Portobello Mushroom Cappuccino Bisque with Brandied Thyme Froth

09 Tuesday Feb 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food, Food Prep, Recipe By: Robin Young, Recipes, Things To Do, Wine and Food

Eat your hearts out! Or let the cream do it. Or maybe the butter! Or maybe the brown sugar! Whatever you do, enjoy this. It’s not hard to do! Cheers!

Portobello Mushroom Cappuccino Bisque with Brandied Thyme Froth

–from Executive Chef Andrew Sutton of Napa Rose at Grand Californian Hotel, Anaheim, CA

Serves: 6

FOR PORTOBELLO CAPPUCCINO BISQUE:
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup sliced shallots
1 cup sliced portobello mushrooms, gills removed
2 cups sliced white mushrooms
1/2 cup medium dry sherry (Amontillado)
1 quart heavy cream
1 cup veal demi-glace (can be purchased at most high-end
grocery stores)
1 bunch thyme stems
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Kosher salt and cracked
black pepper

TO PREPARE PORTOBELLO CAPPUCCINO BISQUE (CAN BE PREPARED THE DAY BEFORE):
1: Sauté shallots in melted butter until translucent.
2: Add portobello mushrooms and white mushrooms and continue to sauté until they “throw their water” (the liquid inside the mushroom), approximately 7-10 minutes.
3: Add sherry and reduce by half.
4: Add demi-glace, heavy cream and all herbs. Simmer for 25 minutes, strain, chill and reserve.

FOR BRANDIED THYME FROTH:
1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons freshly chopped thyme
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons brandy or cognac

TO PREPARE BRANDIED THYME FROTH:
1: Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl and whip up to a soft peak.

FOR BISQUE GARNISH :
1 cup julienned portobellos, stems & gills removed
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions, greens and whites
2 tablespoons freshly chopped thyme
1 tablespoon freshly chopped sage
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons brandied froth

TO PREPARE BISQUE GARNISH AND SERVE:
1: Sauté portobello mushrooms until tender. Set aside.
2: Sauté scallions in a little oil. Add the strained bisque and bring to a boil. Add chopped thyme, sage and lemon juice. Adjust seasoning with salt and cracked pepper.

TO SERVE:
1: Warm six coffee cups and place the sliced and sautéed portobello mushrooms in the bottom of the cups. Add the hot bisque and top with the brandied froth.

Serve with one of CHALONE WINE GROUP’S FINE PINOT NOIRS: ACACIA, CHALONE VINEYARD, ECHELON VINEYARDS, EDNA VALLEY VINEYARD

And if that doesn’t clog your arteries, try this awesome Bananas Foster. Enjoy these dishes. We did!! Cheers.

Smoked Bluefish with Potato Pancake

02 Tuesday Feb 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food, Food Prep, Recipes

≈ 6 Comments

Well, anything from the James Beard Foundation has to be good, but this sounds so intreguing! The recipe says to substitue trout for bluefish if you can not get bluefish. Anyway, look at this! This is too much like fun finding these recipes.

Smoked Bluefish with Potato Pancakes, Greek Yogurt, and Dill

Jason Weiner, Almond, Bridgehampton, NY and NYC

While chef Jason Weiner smokes his own bluefish to serve with these pancakes and dill yogurt, you can purchase it at specialty stores. Smoked trout makes a delicious substitute.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Ingredients:
2 to 3 medium potatoes (a little less than a pound), peeled and cut into large chunks
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons flour, sifted
2 whole eggs
3 egg whites
4 teaspoons crème fraîche
8 tablespoons butter
2 cups Greek yogurt
1/4 cup minced red onion
1/4 cup chopped dill
2 tablespoons water
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Salt and white pepper to taste
Pinch sugar
1 pound mild smoked fish, such as bluefish or trout
Chives, roughly chopped

Method:
To prepare the pancakes: Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and mash the potatoes with the milk, making sure there are no lumps. Let cool.

Once cool, mix the flour into the potatoes. Add the whole eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Then add in the egg whites. Mix in the crème fraîche one teaspoon at a time. The batter should have the consistency of hot pastry cream.

Heat 3 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over high heat. Pour large tablespoonfuls of batter into the skillet. The circles will form by themselves. Depending on the size of your skillet, you can cook 4 to 6 pancakes at a time. Cook until the edges are golden brown, about 2 minutes, then flip to cook the other side. Cook pancakes for another 2 minutes, then remove from the skillet and drain on paper towels. Add more butter to the skillet as needed.

To prepare the Greek yogurt, mix the yogurt, red onion, dill, water, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, white pepper, and sugar in a bowl.

To serve, lay 2 to 3 pancakes on a plate. Top with a few pieces of smoked fish. Drizzle the yogurt sauce over the fish. Garnish with chives and serve.

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Now as we say in our dance classes, “Your turn!” When you try it, let us know how it turned out. Cheers!

Pizzalchik

02 Tuesday Feb 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food, Food Prep, Local Markets, Main Dish, Party Time, Things To Do

≈ Leave a comment

OK, so Robin and I were out looking for a good Ruben Sandwich – you know, with the right Russian Dressing, and not Thousand Island dressing, and a good Jewish Rye toasted bread. Good luck. But we are on the trail of one. It’s just not open on Sunday or Mondays. Look for us on Wednesday. We will be there with a Reuben Sandwich on our minds! It comes rated by Behind The Menu.

Since we didn’t find the Reuben Sandwich, we stopped in at the local Oriental Market. That sounds like a good switch. It was. Just more expensive. But, we are still hungry. So we decided on the Pizzalchik on Gary Lane at State Street. If you go to Our Review Page, and scroll down, you will find the link to Pizzalchik. Read the review, and then visit the restaurant. Their chicken is awesome. Their salads are such a blend of flavors! They are awesome! I have had their pizza and it is wonderful – build your own with fresh ingredients. All types of some very super micro brewery and IPA beers on tap. Wines from all over and sodas. I urge you to give it a try. Let them know we sent you. Here is a link to more information – Cheers!

Onion Soup Suggestion

28 Thursday Jan 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food, Food Prep, Recipes, Things To Do

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I received this from Gail. Thanks Gail for the recipe link. The original recipe from Cooks Illustrated can be found by Clicking Here. I think, though, that I would change the Sherry to the Cavalos (Apple Brandy) and the onions to 2 large Red Onions, 2 large Shallot cloves and 2 large Sweet Onions. I would also use Chicken Stock and Beef Stock and not broths. Cheers!

Best French Onion Soup

Serves 6. Published January 1, 2008. From Cook’s Illustrated.

Sweet onions, such as Vidalia or Walla Walla, will make this recipe overly sweet. (I don’t quite agree with this. That’s what I like about Onion Soup – the sweet versus the tang of the onion.) Be patient when caramelizing the onions in step 2; the entire process takes 45 to 60 minutes. Use broiler-safe crocks and keep the rim of the bowls 4 to 5 inches from the heating element to obtain a proper gratinée of melted, bubbly cheese. If using ordinary soup bowls, sprinkle the toasted bread slices with Gruyère and return them to the broiler until the cheese melts, then float them on top of the soup. We prefer Swanson Certified Organic Free Range Chicken Broth and Pacific Beef Broth. (Sorry, but again beef or chicken stocks give a much more intense flavor than the broths.) For the best flavor, make the soup a day or 2 in advance. Alternatively, the onions can be prepared through step 1, cooled in the pot, and refrigerated for up to 3 days before proceeding with the recipe.

Ingredients:
Soup
3 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 3 pieces
6 large yellow onions (about 4 pounds), halved and cut pole to pole into 1/4-inch-thick slices (see illustration below)
Table salt
2 cups water , plus extra for deglazing
1/2 cup dry sherry
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (see note)
2 cups beef broth (see note)
6 sprigs fresh thyme , tied with kitchen twine
1 bay leaf
Ground black pepper
Cheese Croutons
1 small baguette , cut into 1/2-inch slices
8 ounces shredded Gruyère cheese (about 2 1/2 cups)

Instructions:
1. For the soup: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Generously spray inside of heavy-bottomed large (at least 7-quart) Dutch oven with nonstick cooking spray. Place butter in pot and add onions and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, covered, 1 hour (onions will be moist and slightly reduced in volume). Remove pot from oven and stir onions, scraping bottom and sides of pot. Return pot to oven with lid slightly ajar and continue to cook until onions are very soft and golden brown, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours longer, stirring onions and scraping bottom and sides of pot after 1 hour.

2. Carefully remove pot from oven and place over medium-high heat. Using oven mitts to handle pot, cook onions, stirring frequently and scraping bottom and sides of pot, until liquid evaporates and onions brown, 15 to 20 minutes, reducing heat to medium if onions are browning too quickly. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until pot bottom is coated with dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary. (Scrape any fond that collects on spoon back into onions.) Stir in 1/4 cup water, scraping pot bottom to loosen crust, and cook until water evaporates and pot bottom has formed another dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes. Repeat process of deglazing 2 or 3 more times, until onions are very dark brown. Stir in sherry and cook, stirring frequently, until sherry evaporates, about 5 minutes.

3. Stir in broths, 2 cups water, thyme, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, scraping up any final bits of browned crust on bottom and sides of pot. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes. Remove and discard herbs, then season with salt and pepper.

4. For the croutons: While soup simmers, arrange baguette slices in single layer on baking sheet and bake in 400-degree oven until bread is dry, crisp, and golden at edges, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

5. To serve: Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set individual broiler-safe crocks on baking sheet and fill each with about 1 3/4 cups soup. Top each bowl with 1 or 2 baguette slices (do not overlap slices) and sprinkle evenly with Gruyère. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly around edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Golden Onions Without the Fuss Forget constant stirring on the stovetop. Cooking onions in the oven takes time but requires little attention.

1. RAW: The raw onions nearly fit in a large Dutch oven.

2. AFTER 1 HOUR IN OVEN : The onions are starting to wilt and release moisture.

3. AFTER 2 1/2 HOURS IN OVEN : The onions are golden, wilted, and significantly reduced in volume.

Bunny Chow

27 Wednesday Jan 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food Prep, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, Things To Do

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You can get a direct link to this article at Recipe Zaar.

Bunny Chow – this is a story: with a recipe.

During the Great Depression in 1933 Indians, whites and Chinese in Durban, South Africa, suffered hunger like everyone else. The kids then discovered that the cheapest curry they could buy (for a quarter penny or half a penny) was made by a vegetarian Indian caste known in Durban slang as the Bania. It was made from dried sugarbeans (no meat). The children didn’t have plates, and one kid got the bright idea to hollow out a quarter bread, asked the seller to put the bean curry in the hollowed-out bread, and then used the broken bread he’s taken out as a sort of eating utensil. Chinese food was called “chow”. Somehow the two words came together: Bania Chow. In time it simply became known as Bunny Chow. Bunny Chow was what the Indian sugar plantation workers took as their day’s food to the lands: curry in hollowed-out bread halves. Cheap and practical … Today it does not matter what your skin colour or station in life is: Durbanites and people from the Kwa-Zulu-Natal province love their bunny chow … For this story and the recipe he managed to get from “the mysterious Lingela” who makes bunny chows daily, I am indebted to “Kitchenboy”. Should he happen upon this story, he’ll know who he is … Thanks, Braam!

Bunny Chow

Ingredients:
1 loaf bread, white, unsliced, flat-topped

Whole spices:
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
3 whole cardamom pods
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
1/2 teaspoon cumin seed
1/2 cup oil
1 onion, chopped

Fine spices:
3 tablespoons garam masala
1 teaspoon ground coriander (seeds)
1 teaspoon hot ground pepper (like cayenne)
2 teaspoons turmeric

The meat:
2 tomatoes, medium, chopped
2 lbs leg of lamb, in cubes (or beef)
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons ground ginger
6 curry leaves
2 potatoes, large, in cubes
cilantro (optional)

Directions:
1). Fry all the ingredients listed under “Whole Spices” until the onion is glassy.
2). Add the list called “Fine Spices”. Lingela says: “Stir and fry until the spices stick to the bottom of the pot. If you have a good Teflon-coated pot, go and buy a cheap one first.”.
3). Now add the tomatoes, and stir until everything sticking to the pot bottom comes loose.
4). Add the meat, ginger, garlic and curry leaves.
5). Simmer for half an hour or more, until the meat is almost tender, then add a little water and the potato cubes.
6). Simmer until meat is tender.

7). The bread:.
8). It should be the unsliced rectagular loaf with the flat top, known in South Africa as a “Government sandwich loaf”.
9). You could cut the bread across into two, three or four even chunks, depending on how hungry the eaters will be.
10). Whatever you decide, with a sharp knife cut out most of the soft white bread, leaving a thick wall and bottom. Keep the bread you removed.
11). Ladle the curry into the hollows, and then put back on top the bread you removed. You could use this bread to help eat the curry, as “this is ALWAYS eaten with the hands”.
12). (Actually, any kind of curry goes into a bunny chow. It depends on the cook and your tastes!).

Onion Soup

27 Wednesday Jan 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food, Food Prep, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, Recipes, Things To Do

≈ 1 Comment

OK. Here we go. This is a photo of the Onion Soup we made. Really looks good, I think. But there seems to be something lacking in the flavor. I ask that you make it and let us know what you think. Is it OK as is? Does it need something? If so, what? You can leave a comment here or email Bob or Robin. Thanks and lets have fun with this.

Onion Soup

Source: Robin and Bob Young
Serves: 6

Ingredients:
3 T Butter
1 T Sugar
1/2 med Red Onion, sliced
1 clove large Shallot, sliced (A large clove is about the size of a small yellow onion)
3/4 large Vidalia Onion
1 T Thyme, fresh and de-stemmed
2 t Celtic Salt
Pepper to taste
1 T All-Purpose Flour
4 1/4 c Beef stock. Not broth. We made our own stock but I suggest Pacific Natural Foods beef broth.
1 c Calvados, Apple Brandy
1/2 c Criterion apple cider

Directions:
1). Place butter in a large skillet. Add all of the onion and shallot, sugar and the thyme. Add the salt and pepper. Over low heat, caramelize the onion until a light golden brown. Do not burn. About 20 minutes.

2). When the onion mixture is almost caramelized, add 1/4 cup of the beef stock. Continue to caramelize for 5 minutes. Add the flour and mix thoroughly.

3). Place the onion mixture and all liquid into a 6 quart stock pot. Slowly bring the heat up until the onion starts to sizzle.

4). Add the rest of the beef stock, apple cider and brandy. (Add the brandy last!) Bring up to a low simmer and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.

To Serve:
1). Place 2/3 cup of the soup in a bowl. Float on top 2 pieces of sliced and toasted baguette. On top of the baguette toast, add enough thinly sliced Gruyere cheese to cover the baguette toast. Sprinkle the top with a pinch of thyme. Place under a broiler until the cheese melts. Serve immediately. Be Careful: This Is Hot!!

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Please do let us know how it comes out for you and if you would cnage, add or reduce anything. Cheers!

New – To Me – Food Blogs

26 Tuesday Jan 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food, Food Prep, Recipes, Things To Do

≈ Leave a comment

I knew we were not the only ones to have a food blog. Here are two more. The first, is one that is on a quest for finding the best Onion Soup is from Lazy Dog Gardens. And the second is A French Kitchen In Boise. These are full of recipes and hints and suggestions and photos. They are also listed in the sidebar under “Blogs We Like To Read”. Cheers!

Double Chocolate Pecan Pie

25 Monday Jan 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food, Food Prep, Things To Do

≈ 1 Comment

So I came across this recipe that really, really looks good. But then I like a good pecan pie and I like chocolate!! Here is a link to the site where I got the recipe. Thibeault’s Table.

Double Chocolate Pecan Pie
==========================

For the filling:

3 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
½ tsp. salt
2 large eggs
½ cup corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped into small pieces
3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Butter-Lard Pastry
==================
Edited: May/2009

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup lard (or shortening- Crisco)
5 to 6 tablespoons of ice water

For sweet pies add 1 to 2 teaspoons white sugar. Mix flour with salt, and cut in butter and lard.

An easy way to cut in the fat is to use a food Processor. Cut the butter and lard into cubes add to the flour and pulse. Butter/lard should be the size of peas. Pour mixture into a bowl and add the icewater, mixing quickly with a fork, just until the dough come stogether. Turn out on to floured board and form into a ball. Cut intotwo pieces, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for an hour.

Another way to cut into the butter is to use a box grater. Makes the perfect size pieces of butter. Just make sure that the butter is very cold.

NOTE: This crust is also perfect made with all butter.

On a lightly-floured work surface, roll the pie dough out into a 12-inch round. Transfer the round to a 9-inch pie plate by rolling the dough around the rolling pin and unrolling it over the pie pan. Trim the edges as necessary and create a fluted pattern using a finger to make the indentations. Freeze the dough-lined pie plate until firm and very cold, about 30 minutes.

Adjust an oven rack to lower middle position and heat the oven to 375° F. Remove the dough-lined plate from the freezer, press a sheet of foil inside the pie shell and fill with ceramic baking beads. Bake about 30 minutes, until the dough looks dry and light in color. Carefully remove the foil and weights. Continue baking the crust 5-6 minutes more, until light golden brown.

While the pie crust is baking, make the filling. Melt the butter in a medium heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Remove the bowl from the double boiler but maintain the simmering water. Stir in the sugar and salt with a wooden spoon until the butter is absorbed. Beat in the eggs, corn syrup and vanilla. Return the bowl to the double boiler and heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture is shiny and hot to the touch, about 130° F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from the heat and stir in the pecans.

As soon as the pie shell comes out of the oven, lower the oven temperature to 275° F. Pour the filling into the pie shell. Scatter the chopped chocolate pieces over the filling and press into the filling with the back of a spoon.

Bake on the middle rack of the oven about 50-60 minutes, until the pie looks set but slightly soft, like gelatin, when gently pressed with the back of a spoon. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool for at least 4 hours.

Snake River Gumbo

23 Saturday Jan 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food, Food Prep, Recipe: Bob and Robin Young, Things To Do

≈ 4 Comments

As Emerald would say, “Oh yea, Babe!” I posted earlier that we had an awesome gumbo at the Seasons in Eagle, Idaho. So Robin says today, “I want you to make some gumbo.” Oh well, her wish is my command! Here is what I came up with. She says it’s better than the Seasons, but I don’t think so. As good? Maybe, but not better. You be the judge.

Snake River Gumbo

Author: Bob and Robin Young
Web Page: Snake River Gumbo
Degree of Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 11

Ingredients:
2 T Olive Oil
2 T All-Purpose flour
32 oz Beef Stock
1 c Madeira
1 med Chicken breast, smoked and skinless, diced
5 Pepperoni sticks, smoked and cut into ¼” rounds
2 Anchovy fillets, mashed
¾ lbs Shrimp, 30-40 count and raw
¾ c Basmati brown rice
½ c Red Onion, diced
½ c Celery, diced
½ c Edamame beans (Soybeans, I used the frozen ones
3 lg Garlic cloves, minced
3 Bay leaves
4 sprigs Thyme, fresh
1/8 t Cayenne

Directions:
1). Dice all vegetables and meats. Remove any shells from the shrimp.
2). Add the flour and the olive oil to a 5 quart pan and make the roux. Add the beef stock and Madeira. Bring up to a slow boil.
3). Add the diced vegetables and the edamame beans. Add the chicken, pepperoni and rice. Bring to a slow boil. Add the bay leaf, thyme, cayenne, anchovy and garlic. Bring to a slow boil. Add the shrimp and bring to a simmer. Cover and let slow simmer for at least 1 hour.
4). Serve hot with a nice slice of baguette.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes

Nutrition Facts:
Serving size: 8 ounces
Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients.
Amount Per Serving

Calories – 498.75
Calories From Fat (74%) – 369.91
Total Fat – 42.9g 66%
Saturated Fat – 6.37g 32%
Cholesterol – 6.4mg 2%
Sodium – 649.99mg 27%
Total Carbohydrates – 27.66g 9%

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So there you have it. We would really like to know how you liked it. It’s not your standard gumbo. Cheers!

Chicken ‘N Dumplings

12 Tuesday Jan 2010

Posted by Bob and Robin in Food, Food Prep, Photos By: Bob Young, Recipe By: Bob Young

≈ Leave a comment

Homemade Chicken Soup is really good on a cold winter day. But Chicken Soup, or Stewed Chicken, is absolutely awesome with homemade Dumplings! The dumplings tend to thicken the soup, so don’t be surprised. They will also
tend to thicken the broth of a Stewed Chicken. There are probably 100 recipes, at least, for Chicken Soup or Stewed Chicken. I am not going to list any here – use your family favorite recipe. The same probably goes for Dumplings too, but these are close to the ones I remember from home. I remember my Mother saying that there was another style – I think from her childhood – called “Slippery Dumplings”. She would not make them because “… your Father does not like them.” (My Dad was German and my Mother was Scot) Instead, she made something very, very similar to these. Drop Dumplings. I guess I tend to agree with my Dad and like the Drop Dumplings best. Anyway, here is but one recipe. My Mother would have never put chives, or anything like that, in hers.

Drop Dumplings

Ingredients:
1 c All-Purpose Flour
1/3 c Oat Flour
2 t Baking powder
¼ t Salt
½ c plus 1 T Whole Milk
¼ c Heavy Cream
2 T Butter, softened
2 T Chives, fresh and chopped

Directions:
Mix to combine the milk, cream and softened butter. Set aside.

Sift together 3 times (this makes the dumplings very light) the flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine the flour mixture, milk mixture and chives, and stir until moist.

Drop dough by 3 tablespoonfuls into a barely simmering chicken mixture. Cover and cook over medium-low heat 12 minutes, or until the dumplings are done (do not bring to a boil, or the dumplings will break up).

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So after we had our Chicken Soup with Dumplings, Robin asks, “Do you have any Snickers?” With a chuckle I said, “No.” So she suggested that I melt some chocolate and dip pretzels in them. Then add coconut and almonds. Her wish is my command!! When you’re retired, you will have the time to do these awesome things in the kitchen. Well, fun at least. Enjoy and Cheers!