Sheepish return...

So, a year? Wow. Basically, anyone beyond my family has probably given up checking this site for updates; even they might have abandoned me. I don't blame you. That's a long period of silence. It's not as though my kitchen is a gloomy pit of dust and cobwebs. (Truth be told, it's currently covered in dirty dishes from last night's dinner). I have no good excuse. So, after a brief "I'm sorry," I'm going to jump right in.

After a week of scrounging for meals from what I had in my house, I got paid, went grocery shopping, and made meatloaf. But, this was no ordinary meatloaf. I honestly love my mother's recipe for meatloaf; it is the epitome of comfort food when served with mashed potatoes and cooked carrots. However, beyond really wanting meatloaf, I've had a hankering for mushrooms and rosemary. There is something about those items that just screams winter. Or rather, as their scents drift through the house, they slowly wrap you in a warm blanket of aroma and whisper to you to curl up on your couch and enjoy their company. I'm so ensnared by their intoxicating combination that they play a pivotal role in my fall/winter cooking regiment. It might come to bore someone else, but I wouldn't know; I'm usually cooking for one. I have a feeling it would take a lot of coaxing from a special someone for me to refrain from their weekly use.

All this ruminating aside, let's get onto the recipe and the process. I started with my mother's basic recipe: 1 pound of ground beef, an egg, crushed cracker crumbs, salt, pepper, splash of tomato sauce, and a small finely chopped onion. My changes: I used Stone Wheat crackers instead of basic saltines (I thought their heartier flavor would go well and add more complexity) and replaced the tomato sauce with milk (a la our recipe for Swedish Meatballs). I also added: 3 portabella mushrooms which I whirred in my food processor and then sauteed with two minced shallots, a tablespoon of dried rosemary leaves crushed, pepper and salt. I chose to precook the mushrooms so that I could cook off some of their moisture. My mother's meatloaf is normally shaped into a loaf and baked in a cast iron pan on top of a circle of tomato sauce, the covered in the remaining tomato sauce. Add a loose cover of tinfoil and bake for about an hour at 350 degrees. My resulting mixture was too wet to hold its own shape, so I actually used a loaf pan (ungreased) and covered with tinfoil for baking. The result: a winter wonderland of flavor and a new addition to my comfort food collection.

Rosemary and Mushroom Meatloaf

1 tablespoon oil
2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
3 portabella mushrooms, minced in a food processor
1 pound ground beef (I used 85% lean)
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
5 ounces Stone Wheat crackers, crushed to a fine powder (either in food processor or with a rolling pin)
1 egg

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
In a cast iron pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
Add the shallots and cook until translucent.
Add the rosemary, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper and cook until fragrant.
Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until mushrooms release their moisture and most of the moisture cooks off.
Remove from heat and allow to cool.
In a large mixing bowl, place beef, onion, milk, remaining salt and pepper, crushed crackers, egg, and mushroom mixture.
Mix with your hands until everything is well incorporated.
Place mixture in a loaf pan, pat down gently, cover with tinfoil, and bake for about an hour, or until center is cooked through and no longer pink.

Rosemary Chicken with Mashed Yams and Parsnips and Sauteed Spinach

This morning I'm headed to Bintliff's American Cafe with Kurt and Jen. I have tried most of Portland's brunch cafes, but not this one. I've heard great things about their food. We had tried to go once before, a while back, but it was weekend brunch rush hour and Jen was already hungry, so we decided to go to another restaurant that I frequent and had never experienced a wait at. Enter the "never" curse. We had to wait just as long at the second cafe and also got the table right by the door, so we had to keep our coats on. I seriously don't understand people who walk into a restaurant during the winter and hold the door open while having a conversation with the people behind them about whether they'll eat there or not. The waitress also wasn't very attentive. I have high hopes for Bintliff's, since we made a reservation this time!

Last night, I made another meal to continue my attempt at more vegetables. This time I pan cooked some chicken thighs with rosemary and garlic, mashed yams (for sweetness) and parsnips (to balance out the yams), and quickly sauteed some spinach with garlic in oil so that it was wilted but not soggy. I hate overcooked greens. The meal was very colorful, which is always so appetizing, and the flavors balanced I thought. (Though, I didn't realize my brother doesn't like squash and yams very much, so I should have increase the amount of parsnips to yams for his taste preference). The meal came together quickly, which was nice since Jen was hungry when they arrived and I hadn't started to cook yet. Oops. Kurt also told me that when he makes a quick sauteed vegetable after cooking meat, he'll just throw it into the meat pan (meat removed). It saves a pan and adds more flavor to the vegetables.

Rosemary Chicken with Mashed Yams and Parsnips and Sauteed Spinach

2 tbsp oil
6 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 tbsp rosemary
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 yams, peeled and diced
6 parsnips, peels and sliced
1 bunch spinach, washed well

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.
Add smashed garlic cloves and rosemary and allow to cook for a minute.
Salt and pepper the chicken thighs on both sides and add to the pan.
Leave these to cook until you can see that it is cooked half way up and side facing down is thoroughly browned.
While first side of chicken is cooking, put the yams and parsnips in a pan and cover with water.
Bring yams and parsnips to a boil, then reduce heat and low boil until vegetables are tender.
When chicken is cooked half way up, turn over and allow to cook the rest of the way. Do not turn the chicken frequently, or the outside will overcook and the inside will take longer to come to temperature.
Yams and parsnips should be done before the chicken - drain and then mash.
Cover with a lid to keep warm.
When meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the largest chicken thigh reads 180 degrees, remove chicken from pan and place on a serving platter.
Add spinach to the meat pan and saute until just wilted.
Remove spinach from pan and put in a serving bowl.
Put mashed yams and parsnips in a serving bowl.
Serve hot.

Garlic Rosemary Chicken with Roasted Cauliflower

Spring has arrived full force in Maine. Spring in Maine equals some beautiful, chilly days with lots of sun and many cloudy, very rainy cold days. The spring brings a renewed desire for fresh vegetables in my kitchen, but the cold days are also pushing me towards some warmer vegetables. Sunday was cold and rainy, so I opted for roasting some cauliflower I had purchased this week. The chicken is a typical flavor combination I use in my kitchen. I really just wanted the cauliflower, but thought I should get some protein since I've been exercising more regularly.

Garlic Rosemary Chicken

4 chicken thighs
1/2 c sliced red onion
6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
4 sprigs rosemary
2 tsp oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a square baking dish, place the onion, garlic, and rosemary.
Lay the chicken thighs on top of the vegetables and herbs.
Rub each thigh with 1/2 tsp oil, then rub in salt and pepper.
Bake for 1 hour, or until done.

Roasted Cauliflower

1 large head cauliflower, washed and broken and cut into equal sized florets
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp black pepper (or to taste)

Place cauliflower in a large bowl.
Melt butter and mix with oil.
Pour butter/oil mixture over the cauliflower and toss to coat.
Pour into an even layer on a cookie sheet.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
When chicken has about 1/2 hour remaining to cook, place the cauliflower in the oven and roast until browned a bit.

Savory Citrus Cornish Hens with Mashed (Sweet) Potatoes and Leek Butter

I am continually amazed by how opening yourself to new people can be so rewarding. A woman who volunteers for my employer asked me to show her daughter around while they were in town this weekend. I had met the mother during a work trip and found out that we had a common home town. We had a great conversation, so when she asked me to spend some time with her daughter, I didn't hesitate to say yes. I was not disappointed. Her daughter was outgoing and full of surprises. I love people like that. She was honestly sweet and open, too. As a close friend's mother has put it, "Wisconsin people are good people," this girl included. As an end to the weekend, I invited her and my close friend over for dinner. Not knowing her likes and dislikes, but knowing that she had ordered chicken when we went out earlier in the weekend, I decided on Cornish Hens (well, the store only had huge chickens that were not going to cook fast enough). I made this up as I went, not to say it's original, the flavor combination is common, I think. The entire meal included individual Cornish Hens stuffed with lemon, garlic, rosemary, and capers, mashed sweet potatoes and potatoes with leek butter, cooked carrots, and asparagus.

Savory Citrus Cornish Hens

4 Cornish Hens, rinsed and patted dry
1 lemon, sliced thin
8 cloves garlic, sliced in half lengthwise
2 tbsp capers
2 long sprigs rosemary
4 tsp oil
freshly ground black pepper and kosher salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Separate skin on breasts of hens from the flesh.
Slice four lemon slices in half and slide half a lemon slice between the skin and flesh of each breast.
Divide remaining lemon slices between the cavities of each bird.
Divide garlic, capers, and rosemary between each bird, stuffing into the cavity.
Rub the breast of the birds with oil, then rub with black pepper and salt.
Bake until done, between 1 hour and 1 1/2 hours.

Mashed (Sweet) Potatoes and Leek Butter
2 large yams, peeled and cubed
2 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 leek, white only, sliced in half, then thinly sliced into half moons
1/4 c butter

Place yams and potatoes into a pot, cover with water.
Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook until tender.
Rinse leeks well and set to drain.
When potatoes are nearly done, heat small skillet and melt butter.
Add leeks and cook until tender.
Drain potatoes and return to pot.
Pour in leeks and butter and mash to desired consistency.
Serve hot.

Mushroom Pizza

Sunset from my back window

My friend came over yesterday for an evening of cooking and knitting. The food was good (a Thai curry), but would have been better if I had remember correctly and told her to buy the fish sauce. I guess I didn't have any in the house after all... but the dish didn't suffer too much from the absence of the fish sauce, so all was well. The recipe called for shitake mushrooms, stems removed. Instead of letting those stems go to waste, we saved them and tonight I made a mushroom pizza. I heated my pan and then added my oil and let it heat up as well. That way, the shitake mushroom stems didn't absorb too much oil, but did give the oil a strong mushroom flavor. I added to that garlic and rosemary. Once the garlic was starting to brown, I removed the mushroom stems, garlic and rosemary. I then turned down the heat and once the oil had cooled a bit, I added about one cup of chopped portabella mushroom. This I cooked slowly, allowing the mushrooms to wilt and absorb the flavored oil. Once it had cooked a while, I added some flour and then some milk. I combined the sauce with sharp cheddar cheese to top the pizza. I was very pleased with the results. I hope you enjoy it too.

Mushroom Pizza

pizza crust (see Rockin' Homemade Pizza)
1/4 c olive oil
stems from 5 oz of fresh shitake mushrooms, trimmed and sliced lengthwise
3 large cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1 large portabella mushroom, chopped fine (yields approximately one cup)
1 tbsp flour
salt and pepper to taste
3 oz milk
1 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
Heat a 2 quart sauce pan over medium high heat.
Once the pan is hot, add the olive oil.
Once oil is bubbling, add the shitake mushrooms and cook, stirring, until slightly browned.
Add garlic and rosemary and cook until the garlic just turns golden brown.
With a slotted spoon, remove the mushroom stems, garlic and rosemary.
Turn down heat to medium low and add the portabella mushrooms.
Allow the mushrooms to cook slowly for 5 to 10 minutes, until wilted and only a little oil is still visible in the pan.
Add the flour, salt and pepper and cook for one minute.
Slowly stir in the milk.
Once the mixture is smooth (except for the mushroom pieces), remove from heat.
Prepare your pizza crust and prebake for 4 to 5 minutes.
Remove the pizza crust from the oven and spread evenly with the mushroom sauce and cheese.
Bake another 8 to 10 minutes, or until bubbly and golden.
Remove from oven, slide from the pan onto a cutting board; cut and serve.


Someone got a haircut...