Lobster Mushroom Bisque

Posted on October 26, 2014 by autumnadams4

Mushrooms infected by parasitic ascomycete fungus….my favorite!!!

OMG…. Heaven in a bowl!!! I seriously couldn’t get enough of this stuff. When are we going mushroom hunting again??? Unfortunately lobster mushroom season is slowly coming to an end in the Pacific Northwest.

This was my first season going mushroom picking and we had such a great time wandering in the woods! None of us got lost and we had a great haul (although we didn’t really get any of the really large chanterelles). We collected tons of yellow and white chanterelles, lobster mushrooms, and chicken of the woods. We pretty much ate mushrooms everyday of the week and we still have chanterelles in the freezer. The lobster mushrooms were definitely my favorite, but we had fun with the chanterelles and chicken of the woods too.

We made this lobster mushroom bisque from One Tomato Two Tomato with only a few changes… mostly just to accommodate what we already had in our kitchen. The bisque turned out fantastic! You would never know that their weren’t any real lobsters in it. Steve and I both went back for seconds! And the leftovers were quickly gone!

Ingredients

Serves 4.

3 lbs lobster mushrooms, cleaned & thinly sliced
7 T. unsalted butter
1T. extra virgin olive oil
5 large shallots, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium-large yellow onion, chopped
2 T tomato paste
1⁄4 cup vodka
10 sprigs italian parsley, plus 1 T. Chopped (set aside)
6 sprigs fresh thyme
2 large fresh bay leaves (3 if using dry)
2 cups Chardonnay
6 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth (we used 4 cups veg and 2 cups chicken)
1 t. tabasco sauce
1 c. heavy cream
Kosher salt & pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. In a large soup pot heat the oil and butter on medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until all of the moisture is released and the mushrooms begin to brown. Then add in the shallots, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and cook for approx. 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are cooked.

2. Stir in the tomato paste until mixed well.

3. Deglaze the pot with the vodka. Use a spatula to scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom.

4. Bind the parsley and thyme together, add the bay leaves, wine and broth.

5. Simmer for up to an hour, allowing the mushrooms and vegetables to become soft.

6. Remove the bay leaves, parsley and thyme and then puree the soup in the blender in batches.

7. Add the puree back to the pot, add the heavy cream. And simmer for a bit longer.

8. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Note: We served ours with a crusty bread from the bakery and it was perfect.

Toasted Hazelnut and Cauliflower Soup

Posted on November 15, 2013 by autumnadams4

Steve and I are always trying to find ways to incorporate more veggies into our diet and we’ve been on a cauliflower kick lately. We’ve made a cauliflower pizza crust…yum; and now we’ve made this AMAZING soup…I think it’s just as good as the fennel kabocha squash soup that we make, but this soup cooks up way faster. The hazelnuts really give this soup a rich, creamy texture. It’s perfect for this cold, winter weather we’ve been having in Bend.

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower, florets only
3-4 large shallots, sliced into 1/4 inch ribbons
2/3 cup toasted hazelnuts
4 roasted garlic cloves, minced
7-8 cups of chicken broth (veg broth would be tasty too)
1/2 T. olive oil
2 T. butter (totally not necessary, but I love butter)
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Toast the hazelnuts in the toaster oven or regular oven. Our toaster oven gets nice and hot and it took less than 8 minutes to get them a nice golden color. Be careful not to overcook (ie. burn) the hazelnuts. Once the hazelnuts are toasted remove the skins by rolling them between your hands.

2. Heat oil and butter on medium in a large soup pot. Add shallots and saute until soft and then add garlic being careful not to burn the garlic.

3. Add the cauliflower florets to the pot and saute for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Now it’s time to add the chicken broth. Start with 5-6 cups. Bring it to a boil, then let it simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes. Depending on how much liquid cooks off you may want to add another cup or two of broth, so your soup won’t turn out like baby food.

5. Once the cauliflower is tender and the broth has simmered down let it cool slightly, then add it to your blender or food processor with the toasted hazelnuts. Blend until the soup reaches your desired consistency. We were able to put the entire batch into our blender, but it might be necessary to blend in batches.

Curried Pumpkin Soup

Posted on November 9, 2012 by autumnadams4

Yep, I’m still on a pumpkin/squash kick….and I’ve been pretty lazy about posting, so I’ll go ahead and start with our Thai inspired curried pumpkin soup. This recipe is so versatile and can be made vegan and gluten free. We made ours with chicken broth, half and half, and butter because we had a little bit of each that we wanted to use before it turned bad, but I actually think the vegan version might be better. Also, this soup was super easy to make…the hardest part was peeling the fresh pumpkin, but with a little patience our OXO Peelerdid the trick.

A little comfort food for a cool fall day.

Recipe

Serves 6 as entree.

1 smallish-medium pie pumpkin, peeled, seeded, and cubed
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil or butter
1 1/4 teaspoon curry powder (I think you could use a curry paste if you don’t have powder)
1 teaspoon chili pepper flakes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
8 cups of vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 cup coconut milk or half and half
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (optional, omit for vegan)
sour cream (optional)
cilantro, chopped, for garnish
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. In a large soup pot bring your chicken broth to a boil on medium-high heat and add your pumpkin. Depending on how big/small your pumpkin chunks are it could take 15-20 minutes.

2. While your pumpkin is cooking, in a saute pan combine butter or oil, onion, garlic, curry powder and chili pepper flakes over medium heat and cook until onion is tender and translucent, probably 5-7 minutes.

3. Once your pumpkin is tender go ahead and add the onion mixture, peanut butter, nutmeg and Worcestershire sauce and simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Remove from heat and slowly add coconut milk or half and half to the mixture. Blend until creamy using your hand blender.

5. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and cilantro.

Note: Toasted peanuts or pumpkin seeds would also be a nice addition.

For other great pumpkin and squash recipes I really like this book.

Apple Potato Soup

Posted on November 2, 2012 by autumnadams4

An apple a day keeps the doctor away! Homemade apple and potato soup with fresh thyme.

Recipe

Serves 4.

2 apples, peeled, cored and diced, plus 1/2 an apple sliced into thin wedges
2 celery stalks, chopped in to 1/4 inch slices
1 small-medium onion, diced
1 leek (minus the tough greens), sliced thinly
5 small potatoes, peeled, and diced
2 1/2 cups milk
2 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper
crème fraîche or sour cream

Instructions

1. In a large saute pan combine leek, onion, apple, celery and olive oil over medium-low heat until tender, probably 15 minutes or so.

2. In a large soup pot combine milk and potatoes. Bring to a slow boil, careful to not scorch the milk and cook for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

3. While the potatoes are cooking add chicken broth, bay leaf and thyme to the apple mixture and simmer for about 20 minutes.

4. Remove the bay leaf and combine all ingredients in the large soup pot and use a Cuisinart Hand Blender to blend all the ingredients until smooth. You could also blend the soup in batches in your blender or food processor. Our Oster Blender does an awesome job with soups, but clean up is so much quicker with the Cuisinart, so inevitably the Cuisinart Hand Blender has been getting way more action lately.

5. You might need to add a little more chicken broth or milk to achieve desired consistency ours was pretty thick. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with a dollop of crème fraîche or sour cream, a couple of apple slices and a sprinkling of thyme.

We served ours with baked brie, a whole wheat baguette and a dried cranberry, feta and candied pumpkin seed salad.

Apple Thyme Cocktail

Posted on November 1, 2012 by autumnadams4

Apple season is finally here!!! Another whiskey cocktail I thoroughly enjoyed…and will make again and again

Recipe

Serves 1.

2 oz. bourbon or whiskey
1 1/2 oz. spiced apple cider
1/2 oz. thyme infused simple syrup
1 apple sliced crosswise into 1/4 inch slices, 1 slice cut in to chunks
1 sprig fresh thyme

Instructions

1. Chill martini glass with ice and a little water.

2. Muddle thyme and a couple apple chunks together in a pint glass.

2. Add whiskey, spiced apple cider, thyme simple syrup and ice to the pint glass (if you are using a Boston Shaker) or cocktail shaker and shake until frothy.

3. Dump ice water from and fill to the top with your cocktail, garnish with an apple slice.

Perfect way to drink a little whisky!

Thyme Infused Simple Syrup

Recipe

1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
3 sprigs fresh thyme

Instructions

1. In a small saucepan bring water, sugar and thyme to a simmer. Stir constantly until all sugar is dissolved. If you are using a plain apple cider try adding cinnamon, cloves, and allspice to the simple syrup to add a little fall flavor to your cocktail. Allow to cool before adding to your cocktail.

Orange Spiced Pumpkin Macarons

Posted on October 23, 2012 by autumnadams4

orange pumpkin spiced macaron…no feet, but perfect texture and flavor

This recipe is nearly identical to the one found on plant food fabulous. I just made a couple of spice adjustments to suit my taste. She has some great tips for macaron making and troubleshooting too.

Cookie Recipe

30 cookies (more or less)

2/3 cup almond flour/meal
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 aged egg whites (left out on the counter overnight)
orange gel food coloring

Filling (you’ll probably have leftover)

1/4 cup butter, room temp
8 oz. cream cheese, room temp
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup pumpkin puree, moisture removed by drying between two paper towel layers
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest

Instructions

1. Sift together powdered sugar and almond meal, at least twice.

2. Stir in spices.

3. Beat aged egg whites until just frothy then add the granulated sugar. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Be careful not to over beat your eggs.

4. Preheat oven to 375 (know how your oven cooks and adjust accordingly) I usually turn mine down and cook a little longer.

5. Add almond mixture to your egg mixture; stir with a rubber spatula. Then macaronage by spreading the mixture against the side of the bowl and then scraping it back down. Do this between 8 and 10 times. This removes some of the air from the batter. You’ll know it’s done when the batter folds back on itself in ribbons and spreads out slowly. You don’t want it to be runny.

6. Fill a piping bag or Ziploc bag with the batter and pipe 1 1/2 inch circles on to a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet. Once your baking sheet is full tap the baking sheet on the counter 5 or 6 times to remove the air bubbles from the macarons.

7. Let your macarons rest for 15+ minutes to form a skin on the surface.

8. Bake your macarons for 6-7 minutes, then rotate your baking sheets and bake for another 5 to 7 minutes. They should be just golden around the edges with nice frilly feet.

The macarons pictured don’t have any feet…maybe due to the rain, over (or under) worked batter or maybe undercooking, but they were still nice and chewy with a slightly crunchy exterior.

Filling Instructions

1. In medium sized bowl combine butter, cream cheese, pumpkin, powdered sugar, vanilla and orange zest and mix with your hand mixer to desired consistency.

2. Pipe or spoon on to the bottom side of a macaron and then press another macaron to the frosting creating a “sandwich.” Repeat until they’re all matched up.

3. Let macarons mature in the fridge for 24 hours (if you can resist) and the flavors will all blend together nicely.

Here is a tutorial video on how to make macarons: macaron tutorial.

Pumpkin Goat Cheese Panna Cotta with Caramelized Pears

Posted on October 23, 2012 by autumnadams4

So we opened a can of organic pumpkin puree to make our pumpkin crème brûlée last week, but we didn’t finish it off, so we made orange-pumpkin spiced macarons, and still hadn’t finished the pumpkin. So to finish it off we created this slightly wacky panna cotta. Panna cotta means cooked cream in Italian and is historically from the Piedmont region of Italy. It’s a super smooth, creamy eggless custard that is super easy to make and is great with fresh fruit, or in this case pumpkin and caramelized pears.

okay…so maybe we used more than a dollop of whip cream

Pumpkin Panna Cotta Recipe

3-4 servings.

4 oz. plain goat cheese
1/3 cup milk
1 ½ cups half and half (heavy cream or even milk, you can make this as full fat as you want)
1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 packet gelatin (1/4 oz)

Instructions

1. To soften gelatin add it to 1/3 cup milk and stir gently. Let sit while you prepare rest of the panna cotta mixture.

2. In a sauce pan combine goat cheese, pumpkin, half and half, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg and bring to a quick simmer.

3. Remove from heat and add the gelatin mixture. Whisk briskly to make sure everything is blended well. We used the whisk attachment that came with our Cuisinart hand blender’s whisk attachment and the cream turned out super smooth.

4. Divide into 4 lightly greased ramekins and refrigerate for 2 ½ to 3 hours.

Caramelized Pears Recipe

2 pears
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

1. Peel pears, quarter and core them; then dice into small cubes (1/4 in. or smaller).

2. In a small frying pan melt the butter until frothy then add pears, sugar and cinnamon. Over medium heat continue stirring until pears are tender and golden.

3. Remove from heat and set aside till ready to use.

Serving Instructions

1. Remove the panna cotta from the ramekin by boiling an inch and a half of water (enough to cover atleast ½ of the ramekin). Remove the pan from the heat and dip one ramekin at a time in the water for about 45 seconds. Then take a butter knife and run it around the inside edge of the ramekin. Take your ramekin and place it upside down on a pretty plate, tap each side of the ramekin a few times to loosen the panna cotta from the ramekin. This takes practice, but the presentation is way prettier than serving it in a ramekin….unless of course you have beautiful ramekins.

2. Once you’ve successfully removed the panna cotta, dress it up with a spoonful or two of caramelized pears and a dollop of homemade whip cream.

3. Serve with a whiskey or rum spiked hot apple cider or strong french pressed coffeecoffee for an ultimate fall treat.

Easy Pumpkin Crème Brûlée

Posted on October 19, 2012 by autumnadams4

Easiest pumpkin crème brûlée….ever!!!

Recipe (3 servings)

1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 egg yolks
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 F.

2. Whisk together yolks and brown sugar.

3. Stir heavy cream, vanilla and spices into yolk and brown sugar mixture.

4. Pour crème brûlée mixture into your ramekins. We had enough to fill 3.

5. Place ramekins into a baking dish and fill baking dish with hot water about ½ way up the side of the ramekins to create a water bath.

6. Carefully place the baking dish into your oven and bake for 30-35 minutes.

7. Chill cooked crème brûlée for 2 ½ hours in the refrigerator.

8. Coat tops of crème brûlée with the granulated sugar and caramelize with a Culinary Torch.

Roasted Acorn Squash Rigatoni with Arugula, Italian Sausage and Parmesan

Posted on October 16, 2012 by autumnadams4

I’m on a squash kick right now, so this recipe was right up my alley. The acorn squash lends the rigatoni a subtle sweetness that is balanced by the savory flavors of the sausage and arugula; the toasted pumpkin seeds give it just enough nuttiness to round it out. I’ve seen recipes similar to this one all over then net, ours is adapted from Lesley Elliott’s recipe at Five O’Clock Food.

roasted acorn squash rigatoni with arugula, italian sausage and parmesan

Recipe

1 acorn squash, quartered and seeded
olive oil
1/2 pound Italian sausage (spicy or sweet)
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced (or roast a whole head of garlic with your squash and throw in the roasted cloves near the end)
1/4 cup dry white wine (we used Pinot Grigio)
2 large handfuls of arugula (kale would also be good, but I like the spiciness of arugula)
2 cups chicken broth
3 cups rigatoni pasta
Grated parmesan
Bob’s Red Mill Pumpkin Seeds toasted
1 teaspoon chili pepper flakes
Fresh ground sea salt and black pepper

Makes 4 servings.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. Arrange squash on a foil lined baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 45 minutes or until tender. Once finished roasting, allow to cool, and cut into cubes.

3. Boil salted water for your rigatoni and cook to al dente.

4. While your water is boiling cook the Italian sausage in a medium sauté pan until browned, about 10 minutes, then transfer to a paper towel lined plate.

5. In the same pan add 1 tablespoon olive oil and onions. Once the onions are softened add the garlic and stir. Add the white wine and reduce until nearly gone. Then add the chicken broth and reduce until about 1/3 is left, this takes a while. While the broth is reducing stir the arugula into the drained pasta to allow it to wilt.

6. After the broth is reduced add the squash, chili pepper flakes, and sausage to the pan, stir, and remove from heat. Combine rigatoni and squash mixture. Serve up and garnish with toasted pumpkin seeds and grated parmesan. I even stirred in about 1/3 cup of parmesan before serving to make it extra cheesy.

Notes: Next time I will omit the 4 cloves of minced garlic and I will roast an entire head of garlic with the squash and use some of that instead. Love roasted garlic, YUM!

We probably should have had a salad with this one, but we decided on baked baby bellas instead.

First of all, I am a total sucker for cookbooks, but if you’re also on a squash kick…get this book. It has so many amazing fall recipes!

Playing with Knives

Posted on October 15, 2012 by autumnadams4

Yep, it’s raining again….not exactly surprising. Steve and I conjured up a fantastic idea to keep us occupied… taste all the pumpkin beers we can get our hands on while slicing and dicing our own pumpkins. Here are the results:

All things pumpkin: drinking pumpkin and carving pumpkin

Southern Tier Pumking Imperial Pumpkin Ale (Lakewood, New York)

Southern Tier Pumking Imperial Pumpkin Ale

YUM!!! The Pumking is by far my favorite of the pumpkin ales. It’s like drinking an alcohol spiked pumpkin pie. This malty, copper colored brew’s prominent flavors include brown sugar, vanilla, whipped cream, and pumpkin pie spices.

ABV: 8.6%

IBU: 25ish?

Elysian The Great Pumpkin Imperial Pumpkin Ale (Seattle, WA)

Elysian The Great Pumpkin Imperial Pumpkin Ale

This was another good one. Great Pumpkin definitely has pumpkin, cinnamon, sugar, allspice, and nutmeg on the nose, which is balanced by a certain breadiness that reminds me of pie crust. The pumpkin pie spices are a little more subtle than the Pumking. The hops do provide a slightly drier finish to this beer.

ABV: 8.1%

IBU: 22

Elysian Night Owl (Seattle, WA)

Elysian The Great Pumpkin and Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale

Dessert in a glass. I could probably drink two of these, but then I’d have to call it quits. Night Owl is sweeter and spicier than the Great Pumpkin and has stronger notes of ginger, cinnamon and clove.

ABV: 5.9%

IBU: 18

Uinta Brewing Oak Jacked Imperial Pumpkin Ale

On first taste I said “WOW, this is BOOZY!” and every sip after you can still taste the booze. At 10.31% ABV this beer packs an alcoholic punch. The booziness overpowers this beer’s subtle flavors of pumpkin, vanilla and spice. I would compare this beer to pumpkin bread instead of pumpkin pie, as it is not cloyingly sweet like some of the others.

ABV: 10.31%

IBU: 39

Uinta Brewing Punk’n (Salt Lake City, Utah)

Uinta Brewing Punk’n Pumpkin Ale

This was probably my least favorite of the pumpkin ales. It smelled and tasted like fresh cut pumpkin and had a raw, earthy, vegetable flavor to it. While the beer did have hints of honey (yum) I would have liked more spiciness in the form of cinnamon, clove, allspice, ginger etc.; Punk’n might pair nicely with foods that have that flavor profile.

ABV: 4%

IBU: 10

Feeling saucy Steve and I managed to get two pumpkins carved without losing any fingers…yay!!!