Two Mushroom Soups

This is a tale of two mushroom soups. My brother René invented one of them, using the fresh, wild, morel mushrooms he picked a few weeks ago in the woods near his mountain home (for more about morels, see my blog of May 9, 2011). The day he concocted this soup was memorable: It was the same day a black bear ambled through his front garden and a moose meandered through the back. Take that, international readers!

In the particular region of the latitude and time zone where I live, there are no fresh morels, so I read my brother’s recipe and salivated. At a gazillion dollars an ounce, dried morels are out of my budget, because René’s soup takes quite a few (Oh, gee ... I'm supposed to sound “authoritative” on stuff like this. OK, I’ll give it a whirl! 

I recently spotted a 22-gram (just over 1/2 oz.) package of four or five dried morels in the supermarket for $5. If a kilogram is 1000 grams, or 2.2 pounds, and 22 grams cost $5, how much does a pound cost?  Anyone?  Anyone? ANYONE? Oh, never mind! I’ll get a calculator ... Wait a sec... 1,000 divided by 22 = 45.45.  45.45 x $5.00 = roughly $227.50 a kilogram, divided by 2.2 = 103.40 kilometers. As I was saying, that’s out of my budget!). 

Pumped and primed, I really wanted mushroom soup after reading about René’s, so created my own soup with what was in the cupboard, loosely basing it on his recipe. 

Should you be fortunate enough to have access to fresh morels, try this delicious soup during the brief picking season of a future year. Should you be wise enough to have dried your own morels - or rich enough to afford them any old time you like - take some chicken or turkey broth, green onion (“spring” onion), butter, morels, sour cream, whipping cream, seasonings, and set to work! Don’t be horrified by the fat in these recipes! It’s certainly present and adds flavor, but there isn’t a huge quantity of it. Fat is an essential nutrient. We often have too much of it, so have a splurge now and then while making daily choices that use it in moderation. Both recipes follow:

René’s Morel Mushroom Soup:

2 dozen morel mushrooms, fresh or dried (see Note)

3 tbsp. butter (that’s the quantity René used; I’d be tempted to try 2 tbsp.)

4 c. (32 oz. or 1 L pkg) chicken or turkey broth (commercial or homemade)

2 c. “mushroom water,” if using dried morels

1 medium green onion (“spring” onion), finely minced

⅓ c. dairy sour cream

¼ c. light cream (10-to-12% fat content)

Salt and pepper, to taste

If using fresh morels, rinse and blot them dry to remove any last grains of sand and soil that may cling to them. If using dried morels, rehydrate them by soaking in one or two cups of cold water for 20 minutes. Save this “mushroom water” to add to the soup, straining it through a coffee filter to ensure it’s free of detritus. Give the morels a final rinse under cold running water, blotting them with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture. Dice the mushrooms into 1/4" or smaller pieces. Melt butter on medium-low in medium skillet, frying mushrooms until light golden and tender.  

Pour stock and reserved mushroom water into a medium saucepan, bringing to a simmer. Add the fried morels, stirring occasionally. Toss in the chopped green onion. Reduce heat to low, gradually whisking in sour cream and light cream. Do not allow to boil. Simmer 15-to-20 min., allowing flavors to blend and deepen. Season to taste. Serves 4 to 6.

Note: This is René’s recipe, just as he gave it to me. He reports that the mushroom’s folds sometimes make them hard to clean, so resist the temptation to eat right to the bottom of your soup bowl! Experienced cooks will recognize that René’s method departs from the usual way to make soup, which involves the gradual heating of the sour cream and light cream with the mushrooms, the likely incorporation of a thickening agent such as flour, and the slow addition of stock. René is more of a “wing it” cook - I had to drag the quantities from him - but his soup was nonetheless a huge hit. Different cooks use different methods, so I’ll respect his. My Shitaki Mushroom Soup uses a more conventional method. I like to keep a modest quantity of commercially dried mushrooms on hand for those times when I have no fresh or canned ones.

Part of Rene’s morel mushroom harvest

Nicole’s Shitaki Mushroom Soup:

3 c. (750 mL) dried, sliced shitake mushrooms, divided (or any type of fresh or dried mushrooms you prefer)

4 c. (32 oz. or 1 L pkg) chicken broth

2 tbsp. (30 mL) butter or margarine

3/4 c. (180 mL) heavy cream (unsweetened “whipping” cream)

1 medium green onion (“spring” onion), finely minced

2 tbsp. (30 mL) beef bouillon concentrate (see Note) 

½ c. (125 mL) instant mashed potato flakes (see Note)

2 tbsp. (30 mL) red wine or sherry

Salt and pepper, to taste

Parsley, finely chopped, as garnish

Rehydrate dried mushrooms in chicken or turkey broth for 20 min. Drain mushrooms, reserving broth. Finely chop 1 c. of the mushrooms, leaving the rest sliced. Melt butter on medium-low heat in medium saucepan, frying sliced and diced mushrooms until light golden and tender. Reduce heat to simmer, gradually stirring in heavy cream. Add green onion just at the last few seconds. Gradually add stock, beef bouillon concentrate, and instant mashed potato flakes, stirring well until slightly thickened. Do not allow to boil. Simmer 15-to-20 min., allowing flavors to blend and deepen. Add wine or sherry, seasoning to taste. Sprinkle with finely chopped parsley. Serves 4.

Note: Professional chefs often use an excellent jelled bouillon concentrate, available in fine supermarkets and high-end gourmet meat shops. That aside, making your own concentrate is very simple. When I slow-cooked lamb shanks the night before I made this soup, Ron was clever enough to save and chill the seasoned stock that resulted. All I had to do was skim off the hardened fat. You can also use powdered or liquid bouillon concentrates in this recipe, but nothing is as good as the jelled concentrate, in my opinion.

Note: Perhaps, like me, instant mashed potato flakes aren’t an ingredient you’d normally have in your cupboard. They do make a great soup thickener, are a great convenience when you’re cooking in a boat or camp-site. They're also an essential ingredient in Potato-Crusted Chicken  https://nicoleparton.blogspot.com/2011/04/potato-crusted-chicken.html. 

Start with the basics ...

Reap the rewards!

Scallop, Shrimp, or Crab Omelet

There are times when nothing will do but an omelet. I want it! I need it! I crave it! Whoops! That’s something else, but an omelet would be nice, all the same. My friend Lynn has been striving to make the perfect omelet, and recently asked how I make mine. 

By Lynn’s definition, the perfect omelet is fluffy, fluffy, fluffy! I’m not sure my omelets are fluffy enough for Lynn’s taste, but what I do is throw a few eggs and a little milk into the blender, whirling them at the highest speed with generous grindings of coarse salt and pepper.  

Assembling and preparing the ingredients takes about 15 min., and cooking takes about five minutes, so plan accordingly to coordinate both dishes. In the Time Zone and at the Latitude where I live, I have easy access to fresh and frozen seafood, so my pick of the day was a scallop filling for our omelet. 

You can use shrimp, crab, chopped chicken, chopped ham, or slices of onion, mushrooms, and grated cheese, but the more ingredients you pile on, the less fluffy your omelet will be.  

Scallop, Shrimp, or Crab Omelet:

2 tsp. cooking oil

5 whole eggs 

2 tbsp. milk

Generous grindings of coarse salt and pepper 

2 tsp. dried parsley flakes or dried chives (see Note)

2 large raw scallops, cut into eighths (or use 12-to-16 small scallops or ½ c. baby shrimp or 1 c. flaked crabmeat)

½ c. grated cheddar (see Note)

1 green onion, finely chopped

Assemble and prepare all ingredients. If using frozen scallops or shrimp, thaw and blot dry before use. Heat oil in non-stick skillet at medium-high setting. Place eggs, milk, salt, and pepper into the blender. Whirl at highest setting. Pour all at once into hot oil, immediately reducing heat to medium. After 20 or 30 seconds, lift egg mixture around the edges, allowing raw egg to run to edges of pan. 

Spread raw scallops or shrimp, grated cheese, and most of the green onion over egg in skillet. Using a “wiggle” motion, continue lifting egg mixture around edges of pan. When egg mixture is puffed and solid around edges, but still slightly soft at the center, fold omelet in half, over itself. Sprinkle with remaining green onion. Cut omelet crosswise, serving immediately. Serves 2.

Grate cheese, setting aside until needed.

Chop scallops and green onion

Lift egg mixture at edges of skillet

Note: Use fresh parsley or chives, if available. As a bride, I didn’t know “less is more,” and so piled on numerous seasonings for the first scrambled eggs I’d ever made - so many seasonings my eggs turned gray. Caution! Don’t overdo the herbs and spices for any egg dish. 

Further Note: Check out the rotary cheese grater in the first omelet preparation photo. This restaurant-style grater is excellent for any hard cheese - and stylish at the table for grating fresh Parmesan over pasta. It cost approximately $12; I’ve had mine for years and years. It’s made by Zyliss, and no, Dollinks, I’m not being paid to promote anyone’s products! I also use a standard box grater, but want to caution you against buying one particular type of grater that I personally find a waste of money.

Just before serving, fold omelet in half

In the medieval Italian village of San Gimignano, I once fell in love with - sorry to disappoint you - a cheese grater shaped like a half-barrel, the edges of which slid into a small wooden box intended to catch the grated cheese. Thinking how attractive box and grater would look at the table, I simply had to own this! The duo did look good at the table - but proved useless. I’d failed to consider that the grater’s half-barrel design allowed more cheese to fall outside the box than inside. Remembering the old lesson that form follows (rather than precedes) function, I eventually gave away both grater and box. So if I say a brand-name kitchen product is good, please know my recommendation comes from experience.

Oven-Baked Fries

Today’s blog touts Oven-Baked Fries. There are many great ways to make these. You can use parsnips; you can use yams; you can use sweet potatoes. For today’s lunch for the two of us, I used two  medium russet or “baking” potatoes. So let’s go! Click once on each photo to expand it and watch me at work!

Oven-Baked Fries:

Peel and slice each potato lengthwise into quarters, and then halve each quarter lengthwise. How many is that? If you guessed “eighths,” you’re well on your way to winning today’s math prize! Plunge the potato slices into ice water, chilling them 15-to-20 min. 

Preheat oven to 475 deg. F. Drain potato slices well, blotting with a paper towel. In a medium mixing bowl, combine 2 tbsp. cooking oil, generous grindings of coarse salt and pepper, 1/2 tsp. garlic powder, and ¼ tsp. dried, crumbled rosemary (or any dried herb of your choice) for each large potato. Set aside. 

Add potato slices to seasoned oil, mixing to coat well (I find that clean hands work better than a spoon for this job). Lay potatoes in a single layer on a parchment-covered baking sheet. With oven rack in center setting, bake potatoes 35 min. or until golden and crisp, turning over with a lifter midway through baking. These fries are delicious! 

Chill potato slices in ice-water bath.

Blot dry; lightly coat with seasoned oil.

Bake until golden and crisp.

Marinated Cucumber Salad

There are many versions of this excellent make-ahead salad. This one’s my favorite!

This recipe requires extra time 

for marination

Marinated Cucumber Salad:

1 large long “English” (seedless) cucumber, unpeeled

Salt

2-to-3 tbsp. (30-to-45 mL) white wine vinegar

1-to-1-½ tbsp. (15-to-22.5 mL) granulated sugar

1/4 tsp. (1.2 mL) dried dill weed

Dash of finely ground pepper

Thinly slice cucumber. Place one layer of cucumber slices into ceramic or glass pie plate. Sprinkle with salt. Repeat layering and salting until all cucumber slices have been used. Place cello wrap directly over cucumbers. Cover with a second, smaller pie pan, adding pie weights, marbles, or water to weight the pan down. Place in refrigerator for several hours. Remove weight and drain liquid from cucumbers, rinsing away excess salt with cold water. Drain well. Shake remaining ingredients together in small jar. Pour over cucumbers. Chill 30 min. Serves 2.

Slice cukes finely; I used a mandoline. Salt well.

I used pie weights to press on the cukes below.

Rinse cucumber slices, draining well.

Marinate; wait, serve! A very simple salad.

Tangy Cheese Crisps

These are quick, simple, and can be made ahead on a rainy day when you feel like being creative! You could darn socks and sew on loose buttons too, but that wouldn’t be as much fun! They rate top marks for flavor and texture.

Tangy Cheese Crisps:

1 c. all-purpose flour

¼ tsp. salt

⅛ tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tbsp. dried parsley flakes

4 oz. strong, aged cheddar, diced

1/3 c. cold butter, diced (no substitutes)

Coarsely ground pepper, as garnish

Salt, for sprinkling

Place flour, seasonings, and parsley in food processor, whirling a few seconds to combine. Add diced cheese, processing until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add diced butter. Process until mixture forms a ball. Stop the machine from time to time, scraping down sides. Divide mixture into two balls, rolling each into a log. Sprinkle coarsely ground pepper over two sheets of wax paper. Roll each log over it. Cover each log with wax paper and refrigerate - or place in a plastic bag, chilling until needed. 

Our Taste-Testing Panel approves!

Preheat oven to  375 deg. F. Cut each log into 15 - ⅓-in. slices. Place on baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Sprinkle with salt. Bake 10-12 min. until golden and crisp around the edges. Serve warm or cold.

Form into two logs and roll in coarsely ground pepper

Slice each log into about 15 rounds

Quick and easy to make, these popular nibbles go fast!

Non-Alcoholic Cranberry Punch

I cannot leave you with this week’s clutch of great appetizer recipes without passing along an easy-peasy recipe for one of my favorite non-alcoholic fruit punches! 

Non-Alcoholic Cranberry Punch:

2 - 12 oz. (366 mL each) frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed

6 c. (1.5 L) cranberry juice cocktail, chilled

8 c. (2 L) ginger ale, chilled (see Note)

Combine all ingredients in punch bowl or punch dispenser. Serves 30. To make a smaller quantity, serve in pitcher.

Note: I serve this at summer parties, as a delicious alternative to alcohol. I had two fridges when I was younger and had a large house, but today, I rely on one small fridge. That means I don’t have room to chill large containers of juice as well as all the food I’ve prepared. I mix the first two ingredients in my punch dispenser on the morning of the party, adding chilled ginger ale and cranberry ice cubes as my guests arrive. Because it’s clear and won’t plug the tube, this is the ideal beverage for a dispenser with an “open/close” spigot.

Deliciously refreshing for young and old!

PS: If you like this recipe, you’ll love the Heavenly Lemonly Lemonade I posted July 10, 2011, and the three party punches I posted July 20, 2011.

Chinese Hot Sausages

This has been one of my simple hot appetizer standbys for years! I used to make it with cocktail sausages, but now cut breakfast sausage links in half, to cut costs. I serve it in a small fondue pot or chafing dish. Ron would have taken a photo, but I made this recipe so lightning-quick, he didn’t have a chance!

Chinese Hot Sausages:

1 lb. pork sausage links

1- 7-½ oz. (220 mL) can tomato sauce

¼ c. brown sugar

1 tbsp. dark soy sauce

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

¼ tsp. garlic powder

⅛ tsp. salt

Cut sausages in half. Over medium-high heat in a medium skillet or griddle, brown until golden, about 10 min. Remove from heat, draining fat and blotting dry with paper toweling. While sausages cook, combine and heat remaining ingredients in medium saucepan. When sauce has heated through, add cooked sausages. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer 20 min. before serving. Serves 4 as a main dish and several as a hot buffet appetizer.

Chili Sweet Shrimp or Scallops

As another of my speedy appy favorites, it's hard to beat this three-ingredient recipe for Chili Sweet Shrimp or Scallops! I serve it on 6-in. appetizer-sized wooden skewers. If there’s time, thread a  pineapple cube onto each skewer as the shrimp broils.

Chili Sweet Shrimp or Scallops:

2/3 c. Thai sweet chili sauce

2 small green onions, very finely chopped

1 lb. (500 g) package of fresh or frozen large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (or use small scallops)

In a large jar or bowl, cover and marinate all ingredients 30-to-60 min. Set oven to “broil.” Lay shrimp on foil-lined baking sheet. Broil 3 min., turning once. Working quickly, thread two or three shrimp or scallops on each skewer. Serve immediately. Serves 10-to-12.

Curried Tuna Spread

When I prepare for a party, I often love to try something slightly more complex than I’d normally make … that’s how I challenge myself and learn. But because there are only so many minutes in a day and I have only so much energy (and dwindling fast), I compensate by squeezing the minutes with a few super-quick recipes. This Curried Tuna Spread recipe is one of my hurry-up favorites!

Curried Tuna Spread:

2 green onions, finely chopped (in some parts of the world, these are known as “spring” onions)

8 oz. (250 g) pkg cream cheese, softened and cut into small chunks

1 tbsp. mayonnaise

1 6-oz. (170 g) can flaked white tuna, drained

1 tsp. curry powder

½ tsp. cumin

¼ tsp. hot pepper sauce

Fresh chopped parsley, as garnish

Mixing by hand, combine all ingredients except parsley in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave, uncovered, at medium power for 1-to-1-½ min., or until warmed through. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately with crudités or crackers. This spread may be made a couple of days ahead, and stored covered in the fridge until needed. It is outstanding!

Assemble what you need

Serve with crackers

Warm Chèvre Spread

Whenever I visit Vancouver, Canada - not far from the Time-Zone Where I Live - I make a point of dropping in to the Gourmet Warehouse, founded in 1998 by cookbook author and cooking teacher Caren McSherry. There, I usually find some “must-have”  gadget guaranteed to make my cooking simpler and my space problem worse! Caren's a great cook, and I owe this Warm Chèvre Spread to her, though I've modified it from the original. Featuring sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, olives, and chèvre (French goat cheese), this warm, chunky spread is great party fare. Toss the leftovers with your favorite pasta!

Warm Chèvre Spread: 

1 bulb (head) of garlic

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 medium onion, thinly sliced (see Note)

1 tbsp. granulated sugar

½ - ¾ c. white wine

8 oz. (250 g) creamy chèvre

4 oz. (125 g) cream cheese, firm variety

¾ c. soft sun-dried tomatoes preserved in oil, drained and blotted dry

14-oz. (398 mL) jar or can plain, unseasoned artichokes, drained, stemmed, and chopped into eighths

⅔ c. kalamata olives, sliced (see Note)

Freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 375 deg. F.  Using a sharp knife, slice a thin sliver across the top of the garlic bulb, removing the tip of each clove. Lightly rub the entire bulb with oil. Wrap loosely in aluminum foil, baking 40 min. or until bulb feels soft. When cool enough to handle, squeeze the garlic pulp into a small bowl. Set aside. Warm the olive oil in a skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add sliced onions to the pan, stir-frying about 5 min., until softened and slightly brown. Sprinkle sugar over onions, stirring until caramelized. 

Pour wine into pan to deglaze it, scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan (for a Note about deglazing, see my blog of April 16, 2011). Add the chèvre, cream cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, reserved garlic pulp, olives, and pepper. Lower heat and continue stirring until cheeses melt and the entire mixture is creamy. If mixture is too thick, thin with additional wine. Serve warm with slices of fresh baguette or water crackers.

Note: I used a simple mandolin to slice the onion in this recipe. I formerly owned a very complex, trapezoidal, restaurant-style mandolin that I could never quite get the hang of and eventually gave away. It cost me nearly $300! This simple, slide up-and-down kind was about $17. It takes up almost no room in the cupboard and needs only a quick rinse for cleaning. It’s a dream tool for making super-fine slices, as in Marinated Cucumber Salad. I’ll give you that recipe next week!

Note: Caren’s original chevre recipe calls for niçoise olives. If you can't find them, kalamata olives are a great substitute. Once again, I want to tell you about a great kitchen gadget! I use an OXO-brand cherry pitter to pit my olives - not the old-fashioned kind that used to hurt your fingers, but the new kind that requires only a fast, gentle squeeze to shoot the pit through a tube. The third photo shows me doing exactly that. This gizmo cost me roughly $15 at Williams-Sonoma. Good kitchen tools speed and simply jobs, making cooking a real pleasure!

My mandolin slices onions paper-thin  

Combine all ingredients, heating through

World's best olive (and cherry) pitter!