Mushroom Soup

So, the past week have not been healthy ones for the Saxe household. Icky, achy, snotty colds prevailed.

Thus, I have been busy making soups.

In no particular order, I will begin sharing them with Ina Garten's Mushroom Soup. Ooooh, is this tasty.

Ingredients nocoupons

• 5 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms
• 5 ounces fresh portobello mushrooms
• 5 ounces fresh cremini (or porcini) mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon good olive oil
• 1/4 pound (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 sprig fresh thyme plus 1 teaspoon minced thyme leaves, divided
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 leeks)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Clean the mushrooms by wiping them with a dry paper towel. Don't wash them! Separate the stems, trim off any bad parts, and coarsely chop the stems. Slice the mushroom caps 1/4-inch thick and, if there are big, cut them into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

To make the stock, heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large pot. Add the chopped mushroom stems, the onion, carrot, the sprig of thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Add 6 cups water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Strain, reserving the liquid. You should have about 4 1/2 cups of stock. If not, add some water.

Meanwhile, in another large pot, heat the remaining 1/4 pound of butter and add the leeks. Cook over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the leeks begin to brown. Add the sliced mushroom caps and cook for 10 minutes, or until they are browned and tender. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the white wine and stir for another minute, scraping the bottom of the pot. Add the mushroom stock, minced thyme leaves, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the half-and-half, cream, and parsley, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and heat through but do not boil. Serve hot.

Early in the cooking process.

It is not particularly low in fat or calories. But, imho, those extra fat grams are soooo worth it.

Changes that I made: I had just made a big batch of chicken stock, so I used it rather than dirty a second pot with the mushroom stock (which sounds yummy, and assuming I don't have a batch of chicken stock clogging up my fridge, I will make and use the next time I make this soup. Oh, and there will be a next time.)

Roasted Veggies and Tarragon Ginger Chicken

I woke up craving a dish my mom used to make called Chicken Riesling. It's suateed shallots, mushrooms, chicken and Riesling wine. Oh, and red grapes. Here's the kicker, though. My husband doesn't like "sweet with his meat." Thus, I shy away (usually) from cooking with fruit.

I don't have Mom's recipe anyway.

Then I called my sister. I remember that she made a Tarragon chicken recipe. She doesn't remember that.

But I'm still craving tarragon chicken. Sooo...I chopped a shallot, grated about 2 inches of ginger, and mixed it with some leaves of tarragon. Smells great. I pounded the tar out of some chicken breasts. I'm not exactly sure what I'll do with it all.

Probably I'll sautee the chicken in a combo of olive oil and butter. Then I'll deglaze with the pan some white wine, add the aromatics, and, if it seems necessary, I'll thicken the sauce with some cornstarch dissolved in cold white wine.

As for veggies, I have a combo of sweet potatoes and cauliflower roasting at 450°. I don't really understand this combination. It was, however, a side dish to a chicken recipe in the latest Everyday Food (Martha Stewart) magazine. Not to give you the impression that I always bow to my husband's tastes, he really doesn't like sweet potatoes.

So that's dinner tonight.

Happy cooking.

New Furniture...Well Almost

It certainly looks like new furniture. But it's not. We had it reupholstered and sprung for new seat cushions. Really, the effect is "new furniture."

See for yourselves:




I really love the fabric. It looks a little different as the light changes through the day. Or as you change position on it.


When we went into the fabric store another lady was looking at ALL of the fabric samples in this color way. I decided, before she checked this swatch out, that this was the one I wanted. And, I forgot to bring my pillow made from the drapery fabric. (You can see the forgotten pillow in the top photo...all the way on the far end.) Oops! I think I did I pretty bang up job, don't you? We ordered it right then, and waited with bated breath for it to arrive.

I'm very happy. I am slowly working on new pillows. I'll include pics of them as they are completed.

Kristen out

Feeding Miss R

So, despite the blizzard going on outside, I am having a workmate of my hubby's (Miss R) for dinner tonight.

On the menu:

"The best flank steak Josh (my husband) has ever eaten"

1 2-lb flank steak--slice a shallow grid into it for the marinade to soak in
2-3 large shallots or 6-7 smaller ones--minced or finely chopped
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c soy sauce
1/3 c balsamic vinegar

Mix all ingredient in zip top bag and marinate for 48 hours. (Yes, I said 2 days...you can prepare it sooner, but it is sooo much better when it has a full 48 hours to soak.)

When it's not snowing, I like to grill it. Being that I'm not interested in shoveling my deck or standing in the wind and snow, I'll cook it under my broiler. 6 mins per side for medium rare.

This is accompanied by sauted shallots, portobellos and cremini mushroom. Once the mushroom liquid has cooked out, add 5 T of sugar and 1/4 c balsamic. Cook until liquid is absorbed by the mushrooms.

In addition to the steak, I am making roasted broccoli. Cut your broccoli into florets; toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in a foil lined baking pan for 25 minutes at 425°. Remove from oven and dress with a combination of lemon zest, parmesan cheese, and lemon juice. (Recipe from Ina Garten on Barefoot Contessa.)

I am also making mashed potatoes. I'm using Klondike potatoes...probably a combo of Rose and Gold varieties. I will cook the potatoes in the chicken stock I made last week. (It's good enough that I've been sipping it like tea...mmmm.) Salt, pepper, butter, sour cream. I thought about using buttermilk (lower fat option) but haven't gotten any feedback on that, so I'll revert back to my tried and true.

Dessert will be the leftover chocolate strawberry brownies I made yesterday.

Date Night--week of 2/8

Another week, another date night.

This week I am trying a Spaghetti Carbonara recipe that I found on the FoodBuzz website. (Thanks C for inviting me...I am slowly getting to know the site.)

During our cocktail hour, we'll be enjoying our "House" Manhattan...1/2 rye, 1/2 Makers Mark Bourbon. Very tasty. We will be eating shrimp cocktail, as well. Kinda a double cocktail hour, eh?


To boost the veggie quotient for dinner we will be having 2 kinds of salad. Josh loves his Caesar, so he will have that. He is also lately into a simple to make and always have available cucumber salad.

1. Peel cukes and slice thin (I use the slicing blade of my food processor for this--not the peeling, just the slicing)
2. Set slices of cucumber in a strainer/colander in/over sink and salt liberally. Ignore for several hours.
3. Thinly slice an onion...I like red for this salad
4. Mix rice vinegar and olive oil for dressing. Ratio should be something like 4:1 vinegar. Add Splenda (or whatever sweetener you prefer), salt and pepper. Taste and adjust accordingly.
5. Mix cukes, onion and dressing and chill.

Dessert will be a true adventure. I am making boxed brownies. (I know, you're saying "Ooooh how adventuresome. Just wait a minute, will ya?) I am swirling in pulverized strawberries. I'm kinda into "swirling fruit" into my desserts lately. Future posts will touch on this.

I have a loaf of crusty Country Italian bread to accompany the pasta. And a nice bottle of red wine. I'll have to consult the "cellar" to make a final selection. By cellar, I mean the spot under the counter where we keep our wine club wine.

So those are my plans for dinner tonight.

Happy Eating!

Kristen

"That's Freaky Good"

That's what Josh said after his first bite of souffle.


The dark edge is not burned. The baking dish was coated in sugar and cocoa powder. And it was really, really good. It's important that you understand that the harder I work on something (and this one used a lot of brain power) the less likely I am to be pleased by the result. This was good.

I'm going to quote Josh some more, rather than toot my own horn:

"Souffle is the holy grail of dessert baking...and you nailed it on the first try."
"It's ridiculously good."
"It's a lotta good."

So we finished it.


Granted, I misread the recipe and thought I needed a 1/2 qt baking dish and that's what I made it in. I was alarmed by all the custard left over. The recipe actually called for 1 and 1/2 qt baking dish. Now I know for next time.

So the souffle wasn't the only thing we ate (although that's not a bad idea for future date night...hmmm...it is eggs, after all).

I made mashed potatoes. With roasted garlic and rosemary. Josh had something to say about those, too. "It's piney fresh--I'm not gonna get mosquito bites after eating this." I know he's a purist about his potatoes and adding garlic AND rosemary was gonna push him over the edge...but I made him a souffle, dang flabbit!


He does like that I leave the skins on when I mash them. Or that's what he said. After the mosquito crack, he may have been goin' a little nuts with compliments.

The last addition that I made to the menu was to add caramelized onions. I had seen Giada DeLaurentis do it on her show, so I gave it a try. She thinly sliced 2 or 3 large onions, added a pat of butter, a tsp of sugar and a pinch of salt and left the saute pan on low for like an hour and a half. So I used one medium onion. (That should have been a big clue that I was going to get very different result.) It was a happy, happy accident as the onions moved past caramelization to crispy. To quote my husband again, "The onions were the best part of the main course."


The filets were HUGE! We are eating them again tomorrow night for dinner and I'm going to cut mine in half before reheating so Josh has lunch for Thursday. Maybe I'll make another batch of crispy onions.

Salads were good. I forgot the parm on Josh's Caesar, but he didn't seem to mind.


Cocktails, both shrimp and alcoholic were great. See for yourselves:



That's all I've got. I had one request to hear about my never ending spaghetti and one not to talk about the "p" soup. That will be fodder for another post. I also found out that the most difficult thing A made was Limoncello cheesecake. Or was that the most decadent thing you've made? Do you think you could share the recipe with us?

We're Dating Chuck Night

Do you watch Chuck? On NBC? He was gone for a little while. The execs at the network thought it would be a good idea to cancel him. The fans disagreed. I even signed an online petition.

Well, he's back. (We, the fan's, won! Power to the People!) There was a two hour double episode last night, just to get us all in the mood again. And it worked; it was good. Chuck is regularly on, you guessed it, Monday--aka Date Night.

Josh and I are very excited as this, along with Leverage on TNT (also back on Wednesday), is our favorite show (that's not on Disney or Nick). So tonight's Date Night is very special. I've been planning it since I found out that Chuck was coming back. It's gotten a little more involved as we get closer.

I know, enough about Chuck. Tells us about the food.

Cocktail Hour:
Shrimp Cocktail with homemade cocktail sauce
Black Thorn--similar to a Manhattan but with Irish whiskey and a splash of Absinthe (yup--the stuff's legal again)

Salad Course:
Caesar for Josh with anchovies and hard boiled egg (don't tell him about the egg--it's a surprise. I know, you're saying the EGG is the surprise, not the fishies. The anchovies come in a can, they're easy for me to keep around and really, Josh is so easy to please that I can get over the weirdness of handling little fishies for his salad.)
I will be having a green salad. My extra special ingredient is artichoke hearts. I just love 'em.

Dinner:
Filet Mignon and Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes--Chuck brings out the decadence in us.

Dessert:
This is really the stunner in the menu. Souffle. Grand Marnier and Chocolate. I have to try ("there is no try, only do"--Yoda) to prepare the beef while preparing the souffle so it all comes out at the right times. If only I had a sou chef. I'm still working on that one. I suppose I should let the meat rest...hmm...maybe that will be long enough to put the souffle together. I have to keep thinking.

I will take pictures and post them tomorrow. I know I've been gone for so long, you probably don't believe that I'll post twice in 2 days. You know what, though? If my souffle turns out I want the accolades and if it flops (that's really doubly bad for a souffles) I want the sympathy. So for my own ego...I'll post pictures.

And I have done other cooking in the past month. I should probably try to post about them, too. So what do you want to read about: Poultry stocks, pea soup, or my ingenious use of a box of spaghetti over three meals? Let me know.

Also, what is the most decadent meal you've ever eaten? What is the most difficult thing you've tried to make on your own?

Kristen Out1