Paella

Funny enough, I have only ever had paella while traveling in France (I've never been to Spain).  There are many different variations to this dish; I chose this recipe because it sounded like it would come out closest to what I had had--and I was right!  Thing is, it's not a cheap dish to make, as it requires saffron threads, which, in case you have not heard, are one of the most expensive spices out there.  On the plus side, you get your money's worth--this recipe makes a massive amount of servings!  I had to freeze most of my leftovers.

Here is a link for the original recipe:
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/traditional-spanish-paella-0
I made only minor substitutions, as I had never made such a thing before and didn't want to deviate too far from what was indicated.

Ingredients:

--herb blend--
1 c. chopped fresh parsley
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice (it took 2 lemons for me to get this much)
1 T. olive oil
1 tsp. minced bottled garlic

--paella--
1 c. water
1 tsp. saffron threads
3 cans (14.5 oz) chicken broth
1/2 lb. shrimp (I used the prepared/cooked/frozen medium sized ones)
1 T. olive oil
4 skin on, bone-in chicken thighs, cut in pieces
6.5 to 8 oz. chorizo (Spanish sausage), casing removed, cut in 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices (I used 7.8 oz)
1/4 lb. prosciutto, cut in small chunks
2 medium sized yellow onions, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1 tsp. sweet Spanish paprika
1 1/2 tsp. minced bottled garlic
3 c. Arborio rice (I used 2 c. Arborio and 1 c. long grain white rice because I didn't have enough Arborio)
8 frozen mussels
2 T. fresh lemon juice

Instructions:

1. Combine the ingredients of the herb blend in a small bowl and set aside.

2. In a large saucepan, combine water, saffron, and chicken broth.  Bring to a simmer (do not boil), then turn heat down to low to keep warm until needed.

3. Heat 1 T. olive oil in a large, deep skillet or paella pan over medium-high heat.  Add chicken and sauté for 4 minutes, then remove from pan and set aside.

4. Add chorizo and prosciutto, sauté for 2 minutes, then remove from pan and set aside.

5. Add shrimp, sauté for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove from pan and set aside.

6. Reduce heat to medium-low.  Add onion and red bell pepper; cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

7. Add tomatoes, paprika, and garlic.  Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

8. Add rice.  Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

9. Stir in herb blend, broth mixture, chicken, and chorizo.  Bring to low boil; cook 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

10. Add mussels to pan, nestling them into rice mixture.  Cook 5 minutes or until shells open; discard any unopened shells.

11. Add shrimp.  Stir in and cook 2 minutes.

12. Remove from heat.  Drizzle lemon juice over top, then cover with a kitchen towel and let stand for 10 minutes.  Enjoy!

Fudge Nut Brownie Cake

Time for another chocolate treat!  Had never tried this one before, despite the recipe card being in my collection for quite a long time.  Very glad I finally got around to it; recommend serving with some vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt :)

Ingredients:

--cake--
1/2 c. dark corn syrup
1/2 c. butter or margarine (I used butter)
1 c. semisweet chocolate morsels
1/2 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. chopped walnuts

--glaze--
2/3 c. semisweet chocolate morsels
2 T. butter (or margarine)
4 T. dark corn syrup
2 tsp. milk

chopped walnuts and/or raspberries (or strawberries) for garnish, if desired

Instructions:

1. Grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.  Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Combine corn syrup and butter in a saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring continually.

3. Add chocolate and stir until melted.  Remove from heat.

4. Add sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  Stir until well combined.

5. Blend in flour and walnuts, then pour mixture into prepared pan.  Bake 30 minutes (or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean).

6. Cool in pan for 10 minutes on rack.

7. Loosen cake edges with a spatula and turn out onto rack to finish cooling.

8. For the glaze: combine chocolate, butter, and corn syrup in a saucepan over LOW heat until chocolate is melted.

9. Remove from heat and stir in milk.  Pour glaze over cake, then top with nuts and/or berries if desired.  Enjoy!

"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.