Monday, May 16, 2011

Mushrooms. To. Die. For.

Lester and I were finally able to celebrate our anniversary on Friday night.  I surprised him by making a special dinner.  We had steak, green beans, mushrooms, and rosemary rolls.  Rosemary rolls are Lester's favorite.  The recipe can be found here.  They are so yummy and smell so delicious!  Unfortunately, they didn't turn out so well this time. :(  I usually make my own dough instead of buying frozen; I like the flavor and texture of homemade better.  I've never had a problem before, but I think I have narrowed down the problem on this occasion.
1. I tried a new dough recipe that I have never used before (probably my first mistake)
2. I have learned that sometimes when the weather is off, my dough is off.  I'm not sure why.  I have noticed that when it is super rainy or humid or damp my dough does not rise like it is supposed to.  Does anybody else have that problem?  Is it normal?
Don't let that keep you from making them though.  I've made these rolls many times and have never had a problem.  These rolls are very, very good!

But, the rolls are not what I wanted to post about today.  I want to tell you about the mushrooms.  Oh. my. goodness.  The mushrooms we had with our steak dinner were absolutely to die for.  I'm slightly wishy-washy when it comes to eating mushrooms.  I really like them on salads, in casseroles, etc.  I even will order them as side dishes at restaurants.  I love the flavor of mushrooms.  The problem is that after I have eaten half of them, the texture gets to me and I remember that mushrooms are fungus and I can't eat any more.
These mushrooms have changed my thoughts forever.  They had such a rich flavor and texture.  (Bonus - the house smelled AMAZING as they were simmering)  After the first bite, Lester told me that I had to share them on my blog.  So here it goes :)

Mushrooms to Die For
adapted from The Pioneer Woman's Burgundy Mushrooms 
  • 1 pound White Button Mushrooms
  • 1/2 stick Butter
  • slightly less that 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1cup of grape juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
  • 1/4 cup Boiling Water
  • 1/4 cup Chicken Broth
  • 2 or 3 cloves Garlic, Peeled
  • 1/2 teaspoons Salt
  • Thoroughly wash the mushrooms and throw them into a large stockpot. Add all the remaining ingredients except the salt. Stir to combine.
    Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for six hours.
    Remove the lid, then continue cooking, uncovered, for three hours.
    Add salt to taste at the end if desired. The mushrooms will be very dark in color. Simmer until needed.
NOTE:  The original recipe calls for Burgundy Wine.  I had heard that grape juice makes a great substitute for red wines in cooking, so I decided to try it.  (Slightly risky for an anniversary dinner)  But, the grape juice really gave the mushrooms a tremendous flavor.  They really didn't smell or taste like grape juice at all!
Also, I kept my mushrooms covered the majority of the time.  I took the lid off for an hour and when I came back to check on them almost all of the liquid had been cooked out and I had to add more chicken broth.  I covered it back up for the last two hours, and they turned out beautifully.  

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