Wild Mushroom Crostini

Wild Mushroom Crostini
From Epicurious

Printable Recipe

Total time: 15 minutes

Serves 8

Ingredients:
Mushroom topping:
3 tbsp butter
12 oz/355g assorted wild mushrooms (such as stemmed shiitake, oyster, black trumpet, and crimini), sliced (Ruth’s note: I used mostly cremini mushrooms plus a handful of dried wild mushrooms, reconstituted & chopped)
1½ tsp fresh thyme, chopped

Thyme vinaigrette:
Scant ¼ cup red wine vinegar
3 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 small shallot, chopped
½ cup olive oil plus more for brushing
1 baguette cut into ½” thick slices across
½ cup good quality olive oil
More olive oil for drizzling (epicurious suggests Truffle oil)

Directions:
For mushroom topping:
Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and thyme. Sauté until browned, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Rewarm before using.

For thyme vinaigrette:
1. Blend first 4 ingredients in blender 10 seconds. With machine running, gradually add ½ cup olive oil; blend until almost smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

2. Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C. Arrange bread on rimmed baking sheet. Brush with oil. Bake until beginning to crisp, about 8 minutes.

3. Mound ¼ cup mushrooms on each bread slice. Drizzle each with thyme vinaigrette, then sparingly with truffle oil, or extra virgin olive oil.

Herb Roasted Cauliflower & Brussels Sprouts with Mushrooms

Herb Roasted Cauliflower & Brussels Sprouts with Mushrooms
From Clean Start

Printable Recipe

Serves 4

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30-45 minutes (just until the vegetables are tender)

Ingredients:
1 large head cauliflower, cut into small florets
1 ½ doz or so Brussels sprouts, cut in half lengthwise if they are large
8oz/225g shiitake or cremini (or combination) mushrooms (this time I used cremini and just quartered them – I’d discard stems and slice shiitake)
2 cloves garlic, peeled
¼ cup fresh sage leaves (or 1 ½ tbsp dried)
¼ cup fresh oregano (or 2 tbsp dried)
2 tsp coarse sea salt
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C and line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil (for easy cleanups).

2. In a large bowl, toss everything together and arrange in a single layer on the baking sheet(s) – don’t crowd them or they’ll just steam. Better to use two pans. Roast for 15 minutes and toss. Return to oven and roast until tender (anywhere from 10-30 minutes, depending on how small/large the pieces). Remove from the oven and serve.

Leftovers are great in pasta and frittatas. The photo above has them accompanying a delicious Grilled Mushroom Steak.

Mache Lettuce Salad with Avocado Zest OIl Vinaigrette

Mache Salad with Avocado Oil Vinaigrette

Printable Recipe

Prep time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
2-4 handfuls of mache lettuce (or your favorite)
Sweet red pepper, cut into julienne strips
Cucumber, thinly sliced
Vinaigrette:
¼ cup avocado zest oil
2-3 tbsp balsamic apple cider vinegar ( start with 2 tbsp and add more to your taste)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Drizzle of honey (again, to your taste)

Directions:
1. Combine all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Taste for seasoning – I like to use a lettuce leaf to do the tasting. This makes sure the vinaigrette matches the flavor of the lettuce.

2. Place the salad greens, red pepper & cucumber in a large bowl, and toss with vinaigrette. Taste for seasoning. Just add enough vinaigrette to be able to taste it, not make the salad soupy.

Pan Fried Haddock

Pan Fried Haddock
From The Best of Chef at Home

Printable Recipe

Hands on time: 5 minutes or so
Cooking time: 5-8 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillets
Serves 2

Ingredients:
½ cup whole wheat flour (all purpose will do too)
Pinch of sea salt
½ tbsp paprika
½ tbsp dried herb or spice (this time I used oregano)
Juice of ½ lemon (plus more for spritzing at the table)
2 large haddock, tilapia or other firm white fish fillets
Splash of vegetable or olive oil
1-2 tbsp butter

Directions:
1. Whisk together flour, herbs & spices in a large wide bowl or deep plate. Dredge the fillets in this flour mixture.

2. Preheat a large heavy bottomed skillet over medium high heat. Pour some olive oil in the hot skillet and then add the butter. The oil (veg or olive) will keep the butter from burning during the frying. Swirl once the butter starts to sizzle.

3. Add the dredged fillets to the skillet and turn up the heat, keeping the pan sizzling hot. Just keep an eye on it so there’s no burning. Cook in batches so that the fillets do not overlap. Turn carefully when the bottom gets golden ( 2-3 minutes usually), You might need to add a little more butter to the pan when you flip the fish.

4. Continue until the fish is cooked through and remove from pan. If I need more batches, I keep the first batch warm in a 200°F oven. In the meantime, spritz some lemon juice in the pan. It will sizzle and form a quick sauce with the butter. Pour over the fillets and serve immediately.

Served here with oven roasted sweet potato fries, like these Thyme Sweet Potato Wedges, just cut into julienne strips & simple salad.

Parsnip Cake

Parsnip Cake
From Kitchen Sense

Printable Recipe

Hands on time: 10 minutes or so
Baking time: 40 minutes
Serves 8

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus enough to grease the pan – should be softened to room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 cups shredded, peeled parsnips
1 cup pecans or walnuts, toasted and chopped

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C and butter a 9”x13” baking dish or 2 (9”) round pans to make a layer cake. (I place parchment paper to fit for easy cake removal)

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter with the sugars until light and fluffy. Beat the eggs in one at a time. Beat in the vanilla and salt.

3. The book suggests changing to a wooden spoon at this point, but I missed that in the instructions and continued to use the paddle. But first, I mixed one cup of flour with baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon (oops, I forgot that altogether) and stirred to combine. After mixing that into the egg/sugar mixture with the paddle, I added the resto of the flour and mixed that in.
4. Change to a wooden spoon to stir in the grated parsnips and toasted nuts. Once well blended, transfer to the baking dish and spread evenly to fill out the pan (the batter is very thick).

5. Bake until the cake has risen, set, browned and pulls away from the sides of the pan ( about 30 minutes for round pans, 35-40 minutes for the large pan). The cake is ready when it springs back to the touch and a tooth pick comes out dry.

6. Remove from the oven and place the baking dish on a rack to cool for 15 minutes in the pan. Unmold onto a wire rack, (flip upside down and remove the parchment, if you’re using, then flip right side up) until completely cooled… at least if your family will wait that long.

Kitchen Sense Ultimate Mac & Cheese

Kitchen Sense Ultimate Mac & Cheese
From Kitchen Sense

Printable Recipe

Hands on time: 20 minutes or so
Baking time: 30 minutes
Serves 8

Ingredients:
5 tbsp unsalted butter
¼ c unseasoned bread crumbs (I love Panko – they’re extra crispy)
1 c Parmigiano Reggiano or other hard grating cheese, freshly grated
1lb/450 g short curly pasta
3 tbsp all purpose flour
2 c milk
2 tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
Pinch cayenne pepper
Pinch freshly ground pepper
½ tsp kosher salt
8 oz/250g cream cheese, mascarpone or fresh goat cheese
8oz/250g extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (2 cups)
8 oz/250g extra aged Gouda, Emmentaler or Appenseller, shredded (2 cups)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C and butter a 2quart baking dish. In a small bowl, mix 2 tbsp of breadcrumbs plus 2 tbsp Parmigiano, Coat the bottom and sides of the baking dish- shake around to coat the dish evenly. Leave the extra mixture at the bottom. Combine another 2 tbsp of breadcrumbs plus 2 tbsp Parmigiano in a small bowl and set aside for topping.

2. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of rapidly boiling salted water until almost tender (about 8 minutes). Drain.

Meanwhile make the sauce:
3. Melt 3 tbsp butter in a heavy bottom, large skillet over medium high heat. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon to make a paste/roux. Cook the roux for a minute or two, stirring often until it’s very lightly browned and you can smell the nutty aroma of toasted flour. Switch to a whisk and pour in the milk, continuing to whisk until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens without lumps. (about 4 minutes).

4. Turn heat to low and whisk in mustard, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne, pepper and salt. Add the cream cheese and stir until thoroughly melted.

5. Place the drained pasta back into the pot it cooked in. Add the cheddar, gouda and remaining Parmigiano. Pour the hot cream sauce on top. Stir the mixture until the cheese is melted and sauce is well combined with the pasta.

6. Transfer the pasta mixture to the prepared baking dish and smooth the top. Sprinkle the breadcrumb/Parmigiano mixture on top and dot with the remaining tbsp of butter.

7. Bake until the crumbs are golden brown and the pasta bubbles at the edges and is heated through (about 40 minutes).

French Lentils with Roasted Roots, Caramelized Onions & Thyme

French Lentils with Roasted Roots, Caramelized Onions & Thyme
From Clean Start

Printable Recipe

Serves 6

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 40-60 minutes

Ingredients:
1 rutabaga/turnip, peeled and diced small
1 celeriac (celery root) peeled and diced small
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
¾ cup dry French lentils
3 cups vegetable stock or water (I used my own roasted veg broth)
Sea salt
4 tbsp lemon juice
1 large red onion, diced
4 cups thinly sliced mushrooms (I didn’t have any, so I used about 1 cup reconstituted dry wild mushrooms & am saving the cooking liquid for another time)
1 tbsp mirin (I used Shaoxing cooking wine)
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
Garnish: fresh Italian/flat leaf parsley, chopped

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C and line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil (for easy cleanups).

2. In a large bowl, toss the rutabaga & celeriac with 2 tbsp of the olive oil and arrange the vegetables in a single layer on the baking sheet(s) – don’t crowd them or they’ll just steam. Better to use two pans. Roast for 20 minutes and toss. Return to oven and roast until tender (anywhere from 15-30 minutes, depending on how small the dice). Remove from the oven and set aside.

3. While the vegetables are roasting, rinse the lentils and place in a pot of vegetable broth and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until tender (about 20 minutes). Remove from heat and drain well. Toss with 1 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp lemon juice and set aside.
4. In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the onion in the remaining oil until they start to brown (5-7 minutes). Add the mushrooms and mirin and continue to sauté. Add the remaining lemon juice, 1 tbsp at a time to deglaze the pan and caramelize the vegetables. Add thyme and sauté an additional 2 minutes.

5. Fold in the lentils and roasted vegetables and sauté just long enough to heat through. Season to taste and toss with parsley.

Awesome Mushroom Grilled Steak

Awesome Grilled Mushroom Steak

I thought I had a better photo, but this one, of the steak peeking from behind delicious roasted vegetables, shows that the mushrooms in this steak are actually invisible by the time you cook it. Your guest will drool and wonder what magical thing you did to them.

Printable Recipe

Prep time: 10 minutes …actually it takes only the time to heat the grill
Grill time: 8-10 minutes
Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 strip loin steaks (or whatever your favorite grilling steak is), at room temperature
2 tbsp powdered mushroom (if you can’t find powdered, make your own by grinding dried – I use a wild mushroom mix when I can find it)
1 tsp powdered mustard (I like Keen’s)

Directions:
1. Preheat grill (if you don’t have a bbq, heat a grill pan or Griddler) and mix the powdered mushroom and mustard in a small bowl. Make sure the steaks are at room temperature.

2. Coat the steaks on both sides and allow to sit on the counter until the grill is hot.

3. Grill steak to the desired doneness. (anywhere from 3-6 minutes per side, depending on how you like your steak done.)

4. Allow the steaks to rest in the fridge for 5 minutes and serve.