Mushroom Soup

For a while now I have been making mushroom soup without ever really being satisfied with it. You see, I don't particularly care for mushrooms. But I have had mushroom soups that I could eat without gagging so I knew there was a formula out there that would make the perfect (for me) soup.

Today, I found it.

You need a good combination of colour, taste and smell. Too dark and it looks like you are eating something dark and horrible from a forest. Too mushroomy a smell and I get the same feeling. And I want it to taste enough of mushrooms that you can tell what it is, but not so little that the mushrooms take a back seat to some other flavour.

This is what I did:

I picked three kinds of mushrooms with taste and colour ranging from dark and heavy to almost white and light.

First, I took two big portabella mushrooms, sliced into 1/4" slices and browned them on a medium heat with a little oil salt and pepper.

Then, the same with about six or seven shiitake mushrooms.

Finally, about six biggish white mushrooms.

These all went in a blender with some home made chicken stock and pureed for around three minutes.

A medium onion, sliced, three cloves of garlic and one bell pepper, were all sauteed till soft with salt, pepper, oregano and parsley, then into the blender with a little chicken stock.

The two blends, one medium grey and one light green, were combined in a saucepan and brought to the boil. Adjust the seasoning and ... you're done.

[Note: do take the small amount of time to make your own stock. This way you are not adding someone else's idea of chicken stock into your soup, and you can genuinely call it your own creation! I make a super simple one: two small chickens, three medium onions, two-three large carrots, three stalks of celery. Don't peel the onions or the carrots; there is loads of flavour in the skin. Into a large pot, just cover with water, then bring to a boil and simmer till it is reduced by about a third. Strain, de-fat and use. I like to make it very plain so I can add seasonings as I go in whatever recipe I am using - but that's just me.]

Egg tarts

Anyone living in Hong Kong knows there are two kinds of egg tarts. The Chinese one, simply called egg tart, and the Portuguese one. The two seem quite similar, but differ in terms of both crust and filling. My own preference is to the Portuguese which I find creamier and tastier, not taking anything away from the regular egg tart, which always seem to be on the verge of being undercooked.

I already made a Portuguese tart once but was unhappy with the crust so decided to try again. The shell is a basic puff pastry which I was not about to make, and I don't advise anyone to do so either. Store bought ones are perfectly fine in this instance. The Chinese egg tarts' dough typically incorporated sugar, egg and vanilla. I've also heard they sometimes use custard powder as an easy way to get that sweet eggy colour.

For the Portuguese tart shell, you buy a package of puff pastry dough which comes in two rectangular sheets. Take out the sheets and lay them on top of each other and roll them up into a tube. Slice circles from the tube about 1/4 inch wide, then press flat. Roll them out until they are very thin, then press into the metal tart shells (I bought some for 50 cents a piece at Pacific Mall). Trim off the edges.

I made the custard filling by whisking four egg yolks with 1/4 cup of sugar and 2 tbsp cornstarch. Then, on a medium heat, slowly whisked in about 16 oz of cream/milk. You can adjust the ratio of cream to milk, but I used about a 2:1 and it seemed fine. Even using 100% milk will work fine; you'd just lose some of the creaminess.

Once it reaches the boil, add about 2 teaspoons of vanilla. I also added some lemon zest which gives it a nice lemony undertone. Be careful not to overdo it though. I used one whole lemon and would probably lessen it next time by about a third. Pour the finished custard into a bowl and cover with cling wrap and allow to cool. 

Once it is cooled, spoon into the shells and then into a hot oven for 20-25 minutes. My first batch I baked at 400 C and didn't get the caramelized top that I wanted, so I put the second batch in at 425 C and they came out just right. Amazingly, they popped right out of the moulds. 

Pre-birthday celebration

So, last night we decided to have a few friends round for dinner: nine of us in total.  This was the menu I settled upon:

Roasted Tomato Soup

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Prime Rib

Yorkshire Pudding

Steamed Broccoli

Mixed Green Salad with Pear, Walnut and Blue Cheese with Balsamic Dressing

Potato Gratin

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Black Bean Brownie with Yoghurt Cream

Pear Sorbet

There are not a lot of items, but given my own penchant for making things from scratch, it takes some preparation and organization. Here's what went down.

9:00am: I had planned to go and get food supplies and be back in time to make sure everyone was awake. But it had snowed last night and I ended up shovelling the driveway.

11:30am: We had an appointment for lunch at a Thai restaurant that was a surreal experience in itself (don't even ask), but meant I could only get to the supermarket after that.

3:00pm: Arrive back home and unpack the groceries. I have two stocks to make - a beef stock for the gravy, and a chicken stock for the soup. Oven goes on at 400 C. Meanwhile, I prepare the pot for the chicken stock.

3:15pm: In goes the chicken, with onions, carrots, celery, bayleaves and water. The oven is up to temp, so the beef bones go in a roasting pan with a little olive oil and some salt.

3:30pm: Begin making the pear sorbet. Cleaning and trimming eight pears, then stewing them in a pear juice/sugar liquid till tender.

3:45pm: Wash and dry the rib eye. Make a simple rub - garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil, thyme. Poke holes in the rib eye and rub the paste all over. Then set aside for a couple of hours at room temperature. Empty a whole tub of yoghurt into a strainer lined with paper towel over a bowl. Into the fridge. Make a simple syrup and drop in orange peel that I have sliced off with a channel knife. Once they are cooked - about 15 mins - take them out and into the fridge. These will eventually be a garnish of candied orange peel.

4:30pm: The bones are nicely roasted, so I take them out and transfer them into a big pot. Deglaze the roasting pan with red wine, then into the pot with onions, carrots, celery and bayleaves plus enough water just to cover the bones. Set on medium heat to simmer away.

4:40pm: Strain the pear mixture into a shallow baking pan, then into the freezer, I need to take it out every hour for the next four hours and whisk to make the sorbet.

4:45pm: Begin quartering a dozen Roma tomatoes that I lie on a baking sheet, coat with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, and into the oven to roast. This will take about 45 minutes.

5:00pm: Strain off the chicken stock and set aside to cool. Hollow out ten clementines and put in the freezer. These will be the containers for the sorbet.

5:15pm: Start making the black bean brownie. Pour the mixture into an 8x8 baking pan and into a 350 C oven for about 35 mins or so. Set timer on iPhone for 30 minutes so I don't forget!

5:30pm: Start making the bechamel sauce for the potato gratin. Begin slicing the potatoes using my Japanese slicer that I bought in Tokyo. Assemble the gratin and set aside. Check on the tomatoes. Take out the sorbet and give it a whisk.

5:45pm: Check on the brownie - another five minutes should do it. The tomatoes are done, so out they come to cool a little. Slice up a large red onion and three cloves of garlic, then sweat them on the stove in a little olive oil, some salt, pepper and oregano. Strain the beef stock and keep on the heat to reduce by about a third.

5:50pm: Brownie is done, so out it comes. The tomatoes, onions and garlic all go in a blender with some chicken stock that I have defatted. This all goes back into a pot. I add more stock till I am happy with the consistency, then heat it up and adjust the seasoning.

6:00pm: The oven is at 425C, so the prime rib goes in for 15-20 minutes. Then it's roasted at 325C for about an hour and a quarter or the internal temperature reaches 125C, making the outside barely medium, and the inside medium rare.

6:15pm: Whisk the sorbet again. Chop up the broccoli and set aside.

6:30pm: In go the potatoes. I make the Yorkshire pudding batter using flour, milk, eggs, salt and some of the fat I skimmed off the beef stock. Into the fridge to settle. From here on in, everything is under control. I still have quite a bit to do, but it is relatively easy stuff.

7:30pm: Drive Alexias to dance class! On my return, the guests are here.

7:40pm: The prime rib is done. I take it out and cover with foil. Take out the potato gratin. Turn the oven up to 425C.

7:45pm: Make the pan gravy with flour and the beef stock. Strain into a small saucepan and simmer. Adjust seasoning. 

7:50pm: Spoon the sorbet into the little frozen clementine shells, and back into the freezer. The sorbet is not quite ready, so I am hoping it will work out.

8:00pm: Time for soup. Make a little station and work with Serena to serve the soup. Everyone gets a sprinkle of parmesan, a little parsley and a tiny drizzle of cream. I pour the Yorkshire pudding batter into a 12-muffin pan, using a little beef fat at the bottom of each one. 

8:05: In go the Yorkshire pudding on a high rack for 15 minutes.

8:15pm: Soup is done. Meat is nicely rested. I pour the juices that have leaked out of it into the gravy. The kettle is boiled and I start steaming the broccoli. Serena and I assemble the salad. She arranges it all while I quickly slice the pears.

8:20pm: Salad is ready to go on the table Broccoli is too. I slice the prime rib and arrange it on a plate. Yorkshire pudding has risen nicely, so out it comes and onto a plate. 

8:40pm: Move the sorbet from the freezer to the fridge.

9:00pm: Go and pick up Alexias. She then eats dinner while I assemble dessert. The yoghurt is now strained and about 3 times thicker. I add about two tablespoons of a local Ontario honey. Slice the brownie into squares, then top with a little yoghurt cream and a few slices of the candied orange peel.

9:20pm: Dessert is served. The sorbet is good, but it needs more citrus to make it a more adult taste. It did have lemon juice and zest, but that faded somewhat in the freezing process. I am thinking of lime and maybe grapefruit ...

So there you have it. A blow-by-blow account. Like I said, it is not too difficult as long as you are organized. Pictures below. Enjoy!

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