Stuff it.

There are very few appetizers that seem more classically American to me than stuffed mushrooms.  Growing up, whenever we were at a restaurant in Worcester and they had stuffed mushrooms on the menu, I thought I was eating someplace fancy. But as I got older and moved away from Worcester, I never really saw them on menus anymore. I guess they went out of style. 

They are ready for the party.

I briefly subscribed to Cooking Light after college and there was a section in each issue where readers would send in their recipe for healthier, or at least less-caloric, versions of classic recipes. One issue had a stuffed mushroom recipe, I gave it a try and it turned out great. I have made them for lots of events since then. However, this lighter version contained cottage cheese and that just didn't seem appropriate here, so I made it to a bit more luxurious for this meal. I also switched out the white button mushroom for baby portobello (cremini) ones, since they have more flavor and a meatier texture. The stuffing comes together quite quickly in a pan and, once ready, easily fills the stemless holes of a couple dozen mushrooms. Maybe it's time for a comeback?  Serve them warm or at room temperature.

Stuffed mushrooms
Ingredients
1 green pepper, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, diced
24 cremini mushrooms, stems removed
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
2/3 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
smoked paprika (pimenton, if you can get it, is the best)
grated parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preparation
1. Remove the stems from the mushrooms and discard them (I used about 3 packages of whole creminis).  Place the stemless mushrooms hole-side up on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray first.

2. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Melt the butter in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the diced onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Add the salt and pepper. Saute for 5-7 minutes, until they are tender.

3. Once the onion/pepper/garlic mixture is soft and cooked, stir in the sour cream and Worcestershire sauce, the mixture will become a little soupy at this point.  Turn off the heat and add the panko breadcrumbs.  Stir to combine.  The mixture should become quite thick, if not, keeping adding a tablespoon of bread crumbs one at a time until it does.

4. Let the mixture cool for a few minutes, then spoon generously into the holes of the cremini mushrooms.

5.  Sprinkle pimenton and grated parmesan cheese over each stuffed mushroom.  Drizzle a small amount of oil on each mushroom as well.  Put in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, until the mushrooms have softened and released their water and the tops are golden brown.

A dip for sharing.

When I was younger, I used to watch my sister devour Helluva good onion dip with some fritos and wonder what was so good about it. On Christmas eve, my mother would mix a packet of Lipton french onion soup mix into a container of sour cream and serve it to our family with some crackers - it would disappear quickly.

Because it took me a couple decades to try anything beyond a turkey sandwich, I didn’t discover this incredibly delicious salty/savory/creamy combo until my 20’s. And although I loved it, as I became more aware of the food I was eating and how it was made, I wasn’t crazy about all the processed items in the store bought dip (nor the calories). So I thought I would try to make it from scratch (using less caloric ingredients) to see if it tastes as good – and let me tell you, this is so much better. It also seemed a great match for my updated American classics menu.

To go along with, I took a risk and tried to make my own Saltines. I figured the salty, crispy bites would complement the creamy dip. After a lot of online research, I came across a recipe I could adapt that seemed fairly easy. I was nervous since I don’t consider myself a baker, but the recipe is foolproof and your food processor does most of the heavy lifting. I would definitely make these again, even without this dip. They aren’t quite the consistency of saltines, they were a little more crisp, but still quite great for the amount of work it required. The unexpected bonus here is how competent you will feel using a rolling pin.

Caramelized Onion Dip

Ingredients
1 large onion (I used a sweet onion), diced as finely as you can do
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil (not extra virgin)
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2-3 tsp fine sea salt, divided
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup greek yogurt

Preparation
1. Heat butter and oil over medium heat until butter has melted. Add diced onion to the pan and stir to coat. Add the thyme, 1 teaspoon of salt, and the sugar.

2. Reduce heat to low and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Onion should be a dark amber color when they are caramelized. Set aside to cool.

3. Combine sour cream and greek yogurt in a medium bowl. Add cooled onion mixture and stir to combine.  Stir in a teaspoon of fine sea salt and check for seasoning. If you think it needs it, add another half teaspoon and taste again.

4. Chill mixture in fridge for at least an hour (overnight is fine). Take it out of the fridge about 15-20 minutes before you wish to serve. It feeds 6-8 people quite well as an appetizer.

“Saltine” crackers*

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons melted butter
4 to 8 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
  
Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. Put the flour, baking powder, and baking soda into your food processor and pulse it a few times to blend and aerate a bit.

3. Add the melted butter and fine sea salt. Pulse again until well blended.

4. Now, add the water a tablespoon at a time, pulsing several times after each addition, until you get a ball that sticks together. Be careful not to add to much water. (FYI, I needed all 8 tablespoons, but the amount can depend on the flour used and the humidity in your kitchen).

5. Spill the dough ball out on a floured surface and roll until about an 1/8th of inch thick. Make sure to keep the surface floured and to rotate your dough as you go to prevent it from tearing.

6. Place the rolled out dough on a rectangular cookie sheet. Using a pizza cutter or a ravioli wheel, cut the dough into squares that are roughly an inch squared. Alternatively, you could roll into a circle and place on a round metal pizza pan.

7. Using a fork (make sure to flour the tines) dock the dough to keep out some of the air bubbles. Using a pastry brush, brush the top of the dough with a small amount of melted butter, or plain water, and sprinkle over the coarse sea salt, breaking it up between your fingers as you go.

8. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes.  Make sure to start watching after 10 minutes. When done, the edges will be brown.

9. Remove the crackers from pan to a plate and let them cool, breaking up any of them that weren’t perfectly cut by the cutting wheel. It makes about 25-30 crackers.

*I adapted the cracker recipe from the one found on this website: http://www.halfhourmeals.com/recipe/homemade-saltine-crackers#reviews

Cocktail time.

I am a firm believer when entertaining that you should have a beverage (preferably a cocktail) ready to go when your guests walk in the door.  For this blog, since we will not know two of the guests, I think that makes it even more important to have something chilled for their arrival. 

I love collecting vintage barware.

We are also big fans of drinks you can make ahead of time, with only a splosh of champagne or soda to be added when filling the glasses.  It's nice to do this since everyone will be having the same drink and can chat about it - and it means you are not making 6 different drinks right off the bat.  And, this is just me, but I firmly believe that it should not be an "up" kind of drink.  By that I mean, a martini drink in a martini glass.  Although pretty to look at it, they can make already nervous people even more so because the likelihood of spilling the drink in that kind of glass is much higher than say a highball.  Plus, shaking 6 martinis is just not what I want to do right when the guests arrive.

I came across a drink that fit the bill in the October issue of Bon Appetit magazine.  You have to pre-mix it in a pitcher, it had a fun color, and required sparkling wine (my favorite).   Plus it called for a slightly exotic ingredient (Campari).  Perfect.  The drink was a hit and I would make it again in a heartbeat, especially around Christmas or New Years.  One of our guests actually loves Campari (her family comes from Italy) so that was an added bonus, but it got me thinking that maybe for the next one in addition to asking for any dietary restrictions/allergies, I may ask them to pick a favorite liquor and I can build our pre-dinner drink off that.  It breaks the ice the night of the party, gets the creative part of my brain working, and hopefully makes them feel more comfortable when they arrive since they know what will be in it.

Next time I should remove the price tags.

I called the cocktail "Red State" in a tongue in cheek tribute to one of our guests, who comes from a fairly conservative part of the country.  It's a take on the famous Negroni.  Enjoy!

Red State
Makes 14-16 drinks

In a cocktail pitcher, combine:
1 1/2 cups rum (we used Brugal Anejo, but any amber or even silver rum would work here - I would not use a spiced one)
1 cup Campari
1 cup sweet vermouth

Chill the filled pitcher in the fridge for several hours or overnight.  When guests arrive, fill as many tom collins style cocktail glasses as you need about halfway with ice.  Pour enough of the mixture to come up about halfway in the glass.  Fill the rest of the glass with a good (no need for great) sparkling wine (I used Gruet because I love it and its price point).  The entire pitcher will require 2 bottles of sparkling wine to make all the drinks.  Garnish with an orange twist if you so desire.

For 6 people, we only used about half the cocktail mixture in the pitcher, so it will easily make enough drinks for a larger dinner party or gathering for sure.  

Success!

Well, the first You Pick Two is in the books. And based on the response of the guests and my partner, it was a resounding success. That’s not to say everything went perfectly—one of our cats managed to get on the counter and threaten a bowl of dip at one point—but my nerves about entertaining strangers were completely unnecessary. Our guests were not only fantastic people, but they seemed to enjoy themselves. For this post, I wanted to give some background on our guests and why we asked them to come.

Our dining space.

When we approached our friends Amanda and Jeff to be the first guests, we did so knowing that they love great food and good company. Amanda worked on Capitol Hill before attending law school with my partner and then becoming a successful big firm lawyer. Jeff has worked in the information technology field for such venerable establishments as the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and good ol’AOL (back when it was flourishing). They have a large network of contacts and friends in the area. So that connectivity, combined with their love of great food and wine, made them our first choice to “pick two” people we did not know to join us at our table.

And they did not disappoint. Their “pick twos” turned out to be a congressman, Patrick McHenry, and his wife, Giulia. Amanda works with Giulia at her law firm, where she consults as an expert economist for their telecom issues. Patrick, in a twist of fate, is a congressman that represents the part of North Carolina where my partner grew up and where his entire immediate family still lives. It’s a fairly conservative corner of the world that includes a portion of Charlotte’s suburbs and extends to the foothills of the Appalachian mountains. I was a little nervous because I thought Patrick would adhere to a much more conservative ideology than I, but ideology was completely irrelevant as the night unfolded.

In fact, in some ways, I found that I had more in common with Patrick and Giulia than I do with some of my friends here in DC. They have had very similar life experiences, have traveled extensively, have enjoyed remodeling their homes, and have worked to maintain lives outside their professions (much like my partner and I). They also face similar challenges in getting family members to fully accept their relationship, which is never good to hear, but I can certainly relate to that.

Amanda and Jeff lounge after dinner with our dog Buck (blue tick coonhound) and their dog Charlotte (lemon hound).

But what about the food? How did it turn out? Judging by the response of everyone, all courses were successful. There was very little food leftover and my game plan left me with plenty of time to talk and socialize with the guests. A couple unexpected items cropped up, but they ended up not being significant—I will speak to those when I get to the recipes for each course over the next few weeks. I will post every few days since there is a decent amount to get through and show you (I took lots of photos). But I was thrilled that the concept was solid, everyone enjoyed themselves, and I didn’t feel completely burned out at the end of it. I can’t wait until the next one.

First You Pick Two event!

I found that an easier way to host a dinner party is to first come up with a theme.  I have always been a huge fan of American comfort food - it's accessible, tasty, and can be high end if done right.  I think our guests will really appreciate it based on their line of work as well.  So, here we go:

MENU

Updated American Classics

November 2, 2013

 

Cocktail

Red State

Rum, Campari, sweet vermouth, sparkling wine

Starters

Caramelized Onion Dip

Homemade saltine crackers

Stuffed baby bellas

Panko, pimenton/parmesan topping

Main

Aromatic Beef Stew

Grass-fed beef, crispy celeriac/potato cake,

organic carrots, star anise

Side

Sauteed organic green kale

Garlic chips, sultanas

Sweet

Banana cream pie

Organic bananas, chocolate crumb crust,

salted caramel sauce

I believe you should always have a special cocktail to start, it helps make choices easier for guests who can be a little nervous or overwhelmed in a new place and it breaks the ice. This one is an adaptation of a Negroni-type drink that I saw in Bon Appetit last month. I have named it Red State in honor of our guests.

The menu will take a couple days to prepare - today I will start on the stew since I think braises and stews taste better if they had a day to rest in the fridge. It also gets a big item out of the way early and frees me up tomorrow to work on the appetizers and dessert. I will make the crust tonight for the dessert though, the recipe comes from the famous Momofuku restaurant "Milk" cookbook that I have read a lot about. I was looking basically for a modern interpretation of a banana cream pie and came across it on the web. It had great reviews - so with a few slight changes and a special touch (salted caramel sauce) I think we have a winner.

 
I already have my table setting worked out thankfully, which is a huge weight off my shoulders. I wandered around Crate and Barrel for an hour last Monday and decided on a simple setting that includes a Chilewich runner, assorted small gourds, and a few footed hurricane candles. I have to say it looks pretty nice. I will have lots of photos, plus the recipes and other ideas, next week!