Meatless Monday - Shiitake Mascarpone Cream

Normally I don't really participate in the "Meatless Monday" per se. I am not organized enough to coordinate my lack of animal protein to a specific day. Oh there are plenty of Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays that contain no meat as well as the occasional Friday, Saturday or Sunday. :) But today is just happened to fall that way.

This is the same recipe as the Chantarelle Mascarpone Cream  I made last fall but with 2 important differences.  Gruyere is the cheese of choice this time which just so happens to pair flawlessly with Shiitake mushrooms.  Proof that a good recipe has the ability to adapt and change with the season's offerings, yet remain delicious.  I have changed this so many times, depending on what was available in the market, that I don't even remember what the original recipe was anymore.  Incidentally, this is absolutely divine with Morels and Porcini too.

But, mmmm Shiitakes... The cancer fighting, blood clot preventing, serum cholesterol lowing, high blood pressure stopping wonder mushroom.

As if all that wasn't awesome enough, they are so deliciously "meaty", you won't even notice you aren't eating meat.  Especially when paired with a chunky pasta like rigatoni. So get your weekly dose of Lentinan (Cancer fighter), Lenthionine (Blood clot & High Blood Pressure), Eritadenine (Cholesterol reducer) and various anti-oxidants.   Your body will thank you. 

Rigatoni in Shiitake Mascarpone Cream

1 LB Rigatoni pasta
2 TB Olive Oil
1 Shallots, minced
1/2 Leek, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
1/2 lb Crimini Mushrooms, sliced
1/2 lb Shiitake Mushroomw, sliced
1/2 cup White wine, like Verdicchio
1/2 cup Vegetable stock (or Mushroom stock)
8 oz Mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup (2 oz) grated Gruyere, plus more for serving
1/4 cup fresh Chives, chopped - Plus more for serving

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 10 - 13 minutes.

While the pasta is boiling.........
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add the Shallots, Leek and garlic to the pan, seasoning with a little Kosher Salt and Black Pepper.

When the Shallots are soft, about 3 minutes, add the mushrooms to the pan and season with a little more Kosher Salt and Black Pepper, cook for about 5 minutes.

Deglaze the pan with Wine and cook until liquid has evaporated.

Add the vegetable (or mushroom) stock and simmer until liquid is reduced by half.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the mascarpone cheese, stiring until it melts and becomes all unctuously creamy.

Drain the pasta and transfer to a serving bowl.

Pour the mushroom mixture over the pasts along with the Gruyere and Chives.

Toss well, but gently to coat pasta. (add some reserved pasta water, if needed, to smooth the sauce)

Garnish with the More Gruyere and more chopped Chives.

Mangia!!
~~

A Scone, A Scone, The United Kingdom For a Scone! - Savory Black Pepper & Gruyere Scones

While in England back in '99 I became addicted to scones.  Sometimes delicately light and fluffy, other times tender and flaky.  Upon returning to the U.S. of A. I found myself in a state of yearning for those delectable treats to accompany my coffee or tea.  Being the eternal optimist, I always try the scones at whatever coffee house I happen to find myself in. Sadly, my optimism is soon crushed by bleak reality.  Cause lemme tell ya... Be it San Diego, Portland, San Francisco, L.A., Uniondale, Palm Springs, Yuma or Seattle, they are always like hockey pucks.  Which I don't understand at all.  Maybe they have just been sitting around too long or something, cause those horrendously dry crumbly things are NOTHING like what I was eating in England.

I find it frustrating.  I think I am going to start smuggling my own homemade scones into the coffee shop.

Now I must go on record as stating that while a traditional lightly sweet scone lavishly adorn with Devonshire Cream or Crème Fraîche and topped with Lemon curd or Raspberry preserves is the paramount addition to any cup of coffee and tea, occasionally I am in the mood for a savory scone.  Enter the Black Pepper & Gruyere scone.  They are awesome.

Because of the extra fat from the cheese, I tend to stick with my "Cream Scone" recipe, which is a flaky scone made without eggs, as opposed to Buttermilk scones or what I call Basic Milk scones; both containing Eggs and they tend to be fluffier.  Because of the "turning" of the dough, I cut my cream scones in triangles; where as with Buttermilk and Basic scones, I just use a 2 inch biscuit cutter.  After all, that was how they were made in England, like lightly sweet wee biscuits.  Now Bannocks; those were pressed into a round and sliced into wedges... But that is another post.

Black Pepper & Gruyere Scones

10 oz (285 g) AP Flour
1 TB Baking Powder (Aluminum Free please)
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
5 TB Unsalted Cultured Butter (they better the butter, the better the scone)
1.5 oz (45 g) Gruyere cheese, finely shredded
8 oz (235 ml) Heavy Cream

In a medium bowl, whisk the Flour, Baking Powder, Salt and Black Pepper together.

Add the sliced Butter.

Rub the Butter into the Flour until you have small pea sized bits.

Add the Gruyere cheese and toss to get it coated.

Form a well in the center of the dry mixture and pour in the Heavy Cream.

Mix with a fork until a soft dough begins to form.

Knead the dough as necessary until it comes together.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface.

Roll out the dough into a rectangle that is roughly 7x10 inches.

Fold the dough over into 1/3rds (just like you would for Puff Pastry dough or Croissants)

Then roll it out again into a 7 x 10 inch rectangle (this is called "turning" the dough) repeat the folding and rolling 2 more times for a total of 3 turns.

When you have completed the 3rd folding, roll the dough out again, into a 7x10 inch rectangle and, using a VERY sharp knife, cut the dough into 12 Triangles.

Move these to a parchment lined baking sheet.

Cover with Plastic wrap and chill the dough for 1 hour.

At the 1 hour mark, begin preheating the oven to 425 degrees (go ahead and leave the scones in the refrigerator... the extra 10-15 minutes of chilling won't hurt them)
Remove the scones from the ice box, remove the plastic wrap and bake the scones for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.

Move scones to a cooling rack as soon as possible or the bottoms may become a little soggy and loose their crispness.

Enjoy while still slightly warm, slathered with copious quantities of cultured butter.

Scones are best when eaten the same day that they were baked, as they tend to become stale fairly rapidly.

Magia!!
~~

A Little Creole Soul - Penne alla Nawlens

It all started when I decided to cook dinner for my youngest brother and his family, minus my niece who was at the beach with my parents. I was toying with the Macaroni alla Nawlens, that I made some time ago. When I mentioned Andouille floating in a sea of cheese and pasta, the idea was met with zeal. So it was decided... Penne alla Nawlens it was. This is when the problem started.

As I mentioned, I already made this recipe, or at least something along the same venue, a while back (Macaroni alla Nawlens), but I figured, in light of my recent successes without using béchamel as a base, that it was time to re-vamp the recipe a little.

When I started looking at the recipe it became glaringly apparent that I was off my "game". If memory serves me correctly, though I was attempting to recreate a recipe I had eaten at the New Orleans Cafe in old Town San Diego, I was in a hurry, I was hungry, and I was simply cleaning out the refrigerator of so many small pieces of cheese. Which would be fine, except for the fact that I blogged about it. I probably shouldn't have, as I had not entered into the project with any sort of definitive plan. (even an experiment needs a plan) I was simply making it up as I went along. And while it was tasty, I think it could be much better....

So I post this again, but THIS time, it is with a serious endeavor to create a Macaroni and Cheese dish that actually reflects the flavors of Cajun/Creole cuisine.

First, as I mentioned, the béchamel HAD to go. This is based on Heavy Cream, Butter, Crème Fraîche and Cheese (lots of Cheese). Secondly, I had to attempt atoning for my mistake; when I originally threw this together I committed a cardinal sin that shall haunt me to the end of my days (cause I knew better). I completely left out the "Holy Trinity". I have no idea what I was thinking, but the combination of Onion, Celery and Bell Pepper is quintessential to ANY Creole/Cajun dish. Sure, I had thrown in some onion, but that is a pale shadow of what is possible. Lastly, the cheese had to be addressed. So I sat and contemplated. I finally went with 1 firm cheese (Gruyere), 1 semi-firm cheese (Emmental), and 1 smooth melting cheese (Danish Fontina). A lot simpler, but more flavorful, than the train wreck of cheeses I used before. The funniest part is, that I actually used less cheese this time, but without the béchamel, it had SO much more cheese flavor. Awesome!

After all, if I am gonna cook for family, I SHOULD be putting my heart and soul into what I am doing. They're worth it. So without further nonsense babbling.... I present Macaroni alla Nawlens, the way I should have made it the first time. And I must admit, I was not disappointed at all, it was SO much better this time.

Penne y Formaggio alla Nawlens

24 oz Andouille Sausage
1/2 Bell Pepper, chopped (I used left over peppers from some other dishes, thus the rainbow)
1/2 medium White Onion, chopped
1 rib Celery, chopped
1 Cup Heavy Cream
4 oz Butter
6 oz Emmental
8 oz Fontina (Danish red wax type)
8 oz Gruyere
8 oz Crème Fraîche
1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 lb Penne (Elbows or Cavitappi will work too)
2 oz Panko

Slice up the andouille. (I use Aidelle's cause that was all I could find)

Set a large pot of water over high heat so it can come to a boil while you are grating all the cheeses so your ready.

Once you have grated all the cheese, grab a handful from the pile and set it aside for later.

Place Heavy Cream and Butter in a small sauce pan, melting it over low heat.

Place 1 TB Olive oil in a saute pan set over medium flame.

Add the andouille (in batches if necessary) and saute until lightly browned, but more importantly, until you have some of the fat rendered into the pan. (you're gonna need that for the next step)

When you have fried all the andouille, set it aside.

Add the "Holy Trinity" to the hot andouille fat, and saute until soft.

You should be able to drop your pasta now, boil for 1/2 the time called for on the package.

Begin preheating the oven to 325 degrees.

Once the Butter and Cream are melted and homogeneous, add a handful of the cheese mixture and whisk until melted and smooth before adding another handful.

Add all but 1 handful of the shredded cheese.

When all the cheese (except for the handful you set aside) has been added and is melted, add the Crème Fraîche and whisk again. (it will look a little runny)

Whisk in the Cayenne Pepper (add more if you have a higher heat threshold)

Drain the penne (don't forget to give it a really good shake to get the water out of the tubes) then pour the pasta back into the pot you boiled it in.

Add the Fried andouille and the Holy trinity.

Pour the hot cheese sauce over the top.

Then toss everything to coat it really well.

Add the reserved handful of cheese and stir it in.

Immediately pour the mixture into an 9 x 13 casserole dish. (Hooray for old CorningWare!)

Sprinkle with Panko.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until is begins to bubble.

Switch on the broiler on and place under the element for 3 minutes to finish of the top crust.

Then indulge in spicy cheese happiness.

(My nephew sure did)

Now if I only had some Crayfish.

Hoooo wee!!
~~