Mushroom Lasagna with Cashew Ricotta

Get in the kitchen – but first go buy some mushrooms. This recipe is my creation, and it’s a keeper. I was in the mood for mushrooms and lasagna, and this is what I came up with. This recipe goes down in history - good for company but better for a Monday night at home with your family.

Here’s what you need:

16 oz sliced white mushrooms

8 oz sliced shitake mushrooms – make sure no stems are hiding in the package- they’re tough and chewy. Cut them off and search the pile to be sure none are hiding.

16 oz sliced portabella mushrooms – gills removed – use a small spoon to scrape them away.

1 oz dried porcini mushrooms – soaked in 1 ½ C boiling water for one hour. KEEP that water!

3 cloves garlic, minced

10 oz cherry tomatoes

12 lasagna noodles

1 t cornstarch

1 T Earth Balance butter

½ C dry white wine

Dried basil

1 recipe cashew ricotta

(1 ½ C raw cashews soaked in water for one hour. Drain off water. Place in blender with ½ C  fresh water, 2 T lemon juice, 1 clove garlic, 2 T Nutritional yeast {optional, but adds a nice cheesy taste}, dash of onion powder. High speed, scraping down sides as needed, until creamy and fluffy.)

Here’s what you do:

Clean all the mushrooms and chop the larger pieces in about ½ inch chunks. Cut the soggy porcinis in smaller pieces too.  Sautee them all in a large pan in about 1 T olive oil.  Be patient. It takes about 12-15 minutes to get them browned on most sides.

Add another 1 T olive oil and drop in the minced garlic. Cook the garlic in the puddle of oil until it is fragrant – do not brown it! Even if you have to turn off the heat and let it just warm, that’s OK. Mix the garlic and mushrooms together.

At the same time that the mushrooms are cooking, reduce the soaking water from the porcinis. I added ½ C of dry white wine, some salt and pepper and simmered the liquid for about 10 – 15 minutes. You want about ½ C liquid.  When reduced, add 1 T Earth Balance butter and thicken it with about 1 t cornstarch. Instead of adding the cornstarch directly into the warm liquid, remove  ¼ of liquid to a small bowl, sprinkle the cornstarch over it and whisk until totally dissolved. At this time, you can drizzle the slurry directly into the hot liquid – no lumps! Works like a charm every time. Heat until thick and glossy. The small amount of butter adds nice body and gloss. Pour the sauce over the mushrooms.

At the same time that all this is going on, sauté some cherry tomatoes by heating them in ½ T of olive oil. When they seem ready to ‘burst’, prick them with a sharp knife to release some juice and pressure. Continue to sauté them until they are nicely wilted and deglaze the pan with some more wine. Remove from heat and set aside. You want it to be a bit juicy.

At the same time this is all going on, boil the lasagna noodles according to the box.

Assemble the lasagna as follows: spray an 8 or 9 inch square pan and place about 10 tomatoes in the bottom of the pan to keep the pasta from sticking. Create layers of pasta, mushrooms, cashew ricotta until everything is used up. Leave some pasta for the top layer and pour the remaining tomatoes over the top, tucking any stray corners of pasta down. I drizzled some more wine over the top to prevent dryness. Sprinkle with dried basil. Bake 350 degrees until heated through – about 30 minutes.

(printable recipe)

Pan Roasted Chicken with Citrus Sauce

I don’t know what comes over me sometimes. I mean, chopping and cooking bones?  Well, I am a complete sucker for all things citrus, so I couldn’t say no when I read this recipe. Let the chopping and cooking begin! This recipe comes straight from Food and Wine Magazine, January 2010. Click here for the original recipe. 

 Taste: A++! Convenience: B-….. Luckily, it was a lazy Sunday afternoon and I had all the time I needed. Start nice and early – the broth could be made a day or two ahead.

My personal touch to the magazine editor's note: simplified.... um. 

(Actually, chopping and cooking bones is a great way to create a rich, deeply flavored broth. So, be like me, don’t be afraid, chop and cook those bones. You won’t be sorry!)

Here’s what you need:

2 navel oranges

2 limes

4 chicken breasts, bones in and skin on

2 T vegetable oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

½ t dried thyme

1 C dry white wine

3 C chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth

1 T olive oil

Pepper

1 T butter

Here’s what you do: Take a deep breath, get a super sharp knife and make sure you have plenty of time before dinner! J

1.       Give the citrus fruit the full treatment. Zest them. Peel them with a super sharp knife. Remove the sections by cutting in between the membranes. Work over a bowl and save all the juice. Set all this aside.

2.       Give the chicken the full treatment. Remove the breast meat from the bones. (I actually learned how to de-bone a chicken by watching Youtube! I do it all the time and with confidence now!)  Set the meat aside and chop the bones into pieces.

3.       Chop the onion and garlic. Set aside.

4.       Heat 2 T vegetable oil in skillet. Cook bones until brown, about 5 minutes. A first for me. Very professional chef-like.

5.       Add the onions, garlic and thyme. Cook another 5 minutes or so. The onions should be getting soft and golden.

6.       Add the wine. Cook for another 5-10 minutes or until the wine is reduced to ½ cup.

7.       Add the chicken stock and the citrus zest. Continue to simmer for another 10-20 minutes. The bones should be doing their magic right about now.

8.       Add the reserved citrus juice and simmer for another 10 minutes or so.

9.       Remove the bones and strain the broth. I chose to de-grease it in an ice bath.

10.   Return the broth to the heat and boil until desired thickness – another 5-10 minutes.  (you want about 1 ½ Cups total)

11.   Somewhere in there, generously pepper the chicken on the skin side. Brown, skin side down,  in an oven proof skillet in 1 T olive oil for about 5 minutes. Carefully turn over and place skillet in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until the chicken is just done.

12.   Add 1 T butter and reserved citrus sections to broth. Heat gently.

13.   Serve with pride! I served mine with rice and shredded carrots and zucchini.

PS Happy Thanksgiving to all my blogger friends out there. My daughter and I are on a mini-vacation  for the long weekend - visiting my parents in Florida.  No cooking for me at all - and that's a change of pace for me. I left a turkey breast in the fridge for my hubby and sons (who are not traveling with us) and a casserole of cheesy potatoes in the fridge. Instructions: plop one in the crock pot and the other in the oven. Take time to say thanks for the many blessings you have! Health. Family. Friends. Faith. Good food. Freedom. Work. The list could go on all day, couldn't it? 

Baked Chicken with Wild Rice, Onion and Tarragon

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/heart-healthy-recipes/RE00098

 I found this recipe while scouring the Mayo Clinic web site, yes, Mayo Clinic. You would be surprised at how many interesting recipes they have – all low fat, low sodium, low calorie and heart-healthy. Those attributes don’t necessarily mean low flavor though. You get around that by making sure you have plenty of great seasonings and great textures in the food. This classic chicken dish has the pleasant flavor of tarragon (which I love) and chewy wild rice (which I also love).

Click here to check out the Mayo Clinic site – I’m sure you will find more than a few recipes that you can incorporate into your menu.

Here’s what you need:

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves (or fewer)

1 ½ C chopped celery

1 ½ C chopped sweet onions

1 t dried tarragon

2 C low sodium chicken stock

1 ½ C dry white wine

1 package long grain and wild rice mix and seasoning packet

Here’s what you do:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Cut chicken breasts into ½ - 1 inch chunks. Combine the chicken, celery, onions, tarragon and 1 C of the stock in a nonstick frying pan. Cook on medium heat until the chicken and veggies are tender – about 10 minutes. Set aside.

In a baking dish, combine the wine, remaining 1 C stock, rice and seasoning packet. Let this soak for about 30 minutes.

Add the chicken and veggies to the baking dish. Cover and bake for about 60 minute. Check it from time to time to make sure the rice does not dry out – mine was perfect!


One Year Ago: Mushroom and Garlic Pizza (this one is really, really great.....)
                         Cherry Pie My cherry picture comes from this post - check it out!
                         Couscous Chickpea Salad This is one of my favorite salads
                         Lime Cilantro Cole Slaw Very refreshing and unusual

chicken marbella

Adapted from The Silver Palate Cookbook

I’m pretty sure many of you have made this chicken dish before because as I was researching it, I found it everywhere. Everywhere, except for my recipe box that is. I can’t believe I’ve missed this one – it’s really good. We ate this late on a Sunday evening after a long afternoon of snowmobiling. Chicken roasting in the oven creates the best smells in the kitchen. This dish is full of the great flavors of the Mediterranean: olives, wine, capers, and amazingly - prunes. It’s that classic combo of sweet and salty. This is definitely a keeper!

Here’s what you need:

1 chicken, quartered, bone-in, skin-on (I cut the breasts in half to create 8 pieces of chicken)

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 T dried oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

¼ C red wine vinegar

¼ C olive oil

½ -1 C pitted prunes (my favorite part of the entire meal)

¼ C pitted Spanish green olives (or more)

¼ C capers with a bit of the juice

3 bay leaves

¼  C light brown sugar

½ C white wine

Optional - parsley for garnish

Here’s what you do:

Create a marinade by mixing the garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, vinegar, oil, prunes, olives, capers and bay leaves. (Save the sugar and wine for the next step.) Rub this marinade all over the chicken and under the skin. Cover and refrigerate over night.

The next day, place chicken in a single layer in a 9 x 13 baking dish and spoon marinade evenly over chicken. Also, sprinkle the brown sugar over each piece of chicken. Pour the wine around the pan. Bake for about 1 hour at 350 degrees. Test for doneness by piercing thickest part of a thigh and making sure the juice runs clear and yellow. There should be no pink juice at all.

With a slotted spoon, remove the chicken to a baking sheet and place under the broiler to crisp up the skin, being careful not to burn it. Drain the remaining sauce through a wire sieve into a small sauce pan reserving the olives, capers and prunes. Set this sauce pan in a bowl of ice and allow the fat to congeal. (It took about 5 minutes or so.) When the sauce has cooled sufficiently, remove the fat, and quickly heat up the gravy on the stove.

Return the olives, capers and prunes to the chicken. Serve the sauce over the chicken or on the side in a gravy boat. We had this with rice which was the perfect accompaniment for that glorious gravy.

(printable recipe)

I’m curious to know how many of you have made this. Am I really the last one on earth to discover this beauty?

scallops in white wine

Do not be intimidated by cooking seafood! Just remember these few simple rules: one – never over cook it, and two- only use the freshest seafood possible. It’s that simple. I’ll admit that choosing seafood can seem a bit daunting, especially when you see the price tag, but jump in and give it a try. It’s healthy and it brings a whole new dimension to the weekly menu. Scallops have a very mild taste and a firm texture. We love them around here and when they go on sale, I purchase them in bunches.

Here’s a quick lesson about scallops. Bay scallops are the small ones; they are sweeter and more expensive than sea scallops, which are the large ones and the less expensive ones. Sea scallops might be a bit chewier too.

This recipe is an adaptation of Ina Garten’s Scallops Provencal. She usually piles on the butter, but I have toned that down. Very light, very fresh tasting, a nice week night dinner because it's very quick and easy. 

Here’s what you need:

About 1 pound of very fresh bay or sea scallops (you can see in the pictures that I used sea scallops)

Salt and pepper

Flour for dredging

2 T butter

¼ C finely minced shallots

1 small clove garlic, finely minced

¼ C chopped parsley (don’t skip this ingredient! I was lucky to have the last bit of fresh parsley from my herb garden. We are having a very mild November here in Michigan and I’m squeezing out every last leaf from my herb garden!)

½ C - ¾ C dry white wine (you can see in the picture, it does not have to be expensive wine…)

Fresh lemon

Here’s what you do:

Prepare the shallots, garlic and parsley and have them ready to go. Measure out the wine also.

Dry the scallops on paper towels and generously salt and pepper them on both sides. 

Carefully dredge them in flour, shaking off excess. This flour coating will later thicken the wine sauce a bit.

Melt the butter in a large pan and when very hot, add the scallops in one layer. Don’t let them touch and do not be tempted to move them around. Just leave them alone and they will get brown.

 After about 3 minutes, if they are golden, turn them over gently. When they have been turned over, add the chopped veggies and stir and soften them. Total cooking time is maybe 5-6 minutes.

Toss the scallops in the sautéed veggies, add the wine and stir gently. I used my lucky, broken wooden spoon…..Serve with fresh lemon juice.   I served this with risotto, salad and carrots. Crusty bread for the wine sauce would be perfect also.  Very nice. 

(printable recipe)

chicken with 20 cloves of garlic

There’s no reason why delicious, flavorful food has to be laden with fat and calories and this recipe proves it. For many years I was afraid to try the classic dish ‘Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic’ just because of the amount of garlic. I can’t even think about 40 cloves of garlic….. Solution? Cut it down to 20. I also try to avoid frying food and keeping the skin on chicken which the classic recipes call for – that’s a lot of calories and unhealthy stuff….. Solution? Use boneless, skinless chicken. I also doubled the amount of cooking liquid to ensure a large amount of sauce. The result was absolutely fantastic! I think probably better than the classic recipes I have been studying for so many years. Do not hesitate to make this one….. This makes a lot, but you will want leftovers, trust me.

Here’s what you need:

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half or even thirds widthwise

20 large cloves of fresh garlic – make sure they are perfect and have no bruises or blemishes

1 T butter

2 T olive oil

1 C dry white wine

2 C chicken stock – your final product will only be as good as your ingredients, so be certain to use a low sodium stock (I prefer stock over broth…. Make the switch – you won’t be sorry….)

1 t dried thyme 

3 T flour

¼ C half and half (or heavy cream)

Here’s what you do:

Step One

Drop the garlic into recently boiled water for about 1 minute. Remove with slotted spoon and carefully peel. This took about 5 minutes, but the result was perfectly peeled garlic.

Step Two

Generously salt and pepper the chicken. Brown the chicken in butter and oil. Do this over medium heat so the oil/butter combo doesn’t get too brown.  Be sure not to crowd the pan – give them some elbow room! 

Remove to a platter and continue until the stove is splattered and all the chicken has had a turn in the pan. J

Step Three

Sautee the garlic in the oil/butter for about 5 minutes – do not allow them to burn. Add the wine and stock and gently scrape up the bits of goodness on the bottom of the pan.

Return the chicken and all the juices to the pan, sprinkle with thyme, cover, and simmer on low for about 1-1/2 hours. I actually let the pan sit on the stove for another few hours before dinner which I think made the chicken ‘falling off the bone tender.’ I suppose you could place it, covered, in a low heat oven for an hour also. 

Step Four

Once again, remove the chicken to a platter. At this point, I actually searched for the 20 cloves of garlic only to find they had cooked away….. there were a few small pieces left in the sauce, which I removed with a slotted spoon.  Take about 1 Cup of hot liquid from the pan and whisk in ¼ C flour. Add ¼ C half and half and pour this slurry mixture back into the pan. Boil and stir for about 5 minutes. Return the chicken and bring up to temperature.

You must plan to serve this with something which will sop up the juice. As you can see in the top photo, I served it with quinoa. Better might have been couscous or rice or even better still – mashed potatoes…..  The leftovers were heavenly!

(printable recipe)