The Yang to the Yin that is Costco Hell

A friend described Costco recently as a "whirling vortex of bloody fucking hell." This is certainly true as far as I'm concerned, but I brave the hell on a regular basis for some great finds. Namely for their Gourmet Mushroom Blend, speck, and organic field greens...best prices in town. These finds are truly the Yang to the Yin of that Costco hell!

I recently made a Porcini Mushroom Soup using the Gourmet Mushroom Blend and it was fantastic. I threw in 1/2 bag of Pappardelle's Pasta Supreme Orzo (saffron, fire-roasted red pepper, and porcini mushroom). Oh, if only I could get Pappardelle's at Costco! I paired it up with a loaf of whole-wheat no-knead bread and a salad. Here's the recipe from www.101cookbooks.com.

Porcini Mushroom Soup (from 101cookbooks.com)

2 ounces of dried porcini mushrooms
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 shallots, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 1/2 pounds small new potatoes, cut into 1/3-inch pieces
3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 cups water
1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons salt

Extra toppings (optional) freshly grated Parmesan, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, fresh chives or fresh thyme.

Soak the porcini mushrooms in 2 cups of hot water for about 15 minutes, or until they are soft. Set aside.

Heat a splash of the olive oil in a large thick-bottomed pot, saute the shallots for a couple of minutes, then stir in the rosemary and potatoes. Add the remaining olive oil and cook for about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic, the porcini along with the soaking liquid, the 4 cups of water, and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook for ten minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Taste. If the broth is too intense, you may want to add more water a bit at a time. And take care to get the salt right as well, it's important in a simple soup like this.

Serve as is or topped with any number of the ingredients I listed up above.

Serves 4-6.

Vegetarian Potato Lasagna

Vegetarian Potato Lasagna


We had a lovely end to our weekend enjoying Vegetarian Potato Lasagna with our pals Tim and Eric. The lasagna was served with a side salad and cheese bread. Tim and Eric were kind enough to pick up the cheese bread from Wegman's on their brief weekend trip to Rochester to pick up a new fireplace mantel.

Vegetarian Potato Lasagna
(From a Swedish cookbook-made with potatoes as some Swedes just don't consider pasta to be food)

2 cups water, salted
3 cups baby spinach (5 1/4 ounce bag), washed
2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese (15 oz. container)
1 bunch fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
zest from 1 lemon
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, divided
2 pounds russet potatoes or large red potatoes (recipe calls for peeled, but I did not peel-for the added color and texture)
1 tbsp butter
2 cups marinara sauce (in our case we used Blue's famous fennel marinara sauce made using food bank farm heirloom tomatoes)
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In medium saucepan, bring water to boil and cook spinach for 1 minute. Rinse spinach under cold water until cooled and squeeze out excess water. Chop spinach and add to Ricotta along with parsley, lemon zest, 2 tbsp parmesan and salt and pepper. Cut potatoes into 1/3 inch slices, then boil potato slices for 8-10 minutes until softened, but still easily handled. Rub butter on bottom of 8 x 10 baking dish. Add a layer of potatoes to the dish, then sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, spread on a thin layer of marinara sauce, then spread on half the ricotta mixture. Repeat layers, ending with a third layer of potatoes and a thin final layer of marinara sauce and parmesan. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes then cover in aluminum foil and bake an additional 20 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes before cutting into slices.