A bubbly warm chicken pot pie is a perfect dish for a frosty December lunch.  It is also a perfect use for the hindquarters of a older farm chicken, which are pretty firm (not to say tough) and require long cooking.  I poached the legs and thighs in chicken stock with aromatics, then used that broth to make a savory gravy enriched with heavy cream and rosemary. For veggies, December offers a range of root vegetables, squashes, alliums and mushrooms that go very well with chicken. I used champignons de Paris, whole baby shallots and roasted red kuri squash, all poached int he same chicken broth before making the gravy, each adding its distinct flavor.

For pastry, I used the same dough recipe that is used at Le Pichet for its famous quiche, buttery and flakey.  Yum

Pan roasted wild-caught Alaskan pollock filet served on a saute of heirloom summer squashes, chanterelle mushrooms and sweet onions, with a Basque cider-herb pan sauce

Fresh Washington State morel mushrooms being sauteed as part of the oil preserving process. These beauties will end up as garnish for our potato-leeks soup, currently on the menu at Café Presse. Yum!

Cafe Presse chef de cuisine James O’Hern unveiled his new menu for Spring 2018 today with the traditional staff tasting.  The staff tasting is sort of a cross between a dinner party and a training class on all the details of the new menu; food, friends and lots of talk about the dishes.

Here are some photos to whet your appetite. Hope you will come by Cafe Presse soon to try the new dishes for yourself.

And watch this space for photos of the new dessert menu coming soon!

Sitting in my warm apartment in Seattle, an early December mushroom outing in the SW of France seemed like a great idea.  So I contacted the Sociétié Mycologique du Béarn and invited myself along on their next outing, which happened to fall during our upcoming stay in France. What I failed to consider was how cold it could be on the French Atlantic coast at that time of year!

In truth, despite what would turn out to be temperatures in the 20’s as we set out in search of mushrooms, the event was a lot of fun, in equal parts because of the chance to meet some very nice fellow mushroom lovers,because of the beauty of the forested coastline and because of the large amount of mushrooms to be found, in spite of the lateness of the season.

The Sociétié Mycologique du Béarn turns out to be (I sort of cold called on them through their web site and asked if I could join an outing) a very welcoming group of mycology enthusiasts who meet a couple times a month to forage together, compare and catalogue what they find and to share a potluck picnic together when the mushrooming is done.  I emphasize the “mycology” part because members are fascinated by all sorts of mushrooms, not just the edible ones.  In advance of the ‘sortie’, the president of the group, M. Yves Cestac, thoughtfully sent out a list of the mushrooms that we might encounter in the pine forests just off the beach at the Cap de l’Homy, our destination.  A bit of research made it clear to me that many (most) of these are not edible.  Myself being more greedy mushroom eater than mycologist, I was a touch alarmed. Then, day of the hunt as we set off into the woods, my concern was heightened by M. Cestac’s patient explanation that the point of the outing was to collect samples and not necessarily to gather mushrooms for the table.  Then, as an aside he added that however, if I did find edible varieties, I should feel free to gather all that I could.  This sounded more like it.

The morning was cold and frosty, but mushrooms were abundant among the pine needles on the forest floor.  I inquired about the many places where the underbrush had been disturbed, leaving the ground cover turned and ruts inches deep. M. Cestac said that these marks, some only hours old, were made by wild boars, also in search of mushrooms…guess I can’t blame them. But for the rest of the day, I was alert to sounds in the forest around me as wild boars have the local reputation of being quite dangerous.

Among a large number of mushrooms who’s identities were a complete mystery to me, I recognized both red pine mushrooms (also known as saffron milk caps) and yellow foot chanterelles. I have never eaten fresh red pine mushrooms before, only dried, but have often cooked yellow foot chantis.  They are very good despite the amount of work required to clean them for cooking.

Lest anyone reading should be concerned that a novice mushroom hunter like myself should be turned loose to gather potentially dangerous varieties and to judge for myself what were edible varieties, not to worry.  Before setting out, I was briefed on procedures for keeping suspected edibles separate from suspected toxic and possibly deadly mushrooms until group members with more expertise could make definitive identifications.  Careful identification is a big part of the group activity.

For the communal picnic, I brought charcuterie and also made a far aux pommes, a breton dessert similar to a clafouti but with a custard full of apple pieces and spiked with calvados. First time I have made it, so was relieved that the reception was good.

Christine, a member of the group seated next to me at lunch, had also found a trove of yellow foots (feet?) and told me that she intended to cook them “a la creme”.  This seemed a good idea to me as well, as these are a small, delicate mushroom that shrink down to almost zero when sauteed…good in a saute mix with other mushrooms but not by themselves.

The recipe is easy: clean the chanterelles, sauté   the mushrooms gently in butter with a bit of sliced shallot and maybe some fresh herbs if you have them, say thyme or sage this time of year. When tender, deglaze with a little of white wine or brandy, then when it has reduced to dry, add cream or crème fraîche.  Simmer gently for 10 minutes or so until he sauce coats the back of a spoon, season with salt, pepper and maybe a bit of fresh nutmeg and the sauce is ready.  Easy!

I thought my mushroom sauce would be nice with fresh mackerel filets, quickly sauteed, and served with green cabbage and the local French potimarrons (these are shaped sort of like a kabocha but are bright orange) simply steamed, as the fish and sauce are already quite rich.

Tout est bon dans le cochon

Wednesday November 8, 2017

 MENU

Terrine de tête de porc, pommes sauvage aux épices
Pork head and kidney terrine, house made dark rye bread, spiced crab apples, mustard crème fraiche

Beignets aux pieds de cochon, salade aux endives
Crispy pig’s foot beignets, salad of mixed endives, grilled winter squash and black currants, sauce soubise

Jambon de cochon braisé aux boudins noirs, châtaignes et champignons
Pork leg braised with blood sausage, chestnuts, lobster mushrooms and red vermouth, served with steamed Savoy cabbage

Camembert mariné au cidre, pain aux oignons confit et aux grattons de porc
Camembert marinated 20 days in Normandy hard cider, served with house-made caramelized onion-pork cracklin’ bread

Coings pochée au miel, au laurier et à la queue de cochon fumée, glace à la vanille
Washington quince poached in a syrup flavored with honey, bay leaf and smoked pork tail, vanilla bean ice cream, hazelnuts

Dinner including beverage* $75
*paired wines or non-alcoholic beverage

For this special event, No Substitutions Please.
Reservations by phone only at 206.709.7674
Price does not include service charge and WA State tax

Today’s special at Café Presse combines lovage from our own garden with morel mushrooms:  Creamy potato-leek-lovage soup garnished with morel mushroom and Comté beignets

For those not familiar with lovage, it is an herb that has a flavor similar to wild celery, more pungent and earthy than its domesticated cousin. The lovage for this soup came from the garden of Cafe Presse’s dining room manager, so it doesn’t get any more local than that.

It has been a banner year for morels, so if you haven’t had the chance to try some this season, try some while they are here.

Vin jaune is a white wine from the Jura that undergoes extensive aging in oak barrels, giving it an oxidized flavor and a rich golden-yellow color.  Its flavor resembles that of sherry.

Serves 4

Although I have cooked similar chicken dishes many times, I had until recently never actually cooked Poulet au Vin Jaune.  In fact, I had never even had the chance to tasted a real vin jaune from the Jura.  This may be explained by the fact that, although vin jaune has a big  reputation among French wine lovers, it is still not very well known in the U.S.

Well, time to remedy that situation…seemed like a trial run through on  Poulet au Vin jaune was in order in preparation for the upcoming  Jura Wine Dinner at Cafe Presse.

The vin jaune that I used for the trial was Champ Divin Cotes de Jura Chardonnay-Savagnin sous voile « Cuvée Pollux » 2009, which we will be using when cooking the chicken at the upcoming dinner, as well as serving to accompany one of the courses.

Here are some photos of the cooking process… I think it turned out pretty fabulous, if I do say so myself.  The wine was delicious as well.  I was especially impressed by how well it  paired with the dish….vin jaune, chicken and mushrooms is a sublime combination.  I am really looking forward to tasting the other wines individually and also paired with food.

Look for a post with the complete recipe later in the month.

In the meantime, if you would like to taste the Wines of the Jura and this dish for yourself, there are still a few seats left for the dinner on February 16 at Cafe Presse…full details and menu are available on the Cafe Presse website.