Stuffed Grilled Portabellas!

Do you like grilled foods?  The weather so far has been really awesome this week so let's grill out!  I absolutely love grilled portabella mushrooms, so this was a real treat to make.

For this recipe, I am using one of my favorite varieties of garlic, German Red.  This was obtained from Hope Valley Farm at the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival in Saugerties, NY.  I myself didn't go to this, but my dad's cheese company (Cooperstown Cheese Company) had a booth with many garlicky cheeses.  Again, this garlic is one of my favorites I have discovered so far.  It has such a robust smell and flavor!

The cute dog above is Rugby!  He was getting in the way of my "Garlic Photo Shoot" so I decided to have some fun with him in these pictures.  I took a bunch, so there may be more in future blog posts using this German Red garlic...

Ingredients for this recipe:

• 3 Portabella Mushrooms
• Toma Torino Cheese (Cooperstown Cheese Company)
• 5 Cloves of Garlic (German Red from Hope Valley Farm)
• Mixed Olives (such as these from Pickle Licious)
• 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
• Olive Oil
• Bread Crumbs
• 1/2 Tsp Thyme
• 1/2 Tsp Oregano
• 1/2 Tsp Basil
• 1 Tbsp Mustard
• Anaheim Pepper

First, get your grill fired up!  If you are like me, make sure you check it multiple times in case the fire decides to die out.

Next, gently pull the stems off the mushrooms.  Put the stems in a food processor, and save for later.

Roughly cut up the cheese for the food processor as well.  I used about an 1/8th of a pound of Toma Torino from Cooperstown Cheese Company.  This is a very delicious Italian-style, Alpine table cheese that I also used a few weeks ago in my "Chicken ala After Manhattans" post.

Now, add the cheese, peeled garlic cloves, and about a couple dozen olives to the food processor.  Process until there are no more big chunks.

 

Add the herbs (thyme, oregano, basil), mustard, and lemon juice.  Mix these in.  Also add in olive oil and bread crumbs until it starts to look like a paste.  Divide this between the three mushrooms, spreading over the top.

Sprinkle some bread crumbs on top of the mushrooms, and then drizzle olive oil over that.  Finish off by adding sliced anaheim peppers (or peppers of your choice, this was just what was from my garden).

When the coals of your grill are ready, keep them to one side, and start the mushrooms on the side with the coals.  After about 4 minutes (when the mushrooms start to sizzle), move to the side without the coals.  We were also grilling chicken, so at this time we added the chicken to the side with the coals.  Cover the grill, and let it cook.  About halfway through cooking the mushrooms, spin so the side facing away from the coals faces them (around 7 minutes).

When the sides of the mushrooms seem all the way cooked (they are now a darker brown), they can come off the grill.  This would be about 12-15 minutes from first moving them to the side of the grill without coals.

With this meal, we also grilled chicken thighs (with Lawry's Salt), and made a zucchini side (zucchini, tomato,onion, Jersey Girl cheese, and spices).

Fried Tempeh (recipe based on Tahu Goreng Kecap)

The other day I was looking through this great cookbook we have, The Complete Asian Cookbook (Charmaine Soloman), thinking about what to cook next.  While wanting to try every single recipe in the book (as I tend to do when looking through cookbooks), I found an Indonesian recipe called Tahu Goreng Kecap (or Fried Bean Curd with Soy Sauce).  Now for a while I had been wanting to try cooking something with tempeh, so I figured it'd be good to experiment with something based off of this recipe!

I had also gone to the Ithaca Farmer's Market when I returned to Cornell for homecoming weekend (scoring a snazzy alumni wine tumbler, and having no one ask if I was a freshmen all weekend!).  For those of you in the Ithaca area, or who plan on visiting at some point, I highly recommend you check out the farmer's market at some point.  I have always loved going to grab brunch (this time around it being a delicious breakfast burrito) and stock up on local produce.  From this visit I obtained two different varieties of garlic to try, one of which I will be using in this recipe.

The ingredients list for this week:

• Tempeh (8 oz)
• Fresh Bean Sprouts (about a handful)
• 4 Green Onions
•  1/4 Cup Mushroom Soy Sauce
• 1 Tbsp Molasses
• 1 Onion
• 2 Cayenne Peppers
• 1 Head of Garlic (Asian Tempest Fire, 6 Smaller Cloves)
• Red Bell Pepper
• Fish Sauce
• Lemon Juice
• Half & Half
• Brown Rice

First, start your preparations for the rice.  I used 'boil in a bag' rice, so I had water heating for it, but feel free to use what rice you have available.

Now it is time for cutting.  The tempeh I bought came in 4 oz cakes (as shown below), so I cut each cake in half and thinly sliced from there.

Thinly slice the green onions, and cut the red pepper into long strips.  Roughly slice the onion and cayenne peppers (you don't need to worry too much, this will be going in a food processor later).

Also, just make sure your garlic is peeled, because this is also going in the food processor.  This was my first time using the Asian Tempest Fire variety, which was a smaller head than what you normally see in the grocery store.  The cloves were surrounded by a dark husk, and it had a wonderful smell!  I had obtained this at the Ithaca Farmer's Market from Humble Hill Farm's stall, and when I saw it was supposed to be spicy, I knew this was one I had to try.

Add the soy sauce, molasses, cayenne peppers, onion, and garlic to a food processor and blend until it is like a puree.  Set this aside for later.

Add some olive oil to your pan and turn on the heat to medium-high.  Fry the tempeh until it is golden brown.  You may need to add some more oil if it absorbs it.  Once golden brown, remove the tempeh to a plate with a paper towel.

Add more oil to the pan and cook the red peppers.  Once cooked, turn the heat down and add the sauce from the food processor.  Now, add a few 'glugs' of fish sauce, lemon juice, and half and half.  Let the sauce cook for about five minutes once it comes to a boil.

After, add the tempeh back in.  When the sauce thickens, add the green onions and sprouts.  And with that, it is ready to serve!  With this being my first time trying tempeh, I absolutely loved it!  It had a somewhat nutty flavor, and seemed to absorb the sauce nicely.

"Chicken ala After Manhattans"

And now for a second week of cooking with my father!  Drinks of choice for this cooking experience were Manhattan for Dad (hence the title of this dish) and water for myself (normally I'd partake, but wasn't a good week to do so...besides it was fun to observe and assist the master at work).  I have to be honest with you all, I had different plans for what I wanted to make, and with the changes made, I really wasn't sure how it'd turn out.  Even with the initial doubts, the end product was fantastic!

My ingredient list for this week:

• Polish Sausage (from a butcher in Cairo, NY)
• Chicken Thighs (about 3.5 lbs cut into strips)
• 1 Sweet Onion
• 2 Roasted Red Bell Peppers
• Marinated Artichokes (1/2 pint from Pickle Licious)
• 4 Large Cloves of Garlic
• Toma Torino (from Cooperstown Cheese Company)
• Mozzarella
• Whiskey
• Vermouth
• 1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 Tsp Cayenne
• 3 Tsp Cumin
• Butter 
• Whole Wheat Angel Hair Pasta

 First of all, get water heating for the pasta.

Next, roast the red peppers.  Set your oven to broil, and put your peppers (with the stem cut off) on a baking sheet in the oven.  When one side starts to blacken, flip it to another side, and do so until it has been partially blackened on all sides.  Once out of the oven and cooled down, peel the skin off, slice and cut those slices in half.

Slice the whole onion.  I used the same type of garlic I used in the jambalaya, but instead of mincing it, I thinly sliced each clove.

Take this time to also slice up the cheese you have.  I used Toma Torino from Cooperstown Cheese Company, which is an Italian, Alpine table cheese.  I also used cheese trimmings that we had, so the best equivalent to those would be Mozzarella.
 
Once the veggies and cheese are cut, it's time to cut up the meat.  Cut the chicken thighs into strips, and the sausage into chunks.  The sausage was from a butcher in Cairo, NY, and smelled very garlicky!

Mix the flour, cayenne, and cumin together, and put it into a plastic bag with the chicken to coat it.

Now it is time to start cooking everything.  Put olive oil in your pan, and crank the heat to medium-high.  Cook the sausage until it is brown, and almost cooked all the way through.  Once done, transfer the sausage to a plate with a paper towel to soak up some of the grease.

Next, add 2 Tbsp of butter to the pan, and once melted, cook the chicken (since there is a lot, feel free to cook it in batches).  When the chicken is brown, and no longer pink in the middle, take out of the pan, and turn down the heat.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Add a little bit of whiskey to de-glaze the pan, with the rest being vermouth (being the less expensive of the alcohols).  Once the stuff stuck to the bottom of the pan is scraped up and into the sauce, add the garlic, onions and sausage.  When the onions are soft, add the chicken, cover the pan, and let it simmer to ensure the meat is all the way cooked.

Add the roasted red pepper and marinated artichokes and mix.  Finally add the cheese to the top of everything, and put in the oven.  When the cheese starts to brown, take out and it is ready to eat!

Jambalaya

 

This week we explore a spicier dish!  Wikipedia tells me there are two general styles of Jambalaya.  The way I make it is closer to the Creole style (because of my use of tomatoes).  For this one, my dad was cooking with me, which is always awesome!

My ingredient list this week was:

• Boneless chicken thighs (I used about 2 1/2 lbs)
• Kielbasa (about 1/2 lb)
• 1 Sweet Onion
• Celery (about 4 stalks)
• 1 Green Bell Pepper
• 3 Anaheim Peppers
• 28 oz can of Whole Peeled Tomatoes
• 1 Head of Garlic (I got one from a farmer's market, and it had four huge cloves)
• Butter
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked rice (I used medium-grain white)
• Spices:
• 2 Tsp Cayenne
• 1 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 2 Tsp Thyme
• 1 Tbsp Black Pepper
• 1/2 Tsp Sage
• 1 Tbsp Paprika
• 1/2 Tsp Ground Mustard
• 1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
• 1 Tsp Oregano

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit .

Now it is time for the prep work.  Chop up your celery, onion, and peppers.  This combination is referred to as "the trinity".  This also usually doesn't consist of Anaheim peppers, but I was using what I had growing in my garden (which is also why my 'green' bell pepper is somewhere between green and red).

Cut up your kielbasa and chicken (we cut the chicken into thirds).  Separate the tomato juice from the canned tomatoes into a bowl.  Cut the tomatoes in the can, and you should be able to separate more of the juice after.  Set the bowl aside, this will be used later.

Also, mince your garlic.  I used a whole head of garlic, which consisted of four huge cloves.  My father brought this back from the farmer's market in Peekskill, NY, which is where he sells his cheese.  I don't know what the variety is.  Whatever it was, it was delicious!

Now is also a good time to mix all of the spices together.

Once all the prep work is done, it is time to start cooking everything!  Heat your pan to medium-high heat, and add about 2 Tbsp butter to the pan.  Once melted, brown the kielbasa.

When browned, add the chicken thighs.  After the chicken has also started to brown (no more pink on the outside), add the spice mix and half of each of the trinity (onion, peppers, and celery).  Then stir like crazy until the vegetables simmer down.  This could take about 5-8 minutes depending on how hot the stove is.

 When it gets close to being simmered down add the garlic, then tomatoes, and finally the rice.  Once the rice is added, take off the heat and add the liquids (measure how much tomato juice you have, and top it off with water until the total quantity is 2 1/2 cups).  Then add the rest of the trinity and put the whole pot into the oven.

Next is a very important step.  Grab a beer (or drink of choice or legality) and play Skyrim while the timer is set for 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes, add 1/2 cup of water, and put back in the oven for another 15 minutes.  Once the time is up, take it out of the oven, stir thoroughly, and taste to see if the rice is fully cooked.  If the rice is to your liking, let it sit for 5 minutes and serve!  This is a great meal for colder days, especially with it being both warm and spicy.

Chicken Sausage in a White Wine Sauce

This week's recipe is less cheesy than last week's, but don't worry, there is still plenty of garlic.  For this I used chicken sausage instead of pork for something lighter and different than what I normally use.  Also since I used only a few olives in the dinner, many of the others were sacrificed as a snack during the cooking process.  Man, they had such a nice burn, I love a good, adventurous snack!

My ingredient list for this recipe is:

• Chicken Sausage (I used Al Fresco's Roasted Garlic)
• Whole Wheat Angel Hair Pasta
• Garlic (four cloves)
• Olive Oil
• 2 Tbsp Butter
• Vermouth
• Three Tomatoes (medium)
• Olives (I used olives from this mix from Pickle Licious)
• Mustard (brown)
• Cayenne

Before you start anything else, heat water for the pasta.  Put a lid on it to help bring it to a boil faster.

Meanwhile, cut and mince the other ingredients.  Mince the garlic (I roughly minced it, so there would be some bigger pieces in this).  For my recipe, I picked out six kalamata olives from the mix I had.  Because the mix I had was spiced, this added flavor to the dish.  If you are not using olives that are already spicy, you might like to add a little extra cayenne at the end.  Also, cut up the chicken sausage, and dice the tomatoes.

Next we cook the sausage.  Heat your skillet with a bit of olive oil on medium-high heat.  The sausage I used was already fully cooked, so I just fried it until it was lightly brown.  When it does brown lightly, take it off the heat, and transfer back to a plate with a paper towel to absorb some of the grease and oil.  Place another paper towel on top for the same purpose, and set aside.

Turn the burner to low, and return the skillet to it.  Cut the butter into two or more pieces and let melt on the warm pan.  Once melted, add the minced garlic.  Cook the garlic in the butter for a few minutes, but do not let it brown.

Next, add the vermouth, adding enough to cover the bottom of the pan (about 1/8th inch deep).  Use this as an opportunity to scrape up anything browned at the bottom of the pan, which will add flavor to the sauce (and make your pan easier to clean after).  Bring the heat back up to about medium heat, and simmer until the alcohol is burned off (you can either tell by the smell or the taste if the alcohol has been boiled off).

If the water is boiling, around now is a good time to cook the pasta.  I used about 3/4ths of a pound of whole wheat angel hair pasta.

Add the minced olives to the sauce mix, and a squirt of mustard.  You'll need to do the mustard to taste, but make sure you don't add too much.  Finally add a little bit of cayenne.  Once the taste is to your liking, stir in the diced tomatoes.  Turn the heat down to low, add the sausage, and simmer for a few minutes.

Take the pan off the heat, and it is ready to serve!  What I made here served my family of three (if you are wondering how much it made).  It was especially great when paired with an episode of Doctor Who!