Chicken with wild mushrooms

I often come back to this recipe especially since morels always seem to within reach here in Seattle :) and it makes a impressive dinner party dish.

Serves 4

2 legs, skin on
2 thighs, skin on
Salt and ground pepper
4 tbsps butter
1.5 cups of morel mushrooms (I have used dried porcini and morel mix as well, just soak in warm water for 30mins)
1/2 cup dry sherry
3/4 cup heavy cream

• Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides.
• Use a non-stick skillet that is large enough to contain all 4 pieces in a single layer. Melt the butter over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces, skin side down and cook until the skin turns light brown (about 5-7 mins on each side). Transfer the chicken out of the skillet and discard the butter-fat mix.

• Add the chicken back into the pan along with the sherry, mushrooms and salt to taste. Cover and simmer gently for about 20 mins. Don't overcook the chicken and check a couple of times to make sure that the liquid hasn't evaporated. Add water as needed.
• Transfer the chicken into a platter and cover with a foil tent.
• Add cream to the mushrooms-sherry mix and simmer for 5 mins.

• Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve with crusty bread.

Mushroom Pepper Fry

Growing up in India, cooking with mushrooms was very uncommon. Fortunately for us, we were a part of this mushroom cooperative and would have fresh grown mushrooms of different varieties delivered to our doorstep every other week. Their earthy flavor combined with mom's ability to make them lip smacking made them my favorite! Here's one of her recipes - Mushroom Pepper Fry. Mushrooms & Black pepper go really well together! :)

Serves 2

1 pound oyster/button/baby bella mushrooms - cleaned and chopped. Mushrooms are extremely porous and soak up water like a sponge. Because they are mostly water, never soak fresh mushrooms. Brush off any dirt or wipe them with a damp paper towel.

Onion - 1 chopped finely
Curry leaves - 1 stalk (5-6 leaves)
Ginger & Garlic paste - 1 teaspoon or use fresh minced ginger & garlic
Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
Coriander pwd/dhania - 2 teaspoons
Turmeric pwd/Haldi - 1/2 teaspoon
Fresh ground black pepper - 2 tablespoon (adjust to taste if you don't like your dish too peppery)
Salt - to taste
Lemon juice - 1 teaspoon
Oil - 1 tablespoon, or 1 swirl of the pan using a pourer

Heat oil in a wok, and add cumin seeds. When cumin browns, add chopped onions and curry leaves and fry until the onions are translucent/light brown(5-8 minutes). Now add ginger & garlic paste, coriander pwd and turmeric pwd and cook until the mixture doesn't smell raw anymore (about 2 minutes). Then add the mushrooms and cook uncovered for 10 minutes until they shrink and soften. Then take the wok off the stove and add salt, pepper and lemon juice.

DO NOT add any of these during the cooking process because -
- Adding salt to mushrooms causes them to let out water. This will cause your dish to become too watery
- Adding pepper during the cooking process takes away from the bite/flavor
- Lemon juice turns bitter when cooked

Serve with hot rice/roti! Enjoy!!

Lima beans with dried wild mushrooms

I got fresh lima beans in my produce box last week and finally cooked myself a bowl yesterday. Source: Vegetables, James Peterson

Serves 2

1.5 cups of shelled lima beans

1 cup dried mushrooms, the original recipe calls for porcini and I used wild mushroom mix

1 tsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to season

• Soak mushrooms in 1/2 cup of luke warm water for 30 mins. Move the musrooms around in the bowl every few minutes to ensure that all of the mushrooms are well soaked.

• With 15 mins left on the soak. Bring 3 cups of water to a rolling boil, add the beans and let cook for 10 mins. Drain and toss with olive oil.
• Heat a wok, toss in the beans and chopped mushrooms with the water. Careful to keep the grit and sand in the bowl. Cook over medium high heat until the water cooks off.
• Season with salt and pepper and serve.

homemade thin crust mushroom pizza!

homemade thin crust pizza! a photo by moreMirchi on Flickr.

My first pizza - very exciting. Even though it doesn't look like a prize it sure tasted good :) ofcourse, also more so since I made it! I made the pizza dough with a mix of wheat and white flour which made the dough a bit dry. Next time, I'll try with all white flour.

Makes 2 large individual sized pizzas

Pizza dough
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp dry active yeast
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup luke warm water + a little more to help knead

In a big bowl, mix flour, salt and yeast. Then add the oil and water and knead for a good 4-5 mins until it forms a smooth ball of dough. Use a bit more water if the dough is too dry.

Rub the bowl with olive oil, place the ball of dough back in, cover and let sit in a warm place for a couple of hours. Longer the better until the ball has roughly doubled in size. I heated my oven to 200 deg and then shut it off to place the dough in.

After a couple of hours, gently massage the ball of dough with the palms of your hand. Then place it back in the bowl and let sit for another 20 mins.

Now, gently roll out the dough. Use your hands to stretch the dough into a rough circular or rectangular shape. The point is to get it evenly thin.

Tomato sauce
1 14-oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 tsp salt
Pepper to taste
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 garlic cloves crushed and minced
1 tsp oregano and thyme
1/2 cup water

In a saucepan, heat a tbsp of olive oil and cook garlic until lightly browned. Add tomato, dried herbs, water, salt and pepper. Cook down the mixture to about 1/4 cup. Now add wine and cook down the tomato mixture to about 1/4 cup.

Pizza toppings
1 cup thinly sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
2 cups of grated and/or thinly sliced cheese, I used a mix of Manchego and Pecorino

Assembling the pizza
Preheat oven to 500 deg. Sprinkle a bit of corn flour on a baking dish lined with aluminum foil and place the pizza dough on it. Spread the tomato sauce, mushrooms, cheese and onions. Bake for 10 mins or so until the crust is browned and crispy and the cheese is lightly bubbling. Serve with salad.

Mushroom Dumpling Soup

This light soup was perfect for a chilly morning lunch!

From Nupur's One Hot Stove

Ingredients:

3-4 cups stock (I used chicken)

1 cup mushrooms, chopped into quarters

1/2 cup carrots, cut into pieces

1/4 cup shelled corn

1/2 cup broccoli

frozen dumplings/potstickers, 6-8

1 tsp chilli paste (I used sriracha)

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp vinegar

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tsp sesame oil

cilantro

Heat stock and when boiling, add vegetables. Cook till veges are tender (took about 10 minutes). At this time, add the cilantro, chilli paste, soy, vinegar, sesame oil and sugar. Check for salt and allow soup to simmer for 2-3 minutes. Next, add in the frozen potstickets and cook per instructions. Garnish with some more cilantro, if needed. Enjoy right away.

Leeks and Mushroom egg noodles

I received of homemade dried egg noodles in my box of produce last week and this was quick entree I made out of it after a long day at work and a 3 mi run :)

Serves 3

2 cups dried egg noodles, cooked in salted water, drain and keep warm. Save 1/2 cup of the cooking water.

2 1/2 cups of mushrooms - I used a blend of porcini and cremini

1 whole leek, sliced and washed

1-2 small cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbsp white sesame seeds

1/4 cup mirin

1 tbsp tamari soy sauce

Spring onions to garnish

Salt to taste

1. Heat a couple tbsps of olive oil in a large pan and saute garlic and leek. Cook until the leek wilts and is completely cooked. About 8-10 mins.
2. Add mushrooms and saute until they are a deeper brown.
3. Now add mirin and soy sauce and stir. Cook for about a minute before tossing in the cooked noodles and sesame seeds. Stir to combine the sauce and the noodles. At this point, I added a 1/4 cup of the reserved noodle water to add to the sauce.
4. Adjust seasoning and garnish with chopped spring onions. Serve hot.

Supper club theme: Pacific NorthWest

In lieu of going to restaurants to try new foods, a bunch of us (4 couples) meet once a month, pick a cuisine and do a potluck dinner. This is our 4th round already and it has been wildly successful. Good food, good friends and wine without paying a bucket - can't get any better..

V and I did starters this time round. Our dishes were Cream of Mushroom soup, Arugula-Apple salad and Smoked salmon with cream.

Cream of Mushroom soup
This soup turned out to be quite hearty and very earthy. I loved it - its comfort food.


Ready to serve
This is right before pureeing the soup.


Dried mushrooms soaking in sherry - isn't it beautiful to look at!

Serves 8
1 oz. dried mushrooms (morels, porcini, shitakes, etc)
1 lb cremini mushrooms, stemmed, cleaned and sliced
1 lb shitake mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
4 tbsps olive oil
2 sprigs of rosemary
5-6 springs of thyme
3 springs of sage
1 large yellow onion, sliced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
6 cups of chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tbsps unsalted butter
1/2 cup dry sherry

Soak dried mushrooms in sherry for about 30 mins until the mushrooms plump up. Heat olive oil in a pot and throw in the herbs. Let cook for 5-6 mins until you can smell the herbs. Now add onion. garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until onions are translicent but not brown.

Increase the heat and add the fresh mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms cook down significantly and the water released is cooked off. Add chicken stock with the plumped mushrooms and sherry. Simmer for 30 mins.

Remove the herbs, add cream and butter. Cook for 2 mins. Turn off the heat and puree the mushroom soup in batches. Return the soup back into the pot and simmer for another minute before serving.





Arugula-Apple salad



Serves 8

2 bundles arugula, washed and stemmed
1/3 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
2 tbsps white wine vinegar
1 tbsp pear-apple juice (or just apple juice) - you can substite both white wine vinger and this juice by using 2 tbsps of cider vinegar
1 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp sour cream (or heavy cream)
1/3 cup olive oil
2 apples - should be firm and crisp
2 tbsp crumbled goat cheese

Toast the walnuts in the oven at 375 deg for 30-35 mins. Core and slice apples into thin biteable pieces. Sprinkle some lime juice on them to prevent browning.

Dressing: Mix the vinegar with apple and lemon juices. Add salt and lots of ground black pepper. Whisk in olive oil and then sour cream. Whisk. Taste to adjust salt and acidity to your preference.

Toss the arugula with apples and walnuts. Add the dressing and garnish with a generous helping of crumbled goat cheese.





Smoked Salmon with cream

1 packet of presliced smoked salmon
1 cup sour cream
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1/4 cup chopped dill
2 shallots, chopped

Combine sour cream, dijon mustard, dill, salt to taste. Keep aside for about a hour or so. Take thinly sliced toasts and layer with smoked salmon, a small dollop of the cream mixture and sliced shallots.