Torta di funghi (Wild mushroom tart) by Antonio Carluccio

I am very glad to see my beloved 'funghi' were already fashionable 500 years ago.

Ingredients

• 6 tbsp olive oil

• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• about 800g/1lb 12oz wild mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

• 1 large onion, finely sliced

• about 500g/1lb 2oz spinach or Swiss chard (use only the green part of the chard)

• 300g/10½oz asparagus tips

• 30g/1oz seedless raisins

• 40g/1½oz walnuts, chopped

• 3 slices stale bread, soaked in water to soften, then squeezed and torn into small pieces

• spice mixture: 1 tsp each ground cinnamon, ground pepper, sugar and salt

• herb mixture: 2 tbsp each chopped fresh mint, marjoram and thyme or oregano

• flour, for dusting

• 800g/1lb 12oz ready-made puff pastry (enough for the base and lid)

• 1 free-range egg, beaten

Preparation method

1. Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a pan and add the garlic and the wild mushrooms. Fry gently until softened, then set aside.

2. Heat another two tablespoons of oil in a pan and add the sliced onion. Fry gently until softened, then set aside.

3. Heat the remaining two tablespoons of oil in a large pan, add the spinach or Swiss chard and cook, covered, stirring occasionally until wilted. Squeeze out any excess moisture.

4. Stir the asparagus tips, raisins, walnuts, breadcrumbs and the spice mixture into the spinach. Add the mushrooms and onion and finally the fresh herbs. Mix well.

5. Preheat the oven to 180C/375F/Gas 5.

6. Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface. Cut out a round large enough to cover the base and sides of a large tart case and another circle to form the lid.

7. Place the pastry base into the tin and spoon in the filling mixture. Cover with the pastry lid and brush well with beaten egg.

Pizza dough I

Inspired by this recipe.
* 1 tablespoon active dry yeast,         or 1 oz (25 g) brewer’s yeast* 1 1/2 cups (350 cc) warm water* 3 1/2 cups (500 g) flour* 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil* pinch of salt


 500 F (260 C) for about 20–25 minutes

The famous ducken

This is the famous ducken. First made by Bjarni and Ragnar on Saturday, January 22, 2011.

It is divine!

Materials:

1 Duck
1 Chicken
A packet of bacon

2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup melted butter

Stuffing:

bread crumbs (from the baker!)

Dried apricots

Raisins

Bacon

Olive Oil

Thyme

Rosemary

Paprica

Garlic

Onion powder

Salt

Pepper

2 raw eggs

Method:

1. Debone the chicken and the duck.

Detailed instructions on how to debone a turkey are found here. They are summarized below.

Use heavy shears to cut across the back of the bird. Crack it open, exposing the inside of bird.

Using a small paring knife and your fingers to remove the bones. Try not to pierce the skin of front side of

the bird.

Throw all bones into a pot. You can use them to make stock.

1a. The chicken

Take all bones from the chicken. Cut off the wings of the chicken with the heavy shears.

1.b. The duck

Remove all bones except the legs and the wings.

2. Make the stuffing

Started with 1 and a half cups crumbs and then added the other ingredients. No firm instructions as to how much of anything should be in there - just play it by ear. Other ingredients to consider: Nuts and mushrooms.

3. Assemble the ducken

The following pictures are from this turducken recipe. The procedure we used was:

1. Lay the deboned duck with the skin side down.

2. Put a single layer of bacon, covering the inside of the duck.

3. Put a layer of stuffing on top of the bacon.

4. Put the deboned chicken on top of the stuffing, skin side down.

5. Put a second layer of stuffing on top of the chicken.

6. Close the chicken by folding it and sticking a metal skewer through its back.

7. Close the duck by folding it and sticking a metal skewer through its back.

8. Remove the skewer from the chicken. Leave the skewer in the duck.

9. Rub salt, pepper, and paprika into the skin of the duck on its back side.

10. Place breast side up in a roasting pan.

11. Rub salt, pepper, and paprika into the skin of the breast side.

12. Roast the ducken.

Chicken open skin side down

A layer of stuffing is put on top of chicken

A skewer is used to close up chicken

A second skewer is used to close the duck around the chicken

4. Roast the ducken
These directions are taken from this roast duck recipe.

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Roast ducken in preheated oven for 1 hour. Spoon 1/4 cup melted butter over bird, and continue cooking for 45 more minutes. Spoon remaining 1/4 cup melted butter over duck, and cook for 15 more minutes, or until golden brown.

Cook until the internal temperature reaches 74 degrees C.

Lamb and Wild Mushroom Shepherd's Pie from Williams & Sonoma

Found here.

 

 

 

Most mushrooms sold in the market today are already quite clean, but you may still need to attend to them a bit at home. Gently brushing mushrooms with a damp cloth or soft brush, such as a mushroom brush or pastry brush, is preferable to washing them. Porous mushrooms will soak up water like a sponge, compromising both the texture and flavor of any dish. Do not scrub so hard that you remove the thin outer skin on the caps; you want only to loosen any dirt or grit. Be sure to rinse the bristles on the brush if they begin to get soiled.

Ingredients:

For the filling:

• 2 lb. shoulder blade lamb chops, trimmed of fat
    and boned
• 1 lb. assorted wild mushrooms, such as cremini,
    portobello and shiitake
• 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp. ground allspice
• 3 Tbs. olive oil
• 3 large shallots, minced
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Turkish bay leaf, minced
• 1 3/4 cups beef stock
• 1 Tbs. tomato paste
  
  

For the topping:

• 6 small Yukon Gold potatoes, 1 1/2 lb. total
• 1/3 cup milk
• 4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

Directions:

To make the filling, cut the lamb into 1/2-inch pieces. Stem and cut the mushrooms into 3/4-inch pieces. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and allspice. Add the lamb and toss to coat evenly.

In a large nonstick fry pan over medium-high heat, warm 2 Tbs. of the olive oil. Add the lamb and sauté until well browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Add the remaining 1 Tbs. oil to the pan. Add the shallots and garlic and stir for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and bay leaf and sauté until well browned, about 6 minutes.

Return the lamb to the pan, stir in the stock and tomato paste and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until the lamb is tender, about 45 minutes. Uncover and simmer until the juices thicken, about 2 minutes. Transfer the filling to a 9-inch pie dish.

Preheat an oven to 350°F.

To make the topping, pour water to a depth of 1 inch into a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Peel and slice the potatoes into rounds 1/4 inch thick. Put the potato slices into a steamer basket and set the basket over the boiling water. (The water should not touch the bottom of the steamer basket.) Cover and steam until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a small knife, about 12 minutes. Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl. Add the milk, butter, salt and pepper. Mash well with a potato masher. Stir in half of the chives. Spoon the potatoes on top of the lamb mixture to cover it completely.

Bake the pie until it is heated through and the potatoes just begin to brown, about 35 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining chives and serve immediately. Serves 4.
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Collection Series, Potato, by Selma Brown Morrow (Simon & Schuster, 2002).