Kitchen Kat

Americans seem to be mad about mushrooms. Walk into any grocery store and you’ll spy bins of plump white button, umbrella-shaped shiitake, sprout-like enokitake and big, brown portobello mushrooms, all commercially grown and ready for consumption. No wonder we see so many mushrooms. Our cultivated crops bring in $956 million in sales and provide consumers with 827 million pounds of food, according to the Washington D.C.-based American Mushroom Institute.

Versatility contributes greatly to the mushroom’s popularity. In my home. its nutty, woodsy flavor spices up sauces and stews. Sliced, it becomes a savory accent for omelets, stir fries, pasta and pizzas. As a main ingredient, it stars in such dishes as wild mushroom stroganoff, spinach-stuffed portobello caps, mushroom puffs and cremini tarts.

Before cooking fresh mushrooms, I give each a quick sniff. A sweet, earthy odor should rise from the firm, heavy flesh. Any slimy, foul-smelling ones get tossed into the trash before they taint the rest.

Finished with the smell test, I trim off any hard stems and brush away dirt with a damp cloth. As mushrooms consist of 90 percent water and readily absorb liquids, I don’t wash or soak them as I would other vegetables.

Dried mushrooms are another tale. Unlike their fresh brethren, I allow the desiccated domes to sit in a bowl of warm water for 30 minutes. This reconstitutes the withered flesh and provides me with a robust stock for soup and sauces. I always strain the soaking liquid to remove impurities before using.

Mushrooms prepped, I face the dilemma of how to cook them. The simplest method is to slice and serve raw over a salad or steamed vegetable. However, as mushrooms partner well with butter, olive oil, garlic, onion and shallots, I could sauté them en masse and present them as a nourishing side dish.

After marinating some hefty portobellos in lemon juice, vinegar or sherry, olive oil and marjoram, tarragon, thyme or rosemary, I have the option of broiling, baking or grilling the caps. I can also coat the portobellos with breadcrumbs, minced parsley and black pepper and fry them in a pan. When laziness prevails, I simply skewer the caps, drizzle them with olive oil and lay them on a hot grill. Within minutes I have several substantial meals.

So many hearty combinations and easy preparations. There’s no question why folks are utterly mad about mushrooms.

MUSHROOM PUFFS
Makes approximately 2 1/2 dozen

2 sheets of frozen puff pastry, cut into 2-1/2-inch circles
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
20 ounces cremini or white button, cleaned and trimmed
1-1/2 shallots, minced
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground white pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon water
1 egg, beaten
1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated
Several sprigs of fresh parsley, minced
Thaw frozen puff pastry sheets.

Preheat oven to temperature recommended by puff pastry manufacturer.

Melt the butter in a large frying or sauté pan. Add the mushrooms and sauté over medium heat until slightly softened. Add the shallots, salt and pepper and continue cooking over medium until mushrooms are soft. Remove pan from heat.

Using a 2-1/2-inch pastry cutter, cut out approximately 30 circles. Half will be used as the bottoms of the mushroom puffs. The other half will serve as the tops. Place the bottoms on ungreased baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart.

Add one tablespoon of water to the beaten egg and set aside.

Place one tablespoon of the mushroom filling on the center of each circle. Sprinkle Gruyere cheese and parsley over the mushrooms.

Taking one of the puff’s tops, apply the egg wash to the edges then place the moistened side on top of the mushrooms and press down on the edges to seal the puff. Repeat until all the puffs are assembled.

Bake in the oven for approximately 10 to 15 minutes, until puffs have risen and turned golden brown. For best results, serve immediately.

SPINACH-STUFFED PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMS
Serves 6

6 portobello mushrooms, cleaned and stems removed
8 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 3 lemons
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp freshly ground white pepper
1-1/2 pounds spinach, cooked and strained to remove water
2 cups diced tomatoes, drained
6 ounces Fontina cheese, cut into strips
Pre-heat the oven to 3500F.
Place the mushrooms smooth-side down in a baking dish.

Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano and pepper. Pour the dressing over the mushrooms then place the dish in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes. The mushrooms will appear soft and slightly browned when finished baking.

Turn off oven and remove pan. Turn broiler onto “medium” setting.

Put equal portions of spinach followed by tomatoes onto each mushroom and then lay equal amounts of Fontina on top of the tomatoes.

Place the dish back in the oven, under the broiler, and broil until the cheese is soft, about 1 minute. Remove and serve.

Tags: Food Musings by Kitchen Kat
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When life gets tough and leaves me longing for a sense of security, I escape to my kitchen and cook one of my favorite comfort foods: creamy macaroni and cheese.

Long considered a Depression era food, macaroni and cheese actually dates back to the late 18th century. Our third president, Thomas Jefferson, is credited with introducing the dish to America. The story goes that Jefferson returned from a trip to Italy with a pasta maker and recipe for macaroni coated with cheese. Originally made with equal amounts of grated Parmesan and butter, it would later feature the standard cheddar and bechamel sauce. Reputedly Jefferson’s favorite meal, this casserole was served at Monticello, his Virginia home, and also at parties in Washington.

Although considered a luxury item reserved for the rich, macaroni and cheese did appear in Mary Randolph’s The Virginia Housewife in 1824. Her housekeeping and cookery book instructed readers to ‘boil the macaroni with milk and water.’ After cooking and draining the macaroni, they should then place it in a bowl and cover the top with cheese and butter. By 1851, the recipe had evolved into a richer, cheesier dish featuring alternating layers of Parmesan, butter and macaroni. According to Jean Anderson in The American Century Cookbook (Clarkson, 1991), the first saucy macaroni and cheese appeared in 1915 in the Larkin Housewives’ Cook Book. Many cookbooks, though, continued with the drier, layered dish through the 1950s.

Despite its long history on these shores, macaroni and cheese didn’t become a nationwide sensation until the Depression. By that time, pasta was being manufactured on a large scale, making macaroni cheap and widely available. Adding a little cheese, butter and breadcrumbs to a pot of elbow macaroni provided unemployed, cash-strapped families with a simple, inexpensive and filling dinner.

Making mac ‘n’ cheese from scratch couldn’t be easier. While the elbows (or other short, tubular pasta) cook, I stir together equal parts flour and butter in a medium sized pan over medium-low heat. In other words, I make a roux. To this I slowly add milk, which transforms my roux into a bechamel sauce. While the sauce simmers, I sprinkle in my grated cheese of choice and a dash of ground white pepper and allow the ingredients to bubble away for a minute. By this point my macaroni should have reached al dente, a firm but not hard consistency and the ideal level of doneness for this dish. After draining the pasta, I tumble it into the sauce and stir the two together. At this stage I could cook the macaroni and cheese for another minute and then serve it. I could also spoon it into a buttered baking pan, dot the top with bread crumbs, and bake for 30 minutes.

Cook on the stove or bake in the oven? The decision is a matter of time and taste.

Likewise, personal taste plays a role in what cheese stars in my entree. Often I choose a high quality, aged, sharp cheddar and mix it with a little Parmesan. For more intense flavor I select a mixture of cheddar and Gruyere. No matter what cheese I choose, I know that in the end I’ll dig into a big bowl of delicious comfort food. Mac ‘n’ cheese — it’s the meal of contentment for me.

STOVETOP MACARONI AND A CHEESE QUARTET
Serves 4 to 6

2 cups elbow macaroni
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, grated
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 cup Romano cheese, grated
Dash of ground white pepper
Curry powder, optional garnish
Hot paprika, optional garnish

Following the directions on the package, cook the macaroni until al dente.

Meanwhile, in a medium-sized saucepan melt 2 tablespoons of butter then add the flour, whisking until well combined. Cook the roux for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Over medium heat slowly add the milk to the roux, stirring to incorporate. Cook together until slightly thickened. Add the cheeses and pepper to the liquid. Stir periodically until well combined and then remove from the heat.

Drain the macaroni. Tumble it into the pan with the cheese sauce, stir them together and allow the mixture to cook for 1 minute over medium heat, until the sauce has thickened. Spoon into bowls and serve immediately with an optional sprinkling of curry powder or hot paprika on top.

Tags: Food Musings by Kitchen Kat
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After a long season of munching on buttery cakes, iced cookies, and gooey candy the last thing that I want to bake, or eat, is dessert. I do, however, make an exception for meringues. Take one bite of an ethereally light meringue and you’ll understand why this confection was originally dubbed “sugar puff.” Crafted from egg whites and granulated sugar, this is one of the daintiest and simplest sweets that you’ll ever taste.

As a child, I associated meringue with the browned peaks capping off my mom’s coconut cream and lemon meringue pies. Yet, as I later learned, it is so much more than a topping for creamy treats. Where would ile flottante be without its white, fluffy islands or baked Alaska without its elegant, insulating alps? Minus meringue both become pools of cream sloshing about on our plates. Without question meringue remains the backbone of these and many other desserts.

Debate over the origins of this airy treat has raged on for decades. Some culinary historians credit the Swiss pastry chef Galasparini in the German town of Meiringen with meringues. Yet others point to a cook in the 18th century Duke of Lorraine’s kitchen as the creator of the first egg white delight.

Whoever did whisk together the first meringue unwittingly invented a longstanding, global hit. Eighteenth century French Queen Marie Antoinette reputedly loved meringues so much that she whipped up her own in the palace kitchen. Two centuries later Australian fans awarded the meringue-based pavlova the title of Australia’s national dessert.

Created in honor of the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, the pavlova consists of a meringue shaped in the form of a round basket or cake. Covered with whipped cream and then layered with strawberries, kiwi, bananas, peaches, raspberries or a combination thereof, the “pav” wows with its beautiful presentation and ease of preparation.

To make a meringue, I use an electric mixer to whip egg whites into a foam. Foam formed, I slowly add a little granulated sugar and continue beating. After the egg whites have doubled in size and soft peaks appear, I gradually pour in the rest of the sugar and continue to beat the mixture. When glossy, stiff peaks pop up, I am ready to slather the meringue over a pie or pipe it through a pastry bag or spoon it onto parchment paper and bake it.

If I am baking the meringue sans pie, I slip the parchment paper into an oven preheated to 275 degrees. After an hour has passed, I turn off the oven and allow the meringue to cook inside for another 3 hours or so. Due to the lengthy baking time I often start my meringue before going to bed and allow it to bake overnight.

When craving a crisp exterior but chewy interior — the consistency of pavlovas — I include either cornstarch or a tablespoon of vinegar in my ingredients list. After I have beaten my egg whites and sugar into stiff peaks, I fold the cornstarch or vinegar into the meringue. If I want to flavor my meringue with chocolate or ground nuts, I also add these at this time.

Easy to make. Light and delicious to eat. It’s no wonder that meringues remain my favorite “I’m-so-tired-of-sweets” sweet.

CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY PAVLOVA
Adapted from Nigella Lawson’s “Forever Summer” (Hyperion, 2003)
Serves 8 to 10

6 egg whites
1 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
container of store-bought whipped cream
1 pint raspberries, washed and dried
2-3 tablespoons grated semi-sweet chocolate

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Beat the egg whites until satiny peaks form and then beat in the sugar a spoonful at a time until the meringue is stiff and shiny.
Sprinkle in the cocoa, vinegar and chopped chocolate then gently fold until everything is mixed. Mound the meringue onto a baking sheet in a fat circle roughly 9 inches in diameter.

Place the baking sheet in the oven then immediately turn the temperature down to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook for 1 to 1¼ hours until its crisp around the edges and sides and dry on top. There should still be some give to the center of the meringue. Turn off the oven and, leaving the meringue inside, allow it to cool completely.

When ready to serve, cover the top with whipped cream, followed by the berries and shavings of chocolate.

LIZ THEISEN’S STRAWBERRIES ROMANOFF IN MERINGUES
Makes 10 to 12

2 quarts ripe strawberries, washed
1 (6-ounce) can frozen orange juice concentrate, defrosted
1 cup port wine
Sugar
3 tablespoons Mandarine liqueur
2 cups heavy whipping cream
Forgotten Meringues (recipe follows)
Flowers or flower petals or shelled pistachios

Hull strawberries and place in a large bowl. Add orange juice concentrate and port and season to taste with a little sugar, if desired. Gently stir and allow berries to mellow in this mixture for 2 hours. Add Mandarine liqueur, taste and add more sugar, if desired. Whip cream with or without sugar to taste. Fill meringue shells with berries, garnish with flowers or pistachios and serve with whipped cream on the side.

Forgotten Meringues:
6 egg whites
1-1/2 teaspoons lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 cups sugar

Beat egg whites with lemon juice or cream of tartar until frothy. Gradually add sugar and beat until stiff and glossy. Pipe into 12 nest shapes or drop by small spoonfuls in circles on brown paper on a baking sheet. Place tray in preheated 400-degree oven, close door and turn off the heat. (Don’t peak!) Let stand overnight in the oven. Meringues will be baked by morning.

Tags: Food Musings by Kitchen Kat
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