Break Out The Shrooms. ...No, Not Those.The Meatless Ragu That's a Great Start To A New Year.

   This all started while making a vegetarian chili. I'd seen a great recipe for a quick veg chili in the New York Times and thought that would be perfect for a quick weekday workday lunch or dinner. I was planning on grinding and using the mushrooms for a chili con carne minus the carne sort of thing but I got so involved making a cornbread drop biscuit topping for the chili and I forgot. Yes, I forgot and then it was oh damn!!!!! I opened the fridge door and there were mushrooms staring at me. That's when I thought I'd use them the next day in a different recipe which is exactly what I did.

Here's What You Need:

1 box of pasta (any shape)
2 16 oz cans of chopped tomatoes
Fresh chopped basil
1/2 tsp of dried oregano  or fresh if you have it.
1/4 cup of white wine
1 lb of crimini mushrooms
1 onion
A pinch of red pepper flakes
2 Tbs tomato paste
3 Tbs of olive oil.
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated cheese to taste

Here's What To Do:

Put a pot of lightly salted water on to boil for the pasta.
Place the crimini mushrooms in a food processor a bit at a time and pulse them until they resemble  coarse hamburger texture.
Finely chop the onion.
In a large skillet heat the olive oil
When the oil is hot add in the chopped onion and a pinch of red pepper and some chopped basil and the oregano.
When the onion is translucent  and everything is aromatic, add in you chopped mushroom "hamburger."
Saute it lightly until it darkens a bit.
Now add in the chopped tomatoes and the white wine.
Raise the heat till the tomato mixture starts to simmer, and then let it cook like that for about 20 minutes, until the chopped tomatoes start to break down, and the wine starts to evaporate.

When the sauce has thickened, add in your tomato paste, salt and pepper to taste.
Put your pasta into the water you have boiled and cook it until it's al dente.
When the pasta has cooked, drain it and save the pasta cooking water.
Put the pasta into the mushroom ragu and add in 1/2 cup of pasta water.
Stir everything together and cook until the water has absorbed.
Dish it up and top with some grated cheese.

Meanwhile on the doggo front we are settling in with our new adoptee, Tyrion. Since he is 3 years old and used to that name we're not going to change it. Also, we're #GOT fans so....what can I say. He's definitely making himself at home.

He is not supposed to be on that blanket btw but try telling him that.
he sleeps like a typical Husky.

We bought him another bed for the family room downstairs.

...but he still likes that couch.

So between writing and getting used to the new family member there haven't been as many recipes published. I've been cooking, just not publishing and so now that things are settling down look for more recipes, and follow along on Twitter @kathygori 

Mushroom Confidential. Top Secret and Very Hush Hush..It's Not Chicken!

    One of my favorite scenes in one of my favorite movies  LA Confidential involves the phrase “hookers cut to look like movie stars.“  A gem of a scene, it involves earnest Guy Pearce in  the mother of all mistaken identity messes with the real Lana Turner. He thought he couldn’t be fooled. He was.
 
I , on the other hand have always been fascinated by one food that looks like another. I am a sucker for such things. So when I ran across an Indian recipe that called for mushrooms to be cooked like chicken, I was so there. I couldn’t wait to give it a try. A Meatless Monday dish is always a hit around our house, and since fresh spring mushrooms were on sale at $1.99 a pound, it was to economical to resist.
  About mushrooms and Indian food, even though they may not seem to be a natural fit, they are. Indian recipe collections are filled with mushroom dishes of all heats and varities from the various regions of the subcontinent. This particular recipe comes from Sanjeev Kapoor one of the most celebrated Indian chefs, and his new book How To Cook Indian. This is an easy recipe that uses a paste of spices to quickly cook ordinary white mushrooms.

You know, the ones that don't cost and arm and a leg to purchase. This is not for the portobellos or the shitakes or the hedgehogs or God forbid the Chantereles.These are the plain Jane white or brown, everyday variety mushrooms.
   Once the paste is assembled, the mushrooms can be cooked in a just a few minutes. It makes a great fast side dish alongside well… real chicken, or you can eat it as we did, accompanied by a couple of tasty vegetarian side dishes. It also seems made for basmati rice though I haven’t tried it that way yet. But believe me I’m going to. Soon. And often!

Mushroom Curry

Here’s my adaptation of this dish:

Ingredients

• 1 lb of white mushrooms quartered
• 8 whole cloves
• 1/2 tsp of fennel seed
• 1 1/2 Tbs of coriander seed
• 1 small cinnamon stick
• 2 pieces of star anise
• 1/4 tsp of mace
• 4 dried red chilies broken into pieces
• 1/4 tsp of ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp of cumin seed
• 1 or 2 large shallots
• 3 red onions
• 2 Tbs of vegetable oil
• 1 Tbs of white poppy seeds
• 1 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1 Tbs of tamarind pulp (or lemon juice)
• 10 whole peppercorns
• 1 cup grated dried unsweetened coconut
• water
• cilantro

Instructions

1. Dry roast the cloves, cumin seed, coriander seed, star anise, chilies, mace, peppercorns, fennel seed and poppy seeds in a small skillet.
2. When the spices start to get fragrant, toss in coconut and toast that too until it starts to brown.
3. Take it off the stove and let the spices cool.
4. Put the spices and coconut in a small blender or food processor with 2 chopped shallots and 1 cup of water.
5. Blend it until it’s a smooth paste.
6. Set it aside.
7. In a skillet or kadhai heat 2 Tbs of vegetable oil.
8. When the oil is hot add 3 chopped red onions.
9. Saute them until they brown.
10. Add in the quartered mushrooms and salt, stir well.
11. Add in the spice paste mix well.
12. Add 1/2 cup of water and the tamarind pulp or lemon juice.
13. Simmer everything together for about 5 minutes or so until the mushrooms are cooked through.
14. Sprinkle a bit of chopped fresh cilantro over the top and serve.

  It's that easy! No kidding. Serve it with a salad or rice and another vegetable dish and you've got a hearty, flavorful and above all inexpensive dish. Even the most devoted meat eaters won't miss the chicken. Coming up next a trip to opening night of the Sonoma Farmers Market, and local vegetables go Indian. Follow along on Twitter @kathygori