JULY/AUGUST 2007

August produces the great bounty of the gardens and Farmer's Markets. "Fresh" is everywhere and "flavors" are at their peak. The lazy late afternoons and early evenings are teased by barbeque aromas drifting across the backyards of America. Summer cooking takes on the freedom of quick and easy without giving up delicious and satisfying. This is the time of year to explore new flavors, new cooking ideas, new combinations of dishes. Add to your repertoire.

Try the amazing Verjus du Perigord for brightness and sparkle. Experiment with JR's Flavor Extracts to mix and match flavor favorites for everyone. Taste test new cheeses, new fruit combinations, new creations of your own endless imagination. Summer eating! It just doesn't get any better.

This month's recipes from our Resident Chef, Andrea Swengel, offer a variety of "Summer Sides" that can accompany any main entree ingredient, whether chicken, pork, steak, lamb, or even the simple hamburger or hot dog. Andrea's Potatoes Dauphinoise goes with almost anything and we guarantee you will never settle for plain potatoes again after tasting this dish. Her Summer Salad is a composed flavor picture of fresh perfection. Use any fresh summer fruit that you love in Andrea's scrumptious Clafouti, and her home-made Ice Cream Custard recipe was specially developed for you to use with your favorite JR Flavor Extracts. Try two or three different flavors to make everybody happy with this timeless purely American summer treat.

Mix and match these Summer Sides with a variety of smoked, barbequed and grilled meats for perfect, easy summer meals that twinkle with endless Fireflies of Flavors and those satisfying sounds of "Yum!"

While we are on the topic of summertime enjoyment, you might want to consider these suggestions.

Porcini Mushrooms - After reconstituting, sauté some porcini mushrooms with sweet onions in a little olive oil. Top your burgers, or steaks with the delicious mix.

Porcini Kibbles - After reconstituting, mix some of these into a cold tomato soup.

Infused Olive Oils - Our infused olive oils are great for summer salads, seafood and even meats.

   Lemon - Drizzle on summer greens as well as seafood
   Red Pepper - Just enough red pepper gives this oil a nice balance. Peppers and olive oil enhance each other.
   Sun Dried Tomato - Try this on your favorite cold pasta salad.
   Basil - Perfect for that tomato and mozzarella salad.
   Garlic - Great on toasted French bread
   White and Black Truffle Oils - Sprinkle sparingly on pasta dishes or on fresh tomato salads.

Extracts - Chef Andrea recommends these for your homemade ice creams. Experiment with the different flavors for new taste sensations.

Nut Oils - Create new and delicious vinaigrettes using our walnut, pistachio or pine nut oils. Give your salads a new dimension.

Fleur de Sel - Simply unbeatable on grilled meats and seafood! Roll your grilled corn in some of our Moulins de Mahjoub Extra Virgin Olive Oil and then sprinkle some Fleur de Sel on the corn. A great salt to coat your margarita glass with!!!

Five-Peppercorn Mix - We love to grind our five-peppercorn mix on any dish calling for freshly ground pepper. Here is what one of our customers had to say about the mix: "OH MY GOD!!! FAB-U-LESS!! The flavor is great, my husband uses it on absolutelyeverything he eats &/ or cooks!! packaging & delivery were perfect. There is not enough that I can say .....thank you very much :)"

Herbes de Provence - Mix these with some bread crumbs, a little chopped garlic and bind the mixture with olive oil. Spread the mixture onto lamb chops before grilling. The mixture also works well with pork.

Green Peppercorns - Spice up your steak sauce with these. This is the peppercorn traditionally used in steak sauces.

Szechuan Peppercorns - These mouth-tingling berries (they are not a peppercorn according to strict definition) are just what is needed for Asian stir-fry dishes. We love stir-frys. They are easy to prepare and with a little imagination combining either meat, chicken or seafood with vegetables and the peppercorns make for a quick summertime meal.

White Truffle Honey - Serve a cheeseboard with assertive cheeses such as Spanish Manchego, Cave-Aged Gruyere and well aged Gouda. Place a small bowl of truffle honey with it and let your guests dip away. You can also serve the honey with chunks of Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Porcini Kibbles

Ginger Extract

Fleur de Sel

White Truffle Honey

Potatoes Dauphinoise
(serves 4)

Potatoes Dauphinoise originated in the Savoy region of France down near the Italian border. They are easy to prepare and are an excellent dish to serve with chicken, pork, duck, lamb, beef or ham.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Ingredients

2 pounds (3 or 4 large) Red Bliss or Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed well
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 1/2 cups half and half
1 1/2 cups good Swiss cheese such as Emmenthaler, Jarlsberg or Grueyere
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan Cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons JR Mushrooms and Specialties White Truffle Oil

Method

Scrub and dry potatoes. Put half and half, chopped garlic, salt and pepper in a large saucepan. Slice potatoes (leaving the skins on for added flavor) with a mandoline or other slicer that produces uniform very thin cuts. Put potatoes directly into cream mixture and heat over medium temperature on stove. Bring to a slow boil and allow the potatoes and cream to cook for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Butter a two quart casserole dish. Pour potato mixture into prepared casserole dish and top with the Swiss cheese of your choice. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top of the casserole. Bake for one hour. Remove dish from oven and drizzle truffle oil over the top. Prick the top crust thoroughly with a fork to allow truffle oil to seep into the potato mixture. Allow to sit for fifteen to twenty minutes before serving.

Note: Do not soak sliced potatoes in water; the recipe depends on all of the starch on the potato slice surface for development of fullest flavor and natural thickening of the glossy sauce. Chef recommends lining a small cookie sheet with parchment and placing casserole on it while the dish bakes to catch any cheese topping that may boil over. Makes cleanup a breeze!

Summer Salad
(Serves 6)

This is the time of the year that the fruit and vegetables in your garden or at the local farmers markets are at their peak. Take advantage of all the wonderful flavors and enjoy a delicious summer salad. Try other vegetables in this dish as well such as matchstick slices of zucchini, radishes, lima beans, baby carrots...whatever is available and is to your taste. The Verjus du Perigord is the magic ingredient, one you will never again be without once you try it. The sparkle it adds is tremendous!

Ingredients:

3 scallions chopped
2 ears sweet corn
1 pound green beans
1 pound yellow wax beans
1/2 pound snap peas
1/2 red pepper
1 large cubed tomato or several cherry tomatoes quartered
1 tablespoon fresh basil, cut into thin slices

Dressing

1/4 cup JR Mushrooms and Specialties Verjus du Perigord
2 teaspoons Rice Wine Vinegar
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1/2 cup JR Mushrooms and Specialties Cretalife organic olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Cook the corn, beans and peas separately in the microwave for two minutes each. Put them in a water bath immediately to stop cooking and preserve color. Strain the vegetables. Put green beans and peas into a large bowl. Cut corn off the cob and add. Stir in sliced scallions and diced tomatoes. Stir in basil. Whisk ingredients together for the dressing, toss with vegetables and add salt and pepper to taste.

Clafouti
(Serves 6-8)

For dessert, take advantage of the fresh fruits available at this time of year and make a Clafouti. This custardy pie is easy to make but looks and tastes as though it took hours; and the flavors conjure up summer sun and sky.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons JR Mushrooms and Specialties private label Bourbon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups of peaches, plums, pears, apples, cherries or other fresh fruit of your choice

Method:

Spray a deep-dish pie pan with non-stick spray or butter the dish if you prefer. Mix batter ingredients together in order until smooth. Place fruit over the bottom of your prepared pie dish. Pour the batter over the fruit and bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven; cool the clafouti on a wire rack. Cut into wedges and serve; garnish with a bit of lemon and orange zest or a flower blossom from the garden.

Ice Cream Custard
(Makes about five 1 cup servings)

Homemade ice cream has been a summer treat for centuries and now, with the advent of easy countertop machines, making it is a breeze. With the dazzling array of flavor extracts and superb vanilla beans available from JR Mushrooms and Specialties, you can let your imagination take flight and create your own special treats for each member of your family. Try lavender with rose extract, or how about peppermint, cinnamon, lemon, lime or coffee. Stir in a couple of teaspoons of finely crushed Tellicherry peppercorns for a new taste sensation!

All good ice cream must begin with a good custard base and I recommend the following recipe as a sure fire start to the process.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar
1 whole JR Madagascar Vanilla Bean scraped
2 large eggs
3 large additional separated egg yolks

Method:

Combine milk and cream in a saucepan. Scrape vanilla bean into the milk and cream. Add the vanilla pod when it is scraped to the milk/cream. Bring the mix to a slow boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes stirring occasionally.

Beat the eggs, egg yolks and sugar together in a medium bowl using a hand mixer on medium speed. Beat until the mixture is thick, smooth and turns a pale yellow (about 2 minutes).

Take the cream mixture from heat and remove the vanilla bean pod. Pour out about one cup of the hot liquid. With mixer on low speed, add the cup of hot cream to the egg mixture in a slow stream and continue beating till eggs and cream are incorporated. Pour into remaining cream in saucepan and cook, stirring constantly over medium to low heat until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Transfer the custard to a bowl and cover with a sheet of plastic wrap placed directly on the surface of the custard. Chill in freezer completely. Before placing custard in freezer, add the JR Flavor Extract of your choice (1-2 teaspoons depending on your taste).

Note: if you are adding fresh fruit to your ice cream, add it during the last five minutes of processing.