Shroomy

Tonight for dinner, I made something that Jason would not touch with a 10-foot pole: Heidi Swanson's Porcini Mushroom Soup. If you haven't visited 101 cookbooks yet, go there immediately. Actually, finish reading this post, and then go there. Heidi uses good-for-you ingredients in some amazing dishes. I truly admire her wholesome, simple-yet-exciting outlook on food, as well as her equally inspiring photos.

This soup is a great example of how just a few totally pure ingredients make a delicious, perfect dish. I didn't use quite as much oil as she calls for, but I wasn't shy with it, either. I replaced the fresh rosemary with a big pinch of herbes de Provence, and I halved everything because my package of mushrooms was only 1 ounce, and since this is only for me, I figured half the soup would be enough...now that I've tasted it, I wish I'd made the full batch—I could eat this for days! *One big note that is not in Heidi's recipe: make SURE you strain the mushroom soaking liquid through a paper towel or coffee filter. There was a lot a grit I got rid of, and it would be tragic to ruin this soup with grit. Even after straining, there was a small amount of grit, but I think that must just come with the dried wild mushroom territory.*

Earthy porcini mushrooms are excellently paired with red-skinned potato. Heidi is right about the salt—it's important to add enough that the flavors really shine; since there are so few ingredients, the salt helps everything taste its best. With a hunk of baguette with garlicky olive oil and a glass of crisp white wine {I've been enjoying Three Thieves Bandit pinot grigio—don't let the box fool you...it's fantastic.} it was a perfect, light supper. And I'm not going to lie...as I was putting away the leftovers, I stood over the pot with some toasted baguette and sopped up more of the broth and ate it right there in the middle of the kitchen. Ah, the joys of eating alone...

P.S. My soup looked just like Heidi's pictures. But my pictures...not so much. Hers do this soup much better justice!

Sorry!

Hi everyone. Just a note (in case you care) that I am fully cognizant of the fact that I have not posted anything in way too long. Work has been unbelievably busy...and while that's a good thing, given that I work in media and I still have work to do, it also means that when I get home at night, I have not been very creative in the kitchen. I've largely been relying on epicurious.com and foodnetwork.com recipes. Then instead of writing about them, I've been choosing to spend quality time with Jason and Chaplin. This is good for my mental health but bad for my blog.

So. I should be a little less crazed by the end of this week, and I have some things in mind. A few new and a few old standbys. Oh, and Jason is leaving for a few days, which means I get to make all the things he won't eat (see September 9, 2008). I'm thinking a nice, fatty ribeye is in order...and maybe an extra-pungent puttanesca. I'll keep you posted. No pun intended.

I'll be back! I swear. Until then, I will leave you with this, a great read for any food lover, or...anyone who eats, really: An Open Letter to the Next Farmer in Chief

Oh Happy Day

merry christmas.

New Life for Leftovers

Pulled Pork becomes Carnitas tacos...Only made more delicious with the addition of a sprinkling of crunchy cabbage and fresh cilantro...

...and some freshly fried tortilla chips
...and some creamy, dreamy guacamole

This Week

For the party, I cooked enough food for...um...probably close to 40 people. We had closer to 20. So we have a LOT of leftover pork, chicken, and smoked salmon. Since this is our last week in B'ham before going home for two weeks for Christmas and New Year's, my goal is to eat as much of these leftovers as possible. I'm going to try to be creative...Friday night we're going to see Avenue Q {so excited}, so I think we'll eat out at a restaurant we have a gift card for. And then Saturday night will be our little Christmas celebration, so I'm going to make us a fancy meal we can enjoy with the bottle of Veuve Clicquot we've been saving. Have a wonderful almost-Christmas week!

Monday - Thai-style chopped chicken salad
Tuesday - Asian pork & veggie noodle stir fry
Wednesday - Carnitas soft tacos, guacamole, margaritas
Thursday - Cocktail party for Katie, Jags game for Jason...dinners on our own
Friday - Eat out before Avenue Q
Saturday - Smoked salmon toasts, braised short ribs with homemade pappardelle-style noodles

Sugar's Sweet

These yummy little bites are inspired by the brilliant minds at Martha Stewart. I am not huge on baking, mostly because I don't have much of a sweet tooth. And the patience some baking requires...well, I don't have it. So I love recipes like this where there's very little actual measuring or baking involved. These crispy, nutty, chewy little bars were reminiscent of Samoas Girl Scout cookies {a fave of mine}, and they a big hit at the party. Jason doesn't even like coconut, and he enjoyed these.
Like so many other sweets, the end result of these is so much greater than the sum of it parts. I made a few substitutions to the original recipe...and I thought the end result tasted more like toffee than butterscotch, so I just rewrote it and linked the original. Finally, I didn't count how many graham crackers I used...just fill your baking sheet; you'll have enough toppings.

Loaded Toffee Bars
adapted from marthastewart.com

1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
1 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips
12 to 15 cinnamon graham crackers, plus more as needed
12 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350º. Spread walnuts and coconut on baking sheet; bake until golden, 5 minutes. Cool thoroughly; toss with chocolate chips.

Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. (katie note: mine was 17.25x11.5) Break graham crackers into quarters; fit in pan in single layer.

In saucepan, whisk butter and sugar over medium heat until smooth; slowly and carefully pour over crackers. Bake until bubbly, 10 minutes. Sprinkle with nut topping; press gently but firmly. Cool; press fillings again, and separate rectangles.

Low and Slow

The first recipe I'll share is for the pork, which is my all-time favorite go-to thing to make for a party. Pork shoulder (AKA pork butt) is very inexpensive and very hard to screw up. You can flavor it in a million-and-one different ways, and it's a never-fail crowd pleaser. When you bring it home, remove some, but not all, of the fat cap {the thick white layer}.

I wanted to keep the flavors simple so it would meld well with the roasted garlic aioli I attempted to make. {Attempted is the operative word here. More on that later.} Anyway, I used a mix of freshly ground black pepper, kosher salt, and a great seasoning called Jane's Krazy Mixed Up Salt. This was a staple in our house growing up, and it's still a staple in mine. {And Peyton's!} We lovingly call it Krazy Jane's. It's fantastic on pasta, steak, veggies...and it makes a mean bloody mary seasoning.

I digress.

Take a handful of seasoning and toss it on the pork shoulder. Rub it in like a nice shiatsu massage. This is a crucial step. The meat is thick, so the seasoning has to penetrate, and it won't unless you really smoosh it in. Then put the hunk-o-meat in a deep-sided roasting pan, and cover with foil. Now here comes the absolute most important thing to remember...forgetting this is the only way possible to screw this up. The oven temp must go no higher than 270º. For a 7-pound roast, you'll want to give it at least 6 hours, but it could probably go even longer.

The magic of this cut of meat is in its heavy marbling. At this low heat, the fat and connective tissue completely melt, rendering the meat juicy, flavorful, and succulent. Any hotter, and you won't get the luscious texture. And that's it. When it comes out, let it cool for about a half-hour, and then using two forks, shred it into bite-size pieces. Put a good amount between a nice, soft bun, and voila—pulled pork sliders!

Here are some other flavoring options for this versatile cut of pork...
Carnitas: Cumin, chipotle chile powder, and a touch of cinnamon
Vietnamese-style: Fish sauce, sugar, small hot chiles, and lime zest
Southern BBQ: Smoked paprika, sweet paprika, Krazy Jane's, brown sugar, and garlic powder