Pappardelle With Wild Mushrooms
With Thanksgiving over, I’ve switched to Winter Mode.
Winter Mode consists of uplifting meals whose main ingredients might include any or all of the following: pasta and/or noodles, cheese, butter, cream, and excessive liquid. Bacon makes a recurring appearance. As does chocolate. My preferred mode of cooking becomes baking. Or boiling. Boiling noodles, that is.
Of course, because our radiator goes on overdrive each and every night, we’re met with a rather bewildering dinnertime situation. To set the scene: we’re minimally dressed. No socks, no sweaters. We’re wearing t-shirts, shorts even. The window’s open—god, can we get some snow in here or something? (Just kidding, but I can’t wait!) While we eat, pools of sweat build up on our foreheads, right by our hairlines. (Why do I bother washing my hair?) My armpits start feeling damp, I’m blowing like crazy on each bite to cool it down.
It’s contradictory-feeling, the heat, and confuses my body greatly. I’m craving fats and proteins, but responding to the stuff adversely once I get it.
But it’s alright. There’s ice cream in the freezer, the perfect after-dinner aid. Armed with a heaping bowl each, we can dangle our feet on our fire escape and contemplate the following day.
To counter the richness, there are mushrooms.
In my estimation, mushrooms are the perfect stand-in for meat. They’re portly and satisfying, with their own irresistible flavors to boot. Plus, they’re not bad on the eyes. (Can tofu boast such a quality? I think not.)
I like shiitake mushrooms the best, but I like mixing them even more. This wild mushroom pasta serves them up simply, with a liberal sprinkling of parmesan cheese and parsley. I think the trick is to not overdo it on the pappardelle, which has the tendency to dry out the dish. While the original recipe called for an approximate one-to-one ratio of pasta and mushrooms, I would halve the heavy (albeit delicious) pappardelle and even increase the amount of mushrooms just a tad.
That way, you’ll really taste the garlicky mushrooms but get to savor the luscious pappardelle as well.
My body can cope with that.
PAPPARDELLE WITH WILD MUSHROOMS
Adapted from The Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver
Serves 2
Ingredients:
- 12 oz. mixed mushrooms
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- Dried red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper to taste
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- up to 8 oz. pappardelle
- 1/2 stick (2 ounces) unsalted butter
- a small handful of grated Parmesan cheese
- a handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Directions:
Brush off dirt from the mushrooms and slice thinly. In a very hot frying pan, add the olive oil, then the mushrooms. Let them fry fast, tossing once or twice, then add the garlic and red pepper flakes with a pinch of salt (season lightly, Jamie instructs, as a little really brings out the flavor). Continue to fry fast for 4 to 5 minutes, tossing regularly. Then turn the heat off and squeeze in the lemon juice. Toss and season to taste.
Meanwhile cook the pasta in boiling salted water until al dente. Add to the mushrooms, with the parmesan, parsley and butter. Toss gently, coating the pasta with the mushrooms and their flavor. Serve, scraping out all of the last bits of mushroom from the pan, and sprinkle with a little extra parsley and Parmesan.
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Lemon Thyme Scones with a Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze
Well hello Storm Sandy. The winds and the rain have begun. I am not sure how badly we will be hit and whether or not we will lose power with this storm, but in preparation I made some treats. I made some scones since they are quick and easy. I chose lemon and thyme flavors because sometimes I need a snack a bit more on the savory side, especially if I am drinking yerba mate with my in-laws.
Most of these ingredients probably already exist in your pantry and fridge, so you can make them tonight.
I love the smell of lemon zest. Sometimes my sister-in-law throws some in the yerba mate kind of like adding lemon to a tea. It really enhances the flavor of the yerba leaves.
Just look at this pretty ball of dough all decorated with lemon zest and thyme leaves.
You really don’t need to put down a lot of flour, so the mess is minimal. If you roll it out on a cutting board, you can rinse is off in the sink and wipe it down with a sponge.
If you use a pizza cutter, the pieces of dough will come out more uniform and you will get nice clean edges.
I hope everyone on the East coast stays safe during this storm. We will probably be heading to the basement later today. See you all later.
Lemon Thyme Scones with a Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze
by The Sweet Chick
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients (8-10 scones)
For the scones
- 2 cups flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 6 tablespoons cold butter
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon thyme leaves
For the glaze
- 4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Crisco vegetable shortening
- 3-4 tablespoons milk
Instructions
For the scones
Preheat oven to 425º F.
By hand or with a stand mixer, mix flour, sugar, and baking powder. Cut up butter and add to flour mixture.
In a separate bowl mix egg and milk until blended and add to the flour mixture.
Add lemon zest, lemon juice and thyme, continue to mix until all is well incorporated. The batter will be a dough like consistency.
Take the dough and roll it into one big ball. Place the ball onto a lightly floured surface and flatten out to about an inch thick.
With a knife or pizza cutter, divide the dough circle into equal triangles. I made eight big scones, but you can make 10 smaller ones if you like.
Separate the triangles and place on a cookie sheet.
Bake at 425º F for 15 minutes or until tops are golden. Then take out of oven and place on a cooling rack.
For the glaze
With a mixer, blend together cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth.
Then add lemon juice, milk, and shortening and mix well. If you want the glaze to be thinner, add a little more milk. I made mine a bit on the thick side.
Spread the glaze onto the cooled scones and sprinkle with extra lemon zest if you like.
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