Roasted Porcini Chicken: They Call Me Mimi

Lo: How about Porcini chicken for dinner tonight?
Peef: You want to make a Puccini chicken?
Lo: NO -- PORCINI chicken.
Peef: Oh, ok. Can we call the chicken Mimi?
Lo: What?! Um... no.  Besides, I don't like to name my food, remember?
Peef: Oh, yeah.

(After some time)

Peef: Is it ok if I call her Mimi?
Lo: Do what you must, just keep it to yourself.
Peef (Out loud): Come here, little Mimi, let me get my hands under your skin.
Lo (now disgusted): PEEF! Enough!

This scenerio may or may not have actually taken place in the Burp! kitchen.  Nonetheless, we like the idea of a little opera singing chicken named Mimi.

For those completely lacking in knowlege of opera trivia, Puccini (a pretty famous opera composer) just happened to have a little opera by the name of La Boheme.  It wasn't exactly about a chicken. But, well, you'll forgive us for our imagination, won't you?

The fact is, there is a character in La Boheme whose name is Mimi... well, Lucia, but people call her Mimi. And Mimi is just lovely (much like this chicken recipe).

If you're in the mood for a bit of culture while we're cooking, here's a snippet of the wonderful and talented Maria Callas singing Mi Chiamano Mimi.

 Italian not so good?
Well,  that's not a problem. The gist is that Mimi just met her neighbor, Rodolfo, who happens to be a writer. They are attracted to each other and she sings him this aria which mentions something about living alone and making these beautiful fake roses.  They don't smell pretty, but she likes them, and she adores April kisses and, conveniently, she also likes poetry. By the end of her aria, Mimi & Rodolfo end up being quite enamored of one another.

And that's your music lesson for the day. And it serves a dual purpose because you can totally picture Peef as Rodolfo -- thinking his chicken named Mimi is pretty innocent and cute, right?

The fact is, we love a good roasted chicken. This one happens to be full of flavor -- thanks to the simple magic of something called "porcini dust," which just happens to be dried porcini mushrooms ground into a fine powder with a coffee grinder.

The porcini powder is mixed with fresh garlic, white wine, salt, and a bit of olive oil, and then spread between the skin and the meat of the chicken. 

Earthy and garlicky, this chicken is completely & amazingly delicious.  And, although it makes wonderful use of the rich, deep flavor of porcini mushrooms, it does so judiciously, so it won't completely break the bank.

The recipe gets even better when you choose to cook the chicken in the same pan with halved new potatoes and quartered turnips.  The vegetables caramelize nicely and they absorb plenty of the earthy flavor from the porcini mushrooms, along with that deliciously savory chicken flavor.

Perfect for company.  Just pair with a green salad and a bit of crusty bread.

Porcini Roasted Chicken


©BURP! Where Food Happens
Want more? Read Lo's latest ruminations at FOODCrush, her Milwaukee Magazine blog.

Exciting News for the Burp! Blog

We have some very exciting news to share with all of you!!

Thanks to all of your votes, we've been selected as the first of four finalists in the Family Recipe Revival.  

As part of our prize pack, we'll receive Strauss pasture-raised veal loin chops, three months of free digital cable from Time Warner Cable, a dough cutter and pastry scoop from Wolf and Sub Zero, a Regal Ware baking pan and an Il Mito points card worth $25.

But, THE BEST PART is, our Chocolate Hazelnut Schaum Torte will be featured on the menu at Il Mito Trattoria from Sunday, February 28 through Saturday, March 6. All of the net proceeds from the sale of our dessert will benefit the Hunger Task Force of Milwaukee!

So, here's your excuse to eat more chocolate!  After all, it's for a good cause. 
We'll definitely be swinging over to Il Mito sometime next week... maybe you can join us?  Check in at the Burp! Facebook page for all the details (and become a fan)!

As if all that isn't exciting enough, our recipe will be automatically entered into the Family Recipe Revival Finals, which means we'll be competing with three other recipes (yet to be chosen) at the end of March for the chance to be crowned Family Recipe Revival champion. If our Schaum Torte recipe wins the popular vote, it will be featured on the Il Mito menu for an entire year!  Again, the net proceeds of the torte would benefit Hunger Task Force.

Voting on the final four recipes begins Monday, March 22 and runs through Sunday, March 28 -- so we'll be rallying the troops again for another round of voting later on in March.

In the meantime, thanks for all the support!
And we hope to run into you over at Il Mito Trattoria!

Of course, if you're not in the area, you could always make one up for yourself!
Chocolate Hazelnut Schaum Torte


©BURP! Where Food Happens

Chocolate Hazelnut Schaum Torte: A Family Recipe Revival

Unless you’re from Wisconsin, you may never have heard of Schaum Torte (foam cake), a favorite among German immigrant families.  You may have heard of this dessert called simply "a meringue," “Pavlova” or even a "Bizet."  Essentially all of the desserts are one in the same -- meringue, filled with sweetened whipped cream, and topped with fruit.  

Like pavlova, there are two schools of thought when it comes to schaum torte -- one side insists that the meringue be crisp on the outside, but squoodgy (marshmallowy) in the center; the other camp insists that a good schaum torte is dried and crisp throughout.  

My family staunchly swears by the first approach. In fact, I actually grew up utterly convinced that the women at church who made the crisp version were simply bad cooks who had made the mistake of baking their schaum tortes too long!!  Similarly, Peef has fond memories of sneaking seconds of the fabulous Schaum tortes made by members of the German-Lutheran Ladies' Aid at his church. Although his boyhood palate didn't discriminate against any sort of sugary goodness, he will confess that he always preferred the marshmallowy version to the "old crusty kind."

My grandmother, who turns 90 this March, has made Schaum torte every year for Easter for as long as I can remember.  Hers was always baked in a springform pan, flavored with both vanilla and almond extract, and topped with sliced strawberries (often those she picked and froze from her own garden). And it was always topped with freshly whipped cream.

I'll never forget the day I made my first schaum torte. It was toward the end of my senior year in high school, and I caught wind of the fact that my prom date loved the dessert.  Since we'd be gathering at a friend's house to hang out after the dinner and dance, I decided I'd surprise him with a homemade Schaum torte.  I called my grandmother and asked her for her recipe.  She even lent me her favorite 11-inch springform pan -- which she claimed gave the torte a particularly good rise.

The original recipe -- jotted into my notebook!

I was understandably nervous about the project. I'd never made a meringue before, and I was certain that all manners of tragedy would strike.  So, I followed her recipe to the very last detail... room temperature ingredients. Beat eggs for 15 minutes. Pour in sugar while beating (no stopping!). Add baking powder, lemon juice, and flavorings. Beat for another 15 minutes.  Spread into buttered springform -- and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes.

I held my breath during the last ten minutes of baking, but I didn't peak (she'd also warned me that peeking was a bad idea, since the meringue could fall).  Finally, I took my masterpiece from the oven. It was gorgeous -- the meringue had risen well and was towering above the edge of the springform pan like a mound of foam. I could see that the center was set -- but still tender -- while the top was crisp and crackery.  Just perfect.

If I remember correctly, everyone was too distracted by a number of prom night tragedies (a last minute break-up, some late-night miscommunication, an off-handed comment) to pay much attention to my torte. But, the act of making the torte became, itself, a kind of symbolic gesture -- something done out of love and affection.

Since that day, grandma's Schaum torte recipe has seen many variations. I've baked it in my own springform pan with great success. I've shaped it into individual tortes.  I've used the leftover egg yolks to make lemon curd to serve alongside. And I've served it with strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and pomegranates.  This particular version happens to be a chocolate variation made with hazelnut extract, cocoa powder and little bits of bittersweet chocolate... layered with a bit of whipping cream, and embellished with fresh raspberries.  Honestly -- it might be one of my favorite versions.  After all, everything is better with chocolate, right?

Now, I know this is nothing more than shameless self-promotion. But, coincidentally, we've submitted this recipe to the "Family Recipe Revival" -- a local effort to bring back the treasured family recipes and renew the true meaning of mealtime—togetherness and bonding.  If you have a moment, please consider visiting the Recipe Revival web site to vote for our recipe.  You can vote for our recipe once a day through March 15, 2010... and we'll take all the votes we can get!

The Final Grand Prize winner gets a new cookware set, dinner for four in Chef’s studio and their recipe served on the Il Mito restaurant menu for an entire year. Net proceeds from the sale of that menu item goes to the charity of their choice.

If we win, we'll be donating the proceeds from the sale of our Schaum torte to the Hunger Task Force of Milwaukee, a local advocacy group that works to prevent hunger and malnutrition by providing food to people in need today and by promoting social policies to achieve food security tomorrow.

VOTE HERE! 

Recipe (on Burp! Recipes): Chocolate Hazelnut Schaum Torte

 

Schaum Torte


©BURP! Where Food Happens