Quick, Fabulous Mushroom Soup for the 5:2 / Fast Diet

Well, having been under the weather for the last month hasn't exactly helped my waistline any. I haven't really gained, but having had shingles has greatly reduced my ability to exercise. Feeling flabby. What it has done, though, is given me a little time to think up ways to make my fast days tastier. Since I am a firm believer in the Fast Diet (aka 5:2) which allows me the eat nicely on the 5 days I don't fast for my health, I'm always looking for tasty and filling foods to have on the 2 days I eat less. Usually this is Meaty Monday, but since it is a Fast Day for me, you're getting what I'm having today...

I love this mushroom soup. I love mushrooms, actually. I wouldn't make this with plain white button mushrooms as they are a little too bland. If they're all you can find, I recommend making it much more highly seasoned to make up for it. It's delicious, nutritious and quick. You need a pot, and a blender.  And a microwave if you want to garnish with a few mushroom slices...You can use a regular or immersion blender, although I prefer the totally smooth consistency you'll get with a regular container blender. Makes 4 good servings at less than 50 calories each.

Quick, Easy, Fabulous Mushroom Soup for the 5:2 / Fast Diet

Note: for a vegetarian version of this soup, replace the chicken bouillon with vegetable or mushroom bouillon, and the Worcestershire with either vegetarian Worcestershire or Pickapeppa sauce. All of the products I used are gluten free, but please read the labels if you are eating gluten free.

Creamy Mushroom Soup for the 5:2 Diet

Serves 4

1 lb. cremini mushrooms, 2 sliced, the rest chopped coarsely
4 cups water
1 packet chicken bouillon (I like Trader Joe's)
2 crushed garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Chopped parsley or basil for garnish (optional)

1. Place the sliced mushroom in a small microwaveable dish, with a teaspoon of water, cover and microwave for 1 minute at high. Set aside. (you can omit this entirely if you don't want to pretty-up your bowl of soup.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine all the remaining ingredients through the Worcestershire, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook , covered until the mushrooms are softened, about 10 minutes.

3. Carefully puree the cooked soup in batches, or with an immersion blender. Taste for seasoning, and  add salt and pepper as desired. Serve garnished with the microwaved mushroom slices on top and a sprinkle of fresh herbs.

Meaty Monday: Molasses Soy Mushrooms and Steak

Ok, I know it really should be steak and mushrooms, not mushrooms and steak. But the mushrooms that are supposed to be the side with the beef are so delicious and savory they have to have equal star  billing.

The marinade is an easy homemade teriyaki that uses molasses to give it a big, deep flavor. i like blackstrap  molasses, but you can have whatever kind you have in the pantry. Most of us have unsulphured molasses and that will do fine. I like to use molasses because it packs a punch flavor-wise, but lets me sugar content in this marinade way down, and still promotes good browning and flavor. The molasses caramelizes as it cooks with the soy, making both the mushrooms and the steak absolutely swoonworthy.

The beef this week was a nice, grass fed, top round  steak cut as a London Broil. You all have heard me go on about how flank is the only true London broil, but if I had to buy a grass fed flank steak, not on sale, I'd have need a second job to pay for it.  Since we eat much less beef now than before, I try to buy only grass fed, not feed lot beef. Better for us and for the environment. Tastes better too. Helps when you can find it on sale, too.

Note: This is a reasonably low carb dish using stevia and molasses, as the molasses adds very little sugar to the marinade, and most of it is not actually eaten. If you are not watching sugar too closely, go with the honey. You'd have to bend the rules a bit to call this Paleo, though.

Molasses Soy Mushrooms and Steak

Molasses Soy Mushrooms and Steak

Serves 4

2T Molasses, blackstrap or unsulphured
1/3 cup gluten free tamari soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced garlic (jarred ok)
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger (jarred ok)
1/2 teaspoon Asian chili garlic paste or hot sauce
Liquid stevia, sugar or honey, equivalent to 1 tablespoon
1/4 cup dry sherry
Approx. 1.75 lb. beef top round London broil, grass fed preferred
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lb. sliced baby portabella (cremini) mushrooms

1. Mix all ingredients through the sherry in a small bowl, and then set aside 1/4 cup of the mixture in a small, covered container in the fridge. Place the meat in a zip top bag, and pour over the remaining marinade, turn the meat a few times, and chill for at least 8 hours and up to 24.

2. About 2 minutes before you want to eat, remove the meat from the fridge, discard the marinade in the zip bag, and preheat a grill to high. In a 12" fry pan, preferably non stick, heat the olive oil, and add the sliced mushrooms. Stir to coat with the hot oil, and turn the heat under the pan to medium. Cook the mushrooms in the oil until they give up their liquid, and when that has nearly evaporated, add the 1/4 cup of reserved marinade. Stir until its nearly evaporated, and then cover, turn off the heat and set aside in a warm spot.

3. Grill the meat over high heat about 4 minutes per side for rare or longer  to your taste. Let the meat rest about 5 -7 minutes before slicing thinly against the grain. Reheat the mushrooms if necessary, and serve with the beef. Enjoy!

A Silver Palate Cookbook Riff...Chicken Blanketed with Mushrooms & Speck

Sometimes a little disorganization pays off. A few weeks ago while looking for an entirely different cookbook on my shelves, I came upon my old, early 1980's copy of The Silver Palate Cookbook. I love this book, and being easily distracted, I sat on the floor in the hall and started thumbing through it, remembering old favorites, and the dinner parties I threw with this book propped on the counter as I cooked. Some books I consider seminal cookbooks for me; The Silver Palate was one, right next to it on the shelf lives the Frog / Commisary Cookbook another one.

Being young, newly married, and having bought our first home (mortgage rates were at 12% back then), we ate a lot of chicken, a lot. It was cheap, and you could dress it up, and I did. One of my absolute favorites was "Chicken Baked on a Bed of Wild Mushrooms". Wild mushrooms seemed so sophisticated back then, and I could squeeze the food budget enough to get them at the Mushroom Palace, over in Devon on a fairly regular basis. Just to make that recipe.

It was tempting to just make that old recipe as written, just one more time and I had the basic ingredients on hand, but I had other things, too, that I wanted to use for dinner that night. So my chicken, isn't on a bed, it's under a blanket. A creamy blanket of mushrooms and smokey pork (Italian speck) for good measure.

Chicken Blanketed with Mushrooms & Speck

Chicken Blanketed with Mushrooms & Speck

Inspired by "Chicken on a Bed of Wild Mushrooms" from The Silver Palate Cookbook.

Serves 4-6

1 oz. dried wild mushroom (porcini or morels)
1-1/2 cups boiling chicken stock
3T olive oil, divided
1-1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved through the middle and pounded flat
4 oz. of speck or lean smoked bacon, in 1/4" dice
8 oz. sliced cremini mushrooms
1/2 cup finely chopped shallot
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup creme fraiche
1/2 cup sweet vermouth
2 tsp. dried marjoram
salt and pepper


1. Place the dried mushrooms in a heatproof bowl, and pour the boiling stock over them. Press down on them if needed to submerge. Let stand 10 minutes.  Spray a 4-quart shallow baking dish with cooking spray. Heat 2 T of the oil in a large, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, and brown the chicken on each side for about 2 minutes. Remove the browned chicken to the sprayed baking dish, arranging evenly over the bottom of the dish. Turn off the heat under the skillet. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

2.  Remove the dried mushrooms from the stock,  set the stock aside, and chop into bite-sized pieces if necessary. Turn the heat under the skillet to medium-high, and add the last tablespoon of oil. Add the speck to the pan, along with the fresh mushrooms, the rehydrated dried mushrooms, the shallots and the garlic.  Cook until the fresh mushrooms give up their liquid. 

3. Add the creme fraiche, the vermouth, and 1 cup of the reserved stock. Add the marjoram, and season with the salt and pepper to taste. Cook uncovered until there is only about 1 cup of liquid left in the skillet. 

4. Carefully spoon the speck and mushroom mixture over the chicken, and pour over any remaining juices. Cover the baking dish with either a lid or foil, and place in the oven. Bake about 40 minutes. 

My Apologies to Weight Watchers: Creamy Balsamic Chicken & Mushrooms

I'm apologizing to Weight Watchers because I took an old recipe I found on their site and doctored it up.   Two or three years ago I found the grandaddy of this recipe on the Weight Watchers site while looking for a way to use up a surplus of fresh mushrooms. As written, it was pretty good, extremely easy to make, if a bit spare. But that's what you get, if you cruise diet sites for inspiration. You can see the original here. If you want to lose weight, you don't get there eating rich, luxurious dishes.

Unfortunately, the things that elevate this from a merely good recipe to unctuous deliciousness are things that add too many calories to make it a really good on-program dish (if you are following WW) unless you are willing to sacrifice a few points for the sake flavor and savor. I am willing to do that, because every now and then, especially you are watching your weight, you need something really GOOD. This is it.

Thanks to a shopping oversight this week,  both Chuck and I bought sliced cremini mushrooms,  so I had way too many mushrooms living in the fridge. Mushrooms are quite perishable, and unless you store them where they are fairly dry, they'll get slimy and stinky in no time flat. I am absolutely sure of this from experience.  Outside of the mushrooms, everything else in this recipe are things I always have on hand, and you probably do, too, especially if you are making my homemade crème fraîche. Most of us have a few boneless, skinless chicken breasts lurking in the fridge or freezer, as well as some Dijon mustard and balsamic vinegar in the pantry.

Quick enough for a weeknight meal, and nice enough to serve to company, every good home cook should have this goodie in their repertoire.

Quick Creamy Balsamic Chicken & Mushrooms 

Creamy Balsamic Chicken & Mushrooms

This is a recipe where mise en place is important, since the cooking part goes fast,  make sure you measure out all the ingredients before starting to cook.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 6-7 oz. each, pounded out to about 1/2" thick
4T Balsamic vinegar, divided
2 teas. Dijon mustard
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1tes. dried thyme
2T extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup sliced shallot
2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
2 teas. Stonewall Kitchen Chicken & Pork Rub
1/2 cup dry white wine or dry vermouth
1/2 cup chicken stock, or water
1/3 cup crème fraîche or heavy cream

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, mix 3T balsamic vinegar, the Dijon mustard, the garlic and the thyme. Place the chicken into a gallon size zip top bag and pour the balsamic mixture over the chicken, zip the bag shut, forcing out as much air as possible.  Smoosh it around to distribute the balsamic marinade as evenly as possible over the chicken. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 10 hours. More time is better.

2. When ready to cook, heat the olive oil in a large, 12" nonstick pan over medium high, and remove the chicken from the bag (keep the marinade). Brown the chicken on the top, smooth side, and then turn and cook until nearly cooked through, about 6-8 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside on a plate.

3. Lower the heat in the pan to medium low, and add the mushrooms and shallots,  cooking until the mushrooms begin to lose some moisture. add the wine, stir up any brown bits in the pan and cook until the liquid is about half gone. Add the chicken stock and the Chicken and Pork rub, and simmer about 2 minutes. Stir in the crème fraîche, slide the chicken breasts into the mixture, cover and simmer about 2-3 more minutes.

For Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner: Spinach, Mushroom & Bacon Strata

Sometimes, I get lazy. Even though I love to cook, often I'd rather hang out with a cup of coffee in the morning, or with a glass of wine in the evening and not have to fuss much over a meal for the assembled family. This usually happens over the holidays or on vacation. Unfortunately, I also have a solid case of Italian Guilt, instilled most thoroughly by my mother years ago that I haven't been able to shake. Its forced me to find something delectable to serve the gang that won't force me to run around the kitchen at the last moment. Usually it ends up being a make ahead dish, and a good one. A strata.

In case you aren't up on just what a strata is, I'll explain. A strata is a layered dish, involving bread, eggs and usually cheese, plus whatever other goodies (generally pre-cooked) you want to add in. As it bakes, it puffs, almost soufflé-like and then settles into a rich, puffy, creamy dish that you can have for pretty much any meal. You can make them savory or sweet, both versions are great additions to your cooking repertoire.

The nice part is that a strata is much better if you assemble it hours in advance, or the night before, and let it set in the fridge until baking time. It bakes in about an hour, which gives the cook time for that second cup of coffee, or glass of wine. For breakfast or brunch with a savory strata, all you need is some fruit on the side, and maybe some pastry; for lunch or dinner, a good salad or a side vegetable, or a cold soup before the strata  is nice. If you choose to make a sweet one, it makes a wonderful breakfast  or a fabulous dessert for a light meal. I promise to give you a sweet strata recipe later into the Autumn.

I've been making this version for years, but I've adopted a technique from Cook's Illustrated recently that adds some weights on top of the casserole while it chills. I think it really does improve the texture. I always chill the assembled strata at least 8 hours before baking to be sure all the stale bread has had a chance to soak up the eggs and cream. I just make it up before I go to bed, and let it rest while I do.

Adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Spinach, Mushroom and Bacon Strata
Serves 6-8

Spinach, Mushroom & Bacon strata. Cheesy and easy to make ahead,
and so delicious1

Ingredients

8 slices of stale Italian bread, sliced 1/2" thick
4T unsalted butter, softened
6 slices of smoked bacon, roughly chopped
8 oz. sliced cremini mushrooms
1 small onion, chopped fine
1 10oz. box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
8 oz. Gruyere cheese, shredded
6 large eggs
1-1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup light cream
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. kosher salt
ground black pepper
cooking spray or butter for pan

Instructions

Spray an 8" square baking dish with cooking spray or butter liberally. Spread one side of each slice of bread with a half tablespoon of butter, and set aside. In a large non-stick frying pan, cook the bacon until just crisp, and then remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain, leaving the bacon fat in the pan. Add the onions and mushrooms to the fat, and cook until the onions are soft, about 5-6 minutes over medium high heat. Add the spinach to the pan and stir until heated through. Turn off the heat, and mix in the bacon. Set the pan off the hot burner.

Place 4 slices of the bread in the bottom of the prepared pan, buttered side up. Distribute 1/2 of the spinach mixture over the bread evenly, and then sprinkle over 1/3 of the shredded Gruyere. Arrange the remaining 4 slices on top of the cheese, more or less in the opposite direction from the bottom slices. Top with all the remaining spinach mixture, and then 1/2 of the remaining cheese.

Whisk together the eggs, the milk, the cream, the nutmeg, kosher salt and black pepper to taste, and por the mixture carefully over the top of the bread and spinach mixture in the baking dish. Place a large  sheet of plastic wrap flush on top of the top cheese layer, and place a small, heavy frying pan ( or as Cook's suggests 2 1-pound boxes of sugar) on top of the plastic wrap to weigh down the bread. Chill it weighed down for at least 3 hours, or overnight. When ready to serve, preheat the oven to 325ºF, remove the weights and the plastic wrap and sprinkle over the remaining Gruyere cheese and bake for 55-65 minutes, until browned and puffed.  Serve hot or at room temperature, and remember, it will deflate just about as soon as it comes out of the oven, and that's supposed to happen...