Stuffed Mushrooms with Sausage

Last Christmas eve in 2011, while spending some good old-fashioned Kravitz family time in Chicago, IL, my relatives and I had a big feast which included these amazing bite sized stuffed mushrooms. The best part is that they tasted just like a sausage pizza. An entire pizza built into 1 mushroom! Cooking this with the family was easy and fun, an everyone helped out a little. Oh, and by the way, they were GONE by the end of the evening :). Delicious.

Recipe:

1 cup grated Parmesan (add more of course if you like)

About 25 button mushrooms

4 Italian sausages, casings cut off

1-2 teaspoons dried oregano

1/2 - 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon garlic

1 80z package cream cheese

1 egg yolk

1/2 cup dry white wine

Olive oil (extra virgin or regular-your choice)

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Saute your sausage and oregano in a large skillet until sausage is browned and thoroughly cooked.

2. Break up the sausage into very small pieces and transfer into a large bowl (which you will use to mix the other ingredients with)

3. Mix in 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, the Worcestershire sauce, the garlic (chopped) and cream cheese as well as the egg yolk and a little salt and pepper.

4. Brush a baking dish with olive oil (can use glass, ceramic or even a baking sheet)

5. Next, pour the white wine into a small bowl and dip each mushroom cap into the wine.

6. Fill each mushroom cap with some of the sausage filling

7. Top each filled cap with some more Parmesan cheese

8. Place the filled mushrooms on the baking dish and bake for about 25 minutes OR until mushrooms are soft and browned.

These stuffed mushrooms are memorable and make fantastic hors d'oeuvres. Personally, I like these for the holidays or when you are having a cozy get together. A comfort food in bite size form!

I didn't have a picture of the exact mushrooms that I made at Christmas. HOWEVER, I borrowed a photo from the Pioneer Woman and Pepper Lynn who actually made similar recipes (I give full acknowledgement and credit to the Pioneer Woman and Pepper Lynn for photos). This recipe is courtesy of The Chopping Block, a cooking school in Chicago :)

Grilled Pork Steak with Herb Puree and Grilled Peaches

This recipe is strictly an original from one of the Sous Chef Series classes I taught with Chef Brad at Williams-Sonoma. I know the combination of items for this recipe sound non-traditional, but for some reason, peaches and pork go great together! It also looks beautiful with the bright green herb puree drizzled over the entire dish. Enjoy!

The Recipe:

1 Pork blade steak (2 inches thick- ask your butcher at the grocery ;) )
3 Tablespoons Creole spice (Tony Chachere's is great)
1 1/2 cup- 2 cups honey
2 1/2 teaspoons Aleppo chili powder
OR
combo of 2 teaspoons paprika and 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (whatever works best for you)

1 cup plus a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar

4 garlic cloves

handful of parsley (about 1/4 cup)

handful of basil leaves (about 10)

3 scallions

few shaved slices of Ricotta Salata cheese

Keep in mind that you want to have a grill pan as well as food processor/blender for this recipe. An outdoor grill will work just fine too but you may have to adjust the cooking time of the pork steak.

The Procedure:

1. In a large glass dish or bowl, cover the pork steak in creole spice, some salt, and 1/2 cup of the honey. Set Aside

2. Pit the peaches and cut them into halves. Coat them with the aleppo pepper or cayenne/paprika as well as a little salt and 3 Tablespoons olive oil.

3. Bring your grill pan to high heat and coat it with olive oil.

4. Grill peaches, cut side down on the pan until grill marks form (takes about 4 minutes). Flip them and give them another 3-4 minutes. Set aside to let cool in a bowl and toss them with remaining honey and rice vinegar.

5. Wipe your pan and coat with oil again. Bring to medium heat and throw the pork steak on for 20 minutes, flipping every 5 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, in a blender or food processor, combine remaining olive oil, garlic, parsley, basil, scallions, and a pinch of salt until pureed. Set aside.

7. After steak is grilled for the 20 minutes, coat it using a brush with the peach marinade. Cook, flip, and continue brushing a few times until the steak is cooked through to medium (middle should be 145 degrees). If you prefer a more done pork steak, no problem- cook it longer.

8. Let the steak rest for a few minutes. Serve pork steak on a nice platter with the peaches. Drizzle your herb puree on top as well as a few slices of the ricotta salata cheese.

This dish is sweet and tangy with a little kick. Who knew pork and peaches were a winning combination? Maybe it's alliteration...foods that start with the same letter can possibly go together! Haha. Enjoy ;D
* I acknowledge Williams-Sonoma Inc. and Chef Michael Gulotta for this recipe*

Old-Fashioned Matzo Ball Soup

I made this recipe based on a combination of Internet searches and my Jewish Bubby's soup recipe. If there is one thing in this world that people love, its traditional comfort foods. Italian food, Greek food, Mexican Food, Jewish Food- what have you- the best of the best is passed down through generations. And the Grandmothers started it all!

What I love about this recipe is that there are no measurements. No whipping out the tablespoons and teaspoons for this recipe. Its all to your liking and all to your personal estimation.

Here is the recipe for Grandma's Old-Fashion Traditional Comfortable Matzo Ball Soup. (serves ~5)

Ingredients:

Chicken Stock
Water
One entire chicken or various divided chicken parts (thigh,drumsticks,wings,etc)
Yellow Onion
Carrots
Celery
Chicken Bullion powder or cubes (optional)
Bay Leaf (I suggest 2)
Handful Fresh Parsley
Salt
Pepper

For Matzo Balls :
1. Matzo Meal Mix (Manischewitz is the best!)
2. Eggs (depends on package but usually just 2)
3. Vegetable Oil

Seems so simple right? Here comes the hard part

Procedure:

1. If you are using a whole chicken, cut and divide the pieces (save breasts for other recipes). Place pieces inside a large stock pot.
2. Fill the stock pot about 3/4 of the way up with 50% chicken stock and 50% water
3. Bring liquid and chicken to a boil and reduce to a moderate simmer.

4. Slice carrots, celery ( either in direct slices or diagonal for a decorative look)
5. Take onion and slice in half. Slice halves into halves and slice into thin pieces.

6. Add carrots, celery, and onion to the pot
7. Add bay leaves and salt & pepper to taste ( at this point you may add bouillon if you like)

8. Let simmer for 3 hours. At 1 1/2 hours, chop parsley and add to pot.

*Note: Periodically skim off fat from surface of liquid*

9. Remove chicken parts to a cutting board and shred with 2 forks into desired size pieces and add back into pot.

NEXT: here is how to make the matzo balls!

Combine the eggs, vegetable oil, and matzo mix according to the package. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Wet hands and form mixture into ball shapes. Bring your soup to a boil again, and add the matzo balls. Reduce to a simmer and cover tightly for 20 minutes. You will see how much they plump!

*Note: shape the matzo balls into relatively small spheres (about 1- 1 1/2 inch). They will plump up! However, if you want bigger balls (haha) make them to the size you prefer. You may just have to cook them a few more minutes.*

FINALLY: Your soup is ready! Some people drain the soup completely leaving broth and matzo balls. However, I like all the chicken and veggies in there- It gives the soup soul.


This is a recipe that takes most of your afternoon, but this is also the type of recipe that people remember and pass on forever. I know I love it, and I hope you do too. It is comfort food at its finest or as some say- Jewish Penicillin. Try getting someone to make this when you are sick; it supposedly has cold fighting properties.

Another great aspect of this recipe is that you can use any leftover chicken, vegetables, and liquid to make a yummy chicken stock to use in other recipes. Here's what I got out of it: