SIGNATURE SOUP RECIPES & PROCEDURES

Brian’s Signature Soups

B.K. LOBSTER BISQUE…

WITH SHRIMP CROUTONS

Yield: 2 qt

1 oz Butter 3 oz Onions, fine dice 2 oz Carrots, fine dice 1 ¼ lb Lobster shells (or a mixture with shrimp & crayfish) 1 Bay leaf 3 Parsley stems, fresh 1 Thyme stem ¼ tsp Paprika 1 oz Tomato paste

In a heavy bottom soup pot, add all ingredients except tomato paste, cook on stove top for several minutes till vegetables are soft, add tomato paste and caramelize. Then add: 2 oz Brandy 6 oz White Wine 1 qt Fish Velouté 1 pt Fish Broth 1 ¼ cups Heavy Cream Pinch of Sea Salt Pinch of White Pepper Simmer for about 20 minutes till lobster shells are completely cooked and soup is reduced by almost half. Strain through china cap lined with cheesecloth and return the soup to the stove top, bring to a low simmer. Season with sea salt & white pepper; Puree with a “wand-style” emulsion blender and drizzle in about another¼ cup heavy cream and a couple splashes of Brandy. Garnish with Diced sautéed Shrimp on a Baguette Crouton brushed with melted shrimp butter.

ARTICHOKE & WILD MUSHROOM SUPREME

“Like all recipes… Please use this one as a guide-line, rather than an exact interpretation or rules. Food creation is about interpretation, it is the reason I wrote this as a “Process” rather than a “road map with numbered-steps to follow…”

This soup recipe started out as a couple piles of vegetable trimmings from the farmer’s market. Several fresh artichoke leaves and mixed wild mushrooms stems like Chanterelles, Morels, and Shiitakes turned into a fine broth. Reserve the mushroom caps and Artichoke Hearts for the soup’s garnish. Start the broth in a large soup pot by sweating all trimming ingredients in olive oil; add fresh diced onion, celery, carrots. Brown for several minutes, add a few handfuls of basil stems with leaves and a bottle of dry white wine. Add a sachet of herbs & spices; pour in a half-gallon of heavy cream and a gallon of fine chicken broth and a half gallon of thick Velouté then bring to a heavy simmer for about 40 minutes. This next step will help enrich the flavor: If you have frozen chicken, quail, or pheasant bones in the freezer, roasted or not, cook them in the creamy broth now. After the desired rich flavor is achieved, whisk in some Buérre Manie roux till a medium consistency is reached. Simmer till starch is completely cooked, remove the sachet, puree with emulsification blender then strain through china cap into a large pot and keep reserved.

In a separate pot, cook in olive oil diced mirepoix, julienne red onion, sliced wild mushroom caps, and sliced artichoke hearts. Sweat till soft, add half bottle of that white wine, add the artichoke broth reduction and adjust consistency with some broth; season with sea salt, white pepper, fine-chopped basil, thyme and tarragon. Finish with a little whisk of butter & sour cream.

CIOPPINO –BRIAN’S ITALIAN-STYLE FISHERMAN’S STEW

I was first introduced to this savory delicacy in a fine restaurant in San Francisco. My dear mother Marilyn re-created it in her kitchen many times, over the years, using whatever fresh seafood & fish was available and in season. She would always serve it with San Francisco’s famous Pioneer Bakery Sour Dour bread loaves; it was always a treat… Thin sliced Fennel bulb, Red Onion and Celery were essential in building the proper flavor profile for this broth.

Serves: 8 2 Crabs, freshly cooked, whole

Remove legs and claws, split the body in half

Force the “yellow crab-butter through a fine chinoise into a small bowl and set aside.

20 - 25 Clams, well cleaned 3 cups of dry white wine 1 cup Fumet Blanc (Fish Stock)

In a saucepan add clams, wine and fumet and steam the clams till they open, about 5 minutes, discard any clams that don’t open. Remove ready clams, set aside. Strain broth though china cap & cheesecloth and reserve. In a heavy bottom soup pot add all the following ingredients and sweat till tender

½ cup olive oil ½ cup Red Onion, Julienne cut ¼ cup Fennel bulb, Julienne cut ¼ cup Celery, julienne cut

1 medium Green Bell Pepper, Julienne cut 3 Garlic Cloves, minced 2 lb Tomatoes, diced, seeded 3 oz tomato paste 1 tsp fine grind black pepper 1 ½ Tbl Fresh chopped Basil ¾ tsp dry Oregano

When all ingredients are cooked and tender add the reserved clam broth. Then the following fresh Seafood:

2 lb fresh white fish filet, firm, like snapper/rock cod, seabass, halibut cut into large pieces

¾ lb raw Scallops ¾ lb raw Shrimp, peeled and deveined

Then add the reserved crab pieces and the reserved bowl of “yellow crab butter”… Simmer all the seafood on medium-low for about 5 minutes or until all is cooked tender. Do not stir, boil, or over-cook. When ready to serve add the clams and bring up to temperature. Serve immediately with Sour dough rolls and sweet butter.