Whether spending New Year’s Eve on the ground with family and friends or in the air with your favorite clients, Air Culinaire Worldwide would like share a menu designed to please everyone on this special occasion.

Appetizer – Mote Caviar and Blini

 Ingredients: Mote Caviar and Blini

• ⅔ cup (160 g) all-purpose flour
• ½ cup (120 g) buckwheat flour
• ½ teaspoon (2.5 g) salt
• 1 teaspoon (5 g) instant or rapid-rise yeast
• 1 cup (240 mL) warm milk
• 2 tablespoons (30 g) butter, melted
• 1 egg, separated

Directions: Mote Caviar and Blini

• In large bowl, mix flours, salt and instant yeast, and make a well in the center.
• Pour in milk, mixing until smooth. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Stir cooled, melted butter and egg yolk into batter. In a separate bowl, whisk egg white until stiff but not dry. Fold into batter. Cover and let stand 20 minutes.
• Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Drop quarter-size dollops of dough into pan without crowding. Cook for about 1 minute or until bubbles form and break. Turn and cook for about 30 seconds. Cover blini and keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter.
• Garnish blini with crème fraiche and caviar. Mote Marine caviar is a sustainable caviar produced in Sarasota, Florida. The mild and smooth texture will melt in your mouth!

Appetizer – Blackened Tuna Feta Crostini

Ingredients: Blackened Tuna Feta Crostini

• 10 ounces (295 g) fresh tuna
• 4 teaspoons (20 g) blackened seasoning
• 1 lemon
• ½ cup (120 mL) white wine
• 2 whole tomatoes, peeled and blanched
• 1 cup (240 g) of crumbled feta cheese
• 1 baguette, cut into ¼ inch (6 mm) slices
• 2 tablespoons (30 g) melted butter
• ½ teaspoon (2.5 g) garlic powder

Directions: Blackened Tuna Feta Crostini

• Brush sliced baguette with melted butter and garlic powder. Bake for 7 minutes until toasted, then cool.
• Season tuna well with blackened spice. In a pan, heat a little oil and sear tuna for about 4 minutes, then flip.
• Once well-seared on both sides, add white wine.
• Break tuna into small pieces and add tomatoes.
• Cut lemon in half and juice, then add to pan. Reduce until almost all liquid is gone.
• Add feta cheese and cool. Once cool, spoon onto crostini and garnish with chives.

Appetizer – Cornmeal-Crusted Oysters with Sriracha Crème

Ingredients: Sriracha crème

• ½ cup (120 mL) crème fraiche
• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) Sriracha
• 1 scallion, finely chopped
• 1 ½ teaspoons (7.5 g) cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) lime juice
• ½ teaspoon (2.5 g) minced garlic

Directions: Sriracha crème

• Mix all ingredients in bowl and set aside. Can be made up to two days ahead.

Ingredients: Cornmeal-Crusted Oysters

• 1 cup (240 g) cornstarch
• ¼ cup (60 g) yellow cornmeal
• ¼ teaspoon (1 g) smoked paprika
• ¼ teaspoon (1 g) garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon (1 g) sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon (1 g) dried thyme
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) water
• 2 cups (480 g) about 20 shucked oysters, drained
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• Lime slices, for garnish

Directions: Cornmeal-Crusted Oysters

• In one bowl add cornstarch, in a second bowl add all dry ingredients, and in a third bowl beat egg with water.
• Heat oil to 350 F (177 C).
• Place oyster in cornstarch, then into egg and then into cornmeal mixture. Fry until golden-brown. Repeat process until all oysters are ready.
• Serve with Sriracha crème.

Soup – White Bean and Cauliflower Soup with Truffle Oil

Ingredients: White Bean and Cauliflower Soup with Truffle Oil

• 2 quarts (1.9 L) vegetable stock
• 2 heads cauliflower, leaves and center stem removed, florets separated and stems chopped
• 2 (16 ounce / 470 g) cans of white beans (cannellini), drained and rinsed
• 2 medium rustic potatoes, peeled and chopped into ½ inch pieces
• 1 cup (240 g) chopped onion
• ¾ cup (180 mL) white wine
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) olive oil
• 2 teaspoons (10 g) salt
• 1 teaspoon (5 g) freshly-ground white pepper
• 1 teaspoon (5 g) dried sage
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• White truffle oil
• Chopped chives, for garnish

Directions: White Bean and Cauliflower Soup with Truffle Oil

• Heat olive oil in pan, add chopped garlic and sauté for about one minute.
• Add onions, cauliflower and potatoes; sauté for about five minutes.
• Add dried sage and deglaze pan with white wine. Reduce wine to about half, then add stock and cloves. Simmer for about 30 minutes on medium.
• Once the soup is at a good constancy, add beans and season with salt and white pepper. Before serving, finely chop rosemary and add to soup.
• Bowl soup, add a little truffle oil to the top and garnish with fresh chives.

Salad – Charred Romaine with Pomegranate Dressing

Ingredients: Charred Romaine with Pomegranate Dressing

• ½ cup (120 mL) fresh or bottled pomegranate juice
• ¼ cup (60 mL) red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) agave
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of honey
• ½ cup (120 mL) olive oil (not extra-virgin) or sunflower oil
• Salt and pepper
• Pomegranate seeds, for garnish

Directions: Charred Romaine with Pomegranate Dressing

• Wash and dry three heads of romaine and cut into thirds.
• Heat skillet with a little olive oil and char romaine lettuce for about two minutes.
• Place in center of plate, add dressing over top. Add fresh goat cheese and pomegranate seeds.

Entrée – Dijon Rack of Lamb with Mint Jerez Sherry Glaze

Ingredients: Dijon Rack of Lamb with Mint Jerez Sherry Glaze

• 1 ½ (360 g) cups fine bread crumbs
• 3 tablespoons (45 g) finely-chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tablespoon (15 g) finely-chopped fresh mint
• 1 ½ teaspoons (7.5 g) minced fresh rosemary
• ½ teaspoon (2.5 g) salt
• ¼ teaspoon (1 g) black pepper
• 3 ½ tablespoons (52 mL) olive oil
• 3 cups (720 mL) of Jerez sherry vinegar
• 1 stick of butter
• 2 sprigs of mint finely shopped
• 3 frenched racks of lamb (8 ribs and 1 ½ pounds each rack), trimmed of all but a thin layer of fat, then brought to room temperature
• 2 tablespoons (30 g) Dijon mustard

Directions: Dijon Rack of Lamb with Mint Jerez Sherry Glaze

• Stir together bread crumbs, parsley, mint, rosemary, salt and pepper in a bowl, then drizzle with 2 ½ tablespoons (37.5 mL) oil and toss until combined well.
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat to 400 F (205 C).
• Season lamb with salt and pepper. Heat remaining tablespoon oil in a large heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown lamb 1 rack at a time, turning once, about 4 minutes per rack. Transfer to a 13x9x2-inch roasting pan, arranging fatty sides up.
• Spread fatty sides of each rack with 2 teaspoons (10 g) mustard. Divide breadcrumb mixture into 3 portions. Put each portion over mustard coating on each rack, gently pressing to adhere.
• Roast lamb about 20 to 25 minutes until thermometer, inserted diagonally 2 inches (5 cm) into center (do not touch bone), registers 130 F (55 C) for medium-rare, and transfer to cutting board. Let stand 10 minutes, then cut into chops.
• For sherry vinegar sauce, add vinegar in sauce pan and reduce by half. Reduce heat and add cold butter cubes slowly while stirring until dissolved. Add mint.

Dessert – Champagne Sorbet

Ingredients: Champagne Sorbet

• 4 cups (960 mL) water
• 1 cup (240 g) sugar
• 1 bottle Brut Champagne
• ⅓ cup (80 mL) orange juice
• 1 tablespoon (15 g) grated orange rind, from 1 orange
• 6 strawberries, for garnish

Directions – Champagne Sorbet

• Heat water with sugar until it comes to a rolling boil. Boil for 6 minutes. Make sure all sugar is dissolved.
• Add bottle of Champagne and heat for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
• Stir in orange juice and grated orange rind. Allow mixture to cool, or refrigerate overnight.
• Pour mixture into ice cream maker or sorbet machine, and process until sorbet is softly-frozen, not hard.
• Serve immediately. Garnish with strawberries.

Have a Happy New Year!

Questions?

If you have any questions about this recipe, contact me at jdetloff@airculinaire.com. For questions about in-flight catering, contact weborders@airculinaire.com.

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