Truffles at Mindful Palate the Dot Com

Truffles

I’d put the nutrition facts here, but really – is that necessary?

Lengthy ingredient list:

1/3 cup whipping cream

8 oz semi sweet baking chocolate

1/3 cup butter

cocoa and/or powdered sugar

Directions that are complicated (not) but worth every difficult step are available here.

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Grilled Lemon Chicken

Grilled Lemon Chicken
Nutrition Facts

Ingredients:

3-4 pounds bone in skin on chicken breasts and/or thighs
Marinade

Marinade Ingredients:

2 Tbsp lemon zest
1 cup lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
6 cloves garlic
2 t dried thyme
1 t dried rosemary
2 T fresh parsley
½ t red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

Click here for the complete directions!

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Lemony Vinaigrette

When neighbors give you lemons, it's time to make Lemony Vinaigrette!

Lemony Vinaigrette
nutrition facts

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

2 t lemon juice, fresh squeezed
1 T olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced - or equivalent dried garlic
1/4 t dried mustard
fresh cracked black pepper to taste
a pinch of salt if you must, but do try it without the salt first

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a small bowl such as a custard cup, mix well with a fork and toss with the salads right before dinner.

Don't forget to join me in the new home for Mindful Palate. While you are there, see if you can find the hidden game!

Apple and Squash Puree

Delicately delicious.

Apple and Squash Puree

Ingredients:

3 pounds butternut squash

2 granny smith apples (or other firm apple)

S&P to taste

1 T finely grated orange zest

1/8 t ground ginger (just a pinch really)

1/8 t cinnamon

2 T butter

Directions:

Peel, seed, and cut the squash into 1 inch cubes.

Peel, core, and quarter the apples

Measure the seasonings and butter

Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a medium pan. Add the squash and apples to a steamer basket and steam covered about 15-20 minutes or until very soft.

Remove the steamer basket and transfer the squash and apple to a bowl. Mash a bit with a blender - or mash a lot depending on how smooth you like the puree to be. An immersion blender works just fine.

Add pepper, zest, ginger, cinnamon and butter. Stir well to melt the butter. Taste and add salt if you need to or adjust any of the other seasonings.

Serve warm. Easily made ahead of time and reheated in the microwave in just a minute or two depending on your microwave’s power. Or reheat in the oven at 350 dotted with even more butter for about 30 minutes.

Cartoccio: Fish Fillets with Olive Paste

One of the nicest and best looking chefs I know is Benny the Chef. His newest book, The Art of Cooking According to Me, sits happily in my kitchen with multiple crimped corners leading to pages covered in a variety of food splatters. I have learned so much about Italian cooking from this book and am deeply indebted to him. Like his Facebook Page! Many thanks to Benny for allowing me to share this recipe with you.

Cartoccio

Ingredients for 4 people:

4 big fish fillets (salmon, trout, sea bream, red snapper, white fish, halibut)
4 cloves crushed garlic
2 Tbsp capers
2 Tbs bread crumbs
2 anchovy fillets
2 slices stale bread
A handful of black olives
A bunch of fresh parsley
Extra virgin olive oil
Ground white pepper
Salt

Preparation:

In a food processor put the olives, the bread, the capers, the bread crumbs, the anchovies, two cloves of crushed garlic, a few leaves of parsley, and a couple tablespoons of oil. Process until you have a thick paste.

Now, take the fish fillets and season with salt and pepper,. Spread the paste over the top and press firmly for it to stick to the flesh. Place the fish in the refrigerator and let it rest for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, combine a couple tablespoons of oil with the rest of the garlic.

Cut four large sheets of parchment paper; they have to be long enough to cover the length of the fish. Fold each sheet in half lengthwise and spoon the garlic oil over them.

Put a few branches of parsley on each paper. Arrange the fillets over the parsley and drizzle with oil.

Buy it here!

Fold the paper in half over the fish. You should fold the open ended part of the paper back over the top to make a pleat and then tuck the sides of the paper underneath. Make four tightly sealed packets.

Arrange the packets on a baking sheet and place in the oven at 450F. Bake for 15-20 minutes (depending on the size of the fillets).

Take the packets out of the oven and place onto plates. Serve the fish inside the paper and open it in front of your guests.

(!): The steam that will be released when opening the packets will be an explosion of aromas, but be careful because it will also be very hot.

(?): Cartoccio is a classical Italian preparation for fish, seafood, vegetables, and pasta. In Central Italy it is made especially with freshwater fish; very tasty is the Cartoccio with the trout. This preparation is very good for fish with a lean flesh because the steam inside the packets will cook it gently and the flesh will be more juicy and digestible.

@: Before closing the packets, sprinkle the fish with ground hazelnuts.

Mindful Palate the Dot Com

I am so happy to announce that Mindful Palate has a new website! *drum roll* Mindful Palate

www.mindfulpalate.com

The website is already stocked with a few things that we just cannot do on a blog.

The great recipe files will grow and be in a format that is even more helpful to even the novice cook!

Our new Chef in Charge of Explaining Stuff is The Spoon Mage (tm)!

There will be games! Right now there's a link somewhere in the site just awaiting a good click or two,

Instead of just recipes, there will be musings on my two favorite other subjects: Mindfulness and Peace.

You will find two separate recommended Link areas with terrific sites to enjoy and helpful tools to bookmark.

I will continue to post recipes at this blog, some will be just for this blog, other recipes will direct you to head on over to Mindful Palate the Dot Com for the full recipe.

I very much hope you enjoy Mindful Palate so much you will bookmark it and register for the every now and then (once a week maximum) emails. I cannot wait to grow this website so that it will be of even more use to you than the blog.

Visit often, interact with the Spoon Mage (tm), find the game, enjoy the recipes and musings, and have a very mindfully wonderful rest of the day.

Janice

Leeky Mushroom Bourguignon

Would meatless Bourguignon shock the Great Julia? I hope that she would be as intrigued as I was with this variation on a Bourguignon Theme.

Leeky Mushroom Bourguignon
nutrition facts were set as a topping not a main dish.

This is the part you eat.

What to assemble:

2 pounds mushrooms
3 medium or 2 large leeks
3 T garlic
2 T butter
2 T grapeseed oil
3 T flour
1 1/2 t thyme
fresh cracked black pepper
2 T Worcestershire Sauce
2 cups good Burgundy wine
2 T fresh parsley

How to prep:

Set out one very large wide skillet to which is added 1 T oil and 1 T butter. In a larger heavy pot with a lid, place the other T each of oil and butter.

sliced clean leeks

Rinse and dry the mushrooms. Cut them into chunks - ie small mushrooms are cut in half, medium sized shrooms quartered, and large shrooms cut in half and then into thirds.

Trim the dark green woody leaves and roots off the leeks - add them to your compost pile. Rinse the remaining white and light green part of the leek.

Slice into rings, separate them and swish around in a bowl of cool water, drain, and repeat until all the grit is removed and the rings have separated. Drain and dry on a tea towel.

Mince garlic. Measure flour, thyme and black pepper into a small bowl. Set out Worcestershire Sauce, measure wine, and chop the parsley.

How to Bourguignon:

Caramelized mushrooms

Heat the large wide skillet over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until well caramelized. This will take as long as 25 minutes. Don't over stir as that will keep the mushrooms from browning and you need the brown for flavor. When they are nice and brown, deglaze the pan with a splash of red wine, stir to scrap up the bits, and set the skillet aside.

Heat the larger heavy pot on the same medium high heat and add the leeks. Saute for about five minutes stirring frequently. Lower the heat to medium and add the garlic. Saute for two more minutes. Add the flour and thyme and pepper and continue to saute for another couple minutes or until the flour has become incorporated. Pour in the browned mushrooms, Worcestershire Sauce and wine. Stir constantly until the mixture becomes incorporated. Continue to cook, bringing the sauce to a simmer.

Not the most attractive dish in the world, but
it sure is the tastiest!

Reduce heat to low and cook covered for 40-45 minutes until the color begins to deepen. Taste and adjust seasonings. You may need to add salt. I am not used to it and so did not include it here except in the form of Worcestershire. If the sauce seems thin, simmer it uncovered and let it reduce a bit. You want to achieve a juicy thick consistency.

This is particularly delicious on a baked potato. It would make a terrific Vegetarian entree when served with brown rice. If you are calorie counting you will need to adjust the numbers for the nutrition facts as those are set for use as a topping only.