Creamy Mushroom Stroganoff

I find a pasta dinner to be extremely comforting and soothing, particularly when it can be on the table in 30 minutes or less. This pasta dish, while meatless, is not vegetarian because of the inclusion of beef stock, but it is that very beef stock that makes all the difference. The mushrooms make it earthy, meaty, and so delicious. The orecchiette pasta — one of my favorites — is the perfect choice here, because those ample shells will hold every bit of saucy goodness.

Creamy Mushroom Stroganoff

 Adapted from Damn Delicious

8 oz. orecchiette pasta
3 T. unsalted butter
1 11-oz. pkg. cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 large Melissa’s shallots, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Montreal Steak Seasoning
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 t. dried French thyme
2½ T. flour
2 c. beef stock
1½ t. Dijon mustard
¾ c. sour cream
2/3 c. freshly grated Parmesan
2 T. chopped fresh parsley

In a large pot of boiling salted water, Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add mushrooms and shallots, and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender and browned, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in steak seasoning. Stir in garlic and thyme until fragrant, about one minute.

Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about one minute. Gradually whisk in beef stock and Dijon mustard. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced and slightly thickened, about 4 to 5 minutes

Stir in prepared pasta and sour cream until heated through, about 1 to 2 minutes. Start in Parmesan until melted, about one minute. Stir in parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste, if desired.

Serve immediately. Makes four servings.

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If you are a mushroom and pasta lover, try this Mushroom Spinach Alfredo.

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“Bader” Tots

Regular readers of this blog will know that I am a baseball fan, specifically a Cardinals fan. One of the players on that team, the centerfielder, is named Harrison Bader. His nickname is “Tater,” and local Sonic restaurants, in support of the team, decided to name a special version of their tater tots, “Bader Tots.” I caught onto this and thought, hey, I can make these myself.

I showed the above picture to my number two son, who looked at me with his best to “how can I possibly be related to you?” look and said to me, “You know those are just loaded tots, right?” Okay, I didn’t know that, nonetheless it makes no difference, I decided to make my own. My own, naturally, are better than any you can get at a fast food restaurant because I make my own chili, I make my own ranch, I make my own cheese. That is the genius of this snack. The drizzles. (And I’m not going to stay ‘fo shizzle.’ No. That would be wrong.)

At any rate, it is nothing more than, as the above photo would indicate, tots covered with chili, and various other tasty additions. The order of ingredients is below. Following that you will find the cheese sauce recipe that I use that, let’s face it, makes the entire thing.

“Bader” Tots

Tater tots, baked according to pkg. directions

 Chili
Chopped onion
Ranch Dressing
Cheese Sauce 

Sliced jalapeños (I used Melissa’s Pickled Jalapeños)

Layer ingredients in the order listed, and enjoy watching your favorite baseball team beat their opponent…unless it’s the Cardinals.

Cheese Sauce for Bader Tots

½ pound American cheese, cut into thin strips
¾ cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon dry mustard

Place cheese in a double boiler, add remaining ingredients. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until all is melted, combined, and super delicious.

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If you like tots like I do, try these Bacon-Wrapped Tater Tots.

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David Burtka's French Onion Potatoes au Gratin & New Book

The first thing you will notice when you take a look at Life is a Party by David Burtka are the gorgeous photos. In each of the photos you will find delicious food, clever entertaining ideas, or groups people having a heck of a lot of fun. Right away, that should tell you, that this book is going to be your guide to hosting the perfect party.

Burtka has created a fabulous guide with 106 delicious recipes to be used in 16 different clever party themes, and 250 stunning photos to show you this is a combination that works. The book includes music playlists for each theme, as well as easy planning tips. In short, you simply cannot go wrong.

There wasn’t one recipe in this book that I didn’t want to try, making it very difficult for me to choose. As a consequence, I put the book on the counter on it’s a binding, and let it fall open. Lucky me, it fell open to the recipe for French Onion Potatoes au Gratin. I am not kidding when I say that I have never had cheese potatoes as good as these. It took real willpower to keep from eating the entire bowl, they are that good.

Feast your eyes on this glimpse of one marvelous book. If you scroll down to the bottom you’ll find the recipe for these sumptuous potatoes.

Run, don’t walk to your nearest bookseller and pick up a copy. You will find yourself returning to this book again and again.

French Onion Potatoes au Gratin
Slightly adapted from Life is a Party

6 T. canola oil, plus more for greasing
3 lg. onions (about 2¼ pounds), quartered, thinly sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 to 8 Yukon Gold potatoes (about 2½ pounds), peeled, very thinly sliced
12 oz. Gruyere cheese, shredded
2½ c. half-and-half

In a large straight-sided skillet, heat the canola oil over medium heat. Add the onions and a large pinch each of salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are sticky, tender, brown, and nearly jammy, about one hour. If the onions stick to the pan at any time, add a tablespoon of water and use a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Stir in the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about five minutes. Turn off the heat and let the caramelized onions cool slightly. (The caramelized onions can be made the day before and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.)

Preheat the oven to 400° F. Brush a 9” x 13” baking dish with canola oil.

Lay 1/5 of the potatoes over the bottom of the pan. Season the potatoes with pinches of salt and pepper. Sprinkle 1/5 of the caramelized onions, followed by 1/5 of the Gruyere, then pour 1/2 cup of the half and half and 1/5 of the cheese. Repeat this process four times.

Place baking dish on a large baking sheet and bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the middle meets no resistance or the top is bubbling and browned, about 1 hour 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the cooking time.

Remove from the oven and let sit for at least 20 minutes and up to an hour to solidify before slicing into pieces and serving.

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Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The Deck Garden 2019

Continuing my tradition of spending $300 on supplies in order to yield $25 worth of fresh produce, I got my deck garden planted this week. I am awaiting the arrival of a trellis so that I can plant my gourds, but other than that, it seems to be finished. It was nice to have a normal day after so many months of upset.

Naturally, I will be adding to this in the next couple of weeks, during which time I also plan to buy plants for the covered portion of the deck (the lanai). I thought buying 12 40-pound sacks of potting soil would be enough, but it would appear not. So, back to the garden center I head midweek.

I decided to do something different this year. Instead of growing plants that I can easily buy at the grocery store relatively cheaply (carrots, radishes, scallions), I decided to grow a wider variety of tomatoes, including heirlooms, as well as green beans, and cauliflower.

I cut back on the number of herbs that I normally grow, because I found that they were taking up space and I wasn’t using them (fennel, dill, sage, thyme). I may change my mind when they all go on sale for 50% off at a pop-up garden place that I frequent, but other than that I am growing massive amounts of basil and parsley, because I use massive amounts of basil and parsley. I also have rosemary that I overwinter every year. 

My newest, perhaps most exciting addition, is ginger. I ordered it from Baker’s Heirloom Seeds in Manchester, MO, and, as it is suited for my region, I’m hoping for the best. I use a lot of ginger in Asian cooking, so I’m interested in having the freshest of the fresh.

 I’ve been watching British garden shows on BritBox, and so decided to add more flowers to the garden, so this year I am growing a beautiful multi-pedaled pink Morning Glory, as well as zinnias, petunias, impatiens, and purple Cathedral Bells. The latter is a first for me, and I’m hoping it produces. 

What I also learned from the British gardening shows (and what should have been obvious to me, but somehow wasn’t), is to LABEL the plants, and I did so with these wonderful Zinc Plant Markers that come with their own carbon pencil.

I also decided to have a bit of fun, and grow gourds. Believe it or not, this was the most difficult decision I had to make, because there are so many varieties available. I truly found some amazing things, including the "R"-rated Elever Pumpkin that resembles male genitalia. Don't believe me? Click here (but first, have the kids and grandma leave the room).

Unlike last year, I seriously hope to keep you updated on my deck garden throughout the summer. I feel very fortunate this year that May has been seasonal. Last year, we moved into May and it immediately hit 90° and stayed there until October.

What do you have growing?

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Baked Olive Cheese Dip

Brace yourselves my olive-loving friends, here is a recipe that is going to knock your socks right into the next century. I know there are a lot of you who love olives as much as I do, and if you are one of those people, stop what you’re doing and make this dip. Two kinds of olives and three kinds of cheeses make this loaded with flavor! Factor in scallions, garlic, and pepperoncinis, and you have a dip that is hard to stop eating. This is a good one my friends, from the brilliance of Martina McBride and found in her latest book Martina's Kitchen Mix. I have made so many recipes from this book that it’s looking pretty tattered. If you don’t have it, get it!

Baked Olive Cheese Dip

From Martina's Kitchen Mix

1 (8-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 c. shredded pepper jack cheese
¼ c. mayonnaise
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ c. roughly chopped green olives
½ c. roughly chopped black olives
1/3 c. rinsed, diced pepperoncinis
2 scallions, finely chopped (about ¼ c.),

plus more for garnish
Dried pepper flakes, for garnish
Crackers, toasted bread slices, or tortilla chips

Preheat oven to 350° F.

In a medium mixing bowl beat the cream cheese with the mixer at medium speed for two minutes. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, pepper jack, and mayonnaise. Beat at medium speed just until blended. Add garlic, green olives, black olives, pepperoncinis, and green onions, beating just until combined.

Transfer to an 8” baking dish and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with crackers, toasted bread slices, or tortilla chips. Garnish as desired.

This could be assembled and refrigerated up to one day ahead. Just let it come to room temperature before baking

Note from me: I used Kalamata olives that I rinsed, as well as blue cheese-stuffed green olives. It was wonderful! Use whatever olives you happen to have on hand, any of them would be good in combination.

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If you want an olive snack that is quick and easy, try these Blistered Olives.

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"Yuletide" Dinnerware by Rosina-Queens...This Week's Find

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that this is certainly not the time of the year to talk about Christmas, it is way too early. You’re right, of course, you’re right. But this week’s find (that was hardly a find because I knew it was there), is my mother’s set of Christmas dishes. I’m not sure exactly when she bought them, but I believe they go back about 30 years. She wanted a set that was different from what everyone else had (At that time Spode “Christmas Tree” was all the rage.), spotted these locally at Stix, Bayer & Fuller (later Dillards), and bought the entire service for 12, including completer pieces. When it came to fancy dinnerware, my mother did not mess around. She also bought a set of gold flatware, service for 12.

You can bet I wrapped each piece very carefully as I was unpacking the server in the, now empty, dining room. It took multiple trips, and more than a dozen boxes to ensure it got home safely.

As you know from looking at my holiday tables, I tend to opt more for whimsy than I do for elegance, but I will certainly be paying tribute to both of my parents this holiday season, that will surely be a difficult one.

This set from Rosina-Queens is called “Yuletide.” Beautiful, isn’t it? For those interested, you can occasionally find it, in limited availability, on Amazon.

To see my previous find, click here.

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BBQ&A by Myron Mixon, Reviewed

Mr. O-P was the grill master in our house and he had a lot of barbecue books upon which he relied. I am truly sorry that he is not around to see this one, because I’m sure it would quickly become his new favorite. BBQ&A by Myron Mixon tells you everything you ever wanted to know about barbecue. This book is the Bible, my friends. If you know absolutely nothing about grilling, barbecuing, different cuts of meat, how to treat those different cuts of meat, how to smoke, how to make sauces, how to serve, even how to butcher a hog, this book is going to tell you.

It’s a personal volume with much of it being conversational, and I like that. It’s like learning from an old friend. There is a section on the barbecue champions that Nixon has won, how he did it, and the difference between competition cooking and cooking in your backyard. You don’t have to have an interest in competitive barbecuing; you can be the champ in your own world. 

You will learn the difference between smoking on a smoker and smoking in a pit. You will learn the different kinds of barbecue, and what they are. You will also find within some of the most amazingly delicious smoking and barbecuing recipes around. In addition to recipes for meaty main dishes, you will also get delicious ones for side dishes like coleslaw, corn bread, and baked beans (the peach baked beans are amazing!). You will even find recipes for wonderful desserts.

On Friday I shared his recipe for basic barbecue sauce, but you will also find recipes for vinegar-based barbecue sauce, tangy sweet sauce, and Carolina mustard barbecue sauce. Personally, it’s worth the price of the book alone to get the recipes for the sauces. There are also recipes for chicken and pork glazes, both of which are super good. If you like meat rubs like I do, you will find many in here.

With Father’s Day just around the corner, this book should be on your “must buy” list. Dad is going to love it, but if he isn’t the one at the grill or in your house, buy a copy for yourself. You can get a copy by clicking here.

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Disclaimer: I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book by Abram Publishers as a part of Abrams Dinner Party of which I am a member.