September 2006—AnnMarie

Stuffed Mushrooms:
Sausage and Pecan
Paprika
Garlic

Red Pepper Soup

Dinner Rolls

Italian Mixed Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette

Braised Beef with Mushrooms
Herb Stuffed Tomatoes
Parmesan Potatoes

Lemon Curd Marbled Cheesecake


Stuffed Mushrooms

Sausage and Pecan—for 12 mushrooms
12 large button mushrooms
1/2 tube sausage (I used Jimmy Dean regular)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 parmesan cheese (You can up this…I use a micro plane so it looked like more than 1/2 cup)
3/4 cup heavy cream
Butter for pan
Salt

Clean and stem mushrooms. Salt and the inside and outside of the mushrooms and place in a buttered pan that will hold them without much extra room. A pie plate or a 8x8 works well. Finely chop stems to get about 1/2 cup. Fry sausage. Break up all the clumps then add the mushrooms. When the mushrooms have released their juiced and are starting to brown, add the pecans until just fragrant. Remove from heat. Add bread crumbs and ¼ cup heavy cream. Stir in cheese. Fill mushrooms. Pack it in and mound the tops. Drizzle with remaining cream. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes. Scoop up juices and drizzle over mushrooms. Can be made 24 hours a head and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before baking.

Paprika
12 large button mushrooms
2 Tbsp butter plus more for greasing pan
1 large shallot
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp Hungarian paprika
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup pecorino Romano (You can up this…I use a micro plane so it looked like more than 1/2 cup)
Salt

Clean and stem mushrooms. Salt and the inside and outside of the mushrooms and place in a buttered pan that will hold them without much extra room. A pie plate or an 8x8 works well. Finely chop stems to get about 1/2 cup. Cook shallots in butter until translucent. Add garlic and cook for one minute. Add mushrooms. When the mushrooms have released their juiced and are starting to brown, add the pecans until just fragrant. Add paprika and bread crumbs. Stir in 1/4 cup heavy cream and then the cheese. Drizzle with remaining cream Bake at 400 for 30 minutes. Scoop up juices and drizzle over mushrooms. Can be made 24 hours a head and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before baking.

Garlic—for 24 mushrooms

2 heads garlic, separate and peeled
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp salt
1 c panko unseasoned bread crumbs
24 large button or cremini mushrooms, stems removed
2 tsp olive oil

In a small saucepan over low heat, slowly cook garlic and cream until garlic is soft enough to mash with a spoon (about 45 minutes). Cream with be reduced and thick. Remove from heat and mash with a fork to make a rough puree. Stir in salt and panko and mix thoroughly. Preheat over to 450. Lay mushrooms caps, top side down, on an oiled baking sheet. Brush edges with oil and fill centers with garlic cream. Bake until starting to brown, about 15 minutes. Let sit 5 to 10 minutes. Lift mushrooms from any released liquid and arrange on plates. Sprinkle with pepper.


Red Pepper Soup

2 jars roasted red peppers, with juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 shallots
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne
4 c chicken broth
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 tsp sugar
3/4 c sour cream

In a large pot over medium heat, warm olive oil. Add shallots, salt and cayenne. Cook, stirring until soft, about 3 minutes. Add broth and cauliflowers. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer. Cover and cook 20 minutes. Add peppers with juices and cook, covered, until cauliflower is tender, another 10 minutes. Puree in batches in a food processor. Add sugar. Just before serving stir in sour cream.


Dinner Rolls

1-1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp salt
4 large eggs, room temp
2 packages rapid rise yeast (4-1/2 teaspoons)
6 cups unbleached all purpose flour

Bring milk to a boil over medium heat. Let stand off heat until skin forms on surface. Using a soup spoon, skim skin off surface and discard. Transfer milk to bowl of a stand mixer. Add melted butter, sugar and salt. Whisk to combine. (Do not use mixer yet) Allow mixture to cool to between 90 and 100 degrees. Whisk in eggs and yeast.

Add flour to bowl. Using dough hook, mix on low speed until combined (1-2min). Increase speed to medium and knead about 3 minutes more. Dough should feel tacky but not stick to finger. If it is sticky, add more flour. Continue to knead until cohesive, elastic dough had formed. (It should clear sides of bowl but stick to bottom. 4-10 minutes)

Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface. Knead by hand for a few minutes to ensure that it is well kneaded. Lightly spray a medium bowl with nonstick spray. Transfer dough to bowl and spray. Cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for 2-3 hours.

Coat 3 9-inch cake pans with cooking spray. You have to use cake pans, the rolls burn in pyrex. Roll dough out into a long tube. Cut into 24 even pieces and knead each piece into a smooth ball. Place eight in each pan. Cover with plastic wrap and then with foil. Refrigerate at least 24 and up to 48 hours.

Bake day. Remove from refrigerator. Remove Foil. Let rolls rise on the counter for 6-7 hours. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Brush rolls with melted butter. Bake until golden brown, 14-18 minutes.

Not as time consuming as the recipe looks.


Italian Mixed Salad

2 teaspoons olive oil
12 ounces turkey sausage, casings removed
1/2 head romaine lettuce, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 head butter lettuce, cut into bite-size pieces
1/4 head iceberg lettuce, cut into bite-size pieces
2 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
6 ounces Provolone, cubed
3/4 cup rinsed canned red kidney beans, patted dry
3/4 cup rinsed canned garbanzo beans, patted dry

Red Wine Vinaigrette, recipe follows
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook until brown and cooked through, breaking the sausage into bite-size pieces, about 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer the sausage to a plate. Cool to room temperature.

Chop and combine the lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and cooked sausage in a large bowl. Add beans and enough vinaigrette to coat. Season the salad with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve.

Red Wine Vinaigrette
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup olive oil

Mix the vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper in a blender. With the machine running, gradually blend in the oil.


Braised Beef with Mushrooms

3 cups beef stock
1 oz dried mousseron or chanterelle mushrooms
4 lb beef chuck roast, sliced 2” thick
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1-1/4 c all purpose flour
1/2 cup olive oil
2 yellow onions sliced ¼ inch thick
3 garlic cloves crushed
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup drained, diced canned tomatoes
2 sprigs each fresh thyme, rosemary, and oregano tied with string

In a saucepan over high heat, bring stock to boil. Add mushrooms. Remove from heat, cover and let stand 1 hour. Season beef with salt and pepper. Dredge beef in 1 cup flour. Shake off excess.

In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm oil. Brown beef, 2-5 minutes per side. Transfer to slow cooker. Over medium heat, cook onions and 1/4 cup flour, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes. Add garlic; cook one minute. Add wine, tomatoes, and herbs. Bring to simmer. Pour in stock and mushrooms, leaving grit behind. Simmer 3-5 minutes. Add to slow cooker. Cover and cook on high 4-1/2 hours. Discard herbs. Serve.


Herb Stuffed Tomatoes

5 beefsteak tomatoes
1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
3/4 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
1 cup grated provolone
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon butter, softened
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cut the tomatoes in half, horizontally. Use a small spoon to gently hollow out the inside of the tomatoes, discarding the seeds and reserving the pulp and being careful not to puncture the outer shell. Chop the reserved pulp and put in a medium bowl. Add the parsley, bread crumbs, cheese, and pepper and mix gently to combine. Place the tomato halves in a buttered casserole dish, and fill with the bread crumb mixture. Drizzle the top of the tomatoes with olive oil. Bake until the tops are browned, about 20 minutes.


Parmesan Potatoes

The proportions of this recipe do not have to be exact. Hence the strange amounts listed here.

Enough thin skinned yellow potatoes, Yukon gold or rose, to cover a 9x13 pan in one layer when chopped medium. Depending on the size of the potato, that is anywhere from 6 to 16.

About 1/2 cup ranch dressing mix

About 1 cup cheap parmesan…you know in the green can

4 Tbsp melted butter

Toss the chopped potatoes, the ranch and cheese in a big zip-top bag. Liberally spray the pan with Pam. Pour in the potatoes. Drizzle with butter. Bake for about an hour at 375 to 400. Test with fork for doneness. You can even do them at 350 but they take longer. It all depends on what else you have in the oven.

Not so gourmet, but yummy.


Lemon Curd Marbled Cheesecake

For Lemon Curd
1t finely grated fresh lemon zest
1/2 c fresh lemon juice
1/2 c sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Whisk together zest, juice, sugar, and eggs in a 2quart heavy sauce pan. Add butter and cook over moderately low heat, whisking frequently, until curd is think enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubbles appear on surface, about six minutes.

Force lemon curd through a fine mesh sieve into a wide, shallow dish, scraping bottom of sieve. Then cover the surface with wax paper. Cool completely, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. (Can be made ahead and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before adding to recipe)

For Crust
1 1/3 c finely ground graham cracker crumbs
1/3 c sugar
1/8 tsp salt
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Heat oven to 350. Stir together crust ingredients. Press onto bottom of pan and 1 inch up the side. Bake 10 minutes. Cool completely.

For Filling
3 8oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 c sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 c sour cream
1 tsp vanilla

Heat oven to 300. Beat together cream cheese and sugar until smooth. On low speed add eggs one at a time. Beat in sour cream and vanilla until combined. Pour 2/3 of the filling into the pan. Spoon half of the lemon curd over the filling and swirl in with a knife. Be careful not to touch the crust. Repeat with remaining filling and curd.

Bake cheesecake until set 1½ inches from edge but center still trembles when pan is shaken. Cool completely and then refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.