This was the side to our Morrocan Spiced Chicken with Fennel. Stuffed mushrooms are ALWAYS a hit in our home. Usually I use feta and parmesan, this time I stuck with goat cheese. I call them Mediterranean because I used some Greek flavors in them. The goat cheese is mixed with fresh dill and oregano and the finished mushrooms are drizzled with basically a reduced Greek salad dressing.

I don’t normally cook with fresh spices because they cost more and I can’t grow my own in my apartment without killing them. But my sister and I bought several for an herb photo shoot so I’m using them up. No we weren’t just being food nerds, she’s one of my many loved ones helping me revamp my blog. I’m going to move to WordPress, hopefully in the next month. It’s just a lot more flexible and I have some specific ideas I want to incorporate that don’t work on blogspot. I guess I’m moving up in the blogging world! Fortunately I have some amazingly talented family to help me out. My sister Sharon is a graphic designer and is turning my dream design into a reality. My sister-in-law Heather is a great amateur photographer and is going to do a photo shoot of me cooking in my Mother-in-law’s beautiful kitchen. My husband Eric is a web designer and is doing all the code and things that I know nothing about. I’m so excited!

I’ve also been learning a lot about my photography. I have a tiny apartment so don’t have a good place to set up for photos, but I’m trying out different techniques and have a had a few great successes. I hope that as the days get longer I’ll have more light to take better pictures with.

Mediterranean Stuffed Mushrooms
serves 2-4

Ingredients

12 white mushrooms
¼ cup soft goat cheese
2 sprigs fresh dill
2 sprigs fresh oregano
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse mushrooms well and remove stems (save them in your freezer, I’ll tell you why soon!). Chop dill and oregano finely and mix with goat cheese, garlic and onion powder.

Fill the cap of each mushroom with goat cheese mixture. Place in a baking dish and bake for about 20 minutes or until mushrooms are dehydrated and cheese is slightly browned.

As I mentioned before, Eric and I watched quite a bit of Top Chef while house sitting for his parents. One of the contestants, Jamie, cooked a scallop poorly in a challenge. So in the next challenge she decided to go with scallops again to prove she could cook them well. Many people criticized this decision, both on and off the show. In fact Eric decided Fabio was hilarious as he spouted “The show’s called Top Chef! Not Top Scallop!” But the judges loved her dish and seemed to appreciate her decision. I’d been wanting to try fennel and decided this would be a great dish to test.

I had to change a few things about her recipe (if it’s in fact her recipe, I don’t know who compiles the recipes from the show, which are filled with typos and misinformation!). For instance it says to cool the chopped fennel in the oven rather than cook it. Hmmm. I had to scale it down to serve 2 instead of 7, I also didn’t include the olives because Eric calls olives poison and hates them. Because I made a smaller amount of the fennel puree, I didn’t strain it to make it smooth, but I like chunky textures better anyway.

Eric really liked the dish and was pretty impressed with it. I liked it too although it was like nothing I’ve ever tasted. The flavor combination was so new I had to have several bites to decide if I liked it. The licorice flavor of the salad was a little strong for me, I think I’d like a little more fronds and orange and a little less shaved fennel bulb. It was fun making a recipe from the show and I may experiment with some more. I kept the rest of the meal very simple with a parmesan pasta and steamed broccoli with cabernet vinegar.

Seared Sea Scallops with a Roasted Fennel and Garlic Cream, and Salad of Shaved Fennel, Mint, Oranges, and Fennel Fronds.

Ingredients

FENNEL PUREE
1/3 head fennel, chopped
1 TBS olive oil
2 cloves garlic, roasted
1 Tbs Crème fraîche
salt to taste

SALAD
1/3 head fennel, shaved thin using a vegetable peeler
1 tsp dried mint
1/2 orange, peeled and chopped
1 TBS fresh squeezed Orange Juice
1 TBS lemon oil
salt to taste
1 TBS chopped fennel fronds

2 mid sized scallops

Please be praying for my family, especially my mother and grandmother. My Uncle George passed away this morning.

photo from mozzco.com

What is this crème fraîche? I see it all over the place, hear it mentioned on cooking shows, and find it in fancy recipes I want to try. But what is it besides fresh cream? In my quest for trying new cooking ingredients, I decided to do some research and see if it’s something I can make.

Here’s what Wikipedia has to say:

Crème fraîche is produced by a process similar to that of sour cream, with the exception that no ingredients are added. Each processing step requires attention to producing and maintaining high viscosity. Commercially it is commonly fermented to an end pH of around 4.5. The higher fat content and small scale processing result in a retail price which, in the U.S., is at least twice that of traditional sour cream. Nevertheless, sales are growing. In the UK, the price differential is smaller, as mass-produced crème fraîche is readily available, although artisanal, organic and geographically-delimited products may command a premium. Its increasing popularity is an indication of changing culinary habits promoted by growing population diversity and increasing exposure to Continental European culture and cuisine.

Almost all types of crème fraîche may curdle at high temperatures, when cooked for a while, (like sour cream) and cannot be added to stews until the end of the cooking or to casseroles while baked in the oven^[1], unlike the Smetana sour cream. Light crème fraîche contains about 12 to 18 % milk fat and curdles if heated or cooked. It can be used for dipping potato chips or crackers.

Crème fraîche can be made at home by adding a small amount of cultured buttermilk or sour cream to normal heavy cream, and allowing it to stand for several hours at room temperature until the bacterial cultures act on the cream.

Then I found this on Ochef:

Crème fraîche is a slightly tangy, slightly nutty, thickened cream. Before the age of pasteurization crème fraîche made itself as the bacteria present in the cream fermented and thickened it naturally. Crème fraîche is widely available in Europe, but much less so in the US, where most all cream is pasteurized, and therefore has to be fermented artificially. There are commercially produced versions available in select gourmet shops, but it can be hard to find and fairly expensive. Considering how often it is called for in recipes these days, it is surprising that it is so rare.

Most people make a facsimile of crème fraîche by adding a tablespoon of buttermilk to a cup of whipping cream, heating it gently to 110°F (45°C), then putting it in a loosely covered bottle in a warm place and letting it sit for anywhere from 8 hours to a couple of days, until thick. Store it in the refrigerator, where it will thicken further, and keep for about three weeks. You can also whip it like whipping cream.

But, Madeleine Kamman, whose formative years were spent in France, and who is one of the flavor mavens of our age, says the homemade crème fraîche is a poor substitute for the real thing. Since many people have not had the real thing, they won’t know the difference. But, Kamman says, if you run across real crème fraîche in a specialty shop — and are of adequate means — buy it.

photo from idealcaviar.com

I certainly don’t remember ever seeing it in stores, but of course I wasn’t looking before. Since I have not had the real thing, and neither has Eric, I tried the homemade method. I already have some recipes I want to use it in (yes, one of them is from Top Chef, I’m a big dork).
It does look like it’s possible to buy it online though, interesting.

I kind of did a double homemade thing because I never buy buttermilk, just make it myself with a tsp of white vinegar to 1/2 cup of milk (it also works with lemon juice). Then let it sit out about 10 minutes. I added a TBS of that to 1/2 cup of cream and let it sit out for 20 hours. The resulting cream was really quite good! It was like a cross of butter, sour cream and cream cheese. I think I expected it to be sour but that was only very slight.

It’s incredibly thick and the TBS I used in a recipe resulted in a nice creamy sauce. I’m really looking forward to experimenting with it over the next few weeks. Here’s the first thing I made with it because my local grocery store had amazingly plump and juicy strawberries for only $1.50 a box. This was part of our fancy meal last night and it was amazing! We kept dipping the strawberries in the vinegar and cream on the dish to try and get every last drop. I did warn Eric ahead of time that it was balsamic vinegar not chocolate because I didn’t want him to get a shock, but it was so sweet and delicious he said he might not even have noticed. Also, since it reduces so much, I used the cheap balsamic vinegar for this.

Fresh Strawberries with Crème Fraîche and Sweet Balsamic Reduction
Serves 2-4

Ingredients

12 Fresh Strawberries
¼ cup crème fraîche (see above for instructions)
½ cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sugar

Instructions

Mix vinegar and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a low boil and simmer until very thick and reduced down to about 2 TBS.

Swirl strawberries in the crème fraîche and then drizzle with the vinegar reduction.

Thank you Foodbuzz for a night of great food and great company! Eleven of us food bloggers in the Western Washington area went to dinner at Brasa Restaurant in Seattle. Because we’re all Foodbuzz Featured Publishers, they picked up the tab! I admit I was a little nervous about going to dinner with a bunch of people I didn’t know, but I figured everyone else was too so that helped me be more outgoing. It was a great time and I really hope to stay connected with the ladies I met. I’ll only be showing pictures or naming names if their name/picture is already available online. Some people love the anonymity of blogging and I want to respect that.

I didn’t get to talk to Naomi or Traca much, but they were both such sweet ladies. Naomi was fortunate enough to get to enjoy the fresh snow in the mountains that day (it was snowing at home too but not sticking much). She has a really fun, creative blog and I love reading about her food adventures in Asia. Traca seemed like the foodie queen. I think she must know every chef in Seattle! It was really fun hearing tidbits of her stories and experiences, and her blog is filled with great interviews. Julie actually has cooking classes in her home which I think is so cool. She has one on salads this week. I hope she’ll have more in the future, even though it’d be a long drive I think it would be really fun to cook with her. She was actually on the end of the table so I didn’t really get to talk to her until the end, but she was really nice, you have to check out the video of her making pasta with her kids, so cute! Nurit was our wonderful hostess who put the whole event together. She did all the work and we just got to show up. She’s originally from Israel and I think she’s so beautiful (I may be biased since I’ve had several wonderful friends from Israel). She loves food and life and has a ton of cooking knowledge, I’m already gathering her tips on baby food for the future.

I was bummed I didn’t get to talk to KookyCulinary more, we chatted at the very end I learned she’s originally from Malaysia. I’ve been there on 24 hour layovers a couple of times doing disaster relief and it’s such a beautiful country with quite a diverse culture. After checking out her blog I declare her the bento queen! Really, you have to see the bentos she makes her kids, they’re amazing. Meg sat to my left and was a fun gal. She said her blog sometimes gets her in trouble as friends see recipes on it and keep asking “When are you going to make that for us?!” She has a great mix of sweet and savory recipes on her blog, and makes her beef stew with Guiness so you know she’s awesome

Jessie and Lesa were both a lot of fun. They are very outgoing and I couldn’t ever ask them to pose for a photo without interrupting their conversations! Jessie is quite well known for her adorable cupcake artwork, as well as her plaster cupcakes with cheery messages left around Seattle. You can’t visit her blog without getting a happy feeling. Lesa is a personal chef/caterer/instructor and seems to absolutely love it. I actually love this picture of her because she’s so fun and quirky and the look she’s giving Jessie totally captures that. The funniest part of the night was that she and Gayle aparently grew up down the street from each other and didn’t even realize it until they were telling stories of where they lived that night. Now onto the food…

If I went back I would definitely order this dessert. It’s a Spanish Donut with Spiced Chocolate Sauce. I didn’t get to try it but everyone said it’s amazing.

I did get to try Nurit’s dessert which I can’t tell you the exact details of because it was on their 30 for 30 menu so I don’t see it on the website. It was a chocolate truffle cheesecake and so rich and decadent. I’d only be able to eat a few bites but they’d be worth it.

Our server was a total rock star. My water glass was never empty. Everyone else enjoyed some wine but I stuck with the San Pelligrino Limonata which is basically lemon flavored sparkling mineral water. It was really, really, really good! It didn’t just taste like sparkling lemonade, it was really fresh and not too sweet. It was fun because our server would pour it for me and as my glass would empty come back and pour the rest.

For an appetizer I had Wood Fired Mussels in a curry sauce with Pita. This was my favorite part of the meal. I loved the sweetness of the mussels and the curry was mild enough that the flavor of the mussels could really shine. I did have one mushy mussel, but that happens. I’m glad it came with pita to soak up the sauce, in fact when I ran out of pitas I started using the complimentary bread. This was from the bar menu so I’d guess that the dinner menu would be a larger portion.

My main course was the one you guys voted on! Muscovy Duck Breast with truffled porridge, moroccan chutney, and a cider reduction. It was my first experience with duck so I’m not really qualified to speak on the quality of the dish, but here’s my impression. I had a little trouble with the texture of the porridge, I’ve mentioned before that I have trouble eating smooth consistancies like mashed potatoes without lumps, it makes me gag for some reason. So I didn’t eat much of the porridge but it tasted good. I like the chutney a lot, I’m pretty sure there were grapes in it. The duck had a wonderful crust on it that was really well seasoned. I was surprised by the taste of it, I guess I was expecting it to taste more like chicken. It was quite chewy and Nurit was wondering if it was undercooked. Some pieces were a little tougher. I don’t know since I’d never had it before, but I thought it tasted great and ate it all.

Finally for dessert I had the creme brulee, I thought it would come with citrus shortbread but I may have ordered the wrong item. It was also my first experience with creme brulee so I was excited to try it. I was expecting it to be more of a custard type dish. The crust was sweet and hard and the cream underneath was delicious though very runny. Again, I’ve never had it so I’m not critiquing. It’s very rich so if I ever tried making it myself I’d want a very small portion, but it was quite yummy.

One of the coolest parts of the night was getting to meet the owner Tamara Murphy, an incredibly talented chef. She’d spent the day participating in Cochon 555 and told us a little about it. It was an honor to meet her and have her come to our table and greet us. I have to wonder how the economy is affecting these classy restaurants, I noticed that probably only 15 other people came to dine while we were there. It’s a night to remember, I have never been able to afford my own appetizer, entree and dessert at a nice restaurant. It was a special treat and I so appreciate Foodbuzz for footing the bill, and Nurit for doing the legwork.