Frittata di Aragoste Funghi, Finochio e Formaggio Piave Vecchio

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A truly gourmet Italian frittata!
     Lobster mushrooms are in season!  In fact, quite a few fresh gourmet mushrooms are in season right now.  I will be posting some nice recipes for fall season mushroom as soon as possible.  As you can guess, I am backlogged with many recipes and restaurant reviews to write.     A few days ago, bluefoot mushrooms were available.  They sell very quickly at $39 per pound, because they are a very rare mushroom.  Bluefoot mushrooms also sell quick, because they contain trace amounts of psilocybin and psilocin.  Bluefoots are a mild hallucinogen, if they are consumed in small quantities.  I sauteed a handful of bluefoots for an American bison steak and after dinner I was feeling rather good!  I sure did some creative writing that night!       Lobster mushrooms are in better supply.  Both bluefoot mushrooms and lobster mushrooms are native to the American northwest forests.  When the fogs of autumn cover the forest, it becomes mushroom gathering paradise!      Lobster mushrooms are not a hallucinogen.  Lobster mushrooms are not even mushrooms, so to speak.  Lobster mushrooms at one time were a mushroom.  This sounds like a riddle, but it is hard to explain what a lobster mushroom is in layman's terms.       Lobster mushrooms are a parasitic ascomycete that grows only on two varieties of mushrooms.  The true name for the parasitic lobster mushroom colony is Hypomyces lactifluorum.  The orange red color of a lobster mushroom comes from the parasitic "fungus" that takes over the host mushroom.  Underneath the red outer coating is a dense white colored mycelia like fungus that causes metamorphosis of the host mushroom.       The two mushrooms that the Lobster parasitic ascomycete colonizes on are the Russula brevipes (Edible Short Stemmed White Russula Mushroom) and the Lactarius piperatus (Semi Edible Peppery Milk-Cap Mushroom).  Peppery Milk Caps are commonly dried and used as a spice or seasoning, but they are rarely eaten as is, because they have a very strong flavor.  Short Stemmed White Russula have a more palatable flavor.       After the lobster parasitic ascomycete engulfs and takes over the host mushroom, the flavor and texture of the host mushroom changes dramatically.  The Short Stemmed White Russula becomes a very nice seafood or shellfish flavor after the lobster parasitic ascomycete takes over.  The acrid strong tasting Peppery Milk-Cap becomes a nice spicy peppery flavor that is very delicious.  Therefore, there are two distinct flavors of lobster mushrooms!       It can be difficult to distinguish which of the two mushrooms was the host after the lobster parasitic colony has taken over the mushroom.  Basically, a shorter and wider looking stem section of a lobster mushroom may indicate a seafood flavor from the host Short Stemmed Russula.  A longer looking stem section of lobster mushroom may indicate a spicy pepper flavor from the host Peppery Milk-Cap.      Lobster mushrooms can be rather large.  One lobster mushroom can flavor a few recipes.  They do keep well, even after a few slices have been cut for a recipe.  Do not store any kind of mushroom in an air tight plastic bag.  Mushrooms are actually alive, and they do need to breath or bacteria and fungus may attach the mushroom.  An open plastic bag or paper sack is good for keeping wild mushroom in a refrigerator for a few days.     The lobster mushroom that I chose for this recipe had a gentle nice seafood kind of flavor, so florence fennel (anise bulb) was a good choice for a complimentary flavor.     Piave Vecchio comes from Veneto Italy.  It is a hard cows milk cheese that grates like parmigiano reggiano.  Piave Vecchio is usually aged for over 180 days.  Fruit and almond undertone flavors can be noticed.  Piave Vecchio has a nice semi sweet flavor and semi sharp flavor at the same time.  Piave Vecchio is one of the world's great cheeses!
     Frittata di Aragoste Funghi, Finochio e Formaggio Piave Vecchio:     Heat a saute pan over medium/medium low heat.     Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil.     Add 6 thin slices of florence fennel (anise bulb).  Cut the slices vertically through the center of the bulb, to get a shape like those in the photographs above.     Season with sea salt and black pepper.     Saute the florence fennel slices on both sides, till golden highlights appear.     Set the sauteed florence fennel slices aside.       Heat a saute pan over medium heat.     Add 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil.     Add 1 pat of unsalted butter.     Add 6 long thin slices of fresh lobster mushroom and a few small slices.     Saute till light brown highlights appear on the mushroom slices.     Season with sea salt and black pepper.     Set the sauteed lobster mushrooms aside.     Heat a non-stick saute pan over medium/medium low heat.     Add 3 pats of unsalted butter.     Add 2 whisked eggs.     Use a rubber spatula to even the edges of the frittata.       When the bottom half of the frittata becomes cooked and firm, remove the pan from the heat.     Evenly space the sauteed florence fennel slices around on top of the uncooked eggs on the frittata.     Place the long sauteed slices of lobster mushroom between the fennel slices.     Place a tiny mound of the small lobster mushroom slices on the center of the frittata.     Sprinkle 1 small pinch of oregano over the frittata.     Sprinkle a few pinches of fine plain breadcrumbs over the frittata.     Sprinkle some finely grated Piave Vecchio cheese over the frittata.     Place the pan with the frittata in a 350 degree oven.     Bake till the eggs become fully cooked and till the cheese melts.  (Do not brown the cheese!)     Remove the pan from the oven and slide the frittata onto a plate.     Place a tiny sprig of the green top leaves of the florence fennel on each slice of fennel as a garnish.     Place a sprig of Italian parsley on the small mound of lobster mushrooms on the center of the frittata as a garnish.
     As the readers of this blog have heard many times, there is no such thing as a boring breakfast in my food blog!  This is a gourmet mushroom lover's frittata.  The flavors of each ingredient compliments each other in a delicate nice way.  Yum!  Ciao Baby!  ...  Shawna  

Crepes en Lima Glace and Poached Mission Figs with Arak Cinnamon Creme and Cotija

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Lime glace glazed crepes with poached mission figs, Arak anise liquor cinnamon creme and cotija cheese!  
     This crepe entree has a nice combination of spice, fruit, sour, sweet and salty flavors.  Flavor combinations like this are interesting, to say the least!  Fine cafes that have gourmet chefs are where you will most likely find creative cuisine like this.       In cafes, the focus is on flavor and the presentation naturally falls into place.  Cafe chefs usually are not attracted to being in the limelight.  The reason is because cafe chefs are far to busy to bask in fame.  Cafe kitchens usually have only 5 or 6 employees to cover two shifts.  A chef de cuisine, 2 sous chefs, 1 or 2 garde mange chefs and 2 plongeur (dishwashers).  The sous chefs have wide open room for creativity.  The chef approves or suggests the specials du jour.  The chef manages the operation and usually only prepares fine desserts or fine entree specials during the dinner hours.  The garde mange chef prepares desserts and cold items for the dinner hours early in the day and only acts as a garde manger line cook during the peak lunch hours.     I have worked in that cafe kitchen personnel structure many times as a day chef or sous chef.  The daytime hours are the busiest and I happen to be a very fast chef on a cooking line, so I almost always was assigned to cover the busy shift.  Being able to cover the duties of a cooking line while going solo is no easy task.  Many items have to be prepared ahead of time and only a limited amount of items can be cooked a la minute.  A balance of the two styles of line cooking varies with business projections.  On a peak day when there is a fashion show in the cafe, easy bake items are the key to keeping up with demand.  Baked items like pot au feu, quiche, croques and roasted seafood or meats made the busy day much easier to accomplish.       On slower easier pace days, more room for creativity came to place.  Special du jours that were much more complex were marketed in order to create more customer interest in the cafe, therefore the special du jour entrees attracted more business in the following days.  On a slower day, the entire special du jour board was a la minute cuisine and each item was very creative.  Sweet and savory crepes entrees were always good for the days when you wanted customers to perform liquid advertising by telling coworkers and friends about the great lunch they had at the cafe!     Crepes have been and always will be a popular cafe menu item.  Savory for lunch, sweet for dessert or brunch is the basic rules for offering crepes.  Sweet crepes with fruit and a savory item or sauce appeals all day long.  Sweet crepes with fruit and a salty item like feta cheese or cotija cheese create a tasting experience that customers like to try!       Fresh mission figs are in season and I happen to be a chef that likes to cook traditional seasonal food.  I also like to create surprises for the season.  At an American diner, during fresh tomato season, the most you can expect is a grilled cheese with tomato special du jour.  In a French cafe, you never know what the aggressive cafe chefs have up their sleeves!  You might say that this cafe style mission fig crepes special du jour recipe for today was an ace in my sleeve!
     Crepe Batter Recipe:      This recipe makes about 6 to 8 small 7" crepes!      Place 2 eggs into a mixing bowl.     Add 1/2 cup of milk.     Add 2 tablespoons of cream     Add 1 pinch of sea salt.     Add 1 small pinch of nutmeg.     Add 1/2 tablespoon of sugar.     Add 4 or 5 drops of lemon juice.     Add 1/2 tablespoon of melted unsalted butter.     Add a little bit of flour at a time, while whisking, till a very thin batter is formed.  The batter should barely coat the back of a spoon.  Crepe batter should be much thinner than pancake batter.         Crepes:      Heat a non-stick pan over medium/medium low heat.      Use a pastry brush to lightly coat the pan with melted unsalted butter.      Pour just enough crepe batter into the hot pan to form a crepe that is 1/16" to 3/32" thick.  (The crepe should be less than 1/8" thick!  About 1 to 2 ounces of batter is good, depending on the size of the pan.)     Tilt the pan, so the batter covers the pan with a very thin layer of batter.  Tilt the pan to get the batter to form a round shape and to cover any holes in the crepe.)     When the batter turns solid and is cooked firm, flip the crepe gently with a rubber spatula to color the other side with light golden colored highlights.      Slide the crepe from the pan onto a counter top to cool.      Repeat these steps to make as many crepes as you wish.  (You can multiply the recipe to make a whole stack.  Crepes do freeze very well.  For home, t is best to freeze 2 to 4 portions per package.)
     Poached Figs:     Cinnamon and white wine flavor the poaching liquid for this recipe!       Place 6 or 7 fresh mission figs in a small sauce pot.     Add just enough water to cover the mission figs.     Add 1/2 tablespoon of sugar.     Add 2 ounces of dry white wine.     Add 1 pinch of cinnamon.     Place the pot over medium heat.     Bring the liquid to a gentle boil.     Poach the figs, till the become plump and tender.  (About 8 minutes)     Drain the liquid off of the figs.     Let the figs cool to room temperature.     Trim the stems off of the figs.      Cut the figs in half from top to bottom.     Set the poached fig halves aside.
     Arak Cinnamon Creme:     Arak is an Arabic anise liquor that is popular everywhere from Turkey and Armenia to Morocco.  Gantous & Abouraad Arak is made in Lebanon and it is a very nice liquor.  Arak is usually 100 or 120 proof, so it is a strong liquor.  Arak is often used for flambe items in middle eastern quisine, but where strict religious rules apply, no fermented beverages of any kind are allowed.  Arak is a strong white grape liquor that is infused with high quality anise.     Place 1 1/2 ounces of Arak in a small sauce pot.     Add 1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice.     Add 1 small pinch of cinnamon.     Add 1/2 cup of cream.     Add 1/2 tablespoon of sugar.     Place the sauce pot over medium/medium low heat.     Bring the sauce to a gentle boil.     Reduce the temperature to low heat.     Simmer and reduce the sauce, till it becomes a thin cream sauce consistency.     Keep the sauce warm over very low heat. 
     Crepes en Lima Glace and Poached Mission Figs with Arak Cinnamon Creme and Cotija:     Heat a saute pan over medium heat.     Add 2 1/2 tablespoons of sugar.     Allow the sugar to melt and turn a yellow amber color.     Add 1 ounce of dry white wine.     Add 3 ounces of water.     Add 1 tablespoon of lime juice.     Sir the thin glace.     Reduce the temperature to low heat.     Simmer and reduce, till the glace becomes a very thin syrup consistency.     Add 4 small crepes.     Add the reserved poached figs.     Gently toss the ingredients together, so they become warm and lightly glazed.     Remove the pan from the heat.     Place the crepes on a plate.     Arrange the poached fig halves on top of the crepes.     Spoon the Arak Cinnamon Creme over the figs and crepes.     Sprinkle a little bit of crumbled cotija cheese over the crepes.     Sprinkle a few very thin sliced petite lime wedges over the crepes.
     Viola!  A very nice tasting mission fig crepe special du jour recipe for the season!  The combination of flavors in this crepe brunch entree will put a smile on anybody's face.  Yum!  ...  Shawna

Pork Chop n Eggs at Tiffany's Cafe 24 Hour Fountain and Grill at the White Cross! Lost Vegas Antiques! Showgirls! Pawn Stars! Tattoos and Weddings!

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Pawn Stars

Pork Chop and 3 Eggs with Hash Browns special at the old fashioned soda fountain counter!
     Las Vegas Boulevard from Fremont Street to Main Street by the Stratosphere Casino is an interesting area, to say the least!  It is kind of like a journey through Las Vegas past, present and future. There is plenty of fun shopping, nice old restaurants, motels, bars, tattoo shops and wedding chapels.  This area borders the fine arts district of Las Vegas where the monthly First Friday event is held.  By day, the old Strip looks tame and docile.  By night, the glow of neon lights and party people turn this end of the Strip into an adventurous staggering evening stroll!     Las Vegas is the wedding capitol of the world.  There are hundreds of wedding chapels in the Las Vegas Valley.  There are many different themes of wedding chapels.  Some are quaint, reverent and traditional.  Some offer package deal weddings with all the amenities.  There are several wedding chapels on the strip where the stars have been wed.  Even if the star's wedlock lasted only lasted two days, it is still a claim to fame for a chapel.     Theme weddings are a popular way to join in holy matrimony!  Star Trek theme wedding, caveman weddings, kinky leather weddings, cowboy western weddings, knight and damsel weddings and Elvis weddings are just a few of the wedding themes to chose from.  Basically, any wedding theme that you can dream of can be catered to in Las Vegas at wedding chapels that specialize in theme weddings!  One chapel specializes in rock n roll Elvis Presley weddings and couples are wed by Elvis the King!     The pawn shop tour of Las Vegas is extensive.  There are hundreds of pawn shops in the Las Vegas Valley.  As you can imagine, there are bargains to be found in these shops.  Price haggering is part of getting a bargain.       The famous pawn shop that is featured in the television show "Pawn Stars" is located on this section of Las Vegas Boulevard.  Ever since that pawn shop became famous, there has been a waiting line of people to get in.  Sometimes the waiting line is a block long!  You can see the line in one of the photographs above.  The "Pawn Stars" pawn shop has turned into a prime attraction and taxi cabs even form a line there to catch fares.       The area near the "Pawn Stars" pawn shop has a few other interesting shops to check out.  Lost Vegas Antiques is one of the most interesting antique and memorabilia shops in the Las Vegas Valley!  The store is loaded with items from Las Vegas past.  Old signs, chips, ashtrays, collectibles and advertisements from the long gone casinos of old Las Vegas can be found at this store.  Autographed pictures of the stars of the past and old brothel advertisements are on the shelves.  Nearly anything from Las Vegas past can be found in Lost Vegas Antiques!     Next door to Lost Vegas Antiques is Showgirls.  Showgirls is an adult video arcade with dancers and it is not exactly a place for children.  Showgirls has been known for marketing unusual items from the adult film industry.  I figured that I would stop by to see what kind of odd items that they were marketing at this time.  I walked into a comically situation where the cash register clerk was county out 50 one dollar bills to a customer loudly and one at a time, like it was the biggest deal of a lifetime for the customer!  I just laughed!  Showmanship is always a good thing!     The odd adult film industry items that Showgirls was marketing at this time were signed walk of fame concrete sidewalk hand impressions of porn stars.  The funny part was, the hands were not the only impressions on the concrete slabs.  Boob impressions, butt impressions and genital impressions were on each of the autographed porn star walk of fame concrete sidewalk slabs!  Of course I asked the clerk if I could take pictures of just the porn star slabs for a blog article I was writing.  The clerk smiled and we had a fun conversation.  Business people like opportunities for public mention and free advertising, so my visit was appreciated.       The autographed porn star walk of fame concrete slab impressions are collectors items.  Just cover your eyes if the photographs offend you in any way!  This is Las Vegas and Las Vegas is adult fantasyland, so items like this are normal to us local folks!     Every city has a town hall.  Every American knows what I mean by a "Town Hall."  A long counter at a diner or soda fountain is commonly referred to as the town hall!  People order food, sip coffee, read the newspaper and talk about local happenings, local politics and sports gambling odds in an editorialized fashion.  Yes, sports gambling odds are part of soda fountain counter town hall meetings in Las Vegas!    The old town hall of this section of the Las Vegas Strip is Tiffany's Cafe - 24 Hour Fountain and Grill at the old White Cross drug store.  In the old days, nearly every drug store had a fountain and grill.  Soda jerks used to tend the counter in the old days and a chocolate malt was a big selling item that they made.  Burgers, sandwiches, fries, sundaes and breakfast was offered at nearly every fountain and grill.  Tiffany's Cafe is a famous fountain and grill from the past that still doing business in the present day and age!     Tiffany's Cafe at the White Cross offers a standard fountain and grill menu.  The grill menu is like old fashioned traditional diner menus.  Everything from liver and onions to a club sandwich is offered.  The fountain menu offers hand scooped ice cream specialties, floats, milkshakes and malts.  The items on the menu are not the only offerings at Tiffany's Cafe.  There are special du jour signs tacked on the wall that offer some very nice items for a fair price.  I saw the sign for pork chop and 3 eggs any style with hash browns and toast on the wall for a nice price, so I sat the menu down and ordered the special!  Pork chop n eggs is one of my favorite breakfast entrees!     While sitting at a fountain and grill counter, a customer has full view of everything going on the other side of the counter.  The grill station is right within plain view and you can watch your food being cooked.  The drama behind the counter is part of the entertainment.  Usually a fountain and grill has very experienced diner waitresses that have all the patience in the world, so the waitresses tend to be the stable peacekeepers of the other side of the counter.       The cook at Tiffany's Cafe was new to the game.  In fact, it was his first day on the job and he had never cooked in a restaurant before.  The guy was a good cook and he made a few mistakes like first timers do.  The waitress patiently asked for food to be recooked a few times and the cook corrected his mistakes after putting up a little struggle.       The new cook struck up a little conversation with me and I told him that I was a long time chef.  He instantly gave me respect and listened to a little advice.  I just said "focus on the task at hand, stay organized and don't get caught up in the drama head game of the job."  The cook knew what I was saying!  I congratulated the cook on a job well done and said that he was a naturally good cook.  A compliment is always a good thing for any cook on their first day, no matter how good or bad things are going.  A compliment to a new cook pops the cook's balloon of wondering about whether the work he is doing is up to standard.  A cook that is preoccupied with thinking about negative things, usually gets into a negative mood.  One little compliment is like a breath of fresh air!     The pork chop and eggs were as good as any that I have had in the past at diners anywhere!  For a first day cook, the guy did a nice job.  The pork chop tasted great!  The eggs were over medium as requested and the plate was full.  Tiffany's Cafe at the White Cross is known for old fashioned full plates of food.       After that big breakfast at 3:00PM on a Saturday afternoon my belly was full!  I had dinner plans later in the evening, but I was still stuffed, so I cancelled the dinner idea.  Breakfast in the afternoon is a common thing in Las Vegas.  People who work at night or party all night do not keep a 9 to 5 hour routine.     I enjoyed my afternoon of strolling around this old section of the Las Vegas Strip.  The service and the food at Tiffany's Cafe was great!  It is plain simple diner style food and the plate is full.       Tiffany's Cafe - 24 Hour Fountain and Grill is located on the Las Vegas Strip at the intersection of Oakey, close to the Stratosphere Casino Resort.  Just look for the White Cross drug store sign.  The White Cross drug store is closed and the closure happened recently.  People were sadly talking about the end of Tiffany's Cafe around town, but much to the relief, Tiffany's stayed open for business after the White Cross closed.       I recommend Tiffany's Cafe - 24 Hour Fountain and Grill for locals and visitors of Las Vegas!  Tiffany's Cafe is one of the old fashioned charms of Las Vegas and it is a good place to grab a plate of old fashioned diner food while walking around in this area of the old Las Vegas Strip.  Yum!  ...  Shawna