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Creamy Wild Mushroom Soup

The creaminess of this soup belies the intensity of the wild mushroom flavour that fills your mouth! With each spoonful, you get the up front flavours of wild mushrooms and sherry then a smooth mouthfeel and a soft creamy finish. This is NOT your Mama’s cream of mushroom soup!

Creamy Wild Mushroom Soup
Creamy Wild Mushroom Soup

1/4 sample bag of Marx Foods dried Wild Black Trumpet Mushrooms (approx .5 oz)
1/4 sample bag of Marx Foods dried Wild Lobster Mushrooms (approx. .5 oz)
1/2 sample bag of Marx Foods dried Wild Morel Mushrooms (approx. 1 oz)
1/2 sample bag of Marx Foods dried Wild Porcini Mushrooms (approx. 1 oz)
1/2 sample bag of Marx Foods dried Wild Matsutake Mushrooms (approx. 1 oz)
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup water
pinch salt
1 med shallot, cut in halves and sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3 Tbl butter
1 Tbl plain flour
3 Tbl sherry (NOT cooking sherry, plain drinking sherry)
1 Tbl mirin
1.25 C chicken broth
1/2 C (+/-) dry white wine
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (1/2 tsp if dried)
3/4 C heavy cream
2.5 Tbl crème fraiche
1/4 tsp sugar
salt and pepper

Put first eight ingredients in a microwave on high until liquid is simmering. Remove and set aside for at least 15 to 30 mins for the mushrooms to cool and absorb the wine liquid. When they are cool, strain out the mushrooms and retain the liquid.

Put butter in a heavy soup pot on low heat and add shallot and garlic to sweat. Chop mushrooms coarsely and add when shallots are translucent. Add in the thyme leaves. Turn up to med high and stir in the flour to create a roux to thicken the soup. Cook for about 3 mins to ensure the flour will not be detectable. Add in sherry, mirin and about 1/2 cup of the reserved mushroom liquid. Stir for a couple of minutes. Add in white pepper and chicken broth. Taste and add in wine to taste. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Turn off heat and blend with stick blender until the mushrooms are in very small pieces. Since they are dried, they are very toothsome and need to be thoroughly chopped. You don’t want chewy pieces of mushroom in a cream soup! You can use a regular blender if you don’t have a stick blender.

When mushrooms are thoroughly chopped, return to simmer and turn off heat. Add in crème fraiche and sugar (if needed). Add up to 3/4 C of heavy cream to reach desired consistency. Check salt levels. Reheat gently if needed.

Serve a small portion as a first or second course. Its rich intensity would be perfect with a steak or lamb chop dinner. This soup would hold up nicely to a red wine such as a rioja.

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Trumpet and Lobster Mushroom Sauce

This is sauce was prepared for duck breasts, but you could certainly use it with chicken or veal. I served it with a simple vegetable mélange. Mirassou Pinot Noir was the wine pair (also used for the soak). This is a simple sauce that features the intensity of the dried mushrooms.

Wild Mushroom sauce w/ Duck
Wild Mushroom sauce w/ Duck Breast

2/3 sample bag of Marx Foods dried Wild Black Trumpet mushrooms (approx. 1.25oz)
2/3 sample bag of Marx Foods dried Wild Lobster mushrooms (approx. 1.25oz)
1/2 c (+/-) pinot noir
1/2 c (+/-) water
1 lg or 2 small shallot, halved and sliced thin
3 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
1/2tsp dried basil
1 Tblsp butter
1 Tblsp mirin
1 tsp cornstarch
1.5 Tblsp crème fraiche
duck fat (or olive oil if you’re using chicken or veal)
salt and pepper

Put the mushrooms, wine and water in a microwave safe bowl. Liquid should just cover the mushrooms. Microwave on high until the liquid is at a simmer. Remove from microwave and set aside.

Render the fat from the duck breasts (skin side down) over med heat for 15 mins. When the skin is crispy and the fat rendered, turn over the breast and cook for another 3-5 mins. Med Rare is perfectly acceptable for duck. Remove duck and keep warm in the oven. Pour off and save all the duck fat except 1Tblsp. Duck fat is liquid gold!

Add shallots and garlic to the pan over low heat so as not to burn them. Salt and pepper the aromatics. Strain out the mushrooms (saving the liquid!) and chop. When garlic and shallots are translucent, add in the soaked/chopped mushrooms. Add 1 Tblsp butter and 1/2 tsp dry basil. Turn heat up to med high and add in about half the mushroom soaking liquid. When the liquid is boiling, add in 1Tblsp mirin and 1tsp cornstarch dissolved into some mushroom liquid. Adjust the liquid so it’s not too thick nor too thin; check salt and pepper. Turn off heat and add in 1.5 Tblsp crème fraiche. Stir until creamy and check the salt and pepper one last time.

Spoon over duck breasts and serve.

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Angela’s Breakfast

This dish is sort of an eggs Benedict, but without the fussy sauce and more veg. We have it often and vary the hot sauce. I’ve made it low carb with the deli flats. This makes two servings.

2 perfectly poached eggs
1 Pepperidge Farm Deli Flat, in halves (or English muffin halved)
Mayo, dijon or your dressing of choice
thin tomato slices, salted
avocado slices, salted
thin sliced ham or proscuitto or bacon
cheese of your choice
hot sauce of your choice

To poach the perfect egg, you need a 2 qt sauce pan about half full of water with a teaspoon of white vinegar in it. Bring to a boil then reduce to a very slow simmer. You should see the bubbles along the sides, but it is NOT boiling. Do NOT salt the water! It will make your eggs rubbery. Break an egg into a bowl. Give the water a swirl and gently add the egg. The object is to get it to set and not stick to the bottom of the pan. Turn on your timer for how you want them: 3 mins for easy; 4 mins for med; 5 mins for soft done and NO LONGER than that or you may as well fry it. I like 4 mins. No more than 2 eggs in a 2qt pan.

While your eggs are poaching, assemble your bases. Starting with the flat bread, add the next 5 ingredients. Put in a toaster oven or under the broiler until the cheese is melted.

While the cheese is melting, retrieve your poached eggs with a slotted spoon. Be very careful that you don’t break the yolks! If you need to hold them a sec, put them in a bowl and add salt/pepper. Don’t leave them in the water or they will overcook.

Put the base on a plate and top with your poached egg. Drizzle your favourite hot sauce over the top and enjoy! We like Tiger Sauce by Try Me brand. YUM!

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Asian Eggplant and Chicken Stew

A luscious stew with low carbs and low-ish fat. The Asian eggplants have a thinner skin and sweeter taste and give the stew a lovely mouthfeel. The only fat is what little is in the chicken and a bit of olive oil – but you’d swear it had more. The savoury black bean paste makes all the difference!

Ingredients
* 6 piece Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs (1 pkg)
* 2 cups (+/-) Chinese/Asian or Italian Eggplant (3 10″ eggplants), partially peeled, .5 in slices
* 1 can garbanzos (chick peas), drained
* 1 cup Onions, diced
* 1 cup Orange or Red Bell Pepper, diced
* 5 Garlic Cloves, chopped
* 2 limes for zest and juice
* 2 tsp Ginger Paste (grated fresh ginger or prepared paste in a jar)
* 2.5 tbsp Black Bean Paste (in the Asian aisle)
* 2 tbsp tomato paste
* 1 tsp Chinese Five Spice Powder
* 2 oz medium white wine
* 1 cup Chicken Broth (+/-)
* 2 tbsp Cornstarch
* 1 1/2 tbsp Olive Oil
* 1/4 cup Italian Parsley, chopped
* 2 Scallions, sliced thinly

Directions
Cut up the chicken thighs into large chunks. Sprinkle with kosher salt and 5 spice powder.

Slice eggplants in 1/2 inch slices and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Dice onion and peppers. Chop garlic. Peel fresh ginger and grate 2 tsp.

Put olive oil in a hot large skillet or stock pot then add in chicken to sear – DO NOT crowd! Season chicken with s/p, 5 spice and lime zest. Scoop out the browned chicken to a holding bowl leaving the oil/drippings in the pan. Turn down heat to Med and add all the veg to sweat and soften. Season veg with s/p and more lime zest. Deglaze with white wine (or chicken stock). Check seasoning and add salt if needed.

Once veg is soft, add the chicken back in. Turn up the heat to High. Add in about a cup of chicken broth – enough to come about halfway up the veg/chicken. Mix cornstarch with some water or broth and add in. Add black bean paste, tomato paste and garbanzos. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer.

Cover and simmer for 15 mins. Check for seasoning and add more 5 Spice, bean paste and salt as needed and add half the parsley. Turn off heat, add more lime zest and the juice of the 2 limes. (Always add citrus juice at the end otherwise it will become bitter.)

Garnish with sliced scallions and chopped Italian flat leaf parsley. Yield about 6 servings.

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Angela’s Skillet Creamed Spinach

This dish is a take on classic creamed spinach, but is no bake and quick.

Ingredients
* 2 blocks Chopped Spinach (frozen)
* 2 Garlic Clove, minced
* 1 Shallots, sliced
* 1 tbsp EV Olive Oil
* 1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes to taste
* 1/4 tsp Coarse Kosher Salt to taste
* 1/4 tsp Ground White Pepper to taste
* 2 tbsp Daisy Sour Cream
* 2 tbsp Creme Fraiche
* 1 tbsp Real Mayonnaise
* 1 tbsp Frank’s Hot Sauce to taste
Directions
Thaw spinach and squeeze out water. Sweat the shallots and garlic in olive oil. Add in spinach and seasonings. Heat spinach through, turn off heat and add sour cream, creme fraiche and mayo.

This dish preserves the freshness of the spinach yet is creamy with a little kick of red pepper and hot sauce. And it’s all in one skillet!