Cold Curing Mushroom Soup–French Fridays with Dorie

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The French Friday recipe for this week fit in perfectly with my need for healing food–my family’s new year began with a hideous cold that has settled deep into our bones.  Dorie’s Paris Mushroom Soup provides a host of anti-viral, healing ingredients: garlic, mushrooms and onions form the base.   It also provided me with an opportunity to try out an ingredient that is fairly new to my repertoire–black garlic.


I know, it looks like tar, or worse–but don’t judge, it actually has delicious, almost umami-like flavor. On the plus side, no need to chop, its soft texture melts right into the initial saute step. Getting you to the mushrooms even quicker.

For the broth, I used an organic mushroom broth.
While the soup simmered, I prepared the “salad” in the soup bowls.

At this point I should mention that if you don’t have a good immersion blender (tips on the problems and questions section of FFwD website indicate those with a Braun had a much more success than those of us with lesser products), use a blender, but be sure to not to fill it more than 1/3 full or you will be cleaning your work area from floor to ceiling (need I say more?).

The result was a delicious, substantial but not heavy, soup. I didn’t have crème fraiche so I added a bit of parsley on top for color. My note for next time: a mixture of mushrooms for a deeper flavor. I’m thinking Shitake for their medicinal value (especially if I don’t shake this cold before my next batch of this soup) as well as flavor.  Baby bellas would be good, too.

If you’d like to try this easy soup yourself, grab a copy of Dorie’s around my french table. If you want to see how everyone else fared with this recipe, and likely find some great variations, check out French Fridays with Dorie.

Caramel-topped Semolina Cake: French Fridays with Dorie

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The Caramel-topped semolina was a hit, but I think I did not cook the sugar long enough because a darker amber would have made this cake look more enticing.  But what it lacked in appearance, it more than made up for in flavor.  And as you can see, it was dug into before I even got to take a photo.

Dotted with golden raisins, this sweet treat was the consistency of bread pudding or a textured flan, so I might not use the term cake when serving to my guests so that expectations align better with reality.  Perhaps I’ll call it caramel surprise.  One thing for sure, I’m very sorry I didn’t hide a piece away so that I could have it with tea for breakfast this morning.  I think I will include it in my next brunch. To see how other people made out with this recipe, visit French Fridays with Dorie.

Pommes Dauphinois becomes Lunch with Bonne Idees: French Fridays with Dorie

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I’m home and back in the kitchen just in time to catch the last FFwD for November . Since we weren’t having our Thanksgiving feast with family until the early evening, I decided I’d make the potato gratin for lunch, and what a delicious lunch it was!

First, I rounded out the dish into a main course by adding some sautéed mushrooms and bacon, which I cooked while I heated the half & half and garlic.  Half & half, by the way, was not a good substitute for the cream.  I had bought organic half & half, thinking it would be thicker than the non-organic, and while it probably was thicker, I overlooked the fact that it was heavy cream, not light cream the recipe required, which made my substitute a rather runny alternative. But I digress….

When heating my cream, I added not only the garlic, but some dried thyme as well as sea salt and pepper.  To compile the gratin, I alternated two layers of potatoes with cream mixture and then inserted the mushroom/bacon layer, topped with cream, finishing the dish with a final layer of potatoes topped with cream.

Then it was time to top with cheese.  I had a small block of Comte on hand, which is an excellent Gruyère that we fell in love with during a fling with a french style pizza creation (but that is a recipe for another day) both for its sturdy, deep flavor and for its smooth melt.

The gratin took an hour to cook, and I did let it sit for about 10 minutes before serving.  And although it was a bit runny, we found that the fresh loaf of Italian bread I picked up at the market was a delicious way to sop up the flavorful liquid.

Once again, FFwD inspires a delicious meal.  For the recipe, of course, you will need to get the cookbook. And if you enjoy cooking with a virtual group, French Fridays with Dorie is fun and inspiring group to share your results with.   To check out how other people fared with Dorie’s pommes dauphinois, visit here.

Eataly NYC: Italian Wonderland for One Stop Shopping

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In preparation for my maiden voyage to Eataly this past Sunday, I sought some advice from those who went before me, most notably Kathy, over at Healthy Happy Life.  Unfortunately I could not heed her advice to go on a weekday, but I did make sure to scramble over there right as it opened on Sunday.  And am I glad I did, I entered at 11 a.m. and by 11:20 I couldn’t move it was so crowded.  However, I did manage to come away with some goodies.  I was especially pleased to find the Italian Eataly 2011 day book for the mister, who hails from Southern Italy and will enjoy the Italian foodie tidbits throughout.

The prices were reasonable and I found several bean and grain mixtures that will inspire some delicious soups, as well as organic Borlotti beans, which I love.  As I am flying home from this trip, there wasn’t the option for many of the condiments, vinegars, olive oils, and the great wine selection.  But that’s ok, I will return with ground transportation next time and make it a point to go through Eataly early on a weekday, AFTER the holiday season, when I can really see what it’s made of.  What I want to know is can it withstand the rigor of what will make it truly an experience…great conversations with the counter people?…tastes of unknown ingredients?…advice on cooking and recipes, not only from the employees, but from the customers on my side of the counter?  You see that’s what will truly make this a little slice of Italy in my mind.

But in the spirit of make new friends but keep the old, I will still continue to shop Di Palo’s over on Grand Street in Little Italy.  I leave with a belly full of cheese and sausage, often offered to me by Lou Di Palo himself,  and a head full of ideas from the neighborhood regulars.  Eataly, however good it is, will not replace the neighborhood shops, it will just expand my shopping experience.  My heart has plenty of room to embrace them all :-) .

Tunisian Olive Oil Take 2: Orange Olive Oil Cake

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The second Tunisian olive oil I tried was Terra Delyssa’s extra virgin.  This EVOO had a hint of a buttery olive flavor to it, so I thought I’d try my hand at creating an olive oil cake, and I was not disappointed.  As it is fall, I added some  warming spices to the cake, but it would taste just fine without them.  You could also consider rum, or an almond flavored liquor like amaretto in place of the Cointreau.  And while you might be tempted to skip the lemon zest, it does bring out the flavor of the orange, so I recommend using it.

Orange Olive Oil Cake

INGREDIENTS

3 large eggs (bring to room temp, if time permits)
¾ cup of sugar
1 cup of good quality EVOO
¼ cup of Cointreau or Grand Marnier
1 tbsp orange zest
1 tsp lemon zest
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp ground cloves

Heat oven to 350° and coat an 8” round cake pan with olive oil. note: I also line the bottom with parchment paper cut to fit, I’m a nervous baker.

Whisk eggs and sugar until well blended.  Add olive oil, Contreau, orange and lemon zest and mix well.

Mix the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl. Add the egg mixture the dry ingredients and stir until just blended.  Pour batter into cake pan and bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, or top of cake springs back when touched—about 30-40 minutes.  Remove from oven when done, and cool on wire rack for 5 minutes.  Run knife around edge of cake and invert on rack to cool (flip cake back over so bottom is on the cooling rack or it will leave marks).  When cool place on serving plate.

The result was a moist, but not soggy, cake with a predominant orange flavor and hint of olive oil and spices.  The cornmeal added a nice texture.

When ready to serve, you can serve as is, or top with powder sugar, whipped cream or crème fraiche.  I served it as is fresh from the oven, and the next day I topped it with warm raspberry preserves.  For beverages, after dinner I served it with chilled Prosecco, but on a cool fall evening, a nice port would pair well.   It also goes well with coffee and tea making it good for breakfast/brunch.

Tunisian Olive Oil Take 1: Spaghetti con Aglio e Olio

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Welcome to the test kitchen.  I recently became aware of  Tunisian olive oil , so I thought run a recipe taste test.  My first step was to open each bottle and actually have a taste, after which I began to select recipes.  The Riviere d’Or Organic EVOO had a light, smooth olive flavor that brought to mind a recipe where it could shine—spaghetti with garlic and oil.  This is an incredibly flexible recipe, so you can throw in whatever strikes your fancy.  I have the last of my homegrown peppers, so I used those for a splash of color and flavor. (Note: the wine you see in the photo is added to the cook, not the dish.)  If I have some fresh herbs on hand, I use them as a garnish, and while I do not prefer grated cheese with this dish, others at my table do, so I keep the cheese handy.  This recipe can easily be doubled for 4 main courses or 8 first courses.

INGREDIENTS

½ lb spaghetti
¼ cup EVOO (or more to taste)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1-2 hot red peppers (to taste)
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1 tbsp chopped parsley for garnish
Grated Parmesan cheese

Put the water up to cook the spaghetti.  In a separate pan, add olive oil and garlic and cook on the lowest heat so the garlic does not brown.

Chop the pepper and add to garlic and oil, along with salt (adding salt early enhances the flavor of the pepper and garlic).  Taste periodically to check for salt.

A few minutes before the spaghetti is done, turn up the olive oil mixture a bit so that the garlic barely begins to brown—keep an eye on it and pull the pan off the heat if things start to cook to quickly—the red pepper should stay bright and you don’t want burnt garlic—it’s bitter.

When the spaghetti is done, do not rinse, just strain and place into the pan with the garlic sauce.  Add ground black pepper to taste. Stir over low heat for a minute to let the pasta absorb the flavor.

Although light, the pure olive flavor of the Tunisian olive oil was not overpowered by the garlic and pepper; a clean, pure olive taste came through.  I found my plate of spaghetti, glistening with olive oil, good as it was–I did not want to overpower the olive oil with cheese. However, my dining companion felt otherwise, and said that the cheese gave it some weight and blended well with the olive oil.   It certainly looked nice, didn’t it?

If you have leftovers, this makes a delicious spaghetti frittata the next day.  And stay tuned for Tunisian Olive Oil Take 2.

Marie-Helene’s Apple Cake: French Fridays with Dorie

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I live in the northeast and it is apple season, so this week’s FFwD recipe choice thrilled me!  However, baking is not my forte, so while the result was tasty, I’ll warn you, it isn’t pretty.  First, I did not have an 8″ spring from pan; I have a 12″, I have a 9″, but no 8″.  I knew from other FFwD’s results the 9″ was likely to cause somewhat of an issue, and I was right.  But what the cake lacks in visuals, it more than makes up for in flavor.  I followed the recommendation  to use a variety of apples–I used two large Empire apples, which are tart and crisp and two large Fuji apples, which are sweet and crisp.  As this recipe showcases the apples with a bare casing of cake batter, you want the best apples you can find.

I could barely wait for my first taste and it was everything the baking cake’s scent promised:  buttery, sweet, warm and as comforting as sliding into a sweatshirt still warm from the dryer on a cold evening (ok, I was multi-tasking here while the cake baked).  Since only two of us were digging into this cake there was plenty left over. So piece number two was my breakfast this morning. I decided to try it room temp, which given how cold it was last night, meant chilled. It was just as good this way, but the emphasis of the flavor was less on the buttery cake and even more on the apples, making me very glad I had a) chosen crisp apples and b) both sweet and tart flavors. As you can see, it held its shape a bit better on the morning cut. Feeling a bit braver about this recipe, I think that next time I would make it in a pie plate, as the ratio of apples to batter makes this so close to pie-like that I suspect it will work. Stay tuned. One thing my family can count on, I will definitely be making this recipe again!  And I highly recommend checking out French Fridays with Dorie ; if you like to cook with a virtual group, there’s a lot of fun going on over there.  Oh, and let me give a shout out here to the amazing  Cake Duchess, who turned me on to this!

Sunday Cookbook Giveaway Happening over at Culinary Cellar

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Being an avid cookbook collector, I was surprised and delighted to discover The Culinary Cellar blog.  And while Debbie has a cookbook giveaway contest every Monday, today there are two great Sunday giveaways:  Culinary Arts Institute, Cooking with Beer and Pam Brandon’s cookbook from the Epcot Food and Wine Festival.  If you want to enter the contest, head over to today’s Culinary Cellar post for the details.

Flirting with Foursquare

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When something starts popping up often in conversations, as Foursquare has lately, I’m usually compelled to find out what it’s all about.  So on a recent weekend in NYC I went hardcore into Foursquare–apparently even they thought so, I received an “overshare” badge my third day.  I started at the airport and proceeded to “check in” everywhere I went.  Wait, let me back up and explain, for those of you unfamiliar with Foursquare (and I say this kindly, as I came late to this particular party myself–I am not an early adoptor for social networking tools, although I’m most enthusiastic and delve in deep when I finally arrive).

Foursquare is a free app you load onto your mobile device, whatever you use (I’m an iPhone), and then check in via your mobile at locations you visit as you travel throughout your day. Checking in involves going to the app, which then locates you via GPS and pulls up a variety of places where you might actually be.  If your exact place is not there, you can feed in the name and address. Your whereabouts is then publicized to people you have  friended on Foursquare.  You can also broadcast your Foursquare check-ins to your Facebook and Twitter accounts.  When you check in to a place it also brings up any tips previous visitors might have left.  You can add your own tips, or tips can also be added later if you’re not in the mood.  I can tell you I loved The Violet (a cocktail) at Park Avenue Spring, and definitely think it’s worth a try, but I wasn’t about to add a tip at the time;  I was too busy savoring both cocktail and time with friends.

Foursquare, at first glimpse, appeared to be an app for the social segment that is single, out socializing and looking to get together–college students and less settled 20- and 30-somethings. High schoolers tend not to use it, and I wasn’t sure if I was trekking around town with a toddler in tow that I would be inclined to whip out my phone and check in to locations. What would I care about collecting badges and points for my travels?  And would it matter where my friends were–I’m at an age where I’m not bar hopping and heading to after parties. But then I had my aha moments–I checked in to Central Park early in the morning and received a pop up message about a health related business nearby to assess my nutritional needs.  Later in the day, I checked in at a café and up popped a note telling me that if I went to a nearby sporting goods store and checked in I would receive a 20% discount on my purchase.  Suddenly I could see myself with a child, checking into Toy’s R Us and getting a coupon.  Or running errands by myself, stopping at a restaurant and appreciating the tip that a certain dish was either very good or a total waste of time. Oh the possibilities…especially when you are in a place that you don’t live.  It was a Foursquare tip that prompted me to try the truffle and cheese pizza at Accademia di Vino, a place I’d never been before, and it was delicious!

The problem at this point in time is that Foursquare is still a bit of a social game.   I found very few tips given that I was in a major city. I also found that several people might check in to the same place and give it either a wrong address or use a slightly different spelling of the name.  For example, Accademia di Vino becomes “Acadamia de Vino”  for most people and that is where the tips reside.  Only one person has checked in to Accademia under its correct spelling.  When the wrong spelling came up, I confess to proliferating the use of  the misspelled place check-in because I did not feel like entering the correct spelling and address–I was meeting a friend and just wanted to get inside.  If you’ve got a business, get your listing on there and give yourself the edge of people checking into the exact place.  All you have to do is start an account and add your place.  If Accademia di Vino ever puts out a special, those of us checking into Acadamia de Vino are going to miss it!  Closer to my home in Syracuse, I am the only person to have a tip under Gentile’s Restaurant, (which has no check ins because I apparently left a tip there via the web before I started using the Foursquare app), everyone else is checking in over at Gentiles.

When more people begin leaving tips and businesses begin to fully utilize Foursquare’s marketing potential, it will really hit its stride. For me, now that I’m home, I’m going to use it to remind my local friends of some of the great places in Syracuse by checking in as I meander around.  Of course, I only have a handful of Foursquare friends, so it will actually be my Twitter feed that does the broadcasting for now.  But if local businesses get on board and use Foursquare for marketing, I’m betting I’ll build some community. And I would like to know which of my friends is at the Regional Market on Saturdays so I can look for them. NOTE:Kelly N, if you are reading this please join Foursquare and check in at the market :-) .  Oh, and by the way, it’s on Foursquare as the CNY Regional Market, and there are already a few tips.