Wild Mushroom Timbales with Bacon and Arugula

Prepare the Timbales

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.

2. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook until translucent (about 5 minutes).

3. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add mushrooms and cook for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

4. Stir the salt, pepper, lemon zest, parsley, thyme and Parmesan into the cooled mushroom mixture.

5. In a large bowl, whisk together the cream, milk and eggs. Stir in the cooled mushroom mixture.

6. Spray ramekins with vegetable oil. Fill each about ½ to ⅔ with the mushroomy custard, and set in a large roasting pan.

7. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins, creating a bain-marie to ensure the custard is uniformly set.

8. Bake at 325°F until set (about 55 minutes).

Prepare the Sauce and Garnish

1. While the mushroom custard is baking, fry the bacon in a heavy skillet over medium heat until crisp.

2. Drain bacon on paper towels.

3. Pour most of the bacon fat from the skillet and discard.

4. Add the vinegar and demi-glace to the skillet, and simmer over medium heat for 2 minutes, scraping up and mixing in any bacon bits stuck to the pan.

5. Keep warm until the timbales are ready.

6. Crumble bacon.

Assemble and Serve

1. Spoon 2 Tbsp. of the sauce onto the center of 8 plates. Mound 1 cup of arugula in the center of each serving plate.

2. Run the tip of a small knife or offset spatula around the inner edge of the ramekins to loosen the custards.

3. Carefully transfer an un-molded* timbale onto the center of the arugula on each plate.

4. Scatter the bacon bits around the timbales and serve immediately.

* To un-mold a timbale, you can either:

• Spoon it out carefully onto the arugula (easiest, though potentially messiest).

• Place a separate small plate (or large flat spatula) on top of the ramekin like a lid, hold together firmly and quickly flip over to release the timbale onto the plate (tap the bottom of the ramekin if it sticks). Then use a small spatula to carefully slide the timbale onto the arugula.

• Un-mold the timbale directly onto the center of its serving plate (invert it over the ramekin and then flip as described above) before adding the sauce and arugula, then arrange the sauce and arugula around it.