Barefoot Bloggers: Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

I am kind of cheating here. The pick for this week was Shrimp Bisque which was selected by Jennifer at The Blessed Home. I am sure I would enjoy it but I would be the only one and the recipe looked like it would be way to much work for just me. I feel especially guilty since it was recently my turn to pick and Jennifer did make my selection. Sorry Jennifer. I wanted to make something so I decided to make the Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms which was the pick right before Christmas - I was unable to make it then because I was so busy with Christmas stuff.

I can say I am very happy I decided to go back and make this one. It was easy to make. You can make the stuffing ahead of time and just throw them together when you are ready to bake them. This would be a very nice item to make for a party. My wife doesn't like sausage but with the sausage mixed with everything else she had no problem with it. I made these with the large stuffing mushrooms but other people made them with smaller mushrooms and they look great either way.

Thanks to Michelle of Welcome to the Club for this selection. If you want to check out the Shrimp Bisque you can check her blog. Sorry I didn't get this done in December but better late than never.

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

(Source: Barefoot Contessa - Thanksgiving 2.0 Episode)

Yields 6-8 Servings

Ingredients

• 16 extra-large white mushrooms
• 5 tablespoons good olive oil, divided
• 2 1/2 tablespoons Marsala wine or medium sherry
• 3/4 pound sweet Italian sausage, removed from the casings
• 6 scallions, white and green parts, minced
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 2/3 cup panko crumbs
• 5 ounces mascarpone cheese, preferably from Italy
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 2 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop them finely. Set aside. Place the mushroom caps in a shallow bowl and toss with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and Marsala. Set aside.
3. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage, crumbling it with the back of a wooden spoon. Cook the sausage for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until it's completely browned. Add the chopped mushroom stems and cook for 3 more minutes. Stir in the scallions and garlic and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the panko crumbs, stirring to combine evenly with all the other ingredients. Finally, swirl in the mascarpone and continue cooking until the mascarpone has melted and made the sausage mixture creamy. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan, parsley, and season with salt and pepper, to taste, Cool slightly.
4. Fill each mushroom generously with the sausage mixture. Arrange the mushrooms in a baking dish large enough to hold all the mushrooms in a snug single layer. Bake until the stuffing for 50 minutes, until the stuffing is browned and crusty.

Barefoot Bloggers: Indonesian Ginger Chicken

Well this is exciting! When I first started participating with the Barefoot Bloggers over a year ago I think I was a little over a hundred on the list of bloggers and I thought it would be several years before it was my turn to pick a recipe. For one reason or another people drop out and I am now number 27 of the 114 bloggers in Barefoot Bloggers. That makes it my turn to pick the recipe this month.

I was just talking to a buddy of mine a few weeks ago and he told me that he follows my blog but has never made anything since it all takes too many ingredients. I don't totally agree with that since I know that there have been several recipes that did not have many ingredients, I do know that there have been a fair share of recipes with a lot of ingredients and some hard to find ingredients. That brings me to my pick. I picked Indonesian Ginger Chicken because it looked like it would be good, easy to make, and because it had only five ingredients. So to my buddy - you better make this one - I know they have all this stuff in Switzerland or wherever you live now.

So I just got done saying how easy this recipe looked. I think I was a little overconfident but I tried to make this one twice before today. Last week I was all ready to make it but didn't read the recipe until the day I needed to make it and discovered that it needed to be marinated overnight. Next I decided to make it on this past Monday so thawed my chicken and was ready to make it and discovered that I neglected to buy ginger - who knew I would need ginger for Indonesian Ginger Chicken. That pushed my schedule to today - I almost was late on my own recipe pick.

With all that out of the way it really is easy to make. Takes about 5 minutes prep the night before to prepare the marinade. It marinates in the pan you cook it in so you just pop it in the oven an hour before you need it - flip it half way through and you are done. The chicken looked beautiful - shiny dark skin. It tasted just as good. The skin was crispy and flavored nice with the honey and ginger. I saw a few comments from people that thought some hot pepper flakes or something might have been a nice addition and I agree with them. I think it could have used a little salt too - an unusual thing to need in a Barefoot Contessa recipe.

Indonesian Ginger Chicken

(Source : Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, page 125)

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

• 1 cup honey
• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup minced garlic (8 to 12 cloves)
• 1/2 cup peeled and grated fresh ginger root
• 2 (3 1/2 pound) chickens, quartered, with backs removed

Directions

1. Cook the honey, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger root in a small saucepan over low heat until the honey is melted. Arrange the chicken in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan, skin side down, and pour on the sauce. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Place the baking pan in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover the pan, turn the chicken skin side up, and raise the temperature to 375 degrees F. Continue baking for 30 minutes or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh and the sauce is a rich, dark brown.

Barefoot Bloggers: Croissant Bread Pudding

This post almost didn't happen. I am sure it is a busy time of year for everyone and it almost was too busy for me to make this one. I did really want to make this recipe though so I managed to make it at the last possible time I could. I have always loved eating bread pudding but I have not made it since I baked in a restaurant 25 years ago - and that bread pudding served 100+. This bread pudding recipe is not much like that one I made 25 years ago.

With all the eating and desserts this time of year I decided it would be best to cut this recipe down to 1/4 of the recipe. I needed to get a croissant so I decided I would just stop with my son and eat at Panera for lunch and get some croissants there. Well turns out the croissants at Panera are huge. I decided just to get one and assume that would be at least the same as 1 1/2 normal croissants. The single croissant fit pretty much perfect in a 6x6 baking dish so I decided to use that. The recipe is a little hard to make 1/4 with the eggs. I ended up using just one jumbo egg and one yolk.

I haven't really had a bread pudding I haven't liked and I am not going to start now. This is not really like any bread pudding I have had before. It is much lighter and more delicate. I don't think you can really compare it to another bread pudding since it is so different. I did enjoy it though and would definitely make it again sometime.

Thanks to Peggy at the Pantry Revisited for this recipe pick. She made a few modifications to this recipe so check out her blog on that.

Croissant Bread Pudding

(Source: The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, page 192)

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

• 3 extra-large whole eggs
• 8 extra-large egg yolks
• 5 cups half-and-half
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 6 croissants, preferably stale, sliced horizontally
• 1 cup raisins

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole eggs, egg yolks, half-and-half, sugar, and vanilla. Set the custard mixture aside. Slice the croissants in half horizontally. In a 10 by 15 by 2 1/2-inch oval baking dish, distribute the bottoms of the sliced croissants, then add the raisins, then the tops of the croissants (brown side up), being sure the raisins are between the layers of croissants or they will burn while baking. Pour the custard over the croissants and allow to soak for 10 minutes, pressing down gently.
3. Place the pan in a larger one filled with 1-inch of hot water. Cover the larger pan with aluminum foil, tenting the foil so it doesn't touch the pudding. Cut a few holes in the foil to allow steam to escape. Bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 40 to 45 more minutes or until the pudding puffs up and the custard is set. Remove from the oven and cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Barefoot Bloggers: Company Pot Roast

I knew I shouldn't have procrastinated on this post. Here I am the night before Thanksgiving and I still didn't have my post that is due on Thanksgiving done. The apple pie is in the oven now so I have a little break to get this done. To everyone else in the US (or even if your not) - Happy Thanksgiving - enjoy the meal.

This post isn't about Thanksgiving dinner though - it is about this weeks Barefoot Blogger recipe - Company Pot Roast. The name of this recipe kind of got me into trouble - my wife decided that it must mean we have to have company over to eat it. That is OK though - gives me a chance to try out a few recipes. I served the pot roast over Ina's rosemary polenta recipe and served a Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake for dessert.

So how was the pot roast? I would have to say it was very good. It is not really what I am used to since there are not really any identifiable vegetables in it when you serve it. I think that would take a little getting used to for me. That being said - blending all the vegetables into the sauce makes a very tasty gravy - and probably a lot healthier than your standard gravy too. The only question I had on the recipe is - who uses a Prime cut of meat for pot roast? I thought the whole point of pot roast is that is used a little bit of a cheaper cut of meat.

Thanks to Lisa at Lime in the Coconut for this recipe. I haven't had much time to check out her blog yet but it looks like she has some nice photos of her recipes.

Company Pot Roast

(Source: Back to Basics, Page 117)

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 1 (4 to 5-pound) prime boneless beef chuck roast, tied
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• All-purpose flour
• Good olive oil
• 2 cups chopped carrots (4 carrots)
• 2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
• 2 cups chopped celery (4 stalks)
• 2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 to 4 leeks)
• 5 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 2 cups good red wine, such as Burgundy
• 2 tablespoons Cognac or brandy
• 1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes in puree
• 1 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 3 branches fresh thyme
• 2 branches fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Pat the beef dry with a paper towel. Season the roast all over with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Dredge the whole roast in flour, including the ends. In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the roast and sear for 4 to 5 minutes, until nicely browned. Turn and sear the other side and then turn and sear the ends. This should take 4 to 5 minutes for each side. Remove the roast to a large plate.
3. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the Dutch oven. Add the carrots, onions, celery, leeks, garlic, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper and cook over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender but not browned. Add the wine and Cognac and bring to a boil. Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, bouillon cube, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Tie the thyme and rosemary together with kitchen string and add to the pot. Put the roast back into the pot, bring to a boil, and cover. Place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours, until the meat is fork tender or about 160 degrees F internally. Turn the heat down to 250 degrees F after about an hour to keep the sauce at a simmer.
4. Remove the roast to a cutting board. Remove the herb bundle and discard. Skim off as much fat as possible from the sauce. Transfer half the sauce and vegetables to a blender or a food processor fitted with the steel blade and puree until smooth. Pour the puree back into the pot, place on the stove top over low heat, and return the sauce to a simmer. Place 2 tablespoons flour and the butter in a small bowl and mash them together with a fork. Stir into the sauce and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring until thickened. Taste for seasonings. Remove the strings from the roast, and slice the meat. Serve warm with the sauce spooned over it.