sacs à main musroom

We are very blessed to be going to Maria's tonight. Her sister Denise is here from Brazil and will be cooking Brazillian food for us all. All of us are supposed to bring an appetizer. I am bringing my croquettes (since that is a brazillian dish) and one of my friends and families favorites...


A few years back we lived in a huge house out in the country on 5 acres. Originally I thought this was our dream home. But it did not take long to realize 5 acres of grass being mowed equaled 5 hours of yard work every week, the 6,000 square foot house meant we could all be home, but never see eachother. To make a long story short, I have never been more miserable in my life than when I lived in our "dream house". However, the ONE thing I did love, is that huge kitchen. It was a gathering place for our friends and family.  We saw the light and now live in a 2800 square foot home in beautiful Southern California. Any way. This recipe reminds me of the times we would gather in our big kitchen back home. It is the one and only mushroom dish my daughter likes. Simply translated they are "Mushroom Purses".

These have the perfect balance of Leeks and Mushrooms. Please remember when working with Leeks you wash and wash them. Leeks are grown in the sand and easily hide sand inside. Even though it takes time, the leeks are way worth it. They have become a staple in my kitchen.
So my "tip of the day" - wash wash wash wash your leeks before cooking. Otherwise you will end up with gritty food.

Mushroom Purses
4 Leeks, washed thoroughly
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 lbs of mushrooms button mushrooms.
fontina cheese
1-2 tablespoons of fresh crushed thyme leaves
Salt and Pepper to taste
3/4 cup pinot gris
6 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed in refrigerator
1 Stick unsalted butter melted
Long stemmed chives
1. To prepare leeks, cut away the blue/green leaves on top and trim the base. Peel away the first layer.

 Slice the leeks in 1/4" rings from top to bottom. Push through each sliced ring and

 drop into a colander and then rinse with cold running water. Place the colander in a bowl  and fill with cold water. Let stand so sand/grit falls to bottom. Lift colander out of water, throw out sandy water, rinse leeks again in cold running water.

 I do this process three times. Lastly, shake away any water and set aside to dry for a few minutes. I promise you need to wash them this many times.

2. Saute leeks over medium heat in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes.

 Do not brown. Remove from skillet and place in a large bowl

3. Remove stems from mushrooms and chop. Add 4 more tablespoons of olive oil to skillet. When hot, add of the mushrooms to cover the bottom of the pan. Saute over medium high heat about 5 minutes until mushrooms are soft.

Return leeks to the skillet with the mushrooms. Add thyme, salt, pepper and wine. Cook over high heat, stirring until all liquid is reduced to a syrupy consistency. Set aside.

4. Carefully unwrap the Phyllo pastry and unroll flat. Cover with a damp dish towel to prevent the dough from drying out.
5. Lay out a sheet of phyllo and brush it sparingly with melted butter. Add a sheet on top of this one, brush with butter and repeat until you have 3 sheets. Cut the sheet into 4 rectangles.

6. Place 1/3 cup of the leek/mushroom mixture in the center of the rectangle. Top this with 1 tablespoon of fontina.

7, Fold the centers of the sides inward to prevent the mixture from spilling out. Fold over and slightly twist each long end toward the center to create a cinched "purse" shape.

8. Take two or three long strands of chives and tie around each purse. Repeat with rest of mixture and sheets of phyllo pastry.

9. Place purses on an ungreased cookie sheet or baking dish. When all purses on on the sheet, place the cookie sheet with purses in the freezer for 5-10 minutes, chilling until firm.

10.Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake for approximately 15 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven. Tie a fresh WASHED long stem chive around each purse.

Tada!

Belgian Waffles

What a gorgeous day here today. 75 and sunny can really change a bad mood into something good. We are nearing the end of the school year and I have mixed feelings about it. I love my kids to death, but having them here 24/7 while I work can be challenging. I am however really excited to see the end of homework coming. The last 2 weeks of school are the worst. With all these final projects I am about to lose my mind.

On to dinner plans...Continuing on with our breakfast for dinner theme this week. Tonight, we have
Belgian Waffles.
I always make my stuff from scratch. Waffles are no exception. They are easy to make and all the ingredients are in your house.
Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 large eggs, separated
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cups milk
non-stick cooking spray

Directions
Preheat the waffle iron according to the manufacturer's instructions. In a medium bowl sift together flour and baking powder, set aside. In the kitchen aid beat together the egg yolks and sugar until sugar is completely dissolved and eggs have turned a pale yellow. Add the vanilla extract, melted butter, and milk to the eggs and whisk to combine. Combine the egg-milk mixture with the flour mixture and whisk just until blended. Do not over mix. Pour into a bowl..again in cleaned outkitchen aid bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, about 1 minute. Using therubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the waffle batter. Do not overmix! Coat the waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray and pour enough batter in iron to just cover waffle grid. Close and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Serve immediately. You can top with whipped cream, Syrup, chocolate... whatever you like.

Taquitos con salsa fresca y guacamole

This weekend I will be gone for the balloon and wine festival in Temecula. We are working the dog clothes booth there. I want to make something that the hubby and son can munch on while I am gone. In my husbands family it became a tradition to make Taquitos the day after thanksgiving, with all of the turkey recipes. It works great with chicken too. It is not thanksgiving and I do not have any chicken or turkey leftovers, but I do have fresh chicken that I can easily cook and shred. The Taquitos easily reheat so we always double the recipe and keep them in the fridge for quick meals. It will be perfect to eat tonight and perfect for the boys this weekend. Usually I put randy on salsa duty. He likes to make it fresh and finely dice everything. Here is how we go about making it:

SALSA:
• 4 lbs Roma Tomatoes. They are more fleshy outside with less seeds and membrane than other varietals
• 1 large or two small Onion(s). Sweets prefered
• Whole head Garlic
• 4+ Jalapenos, some seeds and membrane removed to control heat. for a hotter salsa add a couple of Serrano peppers also
• 1 bunch Cilantro
• ½ teaspoon Salt per pound of tomatoes
Finely chop everything with a very sharp knife, taking out seeds and membranes. Put in a bowl and mix gently with a wooden spoon. Cover and refridgerate overnight.

I make the guacamole, and cook the chicken. Then as a family we usually roll the Taquitos together.
Guacamole:
6 ripe avocados
3 limes, juiced
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, smashed then minced
2 serrano chiles, diced
1 big handful fresh cilantro with stems, about 1/2 cup, finely chopped
Extra-virgin olive oil
salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Halve and pit the avocados. With a tablespoon, scoop out the flesh into a mixing bowl. If you want it chunky, mash the avocados using either a fork or potato masher. If you want it smooth add 1/2 cup sour cream and blend in the blender. Add the remaining ingredients, and fold everything together. Drizzle with a little olive oil, adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and give it 1 final mix with a fork.

Lay a piece of plastic wrap tight on the surface of the guacamole so it doesn't brown and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
Randy and I like to put siracha in our guac to spice it up more.

Chicken:
I like to use chicken that has been on the bone. I got a bunch of full chicken breasts on the ribs. In a large saucepan, fill with chicken broth, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper, bring to a boil. Add chicken. Cook for 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Remove chicken and let cool for 5 minutes. Using 2 forks, shred the chicken.

Taquitos:
3 cups canoloa oil
40 corn tortillas
Shredded Chicken

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Soften the corn tortillas by heating up canola oil in a small fry pan. Roll the taquitos by placing shredded chicken inside the softened corn tortilla, roll shut and place seam side down in a baking dish. Once all Taquitos are done. Place in the oven for 30 minutes.

Serve with Salsa and Guacamole.

Steak Dijionaise

Back when my husband and I would find more time to go out on dates. I loved this rinky dink place in Oregon called the Par a dux. It is no longer in business like most other businesses lately. But they did have the best Chicken Dijon around. This is my take on that dish, but it is steak Dijon instead of chicken.
Steak Dijionaise
4 6 oz Sirloin Steaks
2 TB Dijon mustard
4 TB diced onion
2 TB Clarified Butter
6 TB Heavy Cream
2 TB unsalted butter
Salt and Pepper to taste

If you don't remember how to clarify butter, I posted it early this week.
Pound steaks into ¼ in thickness... I pound the crap out of my steaks, because this dish is not about filet mignon... it is steak dijon. Cover each side of the steak with 1 ½ tsp of the mustard and then press half the onion onto each side. Sauté the steaks in clarified butter. Remove and hold in warm place. Deglaze the pan with a splash of white wine. Add the cream and reduce by half. Add the rest of the mustard. Stir in butter 1 TB at a time. Salt and pepper TT. Serve each steak with sauce poured over them.

I like to serve over asparagus because it goes nicely with the dijion sauce. Plus they are on major sale this week.If you make extra dijon sauce it tastes so good over the asparagus.

London Broil avec sauce au beurre aux fines herbes

I worked all morning into the early afternoon then took some time to read out in the sun. Before I went out in the sun though, I marinated some London Broil so that tonight all I have to do is cook it around 5pm... that gives me an afternoon of rest. We have leftover spanish rice, a salad and bread, so the meat is plenty.

To marinade the meat I tenderized the steak a little bit, and topped it with the following ingredients mixed together, for 4 hours:
2 beef bouillon cubes
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoosn Worcestershire sauce
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
4lbs top round or london broil, flank is fine too

For the herb butter I mixed together the following:
8 tablespoons butter, softened
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoons chopped fresh Basil
2 tablespoon chopped fresh chervil or tarragon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

About 30 minutes before cooking, remove the meat from the marinade, dry it well and bring to room temperature. Heat a large heavy skillet over high heat, about 2 minutes. Rub the steak with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon salt over the surface of the pan; add the meat and set a heavy skillet on top to weigh it down. Sear for about 7 minutes; turn the steak, replace the weight and cook until a thermometer inserted into the side reads 110 degrees for medium-rare, about 5 minutes. For Medium about another 7 - 10 minutes. For a well done I suggest 10 minutes each side... but I like mine medium.

Transfer the steak to a cutting board; brush with some of the herb butter, tent with foil and let rest for about 10 minutes. Thinly slice against the grain; top with more herb butter and drizzle with the pan juices.

Melts in your mouth =)

Long time no blog

It really seems like forever. This week was so hectic, with so many things going on: American Idol in Hollywood for 3 days, my daughter turning 17, My son getting his permit, the street fair in Santee... I really have not cooked for almost a full week and that is sad. Both on my body (I gain weight if I eat out), and my soul. Today I am going massive grocery shopping and I cannot wait to get back in the groove of things.  I still have to make my daughter her cake. We ate out at PF Changs for her birthday on the way home from Hollywood and she had a little mini red velvet cake. But she wants my homemade strawberry cake, so today that will be done. I am cooking a lot of things tonight One of the appetizers I am making for tonight is
Mini Rice Croquettes.
Several events I have been to in the past have had these, I made them once almost 3 years ago and I just randomly felt like making them again:
INGREDIENTS

For the risotto:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup arborio rice
1 cup diced canned tomatoes
2 to 3 cups homemade chicken broth or best-quality fat-free, low-sodium canned chicken broth
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt, or to taste
freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

To make the croquettes:
1-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 large eggs, lightly beaten with a pinch of salt
1-1/2 to 2 cups unseasoned dry bread crumbs
1 (8-ounce) ball of fresh mozzarella
vegetable or olive oil (not extra-virgin) for frying

MAKES 24 TWO-INCH RISOTTO BALLS
 Make the risotto:


Heat the butter and oil in aheavy-bottomed saucepan placed over medium-low heat. When the butter has melted, add the onion and stir to coat thoroughly. Sauté the onion, stirring frequently, for 7 to 8 minutes, until it is soft and translucent. Increase the heat to medium-high and add the wine. Let it bubble for a minute or so, and then stir in the rice. When the liquid has nearly all been absorbed, add the diced tomatoes and stir to combine everything thoroughly.

Reduce the heat to medium and add 2 cups of broth, stirring to combine well. Cook the rice at a gentle simmer, reducing the heat to medium-low if necessary, and stirring often. Taste the rice for doneness after 20 minutes of cooking. It should be tender but still a little firm at the center of each kernel. Add additional broth if necessary.

When the rice is cooked, remove it from the stove and stir in the basil, salt and pepper, and Parmigiano. Let the mixture cool for about 5 minutes before stirring in the lightly beaten eggs, taking care to add the eggs a bit at a time and to stir the mixture vigorously to prevent them from scrambling.

Turn the rice mixture onto a rimmed baking sheet or large glass baking dish and spread it out with a spatula to help it cool quickly. Cover with foil and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

To shape the croquettes:

Place the flour, lightly beaten eggs, and bread crumbs in three separate shallow bowls. Cut the mozzarella into 1/2-inch-thick slices and then cut the slices into 1/2-inch cubes (you may have leftover cheese depending on the individual size of the croquettes).

Remove the rice from the refrigerator and scoop up a rounded tablespoonful into the palm of your hand. Press a cube of mozzarella into the center of the rice and shape the mound into a ball or an oval, making sure that the cheese is completely encased in the center. Roll the rice ball in the flour, gently shaking off the excess. Transfer the rice ball to the bowl of beaten eggs and, using a fork, roll it around to coat it thoroughly. Transfer the croquette to the bowl of bread crumbs and roll it around several times (with your fingers or a fork) until it is thoroughly coated. Place the rice ball on a large rimmed baking sheet or platter.

Continue to make the croquettes in this way until you have used up all the rice; you should have about 24 balls that are slightly larger than golf balls. When you are finished, loosely cover the baking sheet or platter with aluminum foil and refrigerate the croquettes for at least 30 minutes and up to several hours.

To fry the croquettes:
Pour enough vegetable oil into a deep frying pan or straight-sided sauté pan to measure 1 inch. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until it registers 350°F on a candy thermometer. Carefully lower 6 rice balls into the pan and fry them for 3 to 4 minutes, turning them several times for even browning, until they are a deep golden brown. Using a slotted spoon, remove the rice balls to a platter lined with paper towels to drain. (Alternatively, you can place a brown paper shopping bag near the stove and remove the cooked rice balls to the bag to drain before placing them on a serving platter.) Continue until all of the croquettes have been fried.

Arrange the croquettes on a warmed ceramic platter or other decorative platter and serve immediately.
Or just serve them.

Chart House, Sailing, Fundraiser... = Leftovers carne asada burritos

Last night my son Jordan informed me that he has grown out of all but one pair of his jeans. The once "shorty" is now measuring in at 6 feet tall! I cannot believe it. So I am heading out today to pick up some jeans for him, if I can find any. The hard part is his waist is 28 inches and he needs extra long jeans, so that equals big bucks. His jeans cost more than mine!!! Don't you love it how kids tell you AFTER the fact. This same boy of mine makes me PAY him to get a haircut. He refuses to get one without me paying him. Thanks Grandma for starting that tradition.

Tonight we are blessed to have Taylor and Jordan's Grandparents here from out of town. They are the best Grandparents a child could ever wish for. They are coming to take us to dinner tonight at the Chart house on the ocean in Cardiff. So I obviously won't be cooking today Then tomorrow, to hopefully pay them back, we are taking them out on our sailboat for the day. A nice day in the bay with cocktails and great people equals lots of relaxing fun for me. They are coming back and taking the kids to Ontario with them for Friday and Saturday night so they can have quality alone time with their Grandkids. My kids think of them as second parents. You have no idea how thankful I am for them. Roger and Terry... Thank you so much for all you do! You are such a light in this world.

So Friday night I will have been sailing all day and we have so much tri-tip left, I plan on just making quick carne asada burritos (easy peasy)with the leftover meat.
to do this I:

• Cut the meat with a steak knife across into thin strips. Cut across the strips so the meat comes out in small pieces..
• Place the meat in the bowl, and squirt 1 lime juice over it. I let marinade for about 15 minutes, this just makes the cooked meat more tender. Remove the meat from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels.
• Lightly sprinkle the meat with the salt and pepper.
• Get a flour tortilla.
• Place the tortilla on a large plate and put a few heaping tablespoons of the meat in a thick line on the edge closest to you.
• Add some salsa and cheese on top of the line of meat.
• Starting with this edge, roll the tortilla over the meat mixture once. Fold the edges to the right and left of the meat mixture toward each other until they're snug against the roll of meat.
• Continue to roll the tortilla until it becomes a tight cylinder. Repeat with remaining tortillas
• Microwave on 50% power for 3minutes. tada!
• I top mine with sour cream and fresh cilantro.

That is it, that is all you are getting from me until Sunday, because Saturday night is that big fundraiser dinner party... so once again I won't be cooking. Hey, I can't cook if I am not home!  However, I am told the tables and party are going to be amazing and it is being catered, so I will probably blog about that. Happy weekend everyone, cuz mine starts today!!

Margarita Meat

Today FLEW by! By 9am I was down in Miramar with my dear friend Maria buying items for the fundraiser this weekend. I am hosting a table (which means you decorate it and bring dishes, decor etc...) Maria offered to help me, and her friend Janet, who is becoming my friend as well, got us into her wholesale decor place. Long story short, after a morning of shopping, a wonderful lunch at Los Olas (best mexican food), I am prepared for this weekends fundraiser. Then I had to come home and get caught up on work. Life is busy in the dog clothes world. By 4pm I was in a frenzy. My husband who loves to hoard things, struck once again. After 30 minutes of me dragging various items to the curb for tomorrow's trash day, I was ready to take on dinner. Lovely evening, corn is in season... time for tri-tip. All you need is:
Tequila
Salt
Pepper
Cholula
Lime

I had soaked my corn overnight. So this meal took me 30 minutes from start to finish.
 Lightly tenderize the steak. I use my awesome tenderizer It is by Jaccard and it just puts little slits in the meat.

I then pour tequila, probably 1/4 cup over the meat. I rub lightly with rock salt. 1 TB total on both sides. Use the juices of one lime. Sprinkle Cholula seasoning powder and pepper. Marinate while you bringTri-tip to room temperature while heating up the grill. Heat up stove and put 1 TB olive oil in it. Sear each side of tri-tip.

Grill until desired. 5 min each side for rare. 10 min each side Med. 15 min each side for well done.

Corn I have posted before. 20 minutes on the grill. Tada! Dinner.

Ok so it wasn't one of my large gourmet meals. But I had to throw it together quickly. The husband is sick with what I had last weekend... STILL... seems to take him twice as long to heal. So I was the garbage lady, Cook, Business owner, Worker, Fundraiser Queen, Mother and Father today. Hats off.. I am happy with my quick meal. And it was scrumptious.

Kick Sickness Soup

I have been making this mexican spicy soup for a long time now. It really does kick any sickness' rear. The problem is, I tend to be the one sick. I need to make some and freeze it for when I get sick next time. We have been fighting a bad flu bug here. Jordan, Me, Randy have all got it. Taylor is the only one who fought it off... so far. So my appetite is back, but shaky. I am making my soup because it is good, and I know it helps knock out illness.

Here is the tricky part. In the past I never measure. I just add and keep tasting. So I am going to attempt to give you a baseline on how to make it. The base is really simple.
100 oz of chicken broth + 50 oz water in an extra large saucepan.Bring to a boil.
Add 4 Chicken breasts and 2 cups uncooked Jasmine Rice.
1 TB salt
1 TB pepper
1 TB italian seasoning
Cover and cook until chicken is tender and falling apart. (Usually 20 - 30 min)

On the side chop up cilantro, jalepeno, onion, avocado.
Serve up a bowl of the cooked chicken and rice soup, on top put raw jalepeno, cilantro, onion and avocado. Serve immediately.