dinner @Tate's / june 2013

Cook, cook, cook...eat, eat, eat...

and it's a bajillion degrees in this house with no real air conditioning!

Is it worth it?

Of course it is.

LOVE hearing everyone at the table chatting and laughing and then the moments of silence when someone takes a bite and encourages all others to do so.

...perfect...

Here was the June dinner...

We started with a mushroom bruschetta,

And an avocado, lime soup with fresh crab, red radishes and cilantro,

Next up was a spicy grilled shrimp served with a traditional risotto and some kale chips,

Also a Tilapia with paper thin slices of potato baked until crispy and delicious,

Another photo of the Kale chips which everyone MUST try soon,

I also tested this recipe for a kale and zucchini bread pudding which I have made 3 times since this dinner - I will get that recipe up very soon,

Finally it's time for dessert,

Some lemon curd filled thumbprint cookies,

Some Florentine cookies,

And a bittersweet chocolate Cremeux served with raspberry coulis, fresh berries and a little touch of fresh cream,

WHEW

Until next time...

cream of mushroom soup

I love soups.
All kinds.
But I'm quickly losing the window of opportunity for making soups for dinner so I'm going to try and cram a bunch in this week. (we'll see how this goes)


First is this mushroom soup I found on Pinterest yesterday.

Just so happened that I had all needed ingredients so I figured why not.
Family loved it. I loved it because it was delicious and because it was surprisingly quick to make. Love those kinds of recipes.


The original recipe is from 'Season with Spice' but I will post here as I made it last night. And there was only enough for two bowls! If you need to feed more you will need to double or triple what is listed below.


YOU WILL NEED:


tablespoon olive oil
tablespoon butter
2 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms - I use Shitaake (it's what I had)
4 cloves of garlic - chopped
2 teaspoons dried thyme 
2 teaspoons worcestershire
2 tablespoons flour
1 bay leaf
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
salt
pepper


TO DO:


chop all the mushrooms and garlic first.
set aside.
heat the oil and butter.
add the garlic and cook until the edges just start to turn brown.
add the mushrooms and cook until all the liquid is evaporated.
add the thyme and worcestershire.
cook another few minutes then add the chicken broth and flour.
let this come to a bubbling simmer (I know - terrible description)
then add the milk and cream and nutmeg.
cook for 10 minutes.
add a teaspoon of salt and pepper then taste for seasoning.
adjust as needed.
serve immediately.

Mushroom Bruschetta

Tate had her first day of first grade yesterday.

Rather than sit in the parking lot and cry all morning like I did when she started kindergarten I came home looking for something to do.....pretty much anything to distract my little breaking heart.

(yes...I really did cry all morning that first day of kindergarten)

My baby is growing up too fast.

Okay...back to why I'm here.

Mushroom Bruschetta is another one of those dishes I saw on some crazy cooking show and decided I needed to make it. Of course I can't remember the name of the show nor could I find the recipe on-line but how hard could it be?

Let's use a little imagination.

I can do this.

This was quick and easy to pull together and perfect for a day that I did not have the mental dynamic to follow a complicated recipe. 

It was also surprisingly filling for what I thought was just going to be a little appetizer.

YOU WILL NEED:

1 baguette

good extra virgin olive oil

1 portobello mushroom

10 oz of some other types of mushrooms  

(I used a mix of button and cremini)

4 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 

(more if you want more heat)

salt

pepper

fresh thyme for garnish

fresh parsley for garnish

freshly grated parmesan cheese for garnish

TO DO:

By the way...that 10 oz of mushrooms came out to around 4 cups - chopped.

Finely chop all the mushrooms - portobello included.

Finely chop the garlic cloves.

Slice the baguette in a diagonal pattern about a half inch thick.

Warm a couple turns of olive oil in a large skillet.

Add the chopped garlic.

Cook the garlic until just beginning to brown on the edges.

Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan then add all the chopped mushrooms.

Add all the dried herbs and the pepper flakes. Cook on medium high for ten, fifteen minutes. There will be quite a bit of liquid in the pan now. You want to keep cooking at a fairly high temp (without burning the mushrooms - you might have to turn the stove down a bit) so all this liquid can evaporate quickly.

No liquid. Mushrooms still tender and some are even a little crispy around the edges. Taste for salt and pepper and add as needed.

Transfer the mushroom mixture to a bowl.

In the same pan toast the slices of baguette.

Flip.

Remove slices.

Top with mushroom mixture.

Grate some good parmesan cheese on top.

Sprinkle with fresh thyme and parsley.

Serve and enjoy.