Thanksgiving Per Due

Gearing up for the annual feast once again. This year, I will not be inviting the firemen to our house, thank you very much. This year, I am not making the vast amount of food I made last year...I'm keeping it simple...or at least simple as I can.

We're having beef, a boneless ribeye roast, and from last year, the green beans with bacon and shallots, along with the renamed Mushroom Gratin, and a Chocolate-Pistachio Torte...it's the "Something Old, Something New, and Something Chocolate, All Bon Appetit, All the Time Thanksgiving," because all the recipes came from various issues of Bon Appetit.

The very first Thanksgiving that The Man and I spent together as a married twosome, we spent alone...just us and the poodles...of which we only had 2 at the time. About 2 weeks before Thanksgiving, I got a new December issue of Bon Appetit, with a recipe for Roast New York Strip Loin with Garlic-Herb Crust that sounded really yummy.

I was getting more and more adventurous with cooking, because hey--it's way more fun to cook for two than it was for one--and we lived very close to an international farmer's market, where I could get a lot of exotic ingredients quickly and easily.

This roast requires a garlic-herb paste that can be left on overnight, so a couple of days before Turkey Day 2000, The Man and I headed to fight the crowds at the farmer's market to get this roast. I confidently went to the meat counter and made my request for 5-pound NY Strip Roast. The counterman smiled and went off to get my meat. He brought it out, presented it to me for inspection, and then wrapped it up and put the price label on it. As he handed me the wrapped piece of meat, I saw the price tag and almost dropped the roast. $57 was on the little label sticker. Fifty-seven dollars. I almost stroked out on the spot. For some reason, my little math-challenged brain did not equate that since the price-per-pound for a single NY Strip would also be the price-per-pound for the roast...why I thought buying luxury meat in bulk form would get me an discount, I have no idea.

So, I'm clutching this piece of meat and generally freaking out about how expensive this meat was, and how I'd never really cooked a roast before, much less one that cost $57 freakin' dollars, blah, blah blah blah. The Man assures me that it will be fine, that I can cook this with no problem, and it would turn out just fine. And, you know what, it did. It was even fine on the next day, when my friend Kimma came over, and we did Black Friday, and we were going to eat leftovers for dinner that got put on hold for about 8 more hours because we spent that in an emergency room with The Man, who tried to surgically remove a finger with a Leatherman. (It was a highly exciting time, and for several years after, Kimma asked what we were going to do to top it...NOT!)

It's damn tasty, no matter how you slice it.

Last year, I wrote about the savory mushroom bread pudding, which I tweaked and renamed a gratin, even though I'm not sure it's a gratin either. Anyway, it's awesome as a side dish, and I don't know why I haven't made since last Thanksgiving, because we really liked it.

Mushroom-Parmesan Gratin

1 (1-pound) loaf crusty country-style white bread
1/4 cup olive oil
4 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 large garlic clove, minced

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
1 pound assorted fresh mushrooms (such as cremini, button, portobello, and stemmed shiitake), thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced celery
1 cup finely chopped red and yellow bell pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

3 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
8 large eggs
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Cut bottom crust and short ends off bread and discard. Cut remaining bread with crust into 1-inch cubes (about 10 cups loosely packed). Place cubes in very large bowl. Add oil, thyme, and garlic; toss to coat.

3. Spread cubes out on large rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until golden and slightly crunchy, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Return toasted bread cubes to same very large bowl.

4. Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, onion, celery, and bell pepper. Sauté until soft and juices have evaporated, about 15 minutes. Add sautéed vegetables and parsley to bread cubes.

5. Whisk heavy cream, eggs, salt, and ground pepper in large bowl. Mix custard into bread and vegetables. Transfer mixture to baking dish. Sprinkle cheese over.

Advance Prep: Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

Reduce heat (or preheat if making the second day) of oven to 350°F. Bake, uncovered until set and top is golden, about 1 hour. Let stand 15 minutes.

Yum.

For dessert, I'm going to attempt a Chocolate-Pistachio Torte with Warm Chocolate Ganache. This is really the stretch dish for me, because I'm still not comfortable as a baker...and my oven can be kinda cranky. But, the picture is really pretty, don't you think? I'll try and post a picture of my version, so wish me luck!

Why do I always pick the complicated one?

It never fails...if there is a recipe in the cookbook that takes for freakin' ever, involves a minimum of 47 steps, and I plan to do it on a weeknight, then all my carefully laid plans on getting it done will go directly out the window.

And, then I'll forget a step or two, so it's going to be a crap shoot on how it turns out. (Beats head on counter)

In case you haven't noticed, I kinda didn't make it through the whole "cook from a cookbook every day this week" phase...so, no bestselling book from a blog for me, a la Julie and Julia, but, I did finally do a recipe out of Rick Bayless' Mexico One Plate at a Time.

(Julie and Julia is pretty funny; I listened to it as an audiobook, read by the author, which I think really worked for it as an experience. IAnd, I was listening to it every morning on my way to that first quarter of culinary school. It makes me consider, every once in an extremely great while, doing something similar (like last week's postings), but then I'm not sure I have the same level of commitment...or commitability, as in to the funny farm, as she did. However, she did get a best seller, which has been optioned for a movie with Meryl Streep playing Julia Child, out of her insanity. Meryl. Streep. This is what all bloggers secretly aspire to...book deal, with the cherry on top movie deal. Hey Hollywood--call meeee!)

Without further ado, I present the craziness that is Rick Bayless and his contemporary Mexican recipe:

Chicken-and-Mushroom-Stuffed Chiles with Tomatoes and Cream

4 1/5 Tbs extra virgin olive oil, or vegetable oil
2 medium white onions, medium dice
Two 28-ounce cans good-quality whole tomatoes in juice, undrained
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp black pepper
2 cups (about 4 oz) sliced stemmed flavorful mushrooms, like shiitakes
1 1/2 cups of whole kernel corn, either fresh or frozen
2 tsp cider vinegar
3 cups coarsely shredded cooked chicken (can used rotisserie or smoked chicken)
1 cup, pack, thinly sliced spinach
or
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Salt
1 cup chicken or beef broth
8 medium (about 1 1/2 lbs) fresh poblano chiles, not twisted or deeply indented, preferably with long stems
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

(A word of advice: get your mise en place together before you start...trust me on this one.)

Procedure

1. The Sauce and Filling Base. In a medium-large (4-qt) sauce pan, heat 3 Tbs of the olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring regularly, until well browned; about 10 minutes. While onions are cooking, puree the undrained canned tomatoes in a blender or food processor, working in 2 batches if necessary.

When the onions are browned, raise heat to medium-high and add the tomato puree, cinnamon, and pepper. Stir regularly as the mixture boils, reducing to the consistency of thick tomato sauce; about 25 minutes. Remove from heat.

2. The Filling. In a large (10-12 inch) skillet, preferably non-stick, heat the remaining 1 1/2 Tbs of oil over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until the edges turn golden; about 5 minutes.

Stir in half of the tomato mixture, the corn, and vinegar, and continue to cook over medium heat, stirring until the mixture is thick enough to hold its shape. Stir in chicken and spinach or cilantro. Taste and season with salt, usually about 1 teaspoon. (Note from Me: I didn't find that the mixture was soupy at all, and the chicken seemed to absorb the sauce well, so I essentially just heated it up to temperature.)

3. The Tomato Sauce. Stir broth into the remaining tomato mixture. Partially cover and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes or so, while preparing the chiles. (Note from Me Again: This is the step that I completely forgot. I don't know where my brain was, but it completely skipped over this part. I think I was worried about getting on to the roasting of the chiles part, and I totally overlooked adding the chicken broth (and if I had poured it out earlier, it would have caught my eye, and I would have looked for it in the recipe.) So, it remains to be seen how this is going to turn out...the sauce is probably going to have a bit of a raw taste to it.)

4. Preparing the Chiles. (Yeah, I know...it's only 4 steps so far, but there's soooo many parts!!) Roast chiles directly over gas flame or on a baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler, turning regularly, until skins have blistered and blackened on all sides. Be careful not to char the flesh, only the skin. Remove from heat and cover with a kitchen towel and let stand for 5 minutes. (Note from Me: You can also put them in a plastic bag and let them steam for a few minutes to finish loosening the skin. This charring and removing of the skin is a pain in the ass, but it is very necessary...again, trust me on this one.) Gently rub off the blackened skin, then cut an incision in the side of each one, starting 1/2 inch below the stem and going to within 1/2 inch of the tip. Work your fingers inside and carefully remove the seeds from inside the chiles, being careful not to rip the opening any wider; rinse off any stray bits of skin, and drain cut side down on paper towels. (You are wearing gloves, aren't you? You should so be wearing gloves. Yeah, yeah, poblanos are fairly mild, but go ahead, take your contacts out with those bare hands after you've been working with those chiles...I dare you.)

5. Stuffing and Baking the Chiles. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Fill each chile with about 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture and reform it into its original shape, then lay seam side down in a 13x9-inch baking dish. Check the consistency of the tomato sauce; it should be medium-thick. If it is too thick, stir in a little water. If too thin, simmer briskly until thickened. Taste and season with salt; about 1 teaspoon.

Pour sauce over the chiles, covering them, then drizzle with cream. Bake until sauce is bubbling vigorously, and the cream is beginning to brown; about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve. Serves 4; 2 chiles per person.

(You can make this all in advance; refrigerate sauce, filling, and chiles separately. Stuff chiles, add sauce and cream, then bake just before ready to serve. If everything is cold, bake at 350 degrees F for 30-40 minutes.)

Whew! I'm worn out from just typing up the recipe...and you are thinking I am crazier by the minute as you read the recipe. When I pulled it out of the oven, I tasted the sauce, and it was a little flat...needed a little more saltiness. So, I added cheese and popped it under the broiler. I shredded some Asadero cheese, which is a good melting cheese...think of the white cheese dip at your local favorite Mexican restaurant. (Hey, when all else fails, why not add cheese?)

The overall consensus was the flavors were good, but was it worth the all the time and effort? Not really, and I don't think forgetting the chicken broth and simmering part really hurt the final product. The Man said he thought it would have worked just as well as an enchilada casserole and would have been way less work. I have to concur, and since I have some leftover filling, I'll be experimenting with the enchilada theory for lunch tomorrow...with lots of cheese.

Cheese, cheese, cheese...makes the world go round!

Harvest Time!

Harvey has sprouted 4 rather impressive mushrooms, so it's time to harvest them and then start the rest cycle. Then, in two months, we fruit again, and there should be more mushrooms. Each successive fruiting (love that word!) should result in even more mushrooms, until the log plays out, which could be 2-3 years! Talk about a gift that keeps on giving!

Tonight, I'm just doing the basic summer meal: grilling some steaks, sauteeing some mushrooms, steaming some green veggie, and maybe making a little caprese salad. I got some little Ciliegine (cherry-sized) fresh mozzarella at Whole Foods, along with some really wonderful grape tomatoes from Publix to mix up with a little basil and olive oil. Yum, yum!

I'll add Harvey's contribution to the sauteed mushrooms, and I'm betting it will be a better dish for it. Here's some shots of Harvey and his mushrooms:



Sauteed in a little butter, olive oil, and wine, and we have ourselves a winner! I'll post again on Harvey when it's time to fruit. Good night, sweet log!

Shiitake Watch Day 6

Lookee!! Lookee!! 'Shrooms!

Everybody Loves Log!

(Bonus points to you if you watched Ren and Stimpy...even more bonus if you understood what it was all about!)

I had a birthday this month, and did a joint party with my friend Jessie, since her birthday is in August, too. Nothing quite like multi-tasking!

Linna gave me the most wonderful present...all my presents were wonderful, but this one ranks up there with the most unusual present ever! I got a log. Not just any log, though, but a log that will grow me some lovely shiitake mushrooms, provided I don't kill it. Which can be a distinct possibility, given my black thumb with indoor plant life. I managed to kill 3 herb dish gardens and a Chia pet this past year...and I have no idea how. I used to have plants and kept them alive for great stretches at a time, but now it seems all I can grow is basil outside. And, in this heat, I've even given that up!

Anyway, enough of the plant woes and back to the log. I've seen these logs before in catalogs, and I've always thought it would be very cool to have one and grow my own mushrooms. (I keep telling The Man that we need little goats, too, so I can start working on my artisanal cheese making project for my retirement to Vermont. So far, he's not conceded on the goats yet, but hope springs eternal.)

It really is a log. For an inert stick of wood, it requires some diligence and effort to make it "fruit" and grow mushrooms. First, you shock it in icy cold water for 24 hours, and after it fruits and you harvest the yummy mushrooms, you have to put it on a rest and recuperation schedule that involves soaking and shocking and resting at regular intervals. It's almost like having a newborn baby.

My log, which we shall call Harvey, is from the fine folks at Lost Creek Shiitake Mushroom Farm. Harvey came in a box with his instructions and a tray to soak and keep him in.

I shocked him yesterday, and he's now residing in my basement office, ready to fruit, I hope. Cross your fingers that I don't screw this up! And, that we get something that looks like the log in the picture in the very near future.