Chicken and Mushrooms with Marsala Wine Sauce

This recipe comes courtesy of Cooking Light.  Well...  The concept does.

I followed the guidelines, but my ingredient list was a bit different.  I wanted to use up a few odds and ends in the 'fridge.

I liked the original recipe and will probably make a closer-to-the-original version one of these days.  In the meantime, here's the recipe from Cooking Light with my changes following!

Chicken and Mushrooms with Marsala Wine Sauce

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 chicken breast half and about 1/2 cup sauce)
Ingredients

  • 1/2  cup  dried porcini mushrooms (about 1/2 ounce)
  • 4  (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
  • 4  teaspoons  all-purpose flour, divided
  • 3/4  teaspoon  salt, divided
  • 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
  • 2  tablespoons  olive oil, divided
  • 1/2  cup  chopped onion
  • 1/4  teaspoon  crushed red pepper
  • 5  garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 1/2  cups  thinly sliced shiitake mushroom caps (about 4 ounces)
  • 1 1/2  cups  thinly sliced button mushrooms (about 4 ounces)
  • 1  teaspoon  dried oregano
  • 1/2  cup  dry Marsala wine
  • 2/3  cup  fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
  • 1  cup  halved cherry tomatoes
  • 1/4  cup  small fresh basil leaves

Preparation

1. Place porcini mushrooms in a small bowl; cover with boiling water. Cover and let stand 30 minutes or until tender. Drain and rinse; drain well. Thinly slice.

2. Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound chicken to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Combine 3 teaspoons flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and black pepper in a shallow dish. Dredge chicken in flour mixture.

3. Heat a large stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan; cover and keep warm.

4. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add onion, red pepper, and garlic; sauté 2 minutes or until onion is lightly browned. Add remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, porcini, shiitake, button mushrooms, and oregano; sauté 6 minutes or until mushrooms release moisture and darken. Sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in wine; cook 1 minute. Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 minute. Add chicken and tomatoes; cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated, turning chicken once. Sprinkle with basil.

I used leeks instead of onion, and sliced up about 8 brussels sprouts and fried them with the leeks.  I used the porcini mushrooms but used baby bellas instead of the shitake and button.  I also lightly thickened the sauce with a bit of cornstarch.  And my tomatoes were from the garden, not cherries.

It came out pretty good.


Pansotti con Salsa di Noci

I don't even know where to begin.

Dinner tonight was just unbelievable.

I could die right now and have lived a complete life.

This is one of those recipes that sounds wonderful but is actually even more wonderful when you taste it!  Just wonderful.

Creamy good.  The sauce is surprisingly silky for having so many walnuts in it.  The food processor really does a good job.  (It may state mortar and pestle but we cook using 20th century equipment, whenever possible!)

There is a definite garlic undercurrent to it - even though the sauce only calls for one clove.  But the other flavors work together well with it.  The ravioli filling actually has flavor and texture to it - something usually lacking in the store-bought variety.

The actual pasta was light enough not to be a belly bomb, but substantial enough that you knew you were eating a ravioli.  A real ravioli.

Balance.

And balance pretty much sums up the whole plate.

Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

Pansotti

Dough

  • 3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1/4 cup dry white wine
  • 1/3 to 1/2 cup water
  • 1 large egg

In a large bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Mound flour mixture and form a well in the center. Add wine, 1/3 cup water and get to the well. Using a fork, gently break up yolk and slowly incorporate flour from inside rim of well. Continue until liquid is absorbed, then knead in bowl until dough forms a complete mass. Transfer to a well floured work surface and knead for 3 to 4 minutes more. If dough is not coming together add more water by the tablespoonful to moisten. Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

Unwrap dough and knead for 5 minutes. Flatten dough so that it will fit through the rollers of a hand-cranked pasta machine. Set the rollers of pasta machine at the widest setting, then feed pasta through rollers 3 or 4 times, folding and turning the pasta until it is smooth and the width of the machine.

Cut dough into 3 pieces; cover 2 pieces with a clean dishtowel. Begin rolling pasta through machine, decreasing the setting one notch at a time (do not fold or turn pasta) until the sheet is 1/8 inch thick. Cut pasta sheet into 2 pieces. Dust both sides of sheets with flour and cover 1 sheet with a clean dishtowel. Cut the other sheet of pasta into 3 inch squares. Fill each with 1 teaspoon filling. Fold into triangles and seal with a dab of water and crimp with a fork. Transfer to a clean dry lightly floured baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining pasta sheet, then roll, cut and fill remaining dough, 1 piece at a time.

Unwrap dough and knead for five minutes.
Feed pasta through rollers 3 or 4 times.

Filling

  • 1 lb Swiss chard, stems and center ribs removed, leaves coarsely chopped.
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh basil leaves
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt
  • 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
  • 3/4 cup fresh ricotta cheese
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add chard and cook for 3 minutes. Drain, then squeeze out all excess water. Finely chop together chard and basil

Mound garlic and salt on a cutting board. Using the blade and flat side of a chef’s knife, chop and blend together the garlic and salt to a paste. In a bowl, combine greens garlic paste, Parmigiano-Reggiano, ricotta, egg and pepper. Cover bowl and set aside.

Fill each with 1 teaspoon filling. Fold into triangles and seal.
Transfer to a clean dry lightly floured baking sheet.

Pansotti con salsa di noci – Pansotti with walnut sauce

  • 3/4 cup walnut pieces
  • 1 cup (1/2 inch) cubes day-old rustic bread
  • Sea Salt
  • Fresh ground black pepper
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1/3 cup plus 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup fresh ricotta cheese
  • 1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
  • 1 batch Pansotti

Put the bread in a bowl, cover with tepid tab water and let stand for 5 minutes, then drain and squeeze out excess water

Place the walnuts, 3/4 tsp salt and a pinch of pepper into a food processor. Add the garlic and drizzle in all but 2 tbsp. of the olive oil. Add the ricotta and yogurt and the last 2 tbls oil and mix until combined.

Toss in a bowl with the warm Pansotti and serve immediately.

Dough

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 ½ tsp fine sea salt

¼ cup dry white wine

1/3  to ½ cup water

1 large egg


Cheese Burgers

Lunch the way it is supposed to be.

A bacon cheese burger with lettuce, tomato, fried peppers, mayo, ketchup, and mustard.

And tonight is Victor's Pasta Night.

I can't wait!


Sunday Brunch

What a fun day we had today!  Our dear friend Ruth was visiting from Vermont, so she stopped by to spend a few hours with us.  Naturally, that means food.

I made a variation on the Rustic Summer Tart from a couple of weeks ago.

Here's the original recipe and my changes will follow...

Rustic Summer Squash Tart Recipe

By Woman’s Day Kitchen from Woman’s Day | August 1, 2008

Active Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Recipe Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 lb mixed summer squash (zucchini, yellow squash and pattypan), cut in 1/4-in. rounds
  • 2 shallots, thinly sliced
  • 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme or marjoram, plus sprigs for garnish
  • 1 tsp chopped garlic
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • 1 refrigerated pie crust (from a 15-oz. box)
  • 4 oz Roquefort cheese, Gorgonzola or other good-quality blue cheese
  • 1 roasted yellow or red pepper (freshly roasted or from a jar), cut in strips
  • 1 large plum tomato, sliced, seeds removed
  • 1 large egg, beaten

Recipe Preparation

  1. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add squash and shallots and cook, turning pieces as they start to color, 7 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove from heat; stir in thyme, garlic and pepper to taste. Cool to room temperature.
  2. Heat oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; unroll or unfold pie crust on the parchment. With a rolling pin, roll crust to a 13-in. round. Crumble half the cheese over crust to within 2 in. of edge. Arrange squash mixture, pepper strips and tomato slices on cheese; fold edge of the crust over filling and brush crust with egg.
  3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes until pastry is golden. Slide tart, still on parchment, onto a wire rack. Crumble remaining cheese over top. Let cool before serving.

I made it with arugula, mushrooms, leeks, red onions, zucchini, red and yellow peppers, tomatoes, really good gorgonzola, and assorted fresh herbs from the garden.  And homemade crust, of course.

A bit of fresh fruit, of course...

And scones.

This is the second batch I made.  I forgot the baking powder in the first batch.  They didn't come out very well.

The second batch came out great!

Scones

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 5 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter
  • 1 cup whipping cream
  • 1/3 cup jam

Preheat oven to 400°. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in large bowl. Add butter; rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles fine meal. Gradually add 1 cup cream, mixing until dough comes together. Pat to 1/2-inch thickness. Ccut scones into wedges.  Make indentation on top of scone and fill with 1 teaspoon jam. Transfer to baking sheet. Bake scones until brown, about 18 minutes. Serve warm.

We had a lot of fun sitting around and talking up a storm.  And eating.

And we'll be seeing her in October in New Hampshire.

Life is good.

Oh...  And tomorrow is Victor's Pasta Day.

Life is really good!


Pork Tenderloin

Tonight's dinner went through three different incarnations before finally getting onto a dinner plate!

My first idea was to make pork sandwiches on focaccia and a cold green bean salad.  I had focaccia left from last night, so I didn't buy any bread today.  And I've been remiss - no dough in the 'fridge.

So...  getting home, I found Victor had made pizzas for lunch with the focaccia.  My bad.  I didn't say I was going to use it.

Next idea was to grill the pork with some BBQ sauce.  Turned on the grill, went inside, came back out...  Out of gas.

Third time's the charm.

I sliced the tenderloin into inch-thick slices, pan fried them, added the bbq sauce, and then popped them under the broiler to finish cooking.

The cold bean salad became sauteed green beans with red onion and mushrooms.  Roasted teeny potatoes finished off the plate.


Homemade Ice Cream

We had a little ice cream making party this evening.

Our niece, Elizabeth, is down visiting from North Jersey.  She was supposed to be here going to a cooking camp for a week.  Alas, it was canceled at the last minute.  A definite bummer because she really does like to cook and is getting quite good at it.  They decided to come down anyway and has been cooking up a storm at her Aunt Re's.

So... she asked if she could come over and make ice cream with us tonight.  Of course we said yes.  Ice Cream is my practically most favorite food on the planet!

We let her decide the flavor.  She chose Cookies and Cream.

The recipe is for a Cuisinart 1.5 quart ice cream maker.  Your results may vary.

Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 cup milk
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tbsp vanilla
  • 1/4 package cream sandwich cookies, broken up

Mix milk, cream, vanilla, and sugar.  Stir until sugar dissolves.

Follow manufacturers instructions for freezing ice cream and add broken cookies during final five minutes of mixing.

It was fun having them all over, and even more fun to verify that she and her older brother will be here in December to make Christmas Cookies with us.

Traditions are good.


Steaks and Corn Relish

Gorgeous weather outside.  Perfect for firing up the grill.

I grilled a couple of steaks with the Gates Kansas City BBQ Sauce and topped them with a bit of the gorgonzola cheese I picked up the other day.  The cheese is great and it went well with the spicy-hot BBQ sauce.

Sitting under the steaks is a corn relish.  I had an ear of corn, a yellow squash from our next door neighbor, and some odds and ends that needed using up.  And deep-fried potato-tots.

There are no right or wrong amounts for the relish.  Use what you have and have fun with it!  The yellow squash we had was not a typical summer squash.  It was quite hard and needed cooking to make it tender.

Corn Relish

  • corn cut from 1 ear, cooked and cooled
  • 1/4 red onion, diced
  • 1 tomato, diced
  • 1 yellow squash, diced, cooked, if necessary,and cooled
  • 1/4 cup sliced olives
  • 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Mix all ingredients, cover and refrigerate.

We're getting ready for the onslaught.  Our niece is down visiting from North Jersey so we're going to make homemade ice cream with her - and whatever other family members make it over.

It should be fun!


Moosewood Muffins

Sh-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h!  Don't tell Diane, but I made muffins to bring into work for her birthday tomorrow.

Banana Nut.  From the Moosewood Restaurant Cooks At Home Cook Book.  It's a great recipe, really versatile, and pretty much never-fail.

Just to make them slightly more decadent (they are for a birthday girl after all!) I dipped the warm muffin tops in melted butter and then rolled them in cinnamon sugar. Yum.

Here's the recipe.  As it states, the wet/dry ingredients are just the base for the muffins - it's not a plain muffin.  You have to keep reading and make one of the variations.

Have fun!

Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home
Muffin Madness

Basic Wet Ingredients

  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 3/4 - 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Basic Dry Ingredients

  • 2 cup unbleached flour (I use whole wheat)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350°.

In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, oil, brown sugar, and vanilla.  In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt, and any spices your variation calls for.  Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined, being careful not to overmix the batter  Fold in the additional ingredients called for in your variation.

Spoon batter into oiled standard muffins tins and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until puffed and golden brown.  (If you are using mini-muffin tins, bake for 10-15 minutes.)  A knife inserted in the center should come out clean.

Additional Ingredients:

The basic wet and dry ingredients are not intended to be a recipe for plain muffins; always choose one of the variations.

  • Apple muffins: Add 2 cups of grated tart apples and 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel to wet ingredients and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon to dry ingredients.  If you like, fold 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans into the batter
  • Banana muffins: Add 1 1/2 cups of mashed ripe  banana to wet ingredients.  If you like, fold 1 cup chopped nuts and/or 1/2 cup of chocolate chips to batter.
  • Blueberry - lemon muffins: Add 1 1/2 cups of fresh or frozen blueberries and 1 tablespoon of freshly grated lemon peel to wet ingredients.
  • Zucchini muffins: Add 2 cups of grated zucchini to wet ingredients and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamom to the dry ingredients. Fold in 1/2 cup of raisins or currants and 3/4 cup of chopped nuts if you like, into the batter.

Happy Birthday, Diane!


Tacos

It's amazing how many dishes, pots, and pans it takes to make a simple taco dinner!

The meat, the rice, the beans... guacamole, sour cream, salsa, cheese, lettuce, olives, tomatoes, onions... and the taco shells!  I'm beginning to remember why I don't make these very often!

But they are good!

I got silly with the deep fryer and deep-fried the corn tortillas.  And just to be a little sillier, I fried a couple of flour tortillas, as well.  They puffed up like balloons!  Victor made a taco salad sort of affair with one of them.  I made a really big taco and used a dozen napkins to help clean up the mess I was making eating it.

I don't have a real taco shell basket, so I used a cannoli  form and tongs to help them hold their shape in the oil.  It worked pretty well.

No real secrets for the beef...  It was hamburger cooked with some chopped onion, and then a bunch of different herbs and spices; Mexican oregano, chipotle powder, chili powder, cumin, garlic, salt and pepper, and a can of tomato sauce.  Oh - and half a can of diced green chiles.  The other half went into the beans.

The kitchen was properly destroyed, Victor put it all back together, and we have tapioca pudding for dessert later on.

Life is definitely good!


Coconut Tapioca Pudding

Victor has had a hankerin' for tapioca pudding for a while, now.  Alas, while we have lots of tapioca, in our non-instant world, one of us has to remember to soak it before we can cook it.  Finally, early this morning before work, that someone was me.

The recipe concept came from 101 Recipes, but Victor changed it around, made it coconut instead of plain vanilla, added a pinch of cinnamon... pretty much remade it as his own.

It's really good!

Coconut Tapioca Pudding

  • 2 cups coconut milk
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1/3 cup medium pearl tapioca
  • 2 extra-large egg yolks, lightly beaten
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup unsweetened coconut

Soak tapioca according to package instructions. Drain. Mix together the egg yolks, salt, sugar, and the milk.

Over medium heat slowly bring the mixture just barely to a boil, stirring all along - about 15 minutes.

Reduce the heat and let the mixture simmer about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

The tapioca beads will swell up and become almost entirely translucent and the pudding will thicken.

The longer it is on the stove the more important to constantly stir. Timing really just depends.  When cooked add coconut, remove from heat and and add vanilla.

Pudding will thicken more in refrigerator.  Cool and enjoy!


Farro, Eggplant, and Buffalo Mozzarella

 

Dinner tonight was slightly different than I originally envisioned.  I planned on making farrow cakes/patties, frying them, and topping them with the eggplant and tomato sauce.  Alas... the farrow just didn't want to hold together in a patty shape.

No matter.  It came out pretty good, nonetheless!

I had a homegrown eggplant from our neighbor up the street that I definitely wanted to use tonight.  She's cute.  She just leaves an eggplant or a zucchini on the table by our back door now and again.  I have told her for years that I will take any and all homegrown produce she wants to send our way, but I think she's a bit embarrassed and doesn't want to be seen as the neighbor everyone hides from when they see her with her bounty.  Nope.  Not me.  You grew it, I'll cook it.  Bring it on!

So dinner tonight was actually vegetarian.  Not unheard of, but not the most common for me, either.  But it worked.

Because I planned on making patties from the farrow, I added an egg to help bind it.  Because I added the egg, I had to saute the mixture to cook it.  This recipe is for making it as a side dish without the egg, because I'll never try and make farrow patties, again.

Farrow with Gorgonzola

  • 1 cup farrow (or brown rice)
  • 2 oz gorgonzola
  • 2 tbsp minced parsley
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Cook farrow (or rice) according to package instructions.  Drain completely.  Stir in gorgonzola, parsley, garlic powder, and S&P.

Serve

The eggplant and tomatoes were another simple saute.

Eggplant and Tomato Sauce

  • 1 medium eggplant
  • 6 plum tomatoes
  • 1 small yellow onion
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/2 cup button mushrooms
  • 1/4 cup red wine
  • 1/4 cup chopped mixed fresh herbs (I used basil oregano, rosemary, and sage)
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • buffalo mozzarella

Peel and dice eggplant.  Sprinkle with salt and put in colander to drain - about 30 minutes.

Coarsely chop onion, garlic, tomatoes, and mushrooms.  Add onion to skillet and cook until translucent.  Add garlic and then mushrooms.  Add wine and cook until it is almost evaporated. Add eggplant and tomatoes and cook until they release their juices and begin to break down.

Continue to cook until slightly thickened.

Stir in fresh chopped herbs and check for seasoning, adding salt and pepper, if desired.

To assemble:

Plate farrow.  Spoon tomato and eggplant sauce on toip and top with slices of fresh buffalo mozzarella.

Brussels sprouts are probably my most favorite vegetable. A lot of folks don't like them because they think they're too bitter.  Slicing them really thin and sauteing them with a bit of olive oil, garlic, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar makes them a really delicious vegetable and they're not in the least bit bitter.

Really.


Basil and Sun-Dried Tomato Pestos

It's that time of year when we have more basil than we will ever be able to consume.  We started off with three plants this year.  One went to seed really quickly, but the other two took off.  It's been great.

But there comes that moment in time when one realizes that it's either make pesto or watch it all wilt, wither, and die.  The basil, of course, was cheap.  The pine nuts are anything but.

There's a shortage of pine nuts.  An actual world-wide shortage.  It's sent prices skyrocketing; $16.00-$30.00 and more per pound! I bit the bullet and bought some today.  Yes, one can substitute walnuts - and walnuts actually make a pretty good pesto - but Victor is planning a pesto pasta for his next Monday Feast, so nothing but the best, ya know?!?

He made two different pestos tonight - a traditional basil and a sun-dried tomato pesto.  The traditional is from la Cucina Italiana, the sun-dried tomato is his own.

From Victor:

Genevese Pesto

  • 1 ¾ cups packed fresh basil leaves
  • ¼ cup pine nuts
  • 2 large cloves of peeled garlic
  • 1 ¼ cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino or Parmesan cheese (any GOOD fresh grated cheese)
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil.
  • Salt-Pepper to taste

Now if you are REALLY brave and want to be authentic do the following.

Get your mortar and pestle (yes YOUR mortar and pestle. What do you mean you don’t have one??). Put about ½ of the basil in the mortar. Using the pestle with a rotary movement, grind the basil against the wall of the mortar until mostly ground, then, in batches, repeat with remaining basil until all the leaves are ground.

Working with 1 tablespoon at a time, add and grind pine nuts, then add garlic (thinly sliced) and a generous pinch of salt: grind until garlic is ground.

Working with 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time add and grind cheese.

Working with 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, drizzle in oil, grinding and mixing to incorporate as you go, until the pesto is combined and smooth.

OR……do what I do and place all ingredients in a food processor with the metal blade and pulse until coarsely chopped. Then with the machine running, pour the olive oil slowly down the tube until everything is incorporated and finely minced. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if necessary.

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto

  • Approx. 8-9 oz. sun dried tomatoes (dry, not in olive oil)
  • 1 cup (packed fresh basil leaves
  • ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 cloves of garlic – peeled
  • ¼ cup pine nuts
  • Salt-Pepper to taste
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Put all the ingredients, except the olive oil, in a food processor with the metal blade and pulse until coarsely chopped. Then with the machine running, pour the olive oil slowly down the tube until everything is incorporated and finely minced. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if necessary.

For Penne pasta with Sun Dried Tomato Pesto – cook 1 lb. penne according to package directions. When the pasta is al dente, reserve about a ½ cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta. In a large serving bowl add the pesto and the hot pasta and toss to coat adding just enough of the pasta water to moisten. Serve with extra Parmesan cheese.

We're eating well around our house!