Chicken in morel cream sauce

I think this is one of the most delicious recipes ever. I can't believe it has taken me so long to get it posted, but now is a great time because morel season is getting into swing.

If you've never tried a morel, you're really missing out. They are such great mushrooms, and pretty easy to find in this part of Indiana, whether you're a picker or just a buyer.

I actually prefer to get them dried, as dried mushrooms -- in my opinion, and I'm sure this point could be argued -- are more flavorful. Unfortunately, morels are really expensive mushrooms, but you don't need many for a four-person meal.

Dieters, beware!

Chicken breast in morel cream sauce (serves 4)

about 20 medium dried morels (1 ounce)

4 chicken breasts

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup Port (the cheapest kind you can find, for cooking)

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon beef bouillon

1/2 pint heavy cream

juice of 1/2 large lemon

salt and pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1.) Fry the chicken in butter in a large pan over medium heat until almost cooked through, about 4 minutes a side. Transfer the chicken to a large skillet or pot.

2.) Soak the dried mushrooms in boiling water for about 10 minutes to make them workable, then cut the larger ones in half, and rinse them to make sure there's no dirt in the stems. Put the shrooms in a small saucepan and cover with water and about 1 teaspoon butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil.

2.) In the pan and butter you used to cook the chicken, put the port, water, and bouillon. Whisk it, then add half of the squeezed lemon. Sprinkle the rest of the lemon over the chicken.

3.) Whisk the heavy cream into the port/broth mixture.

4.) In a small cup, stir the cornstarch with a couple tablespoons of water. Pour that in with the mushrooms. Let it boil and thicken for a while.

5.) Add the mushroom mixture to the port/broth mixture, and let it all thicken some more together. You want this to get extra thick because it will thin out a little bit with the chicken.

6.) Return the chicken to the sauce and boil gently about 3 minutes, until the chicken is thoroughly cooked.

7.) Serve with a vegetable, salad, and rice or crusty bread to soak up the sauce. You will want to!

Coming up soon: Creamy onion salad dressing, a family favorite.

Mushroom gravy

You can use this gravy on meats or vegetables, or even side dishes of rice or noodles. (If you're not making this for a pretty big group, I'd cut the recipe in half.)

Mushroom gravy (makes about 4 cups)

3/4 pound mushrooms, quartered (I like cremini; they make the sauce a nice color because they're dark. Baby bella shrooms would probably work really well, too.)

1/4 cup finely diced onion

1/3 stick unsalted butter

a pinch of dried thyme

white pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules or vegetable broth powder

3/4 cup water

1/8 cup cornstarch

2 tablespoons Marsala cooking wine or cheap white wine

1.) Saute the mushrooms and onion in the butter over medium heat until semi-soft.

2.) Sprinkle with thyme and add white pepper and beef bouillon.

3.) Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, add cornstarch and cook until the sauce clings to a metal spoon.

4.) Add wine, stir and cook briefly, then remove from heat.

Beef in oyster sauce

I'm picking my mom up from the airport today, so I wanted to make something easy that I could just heat up in the oven for dinner. My answer came in the form of this beef dish, from the cookbook "The Essential Thai Cookbook."

I had never cooked anything with oyster sauce, and I wasn't sure if I would like it, but I figured it probably was used in dishes the same was fish sauce is, and that always just lends a subtle flavor to the meal.

Dan and I tried bites of this before cooling it and putting it away until the evening. We were both impressed and are now looking forward to a yummy dinner.

Need an idea for a side dish? Try this ultra-easy (but totally party-worthy) recipe: Kara's Asian slaw.

Beef in oyster sauce (serves 4)

4 tablespoons oyster sauce

4 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 pound prime steak, sliced into thin strips

3-1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced

12 green onions, sliced diagonally

1 cup chicken stock

1.) Whisk together the oyster sauce, cornstarch, and pepper in a shallow dish. Add the steak strips and stir, making sure they get coated in sauce. Set aside to marinate for 15 minutes.

2.) Heat oil in a wok or large skillet. Add garlic, and stir-fry until golden.

3.) Add the beef and stir-fry about 3 minutes more, until beef is medium-cooked.

4.) Add the mushrooms, green onions, and chicken stock, and cook gently for about 2 more minutes. Don't overcook, especially if you have to reheat it later!

5.) Serve with rice or noodles.

Hot and sour soup

This soup is very low-calorie, low fat, high in protein, and packed with vegetables.

Another perk? The ginger and the shiitake are said to be a boost to the immune system.

Hot and sour soup (makes 4-6 servings)

1/2 cup dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked for 20 minutes in hot water and drained

4 ounces seitan, cut into thin strips

a 6-ounce can of bamboo shoots, drained, rinsed, and cut into thin strips

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon peeled and minced ginger

4 cups vegetable stock

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon hot chili paste

salt and pepper, to taste

2 eggs, beaten (vegans can just leave these out; they are not even in the original recipe)

1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed

2 tablespoons chopped scallions

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1.) Place all ingredients except the eggs (if using), peas, scallions, and sesame oil into a slow cooker.

2.) Cook on low for 6 hours. At the end of that, stir in the remaining ingredients.

Note: The original recipe for this comes from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker.

Beef-mushroom-noodle casserole

Yet another casserole! I know I mentioned I'd be making a tuna casserole, but that might have to wait until after the holidays. Beef just sounded better to me today.

Beef-mushroom-noodle casserole (serves 8)
1 pound ground beef
1 can semi-condensed cream of mushroom soup (I use Amy's)
1/4 cup marsala cooking wine
2-1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
4 shallots, sliced into thin rings
1/2 pound baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 yellow pepper, diced
2 cups cooked spiral noodles (I used brown rice noodles)
1/2 cup shredded mozarella
1/3 cup lowfat yogurt
-- for the topping --
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic granules
1-1/2 to 2 cups whole-wheat breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon oregano
salt and pepper, to taste

1.) Brown beef in 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil in hot skillet; drain fat. Put aside.

2.) Heat remaining 2 tablespoons veg oil. Add shallots and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring. Add yellow pepper and cook for 1 minute.

3.) Add mushrooms and marsala. Cover and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Liberally sprinkle on salt and pepper. Turn off heat, and do not drain.

4.) In a large bowl, combine mushroom mixture, beef, noodles, yogurt, mozarella, and cream of mushroom soup.

5.) Spread mixture into casserole dish.

6.) Combine topping ingredients, and stir well to moisten. Spread on top of the casserole filling.

7.) Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until breadcrumbs begin to brown. Put under a hot broiler for about 2 minutes to get the topping a little crispy. (Mine got a little too brown! Watch it closely.)

Wild mushroom soup with sage croutons

A Vegetarian Times magazine I have (from September 2007) says the "wild" mushroom in this soup is really just the porcini; the other mushrooms are cultivated species. I've actually never seen fresh porcini mushrooms. Have you? ... I realized while making this soup that I didn't make the fried sage quite the way it was supposed to be in this pumpkin soup recipe. I fried it a little too long, so it smoked and was quite dark when I ate it. It still tasted fantastic, though, but just frying the sage long enough -- until the oil stopped bubbling, about 1-2 minutes -- was plenty. The leaves were still crispy, and they looked much nicer. A dark green. (I have to say, the sage butter garnish on the pumpkin soup was so good, it's the reason I decided to try this mushroom soup recipe. The sage got my attention.)

I really love the croutons here. The recipe calls for French bread, and the simple mix of sage oil, salt, and pepper. Bake them just long enough, and they are super yummy, and subtle in flavor.

Wild mushroom soup with sage croutons (serves 6)

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 medium onion, chopped

1.5 pounds fresh mushrooms, such as button, cremini, and shiitake, sliced (I used button and baby bellas, which I think are the same as cremini)

1/4 cup dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in hot water 30 minutes, then drained

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped

1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

3 cups low-sodium veggie broth

2 cups water

optional: 1.5 cups whole or soy milk (This is my add-in. I like that somewhat creamy consistency, plus the soy milk adds a little sweetness that I think is needed here.)

12 sage leaves

salt and pepper (I think this needs LOTS of salt!)

6 slices French bread (each about 2-inches thick), cut into 3/4-inch cubes

1.) Heat 1 tablespoon oil in soup pot over medium-high heat. Saute the onion for about 7 minutes, then stir in all the mushrooms. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2.) Add garlic, lemon zest, and thyme, and cook 1 minute.

3.) Stir in vinegar, and simmer about 3 minutes, or until liquid is evaporated.

4.) Add broth and water, and milk if using, as well as plenty of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.

5.) Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes.

6.) Cool for 20 minutes, then puree in a food processor or with a hand blender.

7.) Heat remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in sauce pan over medium-high heat. Fry sage leaves 1-2 minutes, or until bubbling subsides. Remove leaves from oil and put aside.

8.) Toss the sage oil with the bread cubes and add salt and pepper, to taste. Bake on a baking sheet at 350 degrees for 15-17 minutes, or until golden.

9.) Serve soup garnished with croutons and fried sage.

"Homemade" pizza

I put "homemade" in quotes because I cheated on an important part: the crust.

Sure, Daniel and I were hungry shoppers, and shopping for groceries while hungry is a bad idea. But we didn't get too much stuff, and we didn't have dinner plans, so the pizza crust was thoroughly justified.

And while it was an impulse buy, it was also a good decision. I've made "homemade" pizzas with store-bought crust before, and I'd just about given up on them. Until now!

We bought a Rustic Crust Tuscan Six Grain Pizza Crust. (If you click on that and check out their Web site, the answer is YES, I realize their frozen flatbreads cost an arm, a leg, or a first-born child. It's crazy!) But try a Rustic Crust pizza crust out if you get the chance. I can't speak for all the varieties -- and there are several, including Classic Sourdough and Cheesy Herb -- but the Tuscan Six Grain was awesome.

"Homemade" pizza with sausage, onion, and portabello mushrooms (makes 8 slices)

1 Rustic Crust Tuscan Six Grain Pizza Crust

enough olive oil with which to brush crust

1 portabello mushroom cap, chopped

1/2 medium or large red onion, sliced

pizza sauce of your choosing (we used a Muir Glen roasted garlic pasta sauce)

about 12 large, fresh basil leaves

5-6 ounces of sausage of your choosing (we used Lou's Famous Italian chicken sausage -- yum! -- but I do love the fattier, non-chicken Italian sausage, too)

generous sprinkling of garlic granules

shredded mozzarella or shredded Italian cheese blend, such as Organic Valley's mix

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1.) Although the package of the chicken sausage stated it was fully cooked, we browned it in a skillet over medium heat for about 4 minutes a side (no oil required). Slice the sausage thinly after browning.

2.) Spread olive oil on the pizza crust, then spread the tomato sauce on top of that.

3.) Spread the sausage, onion, and mushroom on the pie. Lay out the basil leaves evenly, so each slice will have a leaf. (You can also chop them and spread them around, if you prefer.)

4.) Top with garlic granules, cheese, and black pepper.

5.) Turn the oven down to 425 and bake the pizza directly on the middle oven rack for 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese just begins to lightly brown. Serve with red pepper flakes on the side.

Today's fun food fact: Have you heard about the "I Want NY Pizza" site, where you can order New York pies that get delivered to your door? It's true; that's what they do. I haven't tried it out yet, but I plan to. I LOVE pizza, and I've eaten pizza in so many countries, it's either impressive or repulsive... The best pizza, hands-down, is in New Jersey and New York City. You just can't get the same thing anywhere else. I'll let you know what I think of this place after I try it (which will be at a time my husband and I can splurge, so it may be a while).

Tofu teriyaki with vegetables

Money-wise, it's worth buying a bottle of your favorite teriyaki sauce if you don't plan on cooking much else that's Japanese.

But why not spring for the four ingredients and impress all your friends when you tell them your sauce is homemade?

All you need is soy sauce, mirin, sake, and extra-fine sugar. I'm sure regular sugar will work, too, because you heat it to make it melt, but you can easily find extra-fine sugar in Asian supermarkets.

Another nice thing about making this sauce is that you can control how sweet it is. I like things sweet, but even I know there's nothing worse than something that's too sweet -- all desserts aside, of course.

I loved the way this turned out with tofu, although my tofu didn't get quite as browned as I expected under the broiler. You can also use this sauce for chicken, beef, or salmon.

Follow the directions from this post about how to prepare a block of water-packed tofu, but don't cut it lengthwise. Cut it into cubes. One block of tofu will serve 4.

My teriyaki sauce recipe comes from Emi Kazuko.

Teriyaki sauce (serves 4)

3 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons mirin

3 tablespoons sake

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons extra-fine sugar

1.) Heat all ingredients -- except the 2 teaspoons of sugar -- in a sauce pan over medium heat. When the sugar is melted, let the sauce cool for an hour. (I let it cool on the stove for a half hour, then about 15 minutes in the fridge.)

2.) Marinate cubes of tofu in the sauce in the refrigerator for a half-hour, at least.

3.) Remove from fridge. Take the tofu out of the sauce and put it on broiler pan. Reserve the sauce. If you plan to use bamboo skewers, soak the skewers for 20 minutes in warm water first.

4.) Prepare and cook your side veggies (recipe follows). Keep warm as your broil the tofu.

5.) Preheat the broiler. Place the tofu under the broiler, and cook, about 4 minutes. Flip and cook on other side for another 4 minutes.

6.) While the tofu is cooking, reheat the sauce with the remaining 2 teaspoons of sugar.

7.) Arrange the veggies and tofu on a serving platter and drizzle the sauce on top. Serve with a side of short-grain brown rice.

Roasted veggies for tofu teriyaki (serves 4)

1 red pepper, seeded and chopped

1 yellow onion, sliced

1 sweet potato, sliced

1/2 zucchini, sliced

about 1/2 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Toss vegetables with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and spread on roasting pan. Roast at 450 degrees for about 12 minutes. Stir/flip once, halfway through cooking.

Chickpea soup with porcini mushrooms

My instincts must have been right-on when I was craving soup. Not only did I get a cold earlier this week, but the weather turned pretty cool today -- at least by Indiana summer standards -- so soup was definitely in order.

This is the second impressive recipe I've tackled from Lidia's Italy. I love the book because it's packed with interesting tidbits about culture, how the regions in Italy embrace different dishes, and so on. The first recipe I tried was her beef goulash, and oh man, I could eat that every day. The recipes are fairly time-consuming, though, so thankfully that's not a possibility.

The chickpea soup with porcini mushrooms took a total of two and a half hours, from start to finish. That's key. Because the chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans) and the mushrooms cook for almost two hours together, so the texture becomes what Lidia describes aptly as "velvety."

I cut the recipe in half here; hers makes 12 servings, and because it's just my husband and I eating it, that was overkill. Below is how I interpreted her recipe.



Chickpea soup with porcini mushrooms (serves 6)

1/2 pound dried chickpeas, rinsed and soaked overnight covered by about 4 inches of cold water

1/4 cup dried porcini mushrooms

1/2 small onion, coarsely chopped

1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped

1 clove garlic

1/4 cup fresh parsley

1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary

1.5 teaspoons coarse sea salt, divided

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

3/4 cup canned plum tomatoes, hand-crushed

1 pound fresh mushrooms -- I used shiitake, portabello, and white button

black pepper, to taste

optional (and I highly recommend!): some fresh parmesan, very thinly sliced

1.) Drain and rinse the chickpeas and put them in a soup pot, along with 2 quarts of water. Bring to a boil, add the dried porcini, and leave lid partially covered while that gently bubbles.

2.) Put the onion, celery, fresh herbs, garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt into a food process, and proces into a paste-like consistency. (Lidia explains, by the way, that this paste is used in various sauces, stews, and soups in food in Maremma, Italy. It's called a pestata until it's browned in a skillet, at which point it becomes a soffritto. See next step.)

3.) Put the oil in a skillet, and cook the paste over medium-high heat until it starts to brown and stick to the skillet (about 4 minutes).

4.) Add the crushed tomatoes, and scrape the paste into the soup. Cook, uncovered, for about an hour.

5.) Add the fresh mushrooms and 1 teaspoon of salt. Let it continue to cook another 45 minutes to an hour, or until the broth is thick and the chickpeas tender.

6.) Pour soup into serving bowls and if using parm, sprinkle some of that on top. Drizzle with a little olive oil, and serve with warm crusty bread.



Today's question: What's your favorite kind of soup? I have so many... I'll have to get my Mexican corn chowder and chicken mulligatawny recipes up here someday...

Stuffed garlic mushrooms

Ah, one of my all-time faves: mushrooms stuffed with bread crumbs, parsley, and garlic. Lots of garlic. How could you go wrong?

I usually make this as an appetizer, serving one large portabello cap per person. I think, having now tried out this button-size hors d'oeuvres dish, that the larger caps are the way to go. The little ones still tasted great, but the large caps for some reason allow the bread crumbs to get a little crispier on the top. It's always possible to give the shrooms some time under the broiler to achieve that in a pinch, though.

A note -- I use Jaclyn's All-Natural Bread Crumbs, the plain kind. They are made with organic whole wheat flour. You could use white bread crumbs instead, if you like.



Stuffed garlic mushrooms (makes about 6 servings)

5-6 large portabello mushrooms, about 1 pound

3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

1.5 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 ounces dried, whole wheat bread crumbs

salt and black pepper



1.) Wash the shrooms and cut off the stems. Chop them finely.

2.) Mix the stems with the parsley, 1 tablespoon of oil, and garlic, and mix well by hand.

3.) Brush the remainder of the oil on the bottom of a baking dish. Pre-heat the oven to 350.

4.) Place the caps, bottom side up, into the dish. Fill them equally with the crumb mixture. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until they start to turn golden brown. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.


Overweight is something that just sort of snacks up on you. (from All the Jokes)

Simon & Garfunkel mushrooms

As I look forward to a second day of not making dinner -- my husband's cooking tonight, and last night, we enjoyed tasty pulled pork and beef brisket at a wedding -- I thought I'd quickly share one of my favorite easy recipes.

My sister-in-law Kara, who's an amazing cook, gave me a spice mixture from Findlay Market in Cincinnati a while back, and it's delicious sprinkled on vegetables, chicken or fish, or in creamy soups. "Simon & Garfunkel" is a mixture of dried herbs -- equal parts parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme (get it?!). I liked the name so much that I forgave the fact that Garfunkel was mispelled on the (somewhat suspicious-looking) plastic baggie.

I particularly like it on mushrooms. These are really good as a warm side to chicken or fish with sauteed greens, or as a cold salad topping.

Simon & Garfunkel mushrooms

1/2 pound white mushrooms, washed well

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons Simon & Garfunkel herbs

salt and black pepper, to taste

1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic (optional)

Toss all ingredients together in a bowl. Arrange the mushrooms, stem side up, in a baking dish. Roast at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes, or until the mushrooms are tender but not mushy.