Morels

Can you spot the morel? Yeah, they’re incredibly hard to find among all those pinecones. We recently went morel hunting, and we found one—count ’em—one single morel for all our efforts. Hardly enough for dinner, but I did add it to a gratin of Creamed Leeks. It’s one of those things, experienced mushroom hunters always keep their foraging spots closely guarded secrets, so we’re just guessing where and when to go. But luckily my morel cravings didn’t go unsatisfied for long—what I didn’t find in the woods, I found at the farmers market.


By the way, morels and asparagus are a perfect springtime pairing.


Seared Rib-Eye Steaks & Steamed Asparagus with Morel Cream Sauce*
Printable Recipe

2 1 to 1 ¼-inch thick rib-eye steaks
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 ounces morel mushrooms, sliced into bite-size pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons red wine
¼ cup beef broth
½ cup heavy cream
2 sprigs thyme
1 pound asparagus, trimmed of woody ends

Season the steaks generously with salt and pepper and set aside at room temperature for about half an hour.

Heat a medium, heavy sauté pan over high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add the oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the steaks and cook without disturbing for 4 to 5 minutes, or until they release from the pan and are crusty and brown. Using tongs, turn the steaks and continue to cook over high heat another 2 to 3 minutes, or until the desired doneness. Moisture will just begin to accumulate on the surface of the steaks when they are medium-rare. Remove the steaks to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm.

Reduce the heat to medium, add the morels to the pan, and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, or until soft. Add the garlic and sauté another 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Add the wine and simmer for a minute or so, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a heat-proof spatula. Add the broth, cream, and thyme and simmer another 6 to 7 minutes, or until thickened and saucy. Meanwhile, blanch the asparagus in a large pot of boiling, salted water for 3 to 4 minutes, or until tender (but do not shock). Using tongs, transfer the asparagus to a paper towel-lined plate and drain for about a minute. Discard the thyme from the sauce, stir in any accumulated juices from the steaks, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Arrange the steaks and asparagus on individual plates, divide the sauce among them, and serve immediately.

Serves 2 to 4. Fresh morels only appear in the spring, so make the most of their fleeting season while you can. The sauce is plate-licking good—my husband proved it—and also fantastic with seared salmon.


*For everything you ever wanted to know about searing, plus dozens of fabulous searing recipes, look for my book Seared to Perfection in stores in the fall of 2010.

And just in case you didn’t find the morel, it’s right there.

Orzo

If I had to pick a favorite pasta shape, I’d probably go with orzo. My mom used to add it to chicken soup when I was a kid. Now I like to eat it plain, with nothing but a dab of butter and a grinding of pepper, or I’ll toss in some cooked broccoli and grated Parmegiano and call it dinner. It’s the texture of orzo that I really like. And the fact that you don’t have to twirl it around a fork, you can just shovel it in. It’s high on my list of comfort foods.

I think that orzo is the most misunderstood pasta shape of all. It troubles me when people are confused about it, when they’re convinced it’s rice. I feel I must come to its defense against this common mix-up—orzo isn’t rice, it’s pasta. Pasta, really. I just want people to understand.

But—and here’s where it gets complicated—even though orzo is pasta, it can be cooked like rice. It’s especially good cooked like rice pilaf. That’s exactly what I recently did, since it’s right in the middle of spring, and I’m having to dream up lots of different and delicious ways to prepare all the beautiful asparagus I keep bringing home from the farmers market.


Orzo Pilaf with Asparagus & Prosciutto
Printable Recipe

1 quart chicken broth
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
1 pound orzo
4 to 6 cloves garlic, minced
3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, julienned
1 pound asparagus, trimmed of woody ends, thinly sliced on a bias, and blanched
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Grated Parmegiano-Reggiano, for serving

Bring the broth to a simmer in a small saucepan. Meanwhile, heat a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add the butter and swirl to coat the bottom of the pot. Add the orzo and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, or until golden brown. Add the garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Add the hot broth and simmer, stirring frequently, for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the orzo is al dente. Stir in the prosciutto and asparagus and season to taste with salt and pepper. Arrange on individual plates, top with plenty of Parmegiano, and serve immediately.

Serves 4 to 6 as a main course. Toasting the orzo gives it complex nutty flavor. Be aware that the broth will bubble up furiously when you add it to the orzo.

Hundredth Recipe!

Here it is dear readers, recipe number 100 on Hungry Cravings! I just celebrated my first blogiversary a couple of weeks ago, and now I’ve reached another milestone—the triple digits! All in just over one year! I mean 100 recipes—that’s enough to fill an entire cookbook. But there’s a whole lot more where that came from, and I feel like I’ve only just begun!

So I thought that for nice, big round number like 100, I need something really memorable. Something intense and indulgent. Something completely over the top. Something chocolate, of course! Because I always celebrate with chocolate. Readers, for each and every one of you, I have a smile, a warm hug, and a bowlful of my hundredth recipe, Dark Chocolate Ice Cream.


Enjoy!


Dark Chocolate Ice Cream
Printable Recipe

7 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped or 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 ½ cups milk
6 large egg yolks
¾ cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place the chocolate into a medium bowl, place the bowl over a medium pan of simmering water, and heat, stirring frequently, until melted. Bring the milk to a bare simmer in a small, heavy saucepan. Whisk together the yolks and sugar in a large bowl. Continue whisking while adding the hot milk in a thin stream. Place the bowl with the yolk mixture over the pan of simmering water, and heat, whisking constantly, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Immediately strain through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl and whisk in the chocolate, cream, and vanilla. Chill over an ice bath until ice-cold. Transfer to an ice cream maker and churn until frozen. Transfer to a container and freeze for 4 to 6 hours before serving.

Makes about 2 quarts. For the best texture, enjoy within a day or two of churning.

Stuff It

If a vegetable has a hollow, pocket, hole, or cavity, we cooks will find a way to stuff it.


Sausage & Pine Nut Stuffed Artichokes with Tomato Sauce
Printable Recipe

4 large artichokes, trimmed
Kosher salt
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ pound bulk Italian sausage, crumbled
1 small yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh marjoram
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
6 ounces day-old French bread, cut into ½-inch cubes
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
1 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup grated Parmegiano-Reggiano
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup white wine
1 recipe Basic Tomato Sauce

Cook the artichokes in a large pot of boiling, salted water for 18 to 20 minutes, or until tender. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the artichokes to a paper towel-lined plate. Let rest for about 20 minutes, or until cool enough to handle.

Meanwhile, heat a large, heavy sauté pan over medium-high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add the oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the sausage and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, tossing about 2 times, until nearly cooked through and crusty and brown in spots.* Reduce the heat to medium, add the onion, and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, or until soft. Add the garlic, marjoram, and rosemary and sauté for another 1 to 2 minutes, or until fragrant. Mix together the bread cubes, sausage mixture, pine nuts, broth, half of the Parmegiano, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper in a large bowl until all of the liquid has been absorbed.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Ease each artichoke open with your fingers, spreading the leaves wide without breaking them off. Pull out the tough purple leaves from the centers, and scoop out the chokes using a melon baller. Season the artichokes with salt and pepper and divide the stuffing among them, lightly packing it in. Transfer the artichokes to a roasting pan, top them with the remaining half of the Parmegiano, and add the wine to the pan. Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake for about half an hour, or until heated through. Uncover and bake for another 8 to 10 minutes, or until the Parmegiano is golden brown. Meanwhile, bring the sauce to a simmer. Divide the sauce among individual plates, arrange an artichoke atop each pool of sauce, and serve immediately.


Serves 4. Artichokes appear at farmers markets in the springtime. Trimming them for cooking is surprisingly easy. First cut off the tip with a serrated knife, and then, using a pair of kitchen shears, snip off the thorny end from each leaf. Unless you will be cooking the artichoke immediately, it’s a good idea to rub any cut surfaces with a lemon wedge to prevent browning. If the artichoke has a stem, peel it, and once the artichoke has been boiled, cut off the stem, dice it, and add it to the stuffing. Before stuffing the artichoke, be sure to remove every last bit of the fuzzy choke—it bears that name for good reason. A baguette is the perfect choice for the stuffing. And if you don’t have marjoram, substitute fresh oregano.


*Searing the sausage in this manner adds tons of flavor to the finished dish. For everything you ever wanted to know about searing, plus dozens of fabulous searing recipes, look for my book Seared to Perfection in stores in the fall of 2010.

Homemade Tomato Sauce

Tomato sauce is so much better when it’s homemade.

Basic Tomato Sauce
Printable Recipe

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 28-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes
1 large sprig basil
2 sprigs oregano, optional
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Heat a medium, heavy saucepan over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add the oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the onion and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, or until soft. Add the garlic and sauté for another 1 to 2 minutes, or until fragrant. Add the tomatoes (along with their liquid), basil, and oregano, if desired, and simmer, stirring occasionally and breaking up the tomatoes with the back of a spoon, for about 2 hours, or until thickened and saucy. Let cool slightly and puree in a food mill using a fine disc. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Makes about 1 ¼ quarts. An all-purpose red sauce, fantastic with pasta or anything else that requires marinara. To perk up the long-cooked flavors of this sauce, you can stir in a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a grated clove of raw garlic right before serving. Keeps for several days tightly sealed in the refrigerator.

Another Asparagus Salad

I stocked up on Oregon asparagus at the farmers market again this week. It’s amazingly juicy and sweet right now and definitely the best I’ve ever had. I love it in different salads, like this one with orange and sesame. I can’t remember what inspired it anymore, but this particular salad has been one of my most popular ever since I came up with it years ago.

Asparagus-Orange Salad
Printable Recipe

2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons soy sauce
¼ teaspoon dark sesame oil
1 clove garlic, grated
½ teaspoon grated ginger
¾ pound asparagus, trimmed of woody ends, cut on a bias into 1 ½-inch pieces, and blanched
Suprêmes from 1 orange
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

Whisk together the honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger in a small bowl. Toss together the asparagus, suprêmes along with their juices, sesame seeds, and dressing in a large bowl. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve immediately.

Serves 4 as a side dish. This healthy salad is especially delicious with stir-fried shrimp or grilled salmon fillets.

Rhubarb and a Happy Mother's Day

Last week, Mom flew in all the way from Texas for an all-too-rare visit. Usually Dad comes too, but he stayed home this time. Although we missed him, this visit was just for the girls.

We had quite a week together, full of shopping, cooking, eating, and more shopping! We hit every store we could think of, some of them twice. It was a ball trying on dresses and shoes and snapping up great tableware bargains. Of course, for me, the best shopping trip was to the farmers market. I would rather squeeze the tomatoes than squeeze my feet into the trendiest shoes of the moment.

But the most fun we had together was in the kitchen. This time, we ate in more than we ate out, and we spent an entire day in the kitchen cooking our farmers market booty. Mom had never had rhubarb before, so I made a pretty dessert of Ginger Panna Cotta, Rhubarb Mousse & Rhubarb Gelée Verrines. I put her to work shaving asparagus into paper-thin slices with a vegetable peeler for a Shaved Asparagus Salad. She complained and complained that shaving asparagus was absurd, that I was enslaving her—Mom can be a quite drama queen that way, but all the asparagus was done within 15 minutes, and the salad turned out great. And just for the record, I’m never a drama queen like that. Never. I’m sure my husband would agree.

The only disappointing thing about Mom’s visit is that she couldn’t stay for Mother’s Day. It would have been really nice to celebrate her in person. Mom, I miss you already! Thanks for everything, Mom, thanks for being you, and may your Mother’s Day be as sweet as you are.

And here’s wishing a happy Mother’s Day to all moms!


Ginger Panna Cotta, Rhubarb Mousse & Rhubarb Gelée Verrines
Printable Recipe

1 ½ cups milk
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon gelatin
2 ½ cups heavy cream
1 ¼ cups sugar
2 tablespoons grated ginger
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pound rhubarb, diced
2 ½ cups water
1 cinnamon stick
1 vanilla bean
8 sprigs mint, for serving

Measure ½ cup of the milk into a small bowl and slowly sprinkle over 2 ½ teaspoons of the gelatin. Combine the remaining 1 cup of milk, 1 ½ cups of the cream, ¼ cup of the sugar, and ginger in a small saucepan. Heat to a bare simmer. Whisk in the gelatin mixture and vanilla extract and strain through a fine mesh sieve. Chill over an ice bath until just beginning to thicken. Divide among 8 dessert cups. Refrigerate for about an hour, or until set.

Combine 2 cups of the water, the remaining 1 cup of sugar, rhubarb, and cinnamon in a medium saucepan. Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise, scrape out the seeds, and add both the pod and the seeds to the pan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, or until tender. Let cool slightly, discard the cinnamon stick and vanilla bean, and puree in a food mill using a fine disc. Let cool to room temperature and divide evenly among 2 large bowls.

Measure ¼ cup of the water into a small bowl and slowly sprinkle over 2 ½ teaspoons of the gelatin. Place the bowl of gelatin over a small pan of simmering water and heat until melted. Stir into ½ of the rhubarb puree. Whip the remaining 1 cup of cream to stiff peaks. Stir 1/3 of the cream into the rhubarb mixture, then fold in the remaining cream. Divide among the dessert cups. Refrigerate for about an hour, or until set.

Measure the remaining ¼ cup of water into a small bowl and slowly sprinkle over the remaining 2 teaspoons of gelatin. Place the bowl of gelatin over a small pan of simmering water and heat until melted. Stir into the remaining ½ of the rhubarb puree. Chill over an ice bath until just beginning to thicken. Divide among the dessert cups. Refrigerate for about an hour, or until set.

Top each with 1 of the mint sprigs and serve.

Makes 8 very generous servings. Can be made up to a day ahead of time and kept covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator. Also good topped with bits of candied ginger.


This verrine recipe evolved from another dessert I like to make—ginger panna cottas topped with rhubarb compote. To make it, simply prepare the ginger panna cotta layer as directed in the first step of the recipe. Cook the rhubarb as directed and let cool to room temperature, but don’t puree it. Top the ginger panna cottas with this rhubarb compote and serve.

First Blogiversary!

I can hardly believe it! It seems like just yesterday that I started serving up my cooking here at Hungry Cravings, but it’s already been a whole year. A whole year! And nearly 100 recipes! It makes my head spin just to think about it! Nearly 100 recipes (95 to be exact) may sound like a lot, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg, really. I have so many more recipe ideas—they’re swirling through my head constantly, keeping me up at night—that I’d like to share with you, dear reader, and I’m writing, writing away just as fast as I can. So thank you for reading about my little kitchen adventures, thank you for inspiring, supporting, and encouraging me along the way, and thank you for taking the time to leave me your comments. Please stay tuned for more! In the meantime, I feel like celebrating, I baked you a cupcake!


Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream
Printable Recipe

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Seeds of 1 vanilla bean
1 ¾ cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups milk, at room temperature
1 recipe chocolate Swiss Buttercream

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line 2 standard 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners. Sift together the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter, vanilla bean seeds, and sugar on high for 3 to 4 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time until thoroughly combined and then beat in the vanilla extract. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then ½ of the milk, then 1/3 of the flour mixture, then the remaining ½ of the milk, and then the remaining 1/3 of the flour mixture, mixing on low for only a few seconds after each addition until just combined, and stopping the mixer once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Do not overmix. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until the edges of the cupcakes start to shrink away from the pans and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for about 10 minutes. Invert onto cooling racks and finish cooling completely.

Transfer the buttercream to a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe onto the cupcakes in a decorative manner.

Makes 24 cupcakes. If you don’t have a pastry bag, simply spread the buttercream on the cupcakes, swirling decoratively, with a spatula. Cupcakes keep for 2 to 3 days in a tightly sealed container in a cool, dry place.

Swiss Buttercream

It’s so good, you could almost eat it by itself.

Swiss Buttercream
Printable Recipe

4 ounces egg whites
8 ounces sugar
1 ounce corn syrup
10 ounces (2 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Whisk together the egg whites, sugar, and corn syrup in the bowl of a stand mixer. Place the bowl over a medium pan of simmering water, and heat, whisking constantly, until an instant-read thermometer registers 141˚F. In a mixer fitted with a whip attachment, whip the egg white mixture on high until cooled to room temperature. With the motor running on high, add the butter a tablespoon at a time, whipping for a few seconds after each addition until just combined, and stopping the mixer once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Continue to whip on high until light and fluffy.

Makes more than enough to frost a layer cake or 2 dozen cupcakes. You can flavor this buttercream however you like. For vanilla buttercream, beat in 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract. For chocolate buttercream, beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract plus 5 ounces chopped semisweet chocolate or 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled slightly. Buttercream keeps for about a week tightly sealed in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature and rewhip until light and fluffy before using.

Wow, That's a Lot of Leeks

I found the most beautiful leeks at the farmers market. They weren’t on my shopping list, but I couldn’t resist. I immediately thought Creamed Leeks and picked out four of the fattest ones I could find. My husband looked intimidated by all those leeks, but I assured him that leeks are sweet and subtle, gentle even, comparing to onions. I served the leeks with our dinner. He just nodded his approval as he chewed, too busy to say anything. And the leftovers were fantastic tucked into Eggs en Cocotte.


Creamed Leeks
Printable Recipe

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 large leeks, pale parts only, sliced
1 cup heavy cream
Generous pinch freshly grated nutmeg
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Heat a large, heavy sauté pan over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add the butter and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the leeks and sauté for 14 to 16 minutes, or until soft. Add the cream and nutmeg and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, or until thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper, transfer to a bowl, and serve immediately.

Serves 6 to 8. This snappy side dish is rich and comforting. It’s a perfect match for steak, chicken, or salmon. Leeks tend to be very dirty, so rinse them thoroughly after you slice them. For a delicious variation, substitute crème fraîche for a portion of the heavy cream. Also wonderful as a gratin—simply transfer the Creamed Leeks to a buttered baking dish, sprinkle with grated Parmegiano-Reggiano, and broil until bubbling around the edges and golden brown on top.