November 1, 2007

[Núria]

Thanks a lot for your advise! I'm getting totally addicted to This Foodie blogging/cooking thing  . Cannot think of anything else... I'm having such a good idea for this Joust... in my dishwasher opinion!
Good luck to everybody!
In Spain the 12th of October is a holiday so I'm off for a long-cooking-weekend.
Núria

[Ley]

Wow, I guess I'm the first to post an entry! Okay, I've never done this before, so if my post doesn't exactly work as planned, you can check it out on my blog, cilantroandlime.blogspot.com.

The ingredients being mushrooms, cheese, and herbs, I made a mushroom paneer:



Mushroom Paneer

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon vegetable stock
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3 cups paneer
2 cups mushrooms
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup water
1/2 teaspon garam masala
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1/4 cup chopped cilantro/coriander
cream or coconut milk, to taste

-Place all spices in a pan and roast.
-Add butter to pan.
-Mix a small amount of water with tomato paste, then stir the paste in the pan with butter and spices.
-Add paneer and mushrooms to pan with rest of water.
-Simmer until cooked through, stirring occasionally.
-If desired, add cream or coconut milk. Stir well.
-Serve warm, with bread.


This is the type of recipe that is really easy to play with, adding and subtracting to fit your palate. In fact, this was my original recipe, but I even made changes to it when I made it for this event! Certain spices were left out or lessened to fit the tastes of my fiance (who hates spicy things).

[Valli]

Royal Foodie Joust - Entry by Valli
Congratulations to last months winner Brittany, The Pie Lady for her wonderful recipe last month!!! The 3 universal ingredients she has chosen are mushrooms, cheese and herbs. My entry this month uses:

portobello mushrooms, Asiago or Parmesan cheese, thyme and parsley
I am posting the recipe first and then adding the photo in a few days. Life is busy at the moment but I still wanted to participate so the photo will come ...I promise!!! This recipe is for my vegetarian and non-vegetarian friends alike. It can be served as the main meal or as a side dish. It could be both for me!!!I have also been playing with the post options as you can tell with a marquee, etc. Just for fun!!!


**Caesar Salad with Herbed Portobello Mushrooms**

1 egg yolk, coddled (instructions to come)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 anchovies (or 1/2 tsp anchovy paste)
1 tsp Dijon mustard (the real stuff not the dried stuff)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup safflower or olive oil
1-1/2 tsp red wine vinegar

2 garlic cloves, flattened and peeled
3 large portobello mushrooms (about 3/4 lb) stems discarded, caps sliced crosswise into 3/8-inch thick strips
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 large heads romaine lettuce, washed and thoroughly dried, torn into bite size pieces
5 pieces side bacon, cooked and cut into 1-inch pieces
3/4 cups coarsely grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese (2 oz)

*********************
Place the egg in its shell, in boiling water for 40 seconds. Remove. Run under cold water for 15 seconds to stop the cooking process, then use as directed. (This is a coddled egg)

To Make Dressing: Add salt and pepper to the salad bowl (this creates a sandpaper-like base that will make the next steps easier). Using the back of a soup spoon, grind the garlic against the wall of the bowl until it becomes a paste. Then add the anchovies and once again use the back of the spoon to grind it into a paste. Following the same procedure, add the Dijon, egg yolk, lemon juice amd Worcesershire sauce, 1 at a time. Make sure each ingredient is blended into a smooth paste with the previous ingredients before proceeding. Whisk in the oil and vinegar blending well. (If you don't have a rough wooden bowl, the dressing can be made (with some sacrifice) in a blender. Add the salt, pepper, garlic, anchovies, Dijon, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and vinegar. Puree then add oil and vinegar and pulse a few times. Add the yolk and pulse a couple more times, just enough to blend it).

To make mushrooms:Heat 3 T olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add flattened garlic to skillet and cook until brown. Discard garlic. Increase heat to medium-high. Add mushrooms and saute until brown about 4 minutes per side. Add thyme in last minute of cooking. Remove from heat. Season mushrooms with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with parsley.

To assemble: Place lettuce in large bowl with chopped bacon and 1/2 of the cheese of your choice. Add dressing and toss well. Top mushrooms and remainder of cheese and serve immediately.

Serves 4 as a meal and 6 as a side

[Misslionheart♥]

I think I'll join in this month. I *do* like a bit of competition! 

[mattwright]

Not sure if this the place to reply with your entry or not - but here goes.

I have done this a touch early, we have a kitchen renovation happening in a couple of weeks, so wanted to get my entry in before then. So what have I done? Check out this page on my blog for details, photos, and a full recipe:

http://mattikaarts.com/blog/?p=208



Mushroom ragu, steak, stilton, celeriac puree

The mushroom ragu mixes 3 different kinds of mushrooms with some butter, truffle oil, toasted pine nuts and fesh sage leaves. I wanted to go with some really robust flavors, that enhanced the earthiness of the mushrooms. As with everything I cook, it is a simple dish, relying on really good ingredients. Hope people enjoy it!

[Dharm]

I'm back with my entry for the November Joust

Tri-Mushroom Masala with Screwpine Leaf Rice



To satisfy the ingredient requirement this is what I used:

Mushrooms:
White Button Mushrooms
Portobello Mushrooms
Enoki Mushrooms

Herbs
Curry Leaves
Coriander
Screwpine Leaves

Cheese
Paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese)

This original recipe is a lovely spicy mushroom dish and the fried paneer offsets the spiciness a little.  The recipe is as below but more details and more photos available on my blog - so please visit!  I hope you all like my creation.....

Ingredients
300 gm white Buttom mushrooms
250 gm Portobello Mushrooms
100 gm Enoki Mushrooms
2 tbs Ghee (Clarified butter)
1 large onion
3 gloves garlic
4 cloves
pinch of fenugreek
pinch of mustard seeds
pinch of cumin
pinch of fennel
4 Dried Chillis
3 stalks curry leaves (about 15 leaves)
1 1/2 tsps curry powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1 large tomato
250g Panner (Indian Cottage Cheese)
1 green capsicum
1 red capsicum
Salt
Black Pepper
2 sprigs chopped fresh coriander

Method
Quarter the button mushrooms. Halve the Portobellos and then cut into thick slices. Cut the ends of the enoki mushrooms from the cluster at the botoom and set aside. Cut the dried chillis and remove the curry leaves from the stem.
Heat the Ghee. Fry the Onion, garlic, cloves, fenugreek, mustard seeds, cumin and fennel together until fragrant. Add in the curry leaves and chilli.




Add in the curry powder and chilli powder and cook well. Add in the sliced tomatoes and fry till juices come out and you get a nice smooth paste.
Add in the button and portobello mushrooms and cook well.
Meanwhile, cube the panner and lightly fry till outside of cheese is browned. Add into the Mushroom mixture and mix well to coat with the spices. Keep cooking till most of the moisture has dried up.



Add in the enoki mushrooms and give it a quick stir. Enoki mushrooms shouldn't be cooked for long or they will become rubbery. Cut the capsicum into large cubes and mix into the mixture too. If you prefer the capsicum softer, then add it in before the enoki. Season with Salt and Black Pepper.
Sprinkle with with Coriander

For Screwpine Leaf Rice.

8 Screwpine Leaves (Pandan Leaves)
4 cups Basmati rice
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
4 cloves
Olive Oil
Salt

Method
Wash screwpine leaves and break into half. Place in food processor or blender with about 1 cup water. Blend to get juices out. Strain and set aside. Liquid will be dark green.
Wash the rice and set aside. Sautee the onion, garlic and cloves in a little olive oil until onion is transparent. Add in uncooked rice and lightly fry about 2 minutes. Cook the rice (either in a rice cooker or a saucepan) with the screwpine juice and extra water. (Normal rice cooker ratio is 1 cup rice to 1.5 cups liquid).
Add in a little salt.
Rice will be tinged green but not too dark and will have a lovely fragrance and slight taste.

[Elly]

Hi all! Everyone's entries look great so far!

Here is my entry for November.

Mushroom, potato and smoked gouda chowder: http://ellysaysopa.vox.com/library/post/more-chowder-and-a-blogging-event.html

[the pie lady]

These all look incredible!

[Valli]

Amazing results so far. Such creative use of the 3 ingredients!!!

[clumsy]

Okay, this is my first time participating, so I hope I post right.  Here's my entry: A Frisee salad with bacon, portabello mushrooms, thyme, and aged goat cheese!


Portabello, Bacon, and Goat Cheese Frisée Salad

        * 5 portabello mushroom caps, sliced
        * 2 Tbsp dried or fresh thyme
        * 6 slices smoked bacon, cut into 1-to-2 inch pieces
        * 2/3 cup olive oil
        * 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
        * 2 Tbsp chopped shallots
        * 2 tsp Dijon mustard
        * 6 cups frisée lettuce
        * 4-to-6 oz grated aged goat cheese, I recommend this one
        * Salt, Pepper

    Place mushrooms on a baking sheet and sprinkle with thyme, salt, and pepper. Place in the oven at 350º until browned and tender, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the bacon slowly over med-low heat until crisp and fragile-crumbly (which is my preference, but by all means cook the bacon however you please). Transfer bacon to a plate and discard all but 1 Tbsp of the bacon fat. In a small bowl, whisk together the bacon fat, olive oil, vinegar, shallots, mustard and a pinch of thyme, salt, and pepper. Taste and vary the dressings ingredients to your liking (add more vinegar a little at a time if you think the dressing is to oily). Remove mushrooms when done and in a small bowl combine mushrooms with 2 Tbsp of the dressing. Let sit as you prepare the salad bowl with frisée lettuce, bacon, and dressing. Mix in mushrooms and grated cheese. Top with extra cheese if you like.

You can also find it on my blog here: http://clumsycook.com/2007/10/16/craving-portabello-bacon-and-goat-cheese-frisee-salad/

Thanks! This is such a fun event!! 

Cheers,
Robin
clumsycook@gmail.com
http://clumsycook.com

[Dharm]

Great Entries!  I've never seen so many entries and so early too!!  Hope to see more ......

[Ley]

I totally agree with you, Dharm! I think because the ingredients this month are ones that alot of people use all the time, we don't have to spend weeks perfecting a recipe or just trying to find one of the ingredients- we already know how to use them in signature dishes that taste amazing. Jeez- it'll make it really hard to vote!

Fabulous choices, this month, Ms Pie Lady!

[marye]

I am doing mine in the next 2 days..I am finished with what I was doing...for now..I just need to wait to see if I got it..
  I was prepping for an About.com cooking site job..you have to compete with other writers for 17 days as you put the site together and then you wait to find out if you got it...
  I am waiting ...but up until the past few days I was trying ot keep up with baking delights, which is a network blog, and get the content written for the about.com thing..I was sleeping 4 hours a night and we lived on sandwiches mostly.
  Glad its over...and...
 I am back.

[Núria]

  Hola everyone! What beautiful creations!!!! I'm getting late with mine, thought it would be easier... Today I did the first try, it looked sooo good, but the taste was not that brilliant. I'm changing ingredients to see if I can improve it. It's so much fun!
Wild mushrooms here are superexpensive. It has not been raining enough and forests are a bit dry... This afternoon I'm going to a Market where they will have all kinds for sure, no matter the weather is like!
See you soon,
Núria

[mehgan]

Yep, I'm still working on mine, picked up my ingredients at the market yesterday. I loathe mushrooms, so I'm going to try to find a really tasty way of cooking them so that I'll enjoy this dish as much as the next person. It's going to be tough, though...