Seared Halibut with Shiitake Mushrooms

For my Mom's birthday we had seared Halibut with shiitake mushrooms for the main course. I've been trying to eat a lot of mushrooms lately as I have this strange feeling that mushrooms, onions and garlic are all super foods for our brains. It's a combination of them being here on earth for so long, plus their many layers, and for mushrooms their ability to communicate through microscopic roots miles away. There is a special feeling I get when I eat fresh organic, hearty mushrooms. This shiitakes I picked up at the Friday, Heart of the City Farmer's Market. I recommend serving this with salad and a hearty rustic bread or over a bead of quinoa. White wine and some Carlos Santana. 

Seared Halibut with Shiitake Mushrooms

Ingredients:

1 fillet of Halibut

1 lemon, zest & juice

1 tablespoon of capers

1 pint of shiitake mushrooms

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Parsley for garnish

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat

2. Sprinkle the halibut with salt and ground pepper on each side. Squeeze the lemon juice on it.

3. Sear the halibut in the olive oil for 4-5 minutes per side. The halibut should turn white the whole way through and have a nice golden hue on the top and bottom. Remove the halibut from the pan and put on a plate. Do not overcook as it will become too dry.

4. Add the mushrooms to the pan, drizzle a little more olive oil on them. Sprinkle the lemon zest and capers, salt and pepper on the mushrooms. Add a little more olive oil if you want.

5. For presentation I cut shallow wells in the halibut and stuffed the shiitake mushrooms into it. 

Enjoy!

Ka Chi & Mushroom Medley

One sunny Sunday in June my mom and I went to the San Francisco Free Folk Festival at Presidio Middle School. This progressive school has hallways covered with thought provoking and inspirational posters and quotes. It's uplifting to be a space like this - doesn't it seem that our offices and work place should be similarly decorated? I feel that we would all benefit tremendously to look up and see posters of outer space explorations, quotes from Martin Luther King, hand drawn book covers. Aside from the welcoming halls of this Middle School - every other classroom had musicians jamming inside. There was the peaceful Irish Jam Room with fiddlers, violinists and flutists taking you over the rolling green hills of Irish countryside. There were old men and women teaching Contra dancing in one room. An all women's a capella group taking you back to their rowdy nights in the 60's with funny lyrics and saucy moves. But, our favorite performance was Ka Chi, an impressive artist and musician performing in the auditorium. His music is a mixture of Acoustic/Indie/Neo-Soul but he is so much more than these categories....His voice is incredibly soothing and natural. His lyrics are so moving they make your heart calm and your soul come alive...

After being taken to that alternate reality that only live music can take you - we went to the wonderful market on 22nd Avenue and Irving for cheap and fresh produce. Mushrooms were on sale so we bought oyster mushrooms, button mushrooms, shitaki mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, some bok choy and tofu. Back at my apartment I whipped up this soothing mushroom medley. Not as wonderful as Ka Chi's music. But on a Sunday evening, as the fog rolls in - this warm meal tasted perfect.

Mushroom Medley
(Serves 2)

Ingredients:
1 small bunch Oyster mushrooms
1 small bunch Button mushrooms
1 small bunch Enoki mushrooms
1 small bunch Shitaki mushrooms
1 cup tofu, cut into small rectangle cubes
1 bunch Bok choy
2 servings Quinoa
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon Fish sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon ginger sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Olive oil
Garlic powder

Directions:
1. Cook the quinoa according to the instructions on the box.
2. Pour some olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat, add the minced garlic. When garlic is fragrant, add the tofu rectangles. Drizzle a dash of fish sauce and oyster sauce on the tofu and cook until the edges are brown and the tofu has a nice golden tan. This makes the outside nice and textured! Set aside.

3. Add the mushrooms to the pan, pour the remaining sauces over the mushrooms and saute until they are all coated evenly and soften - about 5-7 minutes. Add the bok choy and saute for just 1-2 minutes more until it softens but does not become overly limp.
4. Turn the heat to low and add in the tofu, sprinkle the garlic powder and sesame seeds over your dish and gently toss to incorporate the sesame seeds. Serve in bowls over a bed of quinoa.

90 Wild Mushroom and Blue Cheese Triangles

 Why make 90 wild mushroom and blue cheese triangles? If you're having a party, these are a for sure hit and you can make them well ahead of time and freeze them and then simply heat them up when guests arrive. For our holiday party I made 90 spinach and feta spanakopita and 90 wild mushroom and blue cheese triangles. These are like the new, hip cousin to the traditional spanakopita. Both are delicious and have their fans. This recipe was adapted from the inspirational post, "Spanakopita Triangles + Then Some", from the blog Smitten Kitchen. I am a huge fan of blue cheese, so I was excited to see this rather adventurous adaptation to the spanakopita. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Working with phyllo is not easy and the only way to get comfortable with it is to practise, the more little triangles you roll, the faster and smoother you will be at it. I had to make a lot of uneven funky looking triangles before I was able to make them seamless and even.

Wild Mushroom and Blue Cheese Triangle

(About 90 triangles)

Ingredients:

3 cups boiling water

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 1/4 cups sliced green onions

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped

1 1/2 pounds assorted fresh wild mushrooms, like chanterelles, shiitakes and portabellos, cleaned and chopped small

1 1/2 pounds fresh button mushrooms, cleaned and chopped small

15 ounces blue cheese crumbles

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a large saute pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the green onions and saute, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft - about five minutes.

2. Add the garlic, rosemary and thyme and continue to stir for one minute more.

3. Increase the heat to high and add the fresh mushrooms and saute until the mushrooms are tender and the liquids they have released are evaporated, six to eight minutes.

4. Transfer to a bowl and let cool, then stir in blue cheese, sprinkle on salt and pepper to taste.

5. Follow these directions for phyllo triangles.

Chicken Marsala

 

My good friends Andy and Jared were coming over for dinner and I wanted to make a good basic chicken dish. I've known Andy and Jared since the summer after freshman year of college and while I get the pleasure of seeing Andy frequently, Jared lives in Boston, so it was wonderful to have them both in the same room!  Here is a picture of Andy and Jared with our dinner spread; chicken Marsala, couscous, veggies

I am pretty sure that I have only ever had chicken Marsala once in my life and that was while working at an Italian restaurant in the West Village. I decided to give it a shot and I looked up a ton of chicken marsala recipes to get a basic idea for the ingredients I needed. I adapted my version from Emeril Lagasse's Chicken Marsala recipe. We had our chicken Marsala over a bed of Israeli couscous and with spicy roasted cauliflower and yellow squash. I picked up a cheap bottle of Marsala wine on my way home and was surprised when I opened it up and it smelled and tasted like cheap Manischewitz! Maybe I just know nothing about wine... Anyways, was easy and tastes really rich and wonderful, hope you enjoy!

Chicken Marsala

(Makes 4 large servings)

Ingredients:

8 chicken breast cutlets, pounded

1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 tablespoons cayenne powder

2 pinches salt

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

2 tablespoons dried lead oregano

2 tablespoons dried thyme

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more

3 tablespoons butter

8 ounces crimini mushrooms, sliced

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 cup Marsla wine

1 cup chicken stock

Ground pepper

Chopped chives for garnish

Directions:

1. Prepare a shallow plate with the flour, cayenne powder, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, oregano and thyme. Mix the seasonings together and add more if you want.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. When olive oil is hot, work quickly to dredge the cutlets in the seasoning mixture and then place them on the skillet with 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter. (You may need to do the chicken in multiple batches). Cook the chicken until it is brown on each side, 3 minutes per a side, set aside.

3. When all the chicken cutlets have been set aside, add the mushrooms and onion to the skillet and another 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter. Cook, stirring frequently until the mushrooms are golden brown around the edges.

4. Add the Marsala wine and bring to a boil. When wine has been cut in half, add the chicken stock and cook for 3 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened.

5. Lower the heat to medium and add all the chicken cutlets to the pan and cook them until the sauce has thickened and they are cooked through, about 5-6 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped chives and serve immediately.

                              

Mushroom Crostini

A little while ago I had my cousin, Megan, and good friend, Sarah, over for dinner. I wanted to have a warm appetizer for us while we waited for the main meal of a warm goat cheese salad and chicken marbella. I picked up a whole grain baguette and some strong smelling blue cheese from East Village Cheese which is my favorite store for cheese, marinated artichoke hearts and dolmas. I am a huge fan of mushrooms and when mixed with a creamy sauce, I think they taste delicious with pasta, salad, crackers or bread. I served these warm on toasted bread. The leftovers I had the following morning on bread for a sandwich with sun dried tomatoes and spinach. The lovely thing about this mushroom mixture is the blue cheese makes for a subtle tanginess and extra creamy texture. Rather than using real cream for this I decided to use soy milk with provides for a still creamy flavor but much healthier and lighter flavor.

Mushroom Crostini

Ingredients:

12 ounces mixed mushrooms (I used bella button mushrooms and shitake), chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon thyme
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup soy milk
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 whole grain baguette, sliced

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Saute the garlic for a couple minutes and add in the mushrooms. Saute until mushrooms are soft, about 4 minutes. Add in the soy milk and sprinkle the thyme in and saute until all the soy milk is absorbed. Then add in the crumbled blue cheese and turn off the heat and saute to melt the cheese. Set mixture aside.
3. On a baking sheet toast the bread slices for about 4 minutes. Remove from oven and top each slice with a generous amount of the mushroom mixture. Place the sheet back into the oven until it is heated through, about 8 minutes. Serve warm and enjoy!
                                

Mushroom Barley Soup

I recently had lunch at 2nd Avenue Deli and one of the soups was mushroom barley soup which was delicious but overpriced for a very small amount. I decided to make a huge pot of my own mushroom barley soup that could feed eight and cost very little. I found this recipe on my favorite food site and worked from it. This soup is the perfect comfort food for a cold winter night and with some flaky and chewy bread it's fantastic!

Mushroom Barley Soup

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter

10 oz pound mushrooms, chopped

8 oz corn kernels

2 large carrots, chopped

2 large celery stalks, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

1/2 cup pearl barley

2 tablespoons flour

8 cups mushroom broth, or vegetable broth

1 large handful fresh parsley, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Directions:

1. Melt butter over medium high heat in a large pot.

2. Add the mushrooms, corn, carrots, celery and onion and saute until the vegetables begin to brown, about 20 minutes.

3. Add flour and stir for five minutes. Gradually mix in the broth and pour in the barley. Bring the soup to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the barley is soft and the soup thickens, about 40 minutes. Add in the parsley and dill and serve warm.

                              

Steamed Vegetarian Dumplings

I had a little dumpling wrapping and eating extravaganza which satisfied our dumpling appetites for a month. I had made three different kinds of dumpling fillings and put three eager wrappers to work. We had too many dumplings to count in pork and chive, shrimp and bamboo shoot and vegetarian. Andy, who has wrapped dumplings since he was a kid, had some fancy little folds that made his dumplings look like they are from a restaurant! Here is a picture of dumpling wrapping in action:

                         

I really liked the taste of the vegetable dumpling wrappers which get their green color from spinach. The tofu mixture for the vegetarian dumplings did not adhere as well as the pork and shrimp mixtures, but it still tasted great! Unfortunately we ran out of wrappers before we finished the mixtures, I thought those little packets of dumpling wrappers from Twin Marquis seemed infinite. We used tofu and mushrooms for this mixture because that is all I had, but I think these would taste great with the additions of Chinese cabbage and carrots.

Vegetarian Dumplings

Ingredients:

Vegetable dumpling wrappers

1 lb tofu, crumbled

1 lb Shitake mushrooms, rinsed and diced

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root

1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 1/2 tablespoons fake egg

Directions:

1. In a bowl combine the crumbled tofu and diced shitake mushrooms.

2. In a separate small bowl or glass, mix the ginger root, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil and fake egg. Pour mixture over tofu and mushroom and combine to incorporate.

3. Wrap one tablespoon of mixture into each wrapper and gently pinch sides together to seal (see method in pork and chive recipe post)

4. Heat water in a wok and place steamer on top, cover and let heat until wok is boiling hot. Place the dumplings in a circle, place cover on wok and steam for 10-15 minutes.

This is what the inside of a vegetarian dumpling looks like!

Mushroom Pad Thai

On another recent China town grocery store trip I picked up some bags of different kind of mushrooms; Bunapi (White Beech Mushrooms), Bunashimeji (Brown Beech Mushrooms) and Enoki. These mushrooms are typically used in Japanese dishes; Enoki is especially used in hot pot dishes. I've developed a strong likening for Japanese mushrooms; they tend to be more meatier and chewy than other mushrooms I'm familiar with. In Japan, the most popular mushrooms are shitake and enoki. Below is a picture of the beech mushrooms. The reason they are called beech mushrooms is because they usually grow on beech trees that have fallen down. They don't have an aroma but their texture is fantastic!

                            

Here is a picture of all the lovely mushrooms in their packaging. Enoki on the left, white beech on top right and brown beech on bottom right.

I have never cooked tempeh before so I thought this would be a great time to learn and make this a vegetarian dish. Tempeh is Indonesian and it's made from the fermentation of soy beans to solidify into a brick. I learned that it is high in protein, fiber and vitamins! Here is a picture of the tempeh I used.

                           

Mushroom Pad Thai

Ingredients:

3.5 ounces of white beech mushrooms (Bunapi)

3.5 ounces of brown beech mushrooms (Bunashimeji)

3.5 ounces enoki

Tempeh, cut into small strips

Tofu, cut into small strips

Pad Thai noodles

10 garlic cloves, diced

Fish sauce, about 2 tablespoons

Mushroom Sauce (can use Oyster sauce), about 2 tablespoons

Chinese cabbage, shredded

Canola oil

Directions:

1. Soak the noodles in a bowl of cold water for about 30 minutes, or until they feel ready. Wash the mushrooms thoroughly and trim their stems.

                            

2. Heat canola oil in a wok over high heat. Add the garlic and constantly stir with a wooden spoon to prevent burning. When garlic is golden and fragrant, add in tofu and tempeh and saute until the tempeh turns golden brown.

3. When tempeh is brown add in the mushrooms and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of fish sauce and 1 tablespoon mushrooms sauce. Saute until the ingredients are all incorporated. Add in the noodles and 1 tablespoon more of fish sauce and mushroom sauce, mix until incorporated. Turn off heat, add in the shredded cabbage and cover until ready to serve.

Butternut Squash Stuffed with Creamy Mushroom Medley Pasta

Happy New Year!! Hope everyone had a wonderful happy and healthy holiday! After a little blogging hiatus to spend time with family and friends, I'm excited to be back in my small kitchen cooking and writing. The Taste Tester and I went for a little NYC holiday outing and on our way back home, as we fought the snow and crowds, we walked into Whole Foods to get a vegetable to stuff. Seriously, I wanted to eat a stuffed vegetable and Whole Foods is the perfect place for cooking inspiration. The freshness and colorfulness of the produce is almost overwhelming. With squashes still very much in season, our selection of a lovely pale orange butternut squash seemed appropriate. I also have a growing obsession with mushrooms, it sort of happened when I realized how unfamiliar with the mushroom family I am. I love all the different types of mushrooms and how when cooked they produce meaty and distinct flavors. One of my many New Year's resolutions is to make more dishes that appreciate mushrooms so watch out for mushroom quesadillas and savory mushroom bread pudding! Mushrooms are also delicate creatures in that their flavors can easily be overpowered if combined with too strong of other ingredients. I have often tried to incorporate shitake mushrooms into pad thai only to be disapointed that the peppers alone make the shitake have no taste. I decided that if I was going to buy a medley of exciting mushrooms, I was going to create a simple pasta dish where mushrooms would be the star of the show. I used conchiglie pasta which is shell pasta; it literally translates to 'conch shells.' The shells are good for catching liquidy sauces so it is often cooked with creamy sauces. We ate this with Cod and salad and whole wheat crusty bread and some white wine. This meal is the perfect start to a New Year. You could also swap pasta for quinoa or even couscous or rice. Bon appetite!

Butternut Squash Stuffed with Creamy Mushroom Medley Pasta

(Makes 4 servings of mushroom pasta)

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash

Whole wheat shell shaped pasta

1 cup mixed mushrooms (Nameko, Alba Clamshell, Trumpet Royale), chopped and bottom of stems removed

1/3 onion, diced

2 tablespoons butter

3 garlic cloves, diced

White wine, dry table wine

Soy milk

Nutmeg

Parmesan, grated

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven 425 degrees. Cut the butternut squash in half and carefully cut out the center leaving a 1-2 inch border around the squash. Place mushrooms cut side down on a pan and roast for 35 minutes.  Remove and flip so cut side is facing up. Lower the oven to 375 degrees. 

                             

2. While squash is baking, cook the pasta until it is just a little al dente. Remove, drain and run under cold water.

3. In a skillet over medium high heat melt the butter and add the garlic and onions, saute for a couple minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute for a couple of minutes, then add the pasta, soy milk, nutmeg and wine. Saute just until everything is evenly incorporated.                   

                            

4. Fill the squash with the mushroom pasta mixture and sprinkle grated parmesan on top. Bake for about 30 minutes until the pasta shells on top are golden brown and the parmesan is completely melted. Remove from oven, sprinkle some more parmesan and enjoy!

Roasted Mushrooms Stuffed with Spinach, Cheese, and Bacon

These little bite size stuffed mushrooms are rich and decadent. I would have preferred to use slightly larger mushrooms because I was not expecting for them to shrink when roasting. They are a lot of work but worth it and they can be made ahead of time and just heated up when you are ready to eat. The left over stuffing tastes great with eggs the next day! If I were to make these again I would want larger mushrooms and perhaps use crab meat instead of bacon. I also think some chopped walnut pieces would taste delightful as well. I picked up some beautiful slices of bacon from Jeffrey's Market in the Lower East Side and the smell was so delicious and intense when making the slices crispy. I adapted these from this recipe I found on epicurious.com. The bacon pieces were like lovely little surprises in each mushroom!

Roasted Mushrooms Stuffed with Spinach, Cheese and Bacon

(The stuffing is enough for about 48 mushrooms but I just made about 25 mushrooms and used the rest of the stuffing in a sandwich and with scrambled eggs)

Ingredients:

8 ounces bacon slices

1 cup chopped onion

1 10-ounce package chopped, frozen spinach, thawed, squeeze dried

3/4 cup feta crumbled

3/4 cup gorgonzola crumbled

1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Button mushrooms, stemmed

1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a skillet cook the bacon until it is crispy about 8 minutes. Press the bacon on paper towels to drain and crumble into small pieces. Set aside.

2. Sautee the onion in the skillet over medium heat until the onion is tender. Transfer the onion to a medium bowl and let cool. Mix in the bacon, spinach, feta, gorgonzola, and crushed red pepper. Season with pepper to taste.

3. Line to large baking sheets with tin foil. Toss the mushrooms in 1/4 cup olive oil to coat and sprinkle with pepper. Place the mushrooms on the baking sheet with the rounded side down. Bake the mushrooms until their centers fill with liquid, about 20-25 minutes depending on how large the mushrooms are. Take the pans out of the oven and turn the mushrooms over to drain out the liquid. Spoon one heaping teaspoon of filling into each mushroom. (This is the wonderful do-ahead part, you can totally cover the mushrooms and chill them until you are ready to bake and serve, WOO-HOO!)

4. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees and serve warm.