January 24th, 2010
I made this dish (and a few others) for my friends, Rhonda and Eric. This one is a little time consuming because you have to make a tart shell, which is actually pretty easy, but it has to go in the freezer for 20 minutes, and then in the oven for 30 minutes before you put any of the goodies in the middle. That turned out to be fine, because I was making a lot of stuff that day and it took several hours. I don't know how long this one dish would take by itself. Probably a little over an hour. You can make the tart shell and freeze it a day ahead to speed things up.
This dish uses dried porcini mushrooms, along with fresh crimini mushrooms, so it has a nice earthy, woodsy flavor. I made a mushroom stock to give it an even more intense flavor. It turned out a little dark in color, but still very tasty.
The tart shell and the mushroom stock are 2 separate recipes in the book, so this post accounts for 3 recipes. If you don't want to take the time to make mushroom stock, you can use half & half or cream (2/3 cup.)
Here's how you do it:
Make the tart shell. In a food processor, combine 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour, 1/2 cup + 2 T. all purpose flour, and 1/2 t. salt. Pulse in 5 T. of cold butter, cut into little cubes. Then pulse in 3 T. sour cream and a little ice water. It will look like course crumbs. Dump it out onto a board, shape into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Start the mushroom stock. Cover 1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms with 3 cups hot water and set aside. Heat up a little oil. Roughly chop 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 garlic clove, 2 mushrooms and all the trimmings from the mushrooms in the recipe. Saute over high heat until well browned. Reduce heat to medium, stir in 1 t. tomato paste, 1/2 cup white wine, and some marjoram or oregano. Sprinkle on 1 T. flour and some salt and pepper. Add the porcini and their soaking water and simmer for 20 minutes.
Since porcini mushrooms are expensive, I fished them out of the stock and used them in the tart, along with a few more that I soaked in hot water. I was supposed to put them in some wine and bring them to a boil, but soaking them in hot water worked out just fine. When they're soft, chop them and reserve the soaking water.
Take the dough out of the fridge, flour a board, and roll out the dough into a 10 inch circle. Lay it over a tart pan and gently settle it into the pan. It should be about 1/4 inch thick. Press it into all the crevices. Put it in the freezer for 15 minutes. (It can be frozen wrapped in foil for up to a week before baking.) Preheat the over to 425. While you're making the mushroom filling, bake the tart shell for 20 minutes. Check it periodically so it doesn't get too dark.
Heat some oil in a skillet and fry 1 large, chopped onion until it starts to turn golden. Add 1/2 pound sliced crimini mushrooms, 1/2 pound sliced portobellos, and some salt. Raise heat and cook until they start to color. Stir in 1 t. tomato paste, a few tablespoons of mushroom soaking liquid, the chopped porcinis, and more liquid as needed to keep the pan moist. Cook for about 15 minutes or until mushrooms are completely tender. Add a little parsley and marjoram (chopped) and season with pepper.
Beat one egg with 2/3 cup mushroom stock (or half and half or cream). Pour the mushrooms into the baked tart shell and then add the egg and stock mixture. Bake for 25-30 minutes until set. Cool tart for a few minutes and rub a little oil over the top to make it shiny. Garnish with chopped herbs.
This was wonderful with a rose`. Sparkling wine would be good, too.
Approximate Cost:
Tart Shell
1/2 cup pastry flour - $.50
1/2 cup + 2 T. all purpose flour - $.40
5 T. butter - $.40
3 T. sour cream - $.20
TOTAL for tart shell - $1.50
1/2 cup dried porcini - $4.50
1/2 cup dry white wine - $1.50
1 onion - $.25
1/2 pound crimini mushrooms - $2.50
1/2 pound portobello - $2.50
1 egg - $.25
oil, tomato paste (1 tsp.), herbs - negligible
TOTAL for filling - $11.50
TOTAL for 2/3 cup mushroom stock or half & half - $1.50 (?)
TOTAL for dish - $14.50 for 4 people.
This is a beautiful, earthy, tasty dish to make for company.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Macaroni & Cheese
January 28th, 2010
Believe me, this is not the stuff you make for your kids. No bright yellow powder or processed cheese product. This is really good. I think if I make it again, I will make twice as much sauce for the amount of noodles. I made this for my friend, Sarah, and her family, and if they are telling the truth, they loved it. George & I had some, too, and we really liked it, except something kind of weird happened with the bread crumbs on top. They were too crunchy. I thought it would be a good use for some stale bread, but maybe I should have used really fresh bread.
Here's how it went.
You start by putting a slice of onion, a bay leaf, a little fresh thyme, and a couple sliced garlic cloves in 3 cups of milk. Warm the milk until it starts to bubble at the edges and then turn it off. Let the milk steep with the aromatics for at least 10 minutes.
Grate 2-3 cups of cheese. Deborah Madison says 1 1/2 cups, but I used more and I thought it worked out well. I used smoked 2 cups of smoked cheddar and 1 cup Emmentaler swiss.
Boil elbow macaroni noodles (be sure to add a handful of salt to the boiling water before putting the macaroni in to cook). The recipe calls for a full pound, but in the future I plan to use 1/2 pound. While the pasta is boiling, heat 3 T. butter in a large pan. When it is melted, stir in 3 T. flour. Strain the hot milk directly into the butter, flour mixture. Whisk until a little thicker, and then cook over low heat for 20 minutes or so, stirring frequently. It should thicken up and
Drain the macaroni and put it into a buttered casserole dish. Pour in the roux (flour, butter, milk mixture) and then add the cheeses. Mix well. Top with fresh mozzarella slices and bread crumbs. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.
If you use the full pound of macaroni noodles, this makes A LOT of macaroni and cheese. It's a nice dish to take to a pot luck.
I served this with sauteed spinach with lemon zest and a little lemon juice. The spinach was even better than the mac & cheese, in my opinion. I also made some roasted red pepper soup as a starter, which was divine. A simple salad and some bread would probably suffice for dinner.
Approximate cost:
1 pound elbow macaroni noodles - $2.50
2 cups smoked cheddar - $3.00
1 cup Emmentaler - $.50 (I got this in a large block)
3 cups milk - $1.20
4 slices mozzarella - $1.00
bread crumbs - $.20
flour, butter, aromatics - negligible
TOTAL $8.40 for about 8-10 servings.
Believe me, this is not the stuff you make for your kids. No bright yellow powder or processed cheese product. This is really good. I think if I make it again, I will make twice as much sauce for the amount of noodles. I made this for my friend, Sarah, and her family, and if they are telling the truth, they loved it. George & I had some, too, and we really liked it, except something kind of weird happened with the bread crumbs on top. They were too crunchy. I thought it would be a good use for some stale bread, but maybe I should have used really fresh bread.
Here's how it went.
You start by putting a slice of onion, a bay leaf, a little fresh thyme, and a couple sliced garlic cloves in 3 cups of milk. Warm the milk until it starts to bubble at the edges and then turn it off. Let the milk steep with the aromatics for at least 10 minutes.
Grate 2-3 cups of cheese. Deborah Madison says 1 1/2 cups, but I used more and I thought it worked out well. I used smoked 2 cups of smoked cheddar and 1 cup Emmentaler swiss.
Boil elbow macaroni noodles (be sure to add a handful of salt to the boiling water before putting the macaroni in to cook). The recipe calls for a full pound, but in the future I plan to use 1/2 pound. While the pasta is boiling, heat 3 T. butter in a large pan. When it is melted, stir in 3 T. flour. Strain the hot milk directly into the butter, flour mixture. Whisk until a little thicker, and then cook over low heat for 20 minutes or so, stirring frequently. It should thicken up and
Drain the macaroni and put it into a buttered casserole dish. Pour in the roux (flour, butter, milk mixture) and then add the cheeses. Mix well. Top with fresh mozzarella slices and bread crumbs. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.
If you use the full pound of macaroni noodles, this makes A LOT of macaroni and cheese. It's a nice dish to take to a pot luck.
I served this with sauteed spinach with lemon zest and a little lemon juice. The spinach was even better than the mac & cheese, in my opinion. I also made some roasted red pepper soup as a starter, which was divine. A simple salad and some bread would probably suffice for dinner.
Approximate cost:
1 pound elbow macaroni noodles - $2.50
2 cups smoked cheddar - $3.00
1 cup Emmentaler - $.50 (I got this in a large block)
3 cups milk - $1.20
4 slices mozzarella - $1.00
bread crumbs - $.20
flour, butter, aromatics - negligible
TOTAL $8.40 for about 8-10 servings.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
January 20th, 2010
Well, I finally made a meal in under 30 minutes, thanks to Rachel Ray. I made stuffed portobello mushrooms for dinner and are they ever scrumptious. The recipe is here:
http://www.rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=1055
She actually includes 2 dishes in this recipe - stuffed portobellos and bread salad with tomatoes. Since tomatoes aren't in season, I just made the stuffed portobellos and a salad. I also served leftover green rice from the day before.
Since I was only making this recipe for 2 people, I had leftover artichoke and spinach filling. I think I'm going to try making some hand-made ravioli. I make pasta by hand quite often, but I've never tried ravioli before. I'll let you know how it goes.
The portobellos were fast, easy, and really tasty. You start by trimming and preparing your portobello, which usually includes scraping out the gills, but I didn't bother this time and they were really delicious. You oil the top side of the portobello and put it in the oven for 8 minutes or so. While it is cooking on that side, you combine frozen spinach (thawed), artichoke hearts, ricotta cheese, 1 egg yolk, one clove of garlic, and a little nutmeg, salt, and pepper. You then flip the portobellos over, and stuff them, and add a small handful of grated parmesan on top. Put them back in the oven for about 5 minutes. That's it.
They were juicy and delicious. With a salad, you've got a quick meal.
Approximate cost to prepare:
2 portobello mushrooms - 3.50
1 can artichoke hearts (organic) - 4.00
10 ounces frozen spinach (organic) - 2.00
1 egg yolk - .25
1 1/2 cups ricotta - 3.00
garlic, salt, pepper, nutmeg - negligible
1/4 cup parmesan - 1.00 (I found paremsan for $5.00/pound, which is unusual)
TOTAL - $13.75 However...
This was supposed to make 8 mushrooms. I counted the cost to make the stuffing for the full recipe, but only the cost of 2 portobellos. If you were making 8 of these, you would need to add another $10.00 or so for 6 more portobellos.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Pecorino and Bean Salad
January 17, 2009
This recipe is from Giada de Laurentis of the Food Network. It is super easy, beautiful, and really yummy. Another must try. Here's the link to the recipe.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/pecorino-and-bean-salad-recipe/index.html
This salad combines the creaminess of the cannelini beans, with the bright, fresh, crispiness of the shelled edamame. It is dressed with garlic and rosemary infused olive oil, salt, pepper, and parsley. Then you add cheese for a tangy finish. I couldn't find pecorino romano, so I used lemon-garlic feta, which was really tasty. I also used the cannelini beans I had in my freezer, rather than canned.
Giada says that this is a great dish to take to a potluck or on a picnic because it doesn't need to be refrigerated. I suppose that is more true of a semi-dry cheese like pecorino, though I would be more careful with the feta, I think.
I served this with leftover root veggies over brown and wild rice. (I scraped off the old pancake and just served the veggies that were underneath. I added a bit more salt and balsamic vinegar to wake up the flavors. The combination of the deep purple vegetables and the bright green salad was really beautiful.
Approximate cost
1 can cannelini beans - $1.00
2 cups edamame - $2.00
oil, garlic, rosemary - negligible
parsley - .20
feta, 4 oz. - $2.50 (I'm sure it would cost more if you used pecorino)
TOTAL cost - $5.70, serves 6 or more
This recipe is from Giada de Laurentis of the Food Network. It is super easy, beautiful, and really yummy. Another must try. Here's the link to the recipe.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/pecorino-and-bean-salad-recipe/index.html
This salad combines the creaminess of the cannelini beans, with the bright, fresh, crispiness of the shelled edamame. It is dressed with garlic and rosemary infused olive oil, salt, pepper, and parsley. Then you add cheese for a tangy finish. I couldn't find pecorino romano, so I used lemon-garlic feta, which was really tasty. I also used the cannelini beans I had in my freezer, rather than canned.
Giada says that this is a great dish to take to a potluck or on a picnic because it doesn't need to be refrigerated. I suppose that is more true of a semi-dry cheese like pecorino, though I would be more careful with the feta, I think.
I served this with leftover root veggies over brown and wild rice. (I scraped off the old pancake and just served the veggies that were underneath. I added a bit more salt and balsamic vinegar to wake up the flavors. The combination of the deep purple vegetables and the bright green salad was really beautiful.
Approximate cost
1 can cannelini beans - $1.00
2 cups edamame - $2.00
oil, garlic, rosemary - negligible
parsley - .20
feta, 4 oz. - $2.50 (I'm sure it would cost more if you used pecorino)
TOTAL cost - $5.70, serves 6 or more
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Ginger
Here's a tip from my cousin, Christie. If you have leftover ginger, peel it and put it in the freezer. It keeps almost forever and you can grate it straight out of the freezer. I also learned from Rachel Ray, that you can rub off the skin of the ginger root with a teaspoon. Very easy. Now I will always have ginger on hand!
A slice of ginger root with some boiling water, some lemon juice, and a little honey also makes a lovely warming tea. Ginger is good for digestion and helps decrease motion sickness.
A slice of ginger root with some boiling water, some lemon juice, and a little honey also makes a lovely warming tea. Ginger is good for digestion and helps decrease motion sickness.
Leftovers
Here's how the leftovers worked out for the Black-eyed peas and greens, and the Shredded Root Vegetables under a Wild Rice Pancake.
I froze the peas and greens, and the bulgur separately. This was good. I didn't give them enough time to thaw on their own, so I thawed them in the microwave. They came out a little mushy when cooked. I also forgot to taste before serving. They were a little bland. They needed to be "woken up" with a splash of vinegar while cooking. Otherwise, very tasty and a healthy, easy night's meal.
I had baked the shredded root vegetables with the wild rice pancake on top, and then put the finished dish in the refrigerator. I heated it up in the oven. The pancake was too crunchy. If I were doing it again, I would refrigerate the vegetables and the pancake batter separately. When I was ready to make my supper, I would just pour the batter over the veggies and bake. I think this would work out better.
Both dishes were absolutely worth having in the fridge. One of the great things about this project so far is that we eat homemade food almost every night of the week, partly because of the leftovers. This must be a good thing.
I froze the peas and greens, and the bulgur separately. This was good. I didn't give them enough time to thaw on their own, so I thawed them in the microwave. They came out a little mushy when cooked. I also forgot to taste before serving. They were a little bland. They needed to be "woken up" with a splash of vinegar while cooking. Otherwise, very tasty and a healthy, easy night's meal.
I had baked the shredded root vegetables with the wild rice pancake on top, and then put the finished dish in the refrigerator. I heated it up in the oven. The pancake was too crunchy. If I were doing it again, I would refrigerate the vegetables and the pancake batter separately. When I was ready to make my supper, I would just pour the batter over the veggies and bake. I think this would work out better.
Both dishes were absolutely worth having in the fridge. One of the great things about this project so far is that we eat homemade food almost every night of the week, partly because of the leftovers. This must be a good thing.
I didn't know an egg could do that (Sauteed Mushrooms & Croutons)
January 15, 2010
Well, I finally had a mini-disaster. This wouldn't be any fun without something going wrong, right?
Last night I made Baked Eggs Over Sauteed Mushrooms and Croutons, which was absolutely delicious, but I screwed up the eggs. Now, I really want to make this again to get the eggs right. I wish I'd taken a picture, but I can't seem to get the camera ready at the same time as the dish coming out of the oven. Maybe I should put George in charge of that.
So, here's the basic recipe. It serves 2 but can be multiplied for serving more people.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Oil or butter small dish that can go in the oven. I made this all in one dish, but next time, I'm going to try putting it in individual bowls that can go in the oven. Cut 2 slices of bread into cubes. Melt 1 T. butter over low heat and toss bread cubes in butter. Let brown (8 minutes or so.) Put croutons in oiled dish (or dishes). While the bread is browning, chop 2 small or 1 large shallots, 1 T. parsley, 2 t. rosemary, and half a pound of crimini mushrooms. Melt another tablespoon of butter and 1 T. of oil in the same pan. Saute the shallots for a couple minutes, then add the mushrooms and herbs and saute until mushrooms start to brown. Add 2 t. tomato paste and 3/4 cup red wine. Simmer until only a couple teaspoons of liquid remain. Put sauteed mushrooms in with croutons and mix a little. Break an egg or 2 over each dish and bake for 15 minutes in a 400 degree oven.
Here's where I went wrong. After 15 minutes, it looked like the whites weren't cooked, so I turned the oven to broil to finish cooking the eggs. The eggs got this hard skin on top that resembled plastic and was inedible. The yolks were beyond hard boiled, but the whites were still edible. What I thought was uncooked egg white was just too thin to turn white. Since the egg white goes down into the nooks and crannies, some of it is just very thin over the croutons and mushrooms.
Anyway, it was SUPER yummy. The rosemary made the whole house smell wonderful. Despite the egg problem, George said this was his favorite dish so far. I could just imagine how this dish would taste if it had the addition of egg yolks running into the bread and mushrooms. It seems like it would work just as well and be faster to just fry a couple eggs and put them on top of the mushrooms and croutons, but it wouldn't be as pretty as the sunny-side-up eggs. I don't think this would make good leftovers, so plan for about a slice of bread, 1/4 pound of mushroom, and one egg per person. Along with a salad and a hearty red wine, this is a fairly quick and easy weeknight dinner. I would definitely make this for guests because it is just so incredibly tasty.
This meal still took me an hour to prepare, including making the salad and setting the table. I think you could probably make the dish itself in about 40 minutes, including the 15 minutes of baking time. Maybe even faster. I made a spinach, endive, red cabbage, goat cheese and pecan salad with a dijon vinaigrette, which stood up nicely to the hearty mushroom dish. The recommended wine was a "working man's red", so I just pulled something out of the wine pantry - a nice spicy zin. Of course, this is the wine I used in the dish, too.
What I'd do differently if I made this again:
- Bake for exactly 15 minutes in a 400 degree oven and just trust that it would all work out.
- Use separate serving dishes for each person
Approximate cost:
- 2 slices of bread (the good stuff from the local bakery) - .50
- 1/2 pound crimini mushrooms - $3.00
- herbs - $.20
- 2 eggs - .50
- 3/4 cup wine - $2.50
- shallot - .30
TOTAL without wine - $7.00 for 2 people
You've got to try this one!
Well, I finally had a mini-disaster. This wouldn't be any fun without something going wrong, right?
Last night I made Baked Eggs Over Sauteed Mushrooms and Croutons, which was absolutely delicious, but I screwed up the eggs. Now, I really want to make this again to get the eggs right. I wish I'd taken a picture, but I can't seem to get the camera ready at the same time as the dish coming out of the oven. Maybe I should put George in charge of that.
So, here's the basic recipe. It serves 2 but can be multiplied for serving more people.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Oil or butter small dish that can go in the oven. I made this all in one dish, but next time, I'm going to try putting it in individual bowls that can go in the oven. Cut 2 slices of bread into cubes. Melt 1 T. butter over low heat and toss bread cubes in butter. Let brown (8 minutes or so.) Put croutons in oiled dish (or dishes). While the bread is browning, chop 2 small or 1 large shallots, 1 T. parsley, 2 t. rosemary, and half a pound of crimini mushrooms. Melt another tablespoon of butter and 1 T. of oil in the same pan. Saute the shallots for a couple minutes, then add the mushrooms and herbs and saute until mushrooms start to brown. Add 2 t. tomato paste and 3/4 cup red wine. Simmer until only a couple teaspoons of liquid remain. Put sauteed mushrooms in with croutons and mix a little. Break an egg or 2 over each dish and bake for 15 minutes in a 400 degree oven.
Here's where I went wrong. After 15 minutes, it looked like the whites weren't cooked, so I turned the oven to broil to finish cooking the eggs. The eggs got this hard skin on top that resembled plastic and was inedible. The yolks were beyond hard boiled, but the whites were still edible. What I thought was uncooked egg white was just too thin to turn white. Since the egg white goes down into the nooks and crannies, some of it is just very thin over the croutons and mushrooms.
Anyway, it was SUPER yummy. The rosemary made the whole house smell wonderful. Despite the egg problem, George said this was his favorite dish so far. I could just imagine how this dish would taste if it had the addition of egg yolks running into the bread and mushrooms. It seems like it would work just as well and be faster to just fry a couple eggs and put them on top of the mushrooms and croutons, but it wouldn't be as pretty as the sunny-side-up eggs. I don't think this would make good leftovers, so plan for about a slice of bread, 1/4 pound of mushroom, and one egg per person. Along with a salad and a hearty red wine, this is a fairly quick and easy weeknight dinner. I would definitely make this for guests because it is just so incredibly tasty.
This meal still took me an hour to prepare, including making the salad and setting the table. I think you could probably make the dish itself in about 40 minutes, including the 15 minutes of baking time. Maybe even faster. I made a spinach, endive, red cabbage, goat cheese and pecan salad with a dijon vinaigrette, which stood up nicely to the hearty mushroom dish. The recommended wine was a "working man's red", so I just pulled something out of the wine pantry - a nice spicy zin. Of course, this is the wine I used in the dish, too.
What I'd do differently if I made this again:
- Bake for exactly 15 minutes in a 400 degree oven and just trust that it would all work out.
- Use separate serving dishes for each person
Approximate cost:
- 2 slices of bread (the good stuff from the local bakery) - .50
- 1/2 pound crimini mushrooms - $3.00
- herbs - $.20
- 2 eggs - .50
- 3/4 cup wine - $2.50
- shallot - .30
TOTAL without wine - $7.00 for 2 people
You've got to try this one!
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