Jamie's The Real Mushroom Soup

Monday evening Mr. Weinberger and I had Jamie Oliver's "The Real Mushroom Soup" out of jamie's dinners. It was really tasty, relatively easy, and perfect for a chilly evening in San Antonio. We only had the budget for two variations of mushrooms, but I'm sure lots of different types would make this all the more flavorful.

Serves 6

You need:

a small handful of dried porcini

olive oil

2 lb mixed fresh wild mushrooms (chanterelles, black trumpets, shiitake, oyster), cleaned and sliced

2 cloves of garlic

1 red onion

TB of butter

a handful of fresh thyme leaves

sea salt and pepper

4.5 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 lemon

1.Get a large casserole-type pan hot, then add a few lugs of olive oil and the fresh mushrooms.

2. Stir around, then add your garlic, onion, butter and thyme, and a small amount of seasoning. Cook for about 20 mins. until moist of the moisture disappears.

3. Season to taste, and add your stock. Bring to a boil and simmer for around 20 min.

4. Puree your soup. (We used our immersion blender)

5. Make sure you mix together a pinch of salt and pepper with the zest of one lemon and the juice of half of it, then spoon a little of this into the middle of the soup. When you eat it, stir it in and it will really brighten the flavor.

As you can see we also toasted slices of french bread, and garnished the soup with flat leaf parsley.

I hope to share our meal we enjoyed last night soon. We had a delightfully sinful fish fry. Nom Nom.

Joyeux Cuisson!

Jamie's Good Old Steak and Guinness Pie

Well it only took me weeks, but finally here is the other Jamie Oliver recipe we did. It was really easy and so delicious!

Serves 6

• 1.5 lb stewing beef, diced
• 2 TB of flour
• olive oil
• 1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
• 4 sticks of celery, chopped
• 2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
• 1 handful of fresh herbs
• 2.5 cups Guinness
• 2 14oz cans of tomatoes
• 1 1lb 2oz package of puff pastry
• 1 egg, beaten

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Season your beef with salt and pepper, sprinkle with flour and toss around until coated.

2. heat 2-3 glugs of olive oil in a large casserole type pan and fry your meat until golden brown.

3. Add the onion and fry for 1 more minute, then add the carrot, celery, parsnips and herbs. Fry for another 4 minutes then pour in your Guinness. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil.
4. Stir around, then simmer for around 2 hours or until the meat is really tender. The sauce should be think.

5. Fill your oven proof bowls or baking dish with your meat filling. Roll out your pastry until 1/4 inch thick. Cut out six 6 circles about 1/2 inch bigger than the tops of your bowls. Brush the rims of your bowls with beaten egg, then place the pastry circles on top, squashing the excess pastry down the outside. Lightly brush the top of the pastry with the beaten egg.
6. Bake for 45 minutes until golden and bubbling.

Thanks Jamie Oliver for this awesome recipe! Mr. Weinberger loved it, and I know we will make it over and over.

Until next time, Joyeux Cuisson!

Jamie Oliver Week: Day 1

Or three days really. This dish from Cook with Jamie is really simple, but completely satisfying.

White Fish wrapped in Smoked Bacon with *White Wine-Lemon Sauce and Asparagus

Serves 4:

4 white fish fillets, skinned and pinboned

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary leaves picked and chopped

zest and juice of two lemons

4 slices of Pancetta

2 bunches of asparagus, trimmed

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Season fillets with rosemary, lemon zest, and pepper. Wrap the pancetta around the fillets.

2. Lightly heat a ovenproof frying pan, add a splash of olive oil and lay your fish, prettiest side facing up, n the pan. Fry for a minute, the flip and place your pan in the oven. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the bacon is crisp.

3. This is where we changed it up a bit. Jamie has a lemon-mayonnaise listed with this dish; however, to make it more healthful we went with a simple white-wine, butter, and lemon juice sauce. Be sure to let the wine cook for a bit before adding the butter and lemon juice.

4. For the asparagus you can boil it, steam it, or like us saute it in a non-stick pan. Easy-peasy!

5. Plate the asparagus and place the fish on top and drizzle the sauce over both.

Tonight we are having Steak and Guinness Pie. I can hardly wait!

Until then, Joyeux Cuisson!

Date Night

On Saturday night Mr. Weinberger and I had a much deserved decadent meal. Being newlyweds and all we spend most of our time figuring out different ways to scrimp and save, but this weekend we really enjoyed ourselves. I have to give him most of the credit for this meal. He planned, prepped, and did most of the actual cooking. I was the su chef if you will, and I enjoyed ever minute of it. We had braised short ribs, traditional mashed potatoes, and champagne. Mmmm delish!

For the Short Ribs: Courtesy of foodnetwork.com

4 English cut beef short ribs, trimmed (roughly 8 ounces each)

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

1 bottle full bodied red wine, such as Cabernet

4 cups low-sodium vegetable stock

4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

Serves 4

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Pat ribs dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper on all sides.

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the ribs and brown on all sides.

Transfer the ribs to a plate, then add the garlic and stir until softened but not brown, about 1 minute. Carefully pour in the wine, bring to a boil and cook until reduced to about 1 cup.

Add the ribs and any juices they have released back to the pot along with the stock. Reduce the heat and bring to a simmer, then cover the pot and transfer it to the oven, tobraise, until the meat easily falls off the bone, about 3 hours.

Transfer the ribs to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm. Strainthe braising liquid through a fine mesh sieve into a saucepan set over medium-high heat. Simmer the liquid, skimming fat as necessary, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Taste for seasoning and adjust, if necessary. Transfer the ribs and sauce to a serving dish and serve.

For the Mashed Potatoes:

Serves 2

3 average size baking potatoes

3 TB of butter

A splash of milk & 1/2 and 1/2

1. Wash and peel your potatoes (if you desire) and cut into even slices. Honestly I like to do mine pretty thin so they will cook quickly.

2. Boil in a medium sauce pan for about 15-20 minutes or until very done. Drain and mash in a mixing bowl. I like to mix my potatoes, milk, and butter with my stand mixer (because I am lazy), but you of course can use a hand mixer. I whip mine pretty good- because that's how my southern momma does 'em! It doesn't get any better than mashed 'taters!

I hope you enjoy this really rather simple and economical meal. Until next time, Joyeux Cuisson!