Chef's Original: Carrots & Taters

I began this recipe by deciding to cook something other than the Shrimp from today. So I decided that a Chef's Original Recipe was due.









Ingredients:
5 sliced White Sweet Onions
3/4 cup diced Chives
1/2 cup diced Basil Leaves
3/4 cup diced Scallions/Green Onions
1/2 stick Butter
1 cup Olive Oil
1 cup Water
1/2 cup Red Wine
1 sliced Green Bell Pepper
6 diced LG Carrots
1 lb chopped Potatoes
3 diced Garlic Cloves
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Italian Herb Mix
Ground Black Pepper

I began this by slicing the White Onions, followed by the Chives, Basil, Green Bell Pepper, and Scallions. I put all of these into 1 mixing bowl. I then diced the Carrots and chopped the Potatoes, these went into another mixing bowl.

Now, I put the saucepan on the stovetop and turned the heat to medium. In went the Butter, followed by 1/2 cup of Olive Oil. Once the Butter melted, in went the first mixing bowl full of Onions, Chives, Basil, and Scallions. Mix them with the Butter and Olive Oil.

About 1 minute later, I added in the Carrots and Potatoes. To this I seasoned them. About 1/2 a cup of the Italian Herb Mix, with a good dusting of Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, and Ground Black Pepper. Mix.

Stir regularly, add in the other 1/2 cup of Olive Oil, Red Wine, and Water when most of the liquid in there has evaporated off. Stir again.

I taste tested to check when it was cooked properly. The Carrots and Potatoes should be easy to tell if they are ready. I served on a bed of rice.

Funghi con Pomodoro

The title translates to Sauteed Mushrooms with Garlic and Tomatoes and is a great recipe to throw together somewhat quickly. I brought a cookbook to work today to look up some new recipes to roughly try. The cookbook was: My Calabria by Rosetta Costantino w/ Janet Fletcher. This book is very good in my opinion as it relates a personal story to each recipe that generally makes me smile and want to grow more locally.

Ingredients
1 lb White Button Mushrooms (sliced)
1.5 cups worth of diced Tomatoes
5 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
4 Garlic cloves (diced)
1 tablespoon Sea Salt
1 tablespoon Cracked Red Pepper Flakes
2 pinches Fresh Thyme
2 pinches Fresh Oregano
2 tablespoons of Italian Herb Mix
1/4 cup Cabernet Sauvignon Wine

You begin by gathering all of your ingredients at least somewhat ready. I did not cut my grape Tomatoes in half beforehand like I found out I should have. It hurried me up a lot during the actual cooking process, so lesson learned I suppose.

You start by placing a saucepan on the stovetop, turn the heat to medium. Pour in your Extra Virgin Olive Oil and diced up Garlic cloves. Stir them around a little bit in the EVOO to coat them in the oil.

Once they begin to turn color and the oil smokes a bit, pour in your mixing bowl of sliced up Mushrooms. Mix them around a bunch; I used a pair of tongs for this part, a wooden spoon for the rest.

Add in your Thyme, Oregano, Italian Herb Mix, and Cracked Red Pepper Flakes. Mix together to spread them around. Pour in your Cabernet Sauvignon and stir once again! (It is ok to pour yourself a glass now if you have not done so by now!)

During this time, I sliced my small Tomatoes in half, which could have been done beforehand but oh well. I put them in a mixing bowl. Here's a picture of them, they look awesome.

Then after a few minutes, when the Mushrooms turn color I poured in the Tomatoes. I added a half pinch or so of the Italian Herb mix and then the Sea Salt. Then stir them up a bunch so you get the Salt all over.

After a few more minutes, let's say 5 minutes, it should be close to being done. I turned off the stovetop at this point and let the heat cook them a little bit more while I got the plating ready.

I chose to use some of our ever present salad mix in the fridge as a base. To this I used a slotted spoon to scoop out the Mushroom/Tomato mix and place it on top. Garnished with a light coating of Parmesan/Romano grated cheese. Enjoy.