Beautiful sunrise this morning. Unlike a great deal of the country, it was actually fairly warm here, around 50°F.
I did a lot of cooking this past week, some of it more successful than others.
First, I made Chex mix. I can practically make this in my sleep, so, of course, I forgot an important ingredient: the oil. Realized it about an hour late and added it. Certainly edible, but not something I’m going to give out to the neighbors. I’ll have to try again tomorrow. I know many people buy Chex mix or make it in the microwave, but that is no substitute for the baking time in my recipe:
Mix
2 lb. nuts
12 oz. wheat chexs
10.5 oz cherrios
6.5 oz. rice chexs
6.5 oz. pretzel sticks or Goldfish crackers or the like
1 cup vegetable oil
3 T Worcestershire sauce
1+ T seasoning salt
Mix all dry ingredients except salt in large roaster. Whisk oil, Worcestershire sauce and salt together and pour over cereal. Stir mixture. Bake 2 hours at 250°, stirring every 15 minutes.
For Christmas dinner, we had a repeat of Thanksgiving. Baked potatoes, mushroom and leek stuffing, peas, and an apple puffed pastry for dessert. Delicious.
Leek And Wild Mushroom Stuffing
1 1/2 cups hot water
1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps sliced
1 pound button mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 cups chopped leeks (white and pale green parts only)
6 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups dry white wine
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
12ounces French-bread baguettes, halved lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
1 large egg, beaten to blend
Combine 1 1/2 cups hot water and dried porcini in small bowl. Let stand until mushrooms soften, about 30 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer mushrooms to work surface; chop finely. Pour mushroom soaking liquid into small bowl, leaving any sediment behind, and reserve.
Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add shiitake and button mushrooms; sauté 10 minutes. Add leeks and garlic; sauté 5 minutes. Add wine, thyme, and porcini mushrooms. Cook until almost all wine evaporates, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover mushroom mixture and porcini soaking liquid separately and chill. Reheat mushroom mixture to lukewarm before continuing.) Transfer mixture to very large bowl.
Mix bread into mushroom mixture. Season with salt and pepper; mix in egg.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Add enough reserved mushroom soaking liquid to stuffing to moisten (3/4 cup to 1 1/4 cups). Transfer stuffing to prepared dish. Bake uncovered until heated through, about 40 minutes.
Source: http://www.epicurious.com
Tuples and Attributes 