This is based on a dish I used to have at a restaurant in Tokyo and loved!  You don’t technically have to serve it in the foil parcels as I have but it does give the meat time to take up a little of the flavour of the sauce and you can get on with other things while you leave them in the oven so it’s a good prep ahead then pop it in the oven meal.  This was usually served with a baked potato but I chose to have chips tonight as I was in the mood.  I’ve also had the burger wrapped in bacon and served with a different sauce or may be no sauce but I can’t for the life of me remember!  I’m working on it. 

This is a good basic hamburger recipe too and I’m sure would make an excellent burger in a bun on its own.  I love Japanese  style Western food.  So often they take a staple Western food and do wonderful things with it that we would never have thought to do because we’re so used to doing something particular.  Although I am informed that this is similar to a Salisbury Steak in America.  What I do know is it’s delicious!

I’m dying of cold at the moment so if anything doesn’t make sense here drop me a line and I’ll fix in once I am able to breathe and think again!

Makes 6

For the burger:
1 small onion, finely chopped
500g minced beef
200g sausage meat
100g breadcrumbs
1 egg
1/2 tsp ground or freshly grated nutmeg
pepper to taste

For the sauce:
150g baby button mushrooms, sliced
red wine*
1 beef stock cube made up into stock*
3 tbsp ketchup
corn flour

- First lightly fry the onion in a little oil until soft.  Allow to cool a little. 
- Put everything in a bowl and mix it together with your hand. 
- Divide the mixture roughly into 6. 
- Gather a portion of the meat in your hand.  Roll into a ball then throw the ball forcefully back and forth in your hands to force out the air and flatten it into a patty. 
- Gently shape the patty to a circle and create a small hollow so the patty is thinner in the middle.  (This allows you to get a flat burger as it compensates for any swelling during cooking.)
- Place the patties on a large plate or chopping board and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, preferably about an hour. 

- Melt a small knob of butter in a frying pan and fry the mushrooms until just browning.  Set aside. 
- Sprinkle the burgers with a pinch of salt and prepare the foil sheets. 
- Fry the burgers in a large frying pan or griddle.  Give about 4 minutes each side.  Don’t move the burger about once you’ve placed it in the pan until it’s time to turn it or it will fall apart. 
- Place the burger in the centre of the sheet of foil and top with a spoonful of mushrooms. 

- Deglaze the pan with red wine (tip it in and scrape off any cooked on bits). 
- Add the stock and reduce until starting to thicken. 
- Add the ketchup and stir in continue to reduce. 
- If necessary add a little cornflour slaked in a little water to thicken the sauce.  It needs to be quite viscous slow moving. (Make sure to taste the sauce as it can need a little more ketchup to cut the saltiness of the stock cube.) 
- Pour a little sauce over each burger.

- Fold the foil up into a tent and fold together the edges to seal.  Then fold in the sides to seal those. 

- Place the parcels on a baking tray and place in the oven at around gas mark 5 for 10-15 minutes until everything is piping hot again.  (If preparing ahead cook for around 30 minutes to ensure food is piping hot all through.)
- When you’re ready simply put the parcel on a plate to serve. 

* I only cooked sauce for 1 tonight so I can’t speak as to actual quantities.  I just poured!

Since we hosted my inlaws last weekend and did a big Thanksgiving dinner then, we decided to forego the traditional fare and just have something new instead.  And by “we” I mean “I”.  My husband usually just goes along with it since he’s not a picky eater in the least. 

I decided on pizza just because I had never made one before.  While this was time-consuming, it was completely worth it.  Well, I guess it’s not really fair to say “time-consuming” since most of the time involved is time spent waiting.  You have to start the dough early enough for it to rise, which takes about 5 1/2 hours total.  I would also double the oil recipe because there wasn’t any left to brush on the crust after the pizza was finished.  I probably added more goat cheese than it required, but it’s really a preference thing.  Finally, I didn’t feel like this recipe as it was had enough salt.  I thought that it would, considering it had lots of cheese, but I wound up sprinkling some on the finished product. 

Overall, though, we were both happy with our nontraditional Thanksgiving.  You could probably play with the toppings.  I added shiitake mushrooms to mine.  The next time that I make a pizza, I’m going to do a variation on this and make a pesto sauce to put on it, as well. 

Pizza Bianca with Goat Cheese and Greens (adapted from Bon Appetit, January 2002)

Crust

3/4 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)

1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast (from 1 envelope)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups (about) unbleached all purpose flour
Seasoned oil

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 large garlic clove, minced

1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
Topping

1 bunch Swiss chard (about 10 ounces), white ribs cut away

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

1 large garlic clove, minced

Directions

Make crust:

Pour 3/4 cup water into large bowl.  Sprinkle yeast on top.  Stir to blend.  Let stand 10 minutes to dissolve yeast.  Add oil and salt, then 1 1/2 cups flour.  Stir until well blended (dough will be sticky).  Turn dough out onto generously floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, adding just enough flour to prevent dough from sticking, about 5 minutes (dough will be soft).

Shape dough into ball; place in large, oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with kitchen towel.  Let dough rise at cool room temperature until almost doubled, about 2 hours. Punch dough down and shape into ball.  Return to bowl.  Cover with towel and let rise until doubled, about 3 hours.

Meanwhile make seasoned oil:

Mix oil, garlic, and red pepper in small bowl. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.

For toppings:

Cook swiss chard in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 2 minutes.  Drain. Rinse under cold water.  Drain again and squeeze dry.  Coarsely chop.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in small skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic and stir 30 seconds.  Add chard and stir 1 minute. Season to taste with salt.

Preheat oven to 500°F. Punch down dough. Form into ball and place on floured work surface. Cover with kitchen towel and let rest 30 minutes.

Sprinkle rimless baking sheet with cornmeal.  Roll out dough on floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to baking sheet. Sprinkle mozzarella over dough, leaving 1-inch border. Scatter chard and mushrooms over mozzarella. Top with goat cheese. Brush crust edge with some of seasoned oil.  Reserve 2 teaspoons seasoned oil to brush on crust.  Drizzle remaining oil over pizza.

Bake pizza until crust is brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and brush edge with seasoned oil and serve.

Have  yet to try this recipe, but is guaranteed to be delicious with jasmine rice and shiitakes. Make with Fish en Papillote, Chili Salt Edamame and Vanilla-Ginger Asian Pears. Recipe and photo from Martha Stewart Food:

Photo from Martha Stewart Food

Ingredients
Serves 4

1 1/2 cups water
1 cup jasmine rice, rinsed well
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded, caps cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon rice-wine vinegar
1 scallion, cut into 2-inch-long pieces, thinly sliced lengthwise

Prep
Bring water and rice to a boil in a small pot. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in 1 tablespoon oil, and season with salt and pepper. Cover, and let stand.

Meanwhile, heat remaining 4 tablespoons oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add shiitakes in a single layer, and cook, stirring often, until browned and crisp, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, and cook for 2 minutes more. Add garlic, and cook until light gold, about 2 minutes. Stir in vinegar, and season with salt and pepper. Transfer rice to a platter, top with shiitake mixture, and sprinkle with scallions. Serve immediately.

Happy T-Day, everyone. I’m thankful for a lot of things. Number one is health, at least enough of it to go pick some oyster mushrooms yesterday in my parents’ part of the Midwest. A corollary is that I’m thankful this year not to have eaten, despite the dangerous combination of adventurous spirit + paltry knowledge, the wrong mushroom. Yet. A secondary corollary is that I’m thankful the maggots aren’t up to eating the oysters in this kind of weather.

Number two, family. They made the leap of faith last night to eat those mushrooms, even if it scared them. Nobody even mentioned it last night. Or did you know Mom put them in? Well, now you do. And see? You’re fine, right?

Number three, I am thankful for the power of digestion to erase, more or less, all that turkey. Oh god yes.

This is a tasty winter warmer that I adapted from a recipe that I was given, when I went on a cookery day out in Somerset. It uses seasonal ingredients such as chestnuts and cranberries, cheaper cuts of beef and would be perfect for a New Year’s party, especially after all the turkey consumed at Christmas!

What is really good about this recipe, is that it can be made upto 4 days in advance, being kept in the fridge and also it freezes well, making this handy for busy people at this time of the year.

It is fairly simple to make but looks very impressive served up.

9ozs/250g Smoked Back Bacon Cubes
3 tbsp Gluten Free Plain Flour - seasoned with salt, pepper and a pinch of paprika (not smoked or hot)
3 ½ lbs/1.6Kg Lean Beef Cubed – skirt or chuck steak
2-3 tbsp Rapeseed Oil
3 Red Onions – peeled and finely chopped
2 Garlic Cloves – peeled and finely chopped
9ozs/250g Chestnut Button Mushrooms
½ Bottle Red Wine
6ozs/170g Fresh or Frozen Cranberries
4ozs/113g Fresh Chestnuts - peeled and chopped in half
1-2 tbsp Soft Light Brown Sugar
1 ½ pints/300ml Beef Stock
2 tbsp Sweet Chilli Sauce
Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
¼-½ tsp Crushed Chillies
3 Bay Leaves
Fresh Parsley, chopped to garnish

Preheat oven to 180C/350F Gas 4 or 170C Fan Oven.

1 In a large flame-proof casserole dish, cook the bacon over a medium heat until crispy and then remove.

2 Tip the flour into a plastic bag, add the meat and shake to coat.

3 Add half the oil to the casserole dish and brown the meat in batches, adding more oil as necessary.

4 Remove the meat and set aside and add the onions and cook for 5 to 10 minutes until they start to brown.

5 Add the garlic and mushrooms to the onions and cook for a further 5 minutes.

6 Return the meat and bacon to the casserole, add the bay leaves, red wine, beef stock, sweet chilli sauce and crushed chillies, bring to the boil and cook in a pre-heated oven for one hour.

7 While the casserole is cooking, prepare the chestnuts by splitting the skin, then putting them in a covered dish and microwave each chestnut for 10 secs on high power. Once heated, peel off the outer skin and cut in half.

8 After cooking for an hour, add the cranberries, chestnuts and sugar, season with a little black pepper, stir well and return to the oven for another 45 minutes to one hour.

9 Check that the meat is tender, the cranberries are cooked and not tart, adding more sugar if necessay.

10 Re-check the seasoning, scatter with chopped parsley and serve.

Serve with green vegetables, roast or jacket potatoes, or if preferred, rice!

The big Thanksgiving meal is over, the dishes are done and the tryptophan induced nap has been taken. Now, what?

How about turning all of that leftover turkey into something a bit more inspiring than a sandwich? Here is a simple recipe for crepes, with several ideas for fillings. Let you imagination and your leftovers lead the way……

Turkey Crepes

for the batter:

1 cup flour

pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups milk

3 eggs

vegetable oil (not olive oil!) for frying the crepes

Put all ingredients into the blender and mix until completely blended.

Let it stand in the refrigerator to thicken slightly, to become the consisitancy of heavy cream. If the batter becomes too thick, add a little more milk.

Brush  a small frying pan or crepe pan with oil and heat on the stove. Add a little batter to the hot pan, and swirl it until it is covered. You want as thin a crepe as possible. When the crepe is dry on top and the bottom is slightly brown, flip it over carelfully. Consider the first crepe or two a trial, as you figure out the correct pan temperature and the amount of batter needed. They are actually quite easy to make, once you get the hang of it!

Filling ideas:

Saute  minced garlic and mushrooms until soft and browned. Sprinkle with flour and continue to saute until vegetables are coated. Add 1 can of chicken broth and a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of heavy cream to the pan, and stir until thickened slightly.Toss in a shot of sherry if desired. Add in shredded turkey, and season liberally with salt and pepper. Top with a little shredded gruyere cheese.

Shred turkey and mix with gravy.

Shred turkey and cranberry sauce.

Saute garlic, onions and vegetables of choice (broccoli, zucchini, mushrooms etc,) Add in the shredded turkey and some shredded cheese of choice (cheddar,  gruyere or parmesean). Top with the shredded cheese before baking.

To bake:

Place filling in crepe about 1/3 of the way up from the bottom. Roll the crepe tightly but gently so it doesn’ tear.  Place in a greased oven proof pan and heat through.

Enjoy!

photo: Spencer Jones/Glasshouse Images

Photography: Randy Mayor

The day after Thanksgiving is the perfect time to start thinking of making some turkey soup. A few years ago I ran across a recipe for a Turkey Pot-au-Feu. This is not your typical turkey noodle soup. In fact, it doesn’t even have noodles. Pot-au-Feu is a simple French dish of meat and vegetables simmered together. This version has lots of wonderful fresh winter veggies, from the Farmers’ Market, combined with tender chunks of leftover turkey, all floating in a rich broth. The finishing touch, fresh picked thyme from the garden. I love serving this with a hot crusty loaf of garlic Asiago bread and a glass of wine. This is the perfect after Thanksgiving dish.

Turkey Pot-au-Feu

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided

1 cup quartered crimini mushrooms

½ cup chopped carrot

½ cup chopped leek

½ cup chopped peeled rutabaga

½ cup chopped peeled turnips

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

½ cup dry white wine

4 cups fat-free, less sodium chicken broth (or homemade turkey broth)

2 cups leftover cooked turkey, chopped (light and dark meat)

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

½ teaspoon salt

Dash of black pepper

Fresh thyme sprigs

1.  Heat 1 ½ teaspoons oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms; sauté 5 minutes or until golden. Remove mushrooms from pan.

2.  Heat 1 ½ teaspoons oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add carrot and next 4 ingredients (carrot through garlic); sauté 5 minutes. Add wine, and cook until reduced to ¼ cup (about 1 minute). Add mushrooms, broth, turkey, chopped thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Garnish with thyme sprigs.

Serves 6 (1 cup size servings)

What to shop for at the Farmers’ Market:

½ lb crimini mushrooms

1 medium carrot

1  medium leek

1 rutabaga

1 turnip

garlic

fresh thyme

This is the giant sized pot we purchased at Target for the Turkey Brine. We were making sure the turkey fit. It does — it’s in the Trader Joe’s bag.

This is the oven schedule on the computer. We made it nearly 2 weeks ago.

This is the pot with Corelyn as a reference.

Chopping the veggies we’re going to roast and the mushrooms for the stuffing.

Deviled egg mix.

The brine.

Broccoli gruyere gratin.

mmmm mmm good.

]]> http://pennylope.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/cooking-up-a-storm/ Thu, 26 Nov 2009 02:51:06 +0000 Pen http://pennylope.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/cooking-up-a-storm/

So, my vacay is in full sway.  It is great that my vacation and my two weeks of off-season align.  I’ve barely been off the couch since the half-marathon (aside from the turkey trot I’m running tomorrow, I’m taking until December 7 off from major exercise…the first real break since…um…God, I have no idea…).

What I have been doing on vacation is catching up on tv (I’ve watched the entire first seasons of Nurse Jackie and U.S. of Tara…and am now fully caught up with Dexter).  It’s amazing.  I get up, walk downstairs, pour some coffee, and resume my ceat on the couch for the rest of the day.  I seriously am not exagerrating.  But, I’m now so addicted to all these Showtime shows, I may have to get my cable…and dvr…and some premium channels back at my house in GA.

I’ve also been cooking for my parents to prove to them that I’m an adult…and so that I can eat non-takeout food while I’m here (becasue my parents mostly only eat out anymore).  This week, I’ve experimented with a bunch of new things. I have the step by step photography, but too much for now…so, let’s see.

We had some grilled asparagus with a balsamic vinaigrette reduction:

Then there were grilled pears and sweet potatoes with cayenne pepper

A warm quinoa salad with spinach, roasted shitake mushrooms, and goat cheese:

Some Kale chips (which I spinkled with Old Bay…yumm.  Tastes like Baltimore)

Winter Squash Soup with roasted apples, toasted pine nuts and goat cheese:

Roasted Brussel Sprouts:

Ugh, I wish I had the ability to get good pictures of my food.  Because, I swear in person my food looks nice and not blurry and all orangey yellow.  Anyway, I’m getting a new camera for christmas and I cannot wait to be able to take awesome pictures…and by take awesome pictures, I mean probably take crappy puctures but only be able to blame operator error because i’ll have a rockin’ camera.

In other news, I’m running a turkey trot tomorrow.  It’s jsut a little 5K, but it’s been ages (seriously, like a few years) since I’ve run a 5K. So, I have no idea what to expect time wise, though I’m feeling pretty good about my fitness and speed right now.  I input some of my recent race times into the MacMillan Running Calculator and a Runners World Calculator to get an estimate of what kind of 5K I could expect.  They both predicted a time around 22minutes…which could be a PR as of adulthood (and a non-track 5K PR)…which would be nice.

I’d like to get down to under 21minutes.  But, the race course tomorrow is pretty hilly and the major uphills come in the backend…so tomorrow, I’ll go out at a 7-30ish minute pace and see what happens.  I’d like to have a kick.

And now…time to prepare the Spanikopita for tomorrow.  Because, what would a thanksgiving dinner be without classic Greek food?

In light of my great respect for the fine art of Kaiseki, Yuki’s mom decided that she wanted to take me out for another style. That woman loves me! Frankly, I can’t blame her. At any rate, a friend of hers had recommended Ushiyama in the Meguro neighborhood of Tokyo, so we gave it a shot last night. And what a shot it was! Slam dunk!

It started off with a plate of carrots, shiitake, and mibuna with grated apple. Who would have thought of putting grated apple on mushrooms? Ushiyama, that’s who. I’m damn he did, it was amazing!

After that came a dish of four. I ate them clockwise from bottom left. Ama ebi (sweet shrimp), raw sardines with thinly sliced onion that’s been soaked in cold water to remove the sharpness, warm salted ginko nuts skewered on pine needles on top of seitan (wheat gluten) cakes on top of grilled sweet potato that was shaped like a ginko leaf, and uni in a lily blossom. No, I did not eat the maple leaf in the center of the plate nor the pine needles.

Next was the soup course. I heavily bonito flaked dashi broth that was nice and smokey with a rinkon (lotus root) and mochi dumpling and a bok choy leaf with some yuzu zest. It ranks right up there with the best soups I’ve ever eaten, next to the one I ate a few years ago at Iron Chef Michiba’s restaurant.

After the soup course was the sashimi course. It consisted of suzuki (sea bass), melt-in-your-mouth tuna, and ika (squid). It must be ika season because the ika I’ve eaten on this trip is by far the softest and sweetest I’ve ever had.

Then they served us home-made soba noodles in a light soy-dashi with some thinly sliced negi (green onions) on top. I’m telling you, there is absolutely nothing like top quality freshly made soba noodles. I don’t know if I can go back to store-bought dried soba when I get home. I mean, of course I can, but it just won’t be the same. So chewy and clean tasting.

Next up was the grilled course. Sawara (a cousin of the spanish mackerel) grilled with yuzu-miso and served with yuzu-miso konnyaku and daikon that was cut into a flower with a small slice of red pepper. I’ve never had yuzu-miso before, I’m a huge fan!

After that was the simmered course which was kinmedai (splendid alfonsino) in a ginger sauce. It was served with spinach and daikon radish with chawanmushi in the middle.

For the fried course we got a dish with some tempura. Shishito pepper and ebi imo (a kind of yam) served in a light dashi with momiji oroshi and chopped chives.

Then came the rice and miso course. The rice was a glutinous rice with chirimenjako (baby sardines simmered in saltwater, dried in the sun, and covered in a sweet soy marinade), sliced shiso, and served on top of a cherry leaf. The miso had mizuna greens in it. There was also some lightly pickled cucumber and daikon on the side (yes Nick, I even ate the pickles!).

Finally, for dessert we got sweet potato mousse. It was so soft and lightly sweet, it was really more like a light sweet potato cheesecake. Served with a sweet potato chip on top.

This Kaiseki was Kyoto-style which is considered to be the most sophisticated and delicate of all styles. Hard to argue as the food was simply magnificent! Plus, all of that food for only $50 per person! I challenge anyone to find a deal half that good for a meal of that quality prepared with that caliber anywhere in the states. Thanks so much for bringing me here Tamiko!!!

Phytochemicals are special substances found in plants, specifically in the pigments of plants where they are most significant. There is clear evidence that this substance can help you prevent degenerative diseases and help you live a long heathly life.    

Plants and vegetables have different Phytochemicals in them so it is important to eat a variety of them for you to get their full benefits.

Below is a list of foods rich in essential Phytochemicals .

• Grapes – grapes preferably Red ones contains a compound know as polyphenols which is an antioxidant . This is beneficial in improving your cholesterol, help prevent cancer and cardiovascular disease.
• Oranges – they contain limonoid which is found in that white stuff you see separating each section. Limonoid is known for its antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial capability.
• Blueberries – they contain anthocyanidins, an antioxidant that can battle free radicals in your body that can damage cells.
• Dark Green Leafy Vegetables – collard greens, mustard greens, watercress, swiss chard are among the best that contains powerful antioxidants. These greens have in them carotenoids such as lutein and zeaxanthin which benefits eye sight. Plus studies have shown people who consume foods rich in carotenoids live longer and less likely to die from diseases.
•  Apples – in addition to providing you with the fiber your body needs, they also contain flavanoids which is known for their antioxidant activity.
• Tomato – rich in lycopene which is also a carotenoid and lycopene is beneficial in protecting you from prostate and skin cancer.
•  Walnuts – contains lots of essential fatty acids and ellagic acid which can also be found in raspberries, strawberries, cranberries and pecans as well, is also known for its antioxidant capability.
•  Spices – cayanne, ginger, rosemary another great source of antioxidants.
• Mushrooms – shiitake, maitake and other Asian type mushroom contains Beta Glucan . This is special phytochemical that has been proven to help keep your immune system healthy and strong.

Many of us eat these foods already maybe with the exception of the dark green leafy vegetables but now that you know the benefits that they provide we need to be more conscious in incorporating these foods in our diet on a daily basis.

I don’t know about you but I plan to a centenarian. Don’t know what that is, look it up. Cheers.

Vegan thanksgiving dinners are up there in my ‘proudest culinary moments’ collection, along with every time I remember to wash my hands after chopping incredibly hot peppers.  As a vegetarian for years and as a new vegan, holiday celebrations tested my patience, as usual, and my attempt at culinary skills.

Potluckin’

Thanksgiving is a day you may make the decision to bring your best vegan cookies and tub of Earth Balance to impress/challenge the level of sanity of an omni table with family and friends, pull out all the vegan stops with a homemade* seitan roast or store-bought Tofurkey for an intimate group, or aim for comfort food greatness with a contribution to a vegan potluck.  Showcasing your North American-Vegan-Thanksgiving-Skills is a beautiful thing on a day revolving around stuffing yourself with a stuffed, dead bird.

It makes you want to Adopt a Turkey, naturally.

I went to my first vegan thanksgiving potluck of the season on Sunday night; my friends Michelle and Aaron host an annual pre-thanksgiving vegan thanksgiving potluck.  I know I’m mentally checked out on Sunday evenings (work in the morning!), so I signed up to bring something I’m comfortable with – stuffed mushrooms.  For some reason roasted garlic and brussel sprouts were calling out to me, so Side Dish Stuffed Mushrooms surfaced. I’m calling them Side Dish Stuffed, but really they’re Brussel Sprout, Roasted Garlic, Mashed Potato & White Wine stuffed, but that’s a bit of a mouthful.  My go-to method for stuffing mushrooms is to reach for the wine & nuts and expand from there, and these have that basis, combined with a tribute to holiday side dishes.

Happy plate. Joanna’s seitan* ruled my world.

Side Dish Stuffed Mushrooms (gluten-free)

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs of white/cremini mushrooms, stems separated and minced (optional: scrape out the gills with a small spoon if you so choose)
• half a head of roasted garlic
• 1 clove of minced garlic
• 6 brussel sprouts, trimmed and chopped
• 1/4 cup of roasted almonds, finely ground
• scoop of mashed potatoes (russets mashed with plain soymilk)
• generous pinch of black pepper
• dash sea salt
• dash crushed red pepper
• 1 teaspoon of dried marjoram
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• generous pinches of rubbed sage and thyme
• generous pinch of nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons of white wine
• 1 tablespooon of tamari
• dash of balsamic vinegar
• olive oil for sautéing and greasing the baking pan

1. Preheat oven to 375F and lightly grease a 9×13 glass casserole dish.
2. Saute the minced garlic, minced mushroom stems and chopped brussel sprouts in a teaspoon or two of olive oil in a large pan for 5-7 minutes, being careful to keep the heat below medium and not burn anything.
3. Add the herbs, crushed red pepper, salt, pepper, wine, tamari and vinegar and cook for another 2-5 minutes, until much of the liquid is absorbed.
4. In a large bowl, combine the cooked ingredients, the mashed potatoes, ground almonds, nutritional yeast and roasted garlic with a fork, mixing until well combined.
5. Using a half tablespoon or other small spoon, fill each mushroom cap with the stuffing. Do not overstuff.
6. Place filled side up in the casserole dish.  If you have extras, feel free to place overlapping bottom layer mushrooms.  Spritz with oil and drizzle with additional white wine.
7. Bake for 23-28 minutes until golden brown, checking on them after 20.

Side Dish Stuffed Mushrooms, pre-baked (with chopped extra chunks of garlic tossed in)

Baked:

As for the actual holiday this year, I’m bringing homemade seitan and cabbage stuffed gyozas to a vegan potluck, and pumpkin pie brownies from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar to a Turkey-roke/Faux-turkey-roke. woo!

More Get Sconed! Thanksgiving-ness (since holidays are all about memories, and pie).

Thanksgiving for 2.

More Damn Vegan Pecan Pie.

Sweet Potato Pie Casserole.

Thanksgiving, Schmanksgiving.

Ingredients:

• 15 ml oil
• 20 ml Cajun Seasoning
• 310 ml water
• 125 ml milk

To view the full recipe click here…
http://www.sevafrica.com/HealthWellness/CajunSourCream-Pasta.shtml

This morning was a yummy egg and toast breakfast.  Today’s toast topping: crunchy PB and honey…

And a banana for my mid-morning snack!  Work today was fan-tab-ulous!  It was the last day of work for a certain someone in our company (who’s leaving FOREVER!) and that may or may not have made my day 10 times better.  Muah, ha, ha… Yes, i’m a horrible person for thinking this, but really, you all have NO idea…

ANYWAY, when I got home, i’m was starving, so i got to work on lunch.  I had some crimini mushrooms that I didn’t use in Sunday’s egg scramble, so I cut them all up and sauteed them with green onions and cilantro.  I then topped it with some Romano cheese.  Dee-lish!

I actually didn’t end up using the spinach, so scratch THAT.

As another side, I had a container of Voskos Greek Yogurt, with some grape nuts in it.  Oh yeah, AND I randomly scrambled 4 egg whites.

That pretty much held me over for the afternoon, which was spent doing some serious studying.  We had a take home test that was due today in class, so I finished reviewing some of my answers, and started on a different take home test for my Saturday classes.  I also needed to catch up on some past readings, so much studying was accomplished!  Yay for actually following through on plans….

Right before I left home (around 3), I packed dinner and snacked on a bag of PB filled Pretzels…

Snack for class was a cliff bar (White Chocolate Macadamia Nut)

And dinner was a bowl of leftover turkey chili (with romano cheese of course) and some kashi crackers!!

Class tonight was a lot of fun.  We learned about elbow extensors (TRICEPS!), as well as movement assessment and Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD), which is actually quite serious!!

At the request of a classmate, I’ve been asked to talk about a recent purchase.  About 2 1/2 weeks ago, I purchased a BodyBugg, as an experiment.  The BodyBugg is a tiny sensor: “It utilizes a patented process for interpreting calorie burn called “sensor fusion” developed by BodyMedia, Inc.”  If you’ve ever watched the Biggest Loser, that’s what the contestants are wearing around their arms.  When they’re talking about getting their “burn”, they’re referring to the number of calories they need to burn in a day to meet a certain daily requirement to maintain constant weight loss. If you’re one of those people that really wants to know exactly how many calories you burn in a day, this thing is prettly darn accurate.  It takes out all the guessing.  There is a program that allows you to see your “burn” and also allows you to log in daily food intake, so you can accurately track your calories and lose, gain or maintain weight.

I decided to try it and see if the little machine was all it’s supposed to be.  So far, things seem to be going fairly well.  I want to make clear that i’m not endorsing this product, since i’m not sure yet how I feel about it, but I will give you all weekly updates, to let you know how the process is going.

When I first weighed myself (2 1/2 weeks ago) I was at about 153. Then it was 150.6.  This past Monday it was 151.  I will give weekly Monday updates, but if you have any other questions concerning the BodyBugg, feel free to email me!

Also, i’m going a Thanksgiving challenge, at the request of my NPTI teacher NATE!  Since Turkey Day is on the 26th, he decided it would be fun to do something with the number 26.  So, he suggested doing SOMETHING where you do 26 sets.  I’m currently debating between 26 sets of 10 push-ups (that’s 260 push-ups in all!) or turkey holding squats (260 of them)!  So, turkey squats would be me holding a turkey (in a SS baking pan or some sort) and performing 260 squats holding the turkey!  Obviously the squats sound much more entertaining, but i’m trying to think how I can video it without making you watch me do all 260…

I’ll debate that while I run a 6 miler tomorrow with my sister and Jess!  We’re doing a bit of tapering, and since I haven’t run for a few days, this will be a good run to keep my legs in check.

Okey doke, it’s almost Thanksgiving and my 4-year anniversary…wow, I can’t believe it’s already been 4 years.  How time FLIES when you’re in love…

I really need to get back to healthy cooking.  But who wants to read a blog post about some calorie-free dish of blah?  Not me for sure.  I “ooooh and ahhh” when something is decadent and rich.  This quiche is both of those things.  I went through a phase where I would not touch eggs, they would just gross me out.  I think it had to do with the smell of the yolk, something I still have not come to terms with.  Now, I like omelets, quiches, and the like but will not touch a runny yolked egg.  I know, I know, culinary faux pas on my part, but let me have one.  Otherwise, I am not picky at all.

The story of this quiche comes from my grocery trip last week.  I picked up leeks with no inkling of what I would make out of them; a soup was the most obvious thing that came to my mind.  But then again, I thought, “Boring!”  So I sifted through my cookbooks hoping to find the perfect leek tart recipe.  Not much luck.  Booooo.  Then I went to Google and typed Leek and Mushroom Tart and I was led to Deb (whose site I love) from Smitten Kitchen’s recipe for Leek and Mushroom Quiche and alas I had some inspiration.  I used her recipe as a starting point and wanted to add my own flair to it clean out my fridge.

I used a mish mash of cheeses, sour cream, light cream, herbs and the outcome was good!  My husband rolled his eyes at me when I said I am making a Leek and Mushroom quiche for dinner, probably because he knew he was going to have be vegetarian tonight.

*Oh!  Don’t worry about the dough, if I can do it you CAN do it too.  Plus, I don’t even have a rolling pin and used a glass to roll out the dough.  (I know, I can spend on other things but I’m stingy when it comes to a rolling pin, only God knows why, )  It was simple to make, probably because I have a food processor, if not the story would probably be a rant furthering my hate for dough making.  Fortunately, I succeeded!  But, if it’s easier for you do get a pre-made pie crust or use puff pastry.

Empty out the Fridge Quiche

Inspired and Adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s Leek and Mushroom Quiche

Tart Crust from Martha Stewart and Baking Technique from Joy of Baking (Makes 2 crusts, so halve the recipe or save the other crust for later)

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 tart crust rolled out in a 9 inch pan and pre half-baked

2 cups chopped leeks, rinsed thoroughly

1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms, I used half shiitake and half baby bella

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cloves garlic, chopped

4 sprigs of thyme

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

3 large eggs

1/3 cup low-fat sour cream

1/4 light cream or milk

1 cup grated cheese of your choice, I used a mixture goat cheese, fresh mozzarella, and manchego

1/2 chopped baby spinach

1/2 cup chopped baby arugula

1/4 cup chopped parlsey

12 sprigs of chives, chopped

Method

Caramelize the leeks and mushrooms with salt, black pepper, and thyme in the olive oil on medium low heat for about 20 minutes and allow to cool slightly, discard the thyme stems.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  In a medium sized bowl crack the eggs and whisk.   Add the sour cream, light cream, cheeses, baby spinach, baby arugula, parsley, and chives.  Next, add the cooled leeks and mushrooms.  Add extra salt and black pepper if necessary.  Pour the egg mixture into the pre half-baked tart crust.  Bake for 45 minutes.  Allow to cool slightly, do not serve it right out of the oven, it tastes better warm.  I served it with a mixed green salad like on Smitten Kitchen, and with a dijon vinaigrette.

68 Days of Gourmet: Day 13

Does it get more comforting than chicken and mushrooms in a cream sauce with noodles? I think not. Stocked with a bunch of leftover mushrooms from the Filet Mignon with Mushroom Sauce and a lot of heavy cream from the best ever Macaroni and Cheese, I decided to try out the Chicken Fricassee recipe in The Gourmet Cookbook. We really love creamy chicken dishes but most of them include cream of yuckiness soup. Although this recipe is not exactly low-cal, it is a delicious and creamy combination of chicken and mushrooms with no fake or processed ingredients.

This dish is nothing fancy, it’s just good old-fashioned comfort food. The chicken was extremely tender after being braised in the chicken broth and vegetable mixture and the finished dish was perfect served over egg noodles. This was a great weeknight meal served with steamed broccoli and rolls alongside.

And on another note…I promise the week after Thanksgiving I will attempt to focus more on recipes that qualify for the “Healthy” category!

Chicken Fricassee
(Recipe source The Gourmet Cookbook)

Ingredients:

1 (3 1/2 pound chicken, rinsed, patted dry and cut into 8 pieces) – I used 3 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried or fresh thyme
10 ounces (3 cups) mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 egg yolk
Garnish: flat leaf Italian parsley

Directions:

Generously coat chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil and heat until shimmering. Carefully place chicken in pan, skin side down and cook for about 3 minutes per side, until browned. Remove chicken from pan and reduce heat to medium. Add onion, celery, mushroom and garlic and cook for 7-10 minutes, or until mushrooms and onions have softened. Stir in thyme and flour and cook for another minute or so. Add in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add chicken, skin side up, and simmer, covered, until chicken is just cooked through. This should take 20-25 minutes and internal temperature should be 160 degrees for breasts and 170 for legs or thighs. Transfer chicken to a plate while you make sauce.

To make the sauce, whisk together cream and egg yolk in a small bowl. Add in 1/2 cup mushroom/broth mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Whisk cream mixture into sauce in pan and gently simmer over low heat (careful not to let it come to a boil) whisking frequently. Sauce should slightly thicken and cook for about 1 minute.

Place chicken over egg noodles and spoon sauce over. Sprinkle with parsley.

Yield: 3-4 servings

…and mine brings a collection of fungi – some of which look decidedly virulent.  I arrived home from work tonight to find a bowl of interesting specimens picked from a field at his workplace.  It is a new interest of mine after finding what I suspected to be puffballs on the grass verge across the road.   Our dining room currently has a tray of fungi upside down providing spore prints to help with identification.  Today’s selection I think were: orange red wax cap http://www.bioimages.org.uk/html/p6/p65326.php (very stunning and scary but neither toxic nor edible apparently); a magic mushroom (life is weird enough without hallucinogens so not appealing); butter wax cap http://www.bioimages.org.uk/html/p6/p65470.php and a one that is either very dangerous (ivory clitocybe), or causes hot flushes with alcohol (club-rooted funnel cap)!  I must book on to a mycology weekend next summer holiday as I would love to be able to forage with confidence. Until then I will just look and learn.

Gabe and Ariel Sweet as Honey, Photo by Henry Stanley

On Wednesday day I met up with Henry, Ariel, Gabe and Anna to attempt to gather wild honey from a feral honeybee hive I had discovered in Oaks Bottom Park. I had already tried once, unsuccessfully, on my own to get the honey and ended up with about a half dozen stings, so this time I let the boys try their hand at it. We bee suited up. First, we tried to smoke the bees with one of my mugwort smudge sticks. This seemed to at least drive them deeper into the hive. Unfortunately, the comb was too deep, and the hole too small for Henry and Gabe’s man hands, and we failed again, but with only one sting between us. The allure of the honey is so strong we plan to go back again soon with better tools for the job. A longhandled metal serving spoon or some barbecue tongs might do the trick…

After that we went mushroom hunting out on Larch mountain. We found a decent amount of chanterelles and winter chanterelles, but most were on the soggy side. The real score was hedgehog mushrooms which were crisp and abundant. Here are some photos by Henry Stanley:

Mushroom Mafia

Emily and Ariel Rest Streamside

Emily Picks a Chanterelle

Hello World.

My name is Irina Grechko and I love to cook. Originally I am from Moscow, Russia but two and a half years ago I moved to Boston for college. This is my first semester not living in the dorms and so I am exploring different recipes and cuisines in the comfort of my beautiful apartment.

My first recipe is a simplified version of a Beef Stroganoff. While I love the original and traditional Russian recipe, it is simply takes too long to execute so here is a much simpler version.

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds beef tenderloin, 1 box fresh mushrooms, 1 small onion, 2 tablespoons butter, 1 clove garlic, 1 ½ cups light cream, ¼ cups sour cream, 2 tablespoons tomato sauce, 1 tablespoon ketchup, 2 tablespoons flour

Slice beef into medium sized strips.

Lay the meat in a hot pan with olive oil. Season with salt, pepper and any other spices that you like (I used Italian Seasoning). Sauté on a medium to high heat till the meat becomes brown.

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Melt butter and add finely diced garlic.

Wash the mushrooms and cut them alongside.

Add the mushrooms to the skillet.

Dice the onion and add to the mushrooms. Sauté for 10 minutes until the onions become golden.

Add the vegetables to the cooking meat and toss together. Add 1 ½ cups of light cream

Stir in and 1/4 cups of sour cream and 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce.

Add 2 tablespoons of flour. Season with salt, pepper and a tablespoon of ketchup. Cook the mixture until the sauce thickens.

Hope you like it!Feel free to post your thoughts and ideas.