What Might Have Been...Mushrooms

Hobbits have a passion for mushrooms, surpassing even the greediest likings of Big People. A fact which partly explains young Frodo's long expeditions to the renowned fields of the Marish, and the wrath of the injured Maggot. On this occasion there was plenty for all, even according to hobbit standards. - J.R.R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings

First, an apology for not posting on Friday or Monday. I want to say that it's because I had two busy days at work and my computer at home doesn't like to edit photos but that's a lame excuse. I had intended to make the Friday Challenge mushrooms but Friday has come and gone. I had intended to do the Challenge follow-up with beef stroganoff but Monday is also come and gone. So, dear reader, what follows is my big catch-up post.

Mr. Brown suggests storing fresh mushrooms in a brown paper bag in the refrigerator. Moisture can condense on mushrooms stored in their Styrofoam containers wrapped with plastic and moisture can lead to accelerated decay.

I pick up a container of crimini mushrooms almost every week at Costco. They're a little more expensive than the white button mushrooms but I think that the crimini have more depth of flavor. I like to use my egg slicer to make quick work of fresh mushrooms that need to be sliced.

What can you do with mushrooms?

• saute slices with some butter, onion, salt, pepper and red wine to serve with meat
• added texture in spaghetti sauce
• remove the stems, fill the cavity with minced garlic, wrap in bacon (securing the bacon with toothpicks) and broil or cook on the grill until the bacon is crispy and done
• sliced raw on salads
• portabella mushroom sandwitch
• a lovely gift for your friendly neighborhood hobbit or penguin ;-)

The following recipe is adapted from the Curves Members' Guide.

Beef Stroganoff
1 bag egg noodle(cooked)
2 t olive oil
1 lb lean beef sliced or 1 lb of lean ground beef formed into meatballs (the original recipe is for meatballs)
1 small onion, diced
2 T AP flour
4 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 cup beef broth
Salt, pepper, & Worchestershire sauce
1/2 cup sour cream

Brown the beef in the olive oil until cooked through. (Above photo is of the meat first going into the pan.)

Remove from the pan and add the onion. Saute onion until translucent.

Sprinkle the AP flour over the onion and remaining fat. Stir and cook the flour until it starts to brown.

Add beef broth, mushrooms, a couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper to taste then simmer until the mixture is thickened. Add the beef back to the mixture.

Turn off the heat and gently stir in the sour cream.

Serve on egg noddles and enjoy!

Happy cooking! - KP

Friday Gear: Fire Extinguisher

While is is always best to have a fire extinguisher and not need it, it's very bad to need one and not have it. As Mr. Brown says, the fire extinguisher is the only uni-tasker allowed in the kitchen. According to the National Fire Protection Association, cooking fires are the #1 cause of home fires and home fire injuries.

For those of you that didn't pay attention during fire safety month, usually October, in elementary school; a fire needs four things to burn (the fire tetrahedron): oxygen, heat, fuel and a chemical reaction between the other 3 elements. Take away any of those and the fire should go out. As I mentioned previously, we had a small oven fire in my kitchen a couple of weeks ago. We closed the door to the oven and the fire stopped but when we tried to open the door again, the fire came back. Why? Closing the door deprived the fire of oxygen but opening it again completed the tetrahedron. We probably could have just closed the door, turned off the broiler and waited for the oven to cool down (taking away the heat side of the tetrahedron).

I have two, I had three, fire extinguishers in my house and I know how to properly operate them. They come in different varieties but an ABC will take care of most fires in the home. Be safe, use your brain; it's better to ruin a meal than to watch your dwelling go up in flames.

Please be safe when you cook. - KP

Popcorn Rig

I am a big fan of Alton Brown and Good Eats. We don't watch television at home, no cable/dish/FiOS or antenna, but we watch a lot of DVDs and Netflix. So I've got volumes 1-15 of Good Eats and seasons 1 and 2 of Feasting on Asphalt. I was watching the "Pop Culture" episode and decided that I wanted to make the Perfect Popcorn.

I followed the recipe and made my rig with the aluminum foil cover and tongs handle like Mr. Brown does in the episode but my hand got tired from holding the tongs closed and I didn't feel that I had adequate control of the bowl. In hindsight, I could have locked the tongs closed but I didn't think of it at the time. The popcorn was tasty, fresh, convenient and had very few un-popped kernels. But I didn't like the rig that he uses. In addition to the above mentioned problems, it's a waste of aluminum foil. So I thought about it for a few minutes and had the light bulb moment of "why don't I use my splatter guard?" It isn't quite large enough to completely cover the bowl but it does a serviceable job and there's a built in handle. I use wooden clothes pins to secure the guard to the bowl because that's what I have handy and in a few minutes I have fresh popcorn without using any disposable items. The other advantage of using the splatter guard is that I can easily see into the bowl. Yes, there is some cleanup because the splatter guard doesn't stop all the oil from escaping the bowl but I wipe the stove every night so it's not any extra work for me.

From my kitchen to yours. - KP