When I was young, my mom's stroganoff was one of my favorite dishes. When we got to choose the dinner on our birthdays, I sometimes chose stroganoff. When she had a big pot of it bubbling away on the stove all afternoon, I loved the smell of it filling the house. Since most people think of beef when they think stroganoff, it may seem odd to have it as a vegetarian dish. But, the mushrooms are really the main flavor of the dish anyway. Mushroom stroganoff is rich and delicious, but healthier and easier to make.
Here's my recipe for stroganoff. You can use any mixture of button, crimini, and/or portabella mushrooms. If you want beef in it, it's as simple as browning some and adding it with the liquids.
Mushroom Stroganoff
10-12 oz mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1/2 medium onion, sliced
1/2 small carrot, shredded
2 Tbsp each: veg oil and butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 c water
2 c veggie stock
1/2 c tomato sauce
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 bouillion cube or better-than-bouillion paste
dash each: dried marjoram, thyme, smoked paprika
corn starch
sour cream
In soup pot, sautee onions in oil and butter a couple of minutes. Add mushrooms, carrot and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, covered, on low, about 15 minutes, stirring occassionally. Add water, stock, tomato sauce, soy sauce, bouillion, and seasonings. Simmer gently, partially covered, about an hour.
Scoop out about a half cup of sauce; mix with a little corn starch and sour cream to make a slurry. Stir slurry into sauce to thicken as needed. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Serve over noodles or rice with extra sour cream.
Happy eating!
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Cinnamon-Ginger Apple Crisp
The smell of apples baking in the oven is one of the best smells in the world, if you ask me. When fall rolls around, it's the perfect time for baking apples. Apple crisp is delicious, and easier to make than some other dishes, like pie, since it's freeform and very forgiving.
The only trick to apple crisp is to get the apples cut the right thickness so that the apples are cooked but not overcooked when the topping gets crisp. If you want a thick and very crisp topping, cut the apples thicker. A thinner or less crisp topping, the apples can be thinner. It's not rocket science.
Today I made some apple crisp with not just cinnamon, but also ginger sugar that I happened to have leftover from making crystalized ginger. I saved the remaining ginger-flavored sugar crystals. But, it would be just as easy to mix regular ground ginger in with the cinnamon and sugar. I've never used ginger in an apple crisp before today, and I absolutely loved it. Dan enjoyed it, too; in fact he thought it would be good with a whole lot more ginger. Maybe I'll go nuts with it next time.
Here's my basic recipe for apple crisp with ginger and cinnamon. Play around with the flavors as you see fit. You can add other fruits to the mix, or add oats or nuts to the topping.
Cinnamon-Ginger Apple Crisp
4 baking apples, same or mixed, peeled, cored, and sliced
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp each: cinnamon, ground ginger, and sugar (or ginger sugar)
1 Tbsp butter, cut in very small pieces
topping:
1/4 c flour
1/4 c brown sugar
dash each: cinnamon and salt
3 Tbsp cold butter, cut in very small pieces
Sprinkle apples with lemon juice as they are cut to avoid browning. Layer sliced apples evenly in small baking dish. Sprinkle with seasonings. Dot with butter pieces.
In bowl, stir together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Cut in small pieces of butter and mix gently with fingertips until mixed but crumbly (some pieces of butter should remain). Sprinkle on top of apples. Bake in oven until apples are cooked through and topping is golden brown and crisp, 20-40 minutes (depending on thickness of apples).
Serve warm or room temp, alone or with ice cream.
Yum! Happy autumn eating!
The only trick to apple crisp is to get the apples cut the right thickness so that the apples are cooked but not overcooked when the topping gets crisp. If you want a thick and very crisp topping, cut the apples thicker. A thinner or less crisp topping, the apples can be thinner. It's not rocket science.
Today I made some apple crisp with not just cinnamon, but also ginger sugar that I happened to have leftover from making crystalized ginger. I saved the remaining ginger-flavored sugar crystals. But, it would be just as easy to mix regular ground ginger in with the cinnamon and sugar. I've never used ginger in an apple crisp before today, and I absolutely loved it. Dan enjoyed it, too; in fact he thought it would be good with a whole lot more ginger. Maybe I'll go nuts with it next time.
Here's my basic recipe for apple crisp with ginger and cinnamon. Play around with the flavors as you see fit. You can add other fruits to the mix, or add oats or nuts to the topping.
Cinnamon-Ginger Apple Crisp
4 baking apples, same or mixed, peeled, cored, and sliced
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp each: cinnamon, ground ginger, and sugar (or ginger sugar)
1 Tbsp butter, cut in very small pieces
topping:
1/4 c flour
1/4 c brown sugar
dash each: cinnamon and salt
3 Tbsp cold butter, cut in very small pieces
Sprinkle apples with lemon juice as they are cut to avoid browning. Layer sliced apples evenly in small baking dish. Sprinkle with seasonings. Dot with butter pieces.
In bowl, stir together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Cut in small pieces of butter and mix gently with fingertips until mixed but crumbly (some pieces of butter should remain). Sprinkle on top of apples. Bake in oven until apples are cooked through and topping is golden brown and crisp, 20-40 minutes (depending on thickness of apples).
Serve warm or room temp, alone or with ice cream.
Yum! Happy autumn eating!
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Baked Italian Sausage and Potatoes
I really love Morningstar Farms' Italian Sausage. It is one of those vegetarian meats that I crave. They really did a great job with the flavor and texture of the sausage. I love to make Italian sausage sandwiches, but recently I wanted to try something new with the sausage. After browsing recipe sites online, I settled on the idea to make something baked with potatoes. I ended up making this dish, and I was very happy with the results.
Basically, it's a pile of potatoes, Italian sausage, bell peppers, onions, and other veggies, topped with a simple tomato sauce and then baked. I melted cheese on top as well. I suppose the same dish could be made with raw veggies and sausage and just baked for much longer, but I found it quite easy to par-cook everything and only bake it for a short time. Finishing it all in the oven helped everything come together and allowed the potatoes to absorb all the great flavors.
Baked Italian Sausage and Potatoes
4 Italian sausage links
2 medium russett potatoes, cubed
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 fresh basil leaves, torn or chiffonade
dash each: salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, dried oregano
olive oil
16 oz diced tomatoes
8 oz tomato sauce
mozzarella and/or parmesan cheese (optional)
Boil the potatoes and carrots in salted water until just under al dente and drain well. In the meantime, sautee sausage in a little oil until fully cooked and golden brown. Add onions, peppers and celery to the sausage pan and cook just until soft. Slice the sausages on the diagonal, making four pieces from each link.
Drizzle a little olive oil in a medium baking dish. Layer the potatoes and carrots on the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, oregano, and crushed red pepper. Layer sausages on top of the potatoes. Layer onions, peppers, and celery on top of the sausage. Sprinkle on the minced garlic. Pour tomatoes and sauce over the veggies. Sprinkle again with salt, pepper, oregano, and red pepper. Top with fresh basil.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbling. Top with cheese if desired and return to the oven just until melted. Serve in shallow bowls with bread.
I hope you enjoy this idea. Happy eating!
Basically, it's a pile of potatoes, Italian sausage, bell peppers, onions, and other veggies, topped with a simple tomato sauce and then baked. I melted cheese on top as well. I suppose the same dish could be made with raw veggies and sausage and just baked for much longer, but I found it quite easy to par-cook everything and only bake it for a short time. Finishing it all in the oven helped everything come together and allowed the potatoes to absorb all the great flavors.
Baked Italian Sausage and Potatoes
4 Italian sausage links
2 medium russett potatoes, cubed
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 fresh basil leaves, torn or chiffonade
dash each: salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, dried oregano
olive oil
16 oz diced tomatoes
8 oz tomato sauce
mozzarella and/or parmesan cheese (optional)
Boil the potatoes and carrots in salted water until just under al dente and drain well. In the meantime, sautee sausage in a little oil until fully cooked and golden brown. Add onions, peppers and celery to the sausage pan and cook just until soft. Slice the sausages on the diagonal, making four pieces from each link.
Drizzle a little olive oil in a medium baking dish. Layer the potatoes and carrots on the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, oregano, and crushed red pepper. Layer sausages on top of the potatoes. Layer onions, peppers, and celery on top of the sausage. Sprinkle on the minced garlic. Pour tomatoes and sauce over the veggies. Sprinkle again with salt, pepper, oregano, and red pepper. Top with fresh basil.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbling. Top with cheese if desired and return to the oven just until melted. Serve in shallow bowls with bread.
I hope you enjoy this idea. Happy eating!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Twice-Baked Potatoes
Potatoes are a great vegetarian staple. They are universally useful as side dish or main, and there are a million ways to use them. A simple baked potato with butter and sour cream is one of my favorite things. But, if you have a few extra minutes, turning that baked potato into a twice-baked potato can really up the yum factor.
When making twice-baked potatoes, as in making regular mashed potatoes, it's important to remember that overworking the potatoes develops the gluten in them, which is what can make some mashed potatoes gummy. You want to go ahead and mash them as much as you want, just don't keep going with it. Some people use a food mill or potato ricer to accomplish this. I don't have one, so I just use an old fashioned potato masher and just try to not overdo it. I've seen some people put their cooked potatoes into a stand mixer, turn on the paddle, and let it go for 15 minutes. For the life of me I can't imagine why you'd want to do that. The potatoes will never be creamy and delicate again once you work the gluten that much.
Twice-baked potatoes can literally be just the baked potato, mashed, and baked again, but when most people say twice-baked they also mean that they've added a thing or two to the mix. I like to add a lot of stuff to the mix. Cheese, sour cream, mustard, milk, butter, seasoning, you name it, I throw it in there. I don't, however, usually put the potato mixture back into the original potato skin shells. To get the potato out of the shell while leaving the shell totally intact is a difficult task. I prefer to just scoop out all the insides and discard the shell, instead just baking the whole thing in a small baking dish.
Here's a general recipe for twice-baked potatoes. You can leave out any of the additions, except for milk or cream; at least a little moisture is needed for mashing the potatoes. Otherwise, everything is optional.
Twice-Baked Potatoes
4 medium russet potatoes
2 Tbsp milk or cream plus extra
1/2 cup loosely packed shredded cheese(s) of your choosing
2 Tbsp butter or margarine, divided
2 Tbsp sour cream
1 Tbsp brown or dijon mustard
dash each: garlic powder, salt, pepper, paprika
Bake the potatoes as you normally would until fully cooked. Allow to cool enough to handle; scoop out the insides and mash with a little milk or cream as needed. Stir in 1 Tbsp butter, cheese, sour cream, mustard, and seasoning. Salt and pepper to taste. Spread potatoes evenly in a small baking dish. To get brown parts, score or make peaks in the potatoes. Dot the top of the potatoes with remaining 1 Tbsp of butter, cut into little pieces. Bake until golden brown on top, 20-30 minutes.
Happy eating!
When making twice-baked potatoes, as in making regular mashed potatoes, it's important to remember that overworking the potatoes develops the gluten in them, which is what can make some mashed potatoes gummy. You want to go ahead and mash them as much as you want, just don't keep going with it. Some people use a food mill or potato ricer to accomplish this. I don't have one, so I just use an old fashioned potato masher and just try to not overdo it. I've seen some people put their cooked potatoes into a stand mixer, turn on the paddle, and let it go for 15 minutes. For the life of me I can't imagine why you'd want to do that. The potatoes will never be creamy and delicate again once you work the gluten that much.
Twice-baked potatoes can literally be just the baked potato, mashed, and baked again, but when most people say twice-baked they also mean that they've added a thing or two to the mix. I like to add a lot of stuff to the mix. Cheese, sour cream, mustard, milk, butter, seasoning, you name it, I throw it in there. I don't, however, usually put the potato mixture back into the original potato skin shells. To get the potato out of the shell while leaving the shell totally intact is a difficult task. I prefer to just scoop out all the insides and discard the shell, instead just baking the whole thing in a small baking dish.
Here's a general recipe for twice-baked potatoes. You can leave out any of the additions, except for milk or cream; at least a little moisture is needed for mashing the potatoes. Otherwise, everything is optional.
Twice-Baked Potatoes
4 medium russet potatoes
2 Tbsp milk or cream plus extra
1/2 cup loosely packed shredded cheese(s) of your choosing
2 Tbsp butter or margarine, divided
2 Tbsp sour cream
1 Tbsp brown or dijon mustard
dash each: garlic powder, salt, pepper, paprika
Bake the potatoes as you normally would until fully cooked. Allow to cool enough to handle; scoop out the insides and mash with a little milk or cream as needed. Stir in 1 Tbsp butter, cheese, sour cream, mustard, and seasoning. Salt and pepper to taste. Spread potatoes evenly in a small baking dish. To get brown parts, score or make peaks in the potatoes. Dot the top of the potatoes with remaining 1 Tbsp of butter, cut into little pieces. Bake until golden brown on top, 20-30 minutes.
Happy eating!
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