Stuffed Mushrooms for Any Occasion

This has to be one of the easiest appetizers available!  It is so simple that my 8 year old neice was able to do this all on her own. The recipe below serves 12 but it is quite easy to size up or down depending in your needs.  I always make more than necessary because they are gone in a flash!

Ingredients:

12 Crimini mushooms, stemmed and cleaned, or more depending on the number of guests

5 oz. high quality goat cheese, divided into 12 servings

1 Tablespoon walnut oil

1/4 cup walnut halves or pieces

Preheat toaster oven, or conventional oven if making a large quantity, to 400 degrees.

Gather all the mushroom caps in a small bowl.  Drizzle until covered in olive oil, about 1 tablespoon.  Stir to coat and add one or two twists of ground sea salt or 1/4 tsp. table salt. If desired, you can add one stalk of rosemary, finely minced to the bowl.  Stir until well combined, gently so that you don’t break or injure the mushrooms.

Next, place each mushroom cap, round side up, on a broiler pan or cookie sheet.  Place in either the toaster oven or conventional oven.  Roast until browned.  Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature, for about 10-15 minutes.

Turn the mushrooms stem side up.

Spoon a heaping glob of goat cheese into the mushroom cap.  Add either a walnut halve or chopped walnuts.  Drizzle with 1/4 teaspoon walnut oil.

Let stand at room temperature for 20 – 30 minutes.  Serve.

Another twist to these is to add a few strips of sundried tomatoes, sparingly and just for color and a spark of flavor.  Too much is overpowering.

These are good for all occasions from New Year’s Eve, Birthdays and Superbowl to simple dinner parties.  Enjoy!

This has to be one of the easiest appetizers available!  It is so simple that my 8 year old neice was able to do this all on her own. The recipe below serves 12 but it is quite easy to size up or down depending in your needs.  I always make more than necessary because they are gone in a flash!

Ingredients:

12 Crimini mushooms, stemmed and cleaned, or more depending on the number of guests

5 oz. high quality goat cheese, divided into 12 servings

1 Tablespoon walnut oil

1/4 cup walnut halves or pieces

Preheat toaster oven, or conventional oven if making a large quantity, to 400 degrees.

Gather all the mushroom caps in a small bowl.  Drizzle until covered in olive oil, about 1 tablespoon.  Stir to coat and add one or two twists of ground sea salt or 1/4 tsp. table salt. If desired, you can add one stalk of rosemary, finely minced to the bowl.  Stir until well combined, gently so that you don’t break or injure the mushrooms.

Next, place each mushroom cap, round side up, on a broiler pan or cookie sheet.  Place in either the toaster oven or conventional oven.  Roast until browned.  Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature, for about 10-15 minutes.

Turn the mushrooms stem side up.

Spoon a heaping glob of goat cheese into the mushroom cap.  Add either a walnut halve or chopped walnuts.  Drizzle with 1/4 teaspoon walnut oil.

Let stand at room temperature for 20 – 30 minutes.  Serve.

Another twist to these is to add a few strips of sundried tomatoes, sparingly and just for color and a spark of flavor.  Too much is overpowering.

These are good for all occasions from New Year’s Eve, Birthdays and Superbowl to simple dinner parties.  Enjoy!

Simple Secret, Leftover Crudites Soup

Usually at the end of the holiday season, after grazing at more buffets than one thought possible, the idea of eating another celery stick, another broccoli floret or yet another leaf of endive does not appeal one bit.

Many hosts face this problem:  a platter half filled with subtly wilting crudités sitting atop the coffee table–and the party is over.

A popular “save” for these fresh foods is the peerless Vegetable Stock.  Vegetable stock is a great way to use up the leftover food, save the dollars invested and derive some healthy meals out of the foods.

However, I like to get right on top of things and use those vegetables while they are still fresh.  One of the easiest recipes for leftover crudités is soup.  A collection of food from party platters usually is enough to provide most of the ingredients necessary.

My favorite leftover crudités recipe is as simple as it gets!

Fresh Cream of Broccoli Soup*.

2 tablespoons butter

1 celery rib, chopped

2 carrot sticks, chopped (not whole carrots, remember these are party

leftovers)

1 whole medium onion, chopped

1 smashed garlic clove, peeled

1 russet potato, peeled and diced

6 cups homemade (hopefully) chicken stock (or vegetable stock)

4 cups broccoli florets (trim any dried stem ends)

1 spring fresh thyme

Salt and black pepper to taste

Leftover cubes of cheddar cheese or grated Monterrey jack

(or grated, imported gruyère cheese)

In a large pot, over medium high heat, melt the butter.

Add the celery, carrot and onions.  Sauté briefly until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add the smashed garlic and potatoes.  Stir to coat with butter.

Add the 6 cups of chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Add the 4 cups broccoli florets and simmer until they are bright green and tender.  Be careful not to overcook the broccoli because it will turn slightly bitter in flavor and become an unappealing khaki green color.  At this point, add the sprig of thyme and let it simmer along with the broccoli.  Remove the thyme before you blend the soup!

When the broccoli florets are knife tender, turn off the heat and remove the pot from the stove.  Cool slightly.  (Are you certain that you removed the sprig of thyme?)  Using an immersion blender, a blender or a food processor, puree the soup in small batches until smooth and creamy.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

When you serve these puréed crudités as soup, only you will know the simple leftover crudités secret.  You can also make this soup using florets of cauliflower but I reduce the stock to 4 1/2 cups stock and add 1 1/2 cups white wine to equal 6 cups liquid and add some grated nutmeg.

For a Gluten Free Soup, be sure to use gluten free or homemade stock.

Diet Buster: If you choose to do so, you can garnish this soup with those leftover cubes of cheese from the crudités platters or use some freshly grated cheese. Some of the folks in our household also like to melt the cheese into the soup when they reheat it.

*Note there is no cream in this cream soup. The potato gives enough of a creamy body to the soup that you can omit the cream (FAT) and enjoy a healthy yet rich tasting soup as you embark on your after holiday dieting.

Simple Omelet for Holiday Brunch

Whether hosting large holiday parties, a small neighborhood get-together or an intimate family gathering for two, food seems to take center stage.

Especially in the wintertime, on these occasions, when we huddle together to keep warm there is almost certainly a shared hot meal coming from the kitchen exuding an aroma that tempts our taste buds and spins our heads!

After a couple of days of entertaining, my refrigerator bulges with containers of “a little bit of this,” “a tidbit of that,” and “a pinch of unused cheese” along with “a mystery sauce.”

In keeping with the season of sharing, giving, and adhering to our steadfast kitchen rule of wasting nothing, we count our eggs and then invite as many people as we have eggs for omelets!

Ah, the satisfaction of sautéing leftover vegetables, folding warm creamy eggs around them and topping it all with a savory sauce seems like a little bit of heaven on a chilly morning.  Hot, seasoned hash browns and home cured bacon strips balance the flavors and the plate.  When served with a mug of hot coffee, tea or chocolate, and some friendly conversation, contentment fills the room.

There’s nothing like a Leftovers Omelet* for a wholesome, no additive, no preservative, vitamin packed, inexpensive and deliciously shared meal with family and friends.

*No recipe necessary:  plan approximately 1-2 eggs per omelet, a handful of any combination of leftover vegetables, about 2 palmfuls of potato cubes per person and either two strips of bacon, fried tofu or Quark. if desired.  Any leftover holiday sauce (whether meat, poultry, sriracha, tabasco or green/red chili sauce) makes a fine accent.

Festive Holiday Salad

Few starters are simpler than this one!

Simply chill a plate.

Next, top it with some mixed greens.  Any salad greens will work but an assortment is desirable for an interesting mingling of flavors.

Slice a Fuyu persimmon and decorate the greens with those brightly colored slim slices.

Dot the persimmon with crumbles (or globs as we call them in my kitchen) of chevre (goat cheese).

Lastly, sprinkle the plate with some homemade (or store bought, if you must) candied pecans.

The result is an inviting and colorful first course, filled with flavor and good nutrition.  At the last minute, before serving, drizzle any type of citrus vinaigrette (or for New Years, use a high quality champagne vinaigrette) over the top and serve chilled!

Happy Holidays!

Give It Away for the Holidays!

Our strongest family tradition for the holidays is to give until it hurts, so to speak. As a result, everyone in our family makes food for the hungry, works in a food kitchen or hosts homeless or vagrant people for the holidays. Yes, it’s a risk to invite strangers to our tables, but we do it. It has been a generational tradition that we can’t evade and no one wants to avoid. In fact, everyone embraces it and cherishes the enriching stories that come from such shared holidays. If you have more than you need, consider giving to someone else this year and every year that you are able to do so. You don’t need to share your table as we do but you can drop off food, hand out food or make a generous contribution of food to your local food kitchen, church or synagogue or hand out sandwiches to the homeless you see around your town.

We’ve spent plenty of holidays in our home sharing homemade pizza for Thanksgiving because we gave away the turkey. Over the years, I learned to buy more than one turkey so that we could still have a turkey after we donated however many turkeys were needed locally. If you can, please join us in giving. It costs so little and adds so much to those in need of a holiday, a tradition or simple warm food. If you shop wisely you can get turkeys for very little, spend a little energy cooking and present those who would go without a holiday with some joy and nourishment. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you and here’s hoping you are truly grateful to have whatever is upon your table for sharing. At our house, I know we are very grateful. And please remember, there are more holidays ahead for the opportunity to give food and nourish those in need. Please find it in your hearts to do so.

Mini-Morsels for Thanksgiving

Each year as summer’s heat fades and fall’s cooler air moves in, I begin planning my Thanksgiving menu.  It is finally cool enough to use the oven a bit more as I experiment with recipes to test which yield just the right flavor ensemble, which recipes freeze well, and which ones fit my meal courses as appetizers, entrees and side dishes.

Infusing this annual feast with new taste experiences is a welcome challenge in my kitchen.  I’m tired of serving dinner rolls, popovers and cornbreads, redundant when sitting alongside stuffing, for my Thanksgiving spread.  My thoughts turned to little filled pastry shells to enliven the meal.

One of the first pastry doughs I learned to make is called choux, multi-layered pastry dough, also known as choux paste, cream-puff pastry or pâte à choux.

A simple choux contains flour mixed with water and butter, and then beaten with the addition of eggs.  It is a very paste like, sticky blob that can be piped onto a baking sheet or simply dropped from a spoon like drop cookies and baked.

(They can be baked in advance and frozen too.)

While a choux bakes, the eggs inflate the pastry creating a delicate, hollow shell comprised of a flakey crust.

Splitting this pastry in half reveals a perfect inner hollow begging for a sweet or savory filling, rendering it easily consumed in one or two bites.

As an inexperienced cook, I struggled to make this choux into a delicate puff pastry, sometimes shaped as swans, filled sweet creams or preserves comprising a cream puff pastry or its larger cousin, an éclair.

These miniature choux-based pastries, served as either savory appetizers or sweet desserts, offer every cook a fulfilling creative experience in the composition.

My great-aunties presented these balls of baked choux as a sticky profiterole stack served with a drizzled sweet cream or gooey honey (called a Taiglach in Yiddish) also commonly known as an impressive French dessert, a Croquembouche.

As I became more adept in the kitchen, I learned to flavor my choux with herbs, spices and a variety of cheeses, sometimes combining finely minced meats or nuts too, culminating into the ever-popular gougère.

The little bite sized pastry made of choux suddenly fit into all parts of my menu leaving me with a large dilemma.

Should I serve a savory appetizer gougère filled with a mound of goat cheese and fresh herbs?  The thought of a sweet appetizer puff filled with diced fresh pear and sweet cream with a tart cranberry or two sounds delectable too.

Then again, a miniature gougère made with gruyere or parmesan and minced pecans might make a wonderful crouton with our soup.  Perhaps I should serve a cream puff filled with ginger-vanilla custard and a cranberry puree or simple pumpkin filling as dessert.

I simply can’t decide where to use these precious mini-bites of flavor.  Maybe I’ll just serve a bite-sized array for our Thanksgiving feast and call it Donna’s Mini-Morsel Thanksgiving Meal.

San Diego: Food Expo at the Convention Center

One of the things I certainly know about Food Service and Food Production is that most consumer assumptions are false.  In any restaurant, there is no certainty that your food preparation occurred entirely by human hands or that the ingredients are pure unless you know the purveyor and have verification from their lips.  This is but one of the reasons I befriend restaurateurs whenever I can.

This past week I had the opportunity to attend the Food Expo in San Diego with one food manufacturer and two chefs.  We created quite a unique team when we first congregated at the door, each with their own agenda of what the important stops should be.

My food-manufacturing friend held an interest in large and noisy machines while my chef compatriots tried to rip me in half begging me to accompany them to different sides of the Convention Center.

Being an independent and rebellious individual puts me in good stead in these situations so I took off by myself for a couple of hours and found some noteworthy items.

If you’ve read anything I written before now, then you know I’m committed to real food.  You also know I have a penchant for fresh food like sushi and I believe in wasting nothing if it’s humanly possible to do so.

That means if you don’t like offal, you should have and keep a friend who does or at least maintain a compost pile.  On the other hand, quite hypocritically perhaps, I do endorse several prepared products if they meet stringent quality controls.  Therefore, I did and do taste and use several items that save time and effort as long as they don’t cost the consumer more than homemade fare.

So here we go to the Food Expo, which included Expo Comida Latina (also including an area of the show floor dedicated to Asian foods and flavors – All Asia Food), which rates among my favorites with over 300 booths of food, ingredients and services!

In addition to the Food Service portion, I enjoyed the “entertainment” aspect that included chef demos and contests for baristas.  Here are some of those shots:

Chef Plating contests intrigue me:

Although the task before us concerned restaurant fare, my interests were personal so we did view some wonderful displays of Food Service items and Dining Service ware:

The chefs and I managed to lose our Food Manufacturing friend for a good hour or so and we cut loose to enjoy the edible food art arena:

Of course, one of my favorite arenas displayed cake artistry:

Next in line, the Asian area, captured my fascination as an avid sushi enthusiast (see my article…).  These machines are designed to replace up to 3 sushi chefs.  If they are as good as hand rolled, I’ll give up my rolling mat.

The real food items, however, knocked the air out of me.  The Waygu beef melts on the tongue as the wasabi gives it a punch that you’ll remember as a supreme culinary moment.  Notice that’s a real wasabi horseradish, not the green colored goo that comes out of a tube!

Near the end of our tour of the floor, we stumbled across the “Hot Spot” where live cooking demonstrations by notable chefs occur.  The two chefs in my company couldn’t stop laughing and jostling me so my shots were blurred beyond recognition, but this is Brian Malarkey of Top Chef fame making a simple guacamole and some other dish that I didn’t catch the name of due to the raucous laughter from my companions.  I guess they don’t take celebrity seriously.  They claim you have to prove yourself in the kitchen and not television to be a serious cook.  I tend to concur.

We ended our experience in the Comida Latina arena where I imbibed a variety of mescals and tequilas accompanied by salsa, guacamole, asadas, moles, carnitas and an excellent and pleasing variety of other delectable foods.  I will certainly seek out the Tequila Reposed, Anejo and Crema Mescal that I tasted.  Exquisite!

If ever you are offered an opportunity to enjoy a trade show based upon food, don’t think about it, just go!

Breast of Chicken over Risotto Cake with Garlic Emulsion

Every now and then, an enticing recipe crosses my desk that I would love to serve immediately.  Since I’m not always prepared with fancy sauces and emulsions I must adapt the recipe in order to use it the same day.  While this sometimes compromises the character of the meal, it can also turn out as a delectable dish nonetheless.

The dish I prepared last night is a prime example of such a dilemma.  I found the recipe in a book entitled “Club Cuisine” by Edward G. Leonard near the end of 2006.

His recipe calls for a Brodo sauce that I did not have handy so I substituted a homemade chicken stock (reduced to the richness of a demiglace) that seemed similar to his Brodo.  I’ve found, since then, that regular homemade chicken stock suffices although it lacks the texture of a richer reduction sauce.  I also employed a few other adaptations in my version of the recipe that I present here.

This recipe is easier than it appears to be if you make the Risotto cakes ahead.  The risotto cakes hold up remarkably made one day in advance.  I also found that the Garlic emulsion does not suffer from being made ahead as well.  Simply take care when you reheat it to avoid separation from occuring and be prepared to liven it again with a stick blender or small processor.  The results were pleasing, delicate flavors that everyone enjoyed.

Breast of Chicken with Garlic Emulsion and Risotto Cake
Accompanied with Artichokes, Sun Dried Tomatoes and Sweet Peas

Chicken:
4 boneless, skinless breasts of chicken, lightly pounded
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons chopped thyme
Salt, to taste
Ground fresh pepper, to taste
3 Tablespoons Olive oil infused with sun-dried tomatoes

Risotto Cakes
(These can be made several hours in advance or up to one day ahead)
3 Tablespoons butter, unsalted
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 bunch scallions or 1 small leek, thinly sliced and diced
1 cup raw short grain Italian rice (Arborio)
2 ½ cups Chicken Stock, HOT
2 Tablespoons chopped basil
¾ cup grated Asiago cheese or Parmesan cheese
4 Tablespoons whole butter, unsalted
4 Tablespoons cream
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
As needed, butter for browning

Roasted Garlic Emulsion
1 cup garlic cloves
Chicken Stock as needed
2 Tablespoons honey
1 ounce unsalted butter
1/3 cup white wine (not a cheap one)
2 shallots, finely minced
1 ½ cups heavy cream
4-6 Tablespoons butter, unsalted, cold
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Vegetables
1 small jar marinated artichoke hearts, sliced

1 ½ cup petite peas, fresh if possible, Frozen, not canned if fresh are unavailable
2 Tablespoons whole butter, unsalted
Kosher salt, to taste
1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil

(Sometimes I add flame roasted red pepper strips too.)

1. Preparation for the Risotto Cakes
(If you have a pressure cooker, this process takes about 15 minutes)

Place the butter and oil in a heavy bottomed pan.  Add the scallions or leeks and cook until they soften.

Add the rice and cook 1-2 minutes until slightly toasted.  Add half of the HOT chicken stock.  Bring to a simmer, and cook slowly until all the liquid is absorbed.

Add the remaining chicken stock and cook until it is absorbed and the rice is tender but still slightly firm.

Fold in the basil, Asiago, butter and cream.  Season with salt and pepper.  Spread the mixture in and 8 inch by 8-inch pan evenly.  Cool in the refrigerator.

When ready to use, cut the chilled mixture into desire shapes (I used circles from a biscuit cutter).  Pan-fry the cakes in foamy browned butter with a touch of olive oil until golden on each side.

2. Preparation for the Garlic Emulsion:

Place the garlic in a small pan and cover to ¾ depth with chicken stock.  Add the honey and butter.  Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until the cloves are tender.  This takes about 10-12 minutes.  Remove garlic with a strainer and reserve the broth for later use.

In a saucepan, simmer the wine and shallots until reduced to about 1 ounce.

Add the garlic cloves to the wine reduction.  Add the cream and 2 ounces (about 2 Tablespoons) of the reserved garlic broth.  Simmer until the liquid reduces to half, about 20 minutes.

Puree the mixture with a hand blender, small food processor or upright blender, while slowly (and I mean slowly) adding the butter.

Strain the emulsion and season with salt, pepper and olive oil.

3. Chicken Preparation:

Place the chicken in a bowl with the olive oil, sun dried tomato infused olive oil, thyme, salt, and pepper.  Toss to season evenly.

The chicken can be grilled or roasted to your liking.  I roasted ours on a rack over a pan for about 6-8 minutes at 425 degrees.  Then I lowered the temperature to 325 for another 8-12 minutes until the chicken juices ran clear.  Keep the chicken warm.

4. Vegetable Preparation:

In a sauté pan, combine the artichoke hearts, peas, butter, and sun dried tomatoes with the remaining reserved garlic/chicken broth.  Cook just until heated.

5. Plate Assembly:

Place the risotto cake in the middle of the plate.  Drizzle a slight amount of garlic emulsion.  Place the chicken breast atop the risotto cake.  Drizzle slightly again with garlic emulsion.

Distribute the vegetable medley around the outside of the plate.  Leave dollops of garlic emulsion between the vegetables and the centerpiece of chicken.  Serve immediately.

Summer Grilling and Chillin’ with a Simple Salad

Something about summer draws a cook outdoors.  The thought of a hot kitchen pales next to the romantic idea of cooking in a shady spot enjoying a cooling evening breeze at dusk.

Usually all the ingredients for this meal fit on a handy tray and the utensils are few.  Summer is when we enjoy simpler foods, lighter flavors and little movement after a long hot day.

This meal takes about 20 minutes to prepare, a couple of hours to marinate and then it’s as easy as grill and serve!

Fajita Style Chicken with red and white mashed baby tates (grilled baby potatoes can be substituted).

The marinade for the chicken is simply this:

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

3 garlic cloves, finely minced

3 scallions, white parts only, sliced finely

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

pinch of salt

sprinkling of red pepper flakes

1 – 2 teaspoons, (or more depending on your heat preference), seeded,      fresh jalapeno, diced finely

Whisk all ingredients to blend thoroughly.

This is enough marinade for about 1 1/2 pounds of chicken breasts and/or thighs.  To save time, I simply gash the chicken 3-4 times with a sharp knife.  Put the chicken in a glass baking dish and cover with the marinade.  Cover the dish and refrigerate for at least one hour and up to 6 hours.  Grill the chicken until cooked through.  It will be firm to the touch.

To use this recipe for fajitas, simply cut the chicken into strips after it’s cooked.  Slicing can be done before cooking but it makes turning the chicken on the grill more of a challenge.

Add a side serving of Black Bean Salad:  black beans, seeded roma tomatoes, diced red onion and cubed avocado in a simple whisked vinaigrette of 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 3/4 cup walnut  oil (although olive oil works too), dash of dijon mustard to taste, and freshly ground sea salt and pepper to taste.

The Black Bean Salad vegetable ingredients are measured according to your own tastes.  Use as much or as little of any ingredient as you like.  Drizzle the dressing over the vegetables, toss gently until coated, cover the bowl and refrigerate the salad and leftover dressing.

Leftovers make a fine lunch with a tall glass of iced tea.  Enjoy.

Meet Antoine!

Last week was a sad time in the kitchen.  My most valuable and reliable assistant left us.  Anyone who knows me knows the esteem, care and affection I give to the most important help in my kitchen.  Without my assistant, my kitchen comes to a screeching halt as it did last week.

Our trusty, 22 year old refrigerator, Julia, decided she was a celebrity and joined the ranks of Farrah, Michael, Ed and Billy.  She died.  She didn’t sputter or sigh, she simply stopped.

She led a happy, long life in quality service to our family and friends providing chilled and preserved refreshments for many years.  In fact, her constant humming helped many a small pup or babe to fall asleep on a cushiony mat on the floor.

Out of respect for Julia, we refrained from marketing, harvesting or cooking for most of the last week.  She floundered in the kitchen with her doors propped ajar until the appliance morticians appeared to remove her remains.  Scrubbed with care to a sanitary shine, her insides rested atop the patio table covered with a soft, flannel-backed vinyl tablecloth.

Today, in spite of the national holiday, the appliance mortician finally arrived for Julia.  In her stead, we received Antoine, a young and strong refrigerator eager to be of service for several decades to come.

Antoine’s name honors the famed agronomist, Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, (quite possibly my idol).  Parmentier was one of the first to study the process of refrigeration as a means of conserving food, was a strident promoter of the potato (my favorite food), the first to implement a mandatory smallpox vaccination (world health anyone?) in addition to founding a school of bread making (gotta love a guy who does that!).

Considering these achievements, which I revere, our new, aptly named kitchen assistant, Antoine, joins us to carry on in the good service of any cook who dances a flavorful waltz in our kitchen with the array of fun and useful instruments at their service.

Upon Antoine’s arrival, our neighbors all declared, “That ‘fridge means delicious, delicious business.”  We all hope so!