INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

available at specialty foods shops and by mail order.  Although the
morels add a woodsy intensity to the flavor of the  consommé, they are
not essential. You can substitute other dried  exotic mushrooms or
eliminate them altogether and simply float a thin  slice of fresh white
mushroom on the soup right before covering the  bowl with the pastry.
Make mushroom consommé: In a 6-quart stockpot or kettle combine
consommé ingredients and simmer, uncovered, 2 hours. Pour consommé
through a large fine sieve lined with a rinsed and squeezed paper
towel into a large saucepan, pressing gently on solids, to yield  about
5 cups consommé (if yield is not enough, add water to make 5  cups; if
too much, boil consommé until reduced to 5 cups). Season  consommé
with salt and pepper.  Prepare morels while consommé is simmering: In
a small bowl pour  boiling water over morels and let stand 20 minutes,
or until morels  are soft. Remove morels, reserving soaking liquid, and
in a small  saucepan simmer morels in Madeira, covered, 5 minutes. Add
morel  mixture to consommé. Let reserved soaking liquid settle and
slowly  pour it into consommé, being careful to leave last tablespoon
(containing sediment) in bowl. Simmer consommé, covered, 3 minutes
and cool to room temperature. Consommé may be made 2 days ahead and
chilled, covered. Bring consommé to room temperature before
proceeding.  Preheat oven to 400°F. and have ready six 12-ounce
"truffle soup  bowls" or 9- to 10-ounce ovenproof ramekins, each
measuring 3 1/2 to  4 inches across top. Divide consommé, including
morels, and chives  among bowls or ramekins.  Prepare pastry "hats": On
a lightly floured surface roll out 1 sheet  puff pastry into a 12-cinch
square and with a round cutter at least  3/4-inch larger than diameter
of bowls cut out 4 rounds. Roll out  second puff-pastry sheet and cut
out 2 more rounds in same manner.  Brush any excess flour from both
sides of rounds.  Working with 1 pastry round at a time, brush a
1/2-inch-wide border  of egg wash around pastry edges and invert pastry
rounds over bowls  or ramekins, carefully stretching 1/2 inch down side
and pressing to  seal.  When all bowls or ramekins are covered with
pastry, brush tops with  remaining egg wash. Pastry-covered consommé
may be prepared up to  this point 4 hours ahead and chilled. (Pastry
will not rise quite as  high when going straight from refrigerator to
oven.) Arrange bowls or  ramekins on a large baking sheet and bake
consommé in middle of oven  until pastry "hats" are puffed and golden,
12 to 18 minutes.  Serves 6.  Gourmet  continued in part 2

A Message from our Provider:

“Hell! I thought it didn’t matter what you believed as long as you were sincere!”