Mushroom & Arugula Salad

This was Flora's delicious meaty-mushroom salad at the Spring Supperclub. Via epicurious.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Champagne vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup finely chopped shallots (4 small)
• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 pound whole fresh portabella mushrooms, stems discarded
• 1/2 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded
• 1/2 pound fresh cremini mushrooms, trimmed
• 3/4 pound fresh chanterelle mushrooms, trimmed
• 1/2 pound baby arugula, or regular arugula torn into bite-size pieces (16 cups)
• 2/3 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano shavings (made with a vegetable peeler from a 2-oz piece)

Preparation:

Whisk together vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, and shallots in a large bowl. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking constantly until combined. Reserve half of vinaigrette in another large bowl and add mushrooms to remaining vinaigrette. Toss to coat and marinate 5 minutes.

Transfer mushrooms to another bowl with a slotted spoon, discarding marinade.

Heat lightly oiled grill pan over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then grill mushrooms in 3 batches, turning frequently, until golden brown, about 5 minutes per batch. Transfer as grilled to a cutting board and cool to room temperature.

Cut portabellas into 1/2-inch-wide wedges, then halve shiitake and cremini mushrooms and cut chanterelles (if large) lengthwise into 1/2-inch pieces.

Transfer mushrooms to reserved vinaigrette, tossing to coat, then add arugula, cheese, and salt and pepper to taste and toss again.

Cooks' notes:

• Mushrooms (marinated but without additional vinaigrette) can be grilled and cut 4 hours ahead and cooled, uncovered, then kept, loosely covered, at room temperature. Pour off any juices before adding to vinaigrette.
• Vinaigrette keeps, covered and chilled, 1 day.
• Cheese can be shaved 1 day ahead and chilled in a sealed plastic bag.

Barman's Zucchini Fritters

2 zucchini cut diagonally into 1/4' pieces
2 eggs
2 Tbl milk
1/4 cup seasoned flour
veg oil

Place the zucchini slices in a sealed zip-lock with the seasoned flour and shake well. Shake off extra flour and dunk each piece into the egg/milk mixture until well coated. Cook in the hot veg oil 1-2 min on each side until golden/brown. Place on paper towels and blot to remove excess oil. Dip in your fav sauce or salsa and eat.

Jon's Shrimp Tacos

12 small soft taco shells (flour preferably ;))

1 lb medium shrimp

1 avocado

sauce:

1/3 cup olive oil

4 tablespoons of chipotle pepper paste (more/less depending on smoke preference)

2 tablespoons of cayenne pepper (more/less depending on heat preference)

1 cup of brown sugar (more/less depending on sweet preference)

1/2 of one lemon

1/2 of one orange

salt to taste

sautee shrimp til cooked, then add sauce till warm, and serve with raw taco/avocado

Heidi's Tomate, Jamon Y Manchego Tapas

Ingredients:
-wedge of Manchego cheese
-1/4 lb jamon, thinly sliced

-10 plum tomatoes, halved
-head of garlic
-olive oil
-baguette (whole grain)
-salt,pepper
-Oregano, about 1.5 tsp
-1 tsp Smoked paprika

~preheat oven to 350. Place tomato halves on baking sheet, sprinkle with olive oil, salt,pepper and oregano. Take garlic, slice off top of garlic, revealing all of the garlic cloves. Place it in tin foil, pour a few glugs of olive oil on it and warp it tightly. Place that on the baking sheet as well, roast everything for 1.5 hr to 2 hrs.
~take everything out of oven, let cool. squeeze out the soft garlic into a bowl, and pour in the remaining olive oil from the tin foil. add smoked paprika. smash up with a fork add more olive oil if you'd like.
~chop up the tomatoes to the size you like, add more of the seasonings to taste. we like paprika so we're heavy on that.
~slice up baguette, and shmear the garlic olive oil mash on each slice. Give it a quick toast in the oven.
~Assemble. add tomatoes to each slice, then a slice of manchego, then a slice of rolled up jamon.
ENJOY!

Umberto's Chorizo y Calimotxo

Step 1) Buy expensive chorizo that taste good.

Step 2) Heat the chorizo in a cast iron with some olive oil.

Step 3) Yum.

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Step 1) Buy some inexpensive wine that tastes like shit.

Step 2) Mix equal parts Coca-Cola Classic with the wine.

Step 3) Jrunk.

Etan's Moroccan Matbucha

Ingredients:
4 cans of diced tomatoes (28 oz each)
1 bag frozen diced green peppers (10oz), or similar amount fresh chopped
1 bag frozen chopped/diced onions, or similar amount fresh chopped
cayenne pepper (amount depends on how spicy you want it - i usually put about 2 teaspoons)
============
Prep:
Dump the tomatoes with the liquid into a pot and turn flame on high.
When the liquid start boil, lower the flame to medium.
While it's cooking, pour a bit of olive oil in a frying pan and saute the onions and peppers until light brown. Pour the onions and peppers into the tomatoes.
Keep stirring otherwise it'll stick to the bottom of the pan (if you feel that it's sticking, lower the flame a little).

It takes about 2 hours to cook.

After you turn off the stove pour the cayenne pepper (it's very strong, so pour a little at a time and taste) and stir WELL otherwise some might end up with a hunk of cayenne in their mouth.

Papa Barman's Hummus and Pita

(note: not edited so you get the full impact of Barman's foul mouth)

Here's my dad's hummus recipe and the pita recipe I used. The measurements for the hummus are a little archaic and if you use fresh chickpeas as opposed to canned like I did then you have to do most of it by taste. The ratio of chickpeas to tahini is around 2:1.

1/2 a can of tahini
2 cans of chickpeas
2-4 cloves fresh garlic
1-2 lemons (juice)
salt to taste

Pour the full can of tahini into a blender and mix well, pour half back. Add chickpeas and blend well until smooth, adding some of the chickpea water as needed for a paste-like consistnecy. Mince garlic and blend, keep in mind that the garlic will be stronger as it has time to sit in the humus, so if it's going to sit overnight use a little less than you think you want. Add and mix the juice of 1-2 lemmons to taste. Salt to taste. Rub it all over your naked chest and enjoy ;-)


Pita (12 pitas)

1pk yeast (scant tblsp)
3-4 cups all purpose or whole-wheat flour
1 tbl olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup warm water

Mix yeast with warm water in a large mixing bowl until yeast is dissolved. Add the oil and salt and mix well. Add and stir in flour aboout 1/2 a cup at a time until it becomes difficult to stir and the mixture becomes doughy like a drunken fat girl's ass after a frat party.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead well for 10 min adding flour as necessary to make a firm, elastic dough (you can also use a food processor or mixer w/ a dough hook). Place the dough in a grease bowl and cover for about 1 1/2 or until the dough doubles in size.

Turn dough onto floured surface and cut into 12 equal peices. Using hands roll peices into a ball about the size of a ping-pong ball on steriods, cover them with a towel and let sit for 5 min.

Using a rolling pin or some other long, hard, cylindrical object, roll each ball firmly into a 6" flat circle (do this on a floured surface). Cover the discs with a towel and let sit for 15 min. During this time, preheat your oven and backing stone, tiles, or cookie sheets to 500 degrees.

Frisbee-golf your pita discs into the oven and bake for 3 min. Now you've got some motha fuckin' pita beatch!

Tara's Pumpkin Mess

A cheesy pumpkin and bread fondue... Deelish. From epicurious.

Ingredients:

• 1 (15-inch) piece of baguette, cut into 1/2-inch slices (7 ounces total)
• 1 (7-pound) orange pumpkin
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
• 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 2 1/2 cups coarsely grated Gruyère (6 ounces)
• 2 1/2 cups coarsely grated Emmental (6 ounces)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Prep:
Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in lower third.

Toast baguette slices in 1 layer on a baking sheet in oven until tops are crisp (bread will still be pale), about 7 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Remove top of pumpkin by cutting a circle (3 inches in diameter) around stem with a small sharp knife. Scrape out seeds and any loose fibers from inside pumpkin with a spoon (including top of pumpkin; reserve seeds for another use if desired). Season inside of pumpkin with 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Whisk together cream, broth, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl. Mix together cheeses in another bowl.

Put a layer of toasted bread in bottom of pumpkin, then cover with about 1 cup cheese and about 1/2 cup cream mixture. Continue layering bread, cheese, and cream mixture until pumpkin is filled to about 1/2 inch from top, using all of cream mixture. (You may have some bread and cheese left over.)

Cover pumpkin with top and put in an oiled small roasting pan. Brush outside of pumpkin all over with olive oil. Bake until pumpkin is tender and filling is puffed, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.

Noah's Carrot and Coriander Salad

from A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes by David Tanis

Carrot and Coriander Salad ingredients:

2 lbs. carrots

Salt and pepper

1 large shallot, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, smashed to a paste with a little salt

2 tsp. cumin seeds, toasted and ground

2 tsp. coriander seeds, toasted and ground

Red pepper flakes (or cayenne)

Juice of 1 or 2 lemons

Olive oil

Limes

1 bunch cilantro

(Recipe also calls for Good green olives like Picholine or Lucques, but I think Noah omitted those)

1. Julienne the carrots and put into a large bowl, sprinkle with salt and toss.

2. Add shallot, garlic, cumin, coriander, red pepper, and lemon juice. Toss well and let the carrots soften.

3. Add olive oil to coat, adjust the seasoning with lemon juice, salt and pepper, and red pepper.

4. Cover and set aside at cool room temperature for up to several hours, or refrigerate and then return to room temperature to serve.

5. Toss the salad again to distribute seasoning. Squeeze on fresh lime juice and garnish with roughly chopped cilantro and lime wedges (and olives, if you use them).

6. Eat and eat.

Ivria's Eggplant Bruschetta

Ingredients:

• 1 whole Italian eggplant, sliced (1/4-inch thick), grilled until colored on both sides, roughly chopped
• 1 red onion, sliced (1/4-inch thick), grilled until brown on both sides, roughly chopped
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• 1 (14-inch) baguette sliced, rubbed with garlic and toasted
• Olive oil
  
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Goat cheese
• Olives
  

Prep:
Combine eggplant, onion, and garlic. Spread on toasted baguette. Top with olive oil and salt and pepper, goat cheese and olives. MMmmmm