Mushroom Bourguignon

Happy New Year! Here's a veggie one for those of you looking to start the year off right...
My dear friend Mary came for dinner, so I combed the internet for the best possible vegetarian recipe I could find.  I settled on Mushroom Bourguignon from Smitten Kitchen, and it was a earthy, hardy take on vegetarian that worked for Mary and my larger-than-average husband (he's 6'6".) 
While this was quite tasty the first time around, the leftovers were not great- the mushrooms became a little slimy - so I would scale this up or down to exactly what you need to cook.

Here's what I used for 5 large portions:
2 TB Olive Oil
2 TB butter, softened
2 lbs portobello mushrooms, cut into 1/4 in slices, stems discarded
1/2 carrot, finely diced
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup full-bodied red wine
2 cups beef or vegetable broth
2 TB tomato paste
1 tsp fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried
1 1/2 TB flour
1 cup pearl onions (thawed if frozen)
Egg noodles for base

Tomato Paste Tip: I was tired of buying tomato paste, using one TB and throwing the rest out after it went bad.  So I spooned the tomato paste out by the TB onto a sheet of parchment paper and laid them down in the freezer. After they were frozen, I wrapped them in plastic and popped them in a ziplock.  Now, when I need a TB of tomato paste, I can just grab one of my frozen TBs from the freezer and not feel so wasteful.

A close-up of these beautiful mushrooms and carrots post my trip to Brooklyn Kitchen for an excellent knife skills class!

 Ok, enough about the ingredients.  To get going, heat a large dutch oven (I used the 4.5 qt one that Mary's mother gave me) with one TB olive oil and one TB butter. Once those are melted together, add the mushrooms to give them a sear.  You'll want to let them turn dark brown, but take them back out of the pan before they start releasing any juices.  While I did this all in one go, it would probably be a bit easier to do in batches.
Once all the mushrooms are back out of the pan, add the second TB of olive oil and add the carrots, onion, thyme, and some salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Turn the heat down to medium and let them cook for about 10 minutes.  Add the garlic and let that cook for an additional minute.

Stand back and add the wine, making sure to scrape up any deliciousness on the bottom of the pan.  Turn the heat up and reduce until it's about 1/2 the liquid - it should take about 15 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and broth and add back the mushrooms (plus any juices that have collected in your bowl) to the pot. Let those simmer for 25 minutes.  For the last 10 minutes, add the pearl onions so they get nice and soft.

Finally, combine the flour and butter with a fork until it looks like a paste.  Add to the pot to thicken and let it cook for a final 10 minutes. Season to taste - mine needed quite a bit of salt.
Serve over egg noodles or rice and feel free to garnish with sour cream, parsley or thyme.
Enjoy!

Easy Portabella Ravioli with Sage, Walnut, and Shiitake Brown Butter Sauce

I'm not sure what has prompted it, but I have developed a serious love for mushrooms.  About a year ago, I realized that it was only the icky white button mushrooms that have that slimy, chewy texture (you will never see me post with those!) However there are SO many more mushrooms that don't get slimy when you cook them and have more of a woodsy flavor to them.  So I have been exploring with most everything aside from a button mushroom.

I was on my own for dinner, so I made this pasta which sounds hard, but is really, really easy, really fast, and really delicious.  I promise.  And all I had to buy at the store was Trader Joe's portabella ravioli and some shiitake mushrooms, but I keep a pretty stocked kitchen and had some sage on the roof.  If you are not so stocked, here's what I used: 2 TB unsalted butter, 3 shiitakes, 4 sage leaves, 1/4 cup of walnuts, 1 clove of garlic, Parmesan cheese, and one package of ravioli.

The sauce only takes about 3-4 minutes to cook (about the same as the ravioli) so get the water going for the pasta and you can prep everything else while it's coming to a boil.
Chop the walnuts and set aside. Wipe off the mushrooms with a damp paper towel (don't rinse or they get soggy), chop the stems off and discard, and thinly slice.  Chop the garlic and set aside with the mushrooms.

Chop the sage and set aside. I have to share how beautiful this sage is from our roof.  I have never seen such fresh herbs!

Once the water is about to boil, start the sauce with 1 TB of butter in a saucepan on high.  Once it's melted, add the garlic and mushrooms and saute for 2 min.

Meanwhile, add the ravioli to the boiling water.
Add the second TB of butter to the saucepan and let it melt. Then add the sage and walnuts. Let them cook until the sage starts to get crispy and the butter starts to brown.  Be careful! Once it starts to brown, take it immediately off the heat.

Drain the ravioli and add straight to the sauce pan.  Toss the ravioli with the sauce and serve immediately with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top.
Deliciously savory!  This would be a great date meal, too, served with an arugula or spinach salad and some crusty bread.