Soup or Stew?

Mushroom, Barley and Potato Soup

6 T pearl barley, cooked separately. Boil 50-60 minutes and strain
1 1/2 oz. dried mushrooms, soaked in 1 cup boiling water 10 minutes, drained (strain liquid and
  save) and finally, chopped         
12-16 oz. fresh mushrooms, chopped
2 T olive oil
3 T olive oil
1 med. red onion, chopped
3 or 4 garlic cloves, chopped
1-2 T parsley, chopped
1 T sage, chopped
1 bay leaf
2 medium potatoes (8 ounces, about), diced into 1/8" cubes
3 cups broth
14 oz. can whole tomatoes, crush each tomato with your hands or buzz in processor, or chop

• In a skillet, on medium high, heat 2 T olive oil and fry 1/2 garlic with the now not-dried-mushrooms, for a few minutes and then add the fresh mushrooms.  Add salt and pepper and cook until dark, 10-15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat 3 T olive oil in a pot. Add the remaining garlic, onion, herbs and cook until soft. 
• Add potatoes, cooking 3-4 minutes.
• Add tomatoes and their liquid, broth, and mushroom liquid.  Simmer 15-20 minutes.
• Stir in the barley and the mushrooms.

If you don't have barley, try orzo, ditalini, or any small pasta.  Rice might work. If you don't have fresh sage, try 1 1/2 T of dried sage.  Fresh rosemary might be a good substitute but chop it very fine or buzz it in your coffee grinder.  Crushed or diced canned tomatoes can be substituted.  If you don't have a fine meshed strainer,  strain the mushrooms by lining a colander with a paper towel.  We usually eat this with croutons I've made by cutting bread into cubes and sauteeing in a skillet with butter or olive oil until toasted.

Four Ingredient Heaven

    Parmigiano-Regianno Potatoes

    2 1/2 lbs. potatoes, sliced very thin
    1/3 cup butter, melted
    2 cups packed, grated parmigiano-regianno
    2 cups whole milk

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Butter 13x9x2 glass or ceramic baking dish
• Layer a 3rd of the potatoes in the dish, sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle with a 3rd of the butter and then a 3rd of the cheese
• Repeat
• Pour milk evenly over
• Layer the final 3rd of the potatoes, sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle with remaining butter and the the rest of the cheese
• Bake 15 minutes, reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another hour.
• Let stand for 10 minutes before digging in
• The potatoes have to be sliced as thin as you can manage. I use a mandoline. A spoon works well for drizzling the butter.  If the potatoes start to darken too much, cover with foil.  I like them dark...

To Mexico

Alrighty, I am heading off to Mexico tomorrow morning for about three months. I'll be doing some bird research with a PhD student from Missouri. As far as this blog goes, my mom is going to try to keep it going to some extent. She may only post occasional recipes or she may do every meal, either way, she wants to keep up, so that's great!

As my last meal at home we will be having a couple of seafood dishes I've always loved, and the zucchini pancakes.

Scallops with Mushrooms in White-Wine Sauce

1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs from a baguette

1/4 cup grated Parmesan (the good stuff)

1.25 cups dry white wine

1 cup water

1/2 small onion, sliced

1/2 Turkish or 1/4 California bay leaf

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 lb sea scallops, tough muscle removed from side of each if necessary and scallops cut into 3/4 inch pieces

1/2 lb small mushrooms, halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced lengthwise

3/4 stick unsalted butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 large egg yolk

1 Tbsp flour

1.5 Tbsp minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preheat to 350°.

Toast bread crumbs on a baking sheet in middle of oven until pale golden, 6 to 8 minutes, then toss with cheese.

Simmer wine, water, onion, bay leaf, salt, and pepper in a 2.5-3 quart saucepan, uncovered, 5 minutes, then add scallops and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes.

Transfer scallops to a platter with a slotted spoon to cool, returning any onions to pan, then boil cooking liquid until reduced to about 1 cup, 8 to 10 minutes. Pour cooking liquid through a sieve into a bowl.

Cook mushrooms in 2 Tbsp butter in a 10 to 12 inch skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until most of liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated, about 5 minutes. Season with salt.

Whisk together cream and yolk in a heatproof bowl. Melt 2 Tbsp butter in cleaned 2.5 to 3 quart saucepan over moderately low heat, then add flour and cook roux, whisking, 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat ad add reduced cooking liquid in a stream, whisking constantly. Return pan to heat and simmer, whisking, 1 minute. Pour sauce in a slow stream into cream mixture, whisking constantly, then pour sauce back into pan and simmer, whisking, 1 minute. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.

Preheat broiler.

Stir scallops and mushrooms into sauce, then divide among ramekins and sprinkle with bread crumb mixture. Dot scallops with remaining 2 Tbsp butter, then broil about 4 inches from heat until golden, about 2 minutes.

Sprinkle with parsley.

Asiago Potatoes

16 small Red Bliss potatoes (about 2 inch in diameter)

12 garlic cloves

1/2 cup olive oil

10 large basil leaves

1/2 lb Asiago cheese, grated

1 cup mayonnaise

Garnish: paprika

Generously cover potatoes and 1 Tbsp salt with cold water in a medium pot, then simmer until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain potatoes and rinse with cold water. Cool to room temperature in refrigerator, about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook garlic in oil at a bare simmer in a small heavy saucepan, stirring occasionally, until tender and golden, until tender and golden, about 12 minutes.

Drain garlic, reserving oil for another use, then mash to a paste.

Preheat oven to 350° with rack in middle.

Mince basil, then stir together with garlic paste, cheese, mayonnaise, and salt and pepper to taste.

Using a small melon-call cutter or a teaspoon, scoop out a hole in each cooled potato, leaving a 1/4 inch shell.

Stuff potatoes with cheese mixture and bake in a pan until cheese is melted and bubbling, about 20 minutes.

Curry-Roasted Shrimp with Chutney and Yogurt

1/4 cup mango or peach chutney, finely chopped

2 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro

2 Tbsp finely chopped basil

1/4 cup plain yogurt

1.5 lbs shelled, deveined large shrimp

1 Tbsp loive oil

1 Tbsp curry powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

lime wedges

Preheat to 500°. Mix chutney with cilantro and basil. In another bowl mix half the herbed chutney with the yogurt.

Heat large rimmed baking sheets in the oven for 5 minutes. Mix olive oil, curry, salt and pepper together in a large bowl, add the shrimp and toss until thoroughly coated.

Spread the shrimp on the heated baking sheet and roast for about 5 minutes, or until pink and curled. Toss the shrimp with the remaining herbed chutney and serve with the chutney yogurt sauce and lime wedges.

Fish Tacos

For the third Thursday in a row, it is fish taco night. The first week we used flounder, last week we used cod, and this week it is catfish. The flounder tacos turned out better than the cod, so we'll see how something new is tonight.


Fish Tacos

Plain looking, all white, but very tasty.

For the Fish:
1.75 lb fresh fish (serves 4 people, 2 tacos each)
1 cup flour
2 tsp salt

pepper
canola oil

In a paper bag (not plastic) mix the flour, salt, and some pepper. You can also experiment with putting other spices, such as curry, into this mix. Adding cornmeal also works. A couple of pieces at a time, shake the fish around in the bag until well covered. You can also just roll it around in a bowl with the mix.

Using an electric skillet, heat up the 1/4-1/3 inch of canola oil (you can also add peanut oil to this) at a high heat.

Cook the fish until both sides are browned.


For the Creamy Slaw:

1/3 cup mayonnaise
3 Tbsp sour cream
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1.5 lbs green cabbage, thinly sliced (6 cups)
1/4 cup finely chopped onion

Make this ahead of time to let it sit a bit at room temp. for the cabbage to wilt slightly (~30 min).
Whisk together the mayo and sour cream in a bowl until smooth. Whisk in vinegar, salt and pepper. Add remaining ingredients and toss well.

Note: you might think about adding some ketchups to make it a little sweeter.
From the Gourmet Cookbook


Finally: Put the fish and slaw into a slightly warmed, soft tortilla and try adding things like lime juice and hot sauce.


Fried Potatoes

...potatoes will be needed for this.

Boil some potatoes. Cut them into smallish pieces. Put them into the pan with the oil used to fry up the fish, and cook them until crispy.

I don't think that these are what most people would eat with tacos, but we've gotten into the habit, so we're sticking with it.

Straight From North Carolina

This first meal to be posted is a perfect fit for this whole thing, as it is a very traditional meal for my mother to make. Growing up in the south there's nothing more standard than fried chicken, biscuits and mashed potatoes...well, and some broccoli.


My Mom.

Baked Mashed Potatoes (with sauteed shallots and garlic)

5 lb Yukon Gold potatoes
a stick of butter
a head of garlic
4 or 5 shallots

Peel and cut the potatoes into equal sized chunks and boil until soft (we overdid them). Mash and whip them to the consistency you like. Add a stick of butter and let it melt in.
Thinly slice the garlic and shallots. Saute shallots and garlic to however you like them...we made them nice and crispy. Mix them into the potatoes and add salt and pepper.

Put the potatoes in a cast iron skillet, grate cheese (we used cheddar, fontina, gruyere and parmesan) on top and bake at 400° until bubbling.


Buttermilk Biscuits

2.5 cups flour
2 Tbsp sugar
2.5 tsp backing powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 t salt
1 stick margarine
1 cup buttermilk

Preheat 425°. Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl. Cut the margarine into the dry stuff with a couple of knives until the mixture looks dry and crumbly. Add all of the buttermilk and stir briskly with a fork to make sticky dough. Sometimes you just use your hands to get it to stick together. Use flour until it looks smooth and feels soft. Pat it out to about 1/2 inch thick (use flour to keep it from sticking). Cut out the biscuits using a wine glass rim. Place on the pan so that they are just touching. Bake until raised and lightly browned, 12 to 14 min. The book says to put them in a "napkin-lined basket"...but we use plates. Watch out!
From the Baker's Dozen Cookbook

Fried Chicken

Chicken leg and thighs
2 cups flour
1 Tbsp salt
pepper
canola oil

First, my mom likes to soak in buttermilk for about an hour. While some people don't think this makes a difference, she swears it makes the meat more tender.

In a paper bag (not plastic) mixed the flour, salt, and some pepper. Three or four pieces at a time, shake the chicken around in the bag until well covered. (Using a grated rack over the sink to rest the finished breaded pieces of chicken works well so that the bottoms don't get gooey on the counter while they wait to be fried.)



In an electric skillet, cook the chicken on high heat (425ish) in 1/4- 1/2 inch of canola oil until one side is crispy. Turn them over, put the lid mostly on, and turn down the heat (300ish) and let it cook. Periodically check-in and turn. Will take at least 30 minutes.


Roasted Broccoli

Broccoli
salt
olive oil

In a roasting pan (or a bowl) mix the broccoli with oil and salt. However much salt you want, but enough oil to cover it all pretty well.

Roast at 425° for 15 minutes or so, then stir it around, may take 10 or more minutes. Cook it for longer or shorter depending on how crispy you want it.