elly says opa

Meatless Monday: Pasta with Portobello Mushrooms, Caramelized Onions, and Goat Cheese

November 27, 2011 · 12 comments

With a title like that, how could I not want to make this recipe when I first encountered it? Those ingredients pretty much scream “Elly!” Not to mention, they also tend to be in my kitchen at all times.

This is a perfect year-round vegetarian pasta dish that’s easy to make, hearty, and flavorful. This is definitely one of those dishes where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Just a few simple ingredients provide great earthiness and depth of flavor.

I altered the ingredient amounts a bit in this recipe, mainly to make it healthier (a bit less fat, less pasta for the same amount of servings, etc.). But I also added a little booze. :-D I didn’t add peas to this when we had it for dinner, since we ate it with a salad, but I did add a small handful to my lunch leftovers.

A bit of housekeeping: The winner of the Hodgson Mill giveaway is Cheryl Newton who said “I would stock up on white whole wheat flour.” Congrats, Cheryl! You should be receiving an email shortly from Hodgson Mill.

Pasta with Portobello Mushrooms, Caramelized Onions, and Goat Cheese

Adapted from Food & Wine

1.5 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
3 onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tsp. salt, divided
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 lb. portobello mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
10 oz. pasta (I used whole wheat penne)
3 oz. soft goat cheese, crumbled
3 Tbsp. Parmesan or Romano cheese, plus more for serving

In a large pan, melt 1 Tbsp. butter and 1 Tbsp. of the oil over moderate heat. Add the onions, 1/2 tsp. salt, and the sugar and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are well browned, about 20 minutes. Add the wine and cook until nearly evaporated, a few more minutes. Remove the onions from the pan.

In the same pan, melt the remaining .5 Tbsp. butter and 1 Tbsp. oil over moderate heat. Add the mushrooms and 1/4 tsp. of the salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and brown, about 8 minutes. Add the reserved onions, the parsley, the remaining 1/4 tsp. salt, and the pepper.

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. Reserve 3/4 cup of the pasta water and drain. Toss the ziti and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water with the mushroom mixture, goat cheese, and the Parmesan/Romano. If the pasta seems dry, add more of the reserved pasta water. Serve with additional Parmesan.

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Giveaway: Hodgson Mill Gift Card

November 22, 2011 · 74 comments

in misc.

UPDATE: Unfortunately, I can not recommend purchasing products from Hodgson Mill’s website. The winner of my gift card emailed to let me know that everything on the site was costing way more to ship than the actual product (she would have paid over $30 in shipping to use a $25 gift card). After looking around myself, I realized the same thing (some shipping was upwards of $80 for a few bags of flour). The people at HM did not offer to waive or discount the shipping, and I would not have done the giveaway had I known the gift card couldn’t even be used.

Recently, the people at Hodgson Mill reached out to me to see if I would be interested in creating an original recipe for the holidays, but making it healthy using whole wheat flour. You know that I love to use whole wheat flour to make things healthier, so I said yes!

I have used HM products in the past, and have always been happy with their products. I was really excited to find out they have an organic line, which I was not previously aware of. I can’t wait to try it out!

I haven’t decided on my recipe for the contest yet, but I will be posting it when I do (in the meantime, if you have any suggestions for things you’d like to see me make, let me know!).

In addition to sending me some flour to enter the contest, Hodgson Mill is also providing a $25 gift card to one of my readers, to use at their online store.

To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment telling me what you’d like to buy from the HM store.

The deadline to enter this giveaway is Friday, November 25 at midnight CST. The winner will be announced early next week.

Disclaimer: Hodgson Mill is providing the gift card to a reader, but they did not compensate me for this post. They did send me flour to create an original recipe, which will be posted soon. The ideas expressed in this post are my own.

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Spicy Pepper Jelly-Marinated Pork Tenderloin

November 20, 2011 · 7 comments

in healthy,pork

A couple months ago, my husband’s cousin was in town. We met for breakfast, and she brought me a jar of habanero pepper jelly from Seattle (from Woodring, for those of you in the know). I am a HUGE lover of peppers (um, I’m sure you already realized that) but pepper jellies have always made me turn my nose up a bit. There is absolutely no reason for this, other than my normal sweet-savory aversion when it comes to certain things. Well, that, and those popular cocktail meatballs made with pepper jelly that I’m just not into.

Since I’ve always shied away from pepper jellies, I wasn’t sure what to do with this. All I could think of was either making some sort of glaze, or serving it as an appetizer/dip with some softened cream cheese. But then, I was talking to my friend Josie and she told me she had a cookbook with a pepper jelly-marinated pork recipe she’d been meaning to try. Since we have very similar tastes in food, I knew the recipe would sound good to me, too!

I got around to making it last week, finally, and it was fantastic. The marinade may sound a bit strange at first glance (orange juice and red wine?) but believe me, all the ingredients work together perfectly and you’re left with a pork tenderloin that is both spicy and sweet, and a perfect balance of the two.

The original recipes calls for grilling the pork, and occasionally basting it with the reserved marinade, but I cooked the pork indoors. I marinated the pork like normal, and then I seared it in a cast iron skillet, reserving the marinade. While the pork finished cooking in the oven, I brought the marinade to a boil on the stovetop, and let it boil a few minutes, and then brushed it over the cooked tenderloin at the very end. I made 1 tenderloin instead of two, but it was really big, so I ended up doing roughly 2/3 of the recipe (I’ve posted the original recipe below, so the measurements aren’t wonky).

I cannot tell you how many pork tenderloin & sweet potato dishes grace my cast iron skillet. It’s perfect because tenderloin usually takes about 15 minutes in the oven while the potatoes take about 20, so you can remove the pork and let it rest while the potatoes finish cooking. And only one pot to clean. You can easily through some vegetables in here to roast too, for a complete meal, but we had this with a salad.

Spicy Pepper Jelly-Marinated Pork Tenderloin

Adapted from Sara Foster’s Southern Kitchen

2 (1 lb.) pork tenderloins
1/2 cup of your favorite pepper jelly (I used habanero)
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 orange, zested and juiced
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. freshly chopped rosemary
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

Pat the pork dry and remove any excess fat.

Whisk together the remaining ingredients, and then pour over the pork (or into a resealable bag, with the pork). Marinate at least two hours or overnight. Turn the pork several times, to distribute the marinade evenly.

Preheat the oven to 425.

Remove the pork from the bag/bowl, and pour the marinade into a small saucepan. Liberally salt the tenderloin.

Heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet (preferably) over medium high heat. Once hot, add the pork and sear on all sides, about 8 minutes. Place the entire pan in the oven and cook until internal temperature reads 135-140, about 15 minutes. (If adding potatoes, slice 1-2 sweet potatoes into wedges, toss with a little canola oil and your favorite seasonings, and add the pan before sliding into the oven).

Meanwhile, bring the marinade to a boil on the stove. Boil for about 5 minutes, until thickened.

Brush the cooked tenderloin with the boiled marinade. Tent the pork with foil and let it rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing.

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Eat to the Beat: Gin and Juice Cupcakes

November 18, 2011 · 13 comments

in sweets/desserts

If you were born within about 15 years of me, in either direction, I don’t think I should have to explain the song I chose for this edition of Eat to the Beat, based on this post’s title. But in case you’re older, or foreign, or my mom (who, I guess, is all of those things), these cupcakes are based on Snoop Dogg’s 1995 hit “Gin and Juice” from the album Doggystyle, which was on the radio and everyone’s stereo 24/7 when I was in high school. How did that song come out 17 years ago? Crap, I’m old.

I had a few different ideas for Eat to the Beat this time, and for some reason the top three all involved orange flavored things. I have no idea why. But I went with this song because, well, it’s kind of the funniest? And also, the most popular of the songs I’d thought up.

I’ll be honest and say I had no idea what the juice from gin & juice was. Snoop, are you reading my blog? If so, LMK, OK? I did some googling and it appeared it could be orange or grapefruit, so I went with orange and made cupcakes that had fresh orange juice in the batter, and also some juice & zest in the buttercream. I added just a bit of gin to both the cupcakes and the frosting. Snoop would be so proud.

The base of these cupcakes was modified from a recipe that is for Tequila Sunrise cupcakes, and actually happens to be vegan. I de-veganized it because I added regular milk, but there are still no eggs, so it’s easy to re-veganize. The cupcakes turned out incredibly moist, as I often think cupcakes made with oil vs. butter tend to be. They were a bit springier than a standard cupcake, most likely due to the lack of eggs., but quite tasty! They were also incredibly easy to make and took *maybe* five minutes of mixing. Just a quick whisk of dry ingredients and a quick whisk of wet, combine.

I hope some of you will be able to participate in Eat to the Beat this time. It’s always so fun to see everyone’s entries! The deadline is next Sunday, so if you haven’t come up with an idea yet, figure out a way to turn that Thanksgiving turkey into a song. :)

(PS: Please forgive my horrible cupcake frosting disability)

Gin and Juice Cupcakes

Cupcakes inspired by Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World via Slashfood, frosting recipe is my own

Cupcakes

2 tsp. orange zest
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 cup milk (or soy milk)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup canola oil
1.5 Tbsp. gin
1 cup sugar
1-1/3 + 1 Tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat the oven to 350 and line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners.

In a large bowl, whisk together the first 7 ingredients (zest through sugar). In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and powder, and salt. Add the dry mixture to the wet, whisking until just incorporated.

Divide the batter evenly into the muffin tin (I used a 1/4 cup measuring scoop, which was perfect).

Bake for 18-22 minutes, until a tester comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1.5 Tbsp. fresh orange juice
1 Tbsp. gin
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2-2.5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
orange zest

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in another bowl, using a hand mixer), beat the butter until fluffy. Add the orange juice, gin, and vanilla extract and beat a couple seconds, until incorporated. With the mixer on low speed, add the sugar. Switch to a high speed and beat until light and fluffy, adding extra sugar (or orange juice) if necessary, to achieve the proper consistency.

Top the cupcakes with the frosting, and grate a little orange zest onto each.

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Herbed Bread Stuffing

November 14, 2011 · 4 comments

in misc.

Thanksgiving is next week (!!!) Did you know that? Admittedly, I didn’t…or, should I say, I didn’t realize it and kept thinking it was the following week. Where is November going?

If you’re still looking for a stuffing recipe to make for Thanksgiving, here is one that is pretty classic and easily adaptable to your tastes. I’ve made a few different versions of this stuffing, including altering the ingredients, changing up the herb amounts, and using staled bread vs. packaged unseasoned bread cubes. The version below has mushrooms and leeks, which are not in the original recipe, but you can surely omit the mushrooms and replace the leeks with onion (which is in the original recipe), if that’s more your style. I’ve also made this with sausage, which was great, especially because I am way more into sausage than I am turkey. :)

When I hosted Thanksgiving a few years back and made some version of this stuffing, I did a lot of the work in advance. I browned the sausage, sauteed all the veg, refrigerated. I even placed my spice mixture in a little lidded prep bowl. My bread cubes were staling overnight, so all I had to do the day off was toss everything together, add some eggs and broth, and we were good to go. Of course, I forgot the eggs that year, much like I forgot the shallots in my green beans. Chalk it up to first Thanksgiving hosting day jitters, I suppose.

Herbed Bread Stuffing

Liberally adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

8 Tbsp. unsalted butter (1 stick), divided
2 large leeks, white parts sliced (about 1 cup)
4 medium ribs of celery , diced
1/2 lb. sliced mushrooms
1/2 tsp. dried sage
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
12 cups dried 1/2-inch cubes from one 1-lb. loaf of bread (French, Challah, etc.)*
2.5 cups chicken stock or chicken broth
2 large eggs , beaten lightly
1 tsp. salt

Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 400 (350 if using challah). Grease a 13-x 9-inch baking dish.

Heat butter in large skillet over medium-high heat until fully melted; pour off about 3 Tbsp. butter and reserve.

Return skillet to heat, and add leeks and celery. Sauté, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Add mushrooms, sage, thyme, marjoram, parsley, and black pepper and cook until everything is tender, about 5 more minutes . Turn the mixture into large mixing bowl, and add bread cubes, stock, eggs, and salt and toss gently to distribute dry and wet ingredients evenly.

Turn mixture into the prepared baking dish and drizzle with reserved melted butter. Cover tightly with foil, and bake until fragrant, about 25 minutes (30 minutes for challah). Remove foil and bake until golden brown crust forms on top, 15 to 20 minutes longer.

*Typically, I stale bread over about 28-36 hours. The morning before, I cut the bread into 1/2″ slices, and lay them on a cooling rack or baking sheet. If you’re using a baking sheet, flip the slices sometime that evening. The following morning, I cut the slices into cubes, and then they’re ready to go into the stuffing later that afternoon/evening. You can use a low oven to speed up drying time, too.

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Ginger-Sesame Chicken with Bok Choy and Mushrooms

November 10, 2011 · 5 comments

in asian,chicken/poultry,healthy,pasta

If I lived to be 300 years old, I still wouldn’t get through half the starred items in my Google Reader. A sad but true fact. The good news about having so many recipes saved is that when you’re looking for something to make with ingredients you have on hand, a search in starred items yields plenty of possibilities.

I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for ages, but during a week when we received both bok choy and tatsoi in the CSA , it finally got added to the menu. I used both in this dish. Although I would love oyster (or shiitake) mushrooms in this, I had neither on hand, so I just used cremini, which worked fine. Really, any vegetable combination you wish to use would be perfectly acceptable.

There were a lot of steps in this recipe that included cooking something in the skillet, removing that thing, cooking another thing and removing; lather, rinse, repeat. I got rid of much of that, because it seemed unnecessary, because I’m lazy, and because I hate washing extra dishes.

This meal came together incredibly quickly, and we all really enjoyed it (Zachary included, although, again, he was not huge on the mushrooms, grr). I served this with lo mein noodles and, thanks to all the vegetables, this was a great one-dish meal. Plus, I halved the amount of oil, to make it very healthy too. Definitely a keeper!

Ginger-Sesame Chicken with Bok Choy Mushrooms

Adapted from Food & Wine, as seen on Proceed with Caution

1/2 cup chicken broth
3 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbsp. water
1/2 tsp. unseasoned rice vinegar
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1.5 Tbsp. canola oil
3/4 lb. oyster (or other) mushrooms, thickly sliced
3/4 lb. chicken breast, cut into 1″ pieces
3/4 lb. bok choy, sliced
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
2 scallions, sliced, green parts separated from whites
2 Tbsp. freshly minced ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil

In a medium jar or bowl, mix together the chicken broth, soy sauce, sugar, cornstarch slurry, rice vinegar and crushed red pepper. Shake or whisk well.

Heat 1/2 Tbsp. of the canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and then add to the hot oil and cook through, about 4 minutes. Remove from skillet.

Add the remaining 1 Tbsp. of oil to the pan. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Stir in the bok choy, red pepper, white slices of scallion, garlic, and ginger and cook until crisp-tender, about 2-3 minutes.

Return the chicken to the skillet. Shake or stir the sauce, and then add it to the pan. Bring to a boil and simmer until slightly thickened, about a minute. Stir in the sesame oil and scallion tops and serve.

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Tortellini Soup with Beans and Chard

November 7, 2011 · 16 comments

in healthy,pasta,soups and stews,vegetarian

I don’t like tomato soup. I know, it’s blasphemous, right? It’s just that I need stuff in my soup.

This soup has a lot of (good) stuff in it—tortellini, cannelini beans, and swiss chard. It’s sort of reminiscent of pasta fagioli but a little more…bulky. (That is a very accurate and oft-used term in culinary arena, trust me).

This soup is very rustic and comforting, and all the flavors come together nicely. I used herbs de Provence, but Italian seasoning or simply your favorite combination of herbs could easily be used here instead. In fact, this soup is interchangeable in many ways—use your favorite kind of pasta, herbs, leafy greens. Whatever you have on hand.

Although fresh tortellini would be great in this, I used dried because I picked it up on a whim at Trader Joe’s a couple weeks ago (I seem to always pick up at least 2-3 things on a whim there). I used a Parmesan rind in this soup, as I often do with soups like this one. If you have a wedge of Parm (or Romano) and don’t find an immediate need for the rind, you can freeze them for when you do need them. I tend to always have one or two sitting in my freezer, although I’m currently fresh out, which means it’s high time we polish off a wedge of cheese.

Tortellini Soup

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2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
8 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes (preferably fire-roasted)
1 (15 oz.) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 Tbsp. herbs de Provence or Italian seasoning
1 bay leaf
1 Parmesan rind (optional)
9 oz. fresh or 6 oz. dried cheese-filled tortellini
1 bunch swiss chard (or your favorite leafy green)
Parmesan cheese for topping

In a Dutch oven or soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste, and red pepper flakes and cook an additional minute. Stir in the broth, tomatoes, beans, herbs de Provence, and Parmesan rind. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Stir in the tortellini and chard. Continue to simmer until tortellini is cooked and chard is tender (dried tortellini will take a little longer than fresh; keep in mind certain greens like kale will take longer to take than tortellini and should be added a few minutes prior).

Ladle soup into bowls and top with freshly grated Parmesan.

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Moroccan-Spiced Chicken Paillards

November 2, 2011 · 9 comments

in chicken/poultry,healthy

More often than not, I find myself searching for one thing on Epicurious and ending up with something completely different. I honestly don’t even know what I was looking for when this recipe came up in the search results, but I do know that this got added to the menu on the spot.

Although I didn’t try Moroccan food until well into my twenties, I really enjoy the flavors. In fact, one of my favorite dinners in this Moroccan chicken with lentils, and this dish has similar flavors but takes even less time to make. You very likely already have the ingredients on hand to make this and, even better, it’s extremely easy and healthy.

The flavors in this were great – a little sweet and a little spicy (both hot spice and…well, whatever you call the type of spice than cinnamon is). I served the chicken with roasted brussels sprouts (my first of the season!) and couscous that I cooked in chicken broth with lemon zest and toasted almonds. The brussels sprouts took about twice as long to cook as the rest of the meal. :)

Moroccan-Spiced Chicken Paillards

Adapted from Gourmet

1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. black pepper
4 tsp. olive oil
1.5 lbs. chicken breasts sliced or pounded to 1/4″ thickness
salt

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 Tbsp. honey
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Combine the cumin, paprika, pepper, and oil in a small saucepan or skillet and cook over medium-low until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl, reserving the skillet. Brush the chicken on each side with the mixture. Season to taste with salt.

Heat a large, heavy bottomed skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat, and add the chicken (in batches). Cook approximately 2 minutes per side or until done. Keep warm on a covered plate.

To the skillet/saucepan you used for the oil and spice mixture, add the orange juice, honey, lemon juice, cinnamon stick, crushed red pepper, and any accumulated juices from the cooked chicken. Bring the mixture to a boil and boil for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in the butter. Season with salt and spoon over the chicken.

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Butternut Squash and Poblano Gratin

October 31, 2011 · 11 comments

in mexican/tex-mex,vegetables,vegetarian

This dish is really good. I mean, reallllllllllly good. If I were hosting Thanksgiving this year, I’m pretty sure it would make it on the menu.

I wanted to take pictures of the leftovers the following day when I had some natural light, but that plan went out the window when I decided to top the leftovers with an egg and call it (a damn good) breakfast.

I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for quite some time, but had to wait until it was this time of year again and butternut squash was again in season to make it. It absolutely did not disappoint. This gratin tastes sort of like a chili relleno in casserole form, which is good news for me. It has some earthiness and spice from the poblano peppers, a little sweetness from the squash, gooeyness (official foodie term) from cheese, and crunch from the toasted pepitas.

My market did have farmer cheese, but it was only sold in a 1 lb. package, so I decided to just use queso fresco, since I had no plans for the remaining farmer cheese. Really, many blends of cheese would work here, and the goat cheese Carrie used would be really lovely, no doubt.

This is not a particularly healthy dish but you can make it slightly less horrible, which I did. I used whole milk in place of cream, reduced the amount of olive oil (by a lot) and cheese (by a little), used a 2% Colby Jack, and light sour cream.

The result was one of my absolute favorite side dishes (and breakfasts), though I have no doubt that adding a can of black beans to this would make for a fantastic vegetarian meal, too.

Butternut Squash and Poblano Gratin

Adapted from Food & Wine, via Our Life in Food

2 large or 3 medium poblanos (about 3/4 lb. total)
1 (2 lb.) butternut squash, peeled, halved, seeded, and sliced 1/2″ thick
2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
3/4 tsp. chopped thyme, divided
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 cup heavy cream or whole milk
scant 1/2 cup sour cream (light is fine) or creme fraiche
3 oz. Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
3 oz. queso fresco or farmer cheese, crumbled
2 Tbsp. toasted pumpkin seeds/pepitas (I just do this in a dry skillet, over medium heat, until they are fragrant)

Preheat the oven to 400. Roast the poblanos directly over a gas flame or under the broiler, turning, until they are charred all over. Transfer the chilies to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a clean dishtowel until they are cool enough to handle. Peel the skins off, then stem and seed the chilies and cut into thin strips.

Toss the butternut squash with 1 Tbsp. of the oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and 1/2 tsp. of the thyme. Roast in the oven until tender, about 25 minutes, turning the sheet once midway through.

Increase the oven temperature to 425.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 Tbsp. oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, oregano, and remaining 1/4 tsp. thyme. Saute for 5 minutes and then add the poblano strips and cook until they are very tender, about 5 more minutes. Add the cream/milk and simmer until thickened.

Remove the pan from the heat, and add the sour cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Spoon half the poblano mixture into a baking dish and top with half the roasted squash. Sprinkle on half of the cheese. Repeat the layers.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until gratin is golden and bubbly. Let rest for 10 minutes and top with toasted pepitas before serving.

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Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup

October 26, 2011 · 4 comments

in healthy,soups and stews,vegetarian

When I was pregnant, I told Tom that “this kid better like mushrooms, or s/he won’t be eating much in this house.” Turns out, Z is still on the fence about them – but he better get on board soon, because I will never stop including them in our dinners.

Even as a picky kid, I adored mushrooms. I love them in pasta, love them as a side to steak, love them in soups, and love them on a burger – even more than bacon. Mushroom soup has always been one of my favorite soups. I enjoy both the brothy versions and the creamy versions (but I rarely make cream soups at home). I had some leftover porcini mushrooms from a different recipe that needed to be used up, so I decided to search my starred recipes for “poricini” (man do I love you, Google Reader).

I had nearly every ingredient for this soup on hand, except the wild rice. I added it to the grocery list and my husband went shopping. He called to tell me they only had a small package of wild rice, and it was expensive. By small, I was thinking a couple cups, so I told him to get it. Well, the box was literally the size of a deck of cards, possibly smaller. I actually didn’t even have the full 2/3 cup of rice the recipe called for. Sigh. It was close enough, so I still went on with making the soup, but seriously, why do they sell rice in packages so small?!

Between the porcini and cremini mushrooms, and ridiculously overpriced “box” of wild rice, this soup wasn’t particularly inexpensive, but thankfully what it lacked in frugality it made up for in flavor. It’s incredibly earthy and so comforting. It’s healthy yet hearty, and is the perfect accompaniment to both a rainy evening and a hunk of crusty bread.

Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup

Adapted from the New York Times

1/2 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
2 cups boiling water
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 medium carrots, sliced
2 celery ribs, sliced
1/2 lb. cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced thick (I used 10 oz. because that’s the size they sell at my store)
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2/3 cup wild rice
2 qts. chicken or vegetable broth/stock
A bouquet garni made with a few sprigs each of thyme and parsley
1 bay leaf
1 Parmesan rind
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Place the dried porcini mushrooms in a large glass measuring cup, and pour on 2 cups boiling water. Let sit for 30 minutes. Line a mesh strainer with cheesecloth at set if over a bowl. Lift the mushrooms from the water, and squeeze them over the strainer; roughly chop the mushrooms. Pour the soaking water through the strainer, and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook, stirring often, until just about tender, about five minutes.

Add the cremini mushrooms and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are beginning to soften, about three minutes. Add the garlic and a generous pinch of salt. Continue to cook for about five minutes until the mixture is juicy and fragrant.

Add the reconstituted dried mushrooms, the wild rice, bouquet garni, mushroom soaking liquid, stock, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer one hour.

Add the peas, and simmer another 10 minutes.

Remove the bouquet garni, and season to taste.

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