Morels and the Green City Market

Since I had a free morning on my birthday, I headed down to the Green City Market for the first time this spring. It was a crisp, but sunny day and the market looked glorious as usual. There isn't really that much this time of year but you can always count on mushrooms, asparagus, rhubarb and potatoes.

I was surprised to learn that the market validated parking has increased from $4 to $9 this year. That's pretty steep. Last year I would hit the Evanston Market on Sat and then the Green City on Wed. I like the chef sightings at GCM and Wednesday was the perfect middle of the week day for a market trip after Saturday. But at $9, on top of the pricey goods - I don't know how often I'll be going there this summer. There are plenty of other mid-week markets around the city (with cheaper, if not free parking) I will probably need to check out.

Now back to the good news: my first trip to the market netted me some gorgeous morels, asparagus, fingerling potatoes and several bunches of green garlic. We had just had a great side dish of sauteed asparagus and morels at Shaws Crab House the Saturday before; so I decided to make something similar. I started by sauteeing thinly sliced shallots until a little brown and sweet, then added the morels and finally the asparagus. I considered adding a touch of cream but then balked because I knew I would enjoy the dish without it. A nice fillet of salmon seemed the perfect accompaniment. We roasted the fingerlings (smaller than my thumb!) in garlic oil and herbs.

The green garlic was meant for a soup from James Peterson's Vegetables . I'm sorry to report that I made the soup and it was so strong that I could hardly eat it. I was afraid I would reek of garlic for days. It ended up down the drain.

Herb & Lemon Roasted Salmon on a Bed of Roasted Potatoes & Sauteed Greens

This dish from Fine Cooking (issue 50) blew me away. It is a bit tedious with both a marinade and a lemon oil drizzle at the end, but the results are worth the effort. I don't really know why I first decided to make it. I guess I was in the mood for potatoes and I had planned to make spinach, so it all just fell into place. The potatoes are sliced thin, layered and cooked in a hot oven. They turn out like crispy, herby home fries. I didn't have the heart to cook the salmon on top of those lovelies (as the recipe says. Hence, the "on a bed" in the title of the recipe) So I just prepared each component of the dish on its own and plated it together. You make a marinade of lemon, garlic and herbs that coats both the potatoes and the salmon before cooking. Its lemony flavor plays against the richness of the salmon. For the greens, the recipe calls for arugula and I'm sure that would be great but I had spinach, so that's what I used. However, I could see how a bitter arugula bite would add even more to the overall result than milder spinach. I do love the bright burst of raisin and a buttery pine nut in the greens too. There's a lot going on here.

This was originally conceived as a restaurant dish and that's the feeling you get when you eat it. The plate feels composed; all the flavors and textures really working together. I will be making this dish again especially now that salmon season is upon us. And the technique of preparing the potatoes is one I'll have to revisit very soon. If I was to drop any part, it would be the lemon oil at the end. I think you could just reserve a little of the marinade for the same effect.

I'm providing the link to the recipe above, but if it doesn't work for you and you want the recipe, just e-mail and I'll send it to you. It is so long; I don't want to put it in the blog.

Soup of the Week: Tomato

The soup of the week is a Classic Tomato Soup. This is the second soup I've made from the Fine Cooking (issue 91) article on tomato soups using canned tomatoes. The first was a Southwestern Tomato soup using peppers and some spice. That one turned out really well and had a little twist of flavor to make you want more. This one was also really good. It tastes just like you expect a good tomato soup to taste, smooth and warm like a red velvet blanket. I like that it uses one 28 oz can of whole tomatoes, something I always have in my cupboard. In my opinion, tomato soup and marinara sauce always turn out better when they're made using canned tomatoes. The canning process gives the tomatoes a deeper, concentrated, more consistent flavor than you can get even with the ripest of summer tomatoes. I do like pastas with fresh tomato sauces. But if I'm going for a classic red sauce, it is canned tomatoes, preferably Muir Glen, all the way.

And like a homemade marinara sauce, tomato soup tastes better the next day. It seems tomatoes seem to need a little time to wrap themselves around the other ingredients with whom they've been thrown into the pot. After a night in the fridge, they mellow, lose some of their acidic bite and sort of gel with the oil, garlic, onions and herbs.

Classic Tomato Soup

by Perla Meyers

To learn more, read the article:The Best Tomato Soups

Serves eight. Yields about 8 cups.

ingredients

2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 large white onion, finely chopped
1 large clove garlic, smashed and peeled
2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
3 cups lower-salt chicken broth
28-oz. can whole peeled plum tomatoes, puréed (include the juice)
1-1/2 tsp. sugar
1 sprig fresh thyme
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbs. thinly sliced fresh basil, chives, or dill, or a mixture of all three (omit if using one of the garnishes below)

how to make

tip:

Be sure to purée in small batches and crack the blender lid slightly (or remove the center cap from the lid). Steam can build up once you start blending, and if the lid is on tight or the blender is overfilled, it will spray hot soup all over you and your kitchen. For protection, cover the top with a dishtowel while puréeing.

In a nonreactive 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven, heat the oil and butter over medium-low heat until the butter melts. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft but not browned, about 8 minutes. Add the flour and stir to coat the onion and garlic.

Add the broth, tomatoes, sugar, thyme, and 1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat while stirring the mixture to make sure that the flour is not sticking to the bottom of the pan. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 40 minutes.
Discard the thyme sprig. Let cool briefly and then purée in two or three batches in a blender or food processor. Rinse the pot and return the soup to the pot. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Reheat if necessary. Serve warm but not hot, garnished with the herbs or dolloped with one of the garnishes below.

Make Ahead Tips

This soup stores beautifully and tastes better the second day. You can keep it in the refrigerator as long as you bring it to a boil every two days. Or you can stash it in the freezer for up to three months.

serving suggestions:
To add a creamy touch, try one of these garnishes:

Sour cream, goat cheese & Parmesan garnish: In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup sour cream with 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese. Add 1 Tbs. freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, 1 Tbs. thinly sliced chives, and 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil. Mix thoroughly and season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add a dollop to each serving.

Crème fraîche, herb & horseradish garnish: In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup crème fraîche with 1 Tbs. minced fresh dill and 1 Tbs. minced scallion. Add 1/2 Tbs. well-drained prepared white horseradish and mix well. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add a dollop to each serving.

From Fine Cooking 91, pp. 55

Shanghai Stir-fried Beef and Broccoli

Stir-frying beef is not one of my favorite things to do, I just enjoy chicken or shrimp more. However, this Fine Cooking (63) recipe had a certain appeal (i.e. I had everything to make it without going to the store.) So I decided to give it a try, but with a New York Strip instead. The recipe calls for flank steak. As thin as I slice it, flank steak always comes out on the chewy side when I stir-fry. But the very thinly sliced strip steak came out nice and tender, and very flavorful. It is a good way to use just a plain, not very thick, (from your basic supermarket) steak, not a great one. Save that for the grill. Take your time, use a sharp knife and slice thinly because meat tightens up and thickens as it cooks. (Hear the word of the butcher's daughter!) Also, as the recipe instructs, pull the steak out before it is entirely cooked through. The strip steak I used was about 8 ounces (and the recipe calls for more than double that amount of meat,) but I didn't want to reduce the sauce ingredients because I was afraid it would be too dry. This amount of steak served two very nicely. (You'll also notice I used bok choy and red peppers instead of broccoli.) The sauce here is really tasty. We liked this dish so much that I made it again the following week with the broccoli (and peppers.) Watch the salt though, especially if you are playing around with amounts and not using 1 1/2 pounds of meat. I don't think you need the salt in the marinade, soy sauce is enough.

Shanghai Stir-Fried Beef & Broccoli

by Tony Rosenfeld

Serves four.

1 small flank steak (1-1/4 to 1-1/2 lb.)

3 Tbs. soy sauce

1 Tbs. dry sherry

1 Tbs. cornstarch

Kosher salt

3/4 lb. broccoli crowns, cut into 2-inch florets (to yield about 4 heaping cups)

1/4 cup canola or peanut oil

2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

2-inch piece ginger, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks

1/4 tsp. red chile flakes

2 Tbs. oyster sauce

Bring 2 quarts water with 2 tsp. kosher salt to a boil.

Slice the steak in half lengthwise and then cut crosswise into thin slices. In a medium bowl, stir 1 Tbs. of the soy sauce with the sherry, cornstarch, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Add the steak, toss to coat, and let sit for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, blanch the broccoli in the boiling water until it softens to a tender crunch, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain in a colander and then rinse under cold water until the broccoli cools.

Set a large, heavy skillet or a large wok over high heat for 1 minute.

Pour in 2 Tbs. of the oil and, when it starts to shimmer, add the beef. Cook the beef, stirring frequently, until it loses most but not all of its raw color, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a large plate.

Add the remaining 2 Tbs. oil and the garlic, ginger, chile flakes, and 1/4 tsp. salt. Stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the broccoli and 3 Tbs. water and cook, stirring to incorporate any browned bits on the bottom of the pan, until the broccoli warms through, about 1 minute. Stir in the beef, the oyster sauce, and the remaining 2 Tbs. soy sauce; cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Serve immediately.

From Fine Cooking 63, pp. 86c

Spicy Southeast Asian Halibut

Here's another decent recipe for your Halibut arsenal. This Spicy Southeast Asian Halibut is from Cooking Light, April 2008. The sauce is curry-like in flavor and color, with heat from nam pla, tart lime juice and sweet, creamy lite coconut milk. There's also some fresh lemongrass which can sometimes be difficult to find. I know of only one nearby store that reliably has it (Devon Market - for my Chicago friends.) Other than that, the recipe is really simple to prepare and has a nice kick. We had it with sauteed spinach. The creamy sauce intermingled with the greens and made them really good. I could see this with bok choy too, or really, any stir-fried veg.

Soup of the Week: Crema de Elote

Uh, I'm a little late in posting this one. Here's the soup from last week. I made Rick Bayless' Crema de Elote (Cream of Corn) for our Wednesday soup. I didn't want to repeat a soup that I've posted about before so soon , but I couldn't resist because Jewel (of all places!) had some really fresh sweet corn. It was so bright green and moist; and the silt was very yellow and not dried out at all. I'm guessing it came from Florida (on a very fast truck.) We had corn on the cob one night and then I used the last three ears for this soup. You need really good corn for this soup because it is all about the corn. The recipe can be found here, but it is embedded in the text. This corn soup recipe was originally printed in Rick Bayless' Authentic Mexican, which has just been republished as a Authentic Mexican: 20th Anniversary Edition. An adaptation of the recipe can also be found in Rick's recent book Mexican Everyday, a book that has many of his older recipes updated for a more current, health-minded lifestyle. I use the Authentic Mexican recipe because it I only need 3 ears of corn and that makes enough for us. But I had already adapted the recipe for myself (I've been making it for years.) I never add the 1 cup of heavy cream at the end. It is just too rich and it makes it too heavy for me. While finishing the soup, I do add a little more milk and about a shot of half and half just to enrich it a bit. It really doesn't even need it. The corn gets so creamy and smooth by being blended and put through a strainer. We like to dust it with cayenne pepper at the end.





I should take a moment to discuss Rick Bayless and my, ahem, somewhat overzealous adoration of him. I have loved this man since Authentic Mexican (20 yrs ago!) and before he had a TV show or a gazillion books. I love his restaurants, his recipes and his writing. When he was more obscure, I used to clip every article about him. Dear husband would joke that I had some creepy closet in our house where I kept all of the clippings and pictures tacked up "stalker-style." I have all his books and I know his recipes so well that I have watched them evolve through the years from the purist Authentic Mexican to the more user-friendly recipe adaptions in his later books. The recipes that appeal to me most are from his book, Mexican Kitchen. In this book, the dishes have deep, complex flavors and the preparations that are somewhat demanding for authenticity's sake but they stop short of instructions like "start by grinding your own corn in a molajete." or "milk one goat." I'm also fond of Mexico: One Plate at a Time, there's some really good dishes in that book. Further on down the line, the more simplified recipes in his later books are also still very tasty and reliable and much more realistic time-wise, especially now that I'm a mom.

Balsamic-Macerated Strawberries with Basil

This delicious concoction falls in the same line as the pineapple salsa, so I thought I'd follow-up with it. Here in a salad-like dish, the strawberries play the part of the tomato, just as the pineapple does in the salsa below.

You could take this dish many ways. As you'll see by the ideas at the bottom of the recipe, all the suggestions are dessert preparations. But I think you could also spoon this over baby spinach for a nice salad, maybe with some goat cheese and pecans. The balsamic vinegar brings out the best in the sweet strawberries and it isn't too tart. The basil makes it heady, aromatic and savory, as if it were tomatoes, only the sweetest imaginable tomatoes.

I quartered the recipe when I made it because I just wanted to taste it. We topped ours simply with some plain yogurt. I thought it was delicious; dear husband proclaimed it "weird, but good."

Try this as the strawberry season approaches and tell me what you think.

Balsamic-Macerated Strawberries with Basil

by Sarah Breckenridge

For this recipe, there’s no need for an expensive, artisanal balsamic vinegar—a grocery-store vinegar is perfectly well suited.Serves four as a dessert; six to eight as a filling or topping.

2 lb. fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and sliced 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick (about 4 cups)
1 Tbs. granulated sugar
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
8 to 10 medium fresh basil leaves

In a large bowl, gently toss the strawberries with the sugar and vinegar. Let sit at room temperature until the strawberries have released their juices but are not yet mushy, about 30 minutes. (Don’t let the berries sit for more than 90 minutes, or they’ll start to collapse.)
Just before serving, stack the basil leaves on a cutting board and roll them vertically into a loose cigar shape. Using a sharp chef’s knife, very thinly slice across the roll to make a fine chiffonade of basil.

Portion the strawberries and their juices among four small bowls and scatter with the basil to garnish, or choose one of the serving suggestions below.

Serving suggestions:

~Serve the strawberries over grilled or toasted pound cake. Garnish with a dollop of crème fraîche.
~Put the berries on split biscuits for shortcakes; top with whipped cream and scatter with the basil.
~Layer the berries with ice cream or yogurt for a parfait. Garnish with the basil.
~Spoon the strawberries over a poached or roasted peach half.
~Use the berries as a filling for crêpes or a topping for waffles.
~Mash the berries slightly and fold into whipped creamm for a quick fool. Garnish with the basil.

From Fine Cooking 86

Sweet and Hot Pineapple Salsa

Pineapples have been on sale in the market quite often lately. I can't resist buying them, I love them so. Wiki tells me they're available all year long because they're grown in temperate climates. So I can't explain why they've been cheap. But I did learn that, like bananas and tomatoes, the pineapple is chill-sensitive, so they should not be stored in the fridge and they will ripen more at room temp. I let my pineapple sit on the counter until I cut it up, but then I cut it into chunks and snack on it all day right from the fridge.

It is also fun to make a pineapple salsa. Pineapple pairs well with savory foods and the heat of a chile pepper plays off that tart flavor and is cooled the cilantro. Whole Foods cracks me up; charging 5.99 lb for a tiny bit of prepared pineapple salsa. Cilantro is 3 bunches for a dollar at my market and I would guess one serrano chile could cost at most a dime. So you're much better off buying a whole pineapple, making your own salsa and having a least a half pineapple left for snacking.

Here we paired the salsa with grilled mahi mahi. I seasoned the mahi with a southwestern spice mix and a squeeze of lime. Dear husband grilled it along with some asparagus and we embellished the plate with the pineapple salsa. Any leftover salsa can be finished off by the cook as she cleans up the dinner dishes. It also can fancy up a salad quite nicely and is great on a taco with spicy pork.

Pineapple Salsa

Pineapple, small dice.
Red bell pepper, small dice
Red onion, small dice
Fresh green chile (most likely serrano or jalapeno) teeny-tiny dice
Cilantro, chopped fine (not optional in my humble opinion)
Lime, squeeze to taste
a dash of salt

Adjust amounts for however much you want to end up with. Chop everything about the same size. Mix all ingredients to taste. Eliminate what you don't like. Serve with fish or spicy pork.

Chocolate Pecan Squares

I've had this recipe for Chocolate Pecan Squares in the back of my mind for a while (oh, since about issue 70.) I just needed the right occasion to make them. The kids don't eat cookies with nuts in them and I didn't want make a whole tray of cookies, especially rich ones like these, for just me and dear husband.

A request for cookies for a school event arrived in my son's backpack one afternoon and I knew immediately that I would give these a try. This way I could make them, taste them and send them away for others to enjoy (far, far away from my snacking hands.) These cookies have just about everything going for them: a buttery crumb crust, a layer of bittersweet chocolate and a sticky pecan topping. I thought they were fantastic. I made them in a quarter sheet pan instead of a 9 by 9. The topping came up to the rim and I was scared it might bubble over but it worked out fine. It gave me a bigger yield of cookies but a little thinner of a crust.

When I make them again, I will decrease the honey a little because I think the topping could be a little less sweet. If you make them in a slightly bigger pan, you might want a little more grated chocolate, maybe an ounce more. Also, my mom thought I could decrease the cinnamon, but that is a matter of taste. I believe this recipe was originally part of a mexican menu, and cinnamon/chocolate is a classic Mexican combination. You might have to run a thin knife around the edge to loosen the sticky topping, but the crust comes out of the bottom very easily. So don't worry about using parchment or greasing the pan. There's plenty o' butter in the crust to take care of that.

Pecan-Chocolate Squares

by Paula Disbrowe, David Norman

Yields sixteen 2-1/2 inch squares.

ingredients

For the cookie base:
6 oz. (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
9 oz. (2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. table salt
2 oz. finely grated bittersweet chocolate (a scant 1/2 cup)

For the pecan topping:
10 oz. pecans (3 cups), toasted
1/4 lb. (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
2 Tbs. heavy cream
1/2 tsp. table salt

how to make

Make the cookie base: Position a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 350ºF. Put the butter in a food processor, along with the flour, light brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Pulse until the mixture is well combined (about 20 pulses). Scatter the dough into a 9x9-inch baking pan and press it evenly over the bottom. (Wipe out the processor bowl but don’t bother washing it.) Bake the base until firm and lightly browned, about 25 min. When the cookie base comes out of the oven, sprinkle the grated chocolate evenly over the top. (Don’t turn off the oven.) Set the pan aside.

Make the pecan topping: As the cookie base bakes, pulse the pecans in the food processor until coarsely chopped. In a medium-size heavy saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the dark brown sugar, honey, cream, and salt. Simmer for 1 min., stirring occasionally. Stir in the pecans. Pour the pecan mixture over the chocolate-sprinkled cookie base, spreading evenly. Bake until much of the filling is bubbling (not just the edges), 16 to 18 min. Let cool completely in the pan. When ready to serve, cut into 16 squares. Tightly covered, these bars will keep for about five days (though they never last that long).
From Fine Cooking 70, pp. 34-39