I love making stuffed mushrooms all kinds of different ways! Mushrooms rock! Usually I do a crab-cheese-breadcrumb stuffing, but last night we had some leftover spinach in the freezer and I was thinking of going a little creamy with it. I've tried doing creamy stuffed 'shrooms before using cream cheese, but I didn't really care for the way it came out... a little too rich and stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth. Thinking there must be a better way, I tried a bechamel and cheese sauce and I loved how these came out! They might even be better than the crab stuffed 'shrooms! Oh man... now I'll have to try making crab and spinach stuffed mushrooms using this recipe!!!
How about a little Face to Face doing a cover of Popeye! Eats your spinach! -jen
1.5 cups frozen spinach, thawed (squeeze all the juice out! Do it!)
2-3 tablespoons fresh, chopped basil (love having the AeroGarden!)
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
non-stick cooking spray
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
Using your hands, gently tug the mushroom stems away from the caps, careful not to break the caps, and dice the stems finely. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over a medium-high heat and saute the mushroom stems, diced shallots and garlic until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 3 minutes. Quickly pour in the milk and whisk to remove all lumps. Continue whisking until sauce becomes thick, another 3-5 minutes. Add the cayenne pepper and salt and pepper to taste (I think I used about a teaspoon of salt and probably 1/2 a teaspoon of black pepper.)
Once the sauce has thickened, remove from heat and add about 1/2 of the shredded Fontina, stirring until the cheese is entirely melted. Stir in the spinach and the basil until entirely incorporated, then add the remainder of the cheese and set aside.
In a small bowl, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in the microwave. Add the Panko to the melted butter and toss until entirely coated.
Spoon the spinach mixture into the mushroom caps. Since the mixture is creamy, you don't want to go too far over the top of the cap or it will just ooze and melt when you bake it. Top each mushroom with a generous portion of bread crumbs, gently pushing the crumbs into the spinach mixture. Place mushrooms on the prepared baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes, until breadcrumbs are golden brown.
A couple of weeks ago, Jen and I happened to be out of town near a little butcher that I know and he almost always has some goodies stashed away that you can't find at your local markets around here. So we picked up a mutton loin, bone in, complete with fat cap and skin still attached and hid it away in the freezer until I could decide what to do with it. After some consideration I decided to do a stew with it as I have never had mutton before and what could be more traditional than a mutton stew? Almost every culture across the globe, at one point or another, has developed a stew using sheep flesh so why not try my hand at that? Plus, I like stews and soups as they are usually simple to prepare, require little to no attention after starting, store well, get better with a couple of days in the fridge, and last but not least, they reheat easily. Folks are welcome to substitute lamb or beef for the mutton as I can't imagine many folks having access to it unless you live somewhere outside the US or happen to be, or know, a sheep farmer.
I did this in a 7 quart slow cooker and there was plenty of room for more to be added so if you've got a 3 or 4 qt slow cooker, you should be just fine. Alternatively, if you don't have a slow cooker you can simply follow the recipe as listed and add everything to a roasting pan. Cover tightly with foil and bake in the oven at 250F degrees for 3 hours.
As musical accompaniment to this dish, I decided to go with Face to Face's song "Ordinary" as it takes me back a good 15 yrs or so down memory lane to my teen years, just as a good homemade stew should take you back to childhood. Besides, this recipe is fairly, well... ordinary. A meat stew is usually savory and doesn't have a lot going on in the "Wow" department. It's homey, hearty, warm, and perfectly reliable as a good meal, especially in the winter months. Ordinary. - Justin
If you've acquired your roast at a grocer or butcher, chances are you won't have to prep it at all, so in an effort to save time describing how to butcher and skin a sheep, we'll assume you all have done the former and we'll skip right to the veggies. If your roast has rib bones, leave them in as they will exude the best tasting marrow into your broth while they cook! If your roast doesn't have ribs, you can either leave it whole or dice it into 2 inch cubes.
Wash the carrots, potatoes, and the rutabaga and leave the skins on them as that is where all the flavor and nutrients are. Dice them all, and the onion as well, into roughly similar sized chunks, approximately an inch to an inch and a half and add them to the bottom of the slow cooker. Add the kosher salt, black pepper, sage, parsley, chicken and beef broths, the sherry and the dry vermouth and stir everything to combine. You want to make sure that the liquid comes up to the top of the veggies. If you need to, add a little more broth or some water to raise the level. Add the roast to the top of the veggies, rib bones up if you have a bone-in roast, cover and cook on low for 6 hours.
After 6 hours pull the meat off the bones and cut it into 1"h to 1.5" chucks and add back to the slow cooker along with the sea salt, white pepper, tarragon, herbs de provence, chives and rice. Cook for another 2 hrs on low. Serve with some good bread for soaking up broth.
There's a little restaurant just outside of Ukiah, California called Mario's Ristorante Italiano. It's owned by some family friends of Justin's and Mario makes the best cannelloni I've ever had in my life! He's inspired us to try, and try, and try again to make a cannelloni as good as his. We can't. But... our cannelloni is pretty freakin' awesome and this is the recipe for the last one we made!
Here to go with our cannelloni is Face to Face's cover of "Sunnyside of the Street", originally done by The Pogues. The cannelloni made Justin think of this song because the first line mentions Rome... and we listen to a lot of Face to Face in our house. :) -jen
SPINACH AND SAUSAGE CANNELLONI AL FORNO
2 pounds mild Italian sausage (sometimes I use a mix of hot/mild)
1.5 cups diced onion
4 teaspoons minced garlic (divided, 2 tsp/2tsp)
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
6oz fresh spinach
1 container (15oz) Ricotta cheese
1.5 teaspoons dried thyme
1.5 teaspoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons sundried tomatoes packed in oil, diced
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
black pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons good muffuletta (olive salad)
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup fresh basil, chiffonaded (is that a word?)
about 12 crepes (see recipe below)
marinara sauce (see recipe below)
In a skillet, brown Italian sausage and onion. Drain and return to heat. Add 2 teaspoons minced garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring to keep the garlic from burning. Turn off heat and immediately mix in all of the spinach (it will cook down).
In a large bowl, combine Ricotta, thyme, oregano, remaining 2 teaspoons of garlic, sundried tomatoes, egg, salt, and pepper. Add sausage/onion mixture, muffuletta, and Parmesan, mix. Add basil last.
Refrigerate for one hour (at the same time your crepe batter is refrigerating) so flavours combine.
Preheat oven to 350F. Coat a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Spread a thin layer of marinara over the bottom. Spoon filling into crepes, roll, and place seam-side down into sauce (it's okay for cannellonis to be touching). Cover the middle with sauce. I like to leave the ends exposed and sauce-free so they crisp up a little. Sprinkle with some shredded mozzarella and bake for 30 minutes, or until the ends are browned. Let cool slightly before serving.
QUICK MARINARA
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup diced yellow onion
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup red wine
28 oz can tomato sauce (or 28 oz can whole pealed tomatoes blended till smooth)
3/4 tsp ground black pepper
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp dried basil
3/4 tsp ground oregano
3/4 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat and add the onion and garlic. Sweat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add the wine and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and turn the heat up to medium high, bring to a boil. Once the sauce has come to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover for 25 minutes, occasionally stirring to make sure nothing sticks and that the simmer hasn't died. This can be prepared ahead of time as the longer it sits, the better the flavor gets. Make it a day ahead of time to get the best flavor result.
CREPES
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
3 tbsp melted butter
1/4 tsp salt
oil or butter to lightly grease a small frying pan.
Place all ingredients in the blender and pulse until thoroughly combined, roughly 30 seconds. Pour through a strainer into a separate container for fridge storage. Leave to sit for about an hour before using. This can actually be stored in the fridge for up to 48 hrs if desired.
Coat a small nonstick pan with butter or oil (only a very light coating is needed), heating over medium high heat and pour 1 oz of batter onto the surface when the pan is hot. Swirl the pan around till the batter is spread out into a "round" shape as thin as can be managed. The batter begins cooking instantly so you won't have more than one roll of the pan to get the shape but that's alright as they are meant to taste good as opposed to look perfect. After 30 seconds, use a spatula to flip the crepe and continue cooking 15 more seconds. Set aside and lay flat to cool. Once cool, they can be stacked and frozen for up to 2 months, used right away, or kept in the fridge for a day or two.
