Today’s lunch depended on what was in the fridge. One pound of mushrooms purchased for another dish that I could not find the meat for screamed out to be the main ingredient. I still have scallions in the garden and a wide variety of cookbooks at my disposal. So….this recipe is courtesy of A Feast Of Soups by Jacqueline Heriteau. If you are a vegetarian, just replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock.
And in case you’re wondering what the little red dots are, scattered in the center of my bowl, it’s Frank’s Red Hot Sauce. As the saying goes “I put that shit on everything”!

Serves 6

1 Lb. mushrooms, wiped clean and chopped
4 Tbsp. butter
1 clove garlic, minced
6 scallions, chopped
4 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
4 cups hot chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper
3 to 6 white mushroom caps, sliced
Chopped chives (instead of garnishing with them I stirred them into the soup at the end)

In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute’ the mushrooms in the butter with the garlic and scallions for 7 to 8 minutes, stirring. Stir in the flour, lower the heat, and remove the saucepan to let it cool down a bit. Return to heat, and stir in the hot broth, beating constantly. Cook, stirring, until bubbly, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the cream, and add salt and pepper to taste, then sliced mushrooms. (I cooked the soup for a few more minutes to soften up the mushroom slices)
Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with chives. Serve with rustic bread and wine.

Wine served: 1999, S. Andrea in Colle, Chianti Classico Riserva

This recipe comes from my favorite cookbook The Silver Spoon. The dish turned out beautifully, but as with most recipes I had to adjust. In this case I doubled all of the baking times. I also cut out some pastry decorations and added them to the top. Outside of that….perfection!

Olive oil, for brushing
2 1/4 Lbs. beef tenderloin
3 1/2 ounces pancetta, sliced thin
9 ounces store-bought puff pastry dough, thawed if frozen
all-purpose flour, for dusting
3 1/2 ounces truffle pate’
1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp. milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Brush an oval ovenproof dish with oil. Wrap the beef in the pancetta slices and tie with kitchen string, then place in the prepared dish. Cover and cook in the oven for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Meanwhile, roll out the dough on a lightly floured counter. Untie the beef and remove the pancetta. Carefully spread the pate’ over the whole roast, then place the meat on the dough and wrap it around to enclose the meat, crimping the edges to seal. Beat the egg yolk with the milk in a bowl and brush the mixture over the package. Make two small holes in the dough to let steam escape during the cooking. Place the package on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown. Let rest for 5 minutes, then slice and transfer to a warm serving dish.

Wine served: 2002, Bourgogne Passetoutgrain

This scallop recipe is from the November issue of Food and Wine magazine. Their recipe does not call for it to be served over pasta and it also calls for larger sea scallops. I used the smaller bay scallops because I wanted to turn this recipe into a sauce for my pasta. Enjoy!

Food and Wine Recipe

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound sea scallops
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 medium fennel bulb-trimmed, halved and thinly sliced, fronds reserved for garnish
2 Tbsp. drained capers
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, plus lemon wedges for serving
2 Tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil. Season the scallops with salt and pepper and cook over moderately high heat until golden brown on the bottom, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the scallops and cook until just opaque throughout, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Transfer to a platter and keep warm.
2. Melt the butter in the skillet. Add the sliced fennel and capers and cook over high heat, stirring, until the fennel is crisp-tender and lightly golden, 2 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Spoon the fennel around the scallops and garnish with chopped fennel fronds. Serve with lemon wedges.

I recently bought some stacks from Fante’s in Philadelphia. This is, also, where I found my beautiful corzetti stamp. In any case, I thought it’s time for me to be more creative or to “play with my food”. So, serving with our filet mignons this afternoon, I decided to stack the vegetables.
Here’s what I did: My friends Judy and Peter brought back for me, from Barcelona, dehydrated porcini mushrooms, so I rehydrated a few of them on the stove with red wine. I made mashed potatoes and boiled some fresh green beans cut into 1 inch pieces. I also made a shallot, port wine reduction sauce. (I’m leaving the salt and pepper amounts to your discretion)
In the stack I first put a couple of tablespoons of mashed potatoes, then a layer of porcini mushrooms, topped that with a layer of green beans, then another few tablespoons of mashed potatoes. I finished the stack off with a few pieces of green beans then smothered everything in the shallot, port wine reduction sauce.
Beautiful….delicious and, fun!

Wine Served: 1999, Vignamaggio, Chianti Classico Riserva

I sautéed minced baby bella mushrooms, shallots, fresh parsley and, fresh oregano in extra virgin olive oil, a tad of butter, a touch of red wine and a smidgen of heavy cream! How’s that for a recipe!
I think you cooks out there can figure out how much of this combination you need for as many ravioli’s you choose to create. The same goes for the béchamel sauce. I had plenty of sauce left over which I’m going to use, in the next couple of days, on a vegetable omelet. This recipe is from Mario Batali.

5 Tbsp. butter
4 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
4 cups milk
2 Tsp. salt
1/2 Tsp. fresh grated nutmeg

In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium-low heat until melted. Add the flour and stir until smooth. Over medium heat, cook until mixture turns a light, golden sandy color, about 6-7 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the milk in a separate pan until just about to boil. Add the hot milk to the butter mixture one cup at a time, whisking continuously until very smooth. Bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes, stirring constantly, then remove from heat. Season with salt and nutmeg and set aside until ready to use.

Wine served: 1997 Chateau Brane-Cantenac, Margaux, Grand Cru Bordeaux