Asian Noodle and Vegetable Salad

This is absolutely delicious! It was taken from OrganicStyle.com magazine, which Ramona used to get.

Asian Noodle and Vegetable Salad

Sauce
1 tbsp sesame seed oil
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp brown sugar

Noodles: 6 ounces rice vermicelli (The kind with the black band around them.)
Note: The recipe calls for 6 bundles but 2 was plenty.

1 bunch spinach, rinsed and drained, stems trimmed
      (One bag pre-washed works well, even with the stems.)
7 tsp light olive oil
1 large egg, separated and beaten
2 medium white onions, thinly sliced
8 oz white mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 bunch scallions, cut into 2" pieces
1/2 green bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1-1/2 lg carrot, cut into matchsticks

Salt and pepper

Whisk together sauce ingredients and set aside.

Soak noodles in hot water 10 minutes; drain. Cook in a large pot of boiling water, uncovered, for 1 minute. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool. Drain well and pat dry.

Put spinach in salted boiling water; cover and immediately remove from heat. Let sit 30 seconds. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Squeeze into a large ball to remove excess water. Chop into 4 thick chunks. Set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Tilt pan to cover with oil. Pour egg whites on one side of skillet, as for an omelet. Cook 1 minute without stirring. Remove, cover and let sit for a minute. Slice into thin strips. Repeat with yolk. Set aside.

Get a large bowl ready near the stove. Coat bottom of large nonstick skillet or wok with 1 tsp oil and heat over medium heat. Stir-fry each vegetable separately until just soft, adding 1 tsp oil and a pinch of salt for each. Add a little water if it gets too dry. Transfer to bowl.

Add last tsp of oil and stir-fry noodles until just heated. Put noodles in with veggies, add sauce and lightly toss. Top with egg and serve.

J. Gayle
(12/2/06)

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Beef-Surpassing Portobellos

Beef-Surpassing Portobellos

• one and one-half portobello caps per diner - should be very fresh
• 1 medium onion per four portobello caps, chopped
• butter
• Japanese soy sauce (not the low-salt varieties)
• dry vermouth
• a pinch of my own personal formula for curry powder (oh dear...)
• pepper
• a fairly tannic-flavored red wine
• basil leaves, big, washed and dried (two leaves per one cap)
• some smoked mozzarella cheese, preferably from New York City

Heat your skillet on medium, so that when you put in the butter (one tbsp. per cap) it melts quickly and begins to sizzle very slightly. Sprinkle your curry powder over the butter and just as the butter turns orange from the curry powder, add the chopped onion and toss very thoroughly. Lower the heat and cover the onions to let them sweat for ten minutes. Then stir them around to reduce their water a little. Rake them to the side of the skillet, and place the portobello caps top down into the pan. Place a bacon press or some other clever confection of weight on top of the mushrooms, but it should not be so heavy that it smashes them.

Cook on medium heat this way for four minutes. Move them around every once in a while to make sure nothing sticks.

Remove bacon press or whatever and place a tablespoon of butter into the upturned underside of each cap. To this add a spoonful of the nice Japanese soy sauce, and a splash of the vermouth. Then flip them so that all of this goes into the pan. Repeat the bit about the bacon press/weight, and cook for four minutes. Just a minute before you flip them back with the cap side down, crank up the heat to about medium-high.

Work the onions around the mushrooms, but the surface of the cap should not be sitting on top of the onions; rather it should be directly touching the cooking surface of the skillet. Nothing should be sticking to the bottom at this point - yet.

Place two big basil leaves in the upturned caps. On top of this put a few strips of the smoked mozzarella, but if it's a properly-made cheese you'll be able to sort of peel of the outside layer of cheese, which is the part where the strongest smoke flavor is, and those parts are best for this dish. If you don't like a strong smoked mozzarella you can surely substitute a milder one.

Now monitor the condition of the onions. The moment they turn brown and threaten to scorch (but aren't scorching yet) pour about a cup of the red wine over them. Shake the pan so that the red wine is circulating throughout the pan. Cook the red wine down quickly by having the pan on high heat. As soon as this happens, shove the whole skillet under the broiler (which you will have preheated...oops.) and watch it ceaselessly until the cheese has melted and turned golden on top.

These are good served on warmed plates, with a little of the reduced wine-sauce spooned over them, and a twist of the pepper mill adds a nice fragrance.

Saffron rice has a nice affinity with this dish.

A recipe from Alfred
(4/9/03)

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Pasta with 5 Mushrooms and Sundried Tomatoes

Pasta with 5 Mushrooms and Sundried Tomatoes

Recipe, very loose recipe. I cook with what's fresh, and what sounds good to my stomach at the moment. Feel free to substitute things, or use whatever floats your boat. The amounts are approximates, since I cook in a very alchemical sense, do what tastes and smells right to you.

1 oz. Dried porcini mushrooms
1 oz. Sundried tomatoes. (Not the oil-packed type.)
Boiling water as needed.
1 cup shallots, chopped
5-7 cloves of garlic, coarsly chopped
2-3 spring onions, cleaned and chopped. (You can subst. scallions)
One large Portabella Mushroom, cleaned, cut in half, then in fillets
1/2 pound crimini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1/2 pound common white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1/4 to 1/2 pound fresh shitake mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
Olive oil, extra virgin
Red wine, to taste. I used a Sangiovese in this one.
1 large bunch fresh basil, the most flavorful you can find. Washed, dried, stemmed, cut chiffonade.
1 tbsp. Dried rosemary, crumbled
1/2 cup chopped italian parsley. (I forgot this one yesterday, and food still came out good.)

Cheeses: I used the following to taste yesterday:
Freshly shredded parmesan and freshly grated Pecorino with black truffles. You can also use other cheeses, just find flavorful ones. I like asiago or dry jack with peppercorns.

Dried pasta-I used gemelli yesterday. Good quality dried. 1 pound box.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Optional ingredient:White or black truffle oil.

Start off by re-hydrating the porcini's and the sun dried tomatoes in boiling water to cover for about 20 minutes. Drain the porcini's, then rinse them under cold water, rubbing to remove any grit. Drain again and chop. Save the soaking liquid. Drain the sundried tomatoes, and cut julienne. Save the soaking liquid from these as well.

Sweat off the onions, garlic and shallots in a small amount of olive oil on medium heat. Use a large, heavy saute pan for this. Stir constantly and do not allow to brown, just start to get a slight golden hue. Add salt and pepper to taste and remove to a bowl. Reserve.

Get a pot of water boiling for the pasta.

Over high heat, add a small amount of olive oil to same pan. Add the common mushrooms, crimini's, and the Portabellas. Stirring often, lightly brown them. Add the porcini's and the shitakes. Turn down heat to medium. Lightly salt and pepper. Allow some of the liquid from the mushrooms to sweat out, then raise the heat and reduce the liquid. Deglaze the pan with about half a cup of wine, then reduce again. Add the cooked onion mixture, a handful of the basil, the rosemary and half of the parsley.

Strain off about a half cup each of the soaking liquids from the mushrooms and the tomatoes. Try to leave the grit behind. Turn up the heat on the pan, and add the liquids, along with another splash of wine. Reduce this mixture again, until the mushroom gently begin carmelizing. You DO NOT want them dark brown. Just get them to release those delightful, meaty flavors. Stir, stir, stir... While the stuff is reducing, put pasta on to boil. Be sure to salt the water.

When the pasta is just about al dente, reserve about a cup or so of the pasta water, then drain the pasta well. Add some of the pasta water to the pan of sauce. Not only does this provide the sauce with a bit of moisture, it also adds a tiny bit of thickening and body to the sauce as well from the starches in the water. Toss the pasta in with the sauce and about a tablesp0on of olive oil. Stir to blend, and add a tiny bit of the cheeses. (IF you want a vegan pasta, omit the cheese.) Stir and fold the mixture until all of the pasta is coated. Turn heat to low. Add all of the fresh herbs, except for a tablespoon of the basil for garnish. Allow the flavors to marry, and the pasta to finish getting tender. It should only take a few minutes.

If using truffle oil, drizzle a tiny amount over the entire dish and fold in. Check for salt and pepper. Garnish with the remaining basil. Pass cheeses at the table. Pour a hearty red wine and enjoy. Be prepared to want a nap when finished.

Don't know how many servings it makes. It can feed several people as a pasta course, probably 3-4 as a main course. Very rich. Have fun cooking with this. Experiment with different mushrooms, cheeses, add cooked chicken at the final reduction if you want something different. For real decadence, add about a quarter cup of whipping cream when you do the final reduction. Beware, that version goes directly to the thighs, and does not pass go......

Enjoy,
Spinbear
Denise
(5/9/02)

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Carolyn's Stuffed Mushrooms

Carolyn's Stuffed Mushrooms

Here is my recipe for stuffed mushrooms, which I love, despite hating both mushrooms, and walnuts. Go figure. I don't really use precise amounts here, but that doesn't matter much. These are meatless by the way, though they taste like they have meat in them.

2 lbs large stuffing mushrooms
1 cup freshly made breadcrumbs (I like to use crumbs from sourdough bread)
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
small handful of chopped fresh parsley
garlic, you decide how much (I like at least 3 or 4 cloves, minced)
a couple of shallots chopped
some white wine, just a splash (dry white wine)
grated fontina and fresh parmesan cheese, probably about 1/2 cup combined
plus a few tablespoons for on top
salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375°F. Remove stems from mushrooms, and prepare them for stuffing. Saute mushroom stems (chopped) in a little butter. Add garlic and shallots. Stir in parsley, breadcrumbs, walnuts. Put in just a splash of wine to moisten the crumbs, don't go overboard. Mix in cheese. Correct for salt/pepper. Fill mushrooms. Top with additional cheese.

You will have plenty of stuffing left over. Eat this while no one is looking.

Put in lightly greased baking pan, with a splash of wine added into it to keep things moist. Bake covered for about 20 minutes, then remove foil and bake another 10 minutes (or thereabouts) until cheese is browned.

I can't recommend these mushrooms highly enough.

Carolyn
(11/19/00)

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