San Francisco, Rustic Sourdough and mushroom stuffing

 Thanksgiving is coming up, that means, turkey, stuffing,  cranberry sauce and green bean casserole with a topping of deep fried onions. :) Below are the pictures of sourdough stuffing I made for a work function my husband attended. 

Getting the recipe together now. 

What you will need

• 1-pound loaf sourdough bread
• 8 tablespoons butter
• 10 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced 1/2-inch thick in both directions
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 to 4 stalks celery with leaves, halved lengthwise and sliced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• About 10 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped from the stems
• 10 to 12 fresh sage leaves, chopped
• 3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley leaves

What you will do

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 2-quart baking dish and set aside.

Cut or tear the bread into 1-inch cubes and spread it evenly on 2 baking sheets. Toast the bread in the oven until completely dry and beginning to crisp and brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and a few pinches of salt and saute, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add celery, onion, 2 tablespoons butter, and thyme. Once the butter has melted, cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables have softened, about 5 minutes. Add sage and remaining 4 tablespoons butter. Add chicken broth to skillet and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Transfer toasted bread cubes to a large bowl. Pour the chicken broth mixture over the bread cubes and toss to combine until the bread cubes absorb the liquid. Pour the mixture into the greased baking dish, and sprinkle with parsley. Bake in the center of the oven until heated through and the top is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Remove the stuffing from the oven and allow to cool about 15 minutes before serving.

Hummus and Sriracha Deviled Eggs

These turned out so good you won't even miss the mayo!

What you will need

6 eggs

large pinch of salt

tbsp of baking soda

1/2 tsp of sesame oil

1/2 cup of any kind of hummus

1 tsp of Sriracha

1 green onion or a small handful of chives

a sprinkle of paprika

and sesame seeds for garnish

What you will do

Put all six eggs into a pan and then poor cold water over them until they are totally submerged with about a half of an inch to an inch of water over the top. Add a generous pinch of salt, and the tablespoon of baking soda to the water. Turn it on high and when it comes to a boil, turn off the burner, cover the pot and start your timer for 11 minutes. 

Drain the water and poor cold water over the top of the eggs and let it sit. Once the eggs are cool you can begin to peel them, you'll find that since you added the salt and baking soda to the water the eggs will be easier to peel. 

Slice each egg in half and then put the yolks into a bowl, stir in the hummus, Sriracha, and sesame oil. You can either use a spoon, a piping bag or a sandwich bag with the corner cut to put the mixture into each egg (I just spooned it in).  Top with a sprinkle of paprika, the green onions and sesame seeds, and enjoy! 

Not Your Traditional French Onion Soup.

I used Alton Brown's recipe,  modified.

Turns out I only had one onion and a bunch of mushrooms so I modified the following recipe accordingly. 

what you will need

• 5 sweet onions (like Vidalias) or a combination of sweet and red onions (about 4 pounds)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups white wine
• 10 ounces canned beef consume
• 10 ounces chicken broth
• 10 ounces apple cider (unfiltered is best)
• Bouquet garni; thyme sprigs, bay leaf and parsley tied together with kitchen string
• 1 loaf country style bread
• Kosher salt
• Ground black pepper
• Splash of Cognac (optional)
• 1 cup Fontina or Gruyere cheese, grated

What you will do

Trim the ends off each onion then halve lengthwise. Remove peel and finely slice into half moon shapes. Set electric skillet to 300 degrees and add butter. Once butter has melted add a layer of onions and sprinkle with a little salt. Repeat layering onions and salt until all onions are in the skillet. Do not try stirring until onions have sweated down for 15 to 20 minutes. After that, stir occasionally until onions are dark mahogany and reduced to approximately 2 cups. This should take 45 minutes to 1 hour. Do not worry about burning

.

Add enough wine to cover the onions and turn heat to high, reducing the wine to a syrup consistency. Add consume, chicken broth, apple cider and bouquet garni. Reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes.

Place oven rack in top 1/3 of oven and heat broiler.

Cut country bread in rounds large enough to fit mouth of oven safe soup crocks. Place the slices on a baking sheet and place under broiler for 1 minute.

Season soup mixture with salt, pepper and cognac. Remove bouquet garni and ladle soup into crocks leaving one inch to the lip. Place bread round, toasted side down, on top of soup and top with grated cheese. Broil until cheese is bubbly and golden, 1 to 2 minutes.

The wonders of lavash

How I use lavash, w/ falafal, couscous, Greek yogurt, cucumbers, spinach, tomatoes, hummus and spices. 

What you will need

1 Lavash wrap

1/2 cucumber diced.

1/2 cup couscous

1 1/2cup Greek yogurt

1 roma tomato diced

1 cup water

1 pinch of salt

4 falafal (I get mine in the frozen section of Trader joes)

1 handful of flat leaf or Italian parsley chopped

1 handful of mint chopped

1/2 lemon

1/2 tsp minced garlic

a pinch of pepper

1 hand full of baby spinach

1/8 cup of hummus of your choice

1 tsp of extra virgin olive oil 

a squeeze of Sriracha

What you will do

First cook the couscous according to the packages directions, typically its 1/2 c of couscous to 1 c of water and a pinch of salt. Once that's done let it cool and then add in the olive oil, part  of the chopped parsley, part of the chopped mint, part of the garlic and a pinch of pepper. Put in the fridge. 

Next, put the yogurt in a mixing bowl and add the rest of the garlic, parsley, and mint, squeeze in the lemon, and throw in the cucumber stir it together and place that in the fridge too. 

Once both of the above items have been in the fridge no less than a half an hour, put your lavash in the oven just to get it warm enough to roll without it cracking.  Once its ready, spread your hummus on the lavash leaving about 1 inch on every side, place the falafals in a row. Top with the diced tomatoes, the couscous (tabouleh-ish), and then the Greek yogurt mixture (tzatziki-ish). Squeeze in a little Sriracha and then roll the lavash around the mixture kinda like a burritio. At this point you can eat is as is, or put it back in the oven or in a pan to warm it up. I like to place a hand full of baby spinach on the plate and then a few spoonfuls of the couscous mixture as a side and then the wrap that I cut in half, sliced at an angle (see photos above) 

Yummy!

Pizza on the cheap.

When life gives you this 

AND you're craving pizza! 

Look no further than your fridge. 

Don't be afraid to be creative!

These were made with whole wheat flat breads (on the left) whole wheat sourdough (on the right), diced canned tomatoes, fresh basil, string cheese, YES! STRING CHEESE, a little grated sharp cheddar, sauteed mushrooms, canned olives, thinly sliced yellow onions, and a couple of artichokes. 

I'm back! Happy Halloween!

 HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 

I'm excited to get this blog started again, chock full of fun recipes as well as fun recipes I am making for my 6 month old son. 

 Scary pumpkins 

Make yummy seeds. 

Not Your Moms Grilled Cheese

When we were kids our mom's loved to make us the good ol' trusty grilled cheese with wonder bread and Kraft American slices and paired with a can of Campbell's old fashioned tomato soup right? So why not do a grown-up condensed version of that meal.. Here is my take on the grilled cheese w/tomato soup.

 What it is-

Sourdough, sharp cheddar, sweet grape tomatoes, garlic, chili flakes, and other herbs.

What you need-

• Sourdough bread slices
• Sharp cheddar cheese
• Grape tomatoes
• Butter (or your favorite butter substitute)
• Minced garlic
• Any herbs and spices you like

What you do -

• Butter BOTH sides of the bread.
• Herb and spice BOTH sides. 
• Stack cheese and sliced grape tomatoes evenly.
• Heat up a medium frying pan on medium add a bit of olive oil, after 15 seconds place the composed sandwich in the pan 
• Cover. 
• Stay near and check often. 
• Flip the sandwich(after about 2 mins) - This is something that is not easy to explain, your sammi may try to fall apart, but you will get it eventually.

In the end the cheese will be melted but the tomatoes will not be mushy