Kitchen Sherers
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Contact
  • Inspriations

Vegetable Bolognese

9/5/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
I think one of the most difficult challenges I have is getting my little one to eat her vegetables. I totally get it, eating yogurt, fruit, anything other than vegetables is much more fun. Also I fully understand that there are parents and caretakers that have done a much better job than I in introducing many types of veggies into the child's diet. While I will not dispute that I should be more persistent, sometimes the little one is just not going to budge. (I'm not quite sure who to blame on that trait; her father or myself)

So today I bring you a wonderful recipe, modified from Giada De Laurentiis- Food Network. It taste great, has a unique blend of flavors, and also is vegetarian. This also pairs well with any starches, so you can mix be creative to what works best for you or your family. As we are headed into fall, a sweet potato or celery root puree would be delectable. 

This is a great recipe to make on the weekend, so that you can have it for those busy work nights. The marscapone cheese gives it a subtle sweetness. Also you can be flexible in how chunky or smooth that you would like this sauce. 

Ingredients


  • .5 oz dried oyster mushrooms
  • 1 1/2 cups hot water
  • 3 ​carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 red onion, peeled and chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp dried basil
  • 1/2 tsp ground oregano
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 8 oz baby portebello mushrooms
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup red wine
  • 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
  • 1 pound pasta (penne or similar would work best)
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan

Place the dried mushrooms in a small bowl and cover with 1 1/2 cups very hot water. Set aside and let the mushrooms soften.

Place the carrots, onion, bell pepper, and garlic in a food processor. Pulse the vegetables until finely chopped but still chunky. Place the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped vegetables, dried herbs, salt, and pepper and cook until tender, about 6 minutes. Place mushrooms in food processor and pulse until chopped. Strain the oyster mushrooms, reserving the oyster mushroom liquid. Add the oyster mushrooms, fresh mushrooms, and tomato paste and continue cooking, stirring to dissolve the tomato paste, until the mushrooms are softened, about 5 minutes.

Add the dried mushroom liquid and red wine. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and let the mixture simmer until the liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Add mascarpone cheese and stir just until the cheese is incorporated.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta, and place over the pasta.  
Picture
0 Comments

Lemon and Roasted Strawberry Ice Cream

8/25/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Photo by Northwildkitchen
First of all, I can't tell you how excited I am to be back writing recipes and creating wonderful memories. I was fortunate enough to go and visit my sister in Norway last month, and I can barely put into words how amazing this time was. Not only was the landscape breathtaking, but the time to spend with my family in such an amazing country was priceless. I also had another fortunate experience, and that was getting to celebrate my daughters third birthday. In celebration of the big day, I whipped up a recipe for ice cream which included the one ingredient at the urging of my daughter--- Strawberry. We were able to go and pick wild strawberries out near my sister's home. However, our bounty was soon devoured by our little ones, so we had to make due with buying strawberries at the store. (This in no way impacted how amazing this ice cream tasted).
Picture
Picture

It was so much fun working with my sister! Especially since she is also an amazing writer and photographer. I encourage you to check out her blog Northwildkitchen. Currently she is a finalist for the 2016 Saveur Awards for best new voice. This recipe was also featured in theNORWEGIANAMERICAN. 

I hope you enjoy it. Normally I am not a huge lemon fan in my ice cream, however, the lemon really made the strawberry taste pop. The buttermilk added an amazing richness! So as summer begins to wind down, grab your ice cream maker and whip up this delightful treat.
​
Ingredients:
Ice Cream
  • 1 1/4 cup (3 dl) heavy cream
  • 1/3 tsp lemon zest  (if you prefer a more lemony flavor, add  3/4 tsp)
  • 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 4 egg yolks (we used fresh eggs from the hens out back)
  • 1 1/4 cup (3 dl)  buttermilk (if you do not have access to buttermilk, you can add 1/2T and 1 tsp of fresh lemon juice to whole milk)
Roasted Strawberries 
  • 2 cups (400g) fresh strawberries, diced
  • 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
  • 2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
​Preheat the oven to 375°F /190°C. In a glass roasting dish, place strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice and mix until evenly coated. Then place the pan in the oven and roast for roughly 10-12 minutes. After it is done roasting you will want to puree the mixture. (You will have leftovers that can be used as well for a topping on waffles, pancakes, or even this ice cream).
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan add the cream, lemon zest, sugar, and salt and bring to a low simmer so that all the sugar is melted. Reduce to a low temperature and cover the saucepan with a lid. Cook the mixture for roughly 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove the mixture from the heat, and in a small bowl add the egg yolks. Slowly whisk in 1/4 cup of the cream mixture to temper the eggs (the last thing you want is cooked egg yolk ice cream). Once the eggs are brought to temperature, slowly whisk the egg mixture back into the pan, and place back on medium heat. You will want to cook the mixture until it starts to thicken slightly, or coats the spoon. This process should take about 10 minutes. Make sure to stir occasionally.
Once the mixture has slightly thickened, remove from heat and add the buttermilk. After you have mixed in the buttermilk, place a strainer over a bowl and pour the mixture through. This will remove any lumps that may have occurred, or any cooked egg. In the bowl, add 1/2 cup of the strawberry puree. Mix well and then cover bowl.
Chill overnight, and then follow your ice cream machine directions on making the finished product. We added diced fresh strawberries (3/4 cup) right before the ice cream was finished to give it some texture.
Picture
Photo by Northwildkitchen
0 Comments

Enhanced Grilled Cheese

8/23/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Okay, we have all been there, midweek challenge. Maybe you had back to back meetings all day, maybe you were engrossed in a major project, or maybe just maybe you forgot to think about planning dinner. I particularly felt like I fell in all three of these categories. The best thing I love about a grilled cheese sandwich is the creative elements you can add to it. I mean we are talking about cheese here. Glorious gift to man (I apologize to those who can not have lactose, and I am deeply sorry). 

Now I am going to discuss a few of the enhanced elements added to tonight's sampling platter. First off,.. two words.. BACON JAM. No, you didn't not mistake what I said. Seriously, when I bought this stuff from Trader Joe's I was a little hesitant. But then tonight, I took the leap, and boy was I not disappointed. This stuff is amazing and paired with a sliced Vermont Cheddar.... one word...... Delicious. 

The second element was using Amour Spreads Tomato Jam. I'm in ​love with this stuff. Not too sweet, with subtle hints of cumin. This jam pairs with eggs and toast, and well just about everything. Tonight, I combined it was a dill Havarti, and the little one was licking her fingers by the end. 

Now my third element was sliced avocado. As I sat there looking at my ingredients, I had an AH HA moment. I am making a BAT grilled cheese. What's that you ask? Well my dear friends, that would be a Bacon, Avocado, and Tomato sandwich. No words to describe this combo, only the guilt of, "did I really just take an extra helping?"  

Now I will give you a little hint of something that I discovered. And I need you to promise me right now that there will be no shaking of heads, or "I'm not trying that". Because as I have mentioned before, the little one will try anything once, so it is a good lesson to live by. I use Mayo (not miracle whip... shaking head) instead of butter. First off, it is so much easier to spread, secondly it always leaves an amazing golden crust on the sandwich. Plus, if we are going to break down mayo into ingredients, you are using an oil (fat) so why not give it a try. I promise you it is like NOS for your grilled cheese (a nice extra boost). 

Anyway, I hope that you can try out your own flavors and combinations. This is great to see what you have and experiment with different tastes. A raspberry jam and gouda cheese would probably be amazing, but alas, that may be for another night.

Enjoy! 
Picture
0 Comments

    Author

    Busy balancing life's daily obligations, while making sure to  stop and enjoy the simple moments.

    Follow me on instagram
    ​@kitchensherers

    Archives

    September 2016
    August 2016

    Categories

    All
    Condiments
    Dairy
    Dessert
    Fruit
    Gluten Free
    Gluten-free
    Italian
    Main Dish
    Pork
    Salad
    Sandwich
    Side Dish
    Summer
    Vegetables
    Vegetarian

    RSS Feed

Copyright ©2016 KitchenSherers, All Rights Reserved

  • Recipes
  • About
  • Contact
  • Inspriations