Mushroom Bourguignon

There is an adorable French restaurant near my apartment in DC that serves the best beef bourguignon I have ever had. When my mom gave me the new Smitten Kitchen cookbook for Christamas, I was immediately drawn to the mushroom bourguignon recipe. Having made it for the first time last night, I can say with confidence that this dish is just as good (if not better) without the beef. Be aware that it calls for 2 pounds of mushrooms, so you need to use a large pan!

Mushroom Bourguignon
(courtsey of The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman)

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 lbs portobello mushrooms
1 cup thawed pearl onions
1/2 carrot, finely diced
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup full bodied red wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups beef broth
1 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
Egg noodles, for serving
Sour cream and chopped chives for garnish

Directions
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a heavy pan on high heat. Sear the mushrooms and pearl onions until they begin to take on a little color (3-4 minutes). Remove the mushrooms and onions and set aside.

Lower the flame to medium and add the second tablespoon of olive oil. Toss the carrot, onion, thyme, some salt and pepper in the pan and cook for 5 minutes until the onion is beginning to brown. Add the garlic and cook one more minute; season again with salt and pepper.

Add the wine to the pot, scraping any brown bits from the bottom. Turn the heat all the way up and reduce the liquid by half (this will take 4-5 minutes). Stir in the tomato paste and the stock. Add back the mushrooms and pearl onions and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the temperature and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Combine the flour and the remaining better with a fork and stir this into the stew. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 more minutes. If the sauce is too thin, boil it down to reduce to a "coating" consistency.

Serve over egg noodles and garnish with sour cream and chives. Enjoy!

Smoky (and healthy!) Shrimp and Grits

Growing up in the upper Midwest, shrimp and grits were never part of my regular diet. As an adult I have grown to love shrimp and grits and order them anytime I see them on a menu. I was drawn to this recipe because it seemed so much healthier compared to other shrimp and grits recipes; it includes spinach, just a little bit of cheese, and no sausage but it still tastes terrific! This recipe is definitely a "keeper"!


Smoky Shrimp and Grits

1. 3/4 cup quick-cooking grits
2. Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3. 2 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded (3/4 cup)
4. 1 1/2 cups baby spinach, coarsely chopped
5. 1/4 cup snipped chives
6. 1/4 cup canola oil
7. 2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
8. 1 pound shelled and deveined medium shrimp
9. 1/2 teaspoon hot paprika
10. 1/4 cup dry white wine

1. In a medium saucepan, bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Gradually add the grits and a generous pinch of salt. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the grits are thick and porridge-like, about 7 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper and stir in the cheddar cheese, baby spinach and chives; stir until the cheese is melted and the spinach is wilted. Cover the grits and keep warm.
2. In a large skillet, heat the canola oil with the garlic over high heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the shrimp and paprika, season with salt and black pepper and cook until the shrimp are opaque, about 2 minutes. Add the white wine and cook until the shrimp are white throughout and the garlic-paprika sauce is slightly reduced.
3. Spoon the grits into bowls, top with the shrimp and sauce; serve.

 Courtesy of Food and Wine -- http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/smoky-shrimp-and-grits

Steamed Pork and Shrimp Dumplings

Seamus and I both have a strong affinity for dumplings. We went on a vacation in China a couple of years ago, and while we were there we had some of the best dumplings of our lives. We recently purchased one of those bamboo steamers like you see in dimsum places, and we thought we should put it to use.

This is our first attempt at homemade dumplings, and I have to say I was surprised at how easy and delicious (and fun to make) this recipe turned out to be!



Steamed Dumplings Recipe (虾仁蒸饺) 
Make about 20-24 steamed dumplings

Ingredients:

1/2 pound ground pork
8-10 medium shrimps (peeled, deveined, and cut into small pieces)
1 stalk scallion (finely chopped)
3 dashes white pepper powder
1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1 inch ginger (grated)
1 pack potsticker/dumpling wrappers

Method:

Combine the ground pork, shrimp, chopped scallions, ginger, and all seasonings together. Set aside.

To make dumplings, place a small spoonful of the filling in the center of the wrapper. Dab a little water with your finger and circle around the edge of the skin, and then fold and pleat the dumpling accordingly. Repeat the same for the rest. (Please refer to this video to learn how to fold/pleat dumplings.

Arrange the dumplings in a bamboo steamer (lined with parchment paper at the bottom) and steam for 8-10 minutes. Serve immediately with black vinegar dipping sauce.

***I clearly need some practice making beautiful dumplings. At least they still tasted great!***

http://rasamalaysia.com/steamed-dumplings-recipe/2/

Evil Jungle Prince with Chicken

Seamus and I lived in Hawaii for two years; it was during these years that we really started to love both eating and cooking. At one point during our time there, we enrolled in a Thai cooking class taught by a Thai woman who was living on Oahu. Many of the recipes that we learned during this time we still cook on a regular basis. Evil Jungle Prince has become a stand by for us both because it is delicious and easy to make. Enjoy!

Evil Jungle Prince with Chicken

Ingredients

1lb boneless and skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 Mayploy can of coconut milk
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 cup Thai basil leaves
3-4 bunches of baby bok choy
1-3 tablespoons of chunky peanut butter (depends on taste)
1-3 tablespoons of lime juice
3 tablespoons of sugar
1-2 tablespoons of red curry paste

Directions
Thinly cut chicken into 2 inch strips. Heat oil to medium high and saute 1 to 2 tablespoons of red curry paste for 3 minutes. Stir in the top half of the coconut milk (the thick part.... do not shake your coconut milk!) and cook for 2 minutes. Add chicken and cook for 5 minutes or until cooked. Reduce heat to medium low. Stir in the rest of the coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice, peanut butter, basil, and bok choy. Serve over rice and enjoy!

Root Vegetable and Cauliflower Tagine

I had never even tasted a tagine, let alone made a tagine before last week, so when Shea sent me this recipe from Food and Wine I thought we should be adventurous and give it a try. I enjoyed using this recipe to try some of the root veggies like parsnips (which I also hadn't tried before).

There was a lot of chopping involved with this recipe, and I ended up having to use two frying pans in order to make the dish. Next time I would make it in a big soup pot to minimize clean up. I made the dish as described below, only substituting the currants with dried cranberries.

After it was all said and done, we had a healthy stew of root veggies that we served over rice. I enjoyed this recipe, but Seamus wasn't a fan. He thought that it was too starchy and he wasn't especially fond of the spices either. Oh well!


Root Vegetable and Cauliflower Tagine

1. 1 1/2 cups plain whole-milk yogurt
2. 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley, plus more for garnish
3. Kosher salt
4. Freshly ground pepper
5. 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
6. 1 medium onion, finely chopped
7. 8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
8. 3 tablespoons tomato paste
9. 1 tablespoon ground cumin
10. 2 teaspoons ground coriander
11. 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
12. 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
13. 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
14. 2 pounds turnips, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch dice
15. 1 pound parsnips, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch dice
16. One 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
17. 1 quart low-sodium vegetable broth
18. Pinch of saffron threads
19. 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
20. 1/2 cauliflower (1 pound), cut into bite-size florets
21. Two 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
22. 1/2 cup dried currants
23. 1 1/2 cups pitted green olives, quartered

1. In a bowl, whisk the yogurt with the 1/4 cup of parsley and season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.
2. In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, garlic and a generous pinch each of salt and pepper and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and just starting to brown, about 8 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, cumin, coriander, crushed red pepper, caraway and cinnamon and cook, stirring, until fragrant and glossy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add the turnips, parsnips, tomatoes and their liquid, broth, saffron and 1 cup of water to the pot and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the turnips and parsnips are beginning to soften, about 20 minutes.
4. Add the sweet potatoes, cauliflower, chickpeas and currants to the pot. Cover partially and simmer over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in the olives and season with salt and pepper. Transfer the tagine to a serving bowl, garnish with parsley and serve with the yogurt.

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/root-vegetable-and-cauliflower-tagine-with-parsley-yogurt

Spaghetti alla Puttanesca

We love to cook from a cook book that my mother gave me as a gift called Trattoria by Patricia Wells. Trattoria is full of easy to make Italian dishes that make your entire home smell like an upscale Italian bistro. We particularly like her Puttanesca recipe, which is a slight twist on our traditional red sauce and can be made with things that you already have on hand in  your pantry. We substitute a can of sardines for anchovies because sardines are easier to come by at the store, and the recipe still turns out great!



Spaghetti alla Puttanesca
From Patricia Wells's Trattoria

Ingredients
1/4 cup Olive Oil
4 flat anchovy fillets cured in olive oil
3 garlic cloves (minced)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
salt
1 28-ounce petite diced tomatoes
15 salt-cured black olives (pitted and halved)
2 tablespoons capers (drained and rinsed)
1 pound pasta
1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley

In an unheated skillet combine the oil, anchovies, garlic, crushed red peppers and a pinch of salt, stirring to coat with oil. Cook over moderate heat just until the garlic turns golden but does not brown. Add tomatoes, olives and capers. Simmer until the sauce begins to thiken, about 15 minutes.

Toss the cooked pasta with the sauce. Add the parsley and toss again. Serve and Enjoy!

Eggplant Sandwiches

Seamus and I had initially planned on making a recipe for Eggplant Parmesan that we found online for dinner on Friday night. When we got home looked more closely at the recipe, we noticed that it was going to take 2 hours to finish; this would just simply not do. We needed to eat asap, so Seamus took a stab at creating his own recipe of Eggplant Sandwiches and they were terrific!

Eggplant Sandwiches

Ingredients

1 Large Eggplant (skin removed and cut into very thin slices)

1 Can of Petite Diced Tomatoes

4 Garlic Cloves (minced)

1 Small White Onion (diced)

1 Sprig of Fresh Thyme

1 Sprig of Fresh Rosemary

1 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Ball of Fresh Mozzarella

1/2 Cup of Fresh Basil

1/2 Cup of Parmesan Cheese

1 Loaf of French Bread


Add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to a frying pan and let it heat. Add half of the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the diced onion and cook until translucent and beginning to brown.  Add the Thyme, Rosemary, and Tomatoes and bring to a slow simmer.

Meanwhile in another frying pan, heat another tablespoon of olive oil. Add the other half of the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the eggplant and cook until soft and brown, about 10 minutes.

Assemble your sandwich with a layer of fresh mozzarella, eggplant, tomato sauce, basil and parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Celery Root and Mushroom Lasagna

I grew up eating my mother's spinach lasagna so when I saw this recipe for Celery Root and Mushroom Lasagna at foodandwine.com, I knew I had to try it.

Seamus and I went to the grocery store and were not able to find Celery Root, so we substituted with Turnips and they worked perfectly. We also wanted to make the lasagna a little bit healthier so we substituted the heavy cream in the recipe for 2% evaporated milk and used about half as much cheese as is called for in the recipe. Both of these substitutions worked out great, and we ended up with a delicious and healthy white lasagna that we ate for 3 days (it is even better as leftovers)!

Celery Root and Mushroom Lasagna 

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/celery-root-and-mushroom-lasagna

1. 1 cup dried porcini mushrooms
2. 2 cups boiling water
3. 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4. 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5. 3/4 pound white mushrooms, thinly sliced (4 cups)
6. Salt and freshly ground white pepper
7. 1/4 pound thickly sliced prosciutto di Parma, cut into 1/4-inch dice
8. 2 medium shallots, finely chopped
9. 1 fresh bay leaf
10. 2 rosemary sprigs
11. 2 sage sprigs
12. 2 thyme sprigs
13. 1 pound celery root, peeled and finely diced (1 1/2 cups)
14. 3 medium leeks, white and tender green parts only, finely chopped (3 cups)
15. 1/2 cup dry Marsala
16. 4 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
17. 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
18. 1 3/4 cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
19. 2 large eggs
20. 1 1/2 pounds lasagna noodles
21. 1 1/2 pounds fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
22. 1 cup basil leaves

1. In a small, heatproof bowl, soak the porcini in the boiling hot water until softened, about 15 minutes. Drain and coarsely chop the porcini.
2. In a large saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the white mushrooms and the porcini, season with salt and white pepper and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer the mushrooms to a bowl.
3. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons each of butter and olive oil to the saucepan. Add the prosciutto and shallots and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 6 minutes. Using kitchen string, tie the bay leaf, rosemary, sage and thyme sprigs into a bundle. Add the herb bundle and the celery root to the saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the celery root is crisp-tender, about 6 minutes. Add the leeks and cook until the celery root is tender, 5 minutes longer.
4. Return the mushrooms to the saucepan and stir over moderate heat until hot, 2 minutes. Add the Marsala and cook until evaporated, 5 minutes. Pour in 2 cups of the chicken stock and simmer over moderate heat for 10 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the cream; simmer for 3 minutes longer, until the mixture has reduced to 5 cups. Season the ragù with salt and white pepper.
5. In another large saucepan, combine the remaining 2 cups each of cream and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderate heat until reduced to 3 cups, about 10 minutes. Off the heat, whisk in 1 1/2 cups of the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Whisk in the eggs. Transfer the sauce to a blender and puree until smooth. Season with salt and white pepper. Set 1/2 cup of the sauce aside.
6. Bring a very large pot of salted water to a boil and fill a large bowl with ice water. Cook the lasagna noodles until just barely al dente; drain and transfer to the ice water to cool. Drain the noodles and pat dry.
7. Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Line the bottom with a single layer of noodles, overlapping them slightly; reserve the best noodles for the top layer. Spread one-fifth of the vegetable ragù on top, followed by one-fifth each of the sauce, mozzarella and basil. Repeat to make four more layers, ending with a layer of noodles (you won't use all the noodles). Top with the reserved 1/2 cup of sauce and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
8. Bake the lasagna until bubbling and golden, about 1 hour. Let the lasagna rest for 20 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.

MAKE AHEAD The assembled lasagna can be refrigerated overnight. Bring to room temperature before baking.

Mom's Pasta with Red Sauce

If you know me, you know that I love pasta with red sauce. I have eaten at lots of fancy Italian restaurants, and still my absolute favorite red sauce is still my mother's recipe. My mom and dad lived in Italy during the 1970's, and my mom claims to have learned her simple technique for pasta sauce during that time. She was kind enough to teach it to me, and I figured it would be a great addition to my new blog!


Mom's Pasta with Red Sauce

Ingredients

4 gloves of garlic; smashed and minced
1/2 of a small white onion; diced
1 teaspoon crush red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large can of canned petite diced tomatoes

Directions:

Heat the olive oil and crushed red pepper in a large frying/sauteing pan until hot. Toss the garlic in the olive oil until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the onion to the pan with the garlic and saute  until translucent. Add the can of tomatoes and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper as needed.  Add about 1/4 of a cup of the pasta water to the sauce, and toss the pasta and sauce together. Serve with parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Slow Cooker Spinach and Artichoke Dip

After being invited to a Football Party to watch the playoff games, Seamus and I were hoping to bring a traditional tailgating snack to munch on with our friends. We needed something quick and easy that we coule preferrably make in our slow cooker.  After a quick Google Search, I found The Food Network's recipe for slow cooked spinach and artichoke dip and decided to give it a try. Although I was skeptical, it turned out to be a hit at the party!


Tip: For incredibly fast clean up, use the Reynold's Wrap Slow Cooker Liners. They seem sketchy at first (who wants to put plastic in their slow cooker?!), but they really do work.

Recipe for Slow Cooker Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Mix 1 cup grated smoked mozzarella, 1/2 cup grated parmesan, 8 ounces cream cheese, 1 minced garlic clove, 1 box thawed frozen spinach, 1 jar artichoke hearts, and salt and pepper in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on high, 2 hours.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/slow-cooker-spinach-dip-recipe/index.html