Posted on 09/20/2017 3:27:59 PM PDT by Jamestown1630
I had two dishes in a restaurant recently that I enjoyed so much I came home right away and looked for recipes.
The first was a salad of mixed greens with orange, walnut and Gorgonzola, very like this one:
However, the dressing was a maple-walnut one, of which I found many versions; this one from the website A Salad for All Seasons looked closest:
MAPLE WALNUT VINAIGRETTE
Serves: 1 CUP
½ cup of extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup of walnut oil
2 Tablespoons of pure maple syrup
3 Tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons of minced shallots
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste.
1. Place the oils, vinegar, maple syrup, vinegar, mustard and shallots in a small bowl. Whisk until combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
The website is very nice, stressing healthier eating with lots of interesting recipes:
http://www.asaladforallseasons.com/maple-walnut-vinaigrette/
The other dish was tortellini and spinach in a cream sauce, and Liz posted a nice one earlier today in last weeks thread. Pillsbury also came through with Creamy Spinach and Tortellini:
And finally, this week's Lee Valley newsletter had a soup that I suggest for the first fire you light on a chilly night this Fall - Fire Broth Soup:
http://www.leevalley.com/us/newsletters/Gardening/2569//Article3.htm
-JT
This week: Hunting down restaurant recipes; and Soup for a Cold Night!
Ill be on vacation next week, and may not get around to posting a thread; but Ill be back the week after.
(If you would like to be on or off of this weekly cooking thread ping-list, please send a private message.)
-JT
The bargain grocery near us runs a truly epic sale for exactly 30 minutes per week, and when I went last week I found a five-pound bag of dried Shiitake mushrooms for fifteen dollars. I’m gonna have tasty soup for YEARS...
I adore mushrooms in duck soup, and it’s absurdly easy. Ditto lentil soup, and lentils are far easier for me to come by than duck. :)
Making BBQ’d lamb kofta with baba ganoush, and red onion tomato, shanklish salad, with flat bread and secret sauce. Did I ever give you the recipe for the lamb? Can’t remember.
I don’t think you’ve shared that, but please do!
I once got a great deal on a mix of exotic, dried mushrooms from Costco - but I couldn’t figure out how to use them. No matter what I did, they came out tough and too salty.
How do you manage them?
That’s a great deal on dried shiitakes !
I usually soak mine in hot water until they soften up. Then I have mushroom broth as well:-)
Do you rehydrate them before you use them ?
I did the same; maybe I just got a lousy bunch of mushrooms.
Ok will write it down as I am making it. No recipe for the sauce though, it’s a secret. (That’s why it’s called “secret sauce”) The rest, OK. You can taste and smell it through the router!
Yes, soaked them in hot water. Just couldn’t get them to soften.
Always, in just enough water to cover—with the stems but discard before use.
LOL! A young man from the ME made one of the most memorable meals of my life - little oval patties of ground meat of some kind (he said it was ‘special’ meat, and I never learned what he meant) with potato chunks all roasted together in an olive-oily sauce. It was really wonderful, but I have no idea what the dish was called.
Yep, old batch, that was the reason for the bargain price.
I just realized that with your screen name, you should know ;-)
I somehow recall that mushrooms are rich in RNA - is that true?
I think I have the soup for a cold night.
We made this a couple weeks ago and liked it so much we made it again the next week. Full disclosure I used Andre Laurent Gourmet Sauerkraut which is mild and tangy.
Ground Beef and Sauerkraut Soup
(Makes about 8 servings)
Ingredients:
1 lb. very lean ground beef (less than 10% fat)
2-3 tsp. olive oil (depending on your pan)
2 cups homemade chicken stock or 1 can (14 oz. can) chicken broth
2 or 3 cans (14 oz. can) beef broth (depending on how thick you prefer the soup; start with 2 cans and add
more if desired)
1 can (14.5 oz. can) diced tomatoes with juice
1 can (14 oz. can) sauerkraut with juice (or use bottled sauerkraut)
1 T Worcestershire sauce (gluten-free if needed)
3-4 dried bay leaves
3 T minced parsley or 1-2 T dried parsley
1 tsp. dried rubbed sage
1 large onion, chopped small
1 T minced garlic (or less if you’re not that fond of garlic)
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Instructions:
In heavy frying pan, heat 1 tsp. olive oil, add ground beef and brown well, breaking into small pieces with
turner. This will take as much as ten minutes but don’t rush the browning step.
While ground beef browns, combine chicken stock, beef stock, canned tomatoes, sauerkraut, sweetener of
your choice, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, parsley and sage in large stock pot. Bring to a low simmer.
When beef is well browned, add to soup in pot. Deglaze pan with a bit of the soup liquid, scraping off any
browned bits, and add to soup.
Wipe out frying pan and add other 1-2 tsp. olive oil. Saute onions 2-3 minutes, until starting to soften, then
add garlic and saute 1-2 minutes more. Add to soup, reduce heat under soup pot and let soup simmer at low
heat about one hour.
After an hour, taste for seasoning and add water if soup seems too strong. Simmer 15 minutes more if
adding water. Season to taste with fresh-ground black pepper (and a little salt if desired) before serving.
Serve hot, with sour cream if desired.
Lee Valley soup looks great!
My husband would really like that - great fan of sauerkraut, but usually just nests his roasts in it, has never used in soup.
He wants to learn to make it himself.
I’m stealing your recipe. Can’t wait to try it.
Thank you.
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