Wild Mushroom-Barley Soup

Neither Josh nor I was feeling well on Saturday. We both went to bed sure that we were at the beginning of a cold. So I decided I would make mushroom barley soup on Sunday afternoon. (I began this post on Mon or Tues. It's Friday now. A lot of cooking has happened since then.) This was not a random selection...my latest Martha Stewart Everyday Foods had a recipe for this. Here it is:

1 T olive oil 1.25 lbs of white mushrooms trimmed and sliced 1 med red onion chopped. 2 garlic cloves, minced .5 tsp dried thyme coarse salt and ground pepper 4.5 c canned reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable stock 1 c quick cooking barley .25 c fresh parsley 1 T fresh lemon juice 1 chunk Parmesan cheese In a large saucepan, heat oil over med-high. Add mushrooms, onion, garlic and thyme; season with salt and pepper until veg. have softened--6-8 mins. Add broth and 2 c water to pan; bring to boil over high. Reduce heat to a simmer; and barley and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in parsley and lemon juice. Garnish with Parmesan.

Kristen's version
I just don't believe in cooking with white mushrooms when cremini, shitake and oyster mushrooms are available. I also chopped them in an effort to make them of a uniform size with the barley. I also don't believe in making soup (or boiling potatoes for mashing) with water. I always use stock or broth. This time I used a combo of beef and chicken stock. I couldn't find the quick cooking barley (of course, I've found it now) so I had to use the regular stuff. It certainly smelled very good for a long time. I use fresh thyme because my herb garden is lousy it. My last changes were just because I forgot. No parsley, no lemon juice, no Parmesan. Even with the omissions, it was darn tasty.

The rest of the weeks cooking was pretty ho-hum. Even tonight's date night meal. Quick run down of the menu:

Appetizer: bruschetta on panettini rounds (thank you, Leggy, for the reminder of the burschetta recipe)--I used heirloom tomatos, red onion, garlic, red wine vinegar and EVOO

Main Course: Flank steak marinated in EVOO, red wine vinegar, red onion, garlic, fresh basil and fresh oregano.

Sides: Brocolli with EVOO, garlic, red onion, and pancetta. Also mashed tators with mozzarella and parmesan. The potatoes were not as good as they sound like they should be. I didn't even like them well enough to want to play with them. I don't know...Giada DeLaurentis just loved them.

The high light though of my date night preparations had nothing to do with cooking. Mom sent me a check to use on some makeup brushes. I got them on Monday and I love them. I decided, however, that I needed one more eye shadow brush, so off I went to Ulta. I found the girl that helped me with my original selection and she helped me with this last brush. Then I asked her if she could show/tell me how to do a smokey eye. She explained how, basically, but then sent me over to a couple of the product reps who gave me a makeover. At Allegras's request I took a picture of myself. Here 'tis.



Oh, I almost forgot to tell you about tonight's dessert! I made milk shakes. Boy were they yummy!

Okay, that's it for tonight. Peter and Eileen are taking us out for our anniversary tomorrow. Catch you later.

"The cocktail was delightful...

I don't usually go for the French school of cocktails a lot but this was a revelation"

--Joshua Saxe, bartender extraordinaire


So I guess I made a good choice in the Chanticleer (french for rooster). It was quite tasty--1 oz gin, 1.5 oz dry vermouth, .5 oz Cointreau (or Triple Sec). Shake with ice and pour into a chilled cocktail glass, garnish with an orange twist (or in my case a wedge of orange).

I took photos of last night's meal in it's various stages. I prepared it completely backwards...dessert to appetizer. I will, however, share the preparation notes and photos in the order in which we ate.

Appetizer:

This one totally came out of my own little head, and thus was far from perfect. I was going for something along the lines of an Italian quesadilla. I had this Italian style flat bread...it had some herbs mixed in with it. I spread a little olive oil over it...both sides. I topped it with provolone cheese, a sliced heirloom tomato, shredded mozzarella, grated parm and a drizzle of this bottled balsamic glaze that I recently found. (I highly recommend this product...I couple different outfits make it.) To serve it, I folded the flat bread in half and sliced into four slices and drizzled a little more of the balsamic glaze over it.


If you don't already know this, hot tomatoes get very juicy. This was tasty, but we mostly ate the tomato and cheese out of the flat bread. Next time, I think I will try heating it on the stove in a pan with oil. The bread just got soggy.

On to the main course

I have already posted this recipe, so now I will post the photo to the chicken as it was ready to go into the oven. See if you can spot my major mistake...


I did buy a whole chicken. I just didn't realize that it was already in pieces. (It was very clearly marked on the package.) The next photo will show all the good things I was supposed to stuff in the cavity but instead had to artfully tuck around the bird.

Doesn't that look so tasty? (The little dish in the upper right corner has my rings in ammonia in it. Did you know that ammonia is a good jewelry cleaner? My diamond is very sparkly these days.)

This next picture is of the basting liquid.

This was orange juice concentrate, lemon juice, olive oil, and fresh oregano.

I served the chicken with mushrooms cous cous (a nod to my Allen boy) and green beans.


And finally, dessert

I made an apple pie. I can't really share a recipe because I was flying by the seat of my pants. I really like Alton Brown's recipe. He uses 2 each of 4 different varieties of apples for a total of 8 apple per pie. I used granny smith, golden delicious, Jonathon, and McIntosh. I peeled them all. (I took a picture of all the skins in the sink because I thought they were pretty, but it seems weird to share my garbage in this fashion. If you are interested contact me privately.) Anyway, I've made Alton's pie before, but couldn't find his recipe. I got distracted by other pie recipes on the Internet, so I used what I could remember about Alton's technique along with ingredients from another recipe. This was not the prettiest nor the most interesting apple pie that I've made, but it was tasty.


Well that's all from last night's date night. This might be the first time we've had two date nights in one week. I watched a cooking show this afternoon where they made coq au vin and chocolate pot de creme. That may be in the works for next week. I also have many corners in my latest Everyday Food magazine turned down. Stay tuned.

Nothing too terribly exciting to report....

So we had frozen pizza on Tuesday. That was my plan, but, as expected it wasn't too exciting. I had planned to make beef fajitas with the leftover margarita beef on Wed, but as I had loooooong day in the ministry, then went the grocery store, I was in need of a little sit down with the news before I started to cook. Josh came in about 10 minutes after I got home (I hadn't sat down...the groceries weren't even all away yet) and declared that he needed to eat. Now! So we ordered Chinese.

All of this means that I get to make the fajitas tonight. I got an avocado and will make guacamole. I have peppers and onions to slice along with the beef. I have salsa and sour cream. I also have a head of romaine, because Josh (especially on meeting nights) prefers a fajita SALAD. I have tortillas for myself.

That's it. I had a good day in service yesterday. My new Bible Study wasn't there. :-( But I was working with my new publisher student and we had a good time. :-) All in all, it left me exhausted for today. I did, however, have my 8 a.m. study with my neighbor. Then I took a nap!

Tomorrow I am making a roasted chicken with citrus fruit and garlic. Recipe reprinted from the food network's Everyday Italian program with Giada DeLaurentis.

Ingredients

• 1 (5 to 6-pound) whole roasting chicken, neck and giblets discarded
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 orange, quartered
• 1 lemon, quartered
• 1 head garlic, halved crosswise, plus 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 (14-ounce) cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves
• Kitchen string or butcher twine

Directions

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.

Pat the chicken dry and sprinkle the cavity with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with the orange, lemon, and garlic halves. Tie the chicken legs together with kitchen string to help hold its shape. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper.

Place a rack in a large roasting pan. Place the chicken, breast side up, on the rack in the pan. Roast the chicken for 1 hour, basting occasionally and adding some chicken broth to the pan, if necessary, to prevent the pan drippings from burning. Whisk the orange juice, lemon juice, oil, oregano, and chopped garlic in a medium bowl to blend. Brush some of the juice mixture over the chicken, after it has baked 1 hour. Continue roasting the chicken until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the innermost part of the thigh registers 170 degrees F, basting occasionally with the juice mixture and adding broth to the pan, about 45 minutes longer. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Tent with foil while making the sauce (do not clean the pan).

Place the same roasting pan over medium-low heat. Whisk in any remaining broth and simmer until the sauce is reduced to 1 cup, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Strain into a 2-cup glass measuring cup and discard the solids. Spoon the fat from the top of the sauce. Serve the chicken with the pan sauce.

Additionally, I will likely slice some Orange and Lemons and tuck them between the skin and the meat. I'll also zest some of the fruit to tuck into the cavity and under the skin. And since I've been growing oregano, I may tuck a few sprigs in the cavity, as well. I'm planning to make wild mushroom Couscous (inspired by my Allen-boy's recent discovery of it). And since I have to go to Dominick's again tomorrow, I'll try to get some fresh veggies. Maybe green beans.

That's all for tonight.

Why Jehovah Gave us Fingernails

First, I have to make a few corrections/additions to yesterday's post. My new knife is NOT as Sodoku knife, rather it is a SANTOKU knife. Japanese number puzzles, though I love them and have been addicted to them from time to time, don't enter into it all. My aforementioned MIL extraordinaire does like to call these knives Sodoku knives. I guess it finally rubbed off on me.

Date Night Update
Josh pronounced the meal "tasty and good," and told me this morning that it was good date night. I, however, neglected to share the balance of my meal with my two loyal readers. My new thing, since I got a grill last spring, has been to grill my veggies. So, as broccoli is the boy's favorite veggie, I frequently make it on date nights. I cut the broccoli into small florets, toss them in a Ziploc bag with some olive oil, salt and pepper and put them into an aluminum foil pouch. Last night I added some of the marinade for the beef. Mmmm, Mmmm good!

I also made some of oven roasted potatoes. I sliced them very thin, coated them lightly with olive oil, salt, pepper and some finely chopped rosemary. Baked at 425 for 30 minutes or so. Yum!

Drinks were not what I thought they were going to be. I spent too much time on this Blog thingy that I didn't get to go out, thus no tequila. So I made a drink from one of Joshy's books that he'd never made. It's called a Rumarita. It's what it sound like...a rum Margarita. 1.5 oz light rum, 1 oz Cointreau, .5 oz lime juice. Shake and serve up in a cocktail glass.

Dessert was those South Beach ricotta things. Mine was lemon made with Splenda. Josh's was chocolate made with good ol' fashioned sugar. And we had coffee.

Wine with dinner was a Bordeaux. Very nice, a little spicy

Now, to get back to the fingernails....
To prove to myself that my new Santoku knife really is sharp, I cut myself. Not! I did cut myself but it was purely an accident. Remember the finely chopped rosemary? Yeah, that's what got me.

The top photo is my wounded finger. The bottom photo is the excised flesh (the little white half-moon at the lower right of the matchbox.)

Thanks for reading. Nothing exciting for dinner tonight...Frozen pizza. I'm planning beef fajitas with the leftover margarita beef for tomorrow. I'll let you know about them later.

Margarita London Broil 9-22-08

At the prompting of Allegra, I am blogging. It seems that she wants my recipes and calling me for them is not in the cards. Who can blame her? She is my Allen-Boy's momma.

So here goes...

Grilled Margarita London Broil

• 1/3 c bottled margarita mix or limeade
• 1/4 c chopped cilantro
• 3 T lime juice
• 1 T lime zest
• 2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 large clove garlic, minced (optional)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 lb boneless beef top round London Broil steak

1. To prepare marinade, blend all ingredients, except beef, in small bowl.
2. Place beef and marinade mixture in resealable plastic bag. Turn meat to coat. Refrigerat 8 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.
3. Heat grill to medium-high heat. Place beef on grill. Grill covered 5 ot7 minutes per side or to desired doneness. Let stand loosely covered 5 minutes before slicing. Cut across the grain into thin strips before serving.

Fred Lundeen, my personal grill wizard, gave me this recipe card from the grocery store. Tonight will be the first time I make it. I didn't start marinating yet. So much for 8 hours to overnight, hunh? I'll let you know how it turns out.

Tonight is a "date night." They don't usually fall on Monday, but we're up for something new. Date night means that I will be wearing something cute/sexy (depending on my mood--tonight will be cute) with a cocktail in my hand for Josh. In keeping with the margarita theme, I will probably make Tequila Gimlets (3 0z Tequila, 1 oz Roses Lime juice, garnish with a wedge of lime). We will also have an "appetizer." I have chips and salsa already; I may get some frozen jalapeno poppers as well. We will open a bottle of wine. It will be red but I'm not sure of the varietal yet. As for dessert...Yes there will be something. It depends on what grabs at the groceria (I went all Spanish, there).


Other "date night" musts...The TV will be turned off. We enjoy cocktails and appetizers in the study, listening to music selected and playing through ITunes on the computer. If all goes well, there will be pause in the dining action for some other "action" in the bedroom.


This is my new favorite knife...my Sudoku knife, not to be used in the bedroom but likely in all other aspects of the evening. I cuts like butter. I even made my Joshy try it out last night. An anniversary gift from MIL extrarordinaire, Eileen. It's resting on one of my new William Sonoma towels. Isn't it pretty?

I'll post pictures from dinner later.