48Who else deserve it?
20:50Mmm.
20:51This is killer.
20:52And what a nice, light finish to such a substantial meal.
20:56Cheers to some exceptional moms.
20:57Oh, yeah, all three of us.
20:58All three of us.
20:59Yeah.
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