Portobello Cream Sauce

 

I love mushrooms, all kinds. I particularly love portobello mushrooms because of their meaty texture and taste, not to mention versatility. If you have never made one of those bad boys on the grill, that’s a “must do” this summer. I was looking to do something different with them, so decided to slice a couple super thin and turn them into a sauce for pasta. It was decadent! I truly think this sauce would be excellent over steak, chicken, and pork chops as well. You simply cannot go wrong with this, and it takes no time to put it together. Easy and company worthy, how often does that happen?Portobello Cream Sauce

  1 T. butter

1 T. extra virgin olive oil

6 oz. portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced

½ t. Montreal Steak Seasoning

1 t. Dijon mustard

1 c. heavy cream

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Parsley flakes, or freshly chopped chives, to garnish

 Melt butter in a 10” skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and raise the heat to high, getting the pan quite hot. Add mushrooms all at once, and let them cook for a minute without stirring. You want to get a nice sear on them. After a minute (or two) reduce heat, add steak seasoning, and sauté mushrooms until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in Dijon and heavy cream, and cook until sauce has thickened.

Remove from heat and stir in salt and pepper. Serve immediately over steaks, chops, or chicken, or toss as I did, with pasta.

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Olive Garden Salad Dressing

I tend to get a bit overzealous when it comes to buying produce, lettuce in particular. Well, I call it overzealous, friends and family, they call it eccentric, but what can you do? Everything just always looks so fresh and delicious when I’m shopping, and all sorts of recipes start cycling through my brain, that, before I know it, I have enough lettuce to feed a small army. This week I will be having at least one salad every day. First up is going to be a knock off of the salad that I always enjoy at Olive Garden. I stumbled upon a recipe that is a clone of their dressing, changed it up a bit, and really enjoyed it. There is nothing like homemade salad dressing for freshness.

Olive Garden Salad Dressing

 ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil

⅓ cup white vinegar

¼ cup water

1 .7-oz. packet Italian dressing mix

1 t. sugar

1 T. Duke’s mayonnaise

¼ t. dry mustard

¼ t. dried parsley flakes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

 Whisk all ingredients together in a medium bowl until emulsified. Pour into a container and refrigerate for up to two weeks. I like to use a high-speed blender to blend mine.

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Pistachio Pesto

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 I had some pistachios left over from the Pistachio Dream Pie and wanted to put them to particularly good use because those things don’t come cheap. I was in the mood for pesto so figured, why not use them instead of my usual walnuts or pine nuts? I was also low on fresh basil, so made up for it with baby spinach. This is a winner! I saved some of the crushed pistachios to sprinkle on top, gave it a bit of a squirt of fresh lemon juice, and it was some of the best pesto that I have ever eaten.

 Pistachio Pesto

 1/3 c . shelled pistachios
2 cloves of garlic
½ c. grated Parmesan
1 c. packed fresh basil
1 c. packed fresh baby spinach
¾ c. olive oil

 Place all ingredients into the work bowl of a food processor and pulse until a paste forms. If the pesto looks a bit dry just add some more oil. Keeps in the fridge for 2 weeks. Freezes beautifully.

 

Cilantro Pesto

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To quote Leslie Jordan and his HUGELY popular Instagram feed, “Hello, fellow hunker downers. What are y’all doing?” Me? I made cilantro pesto this morning.  I did so for a variety of reasons. First of all, I love cilantro. Second, I have no luck growing it because in this heat, it does nothing but bolt. Third, the versatility intrigued me.

Whether you like basil pesto or not, this is an entirely new ballgame. The taste is fresh, peppery, and complex. You can up the heat (or not) by using the entire jalapeño (seeded or otherwise), or eliminate the heat altogether by using none at all. The beauty of making a condiment like this is that you know it is the freshest available, it can be stirred into a variety of dishes to enhance your own cooking -- ranch dressing to top a Mexican salad, white rice to make cilantro rice, guacamole to add some zing to your dip, sour cream to turn an ordinary taco (or baked potato) into something special. It can be also it can also be divided into smaller containers (an ice cube tray would work here) and frozen. That way, you can enjoy fresh cilantro pesto whenever you want it, and enhance any dish that you please.

Cilantro Pesto

1 bunch fresh cilantro
2 T. chopped walnuts, toasted
5 cloves garlic
1 T. fresh lime juice
¼ c. freshly grated Parmesan
¼ c. extra virgin olive oil
½ Melissa’s pickled jalapeño*, seeded
1/8 t. kosher salt

Throw all ingredients into a food processor (or blender), and process until you have a smooth paste. Put into a container, cover, and refrigerate or freeze. Use in 1-2 days, or freeze.

*If you don’t have a jalapeño pepper on hand, or prefer not to use one, replace it with a few gratings of freshly ground black pepper.

Artichoke Remoulade

Planning ahead (something I seldom do), I decided to make remoulade over the weekend in preparation for what I had planned on eating this week. For the first time in my life, I decided I needed to make fried green tomatoes, and what better topping than remoulade? I also had picked up some beautiful crab cakes from a local market, and have those on the schedule, as well as planned on making egg salad for sandwiches. Egg salad? You ask, quizzically. Yep. If you’re as lazy as I am, having remoulade on hand makes egg salad the easiest thing ever. Just chop your eggs, and spoon in the remoulade, a little at a time, until you get the desired texture. It works equally well in chicken and ham salads. I have another recipe on the blog that you can find here, but today I decided to mix things up a bit and add artichoke hearts. Boy, is this delicious!

Artichoke Remoulade

1½ cups Duke’s mayonnaise
¼ cup whole grain mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1 t. smoked paprika
¼ t. Old Bay
¼ t. Crystal Hot Sauce
3 scallions, white and tender green parts, chopped
1 6-oz. jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and minced
In a medium bowl, whisk together all ingredients until combined. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours to allow flavors to meld. Keeps, refrigerated, for 7-10 days. Makes 2 cups.

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BLT with Creole Mayonnaise

I know some of you have already been enjoying your tomato harvest, but where I live, red tomatoes don’t generally show themselves until July. My tomato plants are loaded with green tomatoes, only just now beginning to turn red. When they finally do, I am going to have a bumper crop!

I was so desperate for a BLT that I went to the local farmers market, and picked up a couple of Arkansas tomatoes so that I could dig into their juicy goodness. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like this sandwich, particularly the way I make it, with a hefty dollop of Creole mayonnaise slathered onto the bread. If you’ve never tried this on your BLT, you are missing out. It is zippy, spicy, and delicious, but not so much so as to overpower the delicate fresh taste of your homegrown tomato, or smoky goodness of the bacon.

Here’s my recipe for Creole mayonnaise. It’s good on chicken sandwiches, turkey sandwiches, stirred into egg or chicken salad, pimiento cheese (I know, sacrilege!), even veggie sandwiches, but I think it’s at its absolute best on a BLT.

Creole Mayonnaise

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tsp. finely minced garlic
1/4 tsp. Creole mustard
1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. hot sauce
1 teaspoon Creole seasoning

Blend all ingredients together in a non-reactive bowl, and store in the refrigerator for one hour to allow the flavors to meld before using. Will last in the refrigerator, covered, for up to five days.

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Barbecue Sauce

It is one of my favorite seasons of the year, barbecue season! And I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get the urge to barbecue and have no barbecue sauce at hand. I hate running out to the store for just one item, so I have learned to make my own sauce. I have already shared a local recipe for Sugarfire Smoke House Coffee Barbecue Sauce (that will always remain one of my faves), but a new candidate has emerged in the form of this basic barbecue sauce recipe from my new favorite barbecue book, BBQ&A by Myron Mixon. I whipped some up yesterday afternoon, and grilled some St. Louis-style pork steaks. Dinner was amazing! This sauce is so good I could eat it with a spoon. I won’t, mind you, but I could. You’ll feel the same way. Try it!

Barbecue Sauce
From BBQ&A by Myron Mixon
 
2 T. onion powder
2 T. garlic powder
2 cups ketchup
2 T. paprika
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup dark brown sugar
2 T. honey
2 T. maple syrup
2 t. kosher salt
2 t. freshly ground black pepper

Combine all the ingredients of the base in a blender; pulse until thoroughly combined. Pour into a medium pot. Over medium heat, stir continuously until the sauce is heated through. Do not allow it to boil. Remove from the heat and use the sauce immediately, while hot.

If saving for later use, allow the mix to cool, then pour it into a large bottle or container. Store in the refrigerator for up to six months.

Makes 3 1/2 cups

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If you want to give the Sugarfire Smoke House Coffee Barbecue Sauce a try, click here.

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My Favorite Mustard Sauce

I’m not sure where the late Mr. O-P got this recipe for mustard sauce, but what I do know is that it’s my favorite, and soon becomes the favorite of everyone who tries it. This is the mustard sauce that we have been serving with our Easter ham for more than a decade. When we first served it, our friend Stephanie liked it so much, that she wanted her own little bowl on the side. Yep, it’s that good. It’s easy to put together, and keeps 4 to 5 days in the fridge, if it lasts that long. In addition to ham, it goes equally well with corned beef, broiled salmon, and a wide variety of vegetables. Try it on ham sandwiches, or use it as an ingredient in egg salad, ham salad, deviled eggs, potato salad, you name it. I’m guessing that my favorite will soon become your favorite, too!

My Favorite Mustard Sauce

2 T. brown mustard seeds
2 t. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c. good mayonnaise
1/2 c. sour cream (not low-fat)
1/2 c. grainy mustard

Toast mustard seeds in a dry 9-inch sauté pan over medium heat until they start to pop. Do not burn! Turn seeds out into a medium mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk to combine. Store in refrigerator. Keeps 4 to 5 days.

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Cooking & Crafting with J&J

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Busy Mondays

Merry Monday

Over the Moon

Make it Pretty Monday

Celebrate Your Story

Inspire Me Tuesday

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Salted Whiskey Caramel Sauce

Making homemade caramel sauce can put you on a bit of a slippery slope. If you're making it from scratch using butter, sugar, and heavy cream, you may find, as I do, that there is a fine line between a nice, beautiful, amber caramel sauce, and a bitter mess. If you don't cook it long enough, it's not going to be caramel; if you cook it too long, it's going to taste bitter. That's why, particularly during the busy holiday season, when I find myself pressed for time, the best way that I know of to make caramel sauce is simply using one can of Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk.

Continuing my week of partnering with Eagle, today's recipe couldn't be simpler, and is going to yield a lot of rewards. It's a Salted Whiskey Caramel Sauce, and it cooks while you get on with your day. It makes an excellent ice cream topping to be sure, but it also adds a lot to plain pound cake, makes a wonderful drizzle atop chocolate brownies, and is an excellent gift for a friend or hostess. If you want to make anything more festive this holiday season, cover it in caramel!

Salted Whiskey Caramel Sauce

1 (14 ounce) can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
1-1/2 tablespoons whiskey* (I used Jameson)
Pinch of sea salt

Preheat oven to 425° F. Poor sweetened condensed milk into a 9-inch glass pie plate. Cover tightly with foil. Please pie plate into a larger pan (I used a 10" x 10" square cake pan), and fill pan with a half an inch of water. Carefully place it into the oven, and bake for two hours. Remove from oven, carefully lift the foil-covered pie plate out of the pan, remove foil, and whisk in sea salt and whiskey, continuing to whisk until smooth and creamy. Allow to cool before serving. Store, covered, in the refrigerator.

*If you prefer a non-alcoholic version, you can use a teaspoon of whiskey liqueur essence.

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Disclaimer: I received compensation from Eagle Brand Milk to create this post.

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Celebrate Your Story

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Reader Tip Tuesday

Tuesdays with a Twist

The Scoop

Dream, Create, Inspire

O My Heartsie Girls Wonderful Wednesday
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Wow Us Wednesday

Wine’d Down Wednesday

Happiness is Homemade Sunday

Dishing It & Digging It

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Friday at the Fire Station
Foodie Friday & Everything Else

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Make Your Own Tartar Sauce

I am one of those people who judge a book by its cover. If the cover doesn't appeal to me, I'm not going to buy the book. In the same way, I am put off by certain foods simply because of the name. I didn't eat yogurt until I was in my 40s because the name yogurt sounded well, quite frankly, nauseating. When I was a little girl my dad told me that chocolate mousse (the concept of mousse was totally lost on this eight-year-old) was made of ground moose horns. That did it for me. I did not eat chocolate mousse, again, until I was in my 40s. Another thing that I've managed to avoid for most of my life is tartar sauce. Come on! Tartar sauce? TARTAR??? Tartar is the stuff the dental hygienist scrapes off of your teeth! Who came up with the name tartar sauce? I mean, really! Tell me that I am not the only one who says, "Ew" at its very mention?

I’d placed an order with Omaha Steaks (as the result of a combination of insomnia and too much wine) after seeing a late-night commercial. It's not that I got a bad deal, I didn't. In fact I got a great deal, and, come grilling time, I will be ever so glad that I have a nice supply of burgers, steaks, franks, etc. I also have a box of Pub Cod because it came with the collection that I ordered. Initially I was a bit leery, but as it turned out, it's very good!

I had malt vinegar, and I used it on the cod, but then I thought it might be good with a little remoulade, or… gasp!.. tartar sauce. Egad! I honestly had no idea what went into tartar sauce, so I started looking up recipes. None of them sounded bad, and it didn't look hard at all; essentially it was mayonnaise, lemon juice, Worcestershire, and herbs. Nothing wrong with that. So, I whipped some up and used it with the fish. It was delicious! It had a clean, crisp, light, delicate taste, made particularly pleasant with the fresh dill. This would be good as a sandwich spread in addition to using with fish. Okay, I'm sold. I like tartar sauce. But it really needs a better name.

Tartar Sauce

½ cup Duke’s mayonnaise

1 heaping teaspoon sweet pickle relish

1 heaping teaspoon minced shallot

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice

¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

¼ teaspoon finely minced fresh dill

Salt and pepper to taste

Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl until thoroughly combined. Refrigerate 1-2 hours before using to meld flavors.

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What’s for Dinner Sunday

Happiness is Homemade Sunday

Dishing It & Digging It

Cooking & Crafting with J&J

Amaze Me Monday

Busy Mondays

Art of Homemaking Monday
 The Scoop

Dream, Create, Inspire

Talk of the Town

O My Heartsie Girls Wonderful Wednesday
 Homestead Wednesday

Wow Us Wednesday

Wine’d Down Wednesday

Full Plate Thursday

Thursday Favorite Things

Home and Garden Thursday
Grace at Home

Foodie Friday & Everything Else

Create, Bake, Grow and Gather
Share Your Style

Simple Saturday Blog Hop

Paula's No Rules Weekend Blog Party

Mocha Fudge Sauce

My mother's favorite dessert was always pie, mine, not so much. This never posed a problem for me when I was a kid, but as I got older and started having her and dad for dinner on special occasions, she would always ask that I make her pie. Lacking culinary skills in that department (long since remedied, I am happy to say) I would look for easy pie recipes of the pudding or ice cream variety. I well remember making an ice cream pie of some sort for her birthday one year. It was fairly easy to assemble with its graham cracker crust base topped with a layer of coffee ice cream, a layer of caramel, another of coffee ice cream, and then topped with a decadent mocha fudge sauce. The pie was forgettable, but that sauce stuck with me. Forget buying fudge sauce at the market and make this one. It is so good that people have been known to eat it right from the jar. Okay, it was me! But, I couldn't help myself, it is really that good.

Mocha Fudge Sauce

2 tablespoons boiling water

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder or instant coffee powder

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup light corn syrup

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Stir the 2 tablespoons boiling water and coffee powder together in a small bowl until the powder is completely dissolved; set aside. Whisk the sugar and cocoa together in a heavy medium saucepan until thoroughly blended. Whisk in the cream, corn syrup, and coffee mixture. Add chocolate and butter. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Cool 30 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Store in a covered container in the fridge until ready to use.

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What To Do Weekend 
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