chciken stock

Market Matters- The Enchanting Chant of White Bean & Chanterelle Soup

31 Oct 2010
sliced chanterelles

I am so happy to still be a contender in the #PFB2010 Project Food Blog contest. I am having a blast, but one thing I have missed is my weekly Market Matters posts from the Hollywood Farmers Market. But this week the slave drivers over at FoodBuzz are giving us a break. The competitors have a rare Sunday off and I am using that time to get myself back to my market.

It's the perfect weekend for it too! There is a certain sound in the air. Have you heard it? It's a happy sound. I think you know what it is. It is the change of seasons. There has been a subtle shift in the atmosphere here in Los Angeles. A slight changing of the angle of light and an indefinable quality ringing through the air.

People unfamiliar with Southern California always (unmelodiously) ask... "Oh, but don't you miss the seasons?"

Well if by seasons you mean driving around in the snow, sleet and hail whether you want to or not, then my answer is: "No, heck no!"

But if by seasons you mean that certain melodic changing of the emotional guard that co-ordinates with a change in pitch of the weather, then I say "No, heck no. We have beautiful seasons here!"

Sippity Sup Continues »
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White Bean & Chanterelle Soup with Sage

White Bean & Chanterelle Soup with Sage
By jgreghenry Published October 31, 2010
Prep time: 60
Yield:1 ()

Ingredients:

  • 8 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 8 sprigs fresh parsley
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 0.5 t whole black peppercorns
  • 1 c onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
  • 2 leeks, white and pale green parts, chopped, washed and dried
  • 1 fennel bulb, cored & cut into 1/4-inch dice
  • 2 stalks celery, cut in 1/4-inch dice
  • 2 clv garlic peeled and chopped
  • 2 (14 1/2 ounces) great northern white beans, drained and washed
  • 6 c chicken or vegetable stock
  • 4 T unsalted butter
  • 0.5 lb chanterelle mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 T sage leaves, cut crosswise into very thin strips (chiffonade)
  • 2 t salt, plus more as needed
  • 0.5 t ground white pepper
  • 6 T dry white wine
  • 2 T heavy cream (optional)
  • 0 truffle oil to taste (optional)

Directions

Using cheesecloth, create a sachet with the thyme, parsley, bay leaves and peppercorns. In a large heavy-bottomed soup pot set over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion, half of the leeks, the fennel, celery, garlic, and the sachet. Sweat these ingredients, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are well softened, about 8 minutes. Add the beans and stock, bring to a boil over medium high heat, reduce to a simmer, and cook uncovered until the soup thickens some, about 35 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium sized saute pan set over medium heat. Add the sliced chanterelles, the remaining leek and the sage. Cook stirring often, 4 to 5 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt and white pepper. Raise the heat, add the wine, and cook, stirring often, until the liquid has nearly evaporated. Remove from heat and set aside. Remove the sachet from the soup. Ladle half the soup into a large bowl, and using an immersion blender puree until smooth. Return to pot. Season with 2 teaspoons salt and a pinch of white pepper. Add the reserved mushroom mixture. Bring the soup to a simmer over medium high heat and cook uncovered about 15 minutes. If using cream, add it during the last 5 minutes of cooking. Ladle the soup into warmed bowls. Drizzling each with white truffle oil to taste (if using). Serve immediately.

Notes:

serves 8 Source: adapted from CIA- Greystone

Creamy Corn Soup with Butter Poached Lobster & Chive Oil

Creamy Corn Soup with Butter Poached Lobster & Chive Oil
By jgreghenry Published June 22, 2010
Prep time: 60
Yield:1 ()

Ingredients:

  • 8 ears corn
  • 4 sli thick cut bacon
  • 2 T ubsalted butter
  • 1 medium onion, preferably sweet such as maui, vidalia or walla walla, diced
  • 1 large shallot, diced
  • 8 sprigs thyme
  • 4 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 2 sprigs sage
  • 6 c chicken stock
  • 1 lb yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 1 t kosher salt, or to tatse
  • 1 t white pepper, or to taste
  • 0.5 c heavy cream
  • 3 butter poached lobster tails (see recipe section), coarsely chopped
  • 6 T chive oil (see recipe section)

Directions

Cut all the kernels from the cobs. Discard all but 2 of the cobs. Cut the remaining cobs in half crosswise. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the bacon slices in a single layer and cook until they have rendered their fat, but not yet browned. Add the butter, onions and shallots to the pot, increasing the temperature to medium-high. Sweat the onions and shallots with the bacon, stirring occasionally until they are translucent, about 5 minutes. Using kitchen twine tie the thyme, parsley and sage sprigs together in a bundle adding them to the pot. Add the chicken stock, potatoes, and the corn cob pieces. Season generously with salt and white pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil then lower the heat to a simmer and cook the mixture until the potatoes soften, about 20 minutes. Add the cream and the corn kernels, stirring to combine. Simmer about 5 minutes. Remove the soup from the heat and discard the bacon, herb bundle and corncobs. Then, using an immersion blender, blend the soup until completely pureed. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Pass the soup through a fine meshed sieve into a sauce pan. It should be velvety, but not too thick. Adjust with a little water or more chicken stock if needed. Gently reheat the soup. To serve: Divide the soup evenly between 6 soup bowls. Mound some of the butter poached lobster on top and drizzle each one with about 1 tablespoon chive oil. Serve warm.

Notes:

serves 6 Source: Adapted from Seasons in the Wine Country

Sweet & Sour White Asparagus Salad with Goat Cheese & Pickled Rhubarb

02 Apr 2010
pickled rhubarb

It's spring so I am bringing back one of my addictions.

Pickled Rubarb Rubies! It's the sour that makes them so addicting. You know, the kind of sour that makes your saliva glands ache a little and actually squirt just thinking about biting into something? It’s like, no you don’t want to eat that, but you can’t stop yourself... so you you decide to eat just one...and there you are 3 seconds later... not wanting to take yet another bite. But you know you will! A little shiver goes down your spine and you can’t decide if it is from pleasure or pain!

Well that’s the kind of sour I have for you today. The sour kind of sour that can only be described as hurts so goooood!

And look at these things, I have seen engagement rings with less sparkle and appeal!

So break through your barriers, put aside your fears, and let's take a journey on the sour side.

I am mostly teasing here. Because these little sour jewels won't hurt you. They are just one ingredient in a luscious salad full of opposing flavors and textures. Which is just the sort of salad I love. Sure there are plenty of sour little flavor bombs sprinkled about this salad. Just enough to really worry you (am I blushing??). But there is also tender, crisp, rich and nutty white asparagus. And as if that were not enough to hold your interest... there is soft, green bibb lettuce and creamy bits of goat cheese.

I am dressing this salad with just the barest hint of walnut oil. There is no vinaigrette I can think of that could ever hold its head up around these flavors. No, this salad needs the full fat flavor of the nutty walnut oil all by itself. Black pepper brings the final zing that makes this salad sing!


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White Asparagus Salad with Goat Cheese & Pickled Rhubarb

White Asparagus Salad with Goat Cheese & Pickled Rhubarb
By jgreghenry Published April 2, 2010
Prep time: 20
Yield:1 ()

Ingredients:

  • 1 l very thick white asparagus
  • 1 c chicken stock, approximately
  • 3 T unsalted butter
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 0 walnut oil
  • 4 c butter or bibb lettuce, washed and torn into bite size pieces
  • 5 oz goat cheese, crumbled
  • 0 pickled rhubarb (see recipe section)
  • 0 freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Place the asparagus into a heavy saucepan. Choose a pan large enough to hold all the spears in a single layer. Otherwise work in batches. Add enough stock to come about halfway up sides of the spears. Add 2 tablespoons butter, and the bay leaf, and cook uncovered over medium heat about 8 minutes. Roll the spears around until spears are very tender and glazed. Remove the spears from the braising liquid and set aside on a plate. One of the joys of white asparagus is that it does not quickly discolor from cooking so there is no need to plunge into ice water as with green asparagus. But you can if you want to. If you have an audience in the kitchen (and well, who doesn’t??) then please plunge away as dramatically as you can! asparagus salad with walnuts, goat cheese and rhubarbOnce the asparagus has cooled completely cover it and place it in the refrigerator until well chilled. When you are ready to plate this, toss a mild-tasting lettuce such as butter or Bibb with just enough walnut oil to make them glisten. Use the oil sparingly. It does not need to be mixed with vinegar or lemon juice. This salad has plenty of zip on it’s own! Mound the dressed lettuce in the center of each salad plate. Stack a pile of 5 or 6 spears of white asparagus around or on top of the lettuce. Sprinkle a generous amount of crumbled goat cheese on top followed by plenty of the pickled rhubarb. Drizzle with some more of the walnut oil, just a few drops here and there for sparkle. Then add a good grind of black pepper over everything. Pucker up and enjoy!

Notes:

serves 4