Mushroom Barley Soup

Tryin' to be a little more present, here on ye olde blog!

Here's some comfort food extraordinaire, perfect for a cold, winter's day. Spring is coming soon! But unfortunately, it's still not here.

So, warm yourselves with a hot, hearty helping of homemade ... soup. (No "h"-word for that, to keep up the alliteration!)

I'd never made Mushroom Barley Soup before, despite having eaten lots of it. It's so simple! It's so good!


Mushroom Barley Soup

Barley:
1-3/4 cups water
pinch of kosher salt
3/4 cup pearled barley

Soup:
2 tablespoons oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large carrot, finely diced
1 large celery stalk, finely diced
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
2 large Portobello mushrooms, chopped
6 ounces white mushrooms, chopped
pinch of red pepper flakes
2-1/2 cups beef broth
1/4 cup red wine
1 tablespoon kosher salt
generous sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon all-purpose seasoning
1 tablespoon soy sauce
sour cream, for serving

Prepare barley: In a small saucepan, bring water and salt to a boil. Stir in barley, cover, lower heat to simmer, and cook for 45 minutes, until water is absorbed and barley is just tender.

Prepare soup: Heat oil over medium-high heat in a soup pot. Add garlic, carrot, celery, and onion; cook for 2 minutes, until vegetables are becoming translucent. Add all the mushrooms and the red pepper flakes; cook, stirring frequently, for 6-7 minutes until the mushrooms are browning.

Add broth, wine, salt, pepper, seasoning, and soy sauce; bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Add barley and simmer for 30 more minutes.

Serve hot, with a dollop of sour cream stirred in.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

A Whole Foods Holiday Giveaway

"This holiday season, Whole Foods Market is placing a spotlight on mushrooms – both wild and cultivated. Want to try some?"

Sure you do!

Of course, I did, too, when my friend Susan at Whole Foods sent me an email containing that very question and offering me a $75 gift card to go shopping with to make beautiful mushroom dishes. She also offered me another $75 card to give away - yes, give away! - to one lucky Food Floozie fan.

Although I know the usual giveaway procedure is designed to get followers on various social media, it's really just an annoying Lady Gaga-ish way to beg for attention; it seems as though you have to "like" 83 pages, follow 192 accounts, and sacrifice a goat at Wrigley Field ... pffft. We keep things simple, here - no fancy kitchen equipment, no exotic ingredients, no Rafflecopter.

So this giveaway is very easy, because my only interest is in making sure that one of my friends gets to go on a Whole Foods shopping spree for the holidays: leave a comment answering a question (see below) ... that's it! The giveaway starts today and will end on Friday, December 6 at 9 a.m. EST; I'll randomly select a winner from the comments (only one comment per person). I'll let the winner know by email, and will need a response by 9 a.m. on Saturday, December 7. If I don't hear by that time, I'll go to the runner-up. I'll need your mailing address (U.S. addresses only), and will get your gift card out to you right away!

Before you go on your mushroom shopping spree, remember that:

- Mushrooms remain freshest when they’re not too dry or too damp
- Refrigerate mushrooms in a paper bag or container that allows cool air to circulate
- Mushrooms absorb water easily and should never be soaked
- Clean mushrooms with a damp cloth or rinse briefly and dry with a towel
- Use a paring knife to trim stems as needed.

Since Whole Foods is featuring mushrooms for the season - everything from the simple and savory to the elegant and exotic - you should go buy a variety and make some of my favorite dishes, or some provided by the chefs at Whole Foods:

Creamy Noodle Kugel with Three Cheeses

Baked Chicken with Morels and Leeks (one of Jeremy's very favorite dishes!)

Roasted Fennel and Mushrooms

Hamburger Gravy with Mashed Redskin Potatoes

Pasta Rags with Fennel and Mushrooms

Mushroom Spinach Pita Sandwiches

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Asparagus Bread Pudding

Quesadillas Italiana

Mushroom Stuffing with Shallots and Fresh Herbs

Wild Mushroom Tart

Mushroom and Gruyère Quiche

Mushroom and Chard Bruschetta

Mushroom Bourguignon

Smoky Mushroom Gratin

Mixed Mushroom Soup

Mushroom and Spinach Breakfast Puffs

Mushroom Crêpes with Creamy Mushroom Filling

Mushroom and Brie Phyllo Bites

So, now, enough blathering! Leave a comment telling me what you might make with your mushroom assortment, and YOU could win a $75 Whole Foods gift card for your holiday shopping! Remember, only one comment per customer, and I'll randomly select a winner on Friday morning. Be sure you leave your email address, so I can contact you.

Good luck!!!

Baked Chicken with Morels and Leeks

Pumpkin Polenta with Sausage, Peppers, and Greens

After indulging in a lot of junk and convenience food lately, I was feeling the need to eat better, to get back to the way I prefer to eat.

Craig would eat burritos or pizza every night of the week; throw in some chicken fried rice for variety, and also his daily bagel, and you've pretty much got his eating regimen. He also likes burgers. He eats like a college kid, which I can personally vouch for 'cause I've got one of them, too. Even though they're both capable of branching out and are both, truth be told, willing to try new things, Jeremy and Craig would happily eat only three foods for the rest of their lives.

I'm not like that. I have a very low boredom quotient, so I almost never want to see the same thing again. Even if I go to a favorite restaurant, I try new dishes. And as much as I like sweets and chips and other stuff I shouldn't eat - and I completely take responsibility for baking and for buying the naughty items at the grocery store! - I also really love simple but sophisticated dishes with spices, vegetables, and other nice things.

And so, for an evening when I was eating and working alone, I had a vision of what I wanted for dinner. It started with the notion of pumpkin, which is ubiquitous now; but I wanted to go beyond pumpkin muffins and such. So I thought of stirring it into polenta, a.k.a. cornmeal mush. (Everything sounds better in Italian!)

To top this warm comfort food, I wanted lots of vegetables - the stuff that Jeremy and Craig are none too keen on. Neither will eat peppers, one will eat only white mushrooms, neither is keen on greens, one can't eat spicy food or have alcohol ... groan. But they weren't having dinner with me and imposing their little quirks! I threw it all into the mix!!!

I'd looked forward to this meal all day long while I was at work. I turned on the tunes and danced a bit as I chopped and stirred, since I had the house to myself. The kitchen smelled amazing as everything bubbled and simmered, and then it was ready. I tasted the dish and it was everything I'd hoped for - comforting, warm, and elegant. Full of nutrition and color and flavor.

A perfect dinner for fall!


Pumpkin Polenta with Sausage, Peppers, and Greens

Sausage:
2 links hot Italian sausage
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, cut into 1" pieces
1 small red pepper, seeded, cored, cut into 1" pieces
8 ounces Baby Bella mushrooms, thickly sliced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
generous pinch red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon garlic paste
1/2 cup white wine
3 cups chopped kale
1 cup baby spinach leaves
freshly grated Parmesan, for serving

Polenta:
1-1/2 cups water
1/2 cup white wine
generous pinch of kosher salt
2/3 cup finely ground yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup pumpkin purée

In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the sausage on all sides; set aside.

Add the oil to the skillet, then add the onion and red pepper; sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softening and starting to caramelize. Add the mushrooms and the salt; sauté for 2 minutes. Add the garlic paste and stir to coat the vegetables. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Add the kale and the spinach, cooking for 5 minutes until most of the liquid has cooked off.

In a medium saucepan, bring the water and the wine to a boil with the salt. Turn heat down to medium-low, then slowly whisk in the cornmeal; cook for 1 minute, until thick. Whisk in the pumpkin.

To serve, place a generous dollop of polenta onto a plate, then top with the sausage mixture; sprinkle with Parmesan.

Serves 2 generously.

Detroit-Style Pizza

I read an article in the Detroit Free Press recently that talked about how pizza from this area is starting to get recognition around the country. Everyone knows the famous New York City foldable slice that I grew up eating, the Chicago deep-dish pie, and the unconventional and quirky toppings of California-style pizza.

But pizza from Detroit? Huh? Don't they call that Little Caesar's or Domino's, both of which were founded here in Michigan?

Not exactly.

The newfangled pizzas were apparently first made in this area at Buddy's Pizza (then called "Buddy's Rendezvous") in 1946. The unusual style, and its immense popularity, inspired others to copy it and perfect it. The pizza has subsequently evolved and become very distinctive and unbelievably good. It really is its own unique, savory entity.

So, after all of this preamble, what, precisely, is Detroit-style pizza???

Well, here are its characteristics:

• It's square, not round. Corners are prized.

• It's baked in a deep pan, so it's very thick.  But while the interior of the crust is soft and light, the exterior is crisp.

• The toppings and the cheese are distributed over the entire crust, without leaving a bare edge. This allows the cheese that touches the pan to become chewy, crunchy, and caramelized as it bakes.

• Most of the sauce is spread over the cheese, rather than lying under it. This makes it less liquid, and thus better integrated with the toppings rather than being a separate layer that the cheese will just slide off of.

Brandon Hunt, co-owner with his brother, Zane, of VIA 313: Authentic Detroit Style Pizza in Austin, was quoted in the Free Press article: "When you grow up in Detroit, you just think that's pizza ... that everybody knows it. But it's really a Detroit thing. It's great, and we thought people should be able to experience it."

Shawn Randazzo, of the Detroit Style Pizza Co., won the 2012 Las Vegas International Pizza Expo with a Detroit-style pizza, a first for the competition. Jeff Smokevitch, raised in a Detroit suburb but now making his hometown's unique pizza at his Brown Dog Pizza in Telluride, Colorado, came in 2nd overall in this year's contest.

To see if Detroit-style pizza is available near you, or to learn more about this growing phenomenon, check out Shawn Randazzo's DetroitStylePizza.com.

Or make the pizza in the picture at the top of this post. You know you want some!


Detroit-Style Pizza

Crust:

• 2 packets quick-rise yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1-1/2 cups warm water, divided
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 3-1/2 cups unbleached flour
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 cup oil

In a large mixing bowl, combine yeast, sugar, and 3/4 cup water; let proof for 10 minutes. Stir in remaining water, salt, 3 cups flour, and garlic powder. Mix well. Turn dough out onto a countertop and knead in the remaining 1/2 cup flour until a soft dough forms.

Place the oil in another large mixing bowl. Place the dough into it, turning to coat the dough thoroughly with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a dish towel; let rise for 1 hour until doubled.

Punch down dough and place into a greased 9"x13" metal baking pan (the darker the better). Press dough to edges of pan, cover with plastic wrap and a dish towel; let rise for 1 hour until doubled.

Sauce:

• 1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons pesto
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• generous sprinkling of red pepper flakes
• pinch of kosher salt

Combine all ingredients.

Toppings:

• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 4 ounces ham, chopped
• 4 ounces fresh mushrooms, chopped
• 2 cups baby spinach leaves, chopped
• 4 ounces fresh mozzarella, chopped
• 8 ounces mozzarella, shredded

Preheat oven to 425F. Spread a very thin layer of the sauce over the dough.

Sprinkle each of the toppings over the sauce, spreading all the way to the edges. Drizzle just a bit more sauce over the toppings.

Sprinkle both cheeses over the top of the pizza, all the way to the edges.

Spread the rest of the sauce over the cheese and mix the sauce and cheese together just a bit.

Bake for 30 minutes until cheese is melted and golden, and edges are caramelized and crisp. Let cool for 5 minutes before cutting.

Makes 8-12 generous slices.

Kasha Varnishkes Soup for National Mushroom Day

I'm a mushroom lover with a history of being surrounded by mushroom haters. Jeremy has only just found affection for them; of course, even he chuckles that his new enjoyment is for morels and truffles, among the most expensive varieties available! And I used to go out with someone who would only eat small amounts of the little white button mushrooms, nothing with more flavor ... groan.

So when Craig told me that he loves "chopped liver and a good mushroom barley soup," I was just tickled. A little bit of "meh" on the former, but I'm very happy about the latter. There's a lot to be said for going out with a nice Jewish boy whose level of observance is far less than my own weird hybrid of practice, but who at least knows and enjoys the requisite foods!

That is, until I found out that Craig only likes raw mushrooms. While he promised to try the soup if I made one, and even sounded enthusiastic about it, he also presumed he would pick out the mushrooms and generously donate them to my own bowl ... aaauuuggghhh!!!

But I was determined to cook a version of mushroom soup in honor of today's "holiday," National Mushroom Day. You know me, though - I can't just leave things alone. There are lots of recipes for good ol'-fashioned mushroom barley soup, so that simply had to be tinkered with.

I thought of another classic Jewish dish, Kasha Varnishkes: buckwheat groats that are cooked in broth and traditionally served with bow tie pasta and, sometimes, mushroom gravy. While buckwheat is not actually a grain, it is reminiscent of one; so it seemed reasonable to substitute it for barley in a mushroom soup.

So I cooked up the kasha, added lots of mushrooms, added extra liquid beyond what the buckwheat would absorb, and added pasta ... and there it was, Kasha Varnishkes Soup! A little beer added some depth to the flavor. This is perfect for a cold, fall day.


Kasha Varnishkes Soup

Please note that this is not kosher, since it mixes butter and beef broth. (Butter has better flavor than any of its substitutes.) You can make whatever accommodations suit your fancy - oil or margarine, using only vegetable broth, etc. - to honor the dietary laws.

• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2/3 cup kasha (buckwheat groats)
• 1 egg white
• 4 ounces white button mushrooms, halved, sliced
• 10 ounces baby Portabella mushrooms, halved, sliced
• 1 cup beer
• 16 ounces vegetable broth
• 16 ounces beef broth
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• generous sprinkling freshly ground black pepper
• pinch of sugar
• splash of soy sauce
• 1-1/2 cups bow-tie pasta, pre-cooked
• sour cream for serving, optional

Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan, and cook the onion over medium-low heat for 15 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, until lightly caramelized. Remove onions from saucepan and reserve.

Combine kasha and egg white until kasha is thoroughly coated; add to saucepan, and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes until the kasha is toasty and has separated into individual grains.

Add the remaining butter to the saucepan; add the onions and both kinds of mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes, until the mushrooms have softened. Add the beer, both broths, salt, pepper, sugar, and soy sauce; bring to a boil, then cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the pasta and cook 5 more minutes.

Serve hot, with sour cream if desired.

Serves 6-8.

Beef Stroganoff - Progresso Recipe Starter

I received a very generous gift last week, that couldn't have come at a better time. Progresso has a new line of products, called Recipe Starters; they're prepared sauces which only need the addition of meat, vegetables, maybe a pinch of this or that ... et voilà! Dinner is served.

In the height of the final crush at work before the High Holidays (Rosh Hashanah, which just ended last night, and the upcoming Yom Kippur and Sukkot), I've worked long hours and 6-day weeks. Dinner has not exactly been a priority! Potato chips and blue cheese dip had become standard fare. Yeah, I know better; I have lots of fruits and vegetables on hand, I have a beloved crockpot ... it just wasn't happening.

So along came the big box of dinner assistance - yay!!! I sauteed, chopped just a bit, stirred, and sat down to a lovely hot dinner of Beef Stroganoff. Jeremy helped me to polish it off, and we both ate very well with minimal fuss.

I still love my chips 'n' dip, but a hearty, substantial meal was really, really nice ... :)


Our giveaway winner for tickets to Saturday night's CRUSH Birmingham, the fundraiser for The Children's Leukemia Foundation of Michigan, is Paul Kittle - Mazal Tov!!!


Check 'em out on AnnArbor.com:
Yesterday: Brown Sugar Baked Bananas
Today: Raspberry Coffee Cake


Beef Stroganoff à la Progresso

• 1-1/4 pounds ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 6 roasted garlic cloves, chopped
• 8 ounces small white mushrooms, sliced
• 1 18-ounce can Progresso Recipe Starters Creamy Portabella Mushroom Cooking Sauce
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• pinch of freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• generous splash of Tabasco sauce
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• prepared noodles, for serving

In a large saucepan, brown the ground beef over medium heat; drain.  Add the onion, garlic, and mushrooms; saute until vegetables are tender.

Combine Progresso cooking sauce, salt, pepper, mustard and Tabasco sauce; pour over ground beef and cook for 10 minutes over medium-high heat, to thicken sauce a bit.  Stir in sour cream and cook 5 more minutes.

Place noodles onto a serving platter, then top with stroganoff.

Serves 4-6.

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms - Be Our Guest!

Today, I'm offering a guest post from my friend Cindy of Once Upon a Loaf.  She's a former Ann Arborite, so that alone would make her cool!  That she's also too much fun, devoted an entire week to celebrating both her birthday and the glorious PB&J, and is just a fabulous person ... well, all the better for me and for all of you who are about to meet her!


First, I'd like to heap an enormous amount of thanks on the Food Floozie for asking me to guest post for her today. I could not be more thankful that I have connected with her through food, and found a new friend in the process. My family has followed Mary via her column for some time, and when my mother first turned me onto her I was, I admit, a bit intimidated by the thought of contacting her. I was in the process of launching Once Upon a Loaf and wanted to be taken seriously - just wasn't ready yet. She had it all, in my mind - she was funny, talented, endearing - and I can say now that I was dead-on about the Floozie. Thank goodness I eventually chucked my self-consciousness and can now enjoy her irreverence almost at will.

Things have been getting hairy around Casa Loaf - spring school, sports and extra-curricular activities for the kids, work and personal travel for their parents, races for me and the approaching boating, lawn care and gardening season have all converged on a super highway of busy-ness around here. You likely have your own highway running through the middle of your life.

As a result, I recently started searching for meatless weeknight meals that pull together in a snap - when I'm short on time, I don't want to have to chop and mix 100 different ingredients and clean up 10 different pans. I'd like plenty of real nutritional value, please - I won't trust my meatless ventures to a mysteriously manufactured commercial veggie option. I'd also like it to wow me with flavor, thank you. And since I'm training for marathon and half-marathon season and want to up my family's fiber intake at the same time, I want to focus on whole grains.

Enter portobello mushrooms and bulgur. I've got a love affair going with the former and had a box of the latter in my kitchen cabinet, intending to research recipes to start adding to the rotation using it, as I'd been reading up on its nutritional benefits (check out this article for a decent overview on bulgur if you're not well-versed). I'm also looking for iron via leafy, dark greens like spinach and kale.

With that, I'd like to introduce you to Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms with Feta and Almonds - not too many ingredients, and the mushrooms can be roasted while the bulgar simmers on the stove. Feta, chopped, roasted almonds (use slivered if you're really in a rush) and scallions kick things up a notch, and a salad of simple greens (spinach and kale here) with lemon and olive oil accompany it perfectly. If you'd like to add a bread component, pair these with Pesto Parmesan Dinner Rolls, made from a cold-rise dough that can be refrigerated overnight, and left to rise while you prepare the portos and greens.

Voila!

A hearty and healthy weeknight dinner is now served.

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms with Feta and Almonds

Approx prep: 25 minutes Bake: 10 minutes (mushrooms) Serves: 5

INGREDIENTS

Mushrooms:
1 cup bulgur
2 chicken boullion cubes
3/4 cup chopped, roasted almonds
4 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green portions separated)
1 tsp dried thyme
Kosher salt, black pepper (to taste)
4-5 large portobello mushrooms
4 TBSP olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 cup feta cheese

Greens:

2 TBSP fresh lemon juice

6 cups mixed greens

1/2 English or miniature cucumber, thinly sliced

PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 400° F. Cook bulgur according to package directions but add two chicken bouillon cubes and stir occasionally as it's simmering to ensure bouillon disolves completely.

2. Transfer cooked bulgur to a bowl, cool completely. Chop scallions and almonds.

3. Add white portions of scallions, almonds and thyme to bulgur. Add kosher salt and pepper to taste.

4. Place mushrooms (stems removed) on a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil. Rub with oil and season with kosher salt and pepper. Roast, stem-side up, until tender - about 15-18 minutes.

5. Divide bulgur mixture evenly and fill with bulgur mixture, sprinkle with feta. Return to oven and roast until warmed through, about 2-3 minutes more.

6. In a large bowl, whisk together lemon juice, remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and 1/4 tsp each of kosher salt and pepper. Add greens and cucumber and toss to combine. Sprinkle mushrooms with scallion greens and drizzle with olive oil. Serve with greens.

Recipe adapted from Real Simple magazine.

Baked Chicken with Morels and Leeks

Morel mushrooms are prized for their deep, rich taste; their appearance in specialty markets is practically an announcement in Michigan that "Spring is here!"

So when I found some available recently, I bought a few.  Just a few - they cost $50 per pound!  But for a couple of judiciously-spent dollars, it's possible to splurge a bit on an extraordinary flavor accent.

I found some beautiful chicken thighs on sale, and I had some leeks and a splash of half-and-half loitering in my refrigerator; these inexpensive and ready ingredients combined with the few morels to make a simple but delicious dish.

The chicken, having baked in cream, is fork-tender.  The sauce is luscious, and lets the leeks and the morels shine without either one overpowering any other ingredient.

This would be fabulous for brunch or for a simple weekend meal; it's ideal to serve for a romantic evening.  Enjoy this truly delicious meal, and feel as though you're indulging in luxury.

Baked Chicken with Morels and Leeks

• 3 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 8" length of leek, ends trimmed. halved lengthwise, sliced thin
• 4 large morel mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 6 chicken thighs

Preheat oven to 375F.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add leeks and cook for 2 minutes, until softened.  Add morels, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add half-and-half; cook for 2 minutes.

Melt remaining tablespoon of butter in a large skillet.  Season chicken with remaining salt, then cook for 5 minutes per side until golden brown.  Place chicken into a baking dish and top with cream sauce.  Bake for 35 minutes until chicken is tender and sauce is bubbling.

Serve with rice, pasta or potatoes to soak up the creamy sauce.  Serves 4-6.

(With many thanks to my friend and ex-sister-in-law Marjie for the beautiful blue ceramic trivet under the dish of chicken, which references the Dione Lucas Gourmet Cooking School Cookbook.  Dione Lucas was a predecessor to, and influence upon, Julia Child; she was the first female graduate of Le Cordon Bleu and the first woman to be featured in a cooking show on television.)

Hamburger Gravy with Mashed Redskin Potatoes

Please note that this was written ahead of time, as I wouldn't be able to function if I didn't prepare at least one week ahead rather than trying to find time to post every single day! But sadly, the man I'm writing about - who was doing so beautifully just 2 weeks ago - has died quite unexpectedly; his funeral was held yesterday morning. And I'm sorry to say that our patient never got to try his requested dish ... just after I prepared this meal, freezing it to bring for the next visit, he went back into the hospital and subsequently passed away ....

The same patient whom I wrote about yesterday - who'd been in the hospital for 6 weeks, followed by weeks of rehab before finally coming home to continued therapies and a goal of regaining strength and weight - specifically requested today's featured dish: Hamburger Gravy. I'd asked him what would encourage him to eat, and this is what immediately came to mind.

But I'd never heard of it. "You mean, a hamburger patty with a gravy over it?"

An emphatic "No."

"It's hamburger - ground beef - cooked in a gravy. And it's served over mashed potatoes."

And so, I set about figuring out how to make this with just that brief description.

I'd considered adding peas and carrots, in an effort to boost the nutritional value; that was pooh-poohed immedately. This dish is not about vegetables, but about comfort. (Those colorful, healthy things can go on the side, but not in the main dish!)

Mushrooms seemed a natural addition, though, to help boost the flavor of the gravy; because of medicine interactions, I wasn't using red wine (which I would normally have used instinctively).

Pour everything over mashed redskin potatoes, with the skins adding color and texture. And, of course, they have to be lumpy - real potatoes for real food.

And I have to say that this is inspired - I loved it! It's perfect hearty, soul-soothing food, and will be even more appreciated on a cold wintery Michigan evening just a few months from now ....

Hamburger Gravy with Mashed Redskin Potatoes

Hamburger Gravy:
1-1/2 pounds ground chuck
8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
1 small red onion, chopped
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cups beef stock (or red wine or a combination thereof)
3 generous splashes cayenne pepper sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons water
1/2 cup chopped parsley

In a Dutch oven, cook the ground chuck over medium heat until mostly browned; drain. Add the mushrooms and onion and saute until the vegetables are softened, Add the salt, seasoned salt and pepper; cook for 5 more minutes. Add the stock and pepper sauce, and bring to a boil. Combine the cornstarch and water; add to the gravy and boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the parsley.

Mashed Potatoes:
1 3-pound bag redskin potatoes
1/2 cup butter
1-1/2 cups skim milk
3 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Bring a stockpot of salted water to a boil. Cut the potatoes into halves, and cook for 15 minutes or until fork-tender; drain. Partially mash the potatoes, then add the butter, milk, salt and pepper. Continue to mash the potatoes until they become somewhat creamy but retain chunks of potato rather than being smooth.

Place a generous scoop of potatoes in a deep bowl, then pour hamburger gravy over the top.

Serves 4-6.

Pasta "Rags" with Fennel, Mushrooms and Spinach

This, if I may say so myself, was an absolutely stellar meal! I would have devoured the entire thing in one sitting, except that I really wanted to be able to savor leftovers at work the next day ... thus, restraint and patience were required.

Pasta "rags" are merely broken pieces of lasagna noodles -- a thrifty way to use up scraps rather than having them go to waste. I didn't happen to have any crumbled bits, so I simply broke them up myself specifically for this dish.

Now, I know that telling someone you're serving "rags" is hardly enticing! So let's call it by its Italian name; the Italians and the French ... man, they can make anything sound good, can't they???

Okay, here goes: Stracci di Pasta con Finocchio, i Funghi e Gli Spinaci. And this is how it's pronounced: [STRAH-chee dee PAHS-tuh kohn feen-OH-kyoh ee FOON-ghee ay lyee speen-AH-chee]

Trust me -- as convoluted as that looks, it is a gorgeous thing when said properly! But I make no claims to being able to say it well myself; I can say it, but not like an Italian can. So let's just shorten it to "Stracci di Pasta" and make it easier on ourselves!

Anyway, this dish came about because I had a fennel bulb, 3 mushrooms, and a handful of Farmers' Market spinach to use up before they rotted ... and you know how quickly these things can turn on a girl. Amazing how the whole can so fabulously exceed the sum of the parts!

Listen to some gorgeous melodramatic Italian opera while you're cooking, and then enjoy your dinner with a lovely glass of wine. You, too, can feel transported to Italy by the vibrant and seductive flavors of this dish ....

Stracci di Pasta con Finocchio, i Funghi e Gli Spinaci

6 whole wheat lasagna noodles, broken into 2" pieces
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 small fennel bulb, stalks removed, halved, sliced thin
3 white mushrooms, halved, sliced
2 cups chopped spinach leaves
1/4 cup pesto
parmesan cheese, for serving

Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat oil, red pepper flakes, and garlic in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add fennel and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fennel softens. Add mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly golden. Add spinach and cook just until wilted.

Add pesto to drained lasagna noodles and stir to coat well, then stir in vegetables. Serve immediately, topped with parmesan cheese.

Serves 2 generously.

Mushroom Spinach Pita Sandwiches

Well, I told you that I wouldn't entirely do away with vegetarian dinner options! And I also told you that I was planning to make use of sale items and Manager's Specials (those items on the verge of passing their "sell by" date which are still good but are deeply discounted) now that I don't have to worry about kosher symbols.

When I went shopping to stock my new kitchen, I was thrilled to find a pound of white buttom mushrooms practically begging me to buy them as they wore their orange "Manager's Special" sticker. $1.50 ... yup, in perfect condition at less than half-price! I also bought a 10-ounce tub -- truly, it's huge! -- of fresh baby spinach that shone with the tell-tale sticker: $3 for what would normally cost $6.

I had bought Dijon mustard on a whim at the dollar store, and I'd received a gift of wine a few weeks ago (see recipe for details). Complete the meal with nutritious whole wheat pita breads that cost $1 for 6, and I feasted for virtually no money!

Mushroom Spinach Pita Sandwiches

1 tablespoon butter
4 large mushrooms, halved, sliced
2 tablespoons white wine
2 cups baby spinach leaves
pinch of kosher salt
Dijon mustard
1 whole wheat pita, halved
1 large slice Swiss cheese

Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat, then add the mushrooms; saute until softening, then add the wine (I used FlipFlop Wines Riesling, from the very generous package I'd been sent to taste and to cook with), and continue sauteing until the liquid has been absorbed.

Add the spinach and the salt to the skillet, and cook until the spinach is wilted.

Schmear some of the mustard onto the pita bread; place half of the cheese into each pita half. Divide the spinach mixture among the pita halves, and serve immediately.

Serves 1 if you can't be bothered gathering up anything else; serves 2 if you supplement the sandwich with carrot sticks or chips or something on the side.

Vegetable Cheese Mina

My traditional first-night-of-Passover dinner is usually based around lamb patties: I simply mix ground lamb with sauteed leeks and a little salt and pepper, then cook them up (broil, grill, fry) depending upon the weather and my own personal whims. Jeremy adores them, but he wasn't joining me this year as it was his dad's birthday and they were celebrating together. And in the vegetarian kitchen I currently have access to, I couldn't have lamb anyway.

So, what to serve???

How 'bout a mina?

A mina [MEE-nah] is a lasagna-ish dish of Sephardic (Jews descended from those who were banished during the Spanish Inquisition) tradition, made of layered matzot with any variety of fillings in between them; minas can be meat or vegetarian. I make a fabulous one that's completely and utterly treyf ([TRAYF] = non-kosher) that is essentially a Reuben casserole: rye matzah, sauerkraut, Thousand Island dressing, Swiss cheese, corned beef, 3 times over and then topped with more cheese.

One of my proudest moments, in a weird sort of way, came when I made that particular dinner one night for Jeremy and his buddy Doug. I gave them each a serving, and they ooh-ed and ahh-ed over it, devouring it. When I told them that they could have seconds they leapt up, pushed through a narrow entryway between a wall and a counter that led into the kitchen, and shoved each other (playfully, of course!) to compete for more. They were goofy, but they showed me how much they loved the dish!

But in lieu of lamb or corned beef, I took some beautiful Portobello mushrooms, a bright red pepper, and some fresh baby spinach and worked some wonders with them to make a colorful and delicious meal. I sauteed the vegetables, and I put together a lovely cheese sauce using more of the flipflop Pinot Grigio I'd recently been given for tasting and marketing purposes. I layered everything between matzot, baked it up, and had created a creamy, luscious masterpiece!

I have to note that flipflop wines supports a fabulous charity called Soles4Souls, which purchases shoes for poor children around the world enabling them to avoid injury and, especially, to walk to school. For each bottle of flipflop wine purchased, Soles4Souls will distribute a pair of shoes to someone in need -- up to 100,000 pairs in the first year of the partnership. You know what a bleeding heart I am -- how could I not love this???

And I also love my new Passover mina. While I admit that it's a bit labor- and dish-intensive, it really is worth the time!

Vegetable Cheese Mina

Cheese Sauce

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons potato starch or flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated pepper
1 cup skim milk
1 cup white wine
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan + 1/4 cup cheese needed to finish the dish

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the potato starch and cook for 1 minute. Add the salt and pepper, then slowly add the milk and the wine until incorporated. Cook until the sauce starts to thicken, whisking frequently, then stir in the cheese. Keep warm.


Vegetable-Cheese Filling

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small red onion, chopped
1 small red pepper, chopped
3 ounces Portobello mushrooms, chopped
2 cups baby spinach leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup cottage cheese

Heat the oil and the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, red pepper, and mushrooms, cooking until the vegetables are softened. Add the spinach, salt and pepper; cook just until the spinach is wilted.


Combine the vegetables with the cottage cheese in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.


Matzot

3 eggs
1/4 cup white wine
4 plain matzot

Grease an 8"x8" baking dish. Place the eggs and the wine into another 8"x8" baking dish and combine them well. Soak one matzah in the egg mixture for 1 minute, flipping it over midway. Place the matzah into the greased baking dish.


Spread one-third of the vegetable filling over the matzah.


Drizzle 1/3 cup of the sauce over the vegetable filling.


Soak another matzah in the same manner, and place it over the vegetable filling. Spread another 1/3 of the filling over the matzah, and drizzle another 1/3 cup of the sauce over everything. Repeat one more time with the egg-soaked matzah, filling and sauce. Soak the last matzah in the egg mixture, and place on top. (Don't worry if you break a matzah -- it's all just going to get covered in sauce, then cut and served, anyway!)


Pour the rest of the egg mixture over everything, 'cause we don't waste anything in my kitchen! And pour the remaining sauce over the top of that.


Place the prepared mina onto a large baking sheet to catch any drips, and bake for 30 minutes. Sprinkle the last 1/4 cup of parmesan over the top, and bake for 5 more minutes until everything is bubbling and golden.


Remove from the oven and let the mina rest for 10 minutes before cutting. Cut into 6 pieces and serve warm.

Begging for Votes, Votes, and More Votes!!!

I've been a bit of a slacker with my cooking contests in recent years, due to a significant lack of time (and, admittedly, sometimes a lack of inspiration). But I'm trying to get ye olde groove back again.

So when my friend Angela of Foodie Road Show told me about the Blogger Mushroom Recipe Challenge -- in which the very generous Marx Foods would send me samples of dried mushrooms to then use in creating a masterpiece, with a very fine prize awaiting the winner at the end of the event -- I thought it sounded like a fabulous opportunity.

First I took care of the recipe part of the contest: Fried Eggs with Bacon and Mushrooms in Cheese Sauce.

Now it's time for the voting part!

Point-blank, I'm begging for votes. On my knees, hands pressed together as I plead and grovel, begging for votes.

The poll will be on the Marx Foods blog starting at 6 a.m. Pacific time today, and will close on Friday at midnight. You can vote only once, it seems; and you can only vote once per IP address. As the company explains it: "That means that if you vote from work, for example, (depending on your network setup), your co-worker will not also be able to vote if they share the same IP address. They will, however, be able to vote from home. Just an FYI." So make sure not to lose your chance!

So, what can I win??? In addition to glory -- always a nice perk! -- I could win 3 shipments of fresh mushrooms (which I love!) and eligibility to compete in the "Ridiculously Delicious Contest" in December. "Now, what is the 'Ridiculously Delicious Contest'? We don’t know yet. We’re still trying to decide on something ridiculously big enough and awesomely delicious enough to be worthy of the name." But it sounds pretty impressive, doesn't it??? Please help me to get there, whatever it might be!

Marx Foods is also hosting a random drawing for anyone who's interested in entering. The prize for that contest will be pretty amazing too: an order of Fresh Truffles.

So go to the Marx Foods blog and please VOTE FOR ME!!! Enter the random drawing for your own sample of their fabulous mushrooms. Then after that, you can ...

Email this to all your loved ones.

Post it on Facebook.

Tweet this.

Stumble upon it.

Send it along on any social media you can think of that I'm too much of a Neoluddite to be aware of.

Many thanks, ahead of time, for any love and support you can show me! I'll let you know the results as soon as I know them myself ....

Monday Morning Mushroom Mania

I happen to love mushrooms -- love them. I'll saute them and put them into omelettes, stir them into cream sauces for pasta, eat them deep fried ... and I feel very deprived, because I don't get to eat them very often. Unfortunately, the men in my life -- Tom and Jeremy -- aren't fans. Jeremy will eat them on pizza, if there's enough cheese to bury them; and Tom defends himself that he likes white button mushrooms, but he won't eat anything stronger or more exotic.

So, what was I supposed to do when I received a box of dried mushrooms from Marx Foods in order to participate in their Blogger Mushroom Recipe Challenge??? (The Challenge involves creating a recipe, posting it, waiting to hear if it's been chosen as a finalist, then begging everyone to vote for it if it's been selected.) My goal, pure and simple, was to make something that Jeremy and Tom might take a bite of without then grabbing their throats, gagging, and pretending that they were about to keel over and die.

A wide variety of ideas meandered through my brain. I fixated for quite some time on a combination of mushrooms and figs: a sauce of fig jam with sauteed mushrooms, served over chicken or steak? A savory bread pudding with sauteed mushrooms, with dollops of fig jam swirled throughout and topped with a good Swiss or Parmesan? This notion is still calling to me, so stay tuned for further experiments.

And then the project veered towards something more familiar, a tweaking of comfort food. Meatloaf, perhaps? It's a favorite of both my "boys". But then my fevered brain went into overdrive again: mushroom gravy? marinara sauce with mushrooms? mix mushrooms into the ground beef, or combine them with cheese for an ooey gooey filling? Too many options, too many ideas, too little direction.

Then on Thursday morning, I read a New York Times article about food in Bilbao, Spain. Apparently "chef Eneko Atxa, who trained with Martin Berasategui, delivers a jolt: a 'reverse egg,' a yolk whose interior has been replaced with black truffle."

And that led to an epiphany: take out the yolk of a fried egg, replace it with a mushroom mixture of some sort, and create a yellow-ish sauce with the yolks to pour over the lump of mushrooms to resemble a yolk. It started to come together ... bacon, of course ... good cheddar ... toast ... possibly hash browns. I just needed to quit my job and rush off to cook. But alas, I had to wait until I got home despite enthusiasm and creativity swirling through me.

I soaked the porcini mushrooms until they were tender. I separated the eggs. I grated cheese. I chopped onions and bacon. I used up a lot of dishes and saucepans as I tinkered and tweaked, which precluded having any available space to make hash browns (though I definitely support Tom's idea to serve this on potatoes). I toasted some rye bread. And there it was -- my idea having come to fruition.

I plated the dish and brought it to Jeremy; Tom was at home that evening, so he wasn't available to be a co-guinea pig. Much to his credit, Jeremy didn't wrinkle his nose or roll his eyes at the presentation. And he didn't just sniff and nibble and refuse my offering.

He cut the egg in half and said that he thought it would be good to plop the egg onto the bread to make an open-faced sandwich.

And then he opened wide and bit in, as I waited anxiously for some semblance of a positive response ... or at least a polite and courteous negative response. In all honesty, I was waiting for him to start an Oscar-worthy performance as he retched and gasped for his last breath, accusing me of poisoning him.

But to my surprise -- actually, to my utter shock and amazement! -- this is what Jeremy said to me (edited slightly for a family-friendly audience):

"You know you're not getting any of this, don't you? This is f***ing DELICIOUS!!!"

So, there you have it -- my son's rousing and whole-hearted endorsement of a food he normally loathes and rejects. Mushrooms ... my son ate mushrooms. And he enjoyed them. He loved them! He refused to share them! And he devoured every morsel on his plate ... after eating a sandwich, no less. Jeremy was determined that we would have no mushroom left behind.

The recipe is going to seem more complicated than it actually is -- it's really very easy to put together. Whether you serve it for breakfast, for a light lunch or a supper is up to you. But do serve it. Either you'll be rewarding those who love mushrooms already, or you'll be converting those who don't realize that they do ....

Fried Eggs with Bacon and Mushrooms in Cheese Sauce

1 1/2-ounce packet Marx Foods dried Porcini mushrooms
1 cup boiling water
3 strips bacon, chopped fine
1/2 small red onion, chopped fine
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
pinch of kosher salt
pinch of freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup skim milk
4 eggs, separated
1/4 cup shredded white cheddar cheese
1/4 cup shredded orange cheddar cheese
4 slices caraway rye toast, buttered, each slice halved

Break up the dried mushrooms and place them into a bowl.

Cover with the boiling water and let rest for 30 minutes.

Place the butter into a small saucepan and melt it over medium heat. Whisk in the flour until well combined, then whisk in the seasoned salt, salt and pepper.

Slowly whisk in the milk and the egg yolks until smooth, and bring just to a boil.

Lower heat to simmer, then whisk in the cheeses until smooth and thickened. Keep warm, stirring occasionally.

Drain and finely chop the mushrooms.

In a large skillet, saute the bacon for 2-3 minutes. Add the onion and saute for another 2-3 minutes, until the onions are tender. Add the mushrooms and saute for 2 minutes; place mixture into a small bowl and set aside.

In the same skillet, carefully place the egg whites so that they don't touch each other; it's easiest to do this 2 at a time.

Cook just until the outer portion is set but the center is still soft; place 1/4 cup of the bacon mixture over the center of each egg white.

Cook for 1 minute, then place one bacon-topped egg white onto each of 4 plates. Spoon a scant 1/3 cup of sauce over the mushroom mixture, to resemble the yolk of a fried egg. Drizzle any excess sauce around the plates once the eggs are ready.

Serve immediately, with toast. And if you have both the time and the inclination, placing the egg over some nice crispy hash browns would likely be a perfect touch.

Serves 4.