photo courtesy freshcropmushrooms.com
I’m walking around picking basil and inhaling deeply………
It’s bad enough to come home from Europe with a bad case of jet lag. I know I have a lot of nerve complaining when I was just in paradise for nearly 2 weeks. But, I suppose it’s my Just Desserts – so to speak, another one of those great food metaphors.
This week has been a hard one for me (and I don’t expect anyone to feel sorry for me, not that you’d even think about it) – I woke up at 4 am, had to put on wool socks, went in search of fleece jackets and kept walking outside at 7am and 7pm and wondering where the sun was. In the early afternoon there is very nearly no sun on my patio – telling you how far the angle of the sun has moved down into the sky already. Can anyone really imagine how much difference there is between say, July 1 and September 15? Jeez, it’s scary!
Anyway, flying “backward” to the US left me in some sort of time warp – I feel like I lost a good two weeks of Summer – and so I went to work cleaning up my messy yard, actually started ditching some of my tomato plants and started wondering what to cook for dinner. I even went apple shopping yesterday and got some wonderful Honey Crisps from Melick’s after saying hello to Winston and feeding him some grass.
fresh-picked Honey Crisp Apples from Melick’s
Today is the second day I am having trouble finishing up my blogs from Italy. I am down to 1, maybe two on Florence and yesterday and this morning, I just can’t get them down on “paper.” I don’t know if it is because once I close the book on that trip I really do have to accept that it is over or if the change in light is already starving my brain for focus power. Ugh. I decided to suspend them for a couple of days till I felt more settled.
All of a sudden I am thinking about roasting meats and potatoes, changing over the flowers in some of my pots and window boxes and yes, accepting that it is no longer really Summer. While Autumn doesn’t formally arrive till Tuesday, there is no doubt that we are no longer in the season of Summer. I keep thinking of all those field hockey games I sat out in in Summit for years and it was hot until we left – at least early on in the season. What happened? Climate Change, Climate Change.
Yesterday afternoon I did some serious weeding and then headed out to the Farm to buy some new plants for the boxes on my side porch. I spent about a half hour surveying all the offerings before I settled on definite Fall colors. I really wanted something more transitional – sort of leaning still on the Summer side of the scale, but, seeing nothing reminiscent of Summer except some lettuces for Fall planting, I reluctantly acquiesced. I walked to my car with my head down, feeling beaten. I guess my little charade of pretending it was still sort of Summer wasn’t going to work. I’m not afraid to admit engaging in some self-delusion every once in a while. I could still grill a nice steak and have corn and tomatoes and basil, I told myself. Hrrrr-umph.
Maybe a little extra sunshine on my brain will help.
The recipe repertoire online has changed dramatically since I left here on 8/31. As I mentioned the other day I guess it is because once your kids go back to school then Summer is really over. By this time it can feel nearly frost-like in some climes and I remember being in Newport for the Food and Wine Festival (this weekend) and needing a light jacket.
I was a desperate for something, anything to help me to straddle – both the ocean between me and Italy and the seasons – one coming, one going. What could it be? Bingo – the Porcini mushroom – object of celebration – right now in Italy, at markets and in kitchens everywhere! Hoorah!
Anyway, cooking with Porcini Mushrooms is one way I can feel connected to my just-finished trip and also be in the moment here. Here’s a really great article that sums things up but just made me feel even more nostalgic 🙁 :
http://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/20/travel/fare-of-the-country-on-the-trail-of-the-wild-porcini-north-italy.html
Well, that helped a little but now I want to go back and go mushroom hunting. They say, and I believe them, that these are right behind truffles as being highly sought-after in Italy right now!
I saw Vic Rallo’s show the other night that featured these as well. You should search this out.
Porcini mushrooms can enhance just about anything you can think of in your kitchen. I love to add the reconstituted version to my scrambled eggs in the morning. Roasted meats, and game – yes. Quiche, soup, risottos, pastas, yes.
But perhaps my favorite recipe for these lovely and highly-sought after lovelies would be Chicken Marsala.
I have a great recipe I got from a friend about 35 years ago. I still love this recipe – and the accompanying salad dressing recipe was my house-staple for years.
Tyler Florence’s is another standout – http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/chicken-marsala-recipe.html
So, if you are looking for a satisfying entrée for this weekend or some cool evening just around the corner, then try one of these two – or go rummaging around in your cookbook repertoire and score some others.
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Chicken Marsala – adapted from Timothy Lowe and originally published in Family Circle Magazine 2/80
3 whole chicken breasts, split, skinned and boned
1-2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt, more to taste
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper, more to taste
3 tblsp olive oil
3 tblsp butter
1 small green pepper, cut into 1/4″ x 1 1/2″ strips
1 small onion, chopped (1/4 cup)
1/2 pound porcini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced (or 1 cup dried and reconstituted – reserve liquid!)
1 garlic clove, mashed
1 cup good Marsala wine
1 cup chicken broth
1 lemon cut into 6 thin slices
1. Flatten chicken pieces between sheets of wax paper with a rolling pin or wooden mallet. Pieces should be 1/4″ thick
2. Combine egg and milk in a shallow dish. Combine flour, salt and pepper on wax paper. Dip chicken pieces into egg mixture , then into flour mixture, to coat all sides. Repeat to use all the egg and flour mixture. Refrigerate for 2 hours and proceed to next step.
3. Heat oil and butter in a large skillet. Brown chicken pieces on both sides. Remove to platter.
4. Sauté green pepper, onion, mushrooms and garlic in skillet until barely tender. Remove to platter.
5. Add wine, chicken broth and reserved mushroom broth (if using dried porcinis) to pan; boil, uncovered for 10 minutes to reduce liquid.
6. Return chicken and vegetables to pan; heat thoroughly. Arrange on serving platter. Top chicken pieces with lemon slices. Serve with buttered noodles, tossed green salad and Italian Sweet-Sour Dressing.
And a nice crisp dry Italian Wine – Such as Soavé Classico!!!!!!!
Italian Sweet-Sour Dressing
Makes 1 cup
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar (use best quality)
2 tblsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp bottled hot pepper sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
Combine all ingredients in a jar with a screw top lid. Shake well. Refrigerate. Pour over mixed greens and toss.
little cuties from the yard:
self-sewn – and yes, the deer ate my pumpkin plants – so no chance of a-one!
