"Big" Dinner #1, part 3--Stuffed Mushrooms

Last part of my "big" dinner mini-series, which can be found in the last two days' entries.  These were so great, I could have eaten all of them alone and been quite happy.  Here is a link to the recipe I used as inspiration:
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/classic_stuffed_mushrooms/

Ingredients:

18-24 baby bella or white mushrooms (I used white/button mushrooms, 12 oz, which gave me 19)
1 T. butter
1 tsp. minced bottled garlic
salt
1 1/2 tsp. herbes de Provence
2 T. dry sherry
2 T. Panko
1 T. grated Parmesan cheese
2 T. olive oil
Sargento Italian 6-cheese chef blend

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. Separate mushrooms from mushroom stems; finely chop the mushroom stems, reserve mushroom caps in a bowl.

3. Heat butter over medium-high heat and add chopped mushroom stems.  Sauté for 4-5 minutes.

4. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 more minute.  Add herbes de Provence and salt, stir to combine, then add sherry and cook for 1 more minute, stirring often.

5. Remove from heat and place mixture in food processor.  Pulse a few times to obtain a pasty textured mixture.

6. Add Panko and Parmesan cheese to the pasty mixture and stir to combine.

7. In the bowl with the mushroom caps, add the olive oil and toss together.

9. Place caps on baking sheet with destemmed area facing up.  "Stuff" each cap with just slightly more mixture than full.

10. Top caps with cheese blend in desired amount.

11. Bake for 20-25 minutes (I think I did 22 minutes and they were plenty ready) and enjoy!

"Big" Dinner #1, part 2--Stove Top "Roasted" Red Potatoes

As promised, I am now posting the first side of my "big" meal (main dish posted yesterday).  I wanted something that was easy and tasty, slightly more involved than I'd usually have time for.  I think I may have made these once before; must have been a while, since I can't recall.  Either way, they turned out great and I will certainly be making them again!  Here is a link to the recipe:
http://www.food.com/recipe/stove-top-roasted-red-potatoes-452470?photo=323901
I followed it almost exactly as written--only change was the amount of salt and to cover the potatoes while microwaving.

Ingredients:
6 large red potatoes, cut in bite-size pieces
3 T. butter
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. coarse ground pepper
3/4 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder

Instructions:
1. Place potatoes in a microwave-safe bowl, cover, and microwave on high for 10 minutes.  Remove from microwave, uncover, and let rest for a couple minutes.

2. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add the butter.  Toss/stir potatoes to coat in butter, then add seasonings.

3. Cook for 6-8 minutes, or until desired doneness (I think I cooked closer to 10) and enjoy!

"Big" Dinner #1, part 1--Milanese Braised Beef

Occasionally, I feel like making a "big" dinner--well, big for me, anyway.  Most of the time I cook a main dish and a simple side or salad; this time, I made a pricey main dish and two nice sides.  Here is my lovely table, full of wonderful food:

And my plate, looking great as well:

First, I will post about the main dish, which is Milanese braised beef.  This recipe is from a book I have called "Cooking With Wine" by Anne Willam.  Most of the recipes are quite involved and ask for a list of ingredients that can get costly in a hurry (thus why I said "pricey" main dish for this one). So far, the couple of recipes I've managed to try from it have been excellent, with this one being no exception.  The side dishes I made are not from it, and will be posted in the next two posts.

Ingredients:

1/4 lb. pancetta, cut into small pieces

2.5 to 3 lb. top round/London broil (long, rectangular cut)

2 to 3 garlic cloves, cut in slivers

3 T. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

salt and pepper

1 T. oil or lard (I used canola oil)

1 T. butter

1 onion, chopped (I used a medium sized yellow onion)

1 bottle Italian red wine (I used a Piemonte Barbera)

1 bay leaf

2 to 3 sprigs fresh basil

2 to 3 sprigs fresh marjoram

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 300°F.  With the point of a small knife, poke holes in the beef and push 2 pieces of pancetta and a sliver of garlic into each.

2. Roll and tie the meat into a cylinder (pancetta and garlic inside roll).

4. Mix the flour, cloves, cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper on a plate.

5. Roll the meat in the flour mixture, being sure to coat well all over (pat on with hands if needed).  Heat the oil (or lard) and butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat, add the meat, and brown very thoroughly on all sides (around 15 minutes).

6. Add the onion to the pan (with the meat) and brown it as well, around 3 to 5 minutes.

7. Pour in the wine, add the bay leaf, basil, and marjoram to the pan.  Cover and bring to a boil.

8. Transfer to oven and braise for 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours--turn beef from time to time; meat should be tender enough to cut without using a knife (mine was 2.85 lbs, went for just over 3 1/2 hours).

9. Remove beef from pan and place on a platter, cover with foil to keep warm.  Strain remaining sauce and return to pan.  Boil sauce for 10-15 minutes to reduce; serve with meat and enjoy!

Pâtes Aux Lardons (Pasta with Bacon and Gruyère)

Oh, how happy I am to have come across this recipe!  I've had dishes similar to this when in France, but the version I ended up with (after slight tweaks) was ahhhhmazing.  I could eat this far too often (but won't, given how many calories I imagine it must have...)--it's not difficult to make, so that doesn't help decrease the desire for repetition!
Anyhow, here is the link to the original recipe:
https://chezbonnefemme.com/pates-aux-lardons-french-pasta-with-bacon-and-gruyere-or-comte-of-course/

Ingredients:

8 slices of bacon, chopped (I suggest using kitchen shears--hold all 8 strips together and cut 1/4" sections across all strips)
2 T. unsalted butter
2 T. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. 2% or whole milk, plus a little more (I used 2%)
2 tsp. bottled minced garlic
4 oz. shredded Gruyère (or Emmental, or Comté, or Fontina) cheese
1/4 c. grated/shredded Parmesan-Reggiano cheese, plus more to garnish
salt
coarse ground black pepper
dried parsley
8 oz. dried pappardelle (or other wide, flat pasta, such as fettuccine)

Instructions:

1. Bring large pot of salted water to boil for pasta and cook according to package directions.

2. In a large saucepan or skillet (I used a skillet), cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp but not hard (basically, when it just starts to brown).  Use a slotted spoon to transfer bacon to a towel-lined plate and discard bacon drippings.

3. Wipe out pan and return to medium heat.  Melt the butter, then whisk in the flour and cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minute--do NOT allow mixture to brown.

4. Slowly whisk in the milk, then add garlic.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

5. Add cheeses to the sauce and whisk until melted and smooth.  If sauce is too thick, add small splashes of milk and whisk in until desired texture is reached (I think I added around 3T. more).  Remove from heat.

6. Season with salt, pepper, and parsley to taste.  Stir in bacon.

7. Toss with cooked pasta.

8. Garnish with grated Parmesan-Reggiano and dried parsley--enjoy (lots)!

Oatmeal Bread (bread machine)

Did I mention I love my bread machine?  Because I totally do :)  It's so easy to use, and who doesn't like the smell of baking bread to fill the house??  Decided to try a different type of bread this time, just to do something different.  As usual, glad I did--it's a lovely bread!  This recipe comes from the user manual that came with my machine, an Oster 2 lb. Expressbake.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 c. water (70-80°F)

3 T. honey

2 T. butter or margarine

3/4 c. quick-oats oats

1 3/4 tsp. salt

3 3/4 c. bread flour

2 T. oat bran

2 T. dry milk

2 tsp. active dry yeast

Instructions:

1. Measure and add liquid ingredients to the pan.

2. Measure and add dry ingredients except yeast to the pan.

3. Use your finger to form a small well/hole in the middle of the dry ingredients.  Be sure that the hole does not go too deep, as you do not want the yeast to touch the liquids.  Measure and add yeast into the well/hole.

4. Snap baking pan into the breadmaker and close the lid.

5. Select the "BASIC" baking setting.

6. Select "Crust Color" according to preference (I used medium).

7. Press "Start" and let the machine do all the work :)

This is what mine looked like when it came out:

I always turn my bread out on to a plate with a cooling rack within a few minutes of removing it from the machine.

Drop Sugar Cookies

Warning: these cookies are severely addictive, and this recipe makes a lot of them...
This is a family recipe that I love--too much.  The cookies are delicate and right between chewy and crispy mmmmm. As written, this makes quite a few cookies. In the video I made for these, I halved the recipe and it still turned out just as great, so feel free to do so :)

Link to my YouTube "making of the recipe" video: https://youtu.be/jK2Y6bjRBFI

Ingredients:

1 c. powdered sugar
1 c. sugar
1 c. canola or vegetable oil
1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar
4 c. flour
sanding/coarse sugar (around 3/4 c.)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Cream powdered sugar, sugar, oil, and butter together until very well blended (around 3 minutes).

3. Beat in eggs, vanilla extract, and lemon extract.

4. Sift salt, baking soda, cream of tartar, and flour together in a bowl.  Mix this into batter gradually, adding around a fourth of it at a time.

5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Use 2 spoons to "drop" cookies onto baking sheet.  (These are around 1 to 1 1/4 inch diameter.)

6. Pour some sanding sugar into a small shallow dish/plate.  Use the bottom of a flat measuring cup or glass to press into the sugar.  It will collect more sugar and more easily after the first few cookies.

7. Using the sugar coated bottom, press cookies gently to flatten; thickness should be around 1/4 inch.

8. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes.  They should look slightly puffy and "set", with slightly golden brown edges (depends on your baking sheet--but do not overbake!)

9. Let cookies cool on baking sheet on cooling rack for at least 3 minutes, then slide parchment off with cookies onto rack to cool a few minutes more.

10. Remove from parchment paper to finish cooling completely.

11. Enjoy lots!