Beefy Mushroom Rice

Yesterday Jack needed to take a side dish to work for a lunch they were having. I decided to make him a rice dish. I used about a pound of porcini mushrooms, one red onion, 10 jalapeno peppers, and half a cup of celery all finely chopped. After cooking them in 3 sticks of butter they were added to about the cooked rice. I used Jasmine rice because of the wonderful smell while it is cooking. I did about 4 cups of uncooked rice. After that was done and the veggies were added I made about 2 cups of beef gravy and added to it to make it a beefy mushroom taste. It was a little overpowering with mushroom so I made 4 more cups of rice and mixed them together. It was perfect. Now tonight when I get home I will make some beef broth and throw my half of the rice in and have beefy mushroom rice soup for dinner. I think I’m about mushroomed out for a while. I  have probably used about 10 pounds in the last 2 months. Bon Appétit!

Grilled Rueben Sandwihces

Wednesday night was Grilled Rueben Sandwiches. I used deli corned beef, Swiss cheese and Libby’s sauerkraut.  I’m partial to Vlasic polish sauerkraut but that’s not readily available in Missouri so I settle for Libby’s. After buttering one side of the bread and placing it in the pan I added a layer of Swiss cheese followed by corned beef then sauerkraut then another layer of Swiss cheese and the top piece of bread. Browned on both sides and served. Excellent. I have been wanting those for a week now. I used one of my favorite rye breads, Wonder Beefsteak Hearty Rye. Its best for sandwiches wehre as the Beefsteadk is best for rye toast.

Bon Appétit!

Barbecued Chicken Breast with Green Bean Caserole

Last night was barbecued chicken breasts with green bean casserole. I used boneless skinless so it would be healthier and cut them into smaller pieces so they would cook faster. After they were almost done I put my homemade barbecue sauce on them and let them cook for another 10 – 15 minutes. I used French Style green beans with the last of my homemade mushroom sauce. Topped it with the French Fried Onions and baked it at 350 for half an hour. The sauce was a little more runny than normal the beans had too much frost in them and I hadn’t realized that at the time. I learned for next time if there is frost rinse them in hot water first to get rid of it.  I was too tired or I would have realized that last night.

Bon Appétit!

Pasta Bake

Last night I made a pasta bake. I used a quart and a half of my home made tomatoes along with a pint of Italian Pasta Sauce. I browned a pound of ground chuck and spiced it with with basil, oregano, Italian seasoning and garlic. After browning  I added fresh green onions and mushrooms. When those were cooked I added the tomatoes and a pint of Italian Pasta Sauce. After that simmered for about an hour I made a package of macaroni and grated my cheese. I put the macaroni in the baking dish then some of the cheese on top of it. The sauce was the layered on top of that and then added more cheese for a topping.  Wish I would have had mozzarella it would have been better but I didn’t so I used the four cheese mix that I had along with pepper jack. It was respectable. Tomorrow I will have leftovers of that with garlic toast. Tonight is going to be onion coated chicken with chicken fried rice. Bon Appétit!

Becoming the Cast Iron Cauldron

As a young teen Cousin Sandi and I always enjoyed watching the cooking shows together on weekends, especially Julia Child. She was fabulous. The cooking shows of today can't compare to her back in the mid to late 60s. Fortunately I have a first edition of her original cookbook which I will treasure always.  I was also able to come up with a first edition of her second book this past week on Amazon which I was never able to find before, so I look forward to getting that in the next couple weeks to see whats in it. I also was able to find a Le Cordon Bleu text book today to go with the different editions of the Culinary Institute textbooks I got a few years ago. Sandi  and I also enjoyed Yan Can Cook for Oriental foods and The Frugal Gourmet for the obscure, and Justin Wilson for good old down home Louisisna cajun foods. Now in the present days Emeril is good and a lot of fun to watch. I used to like David Rosengarten but I have no clue what happened to him, his show has been gone for a long time now. I have always enjoyed cooking and collecting cookbooks. At present my "pantry" has become my cookbook room. I have managed to collect over 500 cookbooks. Anything from the old to the new. Some talk about rationed foods and what to use as a substitute when you can't get the specific item you want. I hope to be able to update this every week when I'm at the cafe drinking coffee or sitting at McDonalds drinking iced tea. I enjoy the experimental foods as well as the tried and true. I hope to be able to share some new recipes with you as well as my old time favorites.
For what ever reason I decided to name my kitchen the Cast Iron Cauldron.  I use a witch stirring her "brew" in a cauldron as my kitchen symbol. I hope you find something you like here. 
As Julia Child would say,  
"Bon Appétit!"

Mushroom Soup / Sauce

The soup is the same as the sauce. I use it for both and it is suitable for both. Be sure to check the expiration date of your heavy whipping cream, this will let you know how long you should be able to use the sauce. If it is dated far enough ahead it should be fine in the fridge for at least a week if not a little longer,  provided its covered so it doesn’t absorb other flavors. I use a half pound of baby portabellas, a pound of criminis, and two pounds of just the regular whites. I prefer to use the bulk ones as opposed to the packaged ones when possible, depending which look the best. I do not use the stems and I peel the skins off. Slice thinly and set aside till they are all sliced. Sautee them in butter until tender. (I usually use 6 sticks) stir constantly flipping and moving them so they all cook evenly. There is no need to brown them so you can cook them all at the same time. When done add 1 quart of heavy whipping cream and heat thoroughly. When bubbling in the middle thicken with a mixture of cold water and cornstarch. Add slowly while stirring constantly so it doesn’t lump. Serve as soup or use as a sauce. Today’s soup can become tomorrows sauce.

Bon Appétit!

Chicken Cacciatore

This was Sunday’s dinner. I cut up the chicken breasts and 1 red onion then sautéed them in butter until almost done. At that point I added a cup of good red wine and allowed that to simmer for half hour to 45 minutes stirring when needed. While that was simmering I made my Cacciatore sauce and added it to the chicken. Change over to a baking dish for the oven and keep bake at 300 until ready to serve. I served over buttered noodles, rice would also be appropriate if you prefer it over noodles.

Bon Appétit!

Mushroom Steak Burgers

Friday was Mushroom Steak Burgers. Before making and cooking the burgers the prep work is to peel and cut the mushrooms and the onions. I used about 3 pounds of mushrooms and 3 large onions. Cook the mushrooms in 4 sticks of butter until tender. Take the mushrooms out of the butter and set aside. Now cook the onions in the mushroom butter until translucent. Put in bowl and set aside.  Now make the burgers and brown on both sides. I used the 96/4 mix so there would be no greasy fat involved.  I always make half pound burgers for these and always do 8 because it fits perfect in my baking dish. Once browned, place in the baking dish. Top with the mushrooms followed by the onions. Spoon the remaining butter on each burger with the onions. Next I used half a package (professional size) of Minors beef gravy mix to make 2 quarts of beef gravy. Pour that over and around the burgers evenly. Bake at 325 for 45 minutes to an hour. This will allow the meat to finish cooking and the gravy to mix with the mushroom and onion flavor.  Bon Appétit!

Chicken Nouveau in Mushroom Cream Sauce

Cut and sautee chicken breast in butter. When chicken is about done add a cup of St James Nouveau Red Wine and simmer for half an hour. The mushroom soup from yesterday becomes the mushroom sauce for today. Heat thoroughly stirring frequently. I served this one over Jasimine rice. It has a wonderful fragrance while cooking that fills your entire kitchen.       Bon Appétit!

Polish Sausage

Wednesday’s dinner was polish sausage over buttered egg noodles.

I sautéed my onions first till nice and translucent then added the polish sausage which I cut into about 1 inch slices. After cooking them I added a quart of crushed tomatoes and let that heat and served with buttered egg noodles. Very simple and quick for an evening when you don’t have a lot of time to make something. The prep time was about 15 minutes and cook time was about 20 minutes. The noodles took more time than anything so always get anything like that cooking first so it can be cooking while you are doing something else.

Tomorrow is a simple burger and a green salad. I have some great hamburger buns so that’s a good time for a good burger.  Bon Appétit!

Enchilada Bake

So much for the dinner plans. I had a bad cold kick in last night and decided to stay home and not spread my germs. Jack took the meatballs over to Sandi’s and came home. While he was gone I made the Enchilada Bake for dinner I was going to make tomorrow. I start with green enchilada sauce. I prefer that one to the red. I don’t like the flavor of the red. I use a package of the round Mexican melting cheese and some pepper jack cheese. In all the years I have been buying pepper jack cheese I finally found the best ever. I got it at an Amish store a couple weeks ago. I have never had one that had that many peppers in it before. It’s fabulous. I diced half of an onion and two mushrooms. I put the sauce in a glass baking dish then start with 2 corn tortillas. I sprinkle onion of each one. That gets topped with the grated Mexican cheese and a spoonful of mushrooms. Another tortilla is next and followed by onion and  pepper jack cheese and another spoonful of mushrooms. The third and final layer is another tortilla, onion, Mexican cheese, and another spoonful of mushrooms topped by the top tortilla. The Mexican cheese is added to the top for melting and a dab of mushroom. Add the final quart of green enchilada sauce all around the sides and gently poured on top  of the enchiladas. Bake at 325 for about 20 minutes or until bubbly hot. Time may vary with each individual oven. 

Bon Appétit!

Canned Tomatoes

For over 35 years I have been canning my own tomatoes. Being a northern person that worked out great. However once moving to the state of Missouri it changed drastically. Up north you can go to the fruit market in August and get bushels of beautiful grade A tomatoes at bushel prices. Down south here the farmers and farm stands use the a and b grade tomatoes for selling by the pound only. Therefore to get tomatoes for canning you get the left over tomatoes that are very small and almost always half or more are bruised and spotted. This does not make for a good product and takes lots of work and has lots leftover trash to be thrown out.

I have since learned to use the number 10 cans of crushed tomatoes and add my onions, celery, green peppers, jalapeno peppers, and spices to that and then can it. It turns out great. Actually even better because the texture is perfect for pasta sauces and chili or anything else you would want to use them for. I made sauce just using the store tomatoes and adding the stuff to it and simmered it and it just was not the same as using my own tomatoes. Therefore it is much easier to do it this way. It cuts out 90% of the work and the flavor is the same and the texture is better. I got one of those new choppers at the store this year and everything chops so small and perfectly fine therefore mixing very evenly throughout the tomatoes. This is fantastic. You also can do it any time of year and don't have to wait for August when it's 95 degrees outside and too hot to be canning stuff. 

Bon Appétit!

Swedish Meatballs

For tonights dinner  we are having Swedish Meatballs over rice. We are dining at cousin Sandi's so there will be 6 adults and 3 kids. For this I made about 50 meatballs. I used the mushroom soup recipe for the sauce. The only difference is that I thickened it with a corn starch and cold water mix. The meatballs are made with ground round. To that I added 1 medium chopped onion, a few stalks of celery a tsp or so of jalapeno peppers, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup spicy homemade ketchup, spices including garlic salt, steak pepper,  and nutmeg. I made the meatballs about 1 ounce in size so they would be small and uniform in size so that they all cook in the same amount of time. I browned the meatballs in butter with a dash of extra virgin olive oil to keep the butter form burning. After they were browned they were put in a galss dish and baked at 350 until done. Time will vary depending on how long they were cooked on top of the stove. Do not over cook. After a cooling down period they got put in the fridge till later in day when I had time to make the sauce. After the mushroom sauce is done thicken it with cornstarch  and cold water mix stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Once that is done put a layer of sauce into the bottom of a bowl then add meatballs. Keep layering sauce and meat  together so the meat  gets a chance to absorb the flavor of the sauce. Cover tightly and refrigerate after slightly cooled. This will set over night and be taken to Sandi's tomorrow night when we get home and Sandi and I will be able to relax and enjoy a bottle of wine together while dinner is heating. The only thing to do tomorrow is make the rice and a fresh green salad.

Bon Appétit!

Grilled Brats and Mushroom Soup

I will begin with last night’s dinner.

I made a homemade mushroom soup and grilled brats.

For the brats first they get cooked in beer with a little Italian seasoning in it. Boil them for an hour or so the flavors meld together. Then light the grill and wait for just the right moment so you don't burn the brats. Meanwhile the brats are simmering and I'm making the mushroom soup. I start with 3 pounds of fresh mushrooms. I remove the stem and throw it out, then peel the outer layer off the mushroom so it is nice and creamy white. I used regular white mushrooms, baby portabellas, and criminis.  After the hour or so to prep them I melt 6 sticks of butter to which I add the mushrooms. It doesn't matter if they brown or not since this is soup so I cook them all at one time. Flipping the shrooms and stirring them almost constantly so they don't burn and cook evenly I cook them till they are nicely colored and tender. This doesn't take a long time; it depends on how many you are cooking how long it takes.   I add 1 quart of heavy whipping cream to the shrooms and let it simmer for half an hour stirring frequently so as not to scorch. Normally at this point I thicken with cornstarch cold water mixture but I'm at cousins and she is out so I substitute 1 cup of sour cream. It thickens it some and didn't affect the flavor at all. This soup is so rich a small portion is more than enough, we usually use about a half cup for a serving.

Meanwhile the brats have gone to the grill and are being expertly prepared by the grill master, Josh, since I'm in the kitchen since I can't be inside and outside at the same time. 

This is my first attempt at doing something like this so who knows what will transpire. I hope to have some interesting foods to share with you.  My kitchen is nicknamed The Cast Iron Cauldron and I'm the witch in charge of it. My brews can be exotic or plain and simple. You will never know what to expect from one day to the next.  Bon Appétit!