Porcini Mushroom Soup

This Porcini Mushroom soup has a lot of flavor and with just a touch of cream is far from filling.  To start I’ll soak a generous handful or two of dried porcini mushrooms in a large bowl of hot water then quarter and thinly slice a half dozen medium to large onions.  If you can’t find porcinis nearly any dried mushroom will do.  While the mushrooms are soaking I’ll sauté the onions in my soup pot with half a stick of butter for about a half an hour, continually stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot until they are brown and caramelized. 

Next I’ll grind in some fresh pepper, stir, then pour my liquid from the mushrooms into the soup pot along with some additional water depending on how many you are serving.  Save the porcinis for later.  After bringing to a light boil I’ll add some beef stock, my favorite is the Better Than Bouillon paste, and continue to let simmer and reduce for upwards of an hour.  You could also use the Better Than Bouillon Mushroom stock or a combination of both which is what I like to do. 

At this point I taste to see whether it needs some more stock and if so add and turn down the heat to a simmer.  I’ll give it ten minutes then run my stick blender through the broth to get rid of whatever onion pieces are still around then add just enough heavy cream to make it silky.  Give it another ten minutes then add salt to taste along with the chopped porcinis.  It’s best to make a few days to a week ahead of time then refrigerate or freeze.  Grating a little pecorino or parmesan over the top just before serving is a nice touch for the holidays.

Winter Pestos

The days of fresh basil are over for a while but that doesn’t mean you have to stop making pesto, winter greens work just as well.  For this version I used Swiss chard but kale, turnip, or beet greens would have all done the job, the key is to remove the major veins of each leaf then blanch and drain them thoroughly before adding them to the pesto. 

While the greens are draining I chop a generous handful of pine nuts or almonds in my Cuisinart along with a large peeled and coarsely chopped garlic clove and a dash of Kosher Salt.  Use a spatula to scrape the mixture back into the bottom of the Cuisinart before adding the drained greens.  With the cover on I start the Cusinart and drizzle Extra Virgin Olive Oil through the opening in the lid until the mixture is smooth but not runny.  I recommend that you add the oil slowly and keep checking the consistency…you can always add more oil. 

Finally I add a quarter cup of grated parmesan, a squeeze of lemon juice, additional kosher salt to taste, and one more quick pulse to stir it all together. This time around I tossed the pesto with my cooked pasta, some roasted cubed butternut squash, and a dozen tiny grape potatoes I dug out of the bottom of the basket at the last farmer’s market but it would have been just as great with the pesto alone or combined with just the roast squash.  I think it’s safe to say that you can throw just about anything in the Cuisinart with garlic, olive oil, salt, and parmesan cheese and it will be really good. 

Hot and Spicy Squash

Whether it's Delicata, Butternut, or Acorn, one way to prepare squash that I never get tired of is to roast it with butter and maple syrup.  However, this time around I added a minced jalapeno to my Delicata and the sweet spicy thing was real nice, not too hot at all.  After cleaning the squash I halved them to remove the seeds, cut into chunks with the skin on then placed them in a roasting pan and sprinkled with salt and pepper.  They were soft and starting to brown around the edges after about fifty minutes at 375 and at this point I added a quarter stick of butter, a couple splashes of maple syrup, and a minced quarter of a jalapeno pepper.  Once the butter melted I tossed to coat the squash evenly then returned to the oven for another ten minutes.

Turnips and Leeks

Anything with browned onions is good, and turnips are no exception.  I had just picked up some leeks so while boiling my peeled and cubed turnips I sliced and sautéed several in butter until they started to brown careful not to let them burn.  At this point I turned down the heat and added some more butter and kosher salt.  After draining my cooked turnip cubes I added them to the pan with the leeks and mashed slightly leaving them somewhat chunky.  The buttery, salty, sweet turnip thing was a super tasty combination…we don’t eat turnips often enough.

Chicken Soup with Parmesan

Sometimes you just need a bowl of chicken soup and that’s why I always have a jar of chicken stock paste in the fridge, I prefer Better Than Bouillon.  Last night after dissolving some of the stock into four cups of boiling water I added some linguini noodles that I broke up into quarter lengths, cooked for ten minutes, then threw in some chopped spinach I happened to have around.  Arugula, carrots, celery, or scallions would have worked as well, but no need for too much, best to keep it simple.  But the key to making this ordinary looking bowl of soup amazing is to stir in a quarter cup of grated parmesan before serving, half a cup is even better.

Radish, Apple, Arugula Salad

Here’s an unlikely combination and a great one for the season.  Thinly slice equal amounts of radishes and apples and combine with some loosely chopped arugula.  Toss with cider or white Balsamic vinegar, some extra virgin olive oil, and kosher salt and white pepper to taste. 

The Best Turkey Burger

I never thought I’d say this but I had the most amazing turkey burger last night, and I know what you’re going to say but I think it’s because I baked it…350, about seven minutes a side.  Into my ground turkey I mixed chopped garlic, a half cup of panko bread crumbs, kosher salt, pepper, and a scrambled egg.  After I formed the patties I placed them on a cookie sheet with a piece of parchment.  I flipped the burgers after about seven minutes and spread a spoonful of spicy tomato sauce over the top of each.   After another five minutes I added a slice of fresh mozzarella and baked for another few minutes when I saw the cheese was completely melted.  I served them on a toasted English muffin but a baguette would have been better. 

Mushroom Pizza with Truffle Oil

I’m hooked!  Someone gave me a small bottle of white truffle oil as a gift a while back and I’ve found it an incredibly easy way to make a pizza or pasta dish a bit more out of the ordinary.  For my mushroom pizza I sliced and sautéed my mushrooms along with a few chopped scallions and some garlic until they were slightly soft.  After lightly covering my rolled out pizza dough with some shredded pecorino I spread out the mushroom mixture and garnished with a little kosher salt before baking until crisp.  Then, just before serving I sprinkled it all over with the truffle oil.  Did the same sort of thing for an appetizer the other night but instead of spreading the mushroom mixture on a pizza dough I spooned it onto lots of baguette slices and served it at room temperature…very fancy…but not really.

Roasted Carrots and Fennel

Speaking of roasting...here's a great combination, carrots and fennel.  It really makes a difference in a simple dish like this to spring for the organic or farmer's market carrots.  Preheat your oven to 400, cut up your carrots and fennel bulbs, toss in a little bit of extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, and ground white pepper then pop in the oven.  I like to stir them around a bit after 30 minutes, total cooking time 50 minutes to an hour...and maybe add a couple of chopped garlic cloves five minutes before you pull it out.  A little more kosher salt wouldn't hurt either.

Potato Olive Soup

It’s soup season and for a change I jazzed up my first potato soup of the Fall with some chopped olives, great combination.  Start by sautéing a couple of chopped onions in a soup pot until they are soft then add four or more cubed potatoes and fill with enough water to cover.  Before bringing to a boil add a teaspoon of Better Than Bouillon or your favorite chicken stock and a generous amount of ground black pepper.  Once it comes to a boil turn the heat down to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are soft.  At this point I like to taste the broth and decide how much more chicken stock and kosher salt to add before simmering for another five minutes or enough time for the chicken stock to dissolve.  Next, I run it in batches through the cuisinart transferring the soup to a second pot.  Time for the chopped olives, add several heaping tablespoons or more of prepared or freshly pitted and chopped kalamata olives and simmer for another ten to twenty minutes so they can impart their flavor.  Eat up.

Salmon Couscous

Was trying to be a little Moroccan on this one.  I first dusted my skinless pieces of salmon with salt, cumin, and five spice powder and cooked for a few minutes on each side in a straight sided pan.  I could easily have used ginger, garam masala, cayenne, or curry powder instead, just depends what you have around.  After removing the salmon I added some additional oil to the pan and sautéed a chopped onion and several celery stalks with a heaping tablespoon of jarred minced ginger, a few chili pepper flakes, and some kosher salt.  Once browned I poured in a few cups of water, some halved cherry tomatoes, a teaspoon of curry paste and some Better Than Bouillon fish stock, a couple of jars of clam stock would have been fine instead. 

I used kale this time around but spinach would have worked, and since kale takes a while to cook at this point I added it to the stock and let it simmer for half an hour.  About ten minutes before serving I threw in a handful of Kalamata olives, some shucked corn that I found in the back of the fridge, juice from half a lemon, the salmon filets, and salt to taste.  I served with plenty of broth over Israeli couscous and garnished with chopped green scallions.

Brussel Sprout Salad

I wasn’t actually a big brussel sprout fan until I tried them raw, now it’s a staple veggie in our house.  After peeling away any brown outer leaves I shred them individually by holding the stem end and slicing them thin, about a sixteenth of an inch thick, right down to the base.  Then it’s just a matter of tossing them with extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, and kosher salt.  Parmesan is also a great addition and this time around I found a quarter bag of sliced almonds in my pantry so I threw those in too….great crunch.  I plan on about four sprouts per person but unlike a typical salad they are great the next day so no problem over shredding.  Give them a try…I guarantee you will be very surprised.