It is Fall: Hungarian Mushroom Soup and Apple Pies

It is October; that Autumnal smell is in the air. 

Here in the Wasatch mountains, the changing of the seasons is particularly beautiful with the Rocky Mountain shrubs and oaks turning all manner of bright, warm colors, the mums blooming fervently, and the Utah gardens and orchards bountiful with the many fruits of Fall.  The apples are particularly delicious and abundant right now, and when we went to buy our pumpkins last week after school we couldn't resist buying a basket of Golden Delicious (literally and figuratively).  I promised Roman we'd bake his Daddy an apple pie, one of his favorite desserts, and maybe an apple turnover if there was leftover crust.  Roman agreed he'd help peel the apples.

Every year I look forward to Fall.  Halloween is tied for my favorite holiday with Christmas and at our house it is a rite of sorts to bring out the Halloween decorations and reminisce about them as we put them up.  We have the little mummy and skeleton bodies our jack-o-lanterns sit on, my witchy-witch hat (worn to hand out candy every year), Matt's extremely frightening Meatloafesque-skull mask (used to frighten neighborhood teenagers every year), Roman's "spirit" which hangs from a tree, bats, ghosts and all other manner of spooky things.  This year we bought a blow-up witch to add to the mix as well as a cackling witch figurine to replace a favorite cackling bobble head somehow lost in the mix.  I'm fairly certain our neighbors think we're pagans, but I somewhat delight in the outrage.

But Autumn isn't all ghouls and candy handouts.  In October we also look forward to buying our pumpkins and picking or buying local apples.  I was happily surprised to find that the area surrounding Salt Lake City is full of small farms and orchards.  In fact, in Ogden, our small city, most houses have at least one fruit tree and often a large home garden for the summer.  When we moved into our house I spotted a peach tree (sadly it is diseased) and we had about 6 rows of corn growing in our small allotment (more than enough for the entire summer for us and our neighbors), planted for us by the previous owners.  While the corn is gone now, everyone around us is still reaping the harvests of stone-fruit trees, squashes, and apples.  I can't say I mind this at all.

I've been told that this Utah practice of "grow your own" has something to do with the prevalent Mormon culture of (somewhat extreme) preparedness.  One of the first times Matt came to our new house to collect mail before we moved in, he found a small flier from a man in the neighborhood requesting all our personal information, that of our children as well as an itemized list of all the survival gear and food / water stores we had in our home.  Sooo, that went straight into the trash because, well, you know, identity theft.  But when we mentioned it to our neighbors months later they explained one person is assigned to each area by the city (and church) to keep tabs on every person and their survival stores.  You know, "just in case the mountain ever comes down on us," as my neighbor put it.  Way to make me feel like a paranoid jerk. :)  I assume everyone preserves and pickles the bounties of their gardens and while I'm  not sure we'll start hoarding canned goods and heat blankets, I think maybe I'll partake in the summer garden madness next year to a level I've never done before.  I've always wanted to grow eggplant.

So today I made the apple pie, and there was extra crust so I went ahead and made what came to be a lovely little apple turnover too.  The air was particularly crisp and so I thought a nice Hungarian Mushroom soup and some crusty bread would pair well.  I had this soup for the first time a week ago at a local deli called Berlin's.  Their sandwiches are so-so, but this soup, one I'd never heard of, was excellent and is very easy to replicate at home.  I added kielbasa to it to make it slightly heartier and for the meat-beast my husband tends to be.  I'll include the recipe for the soup below but as far as the apple pie, all I've got are tantalizing pictures of the butteriest, flakiest crust I've ever made.  We've yet to determine whether the dessert is improved by adding pecans.  As a Texas girl at heart, I can't see how it wouldn't be.  And how the heck did that not occur to me sooner?!

Happy Fall everyone!  To many delicious treats coming our way, no doubt.

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Hungarian Mushroom Soup 

Serves 4-6

 

This soup's list of ingredients feels unorthodox to me.  How did Hungarian soup end up using soy sauce?  Don't question a good thing, my friends.  The addition of kielbasa was mine.  While tasty, it was totally unnecessary.  If you chop your mushrooms thickly they are just as good as meat - one of the many reasons I am a complete mushroom fiend.  This was delicious with white mushrooms, but I can only imagine that it would be elevated to superb with a mix of wild mushrooms.  Give it a try with some nice crusty bread.  

A perfect autumnal delight.

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Ingredients

1 lb white mushrooms, sliced thickly (about 3-4 slices per mushroom)

1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 lb kielbasa, diced (OPTIONAL)
1/4 cup flour
2-3 tbsps butter
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 - 2 tbsps Paprika
2 tsp dried dill (if using fresh, double the amount)
1 tbsp soy sauce (yes, weird!)
 4-5 cups chicken stock or water (if you use water either add a lot more salt or chicken bouillon)
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup sour cream (OPTIONAL)
1/2 lemon, juiced
fresh dill to garnish (optional)


Method

1. Heat the oil and butter in a large pot over medium heat until butter is melted.  

2. Add the onions, mushrooms and kielbasa (if using) and cook, stirring occasionally, over medium-high heat until the sausage is somewhat caramelized and the mushrooms have begun to brown and released their juices.  This will take about 10 minutes or so.

3. To the pot, add the flour and paprika and let it cook for 1-2 minutes, creating a roux.  Do not let it burn or get too dark - turn the heat down if necessary.

4. Add the broth, dill and soy sauce and bring the mixture to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, allowing the soup to thicken and reduce.  This will concentrate the flavors.

5. Season generously with salt and pepper and mix in the milk, sour cream and lemon juice.

6. Remove from heat.  Garnish with more dill and serve with crusty bread or garlic crostini. YUM.

Another spooky acquisition this year.

Oysters & Down East Chowder: A Wintery Maine Dinner Party

Chowdah on a Snowy Day.

When we moved to Maine last year, one of the things I most anticipated and dreaded was the long, hard snowy winters of New England.  On the one hand, having just left the comfort of Abu Dhabi's winter desert - balmy 80-degree days with sunshine all throughout - I dreaded the idea of having to pull out the old winter wardrobe and dress Roman in layers.  On the other hand, I was desperate for some seasonal change - living in permanent summer is not all it's cracked up to be - and could not wait for the chance to ski, snowshoe, sled and generally frolic in the fluffy white snow with Roman.  With the passage of summer and the entrance of Autumn, I went slowly but surely from dread to full anticipation.  And by the time December came, I was all-out praying that we'd have a white Christmas in Connecticut at my in-laws.  But we didn't.

And in fact, apart from one or two snows over a month ago, we haven't had almost any snow at all!  I tried to go cross-country skiing 4-5 weekends in a row, with no luck.  Everyone here in Portland is already talking of "spring fever" while I've been sitting at home practically cursing the gods over their Invernal (and infernal) leniency.  With March quickly approaching, and talk of Easter buzzing, I had all but given up on my dream Maine winter.  And then the unthinkable happened: Matt turned 30.  And hell froze over. :)

We woke up to a beautiful blanket of white on the first day of March.  It didn't stop snowing for nearly 12 hours straight, and it stuck (we even made it to Harris farm for some long-awaited Cross Country skiing - but more on that in another post). The next day, we had a surprise dinner guest and so I thought, why not have two of my favorite Maine foods to celebrate the occasion?  Oysters and Down East Haddock Chowder, it was.  With two types of oysters (Wellfleets & Beau Soleils bought at Harbor Fish Market) and two types of homemade mignonette to compliment them (plain and spicy-cilantro), the best baguette in Portland (from The Standard Baking Co.), and some Avocado "butter" to spread on it, it was going to be a feast truly worthy of a cozy Maine winter's evening, and a truly easy impromptu dinner party.

Why are these two of my favorite Maine foods?  Here are my top 5 reasons, in list form.

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Top 5 Reasons to Eat Oysters & Chowder in Maine
in copious amounts and various forms

5. They're Local.

I love that Maine is so into promoting its local culture, local foods, local businesses.  I love being able to buy an entire meal that is sourced locally - it's kind of a cool feeling and the food generally does tend to be fresher. 

There are an abundance of local (Maine-grown) oysters: I love JP Shellfish's website for their no-nonsense overview of the best Maine has to offer.  They give tips on salinity, size, meatiness, "clean-ness," and availability.  Wellfleets are not Maine oysters (they come from Cape Cod, so close enough), but Beau Soleils are.  And so are my favorite oysters of all time: Bagaduces.  Word has it they're Thomas Keller's favorites too.  Good enough for me!

Chowder is as ubiquitous here in New England as Gumbo in Louisiana.  There are lots of different variations, but the one I discovered by accident at a Mainer's house is one of my favorites.  It is a milk-based (not cream!) haddock (not clam!) chowdah.  Easy, no-fuss, no-frills - like the Mainers.  And it's basically a dream because the longer it sits and "matures," the better it tastes.  Recipe below.

4. They're Green.
Haddock, which is what Mainers generally use in their chowder, is a totally sustainably harvested fish.  It is in great abundance here in Maine and therefore always available and usually relatively fresh.

I'm not usually one to harp on matters of the environment because I hate people who shove their opinions and life-views down your throat, but I will say that overfishing is something that bothers me, because of the impact it has on all the other naturally dependent species and ecosystems within that particular ocean / lake / river. So, while I'm not 100% great about only buying sustainably harvested fish, when I can, I do!

Oysters here in Maine are plentiful and varied. And the great thing about the frigid, frigid North Atlantic waters of Maine is that they are available and at peak almost ALL year long (rather than just in the fall / winter months as is usually the case).

3. They're Kid Friendly (at least the chowder).
The reason I even found out about this recipe is entirely due to Roman's willingness to eat it. We were visiting a friend's friend's house and the pizza we had ordered was taking forever. Roman was ready to gnaw either my or his arm off, so when the host started feeding his 1 year-old I begged for a little of whatever she was having for Roman. It turned out to be this chowder, and he slurped it down, as did the 1 year-old.  And he has happily eaten it every time I've made it since.  His wife is a native Mainer and it was the kind of chowder she grew up with - he admitted to adding Thyme and bacon, which is apparently slightly avant-garde as far as the purists are concerned.

He also told me that they often give their children plain yoghurt with maple syrup drizzled over. What a totally Maine thing! I left with two new New England-y, child-friendly food options. Great. :) 


2. They're Super Down East.
So, I never quite understood what people were talking about when they threw the term "Down East" around.  Technically it refers to the coast of Maine from Penobscot Bay to the Canadian border but colloquially it's a term of cultural pride and territorial nature, and it's very Maine.  True to having a special term just for "things Maine," Mainers are kind of, well -for lack of a better word - "exclusive" as a group. Not that they're pretentious or uppity but they're not really into "new neighbors" or "new friends."  "If you're not from here, you never will be a Mainer," said my son's preschool teacher in reference to her non-Mainer husband, only half-jokingly.  Not only do they stick together they also love to enjoy Maine-things.  And chowder and oysters are definitely two of them - so I eat them. Because I have to feel a part of Maine somehow!

1. They're Truly Delish.
 All kidding aside, I do love these two foods. The chowder is awesome and super comforting, but to me the oysters of Maine (and New England in general) are something approaching food-perfection. So good. So fresh. And so natural.  I'm including a recipe for one of my favorite mignonettes to serve with raw oysters as well as the recipe for Down East Haddock Chowder. Enjoy!

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Down East Haddock Chowder

of the mostly-traditional persuasion

Serves 4-5

So my unorthodox additions to this chowder are the shrimp and the bacon. I love the contrast of textures (and I also love shrimp). Still, though, I'd consider this true-blue Down East chowder, because I got the recipe from a Mainer, but then I'm not purist.  If you're really hardcore you'll leave out the clam juice altogether and just do it with milk and water. This chowder is watery by nature - please don't go into this expecting New England Clam Chowder consistency or you'll feel jipped. :)

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs Haddock fillets, whole
12-15 large shrimp, peeled, de-veined and sliced in half lengthwise
6-8 slices of bacon
2 cups clam juice or fish stock
2 cups whole milk
2 cups water
1 large onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
3 cups (~2 large) potatoes, diced
1 tsp dried thyme or 1 tbsp fresh thyme
salt & pepper to taste
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp canola oil

1. In a dutch oven or large pot fry the bacon in the canola oil until crisp.  Remove to drain on paper towels, and leave the bacon grease in the pot. When cool, chop the bacon into small bits and place in a bowl for garnishing the chowder.

2. To the bacon grease add the onions and celery and cook until softened over medium-high heat. 

3. Add the potatoes, clam juice, water, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and allow the soup to simmer, covered, until the potatoes are cooked (15 minutes).

4. Add the milk and thyme. Put the fish into the pot, then cover the pot and turn the heat to low (or even turn it off, if you're daring!), leaving it to poach for 15 minutes or so. 

5. Using a wooden spoon, gently break the cooked fish apart in the chowder, leaving large chunks (or to your preference). Then add the shrimp and allow them to poach for a further 5-7 minutes. They should just be cooked through.  Taste the chowder and adjust salt & pepper.

6. Uncover and allow the soup to cool completely. Then refrigerate for at least 4 hours but overnight is best. This soup really does taste better the next day! Garnish with bacon bits and serve with crusty bread.

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Brenda's Mexican Mignonette

 Serve with cold, freshly shucked bagaduces or beau soleils
 

This recipe is inspired by the mignonette we had at the Front Room, a fantastic and low-key restaurant on Munjoy Hill, Portland, that serves excellent American-style food. I believe theirs was made with champagne vinegar (which seems to be the "it" thing for mignonettes here in Portland) but it's really the cilantro that makes this unique. A perfect pairing with oysters or clams.

Ingredients
1/2 shallot, chopped finely
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
1/2 chile Serrano (or Jalapeno if you're a wuss), chopped finely
salt & pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients and refrigerate. Mignonette tastes even better after it's been sitting in the fridge for several hours or even overnight.

Serve with a small spoon for pouring over oysters on the half-shell.

Homage to the Bouillon Cube: Chipotle Prawn Tom Yum Rice Noodle Soup

It looks as good as it tasted - bouillon cubes and all. :)

Chipotle Prawn Tom Yum Rice Noodle Soup. That's a mouthful - literally and figuratively.

It sounds insanely complex, and daunting to most people who have never made Tom Yum Soup. Luckily for them, it is actually really easy to make - especially if you happen to have a nice big, healthy collection of bouillon cubes in your pantry.

"Bouillon cubes?!" you say, outraged.

Why yes. Bouillon is a cook's best friend. Or at least this cook's. I've been using bouillon cubes (or their granulated equivalent) in all my cooking since I can remember, and so did my mother, and her mother, and her mother before that (maybe it's a Mexican thing?)...

Wow! I can hear the "absolutely-positively-always-make-your-own-stock-even-though-it's-a-time-consuming-process-and-should-therefore-be-saved-for-a-rainy-babyless-day" purists in outrage now: shock, horror, blasphemy and all that jazz!

But I ask you: is it really so bloody horrible to use bouillon cubes? They are inexpensive, convenient, and pack a punch of flavor that almost any dish will benefit from.

"But what about all the salt?!"

"And what about all the preservatives?!"

Good points. Which is why I figured I'd go ahead and explore the bouillon cube a little bit and find out for myself what the real story behind these little foil-wrapped cubes of salty deliciousness actually is. Let the salt-licking begin!

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Bouillon Cubes: Blessing or Blasphemy?
history intermixed with ever-humble opining
4 points to ponder

4. Broth, Bouillon or Stock?
Technically speaking, "bouillon" is a French word for a "broth" or "stock." Interestingly, the verb "bouillir" in French means "to boil," which is a clue as to the traditional process of making a broth or stock: extended boiling of aromatics (herbs and vegetables alike), meat, and meat carcasses or offal to create a savory, flavored water which is then the base for sauces, soups, stews, etc.

The difference between broth, bouillon and stock is nebulous at best, but actually just boils down to one simple thing: salt. Stock has no added salt, broth has some added salt, and bouillon has a huge amount of added salt (even going past the 50% mark at times).
Stock is the stuff you boil up at home and use as a base for sauces etc., broth (essentially salted and seasoned stock) can be served on its own as a soup and usually comes in a can if you do purchase it, and bouillon is a heavily seasoned, processed product bought in cubes or granules which needs to be rehydrated at home.

Bouillon is primarily marketed by three big brands: Maggi, Oxo* and Knorr, with the first two being the original companies to commercialize bouillon cubes in 1908 and 1910 respectively. image credit


3. Why a CUBE? And what kinds of "portable soups" are out there?
The bouillon cube made its entrance onto the culinary scene a long time ago. An American physicist and inventor named Count Rumford is credited with inventing this "portable soup" as it was called, back in the 19th century for the Duke of Bavaria. But it has been around much longer than that, with nomadic cultures having also used it far before that. source credit

I suppose the idea of a cube comes down to sheer portability and convenience. The cubes fit tightly into a small cardboard box and stick neatly in a pantry. Not to mention they are incredibly easy to dissolve in warm or hot water, saving time and space.

There is a shocking plethora of flavor variety in the Bouillon Cube world. In my pantry alone I have several interesting variations - some of them "ethnic" and others just boring old "staples." The sky is the limit when it comes to portable, inexpensive, salty flavorings. And I, for one, have taken advantage of that fact.

A small sampling from my personal bouillon collection & where they came from:
Chicken Bouillon (my go-to staple), Chicken & Tomato Bouillon, Vegetable Bouillon (for vegetarians), Beef Bouillon, Beef-rib Bouillon (Mexico), Beef & Chipotle Bouillon (Mexico), Shrimp Bouillon (Mexico), Fish Bouillon (Mexico), and, of course, Tom Yum Bouillon (Singapore).

2. Why do "real chefs" hate them? Or do they? *suspenseful intake of breath*
Traditionally, and probably still for the most part today, "real chefs" would not be caught dead using a bouillon cube in their food. Definitely not in a restaurant. And even if they did use the odd Oxo cube at home, they'd probably never admit it. My guess is it has something to do with not being labor-intensive or elitist enough, but of course they'll all say it comes down to flavor. :)

Not so these days. Not only have I seen several cooking shows where celebrity chefs have admitted to "shortcuts" such as stock cubes and microwaves at home and in the professional kitchen (*GASP!*), but now the infamous and widely lauded Marco Pierre White of Hell's Kitchen has actually made a commercial advertising my favorite brand of "portable soup": Knorr.



Admittedly, it's a commercial for "stock pots" (or easy, take-home demi-glace) which are kind of like the royalty of bouillon cubes in that they are neither cubes, nor powder form, but hey, it's a start. It's stock made easy for the home cook. And with low-sodium, low-fat, better flavor and no MSG, I think it's about as good as a "bouillon cube" is ever going to get.

So there you have it, with a professional celebrity chef endorsement, I think that gives all the purists official permission to let their hair down for once. :)

1. Why should home cooks thank their lucky stars for them?
I think making stock is a beautiful thing. My official-chef-man brother-in-law takes as much joy in doing it as is humanly possible, and every year at Christmas time I know there will be, first, the tantalizing smell of veal broth and bones, followed by an intensely rich broth, which days later becomes a syrupy, savory, delicious sauce accompaniment to prime rib. It's an art, and one that deserves applause and lauding for the time, effort and skill involved in perfectly it.

Sadly, I don't have four days to spare every time I want to make gravy, or chicken soup, or even just a sauce for my veal piccata. So I use bouillon cubes. They take two seconds to grab from the pantry, and if you reduce the amount of salt you put into the completed dish, you aren't really over-seasoning. Not to mention, I truly believe that when cooking with meat-extract you get a richness in your food that is simply missing if you only use salt. You heart it time and time again on cooking shows, and taste it time and time again in bouillon-missing households.

Let's be glad we have the option to both make our own or throw a few granules in. It's the kind of gastronomic freedom that opens up Chipotle Prawn Tom Yum Rice Noodle Soup up as an option for a "quick" weekday lunch. I thank my lucky stars for that.


*Funny story about the Oxo Tower on the Thames river in London: they were told by authorities that neon signs reading company names were not allowed on the building, as they would be a blight to the up-and-coming Southern Bank area. Despite this Oxot constructed a tower atop their factory with a pattern that read "O X O" in bright red, neon letters. When confronted by the authorities, they claimed it was an entirely "decorative pattern" of naughts and exes. Cheeky.

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Brenda's Bouillon-ridden
Chipotle Prawn Tom Yum Rice Noodle Soup

Serves 2

This soup is a combination of Vietnamese, Thai, Mexican and who knows what else. It is a classic "this is what I had in my kitchen so I'm gonna make it" dish that is as much a risk as making souffles the first time you meet your boyfriend's parents. Luckily I never did that, but had I, I'd hope it would come out as well as this soup did.

Despite having three bouillon cubes in it, it is not overly salty, and the cilantry flavors the broth really nicely. I like to add lime juice and sriracha sauce to it at the end as a nice kick. Both Southeast Asians and Mexicans like to add sour and hot sauces to their soups, which is one reason I love Tom Yum Soup. No, the bouillon is not a perfect substitute for making real Tom Yum soup with fresh lemongrass, kaffir lim leaves, fish sauce and galangal, or even a good pre-made paste, but it did the trick. And the rice noodles are perfect because unlike other noodles they don't swell up or get soggy in a broth. Perfection in a bowl.

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Ingredients
6-7 cups of water
1 cube Chipotle Beef Bouillon
1 cube Shrimp Bouillon
1 cube Tom Yum Bouillon
2 cloves garlic, crushed
small handful of cilantro, rinsed
1 half small onion
Oyster Mushrooms (about 100g, or 1 large handful)
2 baby bok choys, stalks separated
1/2 lb (500g) prawns or medium shrimp (don't have to be peeled)
1/2 package of dry rice noodles (available at Asian supermarkets)

Method
1. Heat the water in a medium pot and add the bouillon cubes, cilantro, garlic, and onion. Allow it to come to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Make sure the bouillon cubes are completely dissolved by stirring occasionally.

2. Taste the broth and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Remove the garlic, onion and cilantro stalks.

3.Add the bok choy and oyster mushrooms and allow to simmer for 5 minutes more, covered.

4. Add the rice noodles, prawns and recover. Turn off the heat and allow it to sit for another 10 minutes or until the prawns are cooked and the noodles are soft.

Serve with chopsticks and spoon, and garnish with chopped cilantro, fresh lime juice and Sriracha sauce for an extra kick.