02.20.09

My First Recipe

Posted in The Story, Recipes at 9:13 am by Chef Matt

Disclaimer: I’m not one for disclaimers. But in this one, I have to apologize for the truly horrid nature of the photos. I wanted to do this project for you all, but I left my camera with a friend in London, so all I had was my camera phone. And it blows. So I’m sorry the pictures are such crap. But it’s my scintillating writing that’s what brings you back anyway, right?…

While I was awaiting re-entry into the UK over the holidays, I was poking around in all manner of old documents. Many of them were related to my attempts to secure a UK visa, but others were of a more nostalgic nature. When I went through my mother’s recipe box though was when I discovered some of my earliest attempts at recipe writing as a kid.

Yeah, that’s my handwriting. Click each for larger.

Now sure, I had some recipes for how to heat soup, and how to put American cheese and raisins on bread and heat that in the toaster, but those I’m not actually counting. Instead, I found what I had always remembered to be my first recipe, which was for a tomato-mushroom sauce for pasta. I figured it might be fun to cook it exactly as I had it written, and to see how it turned out. (And also to see if knowing what I now know, ways for improvement…)

Now I know my handwriting on an old 3X5 card may not be the most legible thing ever, so here is the recipe as it appears on the card:

Matt’s Mushroom Sauce

3 Tbsp Olive Oil (XVO)
3 cloves garlic - sliced
2 lbs fresh Italian plum tomatoes (2 cups +)
salt and pepper to taste
5 large fresh sage leaves (1 tsp diced)
1 medium large onion - chopped fine
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2-2/3 lbs fresh white mushrooms
1/4 cup dry white wine
3 Tbsp chopped parsley
optional: porcinis and soaking water
optional: pancetta and/or anchovies

1. Simmer oil, 2 cloves of garlic, and tomatoes over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add salt, pepper and sage and let simmer on low heat while rest of sauce is prepared. (add porcinis w/ s+p & herbs)
2. Wash mushrooms and pat dry w/paper towel - cut lengthwise w/their stems and set aside.
3. Sauté onions and oil in large skillet until onions are translucent.
4. Add remaining clove of garlic - cook until garlic turns gold.
5. Add mushrooms (w/some salt + pepper) lower heat and cook until all liquid they give off is evaporated. (then add pancetta)
6. Add white wine - simmer until it evaporates (add anchovies)
cook 5-10 min.
7. When pasta is done, combine contents of skillet + saucepan and add the parsley. Mix, toss + serve!

The beginning workings of the sauce.

So to start off, there was the simmering of the garlic and adding of tomatoes. (It’s winter, so I used some nice canned tomatoes instead of fresh.) As is my style, I added them whole, and crushed them in the sauce as they cook. I know it didn’t say to do this, but I figured I’d've done that back in the day as well… (maybe).

Porcinis and breaking down tomatoes - I may have been on to something here!

I actually somehow had some dried porcinis in this new kitchen of mine. A quick soak brought them back to life, and I figured would add a nice depth to the sauce. I must have really been thinking ahead as a kid! (I also give myself credit for the optional addition of pancetta and anchovies. I had neither on hand for the making of this batch.)

Sauté of onions, garlic and mushrooms. If only some pancetta had been involved.

In a separate pan, since I seemed as hell-bent on dirtying as many pans as I could even as a child, I put together the sauté of mushrooms and onions. The mushrooms browned nicely, and then I added the white wine and then some porcini water for flavor. How appropriate (prophetic?) that my first recipe had a “deglazing” step!

Combing the pots.

I was supposed to combine the contents of the skillet and the saucepot, but I didn’t say which was supposed to go into which… I chose to pour the saucepot into the skillet if only to make sure the skillet was thoroughly deglazed. The penne was almost done cooking, so it looked like we were going to be just on time.

Now that looks like a mushroom sauce.

The result was slightly as I remember it, a little too brown to be completely appetizing. The techniques were OK, but I had not yet learned the importance of “eating with the eyes” first. But this is also a recipe I had not made in easily 20 years, so forgive me if I forgot that point…

The final product - enjoyable, but not memorable.

The final product came to the table, and with a little bit of Parmesan from my cheese grater we were in business. The final dish tasted just fine - like what one would expect from a mushroom sauce ordered in a standard Italian restaurant. Nothing special or exciting, but all the same, not a bad first attempt by yours truly!

So what would I have done differently now? First of all, I would have done it all in one pan. All my sauces tend to cook together these days. So I would have sautéed the onions and mushrooms, would have deglazed with red wine, added the herbs, then the tomatoes and porcinis. I would also make sure the porcinis and pancetta were mandatory. The anchovies might be a tad much, and unnecessary.

I am one of the people who is an outspoken fan of white button mushrooms. They really do have a lot of flavor. But in a mushroom sauce like this, I would make a little more of a mix. Add some sliced creminis and maybe some shiitakes as well. This would add depth and richness to the mushroom flavor of the sauce.

But finally, to take the sauce in a totally different direction, adding lemon juice instead of wine as well as some lemon zest and sautéing in some spinach might lighten up the colors, brighten the flavors and create a more appealing sauce all-around. A touch of mascarpone cheese and some hazelnuts might not be a bad addition either. But that is another recipe for another time…

Chef Matt

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