mushroom and fontina quiche

I said, I like Fidel Castro I think you heard me right

And I ducked as he swung at me with all his might

Rita mumbled something ’bout her mother on the hill

As his fist hit the icebox

He said he’s going to kill me if I don’t get out of the door in two seconds flat

You unpatriotic rotten doctor Commie rat

“Motorpsycho Nitemare” by Bob Dylan

Shitakes, where have you been all my life? I have used your goofy name while in the classroom so as not to say sh*t. That is about as deep and meaningful our relationship has been, until now! I now know how delicious you are and how different you are from your mushroom relatives.  Unlike your cousins button and crimini, you add a nice chewy bite when you are added to a recipe. My life is better with you shitakes.

Oh, and another thing.

Do me a favor, please throw out that three year old spice jar of grated nutmeg and buy the good stuff.  Whole nutmeg not only lasts a while, it will actually impart nutmeg flavor into the dish you are making.

Ingredients:

1 pie crust
3 tablespoons butter
3 large shallots, small chop
12 oz. mushrooms (I used a combination of button, oyster, and shiitake)
4 eggs
2/3 cup half and half
1/3 cup whole milk
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
8 oz. Fontina, shredded

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 F
2. Press out crust into a pie plate
3. Bake pie crust until golden brown, about 15 minutes
4. Set pie crust aside and reduce oven temperature to 325 F
5. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat
6. Add shallots and cook until just soft
7. Add mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, cook until mushrooms are brown and tender
8. Let mushrooms cool
9. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk eggs, half and half, milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg
10. Mix in ¾ of the cheese and mushrooms into the egg mixture
11. Dump cheese and egg mixture into pie crust
12. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top of the quiche
13. Bake for about 35-45 minutes or until just set in the middle

rice pudding

Twilight falls, evenin’ shadows find

There ‘neath the stars, a maiden, so fair, divine

Lonely there she kneels, and tells the stars above

In her heart is a song, an’ there it belongs

Her undying song of love

“A Maiden’s Prayer” by Willie Nelson

I made this a while back for Elissa and Arjun, not realizing both of them despised rice pudding. I ate about half of it and then got really sick of it. Not that it wasn’t good, but one man can only consume so much rice pudding. I guess next time I’ll have to do some serious surveying and market research or find some friends that aren’t such food divas.

From America’s Test Kitchen

Ingredients:

¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup medium-grain white rice
2 ½ cups whole milk
2 ½ cups half-and-half
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Bring 2 cups of water to boil in heavy-bottomed pot
2. Stir in salt and rice, cover and reduce heat to low, cook until water is absorbed about 15 minutes.
3. Add milk, half-and-half and sugar, increase heat to maintain a simmer
4. Cook uncovered, stirring stirring occasionally until a spoon is just able to stand up in the pudding, about 45 minutes
5. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and cinnamon.
6. Cool before serving

mango salsa

Put the doorknob on my side if you don’t mind

I don’t care a motel room in my bed

Put both door knobs on my side

“Motel Room in My Bed” by X

Mangoes (or mangos according to dictionary.com) are a bear to break down, but they are so damn delicious.  I suppose I shouldn’t blame the mango and place the blame solely on my crappy knife skills.  The first, and one of the only, mango salsas I had was from Market Hall in my old hood in Oakland.  I spent a good part of the summer of 2008 trying to match the recipe.  After about a dozen batches, this is what I came up with.  I’m pretty sure the Market Hall version has orange juice, I found my recipe to be too sweet when adding O.J. I like my salsa spicy, so you might want to go a little lighter on the hot sauce.

Ingredients:

2 cups mangoes, (about 4) small dice
1/2 cup white onion, small dice
1/2 cup red bell pepper, small dice
1 jalapeno, seeded, small dice
1 lime juiced and zested
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Tapatio hot sauce (or to taste)

Directions:

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl
2. Season with additional, salt, pepper, and hot sauce, if necessary
3. Cover and let sit in the fridge for 30 minutes

roasted garlic and cauliflower soup

Just got home from Illinois, lock the front door, oh boy

Got to sit down, take a rest on the porch

Imagination sets in, pretty soon I’m singin’

Doo, doo, doo, lookin’ out my back door

“Lookin’ Out My Back Door” by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Soup in the summer? Surely you jest…

No, not when you are experiencing an unseasonably cool Northern California summer. This is a nice belly-warmer for one of those frigid nights (or you could wait until fall if you aren’t having a crappy summer). Now I know what it feels like to live in “The City”.

Ingredients:

2 large heads of cauliflower, cut into pieces
8 cloves of garlic, peeled
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 large shallot, minced
1 large leek, rinsed, halved and cut into half moons
1 large baking potato, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
2 bay leaves
2 (32 oz.) containers chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F
2. Divide cauliflower and garlic evenly among two sheet pans, toss contents of each pan with 2 tablespoons olive oil, season with lots of salt and pepper
3. Roast for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally
4. Remove from oven and set aside
5. In a large stockpot, heat remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat
6. Add shallot and leek, sauté until soft
7. Stir in potato, thyme, bay leaves and cauliflower mixture
8. Add chicken broth, bring to a boil, then bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes
9. REMOVE BAY LEAVES
10. Puree the mixture with an immersion blender
11. Add heavy cream, thin out with water if necessary
12. Season with salt and pepper

focaccia

Your cracked country lips

I still wish to kiss

As to be by the strength of you skin

Your magnetic movements

Still capture the minutes I’m in

But it grieves my heart, love

To see you tryin’ to be a part of

A world that just don’t exist

It’s all just a dream, babe

A vacuum, a scheme, babe

That sucks you into feelin’ like this.

“To Ramona” by Bob Dylan

This recipe is brought to you by my lovely wife (and Betty Crocker). She made this a while back and it was fantastic! I have been meaning to post the recipe for quite some time but didn’t feel like transcribing old Betty’s recipe (was Betty Crocker a real person???).  Anyways, we are in week two of kitchen remodel which explains the lack of posts and me reaching far back into my library of never posted-posts. Regardless, this recipe is tasty and pretty easy as far as bread making goes.

Adapted from Betty Crocker Cookbook

Ingredients:

2 1/2 -3 cups of all purpose flour
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 packet quick active dry yeast
3 tablespoons plus 2 tablespoons olive oil (5 total)
1 cup warm water (120-130 F)
1/3 cup grated parmesan

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix 1 cup of flour, rosemary, sugar, salt and yeast, add 3 tablespoons of oil and water
2. Beat the mixture with a mixer on medium speed for 3 minutes, stir in remaining flour until dough easily lifts from the side of the bowl (make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl as you mix)
3. Place dough on lightly floured surface and knead the dough until springy, about 5 minutes
4. Grease a large bowl with a little olive oil, place dough ball in bowl and roll in oil, cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes (or when dough has doubled)
5. Grease two cookie sheets with a little olive oil
6. Deflate the dough with your fist and divide the dough in half, place each half into a flattened 10 inch round onto each cookie sheet
7. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes (or when dough has doubled)
8. Preheat oven to 400 F, make 1/2 inch deep impressions about 2 inches apart from each other with you finger tips
9. Brush bread with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle with cheese
10. Bake until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes