Brandied Mushroom Sauce

“Meat with the burnt top,” is how my oldest son, then ten, used to refer to one of his favorite meals. It was my simple version of Salisbury Steak that was, essentially, seasoned ground chuck, formed into patties, and lightly breaded using an egg wash and Italian breadcrumbs. From there I would sear them on each side for about five minutes until the breading got very crisp, and then partially cover the pan with a lid to allow them to cook through. The topping would be a simple gravy, usually leftover from a previous night's roast beef dinner that I would pull from the freezer, thaw and heat.

This young man turns 31 today (Happy Birthday, Christopher!), so in his honor I give you a more sophisticated version with this elegant but easy Brandied Mushroom Sauce as the topper. The recently picky Mr. O-P declared it delicious, and he was right. It has been years since I last made this dish, and I was struck by how tasty it was and how quickly it came together.

Both patties and sauce can be made the day ahead. In fact I find the patties benefit from being in the fridge for 30-60 minutes prior to cooking anyway. They'll sizzle when you first drop them into the hot pan (in which you have melted a tablespoon each of butter and olive oil), but the advance chilling allows them to hold onto their breading and their shape.

The sauce is a combination of various recipes I've tried over the years and I think this is perfection. Any cut of beef will benefit from this lovely addition.

Brandied Mushroom Sauce

1 slice lean bacon

1 medium clove garlic, finely minced

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

6-8 large button mushrooms, sliced

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons Brandy

2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon Jameson beef soup base

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely minced

In small sauté pan, cook bacon until crispy.  Remove bacon, crumble, and set aside.

Add butter and garlic to skillet with drippings.  Sauté for one minute, stirring constantly to prevent the garlic from burning..  

Add mushrooms and pepper, and simmer until mushroom liquid begins to evaporate.  Add brandy and continue simmering until almost evaporated.  Stir in water, lemon juice, Worcestershire, and soup base, and boil until thickened slightly.  Pour in cream and stir to blend.  Add reserved bacon and parsley.  Serve atop your favorite slice of beef.

This post is linked to:

Metamorphosis Monday 
Melt In Your Mouth 
Amaze Me Monday

Inspire Me Tuesday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

Tasty Tuesdays

Foodie Friday

Napkin Folding 101

In the second of what I expect to be a series of lessons on how to fold napkins (the first is here if you missed it) is this very dramatic, beautiful rose and leaf fold that is so easy you will not believe it. I pressed it after each step, but I honestly don't think that is necessary. I also used napkins that have seriously gotten out of square (as napkins tend to do) and it didn't matter one bit. It does take two napkins and one of them rather needs to be green for the leaves, although a fall flower would look good with leaves in any of the fall hues, so experiment with what you have and see what works for you. 

Let's begin...

This post is linked to:
The Scoop

Wow Us Wednesday
Work It Wednesday

What’s It Wednesday

Clever Chicks Blog Hop

Thursday Favorite Things

Tablescape Thursday

Create It Thursday 

Show and Tell Friday 

Friday Unfolded
Fridays Flash Blog

Simple and Sweet Fridays

What To Do Weekend 
The Weekend re-Treat

Creamed Ham with Two Cheeses

I think I can say, without hesitation, that we all have favorite recipes that we tend to make again and again. We make them so often because, well, we like them.  They are also easy, forgiving, comforting, crowd-pleasing, and something we can probably put together in our sleep, they are that  familiar. So familiar in fact, that, perhaps, they are beginning to get a bit old and tired.

There is a remedy for this. What do we do when we start to look a bit old and tired?  We perk things up, of course.  Add something new, try something different, breathe life into the all too familiar. This same treatment can be given to recipes.

A long time family favorite in our house is Creamy Ham Towers. I don't know anyone who doesn't like it, adults and kids alike, so I like to prepare it. A lot. The other day I started thinking about how I could make this comforting and delicious, but rather shopworn recipe better. The trick was to make it different, but equally as good.

I kept things basically the same, but replaced the existing cheese with a combination of Fontina and Gruyere. I diced the ham smaller, replaced water with wine, used roasted red peppers instead of pimiento and, instead of serving it on patty shells, I served it on rye toast strips in individual dishes like a hot, knife-and-fork sandwich.  It was delicious!  Something new, but something comforting and familiar at the same time.

The next time you are looking for a new recipe, pull out an old one and “renew.”  You'll have guaranteed success.

Creamed Ham with Two Cheeses

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1-1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 teaspoon Jamieson Chicken Soup Base

1/2 cup grated gruyere

1/2 cup grated Fontina

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

2 cups fully cooked ham, cubed

1/3 cup sliced pitted ripe olives

2 tablespoons Melissa’s Fire Roasted Red Bell Peppers, diced

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

4 slices rye bread, toasted

Melt butter; blend in flour.  Add milk, wine, and soup base.  Cook and stir until thick and bubbly.  Add cheeses, mustard, and Worcestershire; stir until cheese melts.  Add ham, olives, red peppers, and parsley.  Spoon over toast strips.

This post is linked to:

Wow Us Wednesday
Work It Wednesday

What’s It Wednesday

Clever Chicks Blog Hop

Crumb-topped Blueberry Muffins

I don't know how the blueberries are in your part of the world, but in mine they are large, plump, juicy, and exceptionally sweet. In short, the perfect berry for making muffins. Bursting with dark blue goodness, each bite is flavorful, moist, and delicious. This muffin recipe is an easy one and can be made with or without the crumb topping. One of these muffins, a tall glass of iced coffee, and a slice of fresh, sweet melon makes the perfect summer breakfast. Expecting visitors?  This makes for an impressive, easy, make ahead meal that is sure to please even the pickiest eaters. 

Crumb-topped Blueberry Muffins

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cups sugar
2 extra-large eggs

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup sour cream
2 tablespoons whole milk
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Few gratings of fresh nutmeg
1 half-pint fresh blueberries

Crumb Topping (see below)

 
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Place paper liners in 8 muffin pans, or spray with Pam.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  With mixer at the low speed, add eggs one at a time.  Add vanilla, sour cream, and milk. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Slowly add the flour mixture and beat until just mixed. Fold in the blueberries.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling two thirds full, and then add a generous portion of the crumb topping, pressing it down into the batter lightly with your fingertips.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the muffins are lightly browned on top and a cake tester comes out clean.

CRUMB TOPPING

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons light brown sugar

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

Few gratings of nutmeg

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

In a medium bowl, combine the flour with the brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Stir in the melted butter.  Mix with hands or a pastry cutter until the mixture forms pea-size clumps.

 

This post is linked to:

Inspire Me Tuesday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

Tasty Tuesdays

Foodie Friday

Kickin' Key Lime Pie

The key lime is a wonderful thing.  Small and aromatic, with a thin rind and unique flavor, it makes an excellent filling for pie. During the warm summer months, this is one dessert that I crave, so I'm always happy to have a bag of key limes from Melissa's Produce. I have found, over the years, that squeezing a bag of key limes, without fail, yields 3/4 cup of juice. My pie recipe calls for 1 cup of juice. In the past I have made up the difference with bottled juice (Horrors!  But true.), but this time I was determined to stay off of the bottle and use something else. 

While squeezing the limes I kept asking myself just what pairs well with lime? The answer came almost immediately (and I'm not quite sure just exactly what this says about me) - Tequila!  Of course!  So when the bag of limes yielded the expected 3/4 cup of juice, I made up the difference with 1/4 cup of Tequila. Ho, boy, this is what I call pie! Tart and sweet, with a slight kick of Tequila that made for a unique and delicious dessert. You will love this!

Kickin' Key Lime Pie

2 cans Sweetened Condensed Milk

3/4 cup freshly squeezed key lime juice

1/4 cup Tequila

1 tablespoon lime zest (zest before squeezing)

4 yolks from extra-large eggs

1 graham cracker crust (to which you may or may not add 1 teaspoon of lime zest)

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Lime zest for garnish

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large stainless steel mixing bowl, whisk together the condensed milk, lime juice, tequila, zest, and egg yolks. Pour into the pre-baked graham cracker shell. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool. Once cool, cover loosely and refrigerate for 12-24 hours. Just before serving, whip cream to stiff peaks, slowly adding the sugar. Pipe decoratively onto pie and garnish with lime zest.

This post is linked to:

Social Sunday 

Sunday’s Best