Chris LaPorte’s Mushroom Port Wine Sauce

Beef is Chris LaPorte’s speciality—perfectly seasoned and cooked steaks, prime rib, country fried steak, and melt in your mouth pot roast. He’s worked in the food service industry for 23 years, and is an excellent chef/cook. His work ethic is outstanding and he’s fun to work with. Barry learned so much from him when he cooked part-time (following retiring from teaching) at the Kirby House and he say’s, “Chris was inspiring!” As the former catering manager at the Kirby House, I can also say that he was a delight to work with and always up for an adventure.

Chris currently grills steaks and cooks up an array of good food at the Hitching Post Restaurant in Old Abilene Town, Abilene, KS. (Facebook—Hitching Post)

It was definitely my pleasure/honor to be able to write a story about his many skills for the winter 2018 issue of KANSAS! magazine. This is Chris’ original recipe that was featured in that magazine. 

Chris LaPorte’s Mushroom Port Wine Sauce 

Chris serves this over grilled filet mignon.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons salted butter 

1/4 cup finely chopped shallots

1 pound crimini (baby portabella) mushrooms, sliced

1 cup port wine

1/4 cup coarse ground Dijon mustard

14-ounces (1 3/4 cups) beef broth

2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

1 tablespoon cold butter 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Sauté shallots until slightly soft.
3. Add mushrooms and cook until tender; remove from skillet and set aside.
4. Pour port wine into skillet and bring to a boil; boil until wine has reduced by about half and has a syrup-like consistency. 
5. Whisk in the mustard and beef broth; then whisk in the cornstarch dissolved in water to slightly thicken the sauce. 
6. Remove from heat and whisk in remaining 1 tablespoon cold butter to create a velvety sauce.
7. Add mushrooms back to sauce and serve over grilled steaks.

   

   Winter 2018 issue of KANSAS! Magazine
   For more more info about the magazine go to                                                                             KANSAS! webite.
   This issue also  feature Readers' Choice Weekend Getaway, 2018 (including Abilene, KS)
   + a tribute to Abilene's Joe Minick! 

   

   
   

Roasted Potatoes

One of our favorite ways to add potatoes to our menu . . .

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes 

Roasted Potatoes      Yield:  4 servings

4 medium potatoes, diced or 12 new potaotes, halved, or quartered

3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ to ½ teaspoon black pepper

1. Combine cut-up potatoes and oil in bowl and toss.
   
   
   
   
   
   

   

   We added fresh rosemary to the potatoes.
2. Arrange oil-coated potatoes in a baking pan or dish, spreading out so they form a single layer.
   
3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Bake, uncovered, in a 450° oven about 25 minutes or until potatoes are tender and light brown. 
   

Variations: 

Add 2 large shallots or 4 green onions, finely chopped to the potatoes.

Herb Roasted Potatoes — add (about1/2 teaspoon) crushed rosemary or basil or other herbs of choice to the potatoes as they bake.

Recipe without photos . . .

Roasted Potatoes      Yield:  4 servings

4 medium potatoes, diced or 12 new potaotes, halved, or quartered

3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon kosher salt 

¼ to ½ teaspoon black pepper

1. Combine cut-up potatoes and oil in bowl and toss.
2. Arrange oil-coated potatoes in a baking pan or dish, spreading out so they form a single layer.
3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Bake, uncovered, in a 450° oven about 25 minutes or until potatoes are tender and light brown. 

Variations:  

Add 2 large shallots or 4 green onions, finely chopped to the potatoes.

Herb Roasted Potatoes — add (about1/2 teaspoon) crushed rosemary or basil or other herbs of choice to the potatoes as they bake.

Brendan French’s Pan-seared Crappie featured in fall 2014 KANSAS! Magazine

     My subscription copy of KANSAS! Magazine arrived yesterday. The fall issue explores frontier life in Kansas and my cooking-based article about Brendan French is titled, “From Wild Boar to Squirrel Stew,” pages 61-63. Yes, Brendan hunts, processes, cooks and eats both wild boar and squirrel, but his featured recipe is fish!

     Brendan is a fun-loving guy and I thoroughly enjoyed interviewing him and sampling his dish. I even took some photos (included to the left and below) but they do not compare to Jason Dailey’s professional photographs included with the story. Thanks to him and the editing skills of the staff, they made my story look really good. And, of course, it helped that I had amazing subject matter, too.

            When working with Katy Ibsen, Managing Editor of the magazine, she suggested I also interview a restaurant chef about current offerings. Just happens that a young man from Abilene works at 715, a bistro in downtown Lawrence. Barry and I both worked with Harrison Soelter at The Kirby House Restaurant so it was fun to see him in action at 715, and his quote “rabbit and trout are hot sellers at this ‘meatcentric’ bistro,” was a great addition to the sidebar “Then and Now,” comparing an 1871 Drovers Cottage menu to a restaurant's offering in 2014.

 

            The magazine is full of interesting stories and fantastic photography. For a sample copy, click on fall 2014, KANSAS! Magazine.

Brendan cooking on his patio.

Brendan French’s Pan-seared Crappie with Mushrooms & Asparagus

Brendan usually cooks up a blend of long grain and wild rice to accompany this dish.

6 crappie

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 shallots, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt (anything without iodine)

Pepper (green, white, or black)

½ cup of butter

20 sprigs asparagus

8 morel or crimini mushrooms

3 lemons (2 for deglazing and 1 for plating)

1 bunch chives, finely chopped

1)  Scale crappie, then fillet and remove rib bones. Leaving the skin on helps keep the delicate fillet in one piece.

2)  Heat olive oil, sauté shallots and garlic, before adding fish flesh side down. Briefly let the fish cook, approximately 2 minutes before flipping and finishing fish skin side down. Salt and pepper. Remove fish.

3)  In same pan, start to melt butter and begin cooking asparagus. When asparagus starts to shine and pick up a bright green color, turn up heat, and throw in morel mushrooms; sauté quickly and deglaze with 2 of the squeezed lemons.

4)  Plating Instructions: 3 crappie fillets per plate, top with asparagus, and then mushrooms. Garnish with chives and lemon slice.

Serves 4.

YES I did get to sample Brendan's delicious dish!

There was not room in the article to include this information but thought it might be interesting (at least to some) to include it with this post . . .

FROM SURVIVAL TO SPORT (based on documents at the Kansas Historical Society, archives, and online @ http://www.kshs.org)

•    700s and before — Native Indians use bows and arrows to fish and hunt small and large game, including mountain sheep in the northwestern part of Kansas. Hunting is necessary for survival and every part of the animal is utilized, even horns are hollowed out for spoons, and sinew becomes thread.
•  1854 — Sarah Cummings, a young girl traveling across Kansas in a covered wagon, records the procedure for preparing buffalo jerky. Another 1880s recipe explains how to create pemmican by pounding dried buffalo, elk, deer or antelope to a pulp and then adding boiled tallow to create another protein-rich survival food.
•  Late 1860s-1870s — Railroads organize hunting excursions across Kansas attracting sportsmen from all sections of the globe.
•     1872 — Hutchinson News prints an item about a local hunter who fired into a large flock of wild turkeys and with a single rifle shot killed 11 birds.  
•      1874 — British sportsman, William Weston, writes to a London magazine that a friend of his near St. George, shot 84 grouse, 933 quail and 59 rabbits during a three month period.
•  1905 — The pheasant, a game bird of Asian origin, is introduced to the state.
•  1909 — Lewis Lindsay Dyche becomes the fish and game warden of Kansas. He eventually lobbies for regulations that help protect endangered species and sets hunting seasons for most mammals and game birds. His efforts will help pave the way for many of the conservancy programs that have improved the sustainability of today’s wildlife. The Dyche Museum of Natural History, on KU’s campus, is named in his honor.
•      1938 – Junction City Union reports, “Last week a fishing company that operates in the Kansas river south of this city, caught a catfish weighing 131 ½ pounds …”

And, here's a photo of Harrison Soelter with a fish dish he prepared for my dining pleasure at 715 in Lawrence, Ks. His quote about the menu at this restaurant is included in the article.

Southwest Stuffed Pork ... behind the scenes at Sunflower Living Magazine, spring 2014 edition

Behind the scenes at the spring edition of Sunflower Living's Chef's Table with Vangie and Steve Henry includes a look at Vangie's entire tablescape + some words of advice from the swine expert. These are both things that did not make it into the magazine. But, what did make it is Vangie's delicious recipe and Larry Harwood's fantastic photos. Check them out at Dish Harmony, Sunflower Living Magazine, spring, 2013, pp. 22-27. 

Here's a photo (taken by Vangie on day of the photo shoot) of her finished
Southwest Stuffed Pork.

SOUTHWEST STUFFED PORK

PREPARATION TIME: 80 minutes, including baking & resting

FEEDS: 4

ABOUT THIS RECIPE:

Vangie’s version of Southwest Stuffed Pork came about after experimenting with a range of spices and other additions. She refers to it as a savory, succulent pork dish. “It’s a much requested entrée for weddings and one that friends and family also enjoy year round,” she reveals.

Rub:

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground oregano

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 to 1 ½ pounds pork loin

1.     Mix all ingredients until well blended

2.     Rub over pork and set aside.

Stuffing:

Salt and pepper          

⅓ cup chopped dried cranberries

¼ cup chopped cilantro

¼ cup chopped pecans

3 tablespoons olive oil

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Trim excess fat from pork.

3.  Create a pocket in the loin by cutting down the center lengthwise, about ¾ of the way deep but leaving ends intact.

4.  Season the inside of the pocket lightly with salt and pepper.

5.  Fill the pocket with the cranberries, press them down to compact; then add and compact the cilantro and pecans.

6.  Use cotton twine to tightly tie the pork.

7.  Heat oil and then place pork, cut side down in hot skillet, and sear on all sides.

8.  After searing place the pork, cut side up, in a greased pan and bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until the pork reaches an internal temp of at least 145 degrees, up to 160 degrees. 

9.  Remove roast from oven, tent with foil and let rest 15 to 20 minutes.

10. Remove string and then slice.

11. Serve with Cranberry Compote.

Variation: Vangie sometime adds Pico de Gallo to the stuffing and eliminate the pecans.

CRANBERRY COMPOTE 

Because the cranberries need to soak for at least 20 minutes, Vangie starts the compote before beginning the pork preparation, allowing her to dovetail tasks. The recipe repeats some of the flavors found in both the rub and stuffing, and adds the finishing touch to her meat dish.

2 cups dried cranberries

1 teaspoon grated orange peel

½ cup Cointreau or any orange flavored liqueur

1 cup orange juice

½ cup cup chopped shallots

1 ½ tablespoons finely chopped jalapeños

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1.  Place cranberries, orange peel, liqueur, and juice in a medium bowl, cover and microwave for 30 seconds. Let set for at least 20 minutes while preparing pork.

2.   Pour the berries into a medium saucepan, add the remaining ingredients and stir until blended. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until most, but not all, of the liquid is absorbed.

3.  Serve with Southwest Stuffed Pork.

EXTRAS:

Vangie's pig-themed tablescape:

WORDS OF WISDOM FROM THE SWINE EXPERT—Dr. Henry offers a few words:

• Many pork cuts are now as lean or leaner than chicken (USDA), a result of genetic and nutritional improvements.
• Roasted pork tenderloin is Heart Healthy (American Heart Association) and delicious to boot!
• Pork cooking temperatures have changed. Pork is very lean and overcooking rapidly makes it dry and tough. The recommended temperature is 145°.
• For a temperature chart on various pork cuts see http://www.porkbeinspired.com/Basics_PorkCookingTimeChart.aspx
• For awesome recipes go to www.porkbeinspired.com

Celebrate Springtime with Asparagus! — Asparagus Soup

Asparagus Soup served as a
first course with Spicy Saltines.

        In need of a springtime soup, I asked Joann Hettenbach if she had any suggestions. Without batting a eye, she immediately responded, “Mary Rickley’s asparagus soup!” So I contacted Mary and she sent the recipe . . . along with this story. “I found the recipe some time ago on the internet when I helped June Nold, Betty Lewis and Joan prepare a meal.”  The meal was one they offered at an Arts Council auction to help fund that organization.

     After just one bite, I understood why Joann recommended the soup. It is delicious and full of springtime flavor!

     (P.S. I did search the internet trying to find the original source of the recipe to no avail.)

Asparagus Soup  

Shallots (pictured above) are members
of the onion family; they taste sweet,
with a slightly spicy kick.

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 strips bacon, cut in 1/2 " pieces

1 medium onion, chopped

1 large shallot, chopped

2 lb. fresh asparagus

8 oz. fresh spinach, washed & chopped (The spinach can be omitted but it makes the soup a nice green color. I actually used about 4 oz. instead of 8.) 

6 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1/2 to 3/4 cup heavy cream

Kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper 

1.     Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or large saucepan. Add bacon pieces and cook until crisp.  Remove bacon pieces and reserve, leaving bacon fat and oil in pot. 

Bacon is crisp and ready to remove from pot.

2.     Add chopped onion and shallot. Sauté until they turn slightly caramelized. 

Onions and the shallot are slightly caramelized and ready for step 3.

3.     While onions are cooking, prepare asparagus: Trim and discard woody ends, Cut the asparagus tips and set aside. Then, cut asparagus into 1" pieces. 

Bend the asparagus stalk and it will naturally break at the tender point; discard the woody stalk.
Notice that the heads of the asparagus spears have been cut off as they will later be steamed and used for garnish.

4.     Add the asparagus pieces and chopped spinach to the onions; sauté for one minute. 

I actually sautéed it until spinach began to wilt -- probably an extra 2 or 3 minutes.

5.     Pour in broth and let simmer for around 15 minutes. 

My test for doneness -- asparagus stalks  should be completely soft; time may vary
depending on the thickness of the stalks.

6.     While asparagus simmers (step 5), blanche asparagus tips in boiling water for 2 minutes. (I actually put mine in a micro-safe container, added about a tablespoons of water, covered them and microwaved for a couple of minutes).  Drain and immediately rinse with cold water and set aside.

7.     Blend to puree the soup until creamy. 

The blender is the tool for pureeing the soup! I tried an immersion blender but it did NOT
create the creamy consistency I was looking for. Hint -- if using a blender, cool the soup and make sure you don't add too much soup to the work bowl at one time.

8.     Then add cream to your taste and season with salt and pepper.

9.     Garnish soup with generous sprinkles of the asparagus tips and crisped bacon bits.

Make Ahead Notes: Here's what I did to make this soup ahead . . .
For immediate use: I followed the recipe steps 1-7 and put the soup base in the refrigerator. Right before serving I heated up the base, added cream and garnished the soup (steps 8-9).
To make and freeze: Follow steps 1-4, cool mixture and freeze. I also completed step #6 --freezing the asparagus tips. When ready to make soup, thaw asparagus and onion blend and also asparagus tips. Proceed with recipe according to specified directions. (I actually bought asparagus when on sale and made prepared multiple batches of this mixture for later use.)

Soup is served! In this case it was a first course offering, served in the china cups that go with our wedding china.

For information on asparagus purchase, nutrition and cooking, check out this article -- Asparagus: A Springtime Celebration.