Mushroom Chicken Consomme Food

DRIED PORCINI CONSOMMé

Steps:

• Place the dried porcinis in a bowl or a pyrex measuring cup and cover with 2 cups boiling water. Let sit for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, wipe the fresh mushrooms, trim away the bottoms if they are sandy, break off the stems and set them aside. Set aside half of the caps in a separate bowl and slice the rest.
• Line a strainer with cheesecloth and set it over a bowl. Drain the porcinis through the cheesecloth-lined strainer. Squeeze over the strainer to extract as much flavorful liquid as possible and set aside the broth. Rinse the reconstituted mushrooms in several changes of water. Measure the mushroom soaking water and add enough water to make 4 cups.
• In a soup pot or a large saucepan, combine the mushroom soaking liquid, the chicken or vegetable stock, the soaked porcinis, fresh mushroom stems and sliced caps, garlic, and salt to taste, and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer over very low heat for 30 minutes. Strain the soup and return to the saucepan. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, and the soy sauce.
• Slice the fresh mushroom caps you set aside paper-thin and toss with a couple of drops of lemon juice. Ladle the soup into bowls or espresso cups, garnish with a couple of slices of mushroom and a sprinkling of chives, and serve.

MUSHROOM CONSOMME

Steps:

• Combine Porcini mushrooms, garlic and chicken stock and simmer for 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Meanwhile beat water with egg whites, and gradually, in a thin steady stream, ladle half of the mushroom broth into the egg whites. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and set over moderate heat. As the broth reaches the simmer, stir it continuously with a whisk. When the simmer is reached, stop stirring; the egg whites should have mounted to the surface in a frothy "cap". Gently move the saucepan to the side (half off heat) so that the edge of the liquid is barely bubbling. Make a quarter turn of the saucepan every 5 minutes until all parts of broth have had a chance to clarify.
• Line a wide strainer with a triple layer of washed cotton cheesecloth. Set the strainer over a deep saucepot (so that bottom of strainer remains above surface of liquid). Carefully ladle stock and egg white cap into cheesecloth, disturbing egg whites as little as possible. Towards the end of straining, as cheesecloth gets full, the liquid will pass down more slowly. Just lift the cheesecloth gently so liquid can drain through an unused section of it. Let cheesecloth and egg whites sit over saucepan undisturbed for 5 minutes.
• When ready to eat, reheat consomme in a clean saucepan; adjust seasoning and ladle it out. Garnish with raw mushroom slices and radish sprouts.

CHICKEN CONSOMME: BASIC CLARIFICATION

Steps:

• In the bowl of a food processor, combine the ground meat with the onions, leeks, celery, carrots, thyme, tarragon, parsley, garlic, and black pepper. Puree on high speed.
• In a bowl, combine the egg whites with the pureed meat mixture. Stir well to blend.
• Place the stock in a large pot and add the "raft" (the pureed meat-egg white mixture). Bring to a boil, stirring constantly to prevent the raft from sticking to the bottom and sides of the pot. (Once the stock has come to a boil, do not stir again.) Reduce to a simmer and puncture a hole in the center of the raft for the stock to circulate through and clarify. Simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat. Gently poke a hole in the raft large enough to fit a ladle. With a ladle, gently scoop out the consomme into a clean pot or bowl. Strain through a layer of cheesecloth to finish clarifying.
• Serve hot with desired garnish. Alternatively, transfer consomme to a shallow bowl or roasting pan and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, covering with plastic wrap only when the consomme is cool enough that no condensation forms on the plastic. When the consomme is completely cooled, cut it into 1/2-inch cubes and divide between consomme cups. Garnish with sour cream, chopped chives, and a lemon slice and serve with toast points.

20-MINUTE SKILLET MUSHROOM CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200 degrees F. You will use it to keep the chicken warm.
• Cut chicken breasts in halves the horizontal way to make thinner chicken cutlets. Pat dry and season with salt and pepper. Combine oregano, paprika, and coriander in a small bowl. Season the chicken with the spice mixture on both sides.
• In a large skillet heat 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil until shimmering but not smoking. Add the chicken cutlets and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on one side, then turn over and cook for another 3 minutes or so. To check for doneness, cut into a piece with a thin-bladed knife and take a peek. Transfer the chicken to an ovenproof platter and put it in the oven.
• In the same skillet, now add a tiny bit more extra virgin olive oil. Add ghee and melt. Sautee the mushrooms for 5 minutes. Add broth, green onions, garlic, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.
• Add the chicken back to the pan, spoon some of the sauce on top. Serve immediately.

CLASSIC CHICKEN CONSOMMé

Steps:

• Simmer at a gentle boil for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. If the water starts to boil away, add more because the ingredients must be covered in water.
• Taste the stock after the allotted cooking time. It should have a good flavor of chicken and a background hint of the vegetables and herbs. If not, cook a while longer.
• Return the clear liquid to the pan and reheat to hot but not boiling. Season with salt and pepper, as desired. This soup is best served warm to hot (not boiling) as it intensifies the flavor. Cold consommés are not as tasty.

MUSHROOM CHICKEN CONSOMME

Steps:

• Pour consommé and one can water into a small sauce pan.
• Add chopped mushrooms.
• Bring to a boil, and simmer until mushrooms are soft.

SAVORY CONSOMME RICE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Saute onion and mushroons in butter.
• Add rice, consomme, water, salt, pepper, parsley, and garlic powder.
• Pour into greased two quart pyrex dish. Cover and bake one hour at 350 degrees.

MUSHROOM CONSOMMé WITH MORELS AND PASTRY "HATS"

Steps:

• In a 6-quart stockpot or kettle combine consommé ingredients and simmer, uncovered, 2 hours. Pour consommé through a large fine sieve lined with a rinsed and squeezed paper towel into a large saucepan, pressing gently on solids, to yield about 5 cups consommé (if yield is not enough, add water to make 5 cups; if too much, boil consommé until reduced to 5 cups). Season consommé with salt and pepper.
• In a small bowl pour boiling water over morels and let stand 20 minutes, or until morels are soft. Remove morels, reserving soaking liquid, and in a small saucepan simmer morels in Madeira, covered, 5 minutes. Add morel mixture to consommé. Let reserved soaking liquid settle and slowly pour it into consommé, being careful to leave last tablespoon (containing sediment) in bowl. Simmer consommé, covered, 3 minutes and cool to room temperature. Consommé may be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered. Bring consommé to room temperature before proceeding.
• Preheat oven to 400°F. and have ready six 12-ounce "truffle soup bowls" or 9- to 10-ounce ovenproof ramekins, each measuring 3 1/2 to 4 inches across top. Divide consommé, including morels, and chives among bowls or ramekins.
• On a lightly floured surface roll out 1 sheet puff pastry into a 12-cinch square and with a round cutter at least 3/4-inch larger than diameter of bowls cut out 4 rounds. Roll out second puff-pastry sheet and cut out 2 more rounds in same manner. Brush any excess flour from both sides of rounds.
• Working with 1 pastry round at a time, brush a 1/2-inch-wide border of egg wash around pastry edges and invert pastry rounds over bowls or ramekins, carefully stretching 1/2 inch down side and pressing to seal.
• When all bowls or ramekins are covered with pastry, brush tops with remaining egg wash. Pastry-covered consommé may be prepared up to this point 4 hours ahead and chilled. (Pastry will not rise quite as high when going straight from refrigerator to oven.) Arrange bowls or ramekins on a large baking sheet and bake consommé in middle of oven until pastry "hats" are puffed and golden, 12 to 18 minutes.

THAI CHICKEN & MUSHROOM BROTH

Steps:

• Tip the stock into a saucepan, then stir in the curry paste, fish sauce, sugar, lime juice and most of the zest. Bring to the boil, then add the mushrooms and whites of the spring onion. Cover, then simmer for 2 mins.
• Stir in the chicken and most of the spring onion greens to gently heat through, then serve ladled into bowls and scattered with the remaining lime zest. Serve with extra lime juice, sugar and fish sauce on the side so everyone can adjust their own bowlfuls.