Category: Recipes

**** I'm dedicating this post to "FOY" Lynnea, who has been asking for this recipe for a while. Sorry I took so long getting around to it!

With our recent cold spell; I thought I'd finally get around to doing a post on my mushroom soup. I know "FOY" Lynnea asked for it a couple of years ago. 

   Honestly, it ain't the most photogenic soup around, but it packed with flavor. It's also not a "large portion" soup; but really good as a starter with some toasted bread, a drizzle of good EVOO and so forth.

There are a couple of interesting things about this recipe:

1 – These days, I'm not big on measuring things out; but this recipe is an exception. I do measure quite a few things out and even weigh out the porcini mushrooms; which are quite pricey, the cremini mushrooms, etc.

2 – One of the key ingredients to this recipe is my mushroom broth/stock it adds another nice layer of flavor. When I make a batch; I always portion the stock out in 1 1/2 containers, specifically for making this soup.

3 – I have very few innovative ideas and this recipe is not exception. It is based on Jacques Pepin's  Dried and Fresh Mushroom Soup recipe in his cookbook, Essential Pepin. I thought the recipe interesting, but when I made it was quite bland for our taste. I made a bunch of changes to the recipe, but kept what I thought was the heart of it; in "essense " (no pun intended), to me the base of the recipe is the use of potato and leeks….so, you could say, it potato leek soup in disguise.

4 – Jacques Pepin also uses porcini soaked in milk; I soak my porcini in hot water, but use 1 1/2 cups of which I strain and use 1 cup for the soup and save 2-3 tablespoons which I add to heavy cream, instead of milk.

Anyway, here goes…..

Mushroom Soup:
1/2 Ounce Dried Porcini Mushroom soaked in 1 1/2 Cup Hot Water for 1 hour
1 cup + 2-3 Tb Porcini Soaking Liquid
1 1/2 cup Mushroom Stock
1 Tb Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Crisp-High Acidity White Wine (I usually use a Sauvignon Blanc)
4 Ounces Cremini Mushroom
1 1/2 Cup Slice Leek
1 10-12 ounce russet potato cubed
1 Cup Hot Water
1/4 Cup Heavy Cream
1/2 tsp Turkish (or similar) Oregano
Salt and Pepper to taste

• While Porcini Mushrooms are soaking…
  – Slice Cremini Mushrooms. Set aside slices for garnish. You can either keep them in slices or slice to matchsticks for garnish or a little of both
  – Slice the leeks
  – Once the porcini have soaked – remove the mushrooms and chop finely.
  – Save and strain the remaining porcini soaking liquid. Keep one cup of the liquid in a cup and another 2-3 tablespoons on the side
  – Add mushrooms to a cold pot. Turn up heat to medium-high and let sit until the mushrooms start giving up its liquid before stirring
  – Add chopped porcini, leek, oregano, and saute until fragrant
  – Add white wine to deglaze
  – Add mushroom stock, 1 cup of porcini soaking liquid, and hot water.
  – While bringing the liquid up to a simmer, peel and cube the potato
  – When soup starts to boil add the potatoes
  – Simmer gently for 30-45 minutes
  – Add 2-3 tablespoons reserved porcini liquid to the heavy cream and set aside
  – Once potatoes are very soft, put into a blender and process until smooth
  – Pour blended soup back into pot and heat to a low simmer
  – Add mushrooms and fold in Heavy Cream mixture
  – Serve

When making for friends….our good friend "Alle's" mom loves this soup; I reserve the slices and add in after blending. The Missus prefers Hers without the mushroom slices and garnish and just uses a good Extra Virgin Olive Oil and crusty bread. As always, make it the way you want.

So, there you go Lynnea, I hope you try this out and enjoy it. Thanks for being so patient!

Since I wanted to start the New Year on the right foot……FOY "Som Tommy" mentioned wanting the recipe for Niku Dofu in my NYE post….he also mentioned that I really hadn't done a true recipe post in ages which is kinda true. These days, most of my cooking is pretty much by "feel"; though I will try to do a couple of recipes of items where I need to measure stuff out and such. Anyway, here goes one of those now rare recipe posts!

A couple of notes before I get started. The Missus is all about the tofu, daikon, and boiled eggs in this recipe….and of flavor. I've found that using the Kurobuta Pork Belly from Nijiya works the best for Her tastes. I have even snuck in fried shrimp to add another dimension to things. As always, please adjust the recipe to your taste.

Also, feel free to substitute veggies – you know shiitake mushrooms, that kind of stuff. Because, to be perfectly honest, I started making this as a low(er) maintenance way of keeping the Missus happy when She wanted Sukiyaki.

As for the tofu, I do one block at a time. I add the second block the next day. I found that soft tofu will start breaking down and the Missus prefers intact squares that are still super soft and moist.

I do put in one chili de arbol, which actually does make a difference in flavor and adds a bit of heat to the dish.

Also, I found that She prefers the straight forward "heat" from white pepper.

Anyway, here goes….

Niku Dofu:

1 1/2 Cup Soy Sauce – a neutral flavor like Aloha or Yamasa
1 1/2 Cup Mirin
1 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
3 Cups Water
1/2 Cup Sake
3/4 tsp Dashi No Moto(optional)
2 cloves garlic either grated or ground into a fine paste (optional)
1 Chili de Arbol (optional)

12 Ounces thin cut pork belly (you can substitute beef) – sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 1/2 – 2 Pounds Daikon peeled, cut into 1/2 – 2/3 inch rounds, edges rounded off
1 Medium Onion Sliced into thin strips
2 Packages Shirataki(Yam Noodles), open packages and place in a colander. Pour boiling water over Shirataki to remove the "smell".
2 Blocks Soft Tofu (see note below)
6 Soft Boiled Eggs
2-3 TB Avocado or a neutral cooking oil
White Pepper to taste

• Open one block of tofu, drain, place a clean dish cloth, cheesecloth, or paper towels around and then a plate on top to remove moisture.
  – In a pot heat the oil until it starts to shimmer add chili de arbol if using to flavor the oil
  – Add pork belly and saute until the pork just starts to cook through – season with white pepper if using
  – Add onions and garlic cook until onions are soft and translucent
  – Add mirin and sake and bring to a boil and stir occasionally to burn off alcohol
  – Add soy sauce and sugar, stir well and return to a boil. The miasma should be quite fragrant right now. If you have a taste; it will be very salty and sweet….thus
  – Add water and return to a boil. Let simmer for a few minutes and lower the temperature.
  – Add Dashi no Moto if using; stir well
  – Add slices of daikon and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the daikon start absorbing the sauce and soften. Use a skewer to check doneness. If you have a drop lid you might want to use it now. Or place parchment paper to make sure the daikon is completely submerged.
  – Add shirataki and combine
  – Once daikon reaches desired tenderness; cube the tofu and gently add.
  – Let simmer
  – A few minutes before serving; add the boiled eggs

So there you go….kinda easy. "Niku" basically means meat, so feel free to sub your favorite….I mean really; this is "meat and tofu"…..

Hope you enjoy ST!

I'm pretty much bushed; so just a quick post of things that came out of our kitchen.

We finally got our delivery of beans and lentils from Rancho Gordo; yes, they are swamped and out of a lot of items and delivery was delayed a couple of times; but believe me, their product is worth waiting for.

Made a Lentil and Kale Soup….made with…well, bacon fat of course.

And the missus just "needed" a couple of poached eggs. I've learned a couple of key points when making poached eggs over the years:

1 – The fresher the eggs; the better the outcome is. The older the eggs are, the more runny the whites are, which will make for very "wispy" poached eggs.

2 – Strain your eggs before poaching. This will remove the really runny whites

The Missus requested Katsudon a favorite of Hers a few nights back.

She will even eat the leftovers cold….I think She might even prefer them that way!

For me; one of the key steps is a short 15-20 minute brine of the chicken breast. I use a basic brine similar to what I use for smoking chicken.

For one pound chicken breast; cut and pound to an even 1/3 inch thick, then brine is a solution of 1/4 cup kosher salt, 1/2 tsp granulated garlic, 1 quart water for 15-20 minutes. Make sure to dry the chicken well before initiating the breading process.

You'll find that you won't need to add much more seasoning when breading the katsu.

Here's something I made for myself when the Missus was working – Kimchi Fried Rice with Chashu Chicken and of course….it just needed an egg!

Hope everyone has been eating well!

Have a safe and delici-yoso weekend!

How are you hanging in there? Our hope is that everyone is in good health.

I know for a fact that many folks are cooking like crazy…….trying to keep busy during our "stay at home" during these challenging and unsettling times. We've been trading food with friends.

And the Missus keeps wanting soup.

I have a basic potato-leek soup recipe that I can use as a base for things, like the Cauliflower or Asparagus Soup. So, on this night the Missus wanted Cream of Broccoli Soup, which now, even though I've worked a full day (I've been going in at 530 am to do validation/tasks), I can pull off fairly smoothly.

Though on this night the Missus wanted Hasselback Potatoes….who the heck wants to make that on a weeknight? Aaaand She wanted it topped with Bacon and Cheddar Cheese.

Basically, to form the potatoes….I found some good sized Yukon Golds for this.

You line up two chopsticks on either side of the potato and make thin slices, leaving about a quarter inch of unsliced potato at the bottom.

Since I had made bacon, I strained the fat and brushed on the fat and used Maldon Salt to season the exterior and in between the slices.

I baked in a 425 oven on a rack over a baking sheet.

After 20 minutes, I noticed that the slices had started to separate, so I brushed on a nice coating of what remained of the fat along with some extra virgin olive oil.

After about another 25 minutes, it looked good to go. I turned the oven up to 500 and topped with some smoked cheddar that I had grated. Along with bacon.

After a few minutes it was ready…..but the Missus wasn't……talkin' about killing me!

Anyway, after a short wait, the Missus got Her soup and potato.

Not bad for a Wednesday night.

What have you been eating during these unsettling times?

Like I mentioned previously, it's been a pretty busy week. So here are some of the things I made recently and a recipe for the Chile de Arbol Salsa that I've been making recently.

Like my previous Recently Consumed post; we're still working thru the beans from Rancho Gordo. Here's a White Bean and Kale Soup.

The Missus had been requesting that I make Her favorite mushroom soup….so I finally made some…..last night.

She likes a ton of truffle oil on Hers……I go with some shaved Parmesan Reggiano and Extra Virgin Olive we bought in Provence.

I opened a can of Chipotle Chilies en Adobo and didn't want to waste, so I made some Chipotle Cauliflower.

And of course, pozole during the weekends.

And of course, one of the salsas I have on hand is one made with Chile de Arbol; I mentioned finding some from India in an earlier post. Love the heat in these; makes a pretty spicy, heady salsa.

Chile de Arbol Salsa:

8oz (weighed out) Dried Chile de Arbol, stems removed, wiped clean

1/2 cup Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice

1/2 Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Tb Tomato Paste

1 Tb Ground Cumin

1 Tb Agave Syrup

4-6 Cloves of Garlic

1/3 – 1/2 cup chopped onion

Salt to Taste

Combine Apple Cider Vinegar and Lime Juice in a bowl

Warm a dry cast iron pan over medium-high heat and toast (do not burn) the chilies

Add the chilies to the Vinegar and Lime Juice, mix well and let the chilies soak for 20-30 minutes

Once hydrated add the chilies, cumin, garlic, Agave syrup, onion, tomato paste, and enough liquid in a blender and process to achieve the texture you desire. You can strain if you want to, but I just remove any stray seeds. I usually end up using almost all the liquid.

Taste and salt to taste.

Enjoy…..

The Missus really liked it with the Chipotle Black Bean Tostadas I made.

Hope everyone is having a great week!

F(riend) o(f) Y(oso) "Som Tommy" emailed me recently asking me why I don't do many cooking or recipe posts these days. It was a good question; it seems that most of what I make these days is fairly straight-forward. The Missus loves Her veggie type dishes and I've taken queues from places we've travelled to.

The vegetable dishes in Israel were stunning and I've been making stuff like a simple roasted butternut squash and onion with tahini.

And after having a good Shakshuka in Mahane Yehuda Market, the Missus told me that I needed to step up my Shakshuka game.

The Missus wanted Matzo Ball soup of all things during the New Year…..so I trucked up to Wing Lee Poultry, got an old hen, and the Missus got Her soup.

Not all inspiration come from far away….we recently had a nice brunch at Tribute Pizza (post is coming up) and the Missus wanted me to make something in the same vein. Which ended up being Kale and Chard with Lardons in Pesto….with lots of sauce for bread.

Here's a random Linguica Frittata.

And finally….a recipe; like for real.

Waaaay back in January of 2016; I mentioned my Balsamic Brussels recipe and Lynnea asked for it. When I posted this photo in my Flickr account someone also asked for the recipe.

Man, I've been making this for like five years now. I use Costco's Balsamic Vinegar, I save the good stuff we bought in Mondena for other uses. What I noticed after trying out other brands of Balsamic is that I don't need to add any sugar to what Costco sells for sweetness; it works fine as a reduction and with the amount I use for one recipe of this……well, it's easier on the wallet

Anyway; after 3 years or so….I'm posting another recipe.

Balsamic Brussels

1/3 lb bacon
2 Tb white wine
1 shallot diced
2/3 cup Balsamic Vinegar (a store bought brand) reduced by half
3 Tb Red Wine Vinegar
1 1/2 lbs Brussel Sprouts, trimmed and sliced in half
1 tsp Smoked Parika
Salt and Pepper to taste

Slice bacon into lardons – cook over medium heat to render out the fat. I add in the white wine to help the saute along
Remove bacon to a rack once cooked
Saute shallots in fat
Add Brussel Sprouts and turn up heat to high, turn occasionally
Deglaze with red wine vinegar
When cooked as desired (The Missus doesn't like mushy/over cooked Brussel Sprouts) turn heat to low and glaze with Balsamic Reduction
Season to taste
I've on occasion used stuff like red pepper flakes, Ghost Pepper Salt, Harissa and other items for some variety.

Have Fun!

I'd been waiting a while to post this little recipe. First off, it basically a rehash of my Red Cooked Pork Hock/Oxtail recipe. Secondly, it had been pretty darn hot for a while there. Since it finally feels like fall, the time seems right.

So yes, I did buy one of those Instant Pot 7 in 1 cookers. Mainly because our pressure cooker crapped out a couple of years back and I got tired of spending the entire day making Da Boyz food. I'd rather make the chicken-carrot-rice thing in a pressure cooker. What happened was interesting. I got the Instant Pot during Amazon Prime day for around $69. The Missus loves Her red cooked meats and one weekend requested that I make some short ribs. And so it came to pass….for 8 of the following 10 weekends I made this, only stoping when we left on our trip.

And while this is basically my red cooked stove top/braised meat recipe; there are some differences I made for using the Instant Pot. First off, I ended up reducing the water, because there's very little evaporation, so too much water waters things down. Second, the Missus loves mushroom in this; so why not add the strained mushroom soaking liquid as another layer of flavor. Third, because I wouldn't be there removing scum; after marinated the beef for about 15-20 minutes, I dusted it with cornstarch and browned. The Instant Pot has a saute setting which is great for softening vegetables, but it really doesn't do much for meat. Plus, the pot is quite small and I'd have to do more batches than if I did this on the stovetop. Fourth, the pressure in the Instant Pot is about 11 – 12 psi, versus a conventional pressure cooker, which, if I recall comes in at about 15psi. This means that cooking time takes a bit longer. Also, things are pretty easy with the Instant Pot, when finished you can do a quick release, check, and do another short session if you need to.

This may seem like a lot of steps but it really isn't and is rather quick. It's all about organization. Be careful not to overfill your instant pot!

I enjoy this over noodles; a pseudo niu rou mian for me.

Red Cooked Short Ribs Instant Pot Style:

3 1/2 – 4 pounds English Style Beef Short Ribs sliced to a 1 1/2 – 2" width
12-14 dried shiitake mushroom soaked in 1-1/2 cup warm water
2/3 Cup + 2 Tb Soy sauce
1/3 Cup Dark Soy Sauce
1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
2/3 Cup + 2Tb + 1/4 Cup Shao Xing Wine
5 cloves garlic roughly chopped
1-2 1/2" knobs of ginger smashed
3 Star Anise broken in half
4 Scallions – white part only, roughly chopped
1 piece dried tangerine peel broken in half
1 2-3" cinnamon stick
1 Red Serrano Pepper sliced
1/2 tsp Ground White Pepper
1 Tb Granulated Garlic
1 Tsp Five Spice
1 Tb Ground Sichuan Peppercorn
2 – 3 Tb Corn Starch
1 Cup strained mushroom soaking liquid
2  – 2 1/2 Cups Water
2Tb Avocado or similar neutral flavored oil
1 – 2 Blocks Tofu
6 – 8 Boiled Eggs
Steamed Bok Choy

– Soak the dried mushrooms in 1 1/2 cup warm water
– In a pan rub the ribs with 2 Tb Soy Sauce, 2 Tb Shao Xing, Ground White Pepper, Sichuan Peppercorn, Granulated Garlic – let marinate
– Prep and combine garlic, scallions, and Five Spice
– Prep and combine ginger, star anise, tangerine peel, cinnamon stick, serrano pepper
– In a bowl combine 2/3 cup soy sauce, 1/3 cup dark soy sauce, 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
– Strain about 1 cup of the mushroom soaking liquid
– Dust the short ribs with corn starch and start browning in oil on the stove top in batches.
– Once the beef has completed browning deglaze with 1/4 cup Shao Xing wine.
– Use the fat and liquid from the beef (do not add burnt bits) to the Instant Pot and set on saute
– Add dry ingredients and saute until fragrant
– Add the garlic-scallions to the pot and saute until fragrant and soft
– Add 2/3 cup Shao Xing wine and bring to a boil
– Layer the mushrooms on top of the spice and scallion mixture
– Add the mushroom soaking liquid
– Layer the beef ribs in even layers
– Add the soy sauce mixture
– Top off with water. First using only 2 cups, then more if necessary. Do not use more than 2 1/2 cups. Adjust and mix the beef if necessary
– Cover and set to 45 minutes high pressure
– Once complete do a quick release of pressure. At this point, use a wooden skewer or similar item to determine how tender the beef is. If more time is necessary set to high pressure for 10 more minutes
– Once done, you may find that some of the bones have come out of the meat remove them. You can skim off excess fat if desired. This gives you more room to add the drained tofu and boiled eggs.
– You can put on slow cook for up to 20-30 minutes before serving. Though it's actually better the next day.