Category: Veggies

Sauteed Mushrooms with Garlic & Parsley

Source: Fine Cooking No. 81, p. 81 or online here

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 5 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 lb. white or cremini mushrooms; washed; trimmed; and quartered
• kosher salt
• 5-6 cloves garlic, minced (1 1/2 Tbs.)
• 1 Tbs. sherry vinegar
• 2 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until hot and shimmering. Add mushrooms and sprinkle with 3/4 tsp. kosher salt.

Let mushrooms cook undisturbed until liquid released from mushrooms evaporate, 5-7 minutes. Mushrooms will be golden brown. Stir; and continue sauteing and stirring until the mushrooms are browned, 3-5 more minutes.

Lower heat slightly and add garlic. Stir.

Add vinegar. Stir, scraping the pan to release the bits stuck to the bottom. Vinegar will evaporate.

Remove mushrooms from heat. Toss with parsley and season with more salt, to taste.

This was my husband’s one request for his birthday party (I know, a bit weird, right?). However, it ended up being easy to make (I made them during the day, and heated them up in the oven when everyone arrived) and served them with chili. They weren’t as fluffy as the photos in the magazine, but almost all were gone, so I guess they were a hit!

Corn Fritters

Source: Fine Cooking No. 100

Ingredients:

• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/4 c. stone-ground yellow cornmeal
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. table salt; more for sprinkling
• 1/2 c. whole milk
• 1/4 c. sour cream
• 2 large eggs
• 1 c. fresh corn kernels, coarsely chopped (from about 1 large or 2 small ears of corn) — I used canned corn, drained
• 1 to 1-1/2 cups vegetable oil

Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. In another smaller bowl, whisk the milk, sour cream, and eggs.

Add the egg mixture to the flour and cornmeal mixture, stirring with a rubber spatula until combined. Stir in corn.

Let the mixture sit for 10-15 minutes, while you heat oil in a skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium heat… Oil should be about 1/2 an inch deep.  (If you need to keep the fritters warm, preheat oven to 200°F.)

When oil is hot (it should sizzle when you drop a bit of batter in the oil), use a tablespoon (or mini-ice cream scoop) to drop balls of batter in the oil. Be sure not to overcrowd the pan – Fine Cooking recommends 3-4 fritters at a time, I cooked 5-6 at a time. Stove should be set to medium-low heat so the fritters cook gently. When browned on the bottom (1-2 minutes), flip the fritter over (using a slotted spoon) and cook another 1-2 minutes, again until golden brown.

Transfer fritters to a wire rack, set over a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and allow to keep warm in the oven while cooking others (I didn’t keep them warm while cooking the others, but heated them up later

Transfer the fritters to a wire rack set over a baking sheet, sprinkle generously with salt, and keep warm in the oven. Continue to cook the remaining batter in small batches, adding more oil as needed to maintain the 1/2-inch depth.

This recipe is from one of my favorite cooking magazines, Fine Cooking (issue no. 82). Other than skipping the recommended 2/3 c. dried cranberries, I followed the recipe pretty closely. I made the recipe ahead, stopping after I boiled the green beans – removed green beans from boiling water and plunged in an ice bath to stop the cooking. Drained, and set aside until just prior to dinner.

• 2/3 c. (about 3 oz.) dried cranberries
• 1-1/4 c. fresh orange juice
• 2/3 c. walnut halves, toasted
• 3/4 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1/4 c. maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp. plus 1/4 c. kosher salt; more as needed
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper; more as needed
• 1 to 1-1/4 lb. fresh green beans, rinsed well, stem ends trimmed
• 6 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 2 Tbs. finely chopped fresh sage

If using the cranberries, place cranberries and 1 c. of the orange juice into a bowl. Let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Otherwise, simply let orange juice come to room temperature.

Heat oven to 450. Combine the sweet potatoes, maple syrup, 1/4 cup orange juice, 1/2 tsp. salt, and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet and roast until potatoes are tender, 10-15 minutes.

Boil 4 quarts water and the remaining 1/4 c. salt. When boiling, add green beans, stir, and cook until tender, 4-5 minutes. Drain.

When ready to serve, melt butter in a large skillet (until bubbling but not browned). Add chopped sage. Stir. Allow sage to crisp slightly and season butter. Add green beans. Cook for 2-3 minute. Add sweet potatoes, walnuts, and if desired, cranberries (strained, with juice set aside). Toss and continue cooking for another few minutes.  Add remaining 1 c. orange juice (or remaining juice from strained cranberries) and cook until most of the juice has evaporated, about 1 minutes.

Serve immediately.