.italian stuffed mushrooms.

The other night we had appetizer night, which I do when I'm craving multiple things at the same time. I usually do this on Friday as a kind of "celebration" for surviving the week. Normally I don't fix this kind of fancy food, but I was in the mood to try new things.


On the menu: Brie puffs (I used my profiteroles recipe and added grated Brie cheese to the dough before piping), Grilled Steak Kabobs with Roasted Red Pepper Salsa, Crab Cakes with Chipotle Lime Aioli, and Italian Stuffed Mushrooms. For dessert I made Coconut Parfaits using toasted coconut pound cake and coconut whipped cream.


Today's blog entry shows how I made the mushrooms.



In a skillet, put a little olive oil and cook some mild italian sausage (1 cup) with 1/2 cup finely diced onion. Saute until the sausage is cooked through.
















Transfer the onion and sausage to a bowl and add 1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs, 1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese, salt and pepper, and one egg.


Mix everything together well using a fork.
















Remove the stems from all of the mushrooms, leaving only the caps. You can dice up the mushroom stems and add to the filling if you wish. I chose not to this time.


Place the mushrooms in a baking dish.










Fill the mushroom caps with the stuffing. Make sure they mound up nice and high because you want to have enough filling so when you bite in it should be 50/50 in flavor.


Cut up 1/4 stick of butter and place strategically around the mushrooms. It will melt as the mushrooms bake and keep them from sticking to the baking dish. Put in a 350* oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.


Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AZ-Z_fQXybIkZGcydmZqcW1fMTYzZnE2bXpmZjI&hl=en

.filet mignon with madeira sauce.

*rubbing hands together*

I have to tell you all, this steak was FANTASTIC!  The filet was so tender, you could cut it with the side of your fork!  The only bad thing?  We were so full from eating salad and crab cakes we could only eat a very small bit of our steak and potatoes before we had to stop. LOL

If you don't have a grill, or it's just too cold to grill, you can use a skillet.  I bought a grill pan for this and it worked great.... except for the stupid $200 Viking hood that ISNT HOOKED UP.  Yep.  I turned on my fan but as soon as I put the steaks on, the house started smoking up.  I checked and there is no vent tubing taking the SMOKE OUTSIDE.  So I need to contact the builder and have him come fix that.  What a nuisance.  Grrrr... but the steaks were fabulous and the Madeira sauce was the perfect companion for the meat and potatoes.  I know you will agree.

You really do need to use Madeira wine.  You will not get the same flavor if you use something else, but if you really need to use something different, I suggest a port.  Port wine reduction works for steak, right?

Put 1 1/2 cups Madeira wine and one chopped onion in a saucepan.  Turn on medium to medium high heat.  Let this cook down.

See how reduced down that is?  Doing this intensifies the flavor and the alcohol cooks out.  It has now been infused with the onion so there's a lot going on here.  Once it gets to this point, turn the heat to very very low.

Once the Madeira has reduced, put 3 Tbsp butter in a skillet and saute up 1 cup mushrooms (can be omitted).  Saute until they are nice and brown.

Sprinkle 2 Tbsp flour over the mushrooms and cook the flour for a minute, while whisking.

Now pour in 1 1/2 cups beef stock.  This will begin thickening up almost immediately.  Make sure you keep whisking so you can work out any lumps. After a minute, pour in the Madeira reduction.

Taste and season with salt and pepper.  

At this point I transferred the sauce to an oven safe bowl, put a piece of foil over the top and held in a low temp oven to stay warm.

Remember when cooking steak... let it sit out for about 30 minutes before grilling.  This relaxes the meat, which ensures it will be very very tender.  Again, we're using Filet Mignon, which is pricey, so make sure you don't destroy it by overcooking.

Before putting on the HOT grill, I seasoned well with salt and pepper.  I did put a little oil on the pan before putting the steaks down to ensure they don't stick.

Grill on one side for 3 minutes, then flip over and sear the other side for 3 minutes.  Then flip *back* over, putting it on another diagonal to give you criss cross grill markings.  Grill again on that side for 3 minutes, and repeat for the other side.  That should be enough for a perfect medium rare steak.  If you want your steak done a little more, then cook a little longer on each side.

When these were done grilling (and all the smoke was cleared out of the house. LOL), I put them on a plate and held them in the oven to "rest" and stay warm.

Serve with a helping of roasted garlic mashed potatoes and put some of that delicious Madeira sauce on top.  Visual presentation is just as important as flavor, so when plating, stick a little sprig of fresh thyme in the mashed potatoes (see picture at top).  You will really impress your Valentine with all your cheffy skills!!!

Printable version:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_140hc3fdvc9

.polenta with skirt steak and mushroom ragout.

When my husband, girls and I first made our trek north to New York to check out the area, we stayed in a hotel with a small kitchen. I was trying to avoid eating out for every meal because I'm sure if you've done it before, you know how old it gets, right?

One of the items I made was a creamy parmesan polenta with skirt steak and a wild mushroom ragout. It was so delicious that I knew I'd have to make it again.

You need to mentally break this meal into three separate tasks. 1)Polenta, 2)Steak, 3)Ragout. Each are very simple to make, but when you bring them all together, it makes for a very showy meal. Not only that, but you could easily have this on your table in 30 minutes! That's something I think we can all appreciate.

Let's start with the polenta. Polenta was considered a mexican peasant type food ... a lot like grits, cornmeal mush... that kind of thing. "Gruel". In recent years, however, polenta has come up in status and is now found in many upscale restaurants. This recipe is dressed up with a little parmesan and mascarpone cheese. If for any reason you can't find mascarpone, use cream cheese. It won't give you the exact flavor, but it will give you the creamy texture that makes this polenta so desireable.


In a saucepan, put 3 1/2 cups chicken stock. Bring to a boil.


While whisking, add 1/2 cup polenta to the stock. It will begin thickening after 3 minutes. Stir to make sure it doesn't burn or get too thick. If it's super super thick, add a little more stock. We don't want runny polenta but we don't want it too thick either. Season with a little salt and pepper. Don't add too much salt.


Add 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Mix well. Taste the polenta at this stage. The cheese adds more saltiness so if you've put in too much sal beforehand, it's going to be too salty. This is why I said to not overdo it. If it needs more salt at this point, go ahead and add it.

That is all this dish needs! See what I mean? EASY!! Set the saucepan aside.

Now for the steak. You want to use skirt steak for this meal. I couldn't find skirt steak so I went with a flank cut. They're pretty comparable. Both are very lean cuts of meat and have very little fat. They are also rather thin and cook quickly.


Begin by seasoning both sides well with fresh cracked black pepper and sea salt.


Heat a skillet on medium high heat. Pour a little olive oil into the pan and then put your steak in. Wait until the pan is hot before putting your oil and steak in. The instant heat will sear the steak, which locks in all the juices and flavor. That's key for a good steak.

Let this sear on one side for 3 1/2 minutes then flip over and sear the other side for another 3 1/2 minutes.

Now if this were a skirt steak, which is MUCH thinner than flank, you'd probably be ready to pull it off the pan at this point. However, this was a thicker piece of meat so I covered the pan, lowered the heat just a smidge and let it cook through for another 3-4 minutes.

I like my steak medium rare, so if you want it more done, let it cook a few more minutes.

Once the steak is done, pull from the pan and put on a cutting board. Let it sit and "rest" for about 5 minutes before slicing.


Slice diagonally against the grain tilting the knife at a 45 degree angle. This gives you nice striations and it's easier to get thinner slices. That's what we're going for!

Now let's do the final step: mushroom ragout.


Mince 1 clove garlic.









Peel 2 shallots and slice thinly.












Clean 1 - 1 1/2 cups mushrooms. I suggest using a mixture of wild mushrooms like crimini, white, and shiitake. I had crimini on hand in the fridge and used those. Trim off the stems and slice.








Roughly chop a little italian flat leaf parsley.












Heat 1 tsp olive oil and a little butter in a skillet. Don't let them get too hot otherwise it can distort the flavor.










Add the mushrooms and stir the pan to coat them with the butter/oil.











When the mushrooms start browning, add the garlic and shallots. Stir to mix and saute for a few minutes.










When the aroma is strong, season with salt, pepper, and a little thyme. If you're using fresh thyme, toss in a few sprigs.











After the shallots start getting soft, add 1/4 cup white wine, and 1/4 cup chicken stock. Keep cooking this over medium high heat until the liquid begins to evaporate and reduce by half.

Pull from the heat. It's time to plate up!







Begin by putting some polenta on a plate. See how thick this is? It will hold it's shape like pancake batter.










Take some of your steak slices and lay them in a fan-like fashion on top of the polenta.











Spoon some of the mushroom ragout on top and then sprinkle with a little parsley. Serve immediately.

Now that you've seen each step broken down, it's important to time this right. Each step doesn't take a lot of time to make. Start with the steak because that will probably be the one that takes the longest to sear, cook, and then rest before slicing. While it's in the pan, you can quickly whip up the polenta. That can sit over low low heat while you quickly saute up the ragout. By overlapping your cooking times, you will have this meal on your table within 30 minutes. Something quick, delicious, and elegant in the time it takes to order and have pizza delivered. You can do it! Enjoy!

Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_1278489b9cq

.grilled vegetable pasta salad.

This is a wonderfully light, springy/summery type pasta salad that isn't the traditional pasta salad.

I got the recipe out of a Pampered Chef cookbook. I adjusted it a little. The original recipe calls for grilled tofu, but I omitted that and added a couple new things.


First you want to start with some Rotini pasta. Boil in salt water according to the directions on the box. When it's done, drain in a colander and rinse well with COLD water. The cold water will keep the pasta from sticking together. Allow to set and drain off the water.



Dump into a bowl.

I cut thick pieces of zucchini and yellow squash. Cut asparagus stalks in half, and cut up some bell pepper. The recipe doesn't call for red onion, but I added it anyway because I like onion.. lots!



Make sure you cut the onion thick. You can use whatever mushroom you want. These are baby portabello. Aren't they so cute??? So go ahead and skewer the veggies.




Brush lightly on both sides with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.















Place on a hot BBQ grill and cook, turning often so as not to burn your veggies, until everything is nice and tender. Remove from the grill.

Cut your grilled veggies up into bite-sized pieces.



Add to the bowl of pasta.

Drizzle with Balsamic dressing and grate fresh parmesan cheese on top (about 1/2 cup). Season again with salt and pepper, and tarragon.


Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_47dpr4xcgm

.roast chicken and goat cheese cups.

Sometimes it's "test kitchen" day at my house. Today was one of those days. The recipe was one someone mentioned at The Pod (Thanks Ashley!) and it sounded pretty good. I changed the recipe up a little but for the most part, I think it's spot on.



The ingredients you need:
Crescent rolls
Roasted chicken
Mushrooms
Parmesan cheese
Green onion/chives
Basil
Herbed goat cheese
Basil



Let's prep. Chop up 1 bunch green onion. Set aside.

Slice up mushrooms (1 cup). Set aside.

Put some butter in a saute skillet and saute the mushrooms. Set aside.

Pull apart chicken. I used half of the chicken here. Set aside.

Grate some parmesan cheese (1 cup). Set aside.

Slice the goat cheese into equal parts. Set aside.

Open the crescent roll packages. Use two crescent rolls per muffin cup. Smoosh in there to form a shell.

Completed shells in one pan.











Put a pat of goat cheese in each cup.

















Put some sauteed mushrooms in each cup.

Now put some of the chicken on top.

And then the green onion.

Put a few shakes of basil on top.














The last step. Put the grated parmesan cheese on top.



Put in a preheated 350* oven and bake for 20 minutes. If the tops start getting too brown, put a piece of foil on top.

Serve with veggies and/or salad.




[Chef's notes: This was the first time I had ever made this. It was tasty, but the goat cheese was a little too much. If I were to make this again, I would smoosh together all the ingredients (except the parmesan) and add some spinach to the mix. I'd also season with salt and pepper. ]

Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_45knjrfbfg