Cozying up with a Shiitake Mushroom Soup

One of my favorite things about fall is eating hearty foods, and soup is one of them.  There's nothing like coming home and cozying up on the couch with a warm bowl of delicious soup.  Since mushroom season is upon us, I thought it'd be the perfect opportunity to use some nice local mushrooms available now, such as the organic shiitakes I got today.  Since I only had a little, I supplemented the recipe with some baby bellas too, and the result was rich and comforting.

Getting inspired by a recipe I found on my Rustic Eats Pinterest board, it came to me by way of Julia's Album blog.  Using a simple recipe with fresh and natural ingredients, I created my own veggie stock, which was then thickened a bit with half and half (but the fat free kind - weird...I know).  Julia recommends using regular half and half, which I can appreciate, but I already had the fat free stuff on hand from a previous soup dish I created not long ago.  A topping of fresh thyme served as a nice garnish, which you can later strip of its little leaves, further flavoring the soup and making it smell divine.

Here's Julia's recipe for a Creamy Mushroom Soup with Shiitakes

Nutella Peanut Butter Pie Bliss

There's nothing like delicious, homemade baked goods to put a smile on your face, especially at a time when we all need it.  Plus...it's fall-time, which is prime pie season, so why not take a crack at a delicious homemade pie and enjoy it with your loved ones?! 

I just happened to see the recipe for this indulgent Nutella, peanut butter pie on the Nutella Facebook fan page (yes, I'm a proud member) and decided to make it for Paul and Jamil's big Halloween bash last weekend.  Although it was a bit unwieldy to eat, Dan gave me his compliments, and I ate some too and devoured it rather quick.

The unique thing about it is that it's made using a pretzel crust, which adds a little savory to this sweet dish.  My peanut butter topping came out a bit sloppy, as you can see here, but if you're into rustic things as I am, you won't mind - and it's all about how it tastes in your mouth.

Here's the recipe, courtesy of Shugary Sweets blog.  

Cozy Lamb Apricot Stew

Friday was a yucky rainy day followed by a yucky rainy night, and I was in the mood to just stay in and cook something comforting and delicious.  After ingratiating myself in the fascinating world of meat the night before at the Food Film Festival, I wanted to experiment with something different, so I chose lamb.

Loving the method of slow-cooking something and letting those deep, rich meaty smells permeate the space of our apartment, I chose a lamb and apricot stew that I spotted in the November issue of Everyday Food magazine.  Spruced up with diced tomatoes, lots of onion, Turkish apricots that have so much flavor and a little bit of ginger too, it was the perfect delight for a rainy fall night.  You don't need much else with it except for a small piece of bread (or you can eat it on its own like we did) - and like all good stews, it's even better the next day.

Lamb and Apricot Stew, courtesy of Martha Stewart Everyday Food Magazine

Ingredients (serves 6)
1 tbs of olive oil
1 1/2 lbs of boneless lamb stew meat
Salt and pepper
1 large yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 two-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon
3/4 cup of dried apricots
Toasted sliced almonds for serving

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high.  Season lamb with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned for 9 minutes.  With a slotted spoon, transfer lamb to a plate.  Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is softened, for about 5 minutes.  Return lamb to pot, along with tomatoes, ginger, cinnamon and 2 cups of water; season with salt and pepper.

Cover and transfer to oven; cook for about 45 minutes.  Stir in apricots, cover and cook until lamb is tender, for about 45 minutes more.  Serve stew sprinkled with almonds.

Fooditka's Roasted Butternut Squash Salad

I'm always curious to experiment with different salad combinations and pairing together ingredients with juxtaposing textures.  The salad I will tell you about here is a prime example of that, as it marries warm, cooked ingredients with chilled, raw ones.  The salad was a big hit and didn't need much of a dressing, except a few drops of truffle oil and a sprinkling of sea salt and pepper.  Some lemon juice would do just fine too, or maybe even some honey.  Feel free to improvise and use your imagination.

Fooditka's Roasted Butternut Squash Salad

Ingredients (serves 3)

1 package of baby arugula
2 handfuls of fresh spinach leaves
Small butternut squash, cleaned, seeded and cut into 1/4" pieces
1/4 pound of burrata mozzarella cheese, teared into 1/4" rustic chunks
1/2 anjou pear, cubed
Handful of dried cranberries
Large handful of pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

Olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Toss butternut squash in olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Roast for about 50 minutes (or until golden brown), taking it out and turning the squash 1/2 way in between.  Let cool for 8-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the remainder of the ingredients by placing in individual bowls. I'd recommend not putting it into a large bowl, to avoid the greens getting soggy.  Top with the roasted butternut squash and a sprinkling of truffle oil or extra virgin olive oil and additional salt and pepper if needed.

Braised Rabbit Stew That'll Make You Swoon

I'm sure you've noticed the peppering of recipes from my recent New York Culinary Experience weekend. The recipes and their final products were just too good not to share with you, so here's another one: a recipe for braised rabbit stew with nicoise olives and rosemary.

Learning how to make this dish in Chef Marco Canora's class, it introduced me to a lot of new techniques, including how to break down a rabbit.  Of course you don't have to do this at home and can substitute the rabbit with something more common such as chicken, lamb, pork or even beef.  But the rabbit was really something special.  The meat was strong in flavor yet tender in texture and after it was all cooked, it had the most deliciously fragrant broth that resembled a hearty stew. 

This dish is excellent for cold fall and winter nights and goes well with any kind of starchy side such as potatoes, white or brown rice or even homemade gnocchi, which we made in class. More about that next time...

Rabbit Stew with Nicoise Olives and Rosemary (serves 4)

Ingredients:
2 small rabbits, cut into 10 pieces each (you can substitute with other protein of your choice)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
About 7 tbs freshly ground black pepper
1 cup dry red wine
1 medium onion, peeled and minced
1 carrot, peeled and minced
1 celery stalk, minced
2 tbs of tomato paste
1 bunch of rosemary sprigs, tied together
About 5 1/2 cups of chicken broth
1/2 cup of Nicoise olives, pitted if desired

Directions:
Season the rabbit pieces with salt and pepper.  Heat enough oil to coat the bottom of a large skillet, about 3 tbs, over medium high heat.  Working in batches, brown the rabbit pieces, about 3 minutes on each side, then set aside in a bowl.

When all of the meat is browned, add the wine and deglaze the pan, scraping up the fond (browned bits) with a wooden spoon.  Allow the wine to simmer for a minute or two, then pour it over the browned rabbit and reserve.

Wipe out the skillet.  Add the remaining 4 tbs of oil and heat over medium-high heat.  Add the onion, carrot and celery.  Fry the soffritto (onion, carrots, celery), stirring frequently and adjusting the heat if necessary to prevent burning, until the vegetables soften and color, about 10 minutes.  Add the tomato paste and rosemary.  Stir to coat the vegetables until the paste darkens, about 5 minutes.

Return the rabbit and the wine to the pan, lower the heat to medium, and stir to mix.  Cook the rabbit, stirring occasionally, until its juices release, about 10 minutes.

Add enough broth to come a little less than halfway up the rabbit pieces, about 2 cups.  Simmer the rabbit partially covered, turning it in the pan and basting it occasionally, until the pan is almost dry, about 15 minutes.  Add more broth, about 1 cup, and continue simmering and basting the rabbit, adding a little broth whenever the pan looks dry (expect to add 1/2 cup about every 15 minutes).  Stew until the rabbit is almost tender, about 1 hour.

Flip the rabbit pieces over and add the olives.  Continue adding the broth a little at a time and simmer until the rabbit is fully tender, about 15 minutes more (if the meat pulls easily from the leg bone the rabbit is done).  Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 5 more minutes to allow the seasoning to permeate.  Serve warm in shallow bowls. 

Foodista's Pesto, Turkey Gnocchi Bake

Yes, I'm very much into these fall/winter "bakes" as you've probably noticed. It's mainly because I love how warm and comforting they are, but also because I get to use my nice Emile Henry ceramic-ware. Call me crazy but any time I get to take out a beautiful dish with a nice golden crust and bubbly hot cheese, it makes me happy.

I made up the below recipe for a Pesto, Turkey Gnocchi Bake by mixing homemade basil pesto with sauteed ground turkey and gnocchi, then topping it with panko breadcrumbs and baking it in the oven. Every bite felt like a treat--first you got the sharp taste of the pesto, followed by the pillowy texture of the gnocchi and in between, you could feel the crunchy bits from the breadcrumbs. Don't mean to toot my own horn but this dish was gooood--so good in fact that Dan proclaimed it "the best" I've ever made. Don't know about that, but I can guarantee you'll like it:

Foodista's Pesto, Turkey Gnocchi Bake (serves 2)

Ingredients:
1 package of gnocchi
2 cups of fresh basil
2 1/2 cloves of garlic
Olive oil
2 tbs of fresh Parmesan cheese, shaved
2 handfuls of fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into cubes
1/2 lb of ground turkey
A pinch of dried thyme
1/4 - 1/3 cup of panko breadcrumbs (depends how much you like)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil a square 8" x 8" casserole dish.

To make the pesto, place the basil, 1 1/2 cloves garlic, salt and pepper (a pinch of each) into a food processor and pulse. Gradually add about 2 tbs of olive oil or more, depending on the consistency that you prefer. Pulse a few more times until incorporated and then take out of the food processor. Add 1 tbs of Parmesan cheese and mix with a spoon.

In the meantime make the gnocchi according to the directions on the box.

While the gnocchi is cooking, get the turkey ready. In a medium skillet on medium heat, add about 1 tbs of olive oil and then toss in 1 tbs of chopped garlic. Make sure to watch the garlic closely, as it has a tendency to burn quickly. Add the turkey and separate with a wooden spoon. Add salt, pepper, and dried thyme. Cook for about five minutes or until well done - taste to make sure that it's cooked through.

Take the gnocchi out of the boiling water with a slotted spoon and place directly into the skillet with the turkey. Add the pesto to the hot gnocchi and mix everything together until well incorporated. Place the mixture into the prepared casserole dish and top with cubes of fresh mozzarella cheese.

Now prepare the breadcrumbs by tossing the panko with 1 tbs of Parmesan cheese. Add salt, pepper and a touch of olive oil and mix together with your hands. Sprinkle on top of the gnocchi mixture and bake in oven for about 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and bubbly.

Enjoy this meal with a big glass of your favorite beer.

A Wonderful Fall Pasta Bake

I love the fall season - not only because of all the gorgeous colors on trees but also because I get to indulge in rich, comforting foods. As I've mentioned before, squash is a favorite seasonal vegetable of mine and any dishes that incorporate it make my mouth water. So when I saw the following recipe in Martha Stewart's Everyday Food mag (November edition), I just had to try it.

Using fresh ingredients such as butternut squash, sage and good cheese, it's hard to go wrong when making this--especially on cold, rainy nights. The preparation could get a bit messy but in the end it's worth it. I'd like to incorporate meat next time (maybe turkey), as this was a purely vegetarian dish. A way I changed it is that I substituted whole wheat pasta for plain white. Try it and tell me how you like it.

Squash, Sage and Ricotta Cannelloni

Ingredients (serves 4)
3 tbs of olive oil, plus more for baking dish and sheet
Coarse salt and ground pepper
8 wide lasagna noodles - the recipe recommends using wide lasagna noodles instead of regular. I didn't have that so I used regular and rolled the filling into the lasagna. As a result, mine looked more like pinwheels rather than cannelloni and that was fine with me
1/2 butternut squash (about 1 lb), peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch chunks
2 shallots, chopped
1/4 cup plus 2 tbs of milk
1 tsp finely chopped fresh sage leaves, plus 8-10 whole leaves
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
2 cups ricotta cheese (15 oz)
3/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 2 quart or 8 inch square baking dish. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente. Using tongs, transfer pasta to a lightly oiled rimmed baking sheet. Add squash to boiling water and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain squash and transfer to a bowl.

In a small skillet, heat 1 tbs of oil over medium heat. Add shallots, season with salt and pepper, and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl with squash and add 2 tbs milk, chopped sage, and nutmeg; season with salt and pepper. Mash with fork until a rough puree forms.

Spread 1/4 cup squash mixture cross-wide down the middle of each lasagna noodle; roll up noodle and place, seam side down, in baking dish. In a bowl, combine ricotta, 1/2 cup parmesan, and 1/4 cup of milk and season with salt and pepper. Spread ricotta mixture over cannelloni and top with 1/4 cup parmesan. Bake until warmed through, about 25 minutes. Broil until top is browned, 2 to 3 minutes.

Meanwhile in a small skillet, heat 2 tbs of oil over medium-high heat. Fry whole sage leaves until crispy, 15 to 20 seconds. Drain on paper towels. Serve cannelloni with fried sage.