Broccoli/Foraged Oyster Mushroom Casserole: Easter Pleaser

Broccoli/Oyster Mushroom Casserole

Broccoli Casserole is one of those dishes that make any holiday special.  Why not make your menu POP with some fresh broccoli and mushrooms, nestled deep inside a creamy and delicious three cheese bath, and garnished with some crispy fried onions?  This time around I was fortunate enough to have some foraged Oyster mushrooms to saute into an earthy, meaty and amazing base along with some fresh button mushrooms for a homemade cream of mushroom Bechamel. This recipe is extra special, since it was the first time I'd found Oyster mushrooms in the wild.   This dish comes together in no time and is perfect with ham, chicken, beef or by itself.  

The original inspiration for bringing broccoli casserole into my cooking repertoire came from my sister Bonnie, who was in turn inspired by Mrs. June Robinson, her beloved late mother in law and the rest is delicious history.  Bonnie never showed me a recipe, but I remember her speaking about it and telling me  how she would prepare the dish for her family, in the manner Mrs. Robinson would prepare hers.  I started making my original form of this dish about 6 years ago, and it quickly became a household favorite, especially for my daughter Genesis, she's quite persnickety in her ways and palate, so when she approved, I accepted that as an indication of a winning dish.  The above featured is a request Genesis made.  She still loved it, even with the addition of the Oyster mushrooms.  

The cheeses for this recipe are key.  I like to use three types, all bringing different facets to this gem of a dish.  Ultimately, the choice is with the culinary artist, so play around with them, see what best fits the tastes of your family.  

Recipe:

6 c. broccoli florets, blanched and shocked

8 oz. sliced button mushrooms

8 oz. sliced Oyster mushrooms

1 12 oz. can evaporated milk

1 1/2 c. chicken stock or vegetable stock

8 oz. extra sharp Cheddar, grated

8  oz. Colby and Monterey Jack Cheese, cubed

4 oz. Pepper Jack Cheese, grated

1/2 c. full fat mayonnaise

2 tsp. onion powder

2 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

3 tbsp. AP flour

4 tbsp. unsalted butter

1-2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

SPST (Salt and Pepper to Suit Taste)

French Fried Onions for garnish, optional

 Directions:

Preheat oven to 375*F.

In a large bowl, combine broccoli, mayonnaise, onion powder and cubed Colby Jack and set aside.

In a heavy bottomed  saucepan over medium high heat, melt butter and heat olive oil together until butter is melted and there are small bubbles formed.

Add mushrooms and cook out moisture, about 5 minutes.

Gradually sprinkle in  flour and cook for about 1 minute.

Add garlic.

Whisk in stock and cook for several additional minutes until thickened.

Once thickened, whisk in milk slowly and reduce heat to medium.

Bring Bechamel to a gently rolling simmer and turn off heat.

Stir in Cheddar and Pepper Jack cheeses.

Temper in eggs.

Fold cream of mushroom into bowl containing broccoli mixture.

Pour broccoli mushroom blend into a large greased or nonstick sprayed baking vessel, about 11x9 or approximate size.

Cover tightly with foil and bake for about 40 minutes or until set and knife inserted comes out clean.

Remove foil and continue to cook until signs of golden color develops, about 10 minutes, give or take.

Garnish with French Fried Onions.

Carefully remove from oven and allow to cool for about 15 minutes before serving.

Broccoli/Oyster Mushroom Casserole before baking

  

 

Shoto Todoroki Ice Cream Bowls, Happy Spring!

Shoto Todoroki Ice Cream Bowls: Hot and Cold!

Hot Cheetos Dusted Ice Cream Bowls!

 This post was never intended to see the light of day, but with the welcome arrival of Spring, I had to share something to mark this special day.  Not only is Hot Cheetos a fabulous coating for chicken tenders and cheese sticks, its also an interesting and spicy delicious topping for ice cream.  That is it and that is all.  Celebrate Spring with a cold, creamy, chunky, chocolaty, crunchy, indulgent, sweet, salty and Hot Cheetos topped treat.  Just add cake for the ultimate gratification.  Don't judge me. haha, but seriously, this is "Bussin"!

Recipe:

Your favorite Ice Cream

Waffle Bowls, optional

Your desired Cake, optional

Hot Cheetos or XXL Hot Cheetos Dust, essential

Assemble as desired, top with Hot Cheetos, the more, the merrier...

Serve immediately.  You're Welcome.

Shoto Todoroki Ice Cream featuring Cookies and Cream and Rocky Road

Blueberry/Ginger/Bacardi Rum Jam: We Be Jammin'!

Today's feature is brought to you by an awesome sale on blueberries at our local Walmart. 12 oz. containers were on sale for $1 each.  This afforded me the opportunity to make a plethora of fruited goodies, namely jam.  I'd never made blueberry jam before and figured it was high time.  Following a successful venture with strawberries, creating a Mixed Berry Sake Jam w/Cardamom, a big hit with me and my family.  The recipe is super easy and relatively maintenance free, using my Ninja Foodi® and I was able to gift some of my family and friends their own special homemade goodies, it makes me feel good!  It pays to catch these impressive sales at local supermarkets and maximize on its benefits by canning and preserving for later.  With times as unpredictable as they are these days, every little bit helps, every deliciously sweet, fruity and spreadable bite!  I used Bacardi Rum for this recipe, but feel free to choose the brand of your own personal desire, I like to stick with the classics when cooking with alcohol. Don't worry, only the subtle spiced notes remain, not the booziness, so you can create memories that you can share with your kids after eating, unabashed and without the shame that sometimes comes along with a story starting with Bacardi Rum! Cheers!

 I'm by no means opposed to sugar and I know and respect its place in canning. I do however, feel that wonderful canned jams and jellies can be achieved with optimal yet reduced amounts.  This recipe provides a delightful and fruit forward spread and you will never miss the extra sugar! Try a heaping spoonful in your cottage cheese for a real treat or with the usual suspects like toast, English muffins or yeast rolls.  Breakfast, lunch or dinner, this JAM ROCKS!

Recipe:

8 -12 oz. containers of fresh blueberries, rinsed, picked through and examined for defectives

5 3/4 c. pure cane sugar

8 whole green cardamom pods

Juice and peel (without pith or white part) of 1 lemon

1 tsp. kosher salt or to taste

1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract

1 shot bottle of Bacardi Rum 1 1/2 oz.

2 boxes fruit pectin, optional

Instructions:

Place all ingredients except vanilla extract in the Foodi on the warm setting and allow the fruit to macerate and marry for 5 hours.  Doing so will break the berries down slowly and help them keep their form, concentrating the delicious flavors and 'becoming' with little effort.  Stir periodically.

Once the berries have given up their liquids and are fragrance forward, turn the setting to  sear/saute and bring the berries up to gentle simmer.

Remove the cardamom pods!

Once the berries have reached your desired consistency, turn off the heat and add the pectin mixed with a little water.  

If you choose not to use the pectin, simply simmer the berries down until visibly reduced and it is a bit thicker in the vessel.  It will continue to thicken naturally as it cools and sets.

Stir until fully dissolved and transfer to hot sterilized jars.

Add the lids and place the jars on the counter to seal naturally over the course of the next day.

You will be able to tell if they have sealed, by the indentation in the top lid, it will be concave. 

Label and date your finished gems, I like to adorn the gifting ones with butcher's twine for a personal touch, but feel free to omit or decorate as desired.   

Your jam is ready to be stored or gifted, I did both.

Makes 12 -1/2 pint jars, plus some to enjoy now, just place the remainder in a clean and airtight jar with a lid.

Refrigerate for longest shelf life and best flavor.  Keep in mind, this version has about half the sugar as the regular versions, so it may be more susceptible to losing freshness faster after opening, not that it will hang around though, as my young teens say "It's Bussin"!, which translates to delicious!

Dee Lish's Deliveries- Meat Lasagna

 I special delivered this lasagna to one of my older sisters, Terry, along with one of my signature Roasted Pumpkin Cream Pies (also featured on this blog, under the same name), chosen from my catalog of options.  She lives alone, so she specified the size and ingredient call for the dish, including, no fennel, extra beef and lots of three cheeses; Parmesan, Sharp Cheddar and Mozzarella.  I encouraged Terry towards a more wholesome request with the addition of fresh spinach to her dish, adding much needed and good for you nutrition and also a vibrant splash of color!  She agreed and was very pleased with her results. 

I'd been promising my fellow left handed sister a good home cooked meal, to welcome her back home from a lengthy hospital stay, of which I had planned on braised short ribs and perhaps some creamed potatoes and a slow cooked green.  She never worries about calories or fats (and has a somewhat tall and lean stature) especially not after having been deprived of her own freezer stocked with her favorites.  Her first choice was actually some chitlins', something she never tires of talking about having during the cool and winter months, but that was a dish that requires more time and effort than I could offer amidst the obligations and work load, plus pain, that beset my schedule and body at the time, particularly when its cold.

Terry makes a primo Seafood Alfredo,  loaded with treasures of the sea like bay scallops, crab meat and shrimp.  My girls and I just adore it and its the one request we've made when she feels up to it again.  She's the type that loves a dish that's over the top. For instance, if you'd like a cheeseburger, Terry makes a 1/2 lb. double bacon cheeseburger. Ask for a sandwich and it's a club, with extra meat/cheese and if there's cake involved, ice cream is definitively its natural accompaniment! Her eyes are most certainly bigger than her stomach, as she hardly, if ever, finishes any one thing she prepares and is subject to lose interest easily, after the initial culinary desire has been met, which can be a particular treat for those around her. 

 She's a real character and sweetheart, a sister and a friend.  

I am glad Terry made the request as she did, because in doing so, I was able to write another solid and delish lasagna recipe, this one with the flat lasagna and now my more favored over the rippled one.  I also omit the egg that I usually use in some of my ricotta mixtures and replace it with an Italian cheese blend to serve as a binder.  The sheets also aid in preparing smaller portion dishes.   This will be the recipe that makes the menu, once my meal service is fully up and running.   I'll be sharing more about its details in the weeks to come.  In the meantime between time, happy eating! 

Jonah Crabs, New Found Delight!

Jonah Crabs, delicious and sweet!

I like to consider myself a purveyor of things delicious and ever gathering the inside track on what I must try in my culinary journey and I recently became aware of the Jonah Crab or Cancer Borealis.  This crustacean is harvested and abundant right here in the Americas, on the East coast , Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island bringing in the most.  The New England states are home to many delicacies as seen by food culture and this one more to add to the list.  The Jonah Crab was once seen as a nuisance to many trappers, especially during the 80's, often thrown back when hauled in with the more desirable lobsters and other more popular fare, much to our favor, because they have been afforded the opportunity to thrive, thus making it much more affordable than its counterparts. They are also found further up, in Newfoundland and all the way down to Florida.  

The Jonah Crab is delicious.  I ran across a 2 lb. bag of steamed and scored crab claws and legs at Walmart.  The scoring makes for hassle free enjoyment, missing only a portion of clarified or salted butter and lemon to set the stage for a most beautiful engagement.  Ghee is also an option, I used some and WOW!   The meat of the Jonah Crab is delicate and sweet.  The claws are quite meaty and easy to manipulate.  I found complete satisfaction with devouring them just as they were, steam thawed with some seafood seasoning in my Foodi, but they would be perfect for crab dips and crab cakes if you choose.  The claws are heavy for their size and make for awesome presentations as well.  

I recently purchased a gorgeous blue wooden bowl that would have been perfect for presentation, but after failing to find it in a timely fashion, I ended up standing and dining at the stove top, where the Foodi was situated and eating straight from the pot. Of course, I had paper towels and a large short sided paper towel lined cardboard box to use as my plate. The box was part of the canning process of my Blueberry, Ginger and Bacardi Rum Jam, I will be posting that recipe soon!  

I was able to grab enough blueberries on sale for $1 for 12 oz. cartons, (Thanks Walmart) to make 24 -1/2 pint jars, with some extra to snack on with toast and bagels, fantastic!  I feel that eating seafood out can be a very costly affair if ordering crab legs, crabs, lobsters, etc...so this was a perfect way to get that pleasure right at home for a reasonable price and will allow you to get more for your money, which is always good.  Besides, crabs can be quite a messy meal and who wants to look like a savage in public? Haha, nk.

Jonah Crab Claws and Legs with Butter

 If you are looking for a seafood fix, be sure to be on the lookout for Jonah Crabs, they won't disappoint, I don't know how I made it this far without knowing about these guys, now we can both be in the know and start reaping its sweet and delicious benefits. If you already knew, then have some anyway!  Jonah Crab for the win. 

Ladybug Toast

Disclaimer: No ladybugs were harmed during the making of this snack, but it crushed my hunger and gave me a much needed brain and energy boost while working on some layouts and editing the other day!  The 11th hour had come, but there was still much to do, and I'd already pretty much exhausted my coffee crutch and my pain levels were taking my edge away, slapping my productivity right in the face-POW! 

I didn't want  to throw in the towel, I needed to meet my self imposed deadline, since I'd begun the piece days ago.   I came up with a quick fix from on hand ingredients and a box of gifted "Mini Doraditas", a type of puff pastry-like cracker put out by Bimbo, right here in the USA.  The slightly sweet, almost buttery cracker was the perfect vehicle on which to marry the tart and tangy, too sweet dried cranberries I had and some good ole fashioned creamy peanut butter.  This snack hit all the desirable spots on the palate and provided me with enough spunk to finish my article on Masala Dabbas.  Creamy, crunchy, sweet, tart, tangy, nutty and buttery, plus lots of vitamins and minerals the body loves.  Get your  neurons clicking and ticking in a pinch with Ladybug Toast! The kids will love them too!

 

 

DIY Masala Dabba: Spice, Girl.

Custom Masala Dabba, created by me. From top left; Amchur (Mango) Powder, Paprika, Garam Masala. Row 2; Coriander Seeds, Curry Powder, Black Salt. Row 3; Asafetida, Extra Hot Chilli Powder, Fenugreek Seeds

I recently ordered a collection of Indian spices to broaden my culinary wheelhouse.  I am familiar with the basics of Indian spice culture, but there are literally scores of exotic and familiar components to choose from, that make up a delicious, often vegetarian dish.  It is customary to store Indian spices in a Masala Dabba or spice tin, from which you can mix and match spice combinations and flavors.  

There are seven spices that compose the core and correlate with dietary fulfillment and medicinal well being in Indian culture; cumin, coriander, clove, cinnamon, cardamom, turmeric and fenugreek.  These spices are some of the powerhouses of the spice world, touting antioxidants and medicinal values far beyond just one or two remedies.  The word Curry as we know it, is a Western Idealization and does not exist per se in India, as told to me by an Indian chef and restaurateur.  Additionally, Garam Masala is actually a combination of spices; cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, coriander and cardamom are often included, but are certainly not  exclusive.  A garam masala is strongly dependent on which region of India it comes from, with origins believed to stem from the Northern region.  Some regions will make a garam masala, which translates to 'hot or warm spices', into a paste using coconut milk, vinegar or water.  The further south you travel, the spicier the blends, a lot relies on locality of ingredients in relation to the person making it.  Some spice blends are handed down by families, generation to generation, which is magnificent; a recipe 'by any other name would smell as sweet...'

I came up with this vessel to accommodate my newly acquired collection of spices.  I knew that I wouldn't be cooking Indian cuisine daily, but I wanted easy access and to keep my spices as fresh as possible. I love the explosion of color Indian cuisine invites, so I chose the above spices to reflect as much; textures and shapes also.

I took to my culinary lab and created a suitable and highly adaptable item, with minimal overhead and versatility. I hope you can find use for one in your life too!

Supplies:

Hot Glue Gun

Glue Sticks, I used multiple colors for visual appeal ( color coding, many reasons, all good!)

1 gallon food storage container, with lid

9 -2 oz. rectangle containers, with lids

Instructions:

Before using the glue, play around with the positioning of the cups, I found the way pictured above worked best for this design.

When ready, remove small lids.

Start gluing each cup into place, picking up one at a time from the prearranged positions.

Start with the one in the top middle. If using more than one color, glue one color at a time, as not to back track with the glue gun and be more time efficient.

I also added a splash of matching glue of each color on the lids, to complement the base.

Fill each compartment on the bottom of the small container with glue, then secure it to the bottom side of the lid, so that the finished ''dabbas", will be covered with the large container, an inverted lid of sorts.  

Make sure you make necessary adjustments for each smaller lid to fit properly onto each cup.

Once all containers are filled, with lids replaced, you may cover with the inverted bowl.

Since the items are secure, you may store them flat or on its side, depending on how much space you have available.  

Your newly created custom spice caddy is not just for spices however. You can also use it for jewelry, sewing supplies, beads or other small materials for crafting, condiments for a cookout or just about anything you feel there is a need for organizing on a small scale.  Enjoy! 

DIY Masala Dabba color coded and secure containers with lids

DIY Masala Dabba's color coded containers are secured with colored glue sticks

 

Various Indian Spices