Wild mushroom soup with truffles

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Wild mushroom soup with truffles (photo: Lynne Hemer, Cook and Be Merry)

 I own six dozen of the small juice glasses in the photo above. I bought them at Ikea for Trufflepalooza 2010 because I needed something in which to serve the truffled corn bisque to six dozen guests. Soup at a cocktail party is much easier sipped than spooned.

For Trufflepalooza 2011 I actually planned the menu around the glasses. I served three of the 16 courses in them, including truffled wild mushroom soup. It's a dressed-up version of a soup I make all year long for my mushroom-loving husband. With the right equipment (big pot and immersion blender for sure, egg slicer optional) it's one of the easiest and tastiest soups you'll ever serve.

Note: If you want your mushroom soup ultra-smooth, put it through a fine-mesh sieve before serving, or use a Vitamix or other super-strength countertop blender instead of an immersion blender. I like a little texture myself, but it's up to you.

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Wild mushroom soup with truffles

by Erika Kerekes August-29-2011

Fresh crimini and dried porcini mushrooms combine with black summer truffles to give this soup a huge dose of umami.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces dried porcini mushrooms
• 2 pounds fresh crimini mushrooms
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 6 large shallots, finely chopped
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 Tbsp white truffle oil
• 1/2 small fresh black summer truffle (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Instructions

Cover the dried porcini mushrooms with boiling water in a small bowl. Let sit 1 hour.Rinse the crimini mushrooms briefly, making sure all the dirt and grit is gone. I know real chefs don't like to wash mushrooms for fear they'll get soggy, but I've eaten my share of mushroom grit and I don't like it. Soggy mushrooms won't ruin soup. I like them clean.Remove the stems from the caps - you'll just be using the tops in this soup. Keep the stems in a zip-top back in the freezer and use them to make mushroom or vegetable stock another time. You could slice or chop the mushrooms with a knife, but I think it's a lot more fun to use an egg slicer. Put the mushroom cap upside-down on the slicer, then press down the top. You'll get all those mushrooms sliced perfectly evenly in no time. Yes, I realize the soup will be pureed and no one will ever see how perfectly uniform those slices were. But you'll know. Also, this is a great job to delegate to your kids - they love the egg slicer.In a large pot, melt the butter and add the shallots. Saute the shallots about 6 minutes, until they're softened but not browned. Add the sliced mushrooms. Drain the soaked porcini, reserving the liquid, and add the porcini to the pot. Pour in the soaking liquid carefully, making sure any grit in the bottom of the bowl stays in the bowl. Add the chicken stock, bring the pot to a boil, turn it down, and simmer the soup about 20 minutes.When the vegetables are very soft, puree the soup with a hand-held immersion blender. Stir in the cream, truffle oil, grated truffles if using, salt and pepper, and lemon juice. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Serve immediately.

Details

Prep time: 1 hour Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 1 hour 30 mins Yield: 8 bowl-size servings (or 20+ cocktail party sips)

Pacific rockfish "brandade" with truffles

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Pacific rockfish "brandade" with truffles (photo: Lynne Hemer, Cook & Be Merry)

Truth: The idea for this cold fish mousse came to me in a dream. It was a few short weeks before this year's Trufflepalooza, my annual multi-course truffle-laden extravaganza, and the menu was still in flux. I knew I'd be making radish and truffle butter sandwiches, truffled filet mignon toasts, truffled puff pastry straws, and truffled egg salad. I was toying with the idea of truffled pork shumai. I knew I wanted to do something with seafood but hadn't yet found the right approach.

And then one morning I woke up with this recipe fully formed in my mind. A clean, mild, white fish, which I'd steam, then puree with cooked potato, creme fraiche and truffles. A play on brandade, the hearty French mash of salt cod and potato. I'd pipe the cold mousse into hollowed-out sections of Persian cucumber. Light, cool, aromatic, perfect. Who knew that was in my brain? I have never loved my subconscious more.

But what kind of fish to use? My local fishmonger suggested cod, whitefish and snapper, also known as Pacific rockfish. I bought a bit of each and made three purees. My family taste-tested but we couldn't agree. I liked the flavor of the cod but was bothered by its fibrous texture. The rest of the family was split between the whitefish and snapper.

The next morning I went to KCRW to tape a segment about Trufflepalooza and truffle recipes for Evan Kleiman's public radio show "Good Food." I packed up samples of my three fish mousses (mice?) and took them to the studio. I ran Evan and her producer Harriet Ells through another blind taste test. They liked the cod, even with its texture issues. "But really," said Evan, "they're all good. I'd just use whichever one is cheapest."

Evan is smart. I listen to her. The Pacific rockfish was local, cheap and delicious. When you make this, look for a mild, white-fleshed fish that won't break the bank. The truffles are the star of the show anyway.

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Pacific rockfish "brandade" with truffles

by Erika Kerekes August-23-2011

Serve this light truffled fish mousse in hollowed-out cucumber cups for an elegant hors d'oeuvre.

Ingredients

• 1 pound Pacific rockfish filets (or another mild, white fish)
• 1 large Idaho baking potato, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
• 6 ounces creme fraiche
• 2 tsp white or black truffle oil
• 1/2 tsp truffle salt
• 2 Tbsp grated fresh truffle (optional)
• 5 or 6 Persian cucumbers, washed, ends trimmed
• chives (for decoration)

Instructions

Place a steamer basket inside a large pot and line it with a piece of parchment paper. Add an inch or two of water to the pot and bring it to a boil. Put the fish on one side of the steamer and the potato chunks on the other side. Cover the pot and steam for 7 minutes or until the fish is done. Remove the fish and continue to steam the potatoes until they're soft, another 10-15 minutes.Place the fish and creme fraiche into the bowl of your food processor and puree until smooth. Add the cooked potato, truffle oil, truffle salt and fresh truffle and process in short bursts until the mixture is smooth. Potatoes get gluey in the food processor when they're pureed too aggressively, so err on the side of caution. Taste and add more salt if necessary. Put the mixture in the refrigerator and chill thoroughly.While the fish mixture is cooling, cut the cucumbers into 1-inch lengths, then use a melon baller to scoop out some of the flesh, taking care not to pierce the bottom. You want to end up with pieces that will stand up on their own and have neat little depressions waiting to be filled.Transfer the cold fish mousse to a pastry bag or zip-top plastic bag and pipe it into the cucumber cups. Decorate with chives. Serve immediately.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 30 mins Yield: approximately 30 pieces

Postcard from New York: Long Island

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That's me at my brother's weekend house, making some Nutella-filled aebleskivers (Danish round filled pancakes). I first made aebleskivers for my nephew and niece last year when they visited us in California. When I asked them if they had any special kitchen requests while I was visiting this week, aebleskivers were the only thing my nephew wanted.

My brother, ever the enabler, ordered an aebleskiver pan from Williams-Sonoma and had it shipped overnight. I doubled the recipe that came with the pan and made about three dozen little pancake balls filled with chocolate chips, strawberry jam or Nutella. I've made aebleskivers with several different recipes; some call for separating the eggs and whipping the whites to stiff peaks, a task I do by hand and thus find particularly tiresome. But it really does make for a better aebleskiver. My brother scoffed at the whisk I offered him and instead whipped the egg whites with an immersion blender fitted with a cool whisk attachment. I might need one of those.

Three dozen aebleskivers just about satisfied five adults and three kids. The Nutella ones were the clear winners. Breakfast for lunch before heading down to the pool - happy family indeed.

Note: I can't find the recipe I used, but this aebleskiver recipe from About.com Scandinavian Food is pretty close.

Postcard from Massachusetts: West Springfield

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Booty from a quick stop at Donut Dip in West Springfield, Massachusetts: honey glazed, apple cider and chocolate glazed donuts. I had to choose from 49 varieties and had only three donut-loving children to feed, so I restrained myself and only bought a half-dozen. Donut Dip sits conveniently near the intersection of I-91 and I-90 in western Massachusetts. It's a two-minute detour if you're on either route. I highly recommend paying them a visit. These were fantastic donuts. P.S. Three children think I am the greatest mother/aunt in the world. Donuts rule.

Postcard from Vermont: Woodstock

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Grilled cheese on local artisan bread with heirloom tomato and fresh basil at the Woodstock farmers' market. There's some kind of delicious garlic spread inside, too. I ate it sitting on a bench under a beautiful maple tree. One of the best grilled cheese sandwiches I've had...ever.