Jerry's Thoughts, Musings, and Rants!

Mushroom and Goat Cheese Strudel with Balsamic Syrup

We made this for the first course of our Easter dinner. After I posted a picture I was asked for the recipe. Jessica thought that it would be a great thing to make with some of the goat cheese she intends to buy when she is in provence in a few weeks. Lucky gal. Here you go Jessica!

This recipe was originally from the October 1999 Bon Appetit magazine. Based upon the information on their web site it looks as if it was a reader request recipe from Matt's in the Market in Seattle, Washington. I've made this many times before because it is one of those dishes that impresses the heck out of folks with little effort on your part. Everyone loves it.

Mushroom and Goat Cheese Strudel with Balsamic Syrup

2 tablespoons plus 6 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound mushrooms, chopped
1/4 cup Sherry wine vinegar
1/3 cup dry Sherry
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

3 fresh phyllo pastry sheets or frozen, thawed (I actually used six sheets this time to make a thicker crust)
1/2 cup crumbled soft fresh goat cheese (such as Montrachet)

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon mild-flavored (light) molasses

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic; sauté 4 minutes. Increase heat to high. Add mushrooms; sauté until tender and golden, about 15 minutes. Add Sherry wine vinegar, then Sherry; boil until almost all liquid evaporates, about 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Cool. Mix in 2 tablespoons parsley.

Place 1 phyllo sheet on work surface. Brush with 2 teaspoons oil. Top with second phyllo sheet; brush with 2 teaspoons oil. Top with third phyllo sheet. Sprinkle cheese along 1 long side of phyllo, 1 inch in from edge. Spoon mushroom mixture over cheese. Fold short ends over. Starting at long filled side, roll phyllo up tightly. Place seam side down on baking sheet. Brush with remaining 2 teaspoons oil. Using long sharp knife, score top of strudel through phyllo, making 8 evenly spaced cuts. (Can be prepared 4 hours ahead. Cover; chill.)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake strudel until golden brown, about 50 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil balsamic vinegar and molasses in heavy small saucepan over medium heat until reduced to 2 1/2 tablespoons, about 10 minutes. Cool.

Using serrated knife, cut hot strudel at score marks into 8 rounds. Drizzle balsamic syrup onto each of 4 plates. Place 2 slices of strudel over syrup on each plate.

Arancini or Suppli . . . .?

When we were in Italy one of our favourite treats were fried rice balls. We had them numerous times - in Rome, Tuscany, and again in Venice.

We discovered that arancini are a typical specialty of Sicilian cuisine, yet we were no where near Sicily. I suspect that frugal Italians, not wanting to waste good food, copped the idea and local varietals evolved from there.  The Sicilian arancini are fried or, less commonly, baked rice balls, having a diameter of 8-10 cm, filled usually with ragù (meat sauce), but also with tomato sauce, mozzarella, peas, and other things. On the outside they are simply breadcrumbs. There are a number of local variants, different in both fillings and shapes.

In northern Italian cuisine, supplì are similar, but typically are smaller, have fewer vegetables, use sauce, and the rice used is generally leftover risotto rather than specially made.

We discovered that there are many different styles and preparation techniques; sometimes they were called arancini and sometimes suppli. To be honest, we couldn't have cared less about what they were called so long as we had some!

You may be like me and not have a supply of leftover risotto laying about just waiting to be wrapped about bits of cheese, breaded, fried, and enjoyed. In that case I strong suggest this recipe which was shared by Mary (Rome Addict) from the slowtravel message boards. I've made these a few times now and it was a pleasure to tell Mary how much I enjoyed her recipe when I met her last October at Palma's party.

Coat the bottom of a large deep frying pan with about 1/4 cup olive oil.

1 and 1/2 cups arborio rice
3 medium shallots (about the size of a chestnut) finely chopped.
2 cloves garlic finely chopped

Heat the oil and lightly fry the garlic and shallots until soft. Add the rice and fry for 3-5 minutes stirring constantly. The rice will be coated with oil and start to change color from translucent to milky white. Add 3 cups of chicken stock and 8-10 threads of saffron.

Stirring often, start to simmer. When the liquid has mostly evaporated (don't let the pan go dry) add 1 cup dry white wine and another cup of stock. Continue adding stock as needed until the rice is just slightly al dente. Then start to cook off the liquid. You want to end up with cooked rice and no liquid.

After the liquid is cooked off add 1 cup finely grated Parmigiano cheese and stir in. The rice should be quite sticky. When the rice is totally cool add 2 beaten eggs and mix vigorously. If it is runny add bread crumbs until it becomes dryer again.

1 ball fresh mozzarella cut into 1/2 inch squares.

Take about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoon of the rice mixture and in the cupped palm of your hand spread it out. Add one cube of mozzarella. Wrap the rice around the cheese cube. Should be about 1/2 inch of rice all around the cheese cube. Add more rice if necessary to get good coverage all around the cheese. Shouldn't be any thin spots but you also don't want something the size of a softball. Press it together fairly firmly (think of it as making a risotto mini snow ball). It should be tight enough to toss without falling apart in the air (although I wouldn't suggest throwing one at your loved ones as a 'test', Lord knows I would never attempt something like that, no I would not).

Roll your risotto balls in bread crumbs and set aside. In a fresh pan heat at least 2 inches of peanut oil to 350 - 375 degrees. Gently place the risotto balls into the hot fat. Cook turning over a couple of times until deep golden brown. Remove from fat and drain well. Eat hot.

You can freeze the balls before deep frying. This makes this a great party appetizer. Just thaw and deep fry.

New Year's Eve Wrap Up

Note: because this blog has evolved into about 80 % food blog, I have decided to add tags for the specific type of food. Once I have gone through and re-coded the last 368 posts you will be able to click on a specific tag i.e. rice and all of the posts which feature a rice recipe will come up. It may take awhile to code everything but I hope to have it done by the end of the weekend (anything to keep me from writing a column for the magazine at work!).

I realized that in all of the excitement of the one-year post I never got around to writing about our New Year's Eve.

We had a quiet time, just the two of us (well, except for when mom popped by about 6:30 for some inexplicable reason - we invited her to stay but she went home). Our plan was to have some martinis, eat a relaxing dinner, watch some movies, ring in the New Year with some champagne, and collapse into bed. With but a few minor exceptions our evening progressed as planned.

In order to stretch things out I planned more substantial appetizers than we might normally have. I knew that Paul would be hungry after a full day of working. We had Paula Deen's sausage balls and mini bacon cheeseburgers with our martinis.

I'm sure that you have heard all about Paula Deen: restaurant owner, cookbook author, and host of food network shows . . . really she is everywhere! LOL You may have even made fun of her - I know I have. I find that her food tends to be simple concoctions that threaten to collapse your arteries upon sight because of the grossly excessive fat content. However, we are traveling to Savannah this spring and we thought we needed to explore southern food so we went with this.

I found the recipe for the sausage balls on the food network web site. I read the comments in the reviews so I made some modifications, as noted below. Because the recipe made 5 dozen (that's a lot of balls) we split it in half. I hate to admit it but we quite liked the sausage balls, perhaps they are a guilty pleasure, like McDonalds.

1/2 pound ground sausage
1 1/4 cups baking mix (recommended: Bisquick)
2 cups grated sharp Cheddar (I had some 5 year old cheddar on hand, it seemed a waste to use it in this recipe but heck, we had to eat it somehow)
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Dip:
1/3 cup mayonnaise (Paula LOVES mayo, almost as much as she adores Velveeta *smile*)
1 tablespoon grainy mustard
1 tablespoon honey

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with vegetable oil cooking spray.

Combine all ingredients in a large glass bowl. Mix well with your fingers. The mixture will be very crumbly. Form into 1 inch balls, squeezing the mixture so it holds together, then rolling it between the palms of your hands to form balls.

Place the balls on the baking sheet. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. To prevent sticking, move the balls with a spatula halfway through cooking.

To make the dip, combine the mayonnaise and mustard. Serve with sausage balls

Later we enjoyed a cheese fondue:

Followed by a meat fondue:

For the meat fondue we had chunks of steak, pork, chicken, and miniature meatballs. For the sauces we had a Thai hot chili dipping sauce, horseradish dipping sauce, mango curry dipping sauce, BBQ sauce, and Thai peanut sauce.

By the time we finished dinner it was close to 9:30 and I was ready for bed! ARGH

In an effort to force myself to stay awake I proposed that we play a game. The seductive lure of trivial pursuit (and the thrill of trouncing Paul in said pursuit) drove me through the trough and then next thing we knew it was 11:25.

Paul set out the assortment of our baking and we nibbled on cookies while awaiting the countdown.

Further awakened by jolts of sugary confections, we had no trouble staying awake until midnight and toasting the New Year with sparkling wine (it wasn't French so I won't be calling it Champagne!)

Gone are the days of crowded parties, slurred count downs ( 10, 9, 8, 7, 35, 34, 33 . . . .), broken glasses that some yob insisted on tossing into the fireplace, followed by a 2 day hangover. Call me old if you want, but this was a far superior time!

Savoury Cheddar Thumbprint Cookies

a gratuitous self-promotion . . .

One of our photos from Italy has been entered in a photo contest.

Our photo is currently number 12 out of 467 photos.

You can vote by clicking here

Remember a 10 is good!

Feel free to e-mail the link to friends and loved ones!

*smile*

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These appetizer cookies are just liked the thumbprint cookies my grandmother used to make and fill with strawberry jam - only a much more adult version! Those lucky enough to try one of these tasty treats will be surprised to find that these cheesey appetizers, studded with nuts and bejewelled with pepper jelly or other savoury jelly or salsa jam, are not to be saved for dessert. This is one cookie recipe that can be made only in a food processor and should certainly be paired with cocktails.

It is important that you use the best quality cheddar you have for full flavour. We filled our cookies with the 5 pepper jelly we preserved in September.

1-1/2 cups Shredded white old Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Butter, softened
1 Egg yolk
1/4 tsp Chili powder (I used ancho chili powder)
1 cup All-purpose flour
1 cup Finely chopped pecans or unblanched almonds
1 cup Hot pepper jelly

In food processor, pulse together Cheddar and Parmesan cheeses and butter until smooth. Add egg yolk and chili powder; pulse until blended. Add flour; pulse just until soft dough forms.

Place pecans on plate. Place 1 cup water in bowl. With hands, roll scant tablespoonfuls of dough into 1-inch (2.5 cm) balls. Dip in water; roll in nuts to coat. Place on ungreased baking sheet. With thumb, make indentation in centre of each. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Bake in centre of 350°F oven for about 15 minutes or until firm outside and lightly golden. Let cool on baking sheet on rack. (Can be prepared to this point and frozen in layers separated by waxed paper in rigid airtight container for up to 2 weeks; bake in 350°F oven for about 3 minutes to recrisp.) Fill indentations with hot pepper jelly.

Makes about 36 pieces.

Note: For a simpler version just leave off the nuts.

Peach Gazpacho with Thai Basil and Lemon Ice

The other day we attended a cooking class offered by the LCBO. The instructor was Bruce Worden.

After the class I posted pics and blogged about it. Rob asked me to post the recipe for the Peach Gazpacho.

[gahz-PAH-choh] is a refreshingly cold, summertime soup hailing from the Andalusia region in southern Spain. This uncooked soup is usually made from a pureed mixture of fresh tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, onions, celery, cucumber, bread crumbs, garlic, olive oil, vinegar and sometimes lemon juice. Gazpacho can be a meal in itself, particularly when extra fresh vegetables such as sliced celery, green onion, cucumber and green pepper are added.

Lately though Gazpacho has almost become a slang term to mean any kind of chilled soup, hence this version.

There are three separate parts to this recipe:

Lemon Ice

Ingredients:

2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup slivered fresh lemon peel (1/2x1/8 inch)
1 cup fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1. Measure water and sugar into 2-quart saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. simmer uncovered 5 minutes. Remove from heat; cool to room temperature.

2. Stir lemon peel and juice into cooled mixture; pour into 9 x 5 x 3-inch metal loaf pan. Freeze about 3 hours, stirring every 1/2 hour and scraping crystals from edges of pan.

Note: this will make far more than you need!

Gazpacho

Ingredients:

6 ripe peaches (roughly chopped WITH the skin)
1 English Cucumber, peeled and seeded (even thought these cucumbers are seedless remove the core where the seeds would be as this part contains a fair bit of bitter moisture - who knew?)
1 small sweet red pepper (seeded and roughly chopped)
1/4 sweet onion (peeled and roughly chopped)
1 small red chili (seeded and finely chopped)
1 Celery Stalk (chopped)

Directions:

1. Place all chopped vegetables and the peaches in a food processor. Puree. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and sugar. Chill thoroughly.

Thai Basil Oil

Ingredients:

2 sprigs of Thai basil
1/2 cup grapeseed oil

Directions:

1. Chop the basil leaves (chiffonade) and place in a small glass dish. Pour the oil over the basil. Let sit for about 30 minutes to allow the flavour to develop.

To serve: Pour a portion of the gazpacho into a glass dish (we used martini glasses). Place a spoon of the lemon ice in the centre of the soup. Drizzle with the Thai basil infused oil.

The soup is light and refreshing. The inclusion of the lemon ice and Thai basil infused oil is great - adding some wonderful subtlety of flavours.

Enjoy!

Meatball Sliders

Paul first saw these, the cover recipe from this month's Bon Appetit magazine and decided that he wanted to make them. We almost didn't get to try them because the recipe is rather time consuming. The suggestion to make the meatballs and sauce the day before you wish to eat is a good one. He thought the recipe was 'finicky' but after having tried them he quickly said that he wanted to make them again!

In a pinch you could use bottled sauce but the flavour would be nowhere near as fresh nor as flavourful!

Three make a meal, but a bunch make fun party hors d'oeuvres. Look for the rolls at a local bakery.

1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground veal
1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)*
1/2 cup water
8 tablespoons freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese, divided
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
1 14.5-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes

Arugula leaves (optional)
18 small soft rolls, split horizontally

Mix all meats, panko, 1/2 cup water, 6 tablespoons cheese, egg, egg yolk, 1/4 cup parsley, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper in large bowl. Form into eighteen 2-inch-meatballs.

Heat vegetable oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, fry meatballs until brown all over. Transfer to plate. Pour off drippings from skillet. Reduce heat to medium. Add olive oil to skillet. Add onion, garlic, basil, and fennel seeds. Sauté until onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Add all tomatoes with juices. Bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Reduce heat to low, cover with lid slightly ajar, and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Puree sauce in processor until almost smooth. Return to same skillet. Add meatballs. Cover with lid slightly ajar and simmer until meatballs are cooked through, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes longer. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.

Place arugula leaves on bottom of each roll, if desired. Top each with 1 meatball. Drizzle meatballs with some of sauce and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons parsley and 2 tablespoons. cheese. Cover with tops of rolls.

*Sold in the Asian foods section of some supermarkets and at Asian markets.

Makes 6 servings

Bon Appétit
September 2007
Joey Campanaro
The Little Owl, New York

Scallop Guacamole Bruschetta

This is one of my favourite summer 'recipes'. It is quick, easy, and fresh - to me this is the hallmark of a great summer recipe.

I wrote recipe in quotations because it isn't really a recipe, more of a technique. I believe that the original recipe was in a Williams Sonoma cook book but I can't seem to find it any longer. Suffice to say that it is a dish I have made often and each time it likely tastes a bit different!

I have never made guacamole, it is a challenge to find ripe avocados here in Ontario when you want them. Ready made guacamole is easy to find so it seems silly not to use it on a hot summer's day when I really don't feel like cooking!

1. Slice a baguette into 1/2 inch slices. Lightly brush the bread with olive oil. Place on a hot grill until toasted. Turn. When the second side is toasted remove from the grill.
2. Brush some large sea scallops with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Place on grill and grill until the centre begins to turn opaque. Turn. Remove from grill when cooked through.
3. Thinly slice a Roma tomato crosswise. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. To prepare the bruschetta: spread a baguette slice with guacamole. Cover with two slices of tomato. If the scallops are large (i.e. more than 1 inch in thickness) cut in half. Place a thin slice of grilled scallop on the tomato.
5. Serve immediately.

Your friends and family will love this combination of flavours - I'll admit that I wasn't sure myself but I was a quick convert!

Happy grilling!

Lemongrass Shrimp Skewers

These shrimp skewers pack a 'wallop' of taste. The ingredients may seem overwhelming but like many Thai inspired recipes the may flavours come together with a subtle 'layering' of tastes.

I originally cut this recipe out of the newspaper. I made it so often that the newsprint disintegrated!

You can't use small shrimp for this because lemon grass stalks are often fairly thick . . . they will split small shrimp. You could thread smaller shrimp on skewers although there will be a minor impact on the flavour.

I hope that you enjoy it as much as we do!

¼ cup soy sauce
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp asian sweet chili sauce
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp sesame oil
4 cloves of garlic minced
1 jalapeno pepper finely chopped
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
Pinch turmeric
30 jumbo shrimp
6 stalks lemon grass
Sea salt to taste

In large bowl stir together all marinade ingredients (1 – 12). Stir in shrimp. Marinade in fridge for 45 minutes.

Trim lemon grass into skewers.

Skewer 5 shrimps on each lemon grass skewer.

Sprinkle with salt.

Grill on BBQ until pink and cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Serves 6 as an appetizer

Mango Salad, Chicken Saté

Last night we were craving Thai food. We love the 'layers' of flavour that you get with Thai foods; the combination of sweet, salty, hot, and cool. I also wanted to try some of the low-fat Thai recipes that I had found while searching about on the net.

We started off with chicken saté as an appaetizer. I didn't really do much so it isn't a recipe per se. All I did was take 4 boneless, skinless breasts of chicken and slice them into strips. I marinated them for 2 hours in a large sealable bag with a bottle of prepared low-fat peanut sauce that I had purchased from the market. Paul threadded the marinated chicken onto skewers. I grilled the saté on the BBQ for about three minutes per side.

I served the saté on a platter with a bowl of the peanut sauce. Because mom was over for dinner I was felling the need to 'fancy' things up so I sprinkled the saté with chopped cilantro and toasted chopped peanuts. Mom and Paul felt that the peanuts and cilantro made the saté. It must have been good because while they enjoyed their appetizers I made a chicken mango green curry and a basil beef stir fry. When I sat down to enjoy dinner most of the saté was gone!

We also served a mango salad. I lucked out and found some nice mangoes at the store so the flavour was exceptionally good.

2 limes
1 tbsp (15 ml) soy sauce or fish sauce
1 tbsp (15 ml) granulated sugar

1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced OR 1/2 tsp (2 ml) hot red chili flakes
2 tbsp (30 ml) peanut oil
salt to taste
2 ripe but firm mangoes

2 sweet peppers, preferably 1 red and 1 yellow
1 medium carrot, coarsely grated
1 chopped red onion

1/2 cup (125 ml) chopped fresh mint or coriander
1/3 cup (75 ml) toasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Finely grate peel from 1 lime and place in a measuring cup along with 1/4 cup
(50 ml) lime juice. Whisk in soy sauce, sugar, and jalapeno pepper until sugar is dissolved.

Gradually whisk in peanut oil until blended. Add salt to taste. Set aside.

Peel mango, then cut away chunks of fruit from pit. Cut into thin strips and place in a bowl.

Seed peppers and cut into thin strips and add to mango.

Coarsely grate carrot and thinly slice onion and add to bowl along with mint or cilantro.

Toss gently until combined.

Place mango mixture in a large bowl. Toss with dressing until mixed. Add nuts and serve garnished with some more toasted peanuts and chopped cilantro. YUM