Asparagus Bread Pudding and Southwestern Sloppy Joes

 

Every once in a while Sundays become a cook for the week day.  Saturday we made hash brown waffles.  They were good.  Just not great despite the addition of bacon and cheddar cheese.  We made chicken/apple/gouda sausage sandwiches out of the leftovers.  Those were slathered with a peach honey mustard.  Better but still not worthy of a post.

Then, late in the day on Saturday we threw the chicken carcass into the crock pot for some stock.  It’s so easy to do.  The carcass, an onion cut in half (not peeled,) a handful of chopped carrots, a handful of celery, some peppercorns and some Fines Herbes or whatever I find first!  Then, cover with water and let it simmer all night. 

That meant when we woke up on Sunday the house smelled fantastic!  I had a bunch of work to do so I dug in.  Finally about four pm my brain was done.  I headed to the kitchen to start in.  First up was a make ahead salad with lettuce, peas, Swiss cheese, green onions, bacon and a dressing that was half Miracle Whip and half mayo.  Next was turning the stock into Greek Lemon Chicken Soup.  We first tried this a year ago and I think we’ve made it about once a month since.  It’s that good.

Then, two more new recipes.  We got our hair cut on Saturday.  Melissa is way down on the south side of Indy so a visit to her means either a visit to Café Babbette with their incredible pastries or to Greiners for amazing subs.  This time it was Greiners.  The young man was busy removing the interior bread from our baguettes.  I asked if he was going to throw it away.  Yes, he says.  So I asked for it.  Then, the guy next in line volunteered his also.  I was thinking croutons but the guy behind the counter said something about banana pudding.  That got me to thinking about an asparagus bread pudding I’d just seen. 

Last but not least, Southwestern Sloppy Joes.  We’ve always enjoyed the sloppy joe recipe from L.S. Ayres Tea Room.  Or at least that’s where Mom always told us the recipe came from.  It’s different in that you use Colman’s mustard powder instead of regular ball park mustard.  This recipe calls for tomato sauce and Rotel tomatoes with chilies.  Plus, of course, cumin. 

What did we think?  The salad was good.  But, the asparagus bread pudding was freaking amazing.  Like I didn't want to stop eating it.  The super double bonus was a lovely bottle of Winderlea pinot noir rose.  We found those folks through a friend's in-laws and are we every glad we did!!!  And the sloppy joes despite not sitting overnight were fantastic.  I'm sure they'll be better after a night in the fridge!  

Southwestern Sloppy Joes

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1 c chopped onion

¼ c chopped celery

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

½ c water

1 t cumin

4 t brown sugar

 

Directions:

Brown and drain the ground beef, onion and celery.  Add in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, cumin and water.  Simmer for about 20 minutes or until thickened.  Serve on hamburger buns.

 

Adapted from Best Loved Family Recipes

 

Asparagus Bread Pudding

 

Ingredients:

½ dry baguette, torn into 1/2” pieces

2 c heavy cream

6 large eggs

Salt and pepper

1 lb asparagus, chopped (we used really thin spears)

2 c grated Swiss cheese

1 c grated Parmesan cheese

Handful fresh chives, chopped

½ bunch fresh parsley, chopped

 

Directions:

You’re going to make two sets of layers here.  Both are half the bread, then half the asparagus, then half the Swiss cheese followed by half the herbs.  I didn’t have the herbs but this was still amazing without!  Then, top it all with the parmesan.  Finally, whisk the eggs with the cream and pour it over all.  Bake for 375 for 30 minutes.  Ours didn’t fully set up so you could bake for 20 minutes then top with the parmesan then bake for 30 minutes if you want it fully set up.

 

Adapted from Nova Scotia Cookery Then and Now

Emeril's Big Boy Meatballs and Mascarpone, Honey, Pistachio and Orange Tart

Let's start with the two new recipes from the party.  Emeril's Big Boy Meatballs and Spaghetti is up first.  My new favorite meatballs.  I doubled the recipe hoping that there would be leftovers.  There were.  They are in the freezer for some evening that I can't escape the office at a reasonable hour.  I just love it when I find THE recipe for something.  Not only were the meatballs fabulous, so was the red sauce.  As with almost any red sauce, this was better after allowing it to sit in the fridge overnight. 

Next up is an amazing tart.  I'm already looking for another excuse to make this awesome recipe.  There's a get-together or two brewing for the crew from Chef Joseph's so it'll make an appearance at one of them.  My original intent was to make an olive oil shortcake with an orange mascarpone filling.  Then, I made the kiwi, mango, coconut tart for Weekend in a French Kitchen.  The crust recipe had one egg in it and made two crusts.  I needed to use up that second crust on company so that we didn't eat the whole whatever.  On to Epicurious I went.  There I found a Bon Appetit recipe that was exactly what I was looking for - using mascarpone and oranges.  The crust kind of looked like one of those ransom notes created by cutting out letters and pasting the mishmash together.  But, since nobody was going to see it, not a problem.  Once the tart was done, it looked amazing.  Then, we ate it.  Oh, la, la.  And, that's from someone who doesn't have a big sweet tooth. 

Emeril's Big Boy Meatballs and Spaghetti

Ingredients:

4 slices white bread, crusts removed, torn into pieces (I used Pepperidge Farms)
3/4 c buttermilk
1 1/2 lbs 85% lean ground beef
3/4 lb sweet Italian sausage removed from its casings
2 oz  Parmagiano Reggiano cheese finely grated (about 1/2 c)
2 T minced fresh parsley
1/4 c minced garlic (about 12 cloves) (this is supposed to be split between the sauce and meatballs, I missed that and think maybe that's why these meatballs were so incredible!)
3/4 t salt
3/4 t freshly ground black pepper
3 T olive oil
2 c chopped yellow onion
1 t crushed red pepper
3/4 c dry red wine
28 oz can tomato puree
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 bay laves
1 1/2 c water
1/3 c chopped fresh basil leaves
1 t chopped fresh oregano leaves
2 T evaporated milk
1 pound dried spaghetti, cooked til al dente

Directions:

Put the white bread and buttermilk in a bowl and allow it to soak for 10 minutes.  Mash them together to form a paste (panade.)  Mix the panade, beef, sausage, cheese, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper. 

Mix them well but don't over mix. Form into 1/2 c meatballs.  Put them in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to allow the meatballs to firm up. 

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet.  Brown the meatballs in two batches so they're not crowded.  Remove them to a paper towel lined plate.  Add the onions and crushed red pepper to the oil and sauté until the onions are softened.  If you're splitting the garlic or adding more, add it for a few minutes here to allow the flavors to bloom.  Add the wine and allow it to reduce by half before you add anything else.  Add the tomato puree, crushed tomatoes, bay leaves, water, basil and oregano. Add the meatballs back in and simmer for 45-60 minutes or until the meatballs are floating in the sauce.  If you feel the sauce is too acidic, you can add the evaporated milk. 

Mascarpone Tart with Honey, Oranges and Pistachios

Ingredients:

1 pie crust or pate sable
2 large navel oranges (or 4 mandarin oranges, like I used)
1 8 to 8.8 oz container chilled mascarpone cheese
1/2 c chilled heavy whipping cream
1/4 c sugar
2 T honey, divided
1/4 t (generous) ground cardamom
2 T chopped pistachios

Directions:

The actual recipe calls for using a tart pan with a removable bottom.  I did not do so and had no problems removing the pieces.  Preheat your oven to 400F.  Press the dough into the tart pan.  Prick it all over with a fork.  Bake it for about 20 minutes or until it's golden brown. 

While the crust is baking, you can prep the oranges.  Start by zesting them to get at least 1 1/4 t of zest.  The navel oranges can be peeled and cut into circles.

Remove the tart crust from the oven and set it aside to cool.  Once it's cool, you can start prepping the filling.  If you mix the filling for too long, it will curdle.  You're aiming for smooth here.  Using an electric mixer, mix the mascarpone, whipping cream, 1 T of the honey, the orange zest and the cardamom.  Evenly spread the filling into the cooled crust.  Top the filling with either concentric circles of orange or as I did, with orange pieces...  Then, drizzle with the other 1 T of honey.  Sprinkle the pistachios over the top.  Serve that day. 

Real-Life Lasagna

Carryout is SO boring!  I finally reached the breaking point a few evenings ago.  Out came the copy of Desperation Dinners that I just got from my friend, Diane.  She's moving and is getting rid of most of her cookbooks.  Ummm, we're moving too and I got rid of about four.  Out of about 1200.  I know, it's a disease.  But, at least I don't have a shoe collection!  The first recipe I made was good.  It was a chicken dish.  The second was killer.  Lasagna.  Yes, you read that right, lasagna.  In about 20 minutes.  Now, we'd been to the store and bought a mongo tray of ground beef.  Some went to burgers, some is going to Picadillo from the same cookbook and some is going to Glop (Connie's favorite.)  And, some went to lasagna.  Lasagna that was served with truffled asparagus bundles.  Be still my heart!  Connie would give that dish a six if we were allowed to give anything more than a five!

LOL, it was amazing.  We had leftovers for lunch and loved it just as much the second time around.  As usual, I made a change to the recipe.  No red wine was called for in the recipe.  We had a bottle of wine that we didn't want to drink.  One of those hostess gift things from a local winery that isn't horrid but isn't worthy of having with dinner.

We cleared off the table on the screened porch and dug in.  YUMMMM!  Then, with some chattering and a whoosh, Woody Woodpecker showed up.  We've seen a pileated woodpecker in the wooded area behind our next door neighbor's house.  But, we've never seen one at our home.  This guy was tearing through the stump.  The splinters of wood were flying.  And, Connie snuck out the door of the screened porch and just kept shooting pics.  One of them was perfect!

In addition to Woody, we have some stunning spring bulbs up:

 

 

 

And, our asparagus patch is producing like crazy.  Here's the asparagus I picked, blanched and froze:

Connie got our slices of happiness made so we've got breakfast during the move.  Annie and Wee Mac LOVE helping clean out the cheese jars!!!

Ok, now, I'm going to go into the recipe.  We'll talk about how the moving is going later.  Suffice to say closing is in two weeks and two days...  Yikes!  Oh, and this is what my living room now looks like:

Real Life Lasagna

Ingredients:

8 oz lasagna noodles (for four cups broken)
1 lb extra lean ground beef
1 T olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 t minced garlic
1/4 c fresh parsley, chopped, optional
2 t dried Italian seasoning
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes with juice
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 c dry red wine
1 c cottage cheese
2 c (8oz) already shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Bring a pot of water to a boil.  While that's starting, brown the ground beef and the onion in the olive oil. I used an oven safe pot.  Just as it's getting done, add the garlic.  Stir in the parsley, Italian seasoning, red wine, tomatoes and tomato paste.  Allow that to simmer while you cook the lasagna noodles.  Now, before you toss them in the water, you need to break them into pieces.  I used about three cups of broken and it was more than enough.  Cook the lasagna noodles until they're tender.  It'll take 8-10 minutes.  Once the noodles are done, drain them.  Add the cottage cheese, half of the mozzarella and the noodles to the ground beef mixture.  Stir well.  Top with the rest of the mozzarella cheese and pop it under the broiler until the cheese is melted.  Serve


adapted from Desperation Dinners

Cottage Pie, Spinach and Caramelized Onion Quiche and Sausages

We are so incredibly lucky to have our grandkids about three hours away.  It's possible to head over to Columbus for just a day or a whole weekend.  And, vice versa.  The kids can come over here for just a day or for a weekend.  Well, maybe weekends at Grammie and Grampy's will wait a bit until Bradley and Rosie are just a bit older and a bit less likely to pick all the breakables...  At any rate, we headed to Columbus to celebrate Bradley's birthday.  Six years old.  Big, Big, Big!  Bradley loves the color orange.  I was determined to create a dinner with as much orange as possible. 


As luck would have it, I'd purchased the Hoosier Mama Book of Pie at the Indiana History Center gift shop.  I'd read it cover to cover and had a huge list of recipes I wanted to try.  Cottage pie would be perfect.  My intent was to sprinkle the top with cheddar cheese.  Camille suggested that I mix it into the garlic mashed potatoes and create truly orange potatoes.  Brilliant.  Then, there was the persimmon pie.  Persimmons are orange.  I had a whole bag of them in the freezer from last fall's crop.  We had dinner. 


Breakfast would be the sausages from Carnivore that David loved so much last time.  Ah, wait.  Hoosier Mama had a sweet Italian sausage recipe.  We'd have a taste test.  Epicurious provided Hannah's pancakes.  And, Hoosier Mama provided a recipe for quiche.  Caramelized onion and spinach quiche.


In between cooking and eating we got to go watch Bradley play soccer.  It's three on three without a goalie.  He scored six goals.  Way to go!!!


What did we think of all the recipes?  Here goes:


Sweet Italian sausage.  It was really close but Hoosier Mama's edged out Michael Symon's by a smidge.  The deciding factor was a bit too much salt in the MS recipe.
Spinach and gruyere quiche.  May have been the best quiche I've ever had.  Just wish I'd made a homemade crust to go with it!  I did make the homemade crème fraiche.
Hannah's pancakes. YUMMM!  Not so great warmed up the next day.
Cottage pie.   Everyone had seconds.  Need I say more?
Cheddar garlic mashed potatoes.  I love mashed potatoes to start with.  These are absolutely incredible.  Making homemade crème fraiche made the difference.
Persimmon pie.  We all loved it.  I found it a bit spicier than my Grammie's recipe for persimmon pudding.  The kids had so much fun with the whipped cream that I tinted orange...


Connie and I would both choose pie over any other dessert.  I'll take the Hoosier Mama Book of Pie over any other pie cookbook I've ever seen.  The flavors of the dishes were perfect.  The directions were clear and easily followed. 


Sweet Italian Sausage


Ingredients:


1 T fennel seeds
1 1/2 t whole coriander seeds
1 lb ground pork (70% shoulder, 30% fat)
2 t chopped fresh oregano
2 t chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 1/2 t Kosher salt
1 1/2 t hot giardiniera relish
1 t freshly ground black pepper
3/4 t sugar
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic, minced
2 t red wine vinegar


Directions:


Toast then grind the fennel and coriander seeds.  Mix all of the ingredients with the exception of the red wine vinegar.  The recipe calls for using the paddle attachment on a mixer.  I prefer to use my hands so I can tell more easily when the sausage feels right.  Once all of the ingredients have been incorporated, add the red wine vinegar.  Mix for about another minute.  Test for seasoning by browning a small taste.  Adjust seasoning as necessary.  Wrap in parchment paper followed by plastic wrap and refrigerate over night.  Either brown patties or crumble and brown


Crème Fraiche


Ingredients:


2 c heavy cream
2 T buttermilk


Directions:


Pour the ingredients into a glass canning jar or another non-reactive container.  Mix well.  Cover with a cloth and leave on the counter for twelve hours.  The mixture will thicken.  You can store the mixture in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.  This can be used in most recipes calling for sour cream. 

Spinach and Caramelized Onion Quiche with Gruyere


Ingredients:


for the base (this makes the base for two quiches):


1 1/2 c whole milk
1 c crème fraiche
1/2 c heavy cream
9 large eggs
1 t kosher salt
1 t freshly ground pepper
1/4 t ground cayenne pepper


for the caramelized onions:


Ingredients:


1 medium yellow onion
1 T unsalted butter
1 1/2 t olive oil


Directions:


Peel and slice the onions.  Use a heavy pan to caramelize them.  Melt the butter and add the olive oil and onion.  Cook the onions covered for 15 to 20 minutes using medium low heat.  They will be soft and translucent.  Remove the cover and increase the heat to medium.  The rest of the cooking process will take about an hour.  Be sure to add some water or more olive oil or turn the heat down if the onions get dry or are cooking too quickly.  You want the end result to be dark mahogany caramelized onions. 


for the quiche:


1 9" pie crust
1 egg white, beaten
3 oz baby spinach
1/4 caramelized onions
3 oz Gruyere, shredded


Directions:


Blind bake the pie crust in a 350 degree oven until lightly browned, about 20 minutes.  To blind bake, place a coffee filter in the bottom of the pie crust.  Fill the filter with dry beans.  Remove the pie crust from the oven and lightly brush the bottom with the egg white.  Layer in the spinach, onions and Gruyere.  Pour in half of the quiche base.  Bake 45-55 minutes until the top is golden brown.  Make sure you cool the quiche for 15 minutes prior to serving it. 


Cottage Pie

for the Cheddar Garlic Mashed Potatoes
makes 14 cups (I cut this in half)

Ingredients:

8 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1 1/2" cubes
1 c crème fraiche
1/2 c unsalted butter
1/4 - 1 c whole milk
1/2 c - 1 c roasted garlic
1 c grated extra sharp Cheddar cheese


Directions:

Cook the potatoes in a large saucepan or pot over medium high heat for about 15-20 minutes or until they're tender.  Drain them.  Mash them with a potato masher and add in the crème fraiche and butter as you mash.  If they're too thick for your taste, thin them a bit with milk.  Stir in the garlic and Cheddar cheese. 



for the filling:

Ingredients:

10 T unsalted butter, divided
2/3 c peeled and chopped carrots
2/3 c chopped celery
2/3 c chopped onion
2/3 c chopped shallots
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 lbs lean ground beef
1/2 t ground cayenne
2 1/2 c homemade beef stock
1 c frozen peas
2 1/2 T Worcestershire sauce


Directions:

In a large skillet, melt two tablespoons of the butter.  Add the vegetables and sauté until they're softened.  Remove them to a bowl and put the ground beef into the skillet.  Brown it and drain it.  Remove it to the same bowl.  Melt the balance of the butter.  Add the flour and stir.  Cook for about ten minutes until the roux is thickened and slightly browned.  Slowly stir in the beef stock.  Once the sauce is thick, add back in the vegetables and beef.  Stir in the peas and Worcestershire sauce.  Pour the mixture into a large casserole dish or 9x 13 glass baking dish.  Top with the cheddar garlic mashed potatoes and drizzle with 2 T of melted butter.  Sprinkle with a bit of paprika or cayenne pepper to add color.  Bake at 400F for 20 minutes.

Breakfast Burgers

Tomorrow is the big day.  My puttanesca salad is going to be prepared by my wonderful friend, Chef Joseph, for a new public television program called Indiana Cooks.  Kim Galeaz, the host of the show, just called to say she'd made the recipe for dinner and LOVED it.  Whew! 

Originally I was told I'd get to cook on camera.  I was totally psyched.  I teach a lot of classes related to my real job - financial planning.  And, every week I've got a 10 minute spot on a radio show dealing with the same.  So, cooking on air would be fun.  Then, I found out I'm just interviewed from the audience.  Bummer.  The good news is that Chef Joseph is one of our dear friends.  He's got a fabulous restaurant downtown Indy.  HE's doing the cooking.  That's almost as good as me getting to cook.  Here's a shot of Joseph practicing the recipe at our home a couple of weeks ago.

Tonight, we tried something we keep reading about - breakfast burgers.  Hamburgers topped with gruyere, bacon and fried eggs.  And, to add a teeny, tiny bit of healthiness - a big handful of arugula.  Let me start by saying my burgers almost always have Andria's steak sauce in them.  It is SO much better than any other steak sauce I've ever had.  They'll ship and it's worth it.  Believe me.  Worth it - totally.  In spite of the howling winds (can you believe Hurricane Sandy made herself felt all the way out here in Indy????) I grilled the burgers.  Then, I cracked open a new jar of Dijon from the Mustard Museum.  You've never heard of them?  They ship too.  And, they sell this great mystery box.  This is the tail end of last Christmas' present for Connie.  Just in time too since he wants the same gift this year! 

What did we think?  These were a five.  We loved them.  My friend, Matt, had told me that he got hooked on eggs on his burgers when they lived in Texas.  Now, I know why.  Yum, yum, yum.  Here are some photos along the way:

Firefly Meatloaf

Ahhh, Saturday.  Two appointments at the office.  A calling for a friend's dad.  Then, home to change clothes and off to the grocery for the first time in about a month...  I should've gone back to the office.  But, every recipe I looked at called for something I didn't have. Plus Connie was out of his pretzel crisps. 
I typically do my menu planning in the car.  Carte du Jour - one of the cookbooks published by Royal Caribbean - had gone in the car with me on the way to pick Mom up to take her to the calling.  I'd gotten some great ideas and mapped out some potential dinners.  But, I wasn't totally ready.  Then, on the way to the grocery, we stopped at Tuesday Morning.  Our salad spinner died.  Our blender and mandoline are on their last legs.  It was time to try and replace all of them.  Did you know Tuesday Morning carries cookbooks?  Sometimes it's the same collection forever.  Sometimes they get some great new ones in.  You've just got to stop in a couple of times a year - or more :-)  This trip I found one from Niman Ranch.  They're the meat folks.  Most of the book is the Niman Ranch story.  But the back third is recipes.  Almost all of which I'd like to try. 


The recipe that first caught my eye is Firefly Meatloaf.  It's from Firefly restaurant in San Francisco.   Since Connie plays bridge on Monday evenings, dinner that night is either ultra quick or he's going to have to hit the dollar menu at Mickey D's.  Meatloaf would be the perfect reheatable dinner to get him fed and out the door on time.  So I could start my lovely evening of quietly catching up on a bunch of things at the office - all from the comfort of my home.

What did we think?  This was very good.  It wasn't as good as my mom's, but then when is ANY meatloaf as good as Mom's?  Same goes for chocolate chip cookies.  Well, unless your mom wasn't a great cook.  Then, I might understand.  But, my mom is a fantastic cook!  So, this is something we'd make again but probably won't because there are just so daggone many wonderful recipes out there to be tried.


Firefly Meatloaf

Ingredients:

2 1/4 lbs ground beef
2 T olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
2 yellow onions, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 1/4 c dried bread crumbs
1 c milk
2 large eggs
1/3  ketchup
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T kosher salt
1 t ground black pepper
1 t Hungarian sweet paprika
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1/4 t celery seeds
pinch ground allspice
pinch freshly grated nutmeg
6 slices apple wood smoked bacon

Directions:

This is made in three parts. First, you want to soak the bread crumbs in the milk.  They should soak for at least ten minutes so all of the milk is absorbed. 

While that's soaking, you want to saute the onion and celery until they're tender. 

Add the garlic at the last minute so it doesn't burn and become bitter.  The third part is whisking together the seasonings and the eggs.  Once that's all done, mix it all up.  You're better off using your hands with this.  Form the mixture into a loaf on a rimmed baking sheet.  Wrap the loaf with the bacon and bake it at 350F for about an hour.

adapted from Niman Ranch Cookbook

Bymark Hamburger

I had a date tonight.  With my favorite boyfriend.  Well, ok, he's my hubby too.  We went to see Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at Civic Theatre.  What a production.  We loved it.  It's fun when you've attended enough theatre that you recognize some of the actors.  Tonight we got to see Jim Trofatter who is the playwright for the Benjamin Harrison House and their mystery theatre.  And, Ed Mobley who we've seen in many plays and whose wife, Catherine, was in one of my all-time favorites - Menopause the Musical.  We've got season tickets to Civic which forces us to find the time to go.  It's one of the smartest moves we've ever made.  I'm not a fan of movies but love, love, love live theatre.  So, we got to take a break from all the party prep and all of the year end fun at the office. 


Early last weekend, I'd realized we were going to have a pretty hectic week.  That meant planning my meals well so I could get them made in the time allotted.  I'm infamous for not leaving enough prep time and eating late.  That wasn't happening tonight.  We walked in from the office and Connie started feeding the furry critters.  I put the grill pan on the stove and turned it on, then started getting the food out of the fridge.  We had an hour to prepare and eat dinner.  As usual, I didn't follow the recipe exactly.  I added some Andria's Steak Sauce.  And, a bit of black truffle salt.  And, some morel mushroom dust. 


What did we think?  We loved these burgers.  Connie took one bite and said, "You can make these again!"  I'd have to agree.  They were very simple to put together and the flavors played really well together.  I had to substitute portabellas for the porcinis the recipe called for.  That's why I ground up a morel and added the morel dust.  To amp up the mushroom flavor.  The brie was perfect.  It needs be put on the burgers when they're hot off the grill.  But, don't totally melt it. 


Bymark Hamburgers


Ingredients:


1 lb 90% lean ground beef
freshly ground pepper
Andria's steak sauce (or a few dashes of Worcestershire)
1/2 t black truffle salt
1 dried morel mushroom, finely ground
two portabella mushrooms, sliced
4 slices brie cheese
onion rolls
1/4 c mayonnaise
1 t white truffle oil
1/2 t lemon juice


Directions:


Heat a grill pan or heat a skillet for the mushrooms and light the grill for the burgers.  Mix the ground beef, truffle salt, ground pepper

and steak sauce.  Form two burgers.


Grind the dried morel very finely.

To cook the mushrooms either grill them on the grill pan or saute them in olive oil in the skillet.  I found they cooked better when cooked on my grill pan at the edges so they'd get some of the olive oil I'd put in the pan.  Pat the morel dust onto the burgers.  Grill the burgers until they're your desired temp.  

We typically aim for medium rare but these wound up at about 140 and were still moist and juicy thanks to the Andria's Steak Sauce.  (nb: you can order the steak sauce directly from Andria's.  It's worth it to order it because it's fabulous.  I use it in about anything that I put hamburger in.)  Be sure to put the cheese on the burgers just as you remove them from the grill.  You want it to soften but not run.  While the burgers are grilling, mix the mayonnaise, truffle oil and lemon juice to make the spread for the buns.  Broil or grill the buns until they're golden brown.  Slather them with the truffle mayonnaise, the put on the hamburgers and mushrooms.

adapted from Burgers by Paul Gayler

Mom Chef's Pasta Sauce

My friend the MomChef is a master at finding wonderful recipes.  I really don't want to count the number of recipes I have to try.  Nor do I want to know the number that are from her blog.  If I've not said it before, here it is:  I could pretty much just cook from her blog.  It's that good.  The other day, she posted this incredibly easy recipe.  It reminded me of two things. 


First was when I was in my early twenties and lived in Fort Wayne, IN.  I was recently divorced and was working three jobs to make ends meet.  They still didn't meet very well so I was VERY frugal when it came to my grocery bill.  One of the things I did was sign up for some club where we tested products.  One of the products I was sent was Kraft Spaghetti Dinner.  Now, most of us bloggers are folks who try to cook everything from scratch.  Even now, though, there are times that a box mix is a wonderful thing. 


So, I received the box mix of spaghetti and the instructions said to combine the sauce mix with a can of tomato paste and a couple of cans of water.  Viola - number two!  The barbecue sauce my father used to make.  The base was tomato paste and water.  He died when I was 21 so I never really had the opportunity to learn a lot of his cooking secrets.  I'd remembered opening the can of tomato paste but couldn't put the rest of it together until I received that box mix. 


Now, Christiane's sauce had less than a can of tomato sauce in the paste.  It also had no red wine.  Red sauce in my house has red wine in it.  The box mix uses a whole can of tomato paste.  And, I really hate all those frozen blobs of tomato paste.  You know where this is going, don't you???  Yup, I made Christiane's sauce and doctored it up with some red wine.  Fine.  A lot of red wine.  I'd opened a bottle thinking that even though Connie didn't feel wonderful, he'd want a glass.  Nope.  No wine for hubby.  More for the spaghetti sauce.  I also had some mushrooms that needed to be used up.  So, into the sauce they went...


What did we think?  I munched on leftovers for breakfast.  We shared the rest of the leftovers for lunch the next day.  This was super easy and super flavorful. 

Christiane's Pasta Sauce

Ingredients:

9 oz pasta (the original recipe called for fresh linguine, I used dried farfallini)
1/2 lb extra lean ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
6 oz mushrooms, chopped
1 T garlic, minced
1 t dried oregano
1 t Italian seasoning
1/4 t salt
4 oz can tomato paste
1 1/2 c red wine (cabernet is great)
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 c finely grated romano cheese (more for serving)
1 T fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

Start the water for the pasta.  In a large skillet, saute the onion with a little oil.  Add the ground beef and brown and drain it.  Add the garlic, oregano, Italian seasoning, salt, tomato paste, wine and tomatoes.  Simmer for about 15 minutes.  While the sauce is simmering, cook the pasta.  Before serving the sauce, toss in the 1/2  cheese and stir well.  Serve topped with chopped parsley and more grated cheese.

adapted from MomChef, originally from Cooking Light 

Nikki's Beef Stroganoff

Growing up we had our fair share of meals made with Campbell's Soup.  Mom was a very good cook.  But Campbell's Soup frequently makes for a quicker meal.  And, that's important when you're working and still trying to get a good meal on the table for a family.  Some of my favorite dishes like Chicken Green Bean Casserole and Chicken Elegante have Cream of Chicken Soup in them.  But, this is the only one with tomato soup.  The original recipe came from a friend of Mom's by the name of Nikki, ergo the name of the dish. It's ultra quick and easy to make and is pretty darned good.  Best of all, it freezes beautifully.  All you have to do is cook some rice or noodles, heat up the sauce and fix a vegetable or salad for the side and you're in business.

Having a frozen dinner or two available was important this week. You see, since our house has been in total chaos since March we were anxious to finally get a room done.  And, since the painting is complete upstairs that meant that the little guest room could be completed.  Pictures hung on the wall et al.  Now, the other three rooms upstairs, not so much.  Soon, we'll have movers here to take a large file cabinet to the office and take an old desk to the garage where a charitable organization can pick it up.  Then, they're heading to the storage unit to clear it out.  I've had a bunch of our old furniture stored there since we bought this house five years ago.  Some of mine that didn't fit in the house and some of Connie's that's his ex's taste and is too formal for my taste.  And, some that we just plain couldn't use.  I thought one of his three kids or my niece or nephew would certainly want some of it.  But, to date, no takers.  And, I'm tired of paying for the storage unit.  So, it's all going elsewhere.  Whew.  Once all of that is done, I'll easily be able to put together two more rooms.  The sports guest room will be last.  I've got to make t-shirt pillows for the bed.  And, buy a bedspread.  Means I can finally get rid of the one with the gold and green and rose that I've disliked since day one.  But, it came with Connie and until I knew what I wanted to do in that room it didn't make sense to spend the money on an interim quilt.  Hopefully, by the middle of September, I'll have the upstairs put together.  I'd better be because by then, I'll be out of freezer meals!

Nikki's Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 can Campbell's Tomato Soup
1 large onion, sliced
1 8 oz box mushrooms or a 4oz can of mushrooms
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1/4 t - 1/2 t garlic powder
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 c sour cream

Directions:

Brown and drain ground beef.  If you don't mind using multiple pots and pans, you can saute the onions and the mushrooms in two separate pans.  Otherwise, once the beef is done, wipe out the skillet, hit it with a good dose of cooking spray and saute your onions and mushrooms.  Once they're nice and softened and a bit brown, add in all the other ingredients except the sour cream.  Simmer the stroganoff for about 20 minutes.  Stir in the sour cream and serve over rice or noodles.  I love to serve roasted broccoli with it.