Asperges avec champignons et sauce veloute

(Asparagus with mushrooms and veloute sauce)

This is my salute to  spring in France. It's not the way they serve it in Alsace but close to how they serve it in Paris. 

Butter
Cremini mushrooms -- about a cup, sliced
Asparagus -- one bundle, touch stems snapped or cut off
Flour
Veal stock (I used the kind in the carton from Kitchen Essentials), room temperature, about 2 cups
Cream, about  a cup although you could use less or even skip, but that's your problem
salt and pepper
shallot, about 1 Tbsp, minced
white wine (optional, but who am I kidding?)
1 saucepan
1 saute pan or frying pan with lid
wire whisk


Saute the shallot and mushrooms in a tablespoon or two of butter over medium heat, adding salt and pepper.  Add a splash of white wine.
Melt 2 Tbsp butter in a 2 quart saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/4 cup flour and whisk vigorously for a minute or so. Add the flour and whisk some more until there are no lumps. Slowly add the veal stock, whisking constantly.  If sauce gets too thick, add more veal stock. Cook on low-medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes.
Lay the asparagus spears on top of the mushrooms and cover with lid. Cook only until just barely tender (al dente) and still bright green, unless you like your asparagus grey, limp and soggy, in which case I feel sorry for you.
Take the veloute sauce off the heat and whisk in the cream. Taste it and add salt and pepper as needed. Don't skimp on the pepper.
Put some asparagus and mushrooms on a plate and pour the sauce over it. You probably will want to grab some bread to get every last drop of sauce.

Easy As Pie

Mincemeat pie, 2014, with piecrust made by me and my sister.

The first time I set out to make a pie on my own – I think I was in Minnesota at the time and going to bring one to an “orphan’s Thanksgiving” potluck of friends who, like me, were missing out on the big family gathering – I called my Mom for her “never-fail” pie crust recipe and advice. It didn’t occur to either of us that I could just buy a piecrust or even a pie, by the way. But she did tell me a great story about the first time she tried to bake a pie.

Now, you have to realize, that Mom, in my mind, was an expert pie maker. Thanksgiving and Christmas always meant at least two mincemeat pies and two pumpkin. In the summer, we had rhubarb custard pie (rapture), peach pie (ecstasy), cherry pie (enchantment).  Cherry pie was also a yummy tradition for Washington’s birthday; in February, of course, that meant using canned cherry pie filling or, back when we were lucky enough to still have our own cherry tree, home canned or frozen cherries. Apple pie, you bet, because apples were always available. And she really did make it look “as easy as pie.”

But then, on the phone, she told me the story about the first pie she tried to make. A newlywed who had worked as a bookkeeper and hadn’t done much cooking, she decided to try baking a pie to surprise Dad. It was a miserable failure, and before he got home from work, she snuck it into the garbage can so he wouldn’t even see it. (Dad was a good cook himself and came from a cooking family; Grandma used to work in restaurants. Truck stop kind of restaurants, where pie was and is kind of a big deal.)

So this woman who was now an expert pie maker confessed that her first try was a flop, and told me not to worry if I didn’t get that crust right the first time, even though it’s called “never-fail.” Just roll it out and try again. Or at worst, start over – it’s just Crisco and flour and a little salt. Yeah, I struggled at first, but now I’m not intimidated.

This was in the late ‘70s, I think, or maybe early ‘80s. In 2014 I taught my younger sister how to make piecrust and told her Mom’s story.

And here’s the recipe for two piecrusts, which is good for one fruit pie or two like pumpkin that don’t want a top crust:

n ¾ C. Crisco, chilled (Mom keeps Crisco in the fridge; I don’t keep it on hand, so of course for a few years I was using the room temperature Crisco I had purchased just to make pie crust, and that’s not a good idea. Chill it at least overnight.)

n 2 cups all-purpose flour

n 1 tsp. salt. Do not forget to add this. You’ll still have pie crust but it will taste very bland. I know people who also add other things to the piecrust dough, like a little cinnamon if they are making pumpkin pie. I haven’t, but I see the point.

Use a pastry blender to mix those together in a large bowl, until you don’t have any globs of fat or little piles of flour. The standard description is to have particles the size of small peas. The concept is to have all the fat coated with flour and vice versa.

Put 3 Tablespoons of those particles into a small bowl, add 5 Tablespoons of very cold water and stir with a fork to make a paste. Add that back into the large bowl and mix only until you can press the dough together into two balls roughly equal in size (actually, for a fruit pie, one can be a little bigger because the bottom crust needs to be a little bigger when it is rolled out).

Use a pastry board that is well-dusted with flour and a rolling pin that is also well-dusted. Don’t press down too hard when you are rolling it out, and be sure to keep flour on the board and the pin.

Most pies need to bake at 450 or 425 for the first 15 minutes; some need to be turned down to 350 after that; depends on the filling, so follow the recipe for the kind of pie you are making.

Pie shown is mincemeat pie, using "store-bought" mincemeat. The church ladies used to make it from scratch as a fundraiser. I do have the recipe they use, but it makes 100 quarts. So I use what I can buy, add an apple and a little booze (Cointreau, Grand Marnier, brandy, Chambord -- it's all good). Bake it at 450 for 15 minutes, then at 350 for another 15.

Kale hash with potatoes, mushrooms, onion  and bacon

This is a really easy side dish that serves four. It is also very flexible, in that you could add or change out ingredients. It takes less than half an hour including all prep.

2 russet potatoes
1/2 onion (or more if you want!)'
2 or more big handfuls of kale, washed and stripped from the stems unless it's baby kale with tender stems
5 or so "baby bella" cremini mushrooms or whatever kind you have
4 to 6 strips of bacon

Fry the bacon and remove from skillet. Unless there's a lot of bacon fat in the skillet, add a little canola oil.
Peel and slice the potatoes and start frying them, medium. Be sure to salt and pepper them and add any other seasoning you like, such as smoked paprika. Clean and slice the mushrooms and dice the onion and throw them in. Stir a little to turn the potatoes over. If there is too much sizzling at any point, just turn the heat down. Wash the kale and tear or cut from the stems and into pieces no bigger than 2 inches or so, and add it on top. You might add just a splash of white wine at this point. I did. Cover the skillet and cook for about 10 minutes. Cut up that bacon and put it on top and cook another minute or so. Test to see that the potatoes are tender. When they're done, stir and serve.


I served with baked shrimp. There are none of those left to photograph. I used 1/2 pound of shrimp for two people. The kale hash photo is of what's left after two people had it! The leftovers will reheat fine and I may add a little cheese!

But for the shrimp: Peel and devein, toss with a little oil and season with Old Bay or a mixture of salt, pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder and ginger. Put on a sheet pan and bake at 350 for 4 minutes. Turn 'em over and turn the oven off and take them out after a minute or two.
You could even save a pan by adding the shrimp to the skillet about 5 minutes before everything else is done (after the kale). Or you could cook the shrimp in the bacon fat before the potatoes, take the shrimp out when they are done and add back at the last minute.

This would be good with cut up apples or pears instead of or in addition to potatoes. If you don't eat bacon, you could leave it out. Won't be as good, but that's your call.You could add just about any veg, as long as you put the slower-cooking ones in early and the quicker-cooking ones in toward the end.

Savory sausage in puff pastry shells

This is much easier to make than it looks, using frozen puff pastry shells. The filling is very similar to what I use for stuffed mushrooms.

You will have leftover filling if you only use one box of shells, but I promise that you won't mind. Stuff some mushrooms, stuff some pork chops, spread it on toast ...

Ingredients:
1 lb., more or less, uncooked Italian sausage. I used the kind marked "sweet, mild," but if you like it spicier, go for it. If you buy the kind in casings, just squeeze it out like toothpaste.
2 leeks, cleaned and chopped fairly small
2 cups of chopped mushrooms
1 pkg. cream cheese, 6 to 8 ounces, cut into "pats" like butter
6 frozen puff pastry shells (or 12 -- this could fill 12)

Bake the shells according to the package directions. Be sure to preheat the oven as instructed -- this is one of those times when it actually matters. The shells need to cool before you stuff them.

While the shells are baking and cooling, saute the sausage in a heavy skillet, breaking up any clumps. When it is starting to brown, add the leeks and mushrooms and continue cooking until the sausage is browned and not showing any pink at all, and the liquid from the vegetables has evaporated. This will take about 20 minutes.
Turn off the burner and stir in the cream cheese, which will melt just from the heat of the sausage mixture

When the shells are cool, use a fork to perforate and remove the top. Spoon the sausage mixture into the shells and put the top back on.

You can eat them right away or refrigerate and reheat for 5 minutes in the oven or toaster oven. I didn't try the microwave, but I think it would make the shells soggy, and that's not good.

You will notice there are only three in the picture, although I made six. What can I say? They're really good.

Schnitzel with Noodles

Pork tenderloin
1 egg
flour
Panko bread crumbs or cracker crumbs
salt, pepper
Noodles -- I used Trader Joe's Lemon-Pepper Pappardelle Pasta
cooking oil 
heavy skillet, preferably ovenproof

Cut the pork tenderloin into pieces about an inch thick and pound each one flat. Salt and pepper both sides of each piece.
Use three wide shallow bowls or pie plates, one each for flour, egg and crumbs. Add some salt and pepper to the flour unless you are using cracker crumbs from saltines, in which case just add pepper. Dip each flattened cutlet into flour, then egg, then crumbs. Use a fork or tongs and shake off any excess flour before putting floured cutlet into the egg.
 
Heat the skillet with enough oil to cover the bottom. Saute a few cutlets at a time until golden brown on both sides. If they are thin enough, they'll probable be done inside then, too. If not (cut one open to see), stick the skillet uncovered in the oven at 350 for 5 to 10 minutes.
Boil the noodles according to package directions.
For sauce, add white wine and butter to the skillet and stir to get the "fond" -- if there are burnt crumbs, though, remove them first! While waiting for the sauce to reduce slightly, sing a couple of choruses of "My Favorite Things."

Where I come from in the Midwest, we just call this pork tenderloin, and it also makes a great sandwich. In Germany, it's schnitzel.
 

Risotto, nearly fat-free

I've never made risotto before, but then, I've never been retired before. And honestly, this is not difficult, but it is time-consuming, and you can't do much in the way of multi-tasking. Not like sticking a meatloaf and some spuds in the oven and walking away to do the laundry (or watch TV). Plan on it taking at least an hour of standing in the kitchen!

I had extra motivation, because I wanted to see if I could make a tasty risotto dish WITHOUT Parmesan and with practically no fat, because I want to make it for someone who can't eat those things. I know, practically heresy to make it without the parm, but I had to try.

I'll start by saying, well, of course, add parm -- or cheese in general -- to anything and it probably will taste even better. But this was good, and I ate it with no regrets! And let's face it, all of us could use some low-fat, tasty dishes.

What's in it:

• 4 cups non-fat chicken broth (I didn't have any homemade on hand, so I used a good, organic one from Trader Joe's, the kind in a carton. I only use the kind in a carton, never canned. This is especially important for risotto because the broth will get cooked down and the flavor will be concentrated, so if it doesn't taste good to start with .... eww. ) If you have to make it totally vegan, I guess you could substitute vegetable stock or even water, but I can't vouch for it.
• 12 ounces of arborial rice, which was about 1-1/2 cups. You cannot use just any rice; has to be short-grained and, to be safe, should say risotto rice.
• 1/2 cup of dry white wine -- it can be the economy type as long as it tastes ok (not like feet! LOL). If you don't have wine, you could use another tasty liquid or just use more chicken broth.
• 1 Tablespoon butter and 1 Tablespoon canola oil. I'm sure it would work with 2T canola or any other "good" (i.e., permitted on the healthy diet) oil. That's not very much fat for this amount of food.
• salt, pepper, Penzey's Sunny Spain blend (pepper, lemon zest, onion and garlic), 1 tiny pinch extra garlic powder.
•  about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of lemon zest, grated.
• Assortment of fresh veggies. I used about 1 cup each of mushrooms, french green beans (haricot verts), Brussels sprouts and onion, and about half of a red bell pepper.
• a couple of quick spritzes of vegetable oil, the kind in the spray can or the "Mr. Misto." See below for alternative. 

You also need a 2-quart saucepan; a deep, preferably heavy skillet (my trusty cast-iron chicken fryer comes into play once again), a stirring device that is preferably a wooden spoon, and a bowl or platter for later, preferably not white or beige. You don't have a black platter? Sorry.

Step one: Roast the veggies.

1. Set the oven at at least 400F. Prepare the veggies by washing and chopping. Cut the stem ends off the Brussels sprouts, cut them in half and remove the outer leaves if they are, well, ugly. Trim the thready end off the green beans. Slice the mushrooms. Chop up the onion and set aside half of it. Slice strips of the red bell pepper, trimming off the white part and seeds. Chop up any other veggies into similar size pieces so everything will roast at about the same time.
2. Spritz a jelly roll pan or similar baking pan (sides are good; cookie sheets with no sides invite the disaster of things rolling off) with whatever "good" oil you have. If you do not have a spritzer, sprinkle a little oil on and smear it around with a paper towel, removing any excess. Put the veggies in one layer in the pan (Brussels sprouts go cut side down.) and lightly spritz again. (Or you could put the veggies in a big bowl with maybe 1 teaspoon of "good" oil and toss them around to coat.) The point of the oil is to help convey the heat to the veggies, and also seal in some moisture so they don't mummify completely. Sprinkle with salt. No pepper; it will burn.
3. Roast 'em. Mine took 15 minutes, but I started checking at 10.

The actual risotto

1.  Heat the 4 cups (1 quart) of chicken broth in the saucepan and keep it hot by turning the heat down very low.
2. Meanwhile, put the 2 T. of oil or whatever in the heavy deep skillet and add the half of a chopped onion that didn't go into the oven. Add some salt. Gently saute until translucent and starting to turn golden. Five minutes, maybe, depending on the heat, your pan, etc.
3. Add the arboreal rice and stir until coated with oil and the very outside edges start to go translucent. I was being super-cautious not to burn it, so this took about 10 minutes more, but probably would happen in 5 minutes if I hadn't been paranoid. But you don't want the heat to be more than about medium. This does give you time to check the veggies. If they're done -- should be some carmelization but not burning -- turn off the oven and even take them out if you think they're close to burning. Otherwise they can stay in and keep cozy and warm once you've turned off the heat.
4. When the rice is all shiny and kind of grayish along the edges instead of white, add the 1/2 cup of white wine. Stir until the wine has evaporated and/or soaked in.
5. Start adding the hot broth about 1 cup at a time, and stir and simmer until each dose is absorbed. You don't have to stir constantly, but close to it. You definitely don't want to walk away. If your stock is unsalted, you may need to add salt here; if it is not sodium-free, I'd wait and taste it. Do add whatever seasonings you are using except for the lemon zest, which I like to add at the very end. Also a good time to taste for salt, but you might not need more.
6. When the last bit of broth is absorbed, the risotto should be creamy but not dry. If you were adding parm, it would go in now. Otherwise, grate on the lemon zest, turn it out on a platter and pile on the veggies, for a nice presentation. Or stir the veggies in first and then plate. Up to you.
If I were serving this with meat of any sort, I would pile it on the platter around the risotto. 

Taste: It tastes creamy, which is a rare texture in extremely low-fat foods. It tastes a little nutty, yes, and the lemon zest adds a nice sparkle. And roasted veggies taste so much better than boiled or steamed.
How many servings? I had about a cup, and that barely made a dent in the platter. So 12 servings, easily, as a side dish, maybe 6 as the main item, especially if you heaped on the veggies. So counting the oil used on the veggies, let's say that's 7 teaspoons of fat divided by 6 ... oh, you do the math.  It's like, what, half a pat of butter. You get that much fat just walking past a Cinnabon.

Ideas: 

• You could broil shrimp or scallops after taking the veggies out of the oven. Either one takes maybe 5-6 minutes.

• You could broil or roast other veggies such as eggplant.

• You could roast sweet potatoes, but those take longer, as do carrots and other "dense" veggies, so start them first.

• Experiment with different seasonings, of course.

• I've read that you can stir frozen peas in when the risotto is nearly done, and they'll cook just fine. Didn't try it, yet. 

• If I knew I was serving this with shrimp, for example, I would for sure take the shrimp shells and brew up a shrimp stock to use instead of the chicken broth.

• I'm pretty sure this is a dish that Alton Brown grates some fresh nutmeg onto, so that would be worth a try, depending on what other flavors you had going on.

Ham Salad

Oh, I'm so sorry. There's no recipe. It's all by feel and taste.
Some ham, ground up on the larger dice of the grinder
Some hard-boiled eggs
Some pickles or relish (I like the ones marketed as "Sweet Salad Cubes"
Some Miracle Whip (yeah, yeah, make your own mayo. Go ahead)
Some spices.

Okay, I'd say for every half-pound or so of ham -- and this should be leftover ham, you know, scraps -- I'd use one or  two hard-boiled eggs, 2 to 3 Tablespoons of sweet pickle Salad Cubes or relish or ground-up pickles, and 3 Tablespoons of Miracle Whip. Start with less, and taste it and adjust. For seasonings, I like a good dose -- say 1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika and 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Ancho chili pepper.  Taste and add more if you like. You could do mustard or other pepper or Cayenne, to your taste. Don't add salt until you taste it, because the ham is bringing the salt to this party and you aren't very likely to need more.

This is so much better on toast than on plain bread. But so many things are.