Slow Cooked Pork Chops Chanterelle

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I have an old freezer, and I am talking ancient. My guess is that it’s older than some of you are. The plus in having an old freezer is that it’s a good one; the downside is that it is not frost-free. It’s beyond time for me to defrost this monster, but I need to empty it out beforehand. So, I was rummaging around in what I like to refer to as the “Arctic north,” and found a package of pork chops. I didn’t want to trouble myself to do much with them, so adapted an old recipe I had from the 70s to include chanterelle mushrooms. The mushrooms imparted a wonderful, woodsy taste as well as a certain elegance. Tender and flavorful, this easy dish, paired with wild rice and a roasted vegetable, is company worthy.

Slow Cooked Pork Chops Chanterelle

4 bone-in pork chops

1 (1 oz.) pkg. Melissa’s dried chanterelles

1 (1 oz.) pkg. onion soup mix

1 (14 oz.) can low sodium chicken broth

1 (10.5 oz.) can low sodium cream of chicken soup

1 (1 oz.) pkg. dry pork gravy mix

½ t. garlic powder

Sprinkle garlic powder on both sides of pork chops and set aside.

Hydrate mushrooms according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together onion soup mix, chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, and pork gravy mix until well combined.

Spray slow cooker with PAM. Place pork chops in the bottom of slow cooker, and pour soup mixture over top.

Scatter hydrated mushrooms on top, cover, and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.

Shockingly Easy No-Knead Focaccia

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I cannot thank blogger friend, Monique (of the La Table De Nana blog), enough for letting me know about this crazy easy, amazingly delicious recipe for focaccia. After reading her Instagram post the other day, I found myself in the kitchen at 10:30 PM stirring the dough together. It took only a matter of minutes to come together; overnight it doubled in size. The following morning I dumped it into a pan, let it rise again, gave it a poke or two, topped it with flaky sea salt, everything bagel seasoning, and red onions and chopped Kalamata olives, and baked. Here is the end result, after brushing it with garlic butter. Incredibly good! I don’t know which topping is better, so I’m going to continue to experiment with toppings, and regularly bake this delicious bread. One final note, do NOT be put off by the length of this recipe. It is from the Bon Appetit Baking School and very detailed. Make this once, and you will no doubt have committed it to memory.

By the way Monique says that it halves beautifully, adding that she bakes her half amount in a cast iron pie pan. This is a must try! Your family will gobble it up!

Shockingly Easy No-Knead Focaccia

​1¼-oz. envelope active dry yeast (about 2¼ tsp.)

2 t. honey

2-1/2 c. lukewarm water

5 c. all-purpose flour

1 T. Morton kosher salt

6 T. extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for hands

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, plus more for pan

Flaky sea salt

½ clove Melissa’s Elephant Garlic

​Whisk yeast, honey, and water in a medium bowl and let sit 5 minutes (it should foam or at least get creamy; if it doesn’t your yeast is dead and you should start again—check the expiration date!).

Add flour and kosher salt and mix with a rubber spatula until a shaggy dough forms and no dry streaks remain.

Pour 4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil into a big bowl that will fit in your refrigerator. This puppy is going to rise! Transfer dough to bowl and turn to coat in oil. Cover with a silicone lid or plastic wrap and chill until dough is doubled in size (it should look very bubbly and alive), at least 8 hours and up to 1 day. If you're in a rush, you can also let it rise at room temperature until doubled in size, 3–4 hours.

Generously butter a 13”x9” baking pan, for thicker focaccia that’s perfect for sandwiches, or an 18”x13” rimmed baking sheet, for focaccia that's thinner, crispier, and great for snacking. Pour 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil into center of pan. Keeping the dough in the bowl and using a fork in each hand, gather up edges of dough farthest from you and lift up and over into center of bowl. Give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat process. Do this 2 more times; you want to deflate dough while you form it into a rough ball. Transfer dough to prepared pan. Pour any oil left in bowl over and turn dough to coat it in oil. Let rise, uncovered, in a dry, warm spot until doubled in size, at least 1½ hours and up to 4 hours.

Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 450°F. To see if the dough is ready, poke it with your finger. It should spring back slowly, leaving a small visible indentation. If it springs back quickly, the dough isn’t ready. Lightly oil your hands. If using a rimmed baking sheet, gently stretch out dough to fill. Dimple focaccia all over with your fingers, like you’re aggressively playing the piano, creating very deep depressions in the dough (reach your fingers all the way to the bottom of the pan). Drizzle with remaining 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Bake focaccia until puffed and golden brown all over, 20–30 minutes.

Hold off on the last step until your ready to serve the focaccia:

Melt 4 T. unsalted butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Peel and grate ½ of the elephant garlic clove with a Microplane grater. Return to medium heat and cook, stirring often, until garlic is just lightly toasted, 30-45 seconds. Brush onto focaccia.

Curried Avocado Soup

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I love avocados in any form. I will cut them in half and eat them as is, I will put them on toast or in salads, whip them into salad dressing, I have even made gelato out of them. I have a favorite cucumber and avocado soup that is pleasantly mild and flavorful, but I had never thought about the addition of curry. While perusing the July 15th issue of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, I cut out a recipe for Curried Avocado Soup, and had the opportunity to try it this week. I think this is one of my new favorite ways to eat an avocado. I seriously made moaning sounds with every bite. If you like avocado like I do, you need to give this a try.

Curried Avocado Soup

Slightly adapted from St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 15, 2020

2 medium-ripe Haas (dark-skinned) avocados

2¼ c. vegetable stock, divided*

1 to 1½ t. curry powder

¼ - ½ t. salt, or to taste

¹⁄8 - ¼ t. white pepper

½ c. heavy cream

2 T. fresh lemon juice

Split the avocados in half with a knife and remove the pits. Set aside one half. Scoop out the insides of the other 3 halves with a spoon and blend with 1 cup of the stock in a blender or food processor (I used the latter) until smooth. Stir in the curry powder, salt, pepper, cream and the remaining 1¼ cups of stock. Chill.

When ready to serve, garnish the soup with thin avocado slices that have been cut from the remaining avocado half and dipped in lemon juice.

*If you don’t have vegetable stock, chicken works as well.

Chocolate Espresso Pound Cake

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I have an addiction to decorative Nordic Ware loaf pans. I’m not proud of it, but it is what it is. I just can’t resist those fabulous designs, and now that I have discovered the wonders of Baker’s Joy baking release spray, there’s just no stopping me! Over the weekend I spent a good bit of time in the kitchen, and decided it was time to break that pan in. I did so with this recipe, a combination of a number of pound cake recipes I’ve made in the past. It is dense and chocolaty, and so delicious. Feel free to stir in a half cup of mini chocolate chips (tossed with a tablespoon of flour) if you want it to be extra chocolaty. You could also drizzle it with icing or ganache. I like it plain with a lovely dusting of powdered sugar.

Chocolate Espresso Pound Cake

2 t. espresso powder

 T. hot water

½ c. buttermilk

3 sticks of butter, room temperature

1¼ c. granulated sugar

3 large eggs

½ T. vanilla

½ t. kosher salt

½ t. baking powder

¼ c. + 2 T. cocoa powder

1 c. flour 

Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 325° F. Spray a 5” x 9” loaf pan (I used this gorgeous one) with Baker’s Joy; set aside.

In a small bowl dissolve espresso powder in hot water. Stir into buttermilk; set aside.

In the work bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, 5-6 minutes.

Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla, salt, baking powder, and cocoa powder, and mix until combined.

With mixer on low add flour and buttermilk mixture alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Mix until just combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.

Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool 20 minutes before turning out onto a rack to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar if using a beautiful Nordic Ware decorative pan like I did, or drizzle with icing or ganache.

Hatch Seasoned Pecans

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Whether we’re serving guests or family, I think that we all like our dishes to be extra special. We want them to have that certain something that sets them apart from everyone else’s. There’s a secret to that, it’s easy, and I’m going to tell you about it.

As you have no doubt observed, I am a big fan of Melissa’s Produce. Everything they offer is of the highest quality. One of my favorite things is their seasoned pecans, and I cannot get enough of them. They offer two tasty varieties, Green Hatch Pecans and Red Hatch Pecans, both seasoned with the unique and so yummy deliciousness of hatch chiles. Nuts freeze beautifully, so when you see these in your store, be sure to stock up. A simple addition of nuts to a salad (and I am talking green salad, spinach, chicken, or tuna salad) makes a world of difference, not to mention increases the nutritional value.

In addition, chopping them up finely and using them to top a dip, whether you’re serving it cold, or baked, is going to add so much extra flavor, your diners are going to wonder why their food doesn’t taste nearly as good as yours. Pulverize them, and they make an excellent breading for chicken or fish.

If you make your own granola or muesli, adding some chopped, seasoned pecans, is going to give it that extra kick that your morning needs.

Try these for yourself, and come up with ideas of your own, and be sure to share those ideas. (If you’re stymied, I highly recommend the nut cookbook called In a Nutshell: Cooking and Baking with Nuts and Seeds.) In the meantime, get shopping! If you can’t find them in your local stores, they offer them on the web, click here for more information. Oh, and by the way, they are plenty delicious all on their own.

Nuts to you!

Zucchini Porcini Lasagna

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I have tried to grow zucchini all of my life, and have never had any luck doing so. It’s probably because of this that I am obsessed with it. I absolutely love zucchini — roasted, baked, used in breads, you name it. The other day I was rummaging around the web looking for a new way in which to use one of my favorite vegetables when I came across a recipe for Zucchini Parmesan. Naturally, I had to try it, and knew I could make it so much better by adding more of the woodsy taste that I love in all vegetarian dishes attained through the use of wild mushrooms. Here is the result.

This is so good! I can’t believe how fast I wolfed it down. Using the best ingredients makes a difference and I must confess to using Fresh Tomato Marinara Sauce when putting this together. I had just harvested the last of my tomatoes and decided to put them to good use. It took the entire recipe of that marinara to make this casserole, but it was well worth it. I think this is one of the best, layered Italian dishes I have ever eaten, and between you me, it kicks Egg Plant Parmesan to the curb.

Zucchini Porcini Lasagna

1 3-oz. pkg. Melissa’s dried porcini mushrooms
2 medium zucchini, horizontally, thinly sliced*
Garlic salt and black pepper to taste
1 16-oz. jar marinara sauce**
½ c. Parmesan cheese
2/3 c. ricotta cheese
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Hydrate mushrooms according to package directions; chop and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8” x 8” baking dish with PAM; set aside.

Season both sides of zucchini slices with garlic salt and pepper. Put a small amount of butter into a 10- or 12-inch sauté pan and, over medium high heat, cook the zucchini slices until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Spread 1/2-cup marinara sauce in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Layer zucchini slices, overlapping slightly on top of the marinara. Top with half of the chopped porcini mushrooms. Spread 1/2-cup marinara sauce over zucchini and porcini layer, top with half of the ricotta cheese, half of the Parmesan cheese, and half of the mozzarella cheese.

Make another zucchini layer, top with remaining porcinis, remaining marinara, remaining Parmesan, remaining ricotta, and remaining mozzarella.

Bake until cheese is melted, 15 to 20 minutes. Allowed to set for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

*I used a mandolin.
**I used homemade.

Fresh from the Garden Tomato Soup

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Considering the number of tomato plants that I have growing this year, I would have thought that I would’ve gotten a lot more tomatoes than I did. As it turned out, a couple of them were disappointingly determinant, so they are finished for the year. I decided to put those tomatoes to different use than I have in years past by making fresh tomato soup. I had never had fresh tomato soup prior to making it on my own, and if you find yourself in the same situation, you must give this a try. Other than a bit of chopping, there is really not much to this, considering the fabulously fresh, complex, and tasty results. My advice to you would be to double this recipe. This won’t last long.

Fresh from the Garden Tomato Soup

4 c. chopped fresh tomatoes

2 Melissa’s shallots, chopped

4 whole cloves

2 c. chicken broth

2 T. butter

2 T. flour

1 t. salt

2 t. white sugar

1 T. balsamic vinegar

¼ c. heavy cream

In a stockpot, over medium heat, combine the tomatoes, shallots, cloves, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, and gently boil for about 20 minutes to blend all of the flavors. Remove from heat, cool for 15 minutes, and run the mixture through a food mill into a large bowl. Discard skins, seeds, and other disjecta membra.

In the now empty stockpot, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour to make a roux, cooking until the roux is golden brown. Gradually whisk in a bit of the tomato mixture, so that no lumps form, then whisk in the rest. Season with sugar, salt, and vinegar, to taste. Stir in heavy cream. Serve warm.

Makes 4 starter servings, or 2 luncheon servings. Can be doubled.