Friday, May 7, 2010

Friday Feature: Barefoot Blogging with The Contessa

One of the other blogs I've joined (and been booted from) in the past is the Ina Garten Barefoot Bloggers...they were working their ways through the Barefoot Contessa's books (any of 'em)--Barefoot Contessa is, of course, Food Network's Ina Garten. She sure can cook, but I think I tune in for her kitchen (I am convinced it's the kitchen used for the movie Something's Gotta Give with Diane Keaton, Jack Nicholson and Keanu Reeves. VERY funny movie in which Keaton plays a playwright who spends the summer in the Hamptons where love and chaos ensue. But I fell in love with the kitchen, too...

Want it.

I digress.

My point is about cooking along with the Barefoot Bloggers. I don't. But I did peruse the list of recipes already cooked and found Ina's Cream of Wild Mushroom soup. YUM. One of my daughter's favorites and it fits into the at least once a week vegetarian goal I have.

You can find the full recipe here, although I greatly modified it by cutting the butter down to next to nothing and only making it creamy by one glug of cream. (Serves six; one glug divided by 6 is not much cream at all...)

Here's MY version (plenty creamy--see that photo at the top). Check Ina's out, too.

Wild Mushroom Soup..
8 ounces Shiitakes
10 ounces sliced white mushrooms
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, choped
3 sprigs fresh thyme
5 scallions, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
6 cups water
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup Italian parsley, chopped

1. Clean the mushrooms and remove and discard the shiitake stems, which are tough. Slice the shiitakes and combine with the white mushrooms. Set aside.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil with 1 tablespoon butter in a stockpot over medium high heat. Add onions, thyme, scallions, salt and pepper and cook until veg is soft. Add water. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer. Cook uncovered for 10 min.
3. In a large cast-iron skillet heat remaining olive oil and butter over medium high heat. Add mushrooms to this and cook until very soft, about 7 minutes. Sprinkle flour over all and stir to combine. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Deglaze pan with white wine, scraping up anything left on the bottom. Add the contents of the skillet to the stockpot. Cook another 15 minutes. Add cream and parsley. Taste and adjust seasonings if desired. Serve hot with toasted slices of baguette.

1 comment:

Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial said...

Barb, I have all the ingredients on hand to make this today - thank you! I was wondering what to do with all the mushrooms in the fridge - I always get a little carried away at the mushroom stall at the markets...