Mushroom Barley Risotto Cakes and Roasted Delicata

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market, you'll find pastured meats from Fair Valley Farm and Fog Hollow Farm and fresh produce from Camas Swale Farm, including greens, peppers, and winter squash.

Fall is officially here and so are the fixings for cooler weather meals, like these mushroom barley cakes I made from leftover barley risotto and served with a salad of flat parsley leaves and roasted delicata squash. 

Mushroom Barley Risotto Cakes

(makes 4 patties)

~1 cup cooked barley risotto (see recipe below)

1 egg

1 cup breadcrumbs, divided

4 pieces of mozzarella cheese (optional)

olive oil for frying.

Mix together about 1 cup barley risotto with 1 egg and 1/2 cup bread crumbs. Spread the remaining breadcrumbs on a plate. Shape into 4 patties. If you like, you can stuff a piece of mozzarella in the center of each patty, so that it will melt when it cooks. Roll each of the patties in the remaining bread crumbs to coat. Heal a large skillet over medium heat and add a generous amount of olive oil. Add the patties and allow to cook, undisturbed, until nicely toasted. Carefully flip the patties and cook on the second side until browned. Serve at once, with a salad such as this one with kale and delicata squash.

Mushroom Barley Risotto in an Instant Pot

1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms

4 cups vegetable broth or water

2 Tbsp olive oil 

1 cup chopped cremini mushrooms

salt and pepper

1 tsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp butter

1 small onion or 2 shallots, finely chopped

1 cup pearled barley

1/4 cup white wine or white vermouth

1/2 cup grated pecorino romano

1. Use scissors to cut the dried mushrooms into bitesized pieces into a large measuring cup. Add the broth or water and microwave until the liquid has small bubbles. Let sit to rehydrate the dried mushrooms while you prepare the other vegetables.

2. Brush off any dirt from the cremini mushrooms and cut into quarters or eighths. Turn the pressure cooker to saute. Add the olive oil and cook the mushrooms, seasoned with salt and pepper, until they release their juices and then concentrate them. Add the tablespoon of soy sauce and allow this to absorb into the mushrooms. 

3. Add the butter and the chopped onions and cook until the onions are glassy. Now add the pearled barley and cook to coat in fat, about one minute. Add the white wine or vermouth and allow to cook down. Now add the rehydrated mushrooms and broth, pouring slowly so that any grit from the mushrooms is left behind. Set the pressure cooker to high pressure for 18 minutes. When the time is complete, carefully release the pressure. Turn the saute setting back on and stir in the pecorino romano. Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed. Serve warm.

Note: the risotto can also be made on the stove top, simmering for about 40 minutes until soft. You can double the recipe if you'd like to be sure to have leftovers for risotto cakes.

Simple Miso Soup for a Cold

 

Being at the tail end of my second nasty cold in the past month, I've been craving nothing much but soup. Steaming pots of long simmered chicken broth are wonderful, but when cold viruses have sapped every last drop of energy from your body, such a broth can seem like a mirage. In contrast, a restorative miso soup, prepared with a quick kombu broth, is well within reach. 

As described in Elizabeth Andoh's Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen, Japanese broths made with kombu, or dried kelp, takes just as long to prepare as to bring water to a boil. I've shared both her dashi (made with bonito flakes) and a vegetarian version made with shiitake mushroom. These broths can be the backdrop of a flavorful soup when you layer in greens and mix in miso paste (avoid cooking, to preserve the full benefits of the fermenting microbes). A few bowls of this soup (with any number of variations in vegetables and protein) can do wonders for restoring one's spirits and health. 

Dashi (basic sea stock)

12 square inches kombu
2 cups cold water
1/4 cup loosely packed dried shaved bonito flakes (katsuo-bushi)

Place the kombu in a pot of cold water and heat over medium heat. When small bubbles begin to break the surface, remove from the heat. Sprinkle over the bonito flakes. Allow the flakes to settle, and then remove the kombu and strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer. You can scale up this recipe for more stock,which can be stored for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator, but the flavors will not last if frozen.

Kombu Jiru (basic vegetarian stock)

12 square inches kombu
1 dried shiitake mushroom
2 cups cold water

Place the kombu and mushroom in a pot of cold water and heat over medium heat. When small bubbles begin to break the surface, remove from the heat. Allow to sit 3-4 minutes, remove the kombu and mushroom, and then strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer. Reserve the mushroom cap for cooking. You can scale up this recipe for more stock,which can be stored for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator, but the flavors will not last if frozen.

Simple Miso Soup for a Cold

makes 1 large bowl

2 cups broth
1 rehydrated shitake mushroom cap, sliced
1 slice baked tofu, rinsed and diced
1 handful tender greens like baby spinach
1 Tbsp miso

Heat the strained broth to a simmer. Add the sliced mushroom cap and tofu to the simmering broth. Place the greens in a large soup bowl. In a small bowl, mix the miso and a ladle full of the broth. Pour the rest of the simmering broth into the soup bowl and mix in the thinned miso. Eat right away.

Rice Hot Pot

We've been eating a lot of rice hot pots lately, which are perfect for a drizzly midweek meal. Dolsot bibimbap is one of my favorite dishes to order in Korean restaurants, and I always feel so grateful to the chefs who prepare the selection of delectable toppings that are arranged so beautifully in the sizzling bowl of rice. Then I started playing around with heating up rice on the stovetop in stone bowls we'd bought for soup, and I realized that a rice hot pot can be infinitely flexible and an ingenious way to make the most of midweek leftovers and the bounty of our weekly Good Food Easy CSA share. 

The strategy is to cook up a big pot of brown rice or other grain over the weekend, or if you are really planning ahead, freeze meal-sized portions. Then search your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer and assemble a selection of topping ingredients loosely around the five elements below (realizing of course, that every formula was meant to be broken, and many ingredients fit into more than one category). The bowl above, for example, contained Sweetwater Farm kale, rehydrated shiitake mushrooms, and leftover Fair Valley Farm ham, with a side of kimchi. This is a short order chef type of meal with multiple burners going, but it can come together quickly. First rub a little sesame oil in individual stone bowls or a cast iron skillet, pack down a cup of rice for each serving, and start warming the bowls or skillet over low heat. Then prepare your toppings and pile them into the bowls or skillet as you go, ending with an egg on top.  

Some greens: quickly blanched, steamed, or sautéed, then tossed with a splash of sesame oil, and perhaps some sesame seeds.

Some protein: leftover ham, steak, chicken, quickly sautéed and finished with a splash of soy sauce and rice wine; baked or caramelized tofu; edamame beans; fried or poached egg.

Something umami: mushrooms, such as rehydrated shiitakes, quickly sautéed with a splash of soy.

Fresh and crunchy vegetables: shredded carrot, sliced cucumber, sliced radish.

Pickled vegetables: homemade kimchi, pickled chard stems, fermented green beans, refrigerator pickles. 

Rice Hot Pots

serves four

4 cups cooked brown rice
sesame oil
1 bunch kale (or chard or spinach)
1 cup cubed ham (or other meat or tofu or edamame beans)
canola oil
8 large dried shiitake mushrooms
1-2 carrots shredded (or 1 cucumber cut lengthwise into quarters and thinly sliced)
4 eggs
for garnish: kimchi, pickled vegetables, dried seaweed, sesame seeds, gochujang or sriracha sauce 

1. For 4 cups of cooked rice, use 2 cup dried rice. Rinse in a small mesh sieve, then place in a pot with 3 cups water. Cover and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and cook, covered for about 30 minutes, until the water is absorbed. Fluff with a fork. You can cook this ahead of time.

2. Boil 1/2 cup water and pour over the dried shiitake mushrooms to rehydrate them.

3. I prepare a meal for four in two individual stone bowls (for the adults) and a cast iron skillet of toasted rice for the kids, who prefer their toppings separate, which leaves one burner for preparing the toppings. Rub about 1 tsp of sesame oil into each stone bowl or 2 tsp into the cast iron skillet. Start to warm the bowls and skillet over medium low flames. Pack one cup of rice per person into each bowl (two in the skillet). Keep them warming over low heat for about 15 minutes while you prepare the rest of the toppings, and a delicious toasted rice coating will form on the bottom. You should hear the rice sizzling and should smell it toasting. If you are nervous that it is burning, use a spatula to pry underneath and take a peak, and you can always turn it off, but not before you have a good layer of toasted rice.

4. Rinse and chop your greens. You could blanch them quickly in boiling water, steam them in the microwave with a splash of water, or quickly sauté them in another skillet. When they are tender, but not wilted, toss them with a splash of sesame oil and a pinch of salt and layer them into one quadrant of the rice bowls or two opposite quadrants of the skillet. 

5. Cube the meat or tofu. In your working skillet, sauté the cubes over medium high heat in a little canola oil , and when they are hot, add 1 tsp each of soy sauce and rice wine. Cook until these evaporate and then transfer to another quadrant of the rice bowls/skillet.

6. Slice the rehydrated mushroom. In your working skillet, sauté the mushroom slices over medium high heat, allowing the moisture to cook off, add 1 tsp soy sauce, cook down, and then transfer to another quadrant of the rice bowls/skillet.

7. Turn the heat under your working skillet to low and crack in four eggs. While these are frying, prepare the crunchy fresh vegetable toppings and gather your pickled toppings. When the egg are cooked to the desired stage, transfer them to the top of each hot pot or skillet half and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

8. Carefully transfer the hot pots or skillet onto coasters on the table. Have people add desired crunchy fresh and pickled toppings and hot sauce. Enjoy.

Mushroom Meatloaf with Sun Dried Tomato Glaze

The polar vortex has reached Eugene. Snow days, icy roads, and chilly temperatures call for staying put and cooking up comfort food. This meatloaf fits the bill, flavored with pungent mushrooms and fresh herbs, 
 

and topped with a homemade ketchup from sun dried tomatoes.

With cold winds howling outside, nothing could feel cozier than this classic American supper of meatloaf with mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy. 

But polar vortex or not, the day after baking meatloaf I am always reminded that its best justification is in sandwiches, piled high with spicy greens, or layered like pâté into decadent tofu banh mi.

Mushroom Meatloaf with Sun Dried Tomato Glaze

for the meatloaf
1/2 cup dried mushrooms
3/4 cup boiling water
1 medium shallot, peeled and finely chopped
1 small carrot, grated
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 lb ground beef
1 egg
several springs of fresh oregano, thyme, and sage
1 cup bread crumbs
plenty of salt and black pepper

glaze
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes (not in oil)
1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder or to taste
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
pinch of salt

1. Place the dried mushrooms in the boiling water to soften for at least 15 minutes. Heat a small skillet over medium low heat. Melt the butter and add the shallots. Cook until glassy, then add the grated carrot, and cook for another few minutes until the aromatics are soft. Reserve. Once the mushrooms are softened, chop them very finely and reserve the mushroom-flavored water. 

2. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Prepare a loaf pan by greasing its bottom and sides with olive oil. Put the ground meat in a large bowl and add a generous amount of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Use your hands to mix. Combine in the egg. Then mix in the shallots and mushrooms. Pluck the fresh herb leaves from their stems and tear them into the mixture. Add the breadcrumbs and gently mix to combine. Now pour in the reserved mushroom-flavored water and gently incorporate into the mixture. Dump the meat mixture into the prepared loaf pan and gently pat down to even the top.

3. To prepare the glaze, combine the sun dried tomatoes and water in a small saucepan and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the sugar and chili powder, vinegar, and salt and simmer another minute until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and allow the sauce to cool and the tomatoes to continue to soften for another 10 minutes or so. In a mini mixer, food processor, or blender, process the ingredients into a paste. Reserve.

3. Bake the meatloaf for 20 minutes at 300 degrees, rotating halfway through. Remove the meatloaf and spread over the glaze. Check the internal temperature, which should be about 100 degrees at this point. Return to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes until the internal temperature is 140.  Cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

Baked Polenta with Mushrooms and Gorgonzola

In the last post I told you about using Lonesome Whistle Farm's polenta in skillet cornbread. The other dish I made right away with this rainbow of coarse cornmeal is one inspired by a baked polenta and gorgonzola recipe from The Greens Cookbook by Deborah Madison. To contrast the sharp notes of the cheese, I used some earthy mushrooms, both fresh creminis and an assortment of dried ones. And to make the most of the flavors, I used the soaking liquid from the dried mushrooms as the broth for the polenta.

Admittedly, this dish is a bit involved. First you prepare a tomato sauce, saute your mushrooms, and stir your polenta into a thick mush. Then you need to let the polenta solidify before sliced it, layering it with the mushrooms, sauce, and cheese, and baking it into a pan of bubbling, pungent gooeyness. But each of the steps itself is easy and relaxing; nothing like the time sensitive last stages of getting warm turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy on the table for a hungry horde. So make this dish on a leisurely weekend day when you're ready for a break from turkey leftovers.

Baked Polenta with Mushrooms and Gorgonzola
serves 4 to 6

1 cup polenta
3 1/2 cups boiling water
2 ounces dried mushrooms such as porcini
6 ounces fresh cremini mushrooms
2 Tbsp olive oil for sauteing the mushrooms and more for oiling the pans
~2 cups simple tomato sauce  
4 ounces gorgonzola cheese
fresh parsley leaves

1. Soak the dried mushrooms in 3 1/2 cups of boiling water. After ten minutes, strain the mushroom broth through a fine mesh strainer into a medium pot (you will have about 3 cups), and reserve the rehydrated mushrooms. Heat the mushroom broth with a generous pinch of salt until it is boiling. Slowly pour the polenta grain into the pot in a narrow stream as you whisk. Adjust the heat to medium and stir the polenta with a wooden spoon for about 15 minutes, until it forms a thick, creamy mush that pulls away from the sides of the pan. Brush the inside of a loaf pan with olive oil and pour in the polenta. Let the polenta cool and harden (you can do this a day ahead). 

2. Prepare a simple tomato sauce with a 32 ounce can of tomatoes or a quart of fresh peeled romas.

3. Brush the cremini mushrooms clean and cut them into slices. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a skillet and saute the mushrooms with a generous pinch of salt and grinding of black pepper until their juices are released and then evaporated. Chop the rehydrated mushrooms.

4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cover the bottom of a 9 x 12 inch baking dish with about one cup of tomato sauce. Sprinkle over the chopped rehydrated mushrooms. Unmold the hardened polenta and cut it into 1/2 inch slices. Arrange strips of polenta along the bottom of the baking dish. Drizzle the remaining tomato sauce over the polenta (you can leave some parts uncovered). Then sprinkle the cooked cremini mushrooms over and finally crumble the gorgonzola cheese on top. 

5. Bake the polenta for about 30 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and the gorgonzola has melted. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley and serve warm.

Chanterelle and Arugula Pasta

With the end of our winter CSA from Open Oak Farm and the start of the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market still on the horizon, I was happy to rediscover Eugene Local Foods. This convenient online shopping site lets you choose from a wide selection of local food offerings. You can place your order from the comfort of your sofa, as the rain drizzles outside, and then you pick up your goods on Tuesday evenings behind Hideaway Bakery. 

From this week's haul we prepared a local feast of fresh pasta with chanterelle and arugula. I experimented with making the pasta with hard white wheat spring flour from Camas Country Mill. The dough was tougher than with all purpose white flour, and required a little more patience rolling out, but the final pasta had a pleasantly hearty flavor that paired well with the mushrooms and bitter greens, and a generous dollop of creme fraiche. This was a perfect meal to celebrate the coming of spring.

Chanterelle and Arugula Pasta

for the pasta
3 cups flour (I used hard white wheat spring flour from Camas Country Mill)
4 eggs


for the toppings
1/2 lb chanterelle
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 bunch arugula leaves, washed and thick stems removed
1/4 cup creme fraiche
salt and freshly ground pepper
freshly grated parmesan cheese for serving


1. Set a large pot of salted pasta water boiling.


2. In a food processor, combine the flour and eggs until the dough just starts to come together in a ball. You may need to drizzle in a little water or add a touch more flour to get the right consistency. Form the dough into a log and cut into slices. Roll the slices out with a pasta machine according to the directions and cut into fettucini.


3. Meanwhile brush the chanterelle to clean them and slice them coarsely. Heat a saute pan over medium heat, melt the butter with the olive oil, and saute the mushrooms until cooked through and fragrant.


4. When the pasta water comes to a boil,add the pasta. When the water returns to a boil, taste a strand. It may be done or may need another minute, but be prepared to work quickly. Reserve a cup of the pasta water before you drain the pasta into a colander.


5. Dump the cooked pasta into a large serving bowl and toss with the creme fraiche, the sauteed mushrooms, and the washed arugula leaves. If the pasta seems a little dry, you can add a splash of the reserved pasta water. Grind over a generous amount of pepper and sprinkle on a pinch of salt. Serve immediately with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Salmon and Barley Cakes

This golden hulless barley from our Lonesome Whistle Farm bean and grain CSA has a nutty flavor and enough virtuous, whole grain appeal to justify a rich and cheesy accompaniment. Growing up, one of my mother's weeknight pantry meals was Julia Child's salmon gratin (from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, volume 1). It consists of a rich, creamy roux, laced with white vermouth, into which you fold canned salmon and sauteed mushrooms, followed by a heavy sprinkling of gruyere cheese. My mother always served her salmon gratin with white rice, but my sister later made the improvement of using nutty brown rice. Julie Powell's Julie/Julia Project (no longer on line) derided this dish as grey and sludgy, but I feel that she entirely missed the point. Here's a dish that transforms a lowly tin of salmon into exquisite haute cuisine. It may not be pretty, but it tastes delicious.

Unfortunately, when I made this salmon gratin for my kids, they, like Julie Powell, could not get beyond the sludginess. This got me thinking about how I could repackage it, and my golden barley offered the inspiration. Barley, I realized, could provide the same nuttiness of brown rice, and also a sticky heft to bind together the salmon into a crispy cake. To recreate the decadent cream and mushroom flavor of the original dish, I made a sauteed mushroom, vermouth-infused, creme fraiche garnish. And to keep the dish from being too rich, I served the cakes on a bed of lemony greens. Biting into one of these Julia-inspired cakes brought back a flood of childhood memories, but with a satisfying crunch.

Salmon and Barley Cakes a la Julia

Makes 12 cakes

for the salmon and barley cakes

1 cup barley (best is golden hulless, or use pearled barley) 

2 cups water
1 medium shallot
1 Tbsp butter
1 egg
2 ounces of gruyere cheese, grated
4 sprigs fresh oregano
6 ounce can of skinless, boneless salmon
plenty of pepper
1 cup panko (divided use)
olive oil for frying

for the mushroom cream garnish

8 ounces cremi mushroom

1 Tbsp butter

salt and pepper

¼ cup white vermouth

¼ cup crème fraiche

salad greens

fresh lemon juice

1. The evening before cover the barley with cold water and soak overnight. The next day, remove any loose hulls that have floated to the top and drain off the water. Add 2 cups fresh water and a generous pinch of salt, bring the barley to a simmer, and cook, covered, for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Check the barley for doneness. It will probably still need another 5 to 10 minutes to cook, but if it is still quite watery, you can remove the lid at this point and finish cooking while letting more of the liquid evaporate. When the barley is tender but still has a firm bite, turn it off. You will have more that you need for this recipe, so save some for salads or as a side dish or freeze for another batch of salmon cakes.  Measure out one cup of cooked barley for this recipe and transfer to a large bowl and allow it to cool.

2. Peel and chop the shallot in a small dice. Heat a skillet over medium heat, melt 1 Tbsp of butter, and sauté the shallots, with a pinch of salt, until very soft, but do not let them brown. Add these to the bowl with the barley.

3. Clean and slice the mushrooms. In the same pan that you cooked the shallots, melt another Tbsp of butter and now sauté the mushrooms over medium heat, with a pinch of salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Let the mushrooms release their own juices and keep cooking them until the liquid cooks down. Now add the white vermouth and cook the mushrooms until this has cooked down. Turn off the mushrooms and let them cool. When the mushrooms have cooled, put them in a food processor with the crème fraiche and pulse a few times to create a textured paste. Reserve the mushroom cream for serving.

4. Now your barley should be cooled down enough to mix in an egg. Then mix in the grated gruyere cheese, oregano leaves, salt and freshly ground pepper. Break the salmon into flakes with a fork and gently mix this into the batter, along with the juices. Now use your hands to gently mix in about ½ cup panko, or more if the batter feels too moist. Form the batter into 12 patties, about two inches wide. Gently roll these in more panko and place them on a parchment paper or silpat covered cookie sheet and chill them in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. This will help them firm up and make frying them more manageable.

5. Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add about 4 Tbsp of olive oil to generously cover the bottom of the pan. When the oil is shimmering, place half of the cakes into the pan. Now leave them alone for a good 5-8 minutes until they are nicely browned (don’t be tempted to flip them too soon). Flip and cook until the second side is nicely browned as well.

6. While the salmon bakes are cooking, toss the salad greens with lemon juice and a small pinch of salt, and arrange on plates. When the salmon cakes are done cooking, place on the bed of greens and top each cake with a large dollop of the mushroom cream.

Barley Risotto with Grilled Vegetables

A weekend stroll through Hendricks Park was filled with colorful blossoms, from demur 

to flamboyant. All this flora inspired some outdoor cooking. My husband picked up a tri-tip steak to grill, 

and we had some peppers, onions, and cherry tomatoes that I used for vegetable skewers. As an accompanying starch, I decided to prepare a barley risotto.

Barley is an underappreciated grain, often relegated to dowdy soups, but with its nutty taste and firm texture, it makes an outstanding risotto. I prepared a simple broth by soaking dried porcini mushrooms in hot water.

To start the risotto, I sauteed some chopped onion in butter and olive oil until glassy and then cooked the barley grains until they gave off a nice toasted fragrance.

Then I added the broth a little at a time, stirring frequently and simmered the grain with the chopped rehydrated mushrooms and some fresh marjoram and rosemary. After about 45 minutes the kernels had softened, but still maintained a firm bite. At this point, you could finish the dish off like a classic mushroom risotto, stirring in some sauteed mushrooms and plenty of grated parmesan cheese. Instead I used the mushroom-flavored barley as a bed for the grilled vegetable, which released their charred, caramelized sweetness into the grain. Enjoy with a glass of sangria.

Barley Risotto with Grilled Vegetables

serves 4 as a side dish

for the risotto

1 handful (~1/2 cup) dried porcini mushrooms

1 1/4 cup barley

~4 1/2 cups boiling water

1 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 small onion, diced

4 sprigs marjoram

2 sprigs rosemary

salt

for the grilled vegetable skewers

1 1/2 small red onions

1 red pepper

1 yellow pepper

~24 cherry tomatoes

olive oil

4 sprigs rosemary

salt and pepper

1. Rehydrate the porcini mushrooms in 4 cups of boiling water and let soak for at least 15 minutes. Strain and reserve the soaking liquid and chop the mushroom. Dice the onion. Remove the marjoram and rosemary leaves from the stems and mince.

2. Heat the butter and oil in a saucepan and saute the onion until glassy. Add the barley and saute until it gives off a distinctive toasted smell. Add a cup of the porcini broth, a generous sprinkling of salt, and the chopped mushrooms and stir. Adjust the heat so that the barley is at a slow simmer and stir in the fresh herbs. Let the barley cook for about 40 minutes, stirring often, and gradually adding all of the broth. If the barley is still too firm for your taste once the broth has been absorbed, keep adding small amounts of hot water until it is just soft enough, but do not overcook. Add salt to taste. 

3. While the barley is cooking, wash the vegetables for the skewers. Cut the onions into wedges and chop the peppers into chunks. Assemble the skewers, using onion wedges to anchor the ends and alternating between pepper slices and cherry tomatoes in the middle. Drizzle the skewers with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and fresh rosemary. Grill the skewers over low to medium heat, flipping halfway through. Grill until the vegetables are cooked and somewhat charred. 

4. Serve a mound of barley risotto topped with a skewer's worth of grilled vegetables. 

Shooter Sandwich

I have high standards for the contents of this blog, but for the best sandwich ever, as prepared by my husband Eric, I was willing to cede the floor. Here is his report.


The Edwardian gentleman's "shooter's sandwich" was recently named best sandwich in the world by The Guardian (UK).  It looked perfect for a joint Guillemin/Johnson labs holiday potluck get together, and a change of pace from the multitude of (delicious) beans in our household.  It was fun to make and looked good on a platter. I think the 'best sandwich' is still open for debate, but it was quite tasty!

First I took a large steak, peppered,

mushrooms and shallots,

and some potato rustica bread, hollowed out.

I seared the steak and placed half into the hollowed out bread.

Next I cooked the mushrooms and shallots, adding some red wine, pepper, and red pepper flakes.

I piled the mushroom mixture on the steak,

added parsley and the second half of the steak,

smeared with horseradish and mustard,

then compressed overnight in the fridge and at room temperature for a few hours before the party. Then sliced and ate.

Shooter Sandwich

1 large top sirloin steak.  Probably the suggested ribeye would have been better, but I was reluctant to double the cost.  

2 pounds mushrooms. This sandwich used a mixture of shitake and brown crimini.

Parsely.

salt, pepper, red pepper, Worcestershire sauce, red wine.

Horseradish and mustard

I started in the late evening, and while the steaks were searing chopped the mushrooms and shallots and carved out the bread loaf.  While the mushrooms were cooking I tucked the steak (just salted) into the bread.  It took a while to reduce the mushroom liquid and red wine and Worcestershire sauce to a syrupy thickness, so I chopped the parsely.  The mushroom mixture piled onto the steak, and at this point had filled the bread loaf.  But I forged ahead and piled on parsely and then capped the mountain of ingredients with the other half of the steak, smeared on horseradish and mustard, and then squashed it down with the top of the bread loaf.  

I wrapped it in foil and plastic wrap, put it on a cookie sheet in case it leaked, then put a heavy cutting board on top, some cast iron pans, flour, more cast iron.  Since it was going to compress overnight, I put it in the fridge with just some of that stack on top, then resumed the heavy compression at room temperature a few hours before the party.  Just before the party I unwrapped it, sliced it and arranged on the platter.