Sherry Stirred Mushrooms

Love or Loathe?
Enter the Mushroom.  Most people are clearly either on one side or the other.  I'm one of those people who loves some of them and loathes others.  Sorry Mr. Portobello.  

I would venture to guess one of the reasons why there is such a strong affinity one way or the other is the intensity of a mushroom.  Robust, earthy, with a flavor depth that is undeniable, mushrooms stand up for who they are and make no excuses.  For those in favor, raise your hands in proclaiming that those are some of mushrooms' greatest attributes.   For those who say, hell no, I don't want that mush in my room, it might just be the texture. And the culprit to that is H2O.  Mushrooms are made up of 92% water.  If they don't get cooked correctly or they are salted too soon, all that 92% comes running out like Niagara Falls.  And what do you get? Mushy, soggy, spongy is what you can expect. That's actually my beef with the portobello, a big sponge that fancies itself a "burger".  I guess that's my biggest beef with Señor Portobello.  Another thing, let's not forget they are a fungus.  So that isn't too appealing either. Crap, what am I doing?  I'm supposed to get you to make these mushrooms, not give you reasons not to.  Let me take another swig of sherry and start again.

Mushrooms are in a class by themselves.  Here is a little mushroom humor.  They are neither a meat nor a vegetable.  Yet meat eaters believe them to be a vegetable and vegetarians convince themselves they are meat. Go figure.  These earthy fungi stand alone in the field, literally,  and are mineral and nutrient packed wonders.   I could list all of them but that would be boring.  Trust that they are good, AND  low in calories, fat-free, cholesterol-free, gluten-free, and very low in sodium.  Cropping up from the earth with varieties beyond your imagination and sometimes with price points that exceed the imagination, the ways to serve them are just as varied.  

Now down to brass tacks.  Hopefully I didn't scare you off of eating mushrooms or trying this recipe.   Mushrooms are a good thing and they have talents for being cooked up; they can be stuffed or used in stuffing.  They can be baked, sauteéd or raw. The can be a side dish or a topping. They can be a sauce or sauced.  They can... quite frankly do a lot.  My reason for using them recently came by way of  appetizer platter dilemma.  Our guests regularly get their fill of cured meats and cheeses, so I desperately needed to think out of the box.  A stroll through the produce aisle produced an idea for deep, dark earthiness. Enter the Mushroom: LOVE   

Ingredients

4 c mushrooms, small chopped  (you can use any kind you like. I used cremini.)
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1/3 c shallots, fine dice
1/3 c onions, fine dice
2 T scallions
1 T fresh thyme
1/4 t pepper
1/2 t salt
3/4 c sherry wine
lemon zest
squeeze of lemon juice
Olive oil

Instructions

Mise en place, French for 'everything in its place, is the best way to cook.  It allows you to have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go.  So cut up your ingredients as described above.

Sweat the shallots and onions in oil and then add the mushrooms.  Do not season with salt yet, remember their enormous water content.  If you salt them at this point, they will release all their liquid making them MUSHrooms. You want them to get a nice sear on them.  Another tip is to not stir them. Let them cook and get caramelized before you give them whirl.

Patience is more than a virtue. Let the mushrooms sit there. I know it's tempting but do not stir them around. Let them get a good sear.

Once they are beautifully browned add the salt, pepper, thyme and garlic and sauté a few minutes more.   Add the scallions and sherry wine and let the mixture reduce down absorbing up the liquor. Remove from the heat, squeeze some lemon juice and finish with the zest.  You can also drizzle a good olive oil over top. Place in your favorite serving bowl.  You can even top this with some chopped parsley and more scallions.

See the sear. And NO mush anywhere in sight.

Here is how I completed my appetizer platter.  I made bacon jam.  Uh ha, another earthy, jammy wonder to cozy up alongside my 'shrooms.  Since it wasn't my recipe, not going to dedicate a post to it, but my guests loved it so that I wanted to share it. (Click on the highlighted link above for the recipe.)  Then I whipped up some feta cream to spread on grilled bread to be topped with the aforementioned earthy yummies, added some olives, Taleggio cheese, mortadella and roasted peppers.  

Something a little different and perfect for a cold Sunday afternoon.

Let there be fungus among us, sauteéd with sherry, of course.

Recipe Printable Version

Hail to the Kale, Caesar

Kale Caesar Salad

Kale is so very popular that you just want to say, 'Really, do you need to hog the whole stage from other leafy greens?  How much attention does one vegetable need?'  Apparently ALL.  You'd think it was the long lost Kardashian sister, Khail. That said, it is a nice little leaf that does offer what it promises.  As do I. Which is why I am posting this salad.  A few of you asked me to recreate the Kale Caesar Salad that was shown in my review post of Copper 29 Bar.  I, much like kale, like to deliver.  

But before we get down to the nuts and bolts of ingredients and instructions, let's examine the deeper qualities of this bold veg from the cabbage family and see why kale has gained so much fame of late.  First, it is the most nutrient dense leafy gem of all.  Packing Vitamins A, K, C, B6, B1, B2, B3, Manganese, Calcium, Copper, Potassium, Magnesium, Iron and Phosphorus plus it contains powerful antioxidants. It makes a ton of other boostful claims like lowering your cholesterol and fighting cancer. Well, who doesn't love that?!  It's low in calories, low in carbs and good on protein. Gosh damn, what a show off. I guess I can stop being critical and admit it has every right to hog the stage.  Can't say that about many others these days.

Few but mighty ingredients

In the past I have used kale in a few different dishes.  I've made kale chips. I've sautéed it. I've made soup with it. I've added it raw to my Spicy Crunch Slaw.  I even experimented with it many years ago before Kale was all the rage.  I'll post that recipe shortly but for now we will concentrate on hailing to Caesar featuring Kale.  In the version from Copper 29, they added radicchio. Alas, my market didn't have any that looked nice enough to grace this salad, so no go on the radicchio. I used romaine instead. (Not because I thought that was an equal substitute but because I had extra in the house.  Use what you got.)  Their version also used a true Caesar dressing, and you can too.  But I don't eat eggs and wanted to come up with a creamy version that eliminated the raw egg.  I think I hit the mark on creaminess and then some.  

Ingredients

(Makes 6-8 side servings or 4 main)

3 c red kale, finely chopped
3 c green kale, finely chopped
5 c romaine lettuce, chopped
2 T shallots, fine dice
2 T pumpkin seeds, roasted
2 T sunflower seeds
Shards of parm (the amount you desire)
Pear, optional

Instructions

First things first, remove the ribs from the kale leaves.  These are way too hard to eat raw.   Then chop the kale leaves and lettuce in small pieces.  I feel that this is an important step when using hearty kale.  If you leave the pieces too large, they can be a bit rough and tough and slightly unmanageable to deal with... Much like a Kardashian.  So take the time and chop them fine.  Small dice the shallots and shave the Parmesan cheese, setting it aside.  Put all your greens and shallots in your bowl our choice, as it awaits its creamy coating.

Get rid of the ribs.

See, nice small and manageable pieces.

Now it's time to make the dressing.  Remember, if you like traditional Caesar dressing, by all means, knock yourself out.  Below is my interpretation for those who also want to eliminate the raw egg.

The line up for my version of a creamy 'faux Caesar' dressing. (The chives aren't pictured here because I decided to add them after I took the photo. That is truly how the something from nothing style of cooking works. Add as you go.

Dressing

2/3 c Buttermilk
1/2 c Greek yogurt
1 T chives
1 T parsley, chopped
1/2 heaping tsp garlic, crushed  
1/2 t Mustard
2-3 T Parmesan cheese, grated
/2 t lemon zest
1 T lemon juice
1/2 full tsp salt
1/4 t pepper

Then combine all the above ingredients, whisking until smooth.  Easy, peasy.

Don't forget to add the grated parm. This harkens back to the Caesar taste.

Usually, I don't dress my salad until right before serving.  However, due to the heartiness of the leaf, I consider this salad to be more like a slaw which really demands time to let the dressing soak in.  Lovingly pour it over the salad a 1/2 hour before serving, but hold off on adding the shards of parm until right before serving.  Try not to eat too many while you wait.  If you do, just shave some more.

Now here's the part that rockets this recipe to the stars.  Copper 29 served their salad with croutons that were more like heavenly toasts.  Here's my version of those bad boys. 

Ingredients

4-6 thick slices of good crusty bread
3 T butter, room temp softened
1 T Bourbon
1 t Crushed garlic
Sea salt

In a bowl, mash together garlic, butter and bourbon.  Slather the mixture on both sides of the bread slices.

 Sprinkle with sea salt and grill both sides til beautifully browned.  I use a cast iron pan which does the trick.

Oh the sheer crispy, crustiness soaked with warm bourbon butter. Hello, can you say 3 slices is not enough!

Sure this bread has butter AND bourbon, but given Kale's super power properties I think it negates any adverse effects from this mighty 'crouton'. 

So enjoy it all, down to the last crumb, as did my guests.  All in all, I was pleased with how this salad turned out.  I think you will enjoy it too.  Thank goodness we can all Hail the Kale without there being a social media scandal.

Recipe Printable Version

Balsamic Bathed Carrots Wrapped with Zucchini

Crudité cranked up. This is not your ordinary raw carrot appetizer.  It's not a big hunk of veg that is hard and hard to bite into.  And no dipping in some ranch dressing either.  This is amped up, vamped up crudité.  Now, admittedly I can't take full credit for this recipe.  But imitation is the best form of admiration and also serves to inspire, which is what Giada De Laurentiis did.  In her version, she used prosciutto to wrap these bathed shredded carrots.  

I have made it her way many a time, often using Serrano ham instead.  Each time I placed this salty and sweet combo out, they were gobbled up, leaving but spotted remnants of basil and a shred of carrot as evidence of their existence.  I highly recommend trying it that way.  They make the cutest little bundles and provide some vegetables to the meat lovers.  

Bathing the carrots in balsamic and basil is brilliant and elevates the simple carrot to its kicked up crudité status.  Shredding the carrots is also genius as it does two things. It maintains the crisp rawness of the carrot but makes them more manageable to eat.  You definitely won't feel like you'll crack a tooth biting into one of these. Second, the strands lend themselves to be wrapped, creating a more elegant bite. And it's a this point that I began to alter the recipe, coming up with other outer coat wrappings.  During the summer months, I used a long slice of English cucumber.  Served alongside oil doused fennel, this created a very refreshing bite indeed.   I've also tweaked the original recipe not only by what I cloak them with but the dressing as well.

So when a recent gathering required another appetizer, I pulled from my "appetizer archives" and was reminded of these shredded carrots.  Certainly I could have rolled them with Prosciutto or Serrano but I had plenty of meat offerings already.  Just how much do the carnivores need?  I say there needs to be balance on a table. Balance is key.  You want some warm options, room temp ones, meat, and even fresh, raw options from which your guests can pick and choose.  I always try to provide a variety, and given that some of my guests, including myself, are veg/pescatarians, offering up vegetarian options is mandatory. For this shindig, I needed the addition of a refreshing, easy to pick up vegetable plate. Cranked up crudité to the rescue.  Being wintertime I didn't feel the cool cucumber coat would be appropriate. Hmm, what is long, vegetarian and can roll?  No, not a yogini.  Enter the ubiquitous zucchini to the stage. 

INGREDIENTS

3-4 Zucchini, thinly sliced
2-3 large Carrots, shredded
1 T shallot, minced
3 T basil, ribboned
3 T Balsamic vinegar
1/2 T lemon juice
1/3 c olive oil
salt, pepper

 

 

 

Instructions

Using a vegetable shredder on your carrot, create fine julienne ribbons.  I like mine to be about 3-4" in length. Using a mandolin, cut the zucchini into long strips.  

Season the zucchini and grill them lightly and quickly to soften them up so they are not raw and can easily be rolled.

In a bowl, mix together the vinegar, salt, pepper, shallots, basil and oil.  Then toss the carrots so they are all coated with this tangy basil mixture. 

Take a zucchini strip, grab a mound of carrots and begin to roll it up.  Arrange on a platter.  

Make these a head of time while you enjoy a crisp glass of wine, then cover with plastic wrap to keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve.  I would recommend taking them out at least 1/2 hour prior to serving to allow them to kick off the icy chill.  You can also serve these warm.  If you opt for this route, I would prep everything ahead of time right up to the rolling part. Then put the zucchini in the oven to warm, roll up and serve immediately. Anyway you wrap these; cured ham, cucumber, zucchini, cold, warm... well, you get the picture, they will be your new favorite app. Delightful for any party.   Hey, you could also serve a couple of these atop a salad as a first course.  Gosh, I just love when a simple little root veg goes showing off its multitalented uses.  Bravo, Carrot!

As you can see, you don't need to roll these up.  You can also cradle them in a basinet of endive.

Post note:  Two weekends ago we were invited to our friends' house last minute and I was asked to bring some appetizers.  I didn't have much in the house and it was snowing.  This is the best time to employ the something from nothing style.  Open the fridge to find, some carrots, chives and baby bok choy.  You guessed it.  I replaced the basil with chives and the zucchini with baby bok choy.  The flavors were subtle but still made an impression. Open your fridge and turn on your inner something from nothing genius to wrap up some balsamic bathed carrots.
 

Cream Puff -What Did You Call Me?

Cream Puffs have been a part of my life for a long, long time.  My mom has been making them ever since I can remember.  Quite honestly, since she always made them, I never did.  That was until a caterer friend of mine hired me to bake for one of her clients.  One of the orders was for 100 mini cream puffs.  Thus began the start of MY cream puff making. 

First,  a little culinary lesson for those who may not be familiar with these little, light puffs. The pastry used for cream puffs is called pate a choux.  Yup, just like a lot of good pastry, it's French.  This is a very specific type of pastry that when baked at a high temperature puffs up with a crispy but tender exterior and hollow interior.  This creates the perfect pocket to fill with any type of stuffing you can imagine.  The classic fillings are a vanilla pastry cream for the traditional cream puff or ice cream drizzled with chocolate, which are known as profiteroles.

Because experience whether good or bad always serves, here's a bit of valuable info and full disclosure.  My first attempt at making cream puffs was a complete disaster.  They turned out like portobello mushrooms.  And when I say portobello, I mean large, flat and blackish brown. How did that happen, you ask? Ha, I certainly asked myself that same question.  So what do you do when you need answers to life questions? Call your mom. Which is what I did. She explained that the choux pastry is very delicate and temperature has a huge effect on it.  Well, there you have it, my answer in spades.  I had been baking for 9 solid hours to fulfill the catering order and the kitchen was piping hot. Worse possible scenario for this recipe. However, this was a great lesson that yielding an enlightening tip which I am now passing along to you. I recovered that day by turning off the ovens, letting the kitchen cool down and starting from scratch at 10pm so I could fulfill the order. I have been making these tasty little puffs perfectly ever since.

Here is the basic recipe for pate a choux.  (Don't let the amount of photos make you think this is hard.  It's not.  I just loved some the images and also wanted to show some of the steps.)

 INGREDIENTS

Yields approx. 44
(2" puffs)

• 1 c water

• 1 stick butter

• 1 c flour

• pinch of salt

• 4 Lg. eggs
  

 

 

 

 

 

Instructions

Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, melt the butter in water then add the salt and flour. Take pot off the heat and stir until the mixture comes together in a ball.  Let the mixture cool slightly and add one egg at a time.  I use a wooden spoon to combine but you can also use a hand mixer.  

Butter melting in water

Add flour

Stir quickly to bring together

One egg at a time

When you add the egg the dough will separate. Not to worry.  Keep stirring it until it combines, and it will combine. Then add the next egg.  Continue until all eggs are incorporated.

Notice how the pastry seems to get gloppy. Just keep stirring.

For quickness, ease and to make the puffs all the same size, I have found that using a piping bag is the best method. Fill the bag and squeeze out the size you desire.  My mom makes hers on the larger size.  I make mine smaller.  If you don't want to use a piping bag, you can use two small spoons to dollop the pastry onto a greased baking sheet.  

Spoon into piping bag. You can also use a large plastic bag and cut the corner off.

Traditionally, cream puffs are not fluted like seen here, but this was the piping tip I had so I used it. It makes them pretty so why not.

Two important notes.  Try to make them as close to the same size as possible so they will cook evenly, as well as they look nice when you present them for dessert.  Consistency in size really ups the level of presentation in anything you serve, especially in baking.  Second; swirl the top so as to not create a long tip or tail, since it will burn.  If you do get a little tip, wet your finger with some water and dab the tip down.

Bake for 10 minutes at 450, the lower the oven to 400 degrees and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Lines of perfectly baked puffs awaiting their filling.

Filling - the Classic

The classic filling is vanilla pastry cream which can be made using this link recipe.  But my mom took a short cut which seems to work well and is quick and simple.  It may be a cheat to the traditional method but it tastes pretty darn good.  Here's what she passed down to me.
 

Ingredients
 

1 box Jello Instant Vanilla Pudding
1 c milk
2 c heavy cream
Powdered sugar for decorating

Instructions
 

Add the milk into the pudding mix and beat until combined.  Refrigerator while you whip the heavy cream to soft peak.

Combine the two together to get a light filling.

Once the cream is whipped, fold the pudding into the cream and thoroughly combing.  Fill a piping bag.

Clearly, I love using a piping bag. It really does make things so much easier.

Using the tip, gently push a hole into the bottom of the puff and fill 'er up.

Once you have all your puffs filled, stack them on a cake plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

And there you have it.  Light and fluffy filled with creamy lusciousness.  If that's the definition, then go ahead and call me a Cream Puff!  Enjoy with an espresso and don't forget to share the love.

Other fillings:  Oh there are so many that this post would go on for pages and pages.  Why would I do that when I could use all those good ideas to write another blog post... which I will.  You can fill these little delights with whatever your heart desires.  I promise to post a handful of savory ideas in the near future.
 

Creamy, Cheesy Cauliflower Dip

Creamy, steamy, cheesy and delicious cauliflower dip

Cauliflower:  the big, white, bulbous veg that is so versatile.  It can be crunchy when roasted, or creamy when pureed.  It's nutritious and delicious. (and even facilitates my propensity to rhyme.) Seriously, what more can you ask of it.  But I did. Please can you be a creamy, cheesy dip for my cocktail party? And the answer was, Sure Thing. 

Since this dip was such a hit for my post Thanksgiving cocktail party I thought it only fitting and quite appropriate to bookend the year by posting another cauliflower dish.  I started this blog with the simple but versatile Faux Creamy Cauliflower Soup and I end the year with another simple but this time decadent cauliflower dish that will help ring in the New Year's Eve.  There is no faux in the creamy nature of this dip. It's real, alright.  And it's cheesy, gooeyness is completely sanctioned when one is kicking out the old and cheering in the new.

Just as with the soup you can add a variety of extras as you desire.  You can even play with different spices, too. This is was my first attempt at asking my cauliflower to be dippable so I didn't venture too far into the experimental.  That said, we did just fine.  Here are the basics.

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower
1/4 c shallots, minced
1/4 c onion, minced
2 small cloves garlic, minced
Magic 3 (oil, salt, pepper)
1/8 t red pepper flakes (optional, if you like a little heat)
1/2 c sautéd escarole (optional, I had some leftover from the Escarole Rolls so I tossed it in)
2/3 c fontina, grated (or cheese of your choice, Gruyere would be yummy)
Crusty bread, for serving
Endive, gluten free option for serving

Instructions

Break up the cauliflower in pieces and boil it in salted water. 

Remove, reserving 1 cup of the liquid for pureeing.  Set cauliflower aside while you sauté the onion, shallots and garlic, seasoning as they get nice and soft.  Then add the cooked cauliflower and let it get coated with that flavor.

Next step is to make it creamy.  Place the mixture into a food processor and puree, adding a little of the reserved liquid as needed to get the consistency you want.  Remember, you can always add but cannot take away, so go slowly to determine whether you want it chunky or super smooth.  At this point, please taste and adjust your seasonings as you see fit.  As I mentioned, since I had some leftover sautéd escarole, after I removed the mixture from the processor, I folded it in.

cauliflower puree

leftover sautéd escarole

The mixture awaiting it's cheese partner.

Place the mixture into an oven proof baking dish that can also be used to serve. I bought the one pictured from Despaña.  They have terra cotta cazuelas in a variety of sizes, and this one is perfect.  Then comes the best part, the CHEESE. Did I say I like cheese?  If you know me, you already knew that.  Add the cheese into the entire mixture, plus sprinkle some on top. Bake at 350 until nice and bubbly.  

Serve warm with crusty bread, endive or any other vegetable for dipping.  

Here's to ringing in the New Year with Health & Wealth of heart, body and mind.  May you reach for the stars, touch them and be electrified to do great things.  May love and peace show up at your door each day.  And may you know when to have faux creaminess and when it's absolutely necessary to have the real thing.  

Thank you all for your support and onto new food bites in 2017!