This week we ate junk. Just junk. I didn't eat much of it, but the boys did. So, with a quiet weekend and no plans for Saturday night, I'm cooking for the week ahead so that we're not wasting calories and money on stupid food choices this week. That's not to say that I'm only making healthy things. But stuff you cook yourself is always better. Right now the plan is to make a meat in the crockpot, prep a meat for roasting later in the week, make a pasta dinner of some sort, make a bean dish if I can get my dear friend Michelle to give up the recipe I want, make a pot of soup, and make a batch of homemade salad dressing. I'll let you know what I finally decide on.
While prepping for this extravaganza, I dug out some of my old cookbooks. When I saw my 1981 "Modern French Cooking" by Wolfgang Puck I got so happy! Connor is on a major carrot kick (the only healthy thing he ate all week) and we were talking about my spectacular mashed carrots the other night. But they are not mine--they are Mr. Puck's--from this book. The book is splattered with the evidence of many happy cooking occasions. Most of which took place while I still lived at home with my parents. And since my mom has some sort of spiritual objection to appropriate cooking tools, that made it all the more a challenge at the time. Really, there are so many great and special recipes in this book. I've not shared any recipes on this blog but I now feel compelled to do so with my two favorites. The first--those lovely carrots. This is a Thanksgiving regular for me.
Wolfgang Puck's Carrot Puree (Mousseline de Carrotte)
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch slices
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt
Freshly ground white pepper
1/4 cup heavy cream
3 Tablespoons sour cream
1. In a large saute pan, melt the butter. Add the carrots and saute over a low flame for 20-25 minutes until tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Transfer carrots to a food processor and process until smooth. Add the heavy cream and sour cream and continue to process until well combined. (If the mousseline is too stiff, add more sour cream, a teaspoonful at a time).
3. Correct seasoning to taste.
If you don't have a food processor I won't lecture you about all the reasons why you should. You can still make this by finely mashing the carrots in a stand mixer. But really cook the carrots until they are super soft. Heaven.
Now, this one is just inexplicable. It is so easy and so not typical. When you think of this soup, you think of Campbell's paste. This is the antithesis and the lemon does something spectacular to it. Dancing mushrooms on the tongue--imagine them.
Wolfgang Puck's Mushroom Soup (Creme de Champignons)
1 pound firm white mushrooms, cleaned
1 medium lemon
1 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons minced shallots
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 teaspoon water
1 Tablespoon minced parsely
Warning: This soup must not be overcooked.
1. Sprinkle the mushrooms with juice from the lemon. Coarsely chop them.
2. Melth the butter in a heavy saucepan an lightly saute the shallots. Add the mushrooms, thyme, and bay leaf and saute over moderate heat for 10 minutes or until the liquid disappears.
3. Add the salt, pepper, cream and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Add the cornstarch to the soup and continue to simmer 10 minutes longer, stirring constantly.
5. Correct seasoning to taste.
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