Creamy Mushroom Pasta

One of the great things about going to the farmers market every weekend has been the unexpected food finds. Last weekend was my second time as a vendor at Woodlawn farmers market. I was located next to a mushroom vendor, Harvest Moon Mushrooms, who grows mushrooms right here in Portland! Jeff went over to buy a few that we could have in an omelette the next day. He asked what they recommended and he came back with these beauties! All their mushrooms are beautiful. And wow, they are delicious. We still had a few left and it looked like enough for a pasta dish so that’s what I made. This is sort of a no-recipe recipe that’s easy enough to put together without exact measurements, but I’ll put a recipe below regardless. 

The mushrooms here are Chestnut, Morels and Black Pearl (going clockwise). The mushroom guy made a point to eat all of the Black Pearl, don’t throw away the stem, it’s really tasty! The recipe below is one-pot cooking at its best. I made this in the morning since it was going to be a very hot day and it was easy to reheat for dinner. 

Speaking of the heat, this weekend is going to be a scorcher, my weather app has been showing anywhere from 104°-108° on Saturday. So I’m not sure if the market will be open or will have to change the hours, but I have a feeling it might not be happening, I’ll post to my Instagram stories and update the webpage if anything changes. 

One more thing, I added some fresh thyme and oregano on top of the pasta for the photos, but I added too much! The oregano was strong and overtook the rich umami flavors of the mushrooms, I wouldn’t add anything more than a bit of parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

Creamy Mushroom Pasta

• 1/2 lb pasta shells

• 2 cups mushrooms roughly chopped (Morels, Black Pearl and Chestnut mushrooms)

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 tablespoons salted butter

• 1/4 white wine or dry vermouth 

• Salt to taste

• 12 oz Alfredo sauce

If you don’t have a jar of Alfredo sauce:

• 8 oz creme fraiche

• 1/2 cup grated parmesan

In a large dutch oven bring water to boil and cook pasta as directed. Drain in colander and stir in a bit of olive oil to keep it from sticking, set aside. 

In the same pot heat the olive oil and butter until melted on a medium heat, add the chopped mushrooms and a pinch of salt, stir as needed for about 5-10 minutes, when mushrooms look about half way done, add the white wine, give a stir and let cook for another 5-10 minutes on a lower heat. Your mushrooms should be soft and tender at this point, if not let it cook a few more minutes.

If you’re using a ready made Alfredo sauce you can add it at this point, heat another 5 minutes or so. If not add the creme fraiche and parmesan cheese, stir to combine, add the pasta and heat a few more minutes.

Serve with a pinch or two of parmesan. 

Green Harissa

Green Harissa. I love this sauce. I’ve been making it quite a bit lately because it goes with everything! We put it on fish, chicken, potatoes, rice, roasted vegetables, you name it, it works. The recipe is from Sprouted Kitchen Cooking Club, Sarah has a lot of great sauces but this one not only works with so many dishes, it lasts up to two weeks in the fridge. So it’s a good-to-have-on-hand sauce. If you don’t have mint you can just add more cilantro, the herbs you can mix up a bit but stay heavy on the cilantro.

Things are good here, I’m working on my ‘Granola Project” which I hope to be sharing with you in the next couple weeks or so. I’m pretty excited about it and having fun with it. The garden beds are prepped with compost and at this point I’m just waiting for the temps to get high enough to plant. I started some tomatoes and vegetables from seed this year. I’m worried I started too late! It’s been almost 5 weeks and they still look so young. I hope they’re not duds. Worse case I’ll have to buy starters but I think some of them are going to pull through. This is all new to me and I haven’t blogged about it because I don’t know what I’m doing (yet). Ha ha. Maybe next year I can offer some tips. But the berry bushes are blooming in the yard so everything is looking good there.

I get my second (Moderna) vaccine in a couple weeks. The first one was fine, no side effects at all, just a sore arm for a few days. I’m so looking forward to eating at a restaurant outside! I know people have done this pre-vaccine, but I just haven’t felt comfortable with that. This past year, as soon as things are looking good, Covid cases are low, places open up more and then cases rise, and I’m like, fuck! I missed that small window where Covid-19 wasn’t spreading like crazy. But maybe I didn’t get it because I didn’t go out then. Who knows. It’s all a crapshoot. All I know is when restaurants start opening their doors for indoor dining, everything goes bad. Dining outside is the best option at this point. And I can’t wait! Until then, enjoy this sauce on anything and everything.

Green Harissa

• 1 clove of garlic - peeled

• 1 jalapeño - stemmed and seeded, chopped rough

• 1 cup of cilantro

• 1/2 cup of mint (you can add more cilantro instead)

• 1/2 cup of parsley

• 1 lemon - juiced

• 1 Tablespoon white vinegar

• 1/2 teaspoon of cumin

• 1/2 teaspoon of coriander

• 1/2 teaspoon of fennel seeds

• 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt

• 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil

Put everything in a food processor, with herbs on top, and blend for 10 seconds then pause, scrape down the sides if needed and process another 10 seconds until it’s almost blended with bits of herbs still left intact. Keep refrigerated in sealed container up to two weeks. Allow to come to room temp before serving.

Spaghetti + Meatballs

How is your new year going? Mine started out energetic with some new ideas for a project I’m working on, which I hope to announce sometime in February. The insurrection on the Capitol was um, horrifying. It felt like 9/11 but actually worse. Biden will be sworn in on Wednesday which is a huge relief and I’m very excited about that, so I guess you could say this year has already had its share of ups and downs. 

So, Spaghetti and Meatballs! I had a craving for spaghetti and meatballs the other day. And coincidently Jeff told me he had a craving for a meatball sandwich, and it’s not like we just read about meatballs or anything like that, we just had meatball cravings! Ha! The recipe below is a double batch of meatballs, we had our spaghetti dinner and I’m going to freeze the rest of the meatballs for a Meatball Sub Sandwich next week. I adapted the recipe from NYTimes Cooking, which I finally gave in and subscribed. It’s only $5/month but it just irks me that it doesn’t come with the NYTimes subscription we already have. Oh well. I actually really like it with the recipe box and it has a very nice interface. The recipe doubled here makes 18 large meatballs. I changed a couple things, using Panko bread crumbs and Italian seasoning, but feel free to use regular bread crumbs and whatever seasoning you prefer. I also bake them in the oven before putting them in the sauce, which is convenient because you can make your sauce while they bake and everything comes together a bit quicker.

Enjoy!

Spaghetti + Meatballs

Meatballs

• 1 lb ground pork

• 1 lb ground beef

• 2  large eggs, lightly beaten

• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

• 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• 2  teaspoon salt

•  Freshly ground black pepper

Sauce

• 2  garlic cloves, minced

• 1  teaspoon dried oregano

• 1  tablespoon unsalted butter

• 1  tablespoon olive oil

• 24 oz jar of tomato sauce

• 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (or more to taste)

• 8 oz chopped baby bella mushrooms

•  Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1  pound spaghetti, tagliatelle or linguine, cooked to taste

Or you could make your tomato sauce from scratch, recipe here

Preheat oven to 400°.

To prepare meatballs, combine pork, beef, egg, parmesan, garlic, spices, bread crumbs, tomato paste, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly with your hands until well combined.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Shape the meat mixture into 2 inch balls, and place on baking sheet. You should have about 18 meatballs. Brush the meatballs with a little olive oil. Place in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until internal temp reads 165°.

To prepare the sauce, in a large sauce pan or dutch oven sauté garlic for a few minutes, then add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, tomato paste and spices, allow to simmer for about 10 minutes over a medium low heat.  Add the mushrooms and continue to simmer another 10-15 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.

When the meatballs are done, remove from oven and place some in the sauce, or on a platter. You can freeze leftover meatballs to make meatball sandwiches for another time. Place hot pasta in a large serving bowl. Pour most of sauce (reserving meatballs) on pasta, and toss to combine. Top pasta with meatballs, and serve.

Crunchy Veggie Lentil Salad

Crunchy Veggie Lentil Salad. I haven’t had lentil salad in a long time. And this was one of the recipes that came up on Sprouted Kitchen Cooking Club this week. Sarah called it “Crunchy Lunchy Lentils.” This is the type of salad you make ahead. It can last for days in the fridge and generally (always) tastes better after it’s had time to sit for a day or so. I’ve made a few adjustments to the recipe but didn’t deviate all that much. I used a trio of green, brown and black sprouted lentils that cooked in 6 minutes versus French lentils that take about 20 minutes. I think my ratios of veggie to lentils were off a bit, I think there should have been more lentils, but it still worked out to a great salad regardless. 

This month has been pretty crazy. A few weeks ago there were a series of fires that erupted here in Oregon, then came a wind storm that blew all the smoke over here in Portland. We had to literally seal all the openings in the house because the air quality outside was hazardous, it was coming in from the fireplaces, any opening in the house, and remained like that for nearly 10 days. When that started I had already begun my project to paint the kitchen cabinets and countertop, the kitchen was in complete disarray but I had to move forward and get it done. We had air purifiers and fans running 24/7. It was pretty horrible happening on top of a pandemic, we couldn’t spend time outside at all. A lot of businesses and restaurants (that are already hurting) had to close, and there were some days where I couldn’t get grocery delivery or take-out, which was kind of big deal because we couldn’t use the kitchen much, everything was covered in drop cloths, so not much cooking other than microwaving something or eating sandwiches. I had prepared a couple of dishes in advance and was planning on grilling outside while the kitchen was unusable, but that didn’t work out. It was just one disaster layered on top of another. Many people lost their homes due to the fires, so we were lucky that we didn’t have to go through anything like that. I finished my kitchen project, the outside air cleared up and it rained and rained. And now we’re having a beautiful week of sunshine, with windows open and fresh air everywhere. But I feel a little PTSD from the smoke episode, all this sunshine and dry weather is dangerous this time of year, even with a burn ban people still do stupid stuff and light camp fires or whatever. I’m so afraid of new fires and that smoke coming back. It was just too much. I think I should just have a cocktail and enjoy a few rays of sunshine for now. And really, we had so much rain last week I think things are ok and I shouldn’t worry so much.

Anyways, if you’re still reading, I hope you enjoy this salad, it’s vegetarian and could be vegan if you skip the feta cheese, but I just love cheese in this salad. Enjoy!

Crunchy Veggie Lentil Salad

• 3/4-1 cup of French / De Puy lentils

• 2 Persian cucumbers (or a 1/3 of an English Cucumber) - seeded

• 1 apple

• 1 medium fennel bulb - fronds reserved

• 1 small shallot or 1/2 large shallot

• 1/2 cup of pecans (or walnuts) chopped

• 1/3 cup feta or parmesan cheese (+ more for serving)

• 1/2 cup of fresh mint leaves

• 1/4 cup of fresh basil leaves

For the vinaigrette

• 1 clove of garlic, minced

• 1 lemon - juiced

• 2 Tbsp. of apple cider vinegar

• 1 Tbsp. of maple syrup

• 3 Tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil

• 1/2 tsp. of dried dill

• 1/2 tsp. of coriander

• flaky sea salt

• fresh ground pepper

Rinse your lentils. Put them in a pot with 1 ½ cups of salted water or broth. Bring the liquid up to a simmer, put the cover on ajar and cook for 20 minutes until tender. (if using different Lentils, cook per package instructions) Fluff the lentils, and set them aside to cool completely.

While the lentils cook, fine dice the cucumbers. Core and finely dice both the apple and fennel and mince the shallot. Chop the herbs.

In the bottom of your mixing bowl, combine all the vinaigrette ingredients and whisk to combine. Add the cooled lentils, all your chopped vegetables, walnuts, cheese and herbs. Toss to coat. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour, the longer it sits the better it tastes! It will keep a few days in the fridge, so this is a great side dish or lunch throughout the week. Top with fennel fronds when serving.

Black-Eyed Peas + Collard Greens

Here’s the Black-Eyed Peas and Collards Greens that I made last week, I think I mentioned it in my Cornbread post, which seems so long ago. Man, these are weird times. I did some shopping yesterday morning because it’s getting so difficult to get delivery, or to get what you want, Amazon PrimeNow is really feeling it these days with low inventory, so I got my disposable gloves, sanitizer, dust mask and went to it. Well the mask didn’t work out at all, it kept fogging up my glasses and I couldn’t see. So that had to go. But I will say the majority of shoppers were really good about keeping distance. And the cashier was sanitizing everything after each customer. I brought my own bags so I had bag myself which was fine, and it felt good to be out for a bit (there is this sense of walking through a minefield, constantly cautious!) But we have groceries for a good one to two weeks and it gives me peace of mind that I don’t have to go out there for a while.

So onto Black-Eyed Peas and Collards Greens. I got the recipe from NYT Cooking. The original recipe had two pounds of black-eyed peas and two pounds of ham, so I halved the recipe, some things I left as is, like the spices, because you might need to add more water as it’s cooking and I found myself adding more spice towards the end. The recipe below makes a ton of food, at least for two people that is, but if you want to make an even bigger batch you can double the peas and ham, double the garlic, keep everything else the same and use 10 cups of water for cooking rather than 7 cups. I initially started with 5 cups of water since I halved the recipe, but it wasn’t enough to cover everything. I think the recipe is fairly forgivable in precise measurements so you can add and subtract however you like and it will be fine. We really enjoyed this dish, I hope you do too. 

Black-Eyed Peas + Collard Greens

• 1 pounds black-eyed peas, soaked overnight if possible

• 1 pound smoked thick-cut bacon (or smoked ham hock)

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 large onion, peeled and stuck with 2 cloves

• 1 bay leaf

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon allspice

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper

• 2 pounds collard greens, cut in 1-inch ribbons (about 8 cups)

• 1 bunch scallions, cleaned and chopped, for garnish (optional)

Drain peas and put them in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add ham hock or bone (if using slab bacon, cut it into 2-inch chunks), cover with 7 cups water and turn heat to high. Add salt, onion stuck with cloves, bay leaf, black pepper and allspice.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Skim off and discard any foam that rises to the surface. Simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until peas are tender (I cooked mine over 2 hours and the bacon started to fall apart, so I think 2 hours max if you’re using bacon). Throughout cooking, add water as necessary, always keeping liquid level 1 inch above surface, stirring with wooden spoon occasionally. Turn off heat. Check broth for salt and adjust seasoning. Mixture should be fairly brothy. With a pair of tongs, remove ham hock, ham bone or bacon. Chop meat and skin in rough pieces and set aside.

Put a large wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and heat, then add garlic and red pepper and let sizzle without browning. Add collard greens and stir to coat. Season with salt and add 1 cup water, stirring to help wilt greens. Add chopped bacon and reduce heat to medium, then cover with lid slightly ajar and cook until greens are soft, about 20 minutes. Check seasoning.

To serve, put greens and meat in low soup bowls, then ladle over hot black-eyed peas. Sprinkle with scallions.

Recipe adapted from NYT Cooking

White Bean and Bacon Soup

So here we are. In a global Pandemic. Is this really happening? Yep. So before I talk about this recipe I want to talk a bit about what’s going on. I was reading the other day how historically people tend to dismiss pandemics early on, whether it was the plague in the 14th century, the flu in 1918 or more recently the AIDS epidemic to where we are now with the Coronavirus. There are still people in denial. I admit I had some skepticism early on, but by the last couple weeks of February I started to not touch door knobs in public places and not touch my face. I had jury duty on March 4th and was armed with hand sanitizer and tissues to avoid touching doors or whatever. It was clear at the time that this is not going away by wishful thinking or hopeful optimism. I started some reasonable shopping last week and went to Costco last Tuesday for our usual stuff, it was remarkably calm there and not too busy, they had already implemented cleaning procedures, as soon as you entered they sprayed down the handle of the shopping cart, and throughout the store I saw employees cleaning the handles of refrigerator doors. It gave me hope and confidence that we can get through this with a smart strategy. And we can! But we have to take this seriously to do so. If you want to support your local restaurants, get orders to go and tip accordingly, or better yet, if they have gift cards you can buy them now to use later. I know a lot of restaurants and bars could have serious financial problems over the next few weeks (or months, gasp!) But we should not be congregating as if nothing is going on. Please do your best to keep distance and also support your local businesses. This is really an issue for the federal government which needs to step up and address this because it will become a major problem and the shops need support now more than ever. Please be mindful of all of this and try not to touch your face when you are in a public area, it is so hard not to touch your face! 

With that said, back to the White Bean and Bacon Soup. I’ve made this a few times now over the past couple months or so. It is super easy to put together, quick too, and uses mostly pantry items or things you have in the fridge already. I’ve made this with charred jalapeño chopped up and another version with Harissa, so you can swap out whatever spice you like. If you have neither of those on hand you can use a bit of paprika and/or chili powder, or, if you don’t want it spicy you can just forget about any of that and it will be just as delicious, because the bacon gives it such a wonderful rich smokey flavor. 

I will most likely be cooking with pantry items in the coming weeks and will share the recipes that work best for when you’re working with what you’ve got.

Here are a couple of links that might be helpful about the Coronavirus, what is going on in your area and why this is happening.

Stay safe friends, and most of all this is tragically more fatal to older people and people with a compromised immune systems, even if you are young it is possible to spread the virus unknowingly to others. 

White Bean and Bacon Soup

• 4 slices thick cut bacon

• 3 cans white beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 carrot, diced

• 2 celery stalks, diced

• 1 small onion, chopped

• 1 garlic clove, minced

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• 1 can diced tomatoes

• 1 (heaping) tablespoon Harissa  

• 6 cups chicken stock

• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme (or dried thyme)

• 1 bay leaf

• Salt and pepper to taste

In a large dutch oven cook the bacon strips until crisp. Remove and place on paper-towel-lined plate. When cool cut bacon into half-inch pieces.

Remove some of the bacon fat from the pot, leaving 2-3 tablespoons remaining. Over medium heat add the onion, garlic, carrots and celery to the pot, cook for 10-15 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for about a minute. Add the diced tomatoes, chicken stock, harissa, thyme and bay leaf, bring to a simmer and then add the beans. Allow to simmer for about 15-20 minutes, then add the bacon and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pork Fried Rice with Bok Choy

This Pork Fried Rice is so good! I think it’s better than take-out to be honest. Last month I purchased Chinese barbecued pork at Costco, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it, maybe a stir fry or soup, but I’ve made fried rice with bacon before and it came out so good that I had no choice but to make this. The Costco pork contains two pieces at about a pound each, so the amount works great for the recipe below and you can freeze the other pound of pork. 

The original recipe had half the sauce that I have below, that’s how I made it the first time and it really needed more sauce for all that rice, so I doubled the sauce measurements and I think it came out perfect. 

Another change from the original recipe, I didn’t use solid vegetable oil, I don’t have any and I don’t want any, lol. So I used olive oil instead, you might want to try avocado oil or a peanut oil which is more suitable for high heat, I didn’t want this to be too greasy and it wasn’t! I prefer this much more than take-out fried rice that can be way too greasy. If you can’t get your hands on Chinese barbecued pork you could make this with bacon, or leftover chicken, if you’re vegetarian you can add tofu or maybe eggplant.

I included a recipe for the Bok Choy, although mine came out really chewy and was hard to eat. Depending on the type of Bok Choy you have you might want to chop it up rather than quartering it. I’ve learned that Shanghai Bok Choy is more tender, it’s greener all the way through. And the larger the Bok Choy the more fibrous and chewy it will be, so I would recommend chopping it in small pieces.  

So make some rice! Pop it in the fridge and make this the next day, you’ll love it!

Pork Fried Rice with Bok Choy

• 6 tablespoons soy sauce 

• 10 teaspoons rice vinegar 

• 2 tablespoon Asian sesame oil 

• 1/2 teaspoon sugar

• 1/4 cup peanut oil (you can start out with less and then add as needed)

• 3/4-1 lb Chinese barbecued Pork, cut into roughly 1/2-inch pieces

• 1 onion, diced

• 2 carrots, diced

• 1 red bell pepper, diced

• Crimini or white mushrooms, diced

• 1 cup frozen peas, defrosted

• 2 scallions sliced thin

• 2 cups dry rice cooked in advance (equals about 6 cups cooked rice)

• 4 eggs lightly beaten

In a small bowl mix together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil and sugar, set aside.

In a large skillet or wok, heat the oil, add the diced pork and cook over high heat for a minute or so. Add the onion, carrot, bell pepper, and mushroom, cook stirring frequently until just tender. Add the eggs and scramble until just set. 

Stir in the cooked rice, peas and scallion, add the soy sauce mixture and cook until everything is hot, stirring frequently. Serve in bowls with Garlicky Bok Choy.

Garlicky Bok Choy

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

• 2 garlic cloves, chopped

• 1 shallot, chopped

• 1 pound baby bok choy, rinsed, cut into quarters, with core intact

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add garlic and shallot and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add bok choy, soy sauce, and 2 Tbsp. water and cover immediately. Cook 1 minute. Uncover and toss, then cover and cook until bok choy is tender at the core, about 3 more minutes.

Pork Fried Rice Adapted from Food and Wine

Garlicky Bok Choy Adapted from Bon Appetit

Turkey Roulade with Dried Cherries and Sausage Stuffing

I’m so happy to finally be getting this Turkey Roulade with Dried Cherries and Sausage Stuffing up on the blog! I’ve been making it a few years now for Thanksgiving but you know how crazy it can get and I never have time for photos. Well here is a next day photo. I was lucky enough to find a turkey breast that was nearly four-pounds, the last couple years all I could get was a two or two and half pound breast, but with the larger size there was enough left over for a decent photograph. This is a great alternative to roasting a whole turkey if you have a small gathering or are a couple like Jeff and myself. If you end up with the smaller turkey breast whether by choice or availability, you can either buy two smaller ones or halve the stuffing recipe accordingly because it makes quite a bit, even with this larger breast I had some leftover. And if you have leftover stuffing that you decide to keep in the oven, don’t forget about it! Heartbreakingly we had turned off the oven, forgot about it and then discovered it the next day, so I had to toss it. Which is really a shame because it tastes so incredibly good not to mention all the work in preparing it. Anyways, I’m glad to be sharing the recipe with you, this could work for any holiday or celebration really. 

The recipe says to roast the roulade 15 minutes to the pound, and this is true, for me the two-pound breast was done in 30 minutes, and the four-pound in one hour. Really the most prep time is making the stuffing, then trying to roll it up in twine which is much easier with the larger breast. The only thing I’m adding to the recipe would be to brine the turkey the night before, I added lots of salt, peppercorns and some fresh herbs to it. I remember one year it came out too dry so I definitely recommend the brine. Oh and one more thing, don’t worry about butterflying and deboning the turkey breast yourself, any butcher in any grocery store or meat market anywhere in the world can do this for you, leave it to the professionals. I used to be shy about asking for such things but it is 100% acceptable to ask. If you want to do it yourself: how to butterfly a turkey breast. Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy!

One more thing, the original recipe said to use the pan drippings from the roasted roulade for the gravy, and to make the gravy while it’s still in the oven, which is impossible! (I edited the recipe so it makes sense). So if you want you can make the gravy while the Turkey Roulade is resting and use those additional pan drippings from the oven pan, but I didn’t and made the gravy in the pan that the Roulade was seared in. Hope that’s not confusing, but it all works out wonderfully in the end. :)

Turkey Roulade with Dried Cherries and Sausage Stuffing (+ Gravy!)

• 3 1/2-4 pound boneless turkey breast, skin on and butterflied (I recommend an overnight brine)

• 1/4 cup butter

• 3/4 cup finely chopped onions (about 1 small onion)

• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery (about 2 ribs)

• 1/2 cup finely chopped fennel (about 1 small fennel bulb)

• 1/2 cup finely chopped leeks (about 1 leek)

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• 1/4 cup dried cherries, roughly chopped

• 1/2 cup cognac (or any kind of brandy)

• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

• 8 ounces mushrooms, such as chanterelle, cremeni or shitake, roughly chopped

• 1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage, crumbled

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage

• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

• 3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter until foamy. Add the onions, celery, fennel, leeks and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very soft, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add the dried cherries and cook until the cherries are plump, about 3 minutes. Add the cognac and reduce until almost evaporated, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer the mixture to a large bowl.

Wipe out skillet and heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms. Season with salt and cook, stirring often, until any water they have released has evaporated, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the sausage and cook until the sausage has browned but is still slightly raw in the center, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the mushroom-sausage mixture to the cooked vegetables. Mix in the herbs and pine nuts until thoroughly combined. Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 425°.

Remove the turkey from the refrigerator and place on a clean work surface, skin-side down. Pat the turkey dry on both sides using paper towels. If the turkey breast looks too uneven in thickness, use a meat pounder to flatten the thicker portion. Season both sides liberally with salt and pepper. Place the filling mixture in the center and evenly spread over the surface, leaving a 1-inch border at the edges. Beginning at the shortest end, carefully roll the breast up, enclosing the stuffing. Using kitchen twine, tie the roulade at 1-inch intervals. Season the outside liberally with salt and pepper.

Wipe out the skillet and heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the turkey roulade and brown on all sides, about 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer the turkey to an parchment-lined baking sheet and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the meat reads 150°, about 12 to 15 minutes per pound. Reserve the pan for gravy. Remove the roulade from the oven and form a loose tent using foil and allow to rest on a clean work surface. 

Gravy

• 3 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley

• 2 sprigs fresh thyme

• 2 sprigs fresh sage

• 1 fresh bay leaf

• 1 large shallot, finely diced

• 1 garlic clove, smashed

• 1/4 cup white wine

• 2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade

• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

While the turkey is roasting, make the gravy: Tie the parsley, thyme, sage and bay leaf together using kitchen twine to form a bouquet garni, (you can place all the herbs in cheesecloth and tie it up if it’s easier). Place the reserved pan over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the wine, scraping any brown bits on the bottom and reduce by half. Adjust the heat to low. Add the flour and stir until the roux has become golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the bouquet garni and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock to the saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, until the gravy has reduced to 2 cups and coats the back of a wooden spoon, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Stir in the butter and season with salt and pepper.

Adapted from Tasting Table

French Onion Soup

Hi folks! This is my first attempt at making French Onion Soup. There were a lot of recipes to choose from, all pretty similar, but the one I adapted here (from Food52) had a generous amount of red wine so I went with that, because red wine + beef broth = amazing flavor. But first I had to buy some individual oven-safe soup bowls. I found these at Crate and Barrel (on sale! yay!) and got the little platters to go with them. I think they’re really cute and will work great for future soup and sandwich situations. So as far as the soup goes, the biggest challenge will be cutting all those onions without burning your eyes, as I mention below in the recipe, I recommend using a food processor to slice them, be advised when you’re done and open the lid you will experience all that cut onion at once! I had to put the lid back on until I was ready to put them in the pan. Alternatively you can put the onions in the refrigerator a day in advance, or even the freezer if you don’t have that much time, this greatly reduces the burn factor. The cheese: I made the individual crocks twice, the first time I didn’t put enough soup in the bowl so I didn’t get the draped cheese effect. The second time I made it, which is what you see here, I added enough soup and really piled on the bread and cheese, but still, I only got a little drape. But seriously I can’t complain it tasted so good!

Another thing worth mentioning is that if you cook the soup and then refrigerate it overnight, it will taste even better the next day. It’s just a fact. Recipe below, enjoy!

French Onion Soup

• 2 1/2 - 3 pounds onions

• 3 tablespoons butter

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 3 cloves of garlic, smashed

• 1 generous pinch of salt

• Fresh ground black pepper, a few twists

• 4 sprigs fresh thyme

• 1 bay leaf

• 6 cups beef stock

• 2 cups red wine

• 1 baguette or other crusty bread

• 4-6 slices of swiss cheese, one for each serving

• Grated gruyere cheese, a handful for each serving

Halve and slice the onions. I highly recommend a food processor to slice the onions. Slicing this many onions can be torture, if you don’t have a food processor place the onions in the refrigerator a day before and they won’t burn your eyes (as much if at all).

Melt together the butter and olive oil in a large dutch oven, add the garlic until it’s caramelized. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper, and stir around just until the onions are all coated in the olive oil/butter. Add in the fresh thyme and the bay leaf and let the onions caramelize, about 20-30 minutes. They will be golden to brown in color.

Once the onions are caramelized and have cooked down, pour in the stock and wine. Simmer uncovered for at least an hour and as much as three hours, add salt and pepper to adjust the flavors.

Meanwhile, slice the bread and toast in a 400° oven until lightly golden brown. You'll want 2 pieces of bread per person - one for the bottom of the bowl, and one for on top.

Grate your cheese. Alternatively, you can drape a deli-cut slice of cheese (swiss or gruyere) over the top of the bowls. I used both, grated cheese on the soup, then a slice of swiss over the toast slice.

Preheat your broiler. Remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaf from the soup. Arrange your oven-safe individual serving bowls on a baking sheet.

To prepare, place a toast slice in the bottom of each bowl. Ladle in the soup (close to the top of the bowl) top with some grated cheese, a slice of toast, then a slice of cheese or more grated cheese. Be generous! You want the cheese to seal in the soup and drape over the edge of the bowl. Which mine sort of did and didn’t, I swear I put so much cheese but it still melted down into the soup, so as you’re stacking your cheese and bread make sure to pile it high!

Makes about 4-6 servings.

Adapted from Food52

Roasted Tomato Soup + Parmesan Croutons

Roasted Tomato Soup + Parmesan Croutons. And here comes fall. The weather is in that optimum state between summer and fall. Warm enough for the tomatoes to continue growing but cool enough at night for soup. We have so many tomatoes this year that I’m on roast-tomatoes-repeat-roast-tomatoes-repeat cycle, a few days ago I left a bowl of tomatoes on the counter one day too long, and I was sad to have to toss a few in the compost bin. I’m the kind of person that is just heart broken when good food has to get tossed, so I’m just cooking and refrigerating and freezing whatever I can. It’s too good to waste. This soup worked out great for my waste management worries. It packs in a few pounds of tomatoes into OMG so freakin’ delicious soup. I have confirmation from Jeff that it’s kick-ass. I looked over a couple different recipes so this is sort of a hybrid between Half Baked Harvest and Sprouted Kitchen Cooking Club . Half Baked Harvest roasted the tomatoes in the same dutch oven as you make your soup, so this is basically a one pan cooking deal, which I love, but didn’t add stock. So without boring you with every detail I added a bit from each recipe and made it my own. Not too garlicky and not too creamy, and I gotta say this is just an absolutely delicious tomato soup. The parmesan croutons are also outstanding, it makes up for the lack of grilled cheese sandwich, which you won’t miss once you bite into the cheesy crouton. I will most likely be back with more tomato recipes, and, surprisingly, cucumber. I gave the Kirby cucumbers a little plant  food last week, along with the tomatoes, and wow did it like that! Blossoms all over the place and now about 20 cucumbers starting, lol, so yeah, I got that to work with as well. Also the soup bowl you see here is another from Carthage.co, the Dadasi Soup Bowl, I love the organic shape of these dishes.

Enjoy! 

Roasted Tomato Soup + Parmesan Croutons

• 3-4 lbs Heirloom Tomatoes, quartered

• 1 small onion, quartered

• 1 small red bell pepper, quartered

• 2 cloves of garlic, smashed

• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 3 cups chicken stock

• 1/2 cup milk

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400°. Add the tomatoes, onion, pepper, garlic and thyme to large dutch oven (or oven-safe pot). Add the olive oil, a little salt and pepper and mix until well combined. Place in oven uncovered and roast for about 30-40 minutes, until the tomatoes start to char a bit. 

Remove from oven and ladle the tomato mixture into a blender, blend until pureed.

Return the tomatoes to the dutch oven then whisk in the chicken stock, tomato paste and milk. Bring the soup to a simmer and add salt and pepper to taste, continue to simmer for 10-15 minutes. Ladle into bowls and top with croutons (recipe below) and some fresh herbs, sprinkle a little parmesan cheese if you like.

Parmesan Croutons

• 2-3 cups bread cubes, baguette or similar

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1/8 cup parmesan cheese

• A couple sprigs of fresh thyme or oregano

Heat oven to 350°. Cut bread into rough 1” cubes and place in large bowl. Stir in the olive oil, parmesan cheese, fresh chopped herbs, and a pinch of salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper.

Spread a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet, bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown, tossing midway. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Store in refrigerator if you have leftover.