Camille Cooks For You

This blog is dedicated to all of my friends and family that are suffering through the terrible weather north of Paradise.  That means all of you north of the Florida boarder.

Here are a few of my favorites.  Some have been posted on the blog in the past and some have not.  The ones that have been posted are linked and you will be able to click the link and go directly to the recipe.  Have fun.

Wild Rice and Chicken Soup with Mushrooms

Makes About 4 Quarts

1          Cup Uncooked Minnesota Wild Rice

2          Ounces Dried Porcini Mushrooms, Re-Hydrated, Liquid Reserved

2          Pounds Baby Bella Mushrooms, Sliced

1          Large Spanish Onions, Diced (About 2 Cups)

4          Cups Diced Celery

4          Cups Diced Carrots

10       Cups Homemade Chicken Stock or Canned Low Sodium Chicken Broth

1          Bouquet Garni Consisting of 2 Sprigs Fresh Cilantro, 6 Sprigs Fresh Thyme, 1 Sprig Fresh Oregano, 4 Fresh Sage Leaves, 1 Bay Leaf Broken in Half

1          Tablespoons Coarse Sea Salt

2          Teaspoons Freshly Ground Black Pepper

4          Cups Cooked Chicken Breast, Diced

            Chopped Scallion for Garnish

Place the wild rice in a colander and rinse with cold water.  Transfer the rice to a pan large enough to hold the rice and 4 cups water.  Cover the rice with 4 cups cold water and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer the rice, covered for 50 to 60 minutes.  You want the grains to expand and the rice to be soft.  Remove from the heat and drain the rice in a colander.  Rinse with cold water and set aside.  (I use CANOE wild rice because it is readily available at your grocery.  I suggest using only wild rice and not the blended rice.  Also, do not use any kind of instant Wild Rice just in case there is such a thing.)

Place the dried porcini mushrooms in a small saucepan and cover with 2 cups of water.  Bring to a boil and continue to boil for 2 minutes.  Remove from the heat and let the mushrooms sit in the liquid for 10 minutes before straining.  Strain the liquid through a strainer fitted with cheesecloth or paper towel.  Rinse the mushrooms to be sure there is no dirt or sand.  Squeeze out as much liquid as possible into the cheesecloth fitted strainer.  Coarsely chop the porcini mushrooms.  Set aside the mushrooms and the liquid.

Heat a large pan such as a Dutch oven over medium high heat.  When pan is hot add the 2 pounds of sliced baby bella mushrooms.  Cook the mushrooms stirring frequently until the mushrooms are cooked and their juice has been extruded.  Add the onion, celery, carrots and chopped porcini mushrooms and mix well.  Add the chicken stock, the porcini liquid, bouquet garni, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 30 minutes.

Add the cooked wild rice and simmer, covered, another 30 minutes.  Add the cooked chicken and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.

Serve in warm soup bowl with chopped scallion as a garnish.  A really good hunk of artisan bread goes well with the soup as well as a tossed salad for a side dish.

(At the end of this soup blog is an idea of what to do with any extra wild rice you may have made and did not put in the soup.)

Golden Split Pea Soup

I made this soup with yellow split peas instead of the traditional green peas.  I like the color much better but the flavor is exactly the same.  If you prefer green split peas don’t hesitate to use them instead.

Makes about 6 Quarts

2          12-Ounce Bags Yellow Split Peas

1          Pound Sweet Italian Sausage

2          Cups Diced Spanish Onion (About 1 Large Onion)

4          Cups Diced Celery

4          Cups Diced Carrots

3          Cups Diced Sweet Potato

6          Garlic Gloves, Finely Minced

2          Tablespoons XVOO

3          Teaspoons Coarse Sea Salt

2          Teaspoons Freshly Ground Black Pepper

8          Cups Homemade Ham Stock or Homemade Chicken Stock or Canned Low Sodium Chicken Broth

             Homemade Croutons, CrèmeFraiche and Chopped Fresh Italian Parsley

In a large pot, such as a Dutch oven, over medium heat, heat the XVOO and add the Italian sausage.  Brown the sausage on all sides.  Remove from the pan and add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, salt and pepper and gently sauté the vegetables until the onion begins to become translucent, about 10 minutes.  Add the sweet potato and sauté the vegetables for 5 minutes more.    Add the split peas and cook for two minutes.  Add the ham stock and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to simmer and continue to cook for 30 minutes covered with a lid, stirring often to be sure the mixture does not burn or stick to the bottom of the pot.  Add the diced Italian sausage and cook for 30 minutes more or until the peas are soft and the soup is thick.  If too thick add a bit of the stock to thin.  (I like to cook the soup with a lid half way on the pot.  This helps to keep the soup from reducing too much.)  Taste the soup for seasoning and adjust accordingly.

Serve the soup in warm bowls with croutons and topped with a dollop of Crème Fraiche and a sprinkle of chopped fresh Italian parsley.

Austrian Vegetable Soup

In the early eighties I worked at a restaurant in Deerfield Beach, Florida, that was the most upscale dining experience you could get at the time.  The Austrian Pastry Chef and I became friends and he was extremely generous in sharing his knowledge with me.  He was a lot older than most of the people working at the restaurant and he retired just about a year after I started.  I wisely took that year to listen to everything he told me and pay attention to everything he did.  He not only made the pastry but also gave the chef of the restaurant his recipes for many of the items served.  He taught me more than any of the other people I ever worked with:  Knowledge I could not get anywhere else.

This soup is a variation of the Austrian Vegetable Soup recipe Chef Max shared with me.  I think he would be very happy with the changes I made to his fabulous soup.

Makes 4 Quarts

2          Ounces Unsalted Butter (1/2 Stick)

½         Pound Thick Cut Bacon, Finely Chopped

4          Cups Finely Chopped Carrots

4          Cups Finely Chopped Celery

2          Cups Finely Chopped Spanish Onions

2          Cups Chopped Peeled Yukon Gold Potatoes (Medium Dice)

½         Cup All-Purpose Flour

6          Cups Homemade Chicken Stock or Canned Low Sodium Chicken Broth, Heated

2          Teaspoons Coarse Sea Salt

1          Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper

2          Cups Crème Fraiche

Crème Fraiche and Chopped Fresh Chives for Garnish

In a large pot such as a Dutch oven over medium heat, melt the butter.  When butter has stopped foaming add the bacon and cook until bacon is crisp and all the fat has been rendered.  Remove the bacon to a plate lined with a paper towel and set aside.  Leave the rendered fat in the pan.  In the same pot with the rendered bacon fat add the carrots, celery, onions and potatoes.  Sauté the vegetables until they become softened, about 10 minutes.  Stir frequently.  Add the bacon and stir to combine.

Add the flour and stir the mixture until every bit of vegetable is coated with the flour.  Cook for 5 minutes stirring frequently.  You don’t want the flour to burn.  Add the hot chicken stock, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and cook the soup for 30 minutes, until the carrots and potatoes are cooked through and soft.  Add the Crème Fraiche.  Stir to incorporate the crème into the soup.  Gently simmer for 10 minutes.

Serve the soup in warm bowls, topped with a dollop of Crème Fraiche and a sprinkle of chopped fresh chives.

Pasta Fagioli

Pasta Fagioli Topped with Parmesan Cheese

Pasta Fagioli

Most people soak their beans overnight or do the quick soak of boiling for two minutes then letting them sit in the water for an hour and THEN boil them for another hour or so.  Not me.  I have always hated all of those steps.  There is no inspiration for me when I have to wait to do something I want to do immediately.  A long time ago I decided to skip the soaking steps and went directly to cooking.  What did I find out?  I found out that the beans cooked exactly like the soaking method.  WHERE IS THE MYSTERY?  So try it my way and see what you think.

Never salt the beans when they are cooking.  If you salt them too early they cook up just a little too mealy and loose their creamy texture.

Many people like to go through the hassle of pureeing part of the bean soup to make it creamy.  I don’t.  I found that when I cook my bean soup slowly and stir often the beans become creamy on their own.  Besides I love the texture of soups that aren’t pureed.  When pureed, the soup (any pureed soup) becomes one dimensional.  It then looses all of its layering that I strive for in every recipe I make (no matter what it is).

I don’t add my cooked pasta to the soup until I am ready to serve it.  If you add the pasta too early, or cook it in the soup too long, it will suck up all of the moisture and the soup will be too thick.  So, I suggest you cook only the amount of pasta you will need at the moment.  And the amount of pasta in the soup is, for sure, a personal thing.  I like a lot of pasta in my soup but most people do not.  So add what you think will work for you and whomever you are serving.  You definitely do not want to put any of the soup in the freezer with the pasta.  Not a good thing.

Often you will see in a Pasta Fagioli recipe the addition of Parmesan Cheese Rinds into the soup while it is cooking.  Yes, you can do that.  I don’t because I am not crazy about the flavor it imparts.  The rinds seem to take over and, once again, I loose the layering of flavor that I am always talking about.

The finished product will be not thick and not soupy – somewhere in between.  The soup thickens up on its own even when it is sitting on the counter cooling.  If it is too thick for you just add a little stock when reheating.

I like to top off a bowl of soup with parmesan cheese or, to make it really special, add a dollop of Pesto just before serving.  You can also drizzle a little XVOO on top of that wonderful bowl of Pasta Fagioli.

Click on Pasta Fagioli for the recipe.

Corn and Chicken Chowder

This recipe is a perfect example of “The Layers of Flavor” I always strive for in my cooking.  You can taste every ingredient in this chowder all at once and you will be able to identify each of them individually.

Using the corn cobb in the cooking of the chowder gives it the most corn flavor possible.

Click on Corn and Chicken Chowder for the recipe.

Wild Mushroom and Chestnut Soup

I like to use the wildest mushrooms I can find:  The ones that stayed out late partying the night before.  The wilder the mushrooms the better.  You don’t want this soup to be a “run of the mill” mushroom soup, so forge ahead and look to your local upscale market for a good selection of wild mushrooms.

I don’t put in any herbs, other than Sunny Paris Seasoning from Penzey’s Spices, because I want the mushroom flavor to be the predominate taste.  The Sunny Paris gives it a little French flair.  There is no salt in Sunny Paris.  I love this herb mixture:  It is subtle and it reminds me of Paris.  Check out Penzey’s website.  Some of you may be lucky enough to have a retail store in your area.  If not, the catalogue has everything you can think of and shipping is inexpensive.  http://penzeys.com

The drizzle of white truffle oil as garnish is a bit extravagant but well worth the cost.  It adds another dimension of earthiness you can only get from truffles.  Why not add it since this recipe is all about wild mushrooms.

Click on Wild Mushroom and Chestnut Soup for the recipe.

I hope these soups will help to warm up your cold and snowy evenings this winter.  If you have any questions you can contact me by leaving a message on the blog or by emailing me at

camille@camillecooksforyou.com

Oh, by the way, if you are like me you probably had some wild rice left over that did not make it into the soup.  What I did was make a Wild Rice and Veggie Salad with Lemon Cilantro Vinaigrette.  It’s a pretty free form recipe, super easy and deliciously healthy.  If you don’t have the 2 cups of cooked rice, adjust the rest of the ingredients to meet the goal.  Actually you can put in whatever veggies and amounts that are to your liking.  This is just a guide.

Wild Rice and Vegetable Salad with Lemon Cilantro Vinaigrette

2   Cups Cooked Wild Rice

1   Pound Asparagus, Cooked and Sliced Crosswise

1   Cup Sweet Baby Peas

1/2   Roasted Red Pepper, Diced

1   Cup Fresh Corn Kernels

1   Bunch Scallions, Chopped

1/2  Cup Toasted Almonds

Lemon Cilantro Vinaigrette

Fine Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Toss all of the ingredients together except the vinaigrette.  Mix well and blend in enough vinaigrette to make the rice salad just a bit moist or put in the amount that suites you.  (Told you this is pretty much a free form recipe.)  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Lemon Cilantro Vinaigrette

Makes About 3 Cups

½         Cup Fresh Lemon Juice

3          Roasted Garlic Cloves

1          Bunch Scallions, About 6, White Part Only

1          Tablespoon Dijon Mustard

1          Cup Cilantro Leaves

¾         Cup Vegetable Oil

¾         Cup XVOO

1          Teaspoon Coarse Sea Salt

½         Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Zest of One Lemon

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade add the lemon juice, garlic, scallions, Dijon mustard and cilantro leaves and finely chop.  With the motor running add the oils in a slow, steady stream through the feed tube and blend until emulsified.  Add the salt, pepper and blend to combine.  Add the zest and pulse 2 or 3 times (briefly).

Store in an airtight container and refrigerate up to 1 week.

This dressing is great with the wild rice salad, seafood salad or drizzled on grilled vegetables.

The following picture is from my recipe book that was started at my first kitchen job at the Mobile 5 star restaurant La Vielle Maison in Boca Raton.  The restaurant is long gone but the food memories will never die.