Floyd's Greek Mushrooms

My husband continues to upstage me on the frugality stakes, bearing bargains back to the house on an almost daily basis.This week's triumph was 750g of mushrooms, reduced to 79p in the Co-op. Needless to say it's yours truly who has to make good use of them and ensure they don't go to waste.

For those of you who can't envisage 750g of mushrooms, it's a lot. About 1 1/2 lbs and mushrooms are really light. Of course there are a number of things I could have done with them - mushroom soup, mushroom quiche, Mushroom duxelles (a thick, delicious paste of cooked down mushroom and onion) but flicking through a new reprint of Keith Floyd's first cookbook Floyd's Food I'd just been sent by my publisher Absolute Press I found a recipe for Greek Mushrooms - a Floydish spin on champignons à la grecque. And very good it was too. (My comments in italics)

Serves 4-6

1 lb (450g) small button mushrooms
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sherry vinegar (not having sherry vinegar I used 1 tbsp cider vinegar and 1 tbsp amontillado sherry)
1 tbsp coriander seeds, coarsely crushed (don't use ground coriander)
1 bay leaf
1/2 lemon cut in very, very thin slices (sounds odd but delicious. Makes the recipe)
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1/2 tin of tomatoes and their juice (assumed that was half a 400g tin)
Salt and pepper

Wash and dry the mushrooms. Salt and pepper them. In a pan heat the olive oil and vinegar with the coriander seeds. When hot drop in everything else including the mushrooms and cook wildly (love this!) for 5 or 6 minutes. Lift out the mushrooms and allow the sauce to reduce by half (I didn't find I needed to do this - will depend on hte moisture content of your mushrooms). Pour back over the mushrooms. Chill for ages and eat them later (with some crusty bread and maybe another couple of mezze.)

And the rest of the mushrooms? I added them to the tail end of a coq au vin, adding a good Floyd-like slosh of extra red wine and served the resulting sauce with pappardelle (thick pasta ribbons). Which was also a success. Maybe I should let my husband do the shopping after all . . .

Were you - are you - an admirer of the late, lamented Keith Floyd? And have you ever tried one of his recipes?

Floyd's Greek Mushrooms

My husband continues to upstage me on the frugality stakes, bearing bargains back to the house on an almost daily basis.This week's triumph was 750g of mushrooms, reduced to 79p in the Co-op. Needless to say it's yours truly who has to make good use of them and ensure they don't go to waste.

For those of you who can't envisage 750g of mushrooms, it's a lot. About 1 1/2 lbs and mushrooms are really light. Of course there are a number of things I could have done with them - mushroom soup, mushroom quiche, Mushroom duxelles (a thick, delicious paste of cooked down mushroom and onion) but flicking through a new reprint of Keith Floyd's first cookbook Floyd's Food I'd just been sent by my publisher Absolute Press I found a recipe for Greek Mushrooms - a Floydish spin on champignons à la grecque. And very good it was too. (My comments in italics)

Serves 4-6

1 lb (450g) small button mushrooms
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sherry vinegar (not having sherry vinegar I used 1 tbsp cider vinegar and 1 tbsp amontillado sherry)
1 tbsp coriander seeds, coarsely crushed (don't use ground coriander)
1 bay leaf
1/2 lemon cut in very, very thin slices (sounds odd but delicious. Makes the recipe)
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1/2 tin of tomatoes and their juice (assumed that was half a 400g tin)
Salt and pepper

Wash and dry the mushrooms. Salt and pepper them. In a pan heat the olive oil and vinegar with the coriander seeds. When hot drop in everything else including the mushrooms and cook wildly (love this!) for 5 or 6 minutes. Lift out the mushrooms and allow the sauce to reduce by half (I didn't find I needed to do this - will depend on hte moisture content of your mushrooms). Pour back over the mushrooms. Chill for ages and eat them later (with some crusty bread and maybe another couple of mezze.)

And the rest of the mushrooms? I added them to the tail end of a coq au vin, adding a good Floyd-like slosh of extra red wine and served the resulting sauce with pappardelle (thick pasta ribbons). Which was also a success. Maybe I should let my husband do the shopping after all . . .

Were you - are you - an admirer of the late, lamented Keith Floyd? And have you ever tried one of his recipes?

Beef: It's What's For Dinner Part 2

Easy Steak Diane

The second recipe in my Beef Week set is something I really love; Steak Diane. Using a smaller, leaner cut and adding more veggies to the plate is the perfect way to keep this meal healthy without losing any flavor. The sauce was perfect and although I wasn't able to find the medallions called for, the still lean sirloin steak worked very well here. The steak was fork-tender and the seasonings right on. Yes, the kids all loved it and several of their growing tummies needed refills.

A note on steak doneness; when I was in culinary school we were taught to check for doneness in several ways. The most common is to use a thermometer to make sure the internal temperature of the meat is correct before serving. We also learned how to check by 'feel'. Although I still do it this way, I recommend using a thermometer for safety reasons. The way that meat looks inside is not always an indicator of proper doneness; a piece of beef can look 'done' and still be under temp and, likewise, a pink piece of beef may be at the proper temperature for service. Don't let color or feel fool you - go with the thermometer check. Please check www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com for more information on cooking with beef.

Remember to keep checking back for a chance to win a copy of The Healthy Beef Cookbook and a $100 gift card!


Easy Steak Diane

Total recipe time: 40 minutes
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

1. 1 pound beef shoulder petite tender medallions, cut 3/4 inch thick
2. 2 to 3 teaspoons lemon pepper
3. 2 teaspoons olive oil
4. Chopped fresh parsley
5. 1 tablespoon olive oil
6. 8 ounces mushrooms
7. 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots or onion
8. 2 tablespoons brandy
9. 1/2 cup whipping cream
10. 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Instructions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Add mushrooms and shallots; cook and stir 3 minutes or until tender. Remove from skillet; set aside. Wipe skillet out with paper towels.
2. Press lemon pepper evenly onto beef medallions. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in same skillet over medium heat until hot. Place 1/2 of beef in skillet; cook about 5 to 7 minutes for medium rare to medium doneness, turning occasionally. Remove; keep warm. Repeat with remaining 1 teaspoon oil and beef.
3. Add brandy to skillet; cook and stir over medium heat until browned bits attached to skillet are dissolved. Stir in cream and Worcestershire sauce. Add mushroom mixture; cook and stir until sauce is slightly thickened. Add beef; stir to coat with sauce. Sprinkle with parsley, as desired.

Fresh ingredients

Shallots and mushrooms sauteed

Searing the beef for the finished product (top of post)

Nutritional Information Per Serving

Nutrition information per serving: 465 calories; 56 g protein; 5 g carbohydrate; 23 g fat; 230 mg sodium; 151 mg cholesterol; 12.5 mg niacin; 0.9 mg vitamin B6; 3.8 mcg vitamin B12; 5.6 mg iron; 10.4 mg zinc.

This recipe is an excellent source of protein, niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, iron and zinc.

Cook's Notes

Note: Beef Shoulder Tender Medallions are cut from the Beef Shoulder Tender Petite Roast, a small separate muscle that rests on top of the shoulder near the top blade. The shoulder tender is separated by following the natural seam. It is then cut crosswise into 3/4-inch thick medallions.

Mushroom 'caviar' Mark II

There are some recipes you get obsessed with and have to go on testing until you crack them. This is a fantastic spread that they sell in the takeaway of our local Bristol restaurant, Culinaria.

I asked the chef, Stephen Markwick how they made it and he just rattled off a list of ingredients - as chefs do. I had a go and the taste was fine but it was a bit heavy. This morning I popped by when they were making a batch and found the reason was that I'd used butter and hadn't added enough crème fraîche so hopefully this version will work. Have a try and let me know how you get on.

The only downside is you do need a food processor to chop the mushrooms finely enough. Or I think you do. Tell me if that isn't the case.

Serves 6-8
2 shallots or 1 small onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and chopped
3 tbsp sunflower oil
350g button mushrooms, wiped clean and quartered
200g tub of crème fraîche
2 tbsp finely chopped tarragon leaves
Salt and pepper and a good squeeze of lemon juice
Olive oil

Put the onion and garlic in the bowl of your food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Heat the oil over a low heat in a medium to large heavy bottomed saucepan or frying pan and cook the onion and garlic gently until starting to soften (about 4-5 minutes) Chop the mushrooms very finely in the food processor and tip into the pan with the onions. Stir and cook over a very low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes until the mushrooms have the consistency of a thick paste. Take off the heat, stir in the creme fraiche and return to the pan and cook for another 15-20 minutes until the mixture has thickened again. Stir in the chopped tarragon and season to taste with salt, pepper and a good squeeze of lemon juice. Tip into a bowl and cool, trickle over a tablespoon or so of olive oil to stop the surface from discolouring and refrigerate. Serve at cool room temperature with wholemeal toast.

Mushroom 'caviar' Mark II

There are some recipes you get obsessed with and have to go on testing until you crack them. This is a fantastic spread that they sell in the takeaway of our local Bristol restaurant, Culinaria.

I asked the chef, Stephen Markwick how they made it and he just rattled off a list of ingredients - as chefs do. I had a go and the taste was fine but it was a bit heavy. This morning I popped by when they were making a batch and found the reason was that I'd used butter and hadn't added enough crème fraîche so hopefully this version will work. Have a try and let me know how you get on.

The only downside is you do need a food processor to chop the mushrooms finely enough. Or I think you do. Tell me if that isn't the case.

Serves 6-8
2 shallots or 1 small onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and chopped
3 tbsp sunflower oil
350g button mushrooms, wiped clean and quartered
200g tub of crème fraîche
2 tbsp finely chopped tarragon leaves
Salt and pepper and a good squeeze of lemon juice
Olive oil

Put the onion and garlic in the bowl of your food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Heat the oil over a low heat in a medium to large heavy bottomed saucepan or frying pan and cook the onion and garlic gently until starting to soften (about 4-5 minutes) Chop the mushrooms very finely in the food processor and tip into the pan with the onions. Stir and cook over a very low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes until the mushrooms have the consistency of a thick paste. Take off the heat, stir in the creme fraiche and return to the pan and cook for another 15-20 minutes until the mixture has thickened again. Stir in the chopped tarragon and season to taste with salt, pepper and a good squeeze of lemon juice. Tip into a bowl and cool, trickle over a tablespoon or so of olive oil to stop the surface from discolouring and refrigerate. Serve at cool room temperature with wholemeal toast.

Veggie Wednesday: Mushroom Stroganoff

I adore a good stroganoff and this vegetarian version is no exception. Mushrooms are just the right texture to replace meat in a dish that needs to stay rich.

I made this one with a brown sauce made from vegetable stock. I'll be posting about stocks in the next few days so you can check back for those recipes.

Mushroom Stroganoff

2 lbs mushrooms, cleaned and quartered (I used button mushrooms and Baby Bellas)
olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T shallot, minced
salt and pepper
red wine
brown sauce, as needed
sour cream, to taste
Cooked noodles or rice

Cook garlic and shallot briefly in olive oil and add mushrooms. Sauté until completely softened and liquid has evaporated. Push the mushrooms aside and deglaze the pan with a small amount of red wine, about 1/4 cup. Stir mushrooms and cover with brown sauce, 2 to 3 cups depending on what consistency you'd like. Stir well and add sour cream, 2 T to 1/4 c. Heat through and serve over rice or noodles.

Hobbit Food

I've written about what we'll be doing on New Year's Eve, over at Cookies to Caviar. These are some recipes that go along with that post, and a photo of what NOT to do when you're making Toad in the Hole.

Welsh Rarebit

4 T butter
2 t mustard
1 t Worcestershire sauce
dash Cayenne Pepper
2 c shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 c beer or milk
8 slices toast

Melt together butter, mustard, Worcestershire, cheddar and beer. Stir until smooth. Add cayenne and stir. Top each slice of toast with cheese sauce and place under a broiler until bubbly and browning.

Serves 4

Mushroom Blanquette

I learned to make veal blanquette in school, and there is nothing else like it. I figured the way that Hobbits love mushrooms, I'd make it with just mushrooms and no veal.

4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 lb button mushrooms - cut in halves our fourths
2 T butter
1 egg yolk
1/2 c heavy cream
10 blanched pearl onions

Cook mushrooms in butter until tender. Add stock and heat to a simmer. Combine egg yolk and heavy cream until well blended. Temper this by adding a half cup of hot stock and whisking like mad so the egg yolk does not cook. Add the cream, egg, stock to the mushrooms in a thin stream, whisking all the while. Let simmer until thickened and add the onions. Salt and pepper to taste.


As for that Toad in the Hole - do NOT try to make food for a post at the same time you're trying to get dinner for 9 in an 8ft x 8ft kitchen! Things happen - bad things - and stupid things, like forgetting to heat the casserole dish you're adding the Yorkshire Pudding to. If you miss that crucial step, you don't get a pretty crimped edge around your sausages, you get a flat I-don't-know-what. It tasted fine, but looked bad: