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Dear Chef Pisto,
Thanks again for meeting with me and my father earlier this week to take
a look at my porcini mushrooms. They were delicious! My mom made some
traditional Russian-style fish cutlets and to go with them, I made a
porcini puree, a porcini sauce and sautéed some nice looking cross
sections as a garnish. It came out great. The following day I went out
again and found a few more. I'm excited about what the upcoming rain
will bring. I hung up all of the
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leftover porcini under a sunny window to
dry. I drove down the coast today to do some more searching and came
across quite and interesting find. It looks like a nice sized lion's
mane. I'm including some photos so you can confirm my find. From what I
understand, this type of tree fungus does not come in any seriously
poisonous varieties but just want to double check
before I dig in. I heard they are a great eat.
Alex Lovick
Via e-mail
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A). Great pictures, Alex. That's
exactly what it is, enjoy! Folks, Alex reminds me of the old saying:
"There are old shroomers and bold shroomers, but there are not old, bold
shroomers." Not only did he bring some beauties for me to identify at my
office, but he sent me some pictures along with his e-mail to identify
some more - this was a new one on me. He also came up with some creative
cooking for his porcinis. And of course, like
so many other hunters (like me, for instance), he forgot to tell me
where he found them.
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Q). Dear John.
Do you have the recipe for traditional "Navy Bean Soup of the U.S.
Senate"? We would have to pare it down for family consumption but I'm
sure they would enjoy it. I saw the recipe once a long time ago but
never again.
Sincerely, subscriber
Anita Anastasia Chessar
Monterey
A). Also known as "U.S. Capitol Bean Soup", this goes back to the
early 1900's. Bean soup in the Senate? You would think there was already
enough hot air in there. I found this recipe in a very old cook book
called "The White House Cookbook" first published in 1887. Over the
years recipes have been added according
to the favorite dishes of presidents and
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other dignitaries. Pick over and wash 1
pound of white navy beans. Make a stock out of a large smoked ham shank,
add the beans and cook covered until done - about 2 hours - adding more
water if necessary. Remove the fat and bones and break up the meat. Add
2 diced carrots, 1 large chopped onion and salt and pepper to taste. To
thicken, mash up some of the beans.
Tune in this week for the newest show
from Alaska. This was the day that the mayor of Ketchikan declared
"John Pisto day" and we cooked up some incredible salmon. Those in
attendance claimed it was the best salmon they have ever tasted and, let
me tell you, these Alaskans know their salmon. You want the recipe? All
you have to do is ask. |
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Q). Someone told me you could buy
holiday hams by John Pisto. How?
Via e-mail
A). Give Big Bob or Danny Boy a call at Sierra Meat (831)
883-3555.Folks, want to try the
taste of black truffles without a second mortgage? Monte Vista
Market (831) 373-3737 has some $5.00 vials of very good quality truffle
oil from Croatia, brought in by that traveling Conner from the very
place we visited a couple of years ago.
Because of last week's recipe, several people asked where to find
Tasso, that fabulous Cajun smoke pork, locally? Call "Big Bob" at
Sierra Meat Company (831) 883-3555 or Jonathan at Monte Vista Market
(831) 373-3737.
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Q). Chef Pisto,
Do you have a recipe for Osso Bucco? I think I can wing it, but would
like your ideas. I don't understand all the fuss these days about
stuffing a turkey. I've been cooking turkeys for thirty years and have
never had a problem. On our turkey sandwich, leave out the lettuce and
add some stuffing.
Thank you.
Judy Westcott
Soledad, CA
A). First Judy, the fuss is about bacteria growing in stuffing
that doesn't get hot enough while cooking. It will give you a case of
the trots that you won't forget. As for the sandwich, my old buddy Carol
C. had the same comment about the stuffing - good idea.
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Now here's my Osso Bucco
Recipe:
4 veal shanks (1 1/2 pounds each)
6 tablespoons of butter
2 diced carrots
3 diced ribs of celery
2 diced large onions
6 minced garlic cloves
Pinch of crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1-28 ounce can of whole tomatoes
1 cup dry red wine
15 ounce can of beef consume
1 teaspoon of thyme
3 tablespoons of chopped parsley
1 bay leaf
1 strip of lemon rind
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
flour
salt and pepper
Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a frying
pan. Add the carrots, onions, celery and half of the minced garlic. Cook
until the onions are golden brown. Remove
from the heat and
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transfer to a large ovenproof dish. Coat the
veal with flour that has been seasoned with salt and pepper. Heat the
remaining butter and oil in a large frying pan. Add the shanks and brown
well on all sides. Carefully pack shanks on top of the vegetables
standing them upright to retain the marrow in the bones. Puree the
tomatoes with their own liquid. Take the pan that the shanks were
browned in and drain off all of the fat. Add the consume, pureed
tomatoes, thyme, bay leaf, and the strip of lemon rind. Bring to a boil,
season with salt and pepper and pour over the veal shanks. Cover the
baking dish and bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours or until veal
is tender, stirring occasionally. Combine the remaining garlic chopped
parsley and lemon grated lemon rind to be sprinkled on top of the shanks
when served. |
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