Entries associated with the tag "Recipes":

This week in Omnivorous I wrote about Milan Pelouch, Libertyville author of How to Find Morels, and his wife, Lila, who provided some 14 recipes for the book. If you're lucky enough to sniff out any of the fungi yourself--both the Illinois Mycological Association and Slow Food Chicago are leading forays this weekend--she recommends her fresh morel paté, which only requires about a cup of them.

Lila Pelouch's fresh morel paté

1/2 c. butter

1 c. morels, coarsely chopped

1/2 c. onion, finely minced

2 T. dry sherry or 1 T. sherry and 1 T. chicken broth

2 to 3 ozs. cream cheese

1/3 c. fresh parsley, minced

salt and pepper to taste

Saute mushrooms, onions, salt, and pepper in butter until mushrooms are tender. Add sherry. In a food processor, process cheese and parsley. Add the mushroom mixture and pulse on and off a few times until the mixture reaches a smooth consistency (but leave some mushrooms in small chunks). Serve at room temperature with crackers or on toast points.

Brussels sprouts aren't easy to love. They're funny looking as veggies go, and the sulfuric odor they emit when overcooked is, uh, kind of a turnoff. So Sunday night I test-drove a quick-and-easy brussels sprouts recipe provided by Reader restaurants contributor Rob Christopher, who could never stand the baby brassicas until he discovered the joy of smothering them in mustard and butter. 

Brussels sprouts with mustard-caper butter (adapted from Local Flavors by Deborah Madison, Broadway Books 2002)

• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh chives or parsley
• 1 tbsp capers
• 2 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 garlic clove
• Kosher salt
• 1 lb brussels sprouts, preferably small

Combine the butter, chives, capers and mustard in a small bowl and mix thoroughly. Mince the garlic to a paste with a pinch of salt and stir it into the butter. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut the sprouts in half lengthwise, or leave whole if small. Boil until tender, about 7-8 minutes; test by piercing with a knife. Drain well and return to the warm pot. Add the flavored butter and stir well.

• The day before, trim greens from a dozen beets and roast whole at 400 degrees for one hour.
• Let cool overnight.
• Peel beets and slice into eighths. Set aside.
• Coarsely chop 1/2 cup walnuts and toast on a baking sheet until, well, toasty. (If you're me, check oven compulsively to make sure they're not burning.)
• Toss beets, walnuts, 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese (one that's relatively mild, because a really funky, assertive blue will be wasted here), and 1/2 thinly sliced red onion in a dressing of walnut oil and balsamic vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste.