Guajillo Chile & Oyster Mushroom Fettuccine: Recipe #2 from the Nueva Cocina Mexicana Cooking Class

I thought I would post the second recipe from the Nueva Cocina Mexicana Cooking Class we took last Saturday (the first post on the class is here); the Guajillo Chile & Oyster Mushroom Fettuccine. I really loved the combo of flavors in this recipe and the chilies add more spice flavor than actual heat to the dish so it passed the Mom test too. I was not familiar with the Guajillo Chile, which is a dark reddish-brown chile with more of a mild to moderate heat. (GourmetSleuth has a good write up and photo here).

Guajillo Chile & Oyster Mushroom Fettuccine

Chef Adriana Torres
4 servings

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12 oz dry fettuccine pasta

16 oz oyster mushrooms

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 guajillo chilies, seeded, de-veined and cut in to thin strips

3 Tbsp Butter

1/4 cup white wine

2-3 cups milk (1/2 & 1/2 is recommended)

salt

pepper

2 oz Manchego cheese, grated

cilantro (optional)
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Directions: Cook pasta in boiling water (with a pinch of salt and olive oil) for approximately 11 minutes or until pasta is "al dente". Meanwhile, saute garlic and chilies in butter, add the mushrooms. Cook for a few minutes until mushrooms begin to soften. Add wine and cook until it evaporates, then add milk. Mix in the pasta, toss it around and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, garnished with cheese and cilantro leaves (optional).

Buen Provencho!

Results: Very quick and simple to make with a nice creamy texture and good flavor. You could substitute other mushrooms for the oyster mushrooms with good results. I do like a bit more cheese on mime too--but doesn't a bit more cheese make everything better?! I expect you could find the chilies in a Latin market (we are lucky to have a great one here that I will post about one of these days) or even in a well stocked grocery store or on-line if all else fails.

BTW: Regarding our class and the recipes, Chef Adrianna spoke a lot about Chef Patricia Qunitana, an acclaimed chef, teacher and author in Mexico. She started the first culinary institute in Mexico and runs the restaurant Izote in Mexico City. (Her bio is here) The recipes we cooked--modern Mexican with traditional ingredients combined with non-traditional ingredients and cooking methods are inspired by Chef Qunitana.

Happy Aloha Friday! Have a wonderful weekend!

Easy Cheese Danish--Barefoot Bloggers Bonus Recipe for October

Congratulations to Val of More Than Burnt Toast who had the most referrals to the Barefoot Bloggers website in October. Val chose something that probably never would have occurred to me to try, Easy Cheese Danishes from The Barefoot Contessa at Home (Page 218) and I am glad she did as these Danishes were easy to put together and delicious.


Easy Cheese Danish
The Barefoot Contessa at Home, Ina Garten
Makes 8 Danishes

8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
2 extra large egg yolks, at room temperature
2 T ricotta cheese
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 - 1 T grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
2 sheets (1 box) frozen puff pastry, defrosted
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Place the cream cheese & sugar in bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment and cream together on low speed until smooth. With the mixer still on low, add the egg yolks, ricotta, vanilla, salt, and lemon zest and mix until just combined. Don’t whip! Unfold one sheet of pastry onto a lightly floured board and roll it slightly with a floured rolling pin until it’s a 10×10 inch square. Cut the sheet into quarters. Place a heaping tablespoon of cheese filling into the middle of each of the 4 squares. Brush the border of each pastry with egg wash and fold two opposite corners to the center, brushing and overlapping the corners of each pastry so they firmly stick together. Brush the top of the pastries with egg wash. Place the pastries on the prepared sheet pan. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry and refrigerate the filled Danish for 15 minutes. Bake the puff pastries for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan once during baking, until puffed and brown. Serve warm.


Considering I struggled a bit with getting my last puff pastry together for the Apple Turnovers, I was anxious to redeem myself. I think the key for me and puff pastry getting along is for me not to roll it. I had a much better experience with the sheet I didn't roll, but just cut, topped and folded. I did half of my Danishes with the cream cheese mixture and the other half I topped the cream cheese with some papaya-pineapple jam. Both were delicious, the cream cheese has a lovely, light lemony flavor, but the ones with the jam were our favorites. Mom and I baked this on Saturday night and shared one, then reheated the rest over the next couple of days for breakfast. (Ina notes in the cookbook version of the recipe to reheat at 350 degrees F. for 5 minutes). The nice thing about this recipe is that the Danishes were just as good if not better reheated. The only thing I would do differently is to add a bit more jam and even the cream cheese filling since the puff pastry holds it so nicely.


Great choice Val--this one is a keeper and would be great for an easy breakfast when you want to impress your guests but don't want to go to a lot of time and effort. Because this is an optional recipe, not all the Barefoot Bloggers may post it but you can check out who does by going through the list here. If you love Ina and want to join Barefoot Bloggers--check us out here. Hopefully you will join in time for my recipe choice, Vegetable Pot Pie that we will post next Thursday. (Guess what I'll be doing this weekend!?!)

Cooking Class--Nueva Cocina Mexicana & a Recipe for Risotto with Veracruz Style Snapper

My Hawaii Foodie Friend Michelle from The Accidental Scientist and I decided it would be fun to take some cooking classes together at Kapiolani Community College. We signed up for three classes; one on Mexican cooking, the second on fish and the third on learning about and tasting chocolate. Our Mexican cooking class was this past Saturday. Entitled: Nueva Cocina Mexicana (roughly translated to mean New/Fresh/Modern Mexican Cooking), the class covered mixing traditional Mexican ingredients with global ingredients, recipes and cooking styles.

Our instructor Adriana Torres led a very hands on class and had us watch and then prepare three different recipes: Risotto Veracruz Style with Snapper, Rock Cornish Hen in Adobo Sauce and Guajillo Chile and Oyster Mushroom Fettuccine.

Some of our ingredients below:

Michelle was a great and fun partner to cook with and we quickly divided tasks and got at it. The kitchen was hot, the knives a bit dull, and the pans not quite the right sizes but we managed to turn out the three dishes and have a blast doing it. (although we think we need to bring our own plates next time to plate the food and take better pictures!)

We got to learn about cooking with dried chilies--something neither of us has had much experience in. We also took home a lot of food which made a couple of meals for my Mom and I. I actually liked all three recipes and would try them again, maybe with some modifications. I think my favorite was the risotto (I loved all the flavors and I am a sucker for anything with capers!) so I'll post that one now and maybe the others later on. Plus this is now my second risotto so I am getting to be quite the pro at it! ;-)

Risotto VeraCruz Style With Snapper

Chef Adriana Torres

4 servings (as appetizer)
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Risotto:

6 oz Aborio rice

1/4 cup onion, finely chopped

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/3 cup white wine

4 cups hot chicken stock or broth (approximate)

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Veracruz Style Snapper:

4 oz snapper filet, cut in small

1 1/2 cups canned, diced tomatoes

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/3 cup onion, finely chopped

2 bay leaves

1 Tbsp capers

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 chilies gueros, or pepperoncini pepper, finely chopped

1 1/2 Tbsp green olives, thinly sliced

oregano

water

salt

pepper

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp butter

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Directions:
For Veracruz Style Snapper: Heat oil in pan, add onion and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, cook for 2 minutes, add oregano, bay leaves, capers, chilies and green olives. Mix all ingredients. Add water if needed. Add fish. Let simmer for about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Reserve.

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For Risotto: Heat oil in a medium size pot, saute onion until translucent. Add aborio rice and stir until all grains are coated. Add wine and cook until reduced. Add hot broth to cover, continue cooking over medium heat until liquid is absorbed, adding 1/2 cup at a time, stirring often. Cook for approximately 20 minutes. When rice is tender yet firm, add Veracruz Style Snapper. Stir to combine with rice. Remove from heat and add olive oil and butter. Serve immediately. Buen Provecho!


Note: Chef Adriana noted that although we made the dish as an appetizer, it could easily be an entree by leaving the fish whole or in larger pieces, cooking it in the sauce and topping the risotto mixture with it at the end.
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Thanks Michelle for being a blast to hang out and cook with! I can't wait until next month's fish class.

BTW: Michelle is bravely taking the Eat Local Challenge this month and has some excellent and interesting posts about the challenges of eating locally in Hawaii. She is making me very depressed about the state of the majority of foods here but I am learning a lot through her detective work and I admire her for doing the challenge! Check out her "Labels that Lie" post here.

Blog Party #39, Gross Anatomy--Bloody Fingers & Pink Eyes

Its Blog Party time again--the best virtual get together EVER, hosted by the clever Stephanie at Dispensing Happiness. Blog Party is a time to make an appetizer and a drink inspired by the theme of the month. This month we are celebrating Halloween big time by making tricks and treats inspired by body parts--it's Gross Anatomy time!

Lots of things to get inspiration from for this theme but I decided to take a trip back to my childhood and a favorite "scary" story my big sister used to tell me; "Bloody Finger!" These Bloody Fingers are breadsticks, made to look like fingers with marcona almonds as nails, dipped into a blood red marinara sauce, flavored with garlic, herbs and Parmesan cheese.

I come from a large family (I am the youngest of 8 siblings) but my oldest sister Phyl will always have a special place in my heart. Eleven years older than I, she was old enough to mother me, take care of me and entertain me, especially at night on the long car trips we used to take packed into a station wagon like sardines. She had a good selection of stories, but "Bloody Finger was my favorite, so I will tell it to you (as best as I can remember it as I was probably about 5 or 6 the last time I heard it) as I share my Blog Party treats.

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Bloody Finger

It was a dark, stormy night and a man was home alone. The phone rang, on the other end there was some heavy breathing and a voice said (in creepy scary voice), "Bloody Finger coming, 10 blocks away!" The man quickly hung up the phone and a few minutes later it rang again. "Bloody Finger coming, 9 blocks away!" A few minutes later, it rang again. "Bloody Finger, coming, 8 blocks away!"

Bloody Fingers (Breadstick Fingers with Marinara Dipping Sauce)

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1 can Pillsbury Breadsticks (or your favorite breadstick recipe)

Marcona almonds

1 egg

1 Tbsp water

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Separate breadsticks into 12 pieces, then using a sharp knife cut each piece into 2 vertical strips. (For 24 longer fingers leave like this, for 48 shorter fingers cut each thin strip in half horizontally). Mix egg with 1 Tbsp water to form a wash. Using a pastry brush, cover each breadstick lightly with the egg wash adding a bit more at one end. Press a Marcona almond firmly over the egg wash on the end of each "finger" to form a fingernail. Bake fingers for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool and serve with dipping sauce.

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The man is beginning to get frightened, the phone rings again. "Bloody Finger coming, 7 blocks away!" A few minutes go by and again it rings. "Bloody Finger coming, I'm 6 blocks away!" And again...."Bloody Finger coming, 5 blocks away!"

Marinara Dipping Sauce

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1 Tbsp olive oil

3 gloves garlic finely chopped

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1 (6 oz) can tomato paste

1/4 cup water

1 Tbsp dried oregano

1 Tbsp dried parsley

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

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In a small sauce pan, heat oil, add garlic and cook until lightly brown. Add tomato sauce and paste, water, oregano, parsley and simmer for 10 minutes. (Add more water if necessary to reach desired dipping consistency). Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in grated Parmesan and serve warm with breadstick fingers.

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The man is starting to panic, Bloody Finger is coming and he doesn't know what to do. Ring! "Bloody Finger, 4 blocks away!" Ring! "Bloody Finger, I am 3 blocks away!" Again it rings! "Bloody Finger, 2 blocks away!" Ring! "Bloody Finger and I am 1 block away!"

What better for a "Gross Anatomy" drink--the Pink Eye! A refreshing blend of Cranberry Juice, Prosecco and an "eyeball" floater.

Pink Eye

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1 splash Ocean Spray Cranberry juice

prosecco (champagne, sparking wine or sparkling cider will work as well)

"eyeball" (I used wrapped chocolates with a eyeball pattern but you could use lychee, peeled grapes or plastic eyeballs for a similar effect)

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In a champagne or wine glass, place your "eyeball", pour in a splash of cranberry juice and fill to rim with prosecco or bubbly drink of your choice.

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The phone rings again. "Bloody Finger, I am coming down your street!" Ring! "Bloody Finger, I am almost at your house!" Ring! "Bloody Finger I am coming up your driveway!" The doorbell rings and through the door he hears "Bloody Finger, I am at your front door!"

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The man stands shaking, not knowing what to do. There is a knock at the door. "Bloody Finger, let me in!" He finally decides he can't stand it anymore as the voice calls, "Bloody Finger! Bloody Finger!" He opens the door....

"Hi! Can I borrow a bandaid?"

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Hey what did you expect?! I was very young and easily entertained! It was better in a dark car going down the freeway with my sister telling it--but you get the picture!

Here is to another great Blog Party and a toast to Stephanie, our wonderful hostess. (I can't wait to see what great dishes she comes up with!). The date to RSVP for Blog Party is this Thursday, October 16th and the roundup will be posted after Saturday, October 18th so check out all the Gross Anatomy treats here. Happy Halloween Everyone!

Foodie Event: Roy's 25th Anniversary Charity Walk-Around

I am a lucky girl, I say this for a lot of reasons but the latest reason is the event I attended last Sunday for Roy Yamaguchi's 20th Anniversary. If you are not familiar with Roy Yamaguchi, he is a prominent Hawaii Chef, known as being one of the pioneers of Hawaii Regional Cuisine and has a couple of cookbooks and 35 restaurants in the US, Japan and Guam. The event was for a great cause, the proceeds going to culinary education in Hawaii and it featured well known chefs from Hawaii, Japan and the US mainland including Iron Chef Hiroyuki Sakai, Floyd Cardoz (Tabla, NYC), Alan Wong (Hawaii) and one of my chef idols (OK maybe one of my chef crushes), the wonderful Ming Tsai (Blue Ginger, Boston). Big thanks to my friend Yuri, whose son is in the Culinary Arts program at Kapiolani Community College. She was going to be out of town that night but wanted to buy tickets from her son to support the event and ended up getting tickets for my Mom and I as well as two other friends.

Sunday, a balmy warm evening with a light breeze, found us hungry, event wineglass in hand, wandering through the two tents set up to sample all the small plates the chef's were offering. It would take me forever to go through the entire evening so I will just hit the highlights. Also it was difficult managing plates, a wineglass and a camera so excuse the photos--I wish I could have gotten more.

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First stop, Iron Chef Sakai. Although I was always a bit more of a Morimoto fan, Iron Chef Sakai was a favorite too. He was very friendly, giggling and posing for pictures. He offered a cold pea/potato soup with shrimp; good, refreshing but not a "wow" dish, however he more than made up for it by his sunny personality.

The next booth was my man Ming Tsai, thronged by an adoring crowd, trying to watch the Red Sox game on a small player, and serving one of our favorite dishes of the night--a melt in your mouth bite of miso butterfish accompanied by a buckwheat soba sushi roll.

There was an oyster bar from Hog Island Oyster Company.

Two kinds of foie gras. One under beef...

And one over beef...

Floyd Cardoz from Tabla (and author of One Spice, Two Spice) had another favorite dish (and a great table setting with pink sari cloth and dried lentils). His pork belly with a smoky taro and a vindaloo sauce was wonderful.

Even famous chefs who weren't cooking that evening were there hanging out. Here is Chef Nobu Matsuhisa with my friend Natalie and I. (I made his black cod with miso here)

The food just kept coming

and coming... and coming...

But where were the desserts?

All in all it was a great evening, with fun company, wonderful food and a chance to meet and greet some great chefs and see them in action, all for a good cause. (Even if there were no desserts!) And I am still crushing a bit on Ming!

It's Aloha Friday: An Award and You REALLY Do Need To Try This!

I love this food blogging community--the kindness, the support and all the recognition that everyone provides each other--it just makes you feel good. The wonderful Laurie at That's Not What The Recipe Says was sweet enough to pass on an "E for Excellence Award" to me, which means a lot when it comes from such a talented cook, writer and all around foodie! Laurie started blogging about the same time I did and she has some really incredible recipes and great photos on her blog. One of these days I am going to make her Holupki (Ukrainian cabbage rolls) now that I know how to make Kaldomar (Swedish cabbage rolls) so we can have a global cabbage roll battle (just kidding about the battle but her rolls really do look incredible--I think she would win!)

As always, the tough part is choosing who to give the award to as there are so many excellent bloggers out there deserving this award. I am going to go ahead and give it to two great blogs by two new blogging friends of mine. One of the reasons Laurie passed on the award to me was because of the COOK THE BOOKS club that I am helping to host so it seems fitting to pass the first two awards to the wonderful bloggers who really kicked the book club into gear:

Rachel of The Crispy Cook: Rachel has my dream job, owning and running a used and rare book store. She is a wonderful cook and a voracious reader so we have a lot in common. She cooks gluten free and has some wonderful recipes on her blog.

Johanna of Food Junkie Not Junk Food: Johanna is an archaeologist, lives in Athens Greece and has an amazing blog written in both English and Greek. The photos and food on her site are incredible.

Stop by these two great blogs for a visit and to congratulate them and consider joining us for COOK THE BOOKS and reading our first selection; La Cucina: A Novel of Rapture by Lori Prior. You have until December 15th to read the book and come up with a recipe inspired by your reading. I promise it will be fun! For more details on COOK THE BOOKS go here.

Thanks again Laurie for the wonderful award!

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On another note:

OK, I know I have posted about this before (like here and also here) and it isn't really a "recipe" but you really have to try this combo NOW for a easy dessert or snack. You probably have all you need for it--a baguette, good olive oil, dark chocolate (or chocolate chips) and some sea salt. I made it for a snack for Mom and I tonight and although she was lukewarm about trying it because she thought it sounded strange, she ended up really liking it.

It's simple; toast the baguette, drizzle olive oil on it, place some chocolate pieces or chocolate chips on top and place in microwave for 15-20 seconds until chocolate is melted and spreadable. Spread chocolate so it covers baguette and sprinkle some sea salt slightly over the top. Eat warm and enjoy.

Happy Friday Everyone! Max says whatever your idea of fun is, go do it this weekend!

Butternut Squash Risotto--Barefoot Bloggers

Time for another Barefoot Blogger's post and another great Ina Garten recipe--this one selected by the wonderful Rachel at Rachel Likes to Cook. Kicking off the fall season, Rachel chose Butternut Squash Risotto and I am beginning to believe that Butternut Squash is the new black! Its featured in this recipe, the one I chose for later in the month, several chefs have featured it in recipes on the Food Network, its in all the fall magazines and Giada's recently published cookbook, I found three recipes for it including one for a risotto with vanilla. Yep, Butternut Squash is definitely the new black this season!

I actually was looking forward to making this recipe quite a bit for two reasons; one I have never actually made risotto and the second reason is I have been long prejudiced against most squash and consider it among my least favorite foods and I have been working on willing myself to like it more. I was a little worried that I would have the patience and fortitude needed to focus on stirring and adding the broth to the Risotto (I am basically a somewhat lazy, impatient cook) but Ina rates the recipe as easy and the Weekend Lunch episode with this recipe aired a few days before I made it and it looked doable.

You can find the recipe either in Barefoot Contessa Family Style on page 86 or here at the Food Network.



Butternut Squash Risotto
Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients
1 butternut squash (2 pounds)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
2 ounces pancetta, diced
1/2 cup minced shallots (2 large)
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice (10 ounces)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon saffron threads
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Peel the butternut squash, remove the seeds, and cut it into 3/4-inch cubes. You should have about 6 cups. Place the squash on a sheet pan and toss it with the olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, tossing once, until very tender. Set aside. Meanwhile, heat the chicken stock in a small covered saucepan. Leave it on low heat to simmer. In a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the pancetta and shallots on medium-low heat for 10 minutes, until the shallots are translucent but not browned. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains with butter. Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes. Add 2 full ladles of stock to the rice plus the saffron, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Stir, and simmer until the stock is absorbed, 5 to 10 minutes.


Continue to add the stock, 2 ladles at a time, stirring every few minutes. Each time, cook until the mixture seems a little dry, then add more stock. Continue until the rice is cooked through, but still al dente, about 30 minutes total.

Off the heat, add the roasted squash cubes and Parmesan. Mix well and serve.


Results: Incredible! Ina does it again! The combo of flavors; pancetta, squash, cheese, saffron and the creamy texture made this recipe a winner. The color is gorgeous too! I did find it cooked almost 20 minutes more than listed on the recipe but it was worth the wait and the texture of my risotto was pretty close to perfect I think. It made plenty for dinner for my Mom and I, as well as heated up well the next day for lunch. We served it with some fresh beans, cooked by Mom with some bacon and onion. (Yep, bacon and pancetta in one night--living dangerously!)



Great, great recipe pick Rachel! I only hope my pick of Vegetable Pot Pie to be posted on the 4th Thursday of this month is as good. (I am a little scared about making the pastry crust!) Check out the other Barefoot Bloggers' risottos here and if you love Ina and want to cook and post her recipes each month along with us, come learn more about the Barefoot Bloggers here.