Crab-Stuffed Portabellas

By Paul Briand

My wife was overcome by mass marketing, influenced by her love for crab.

She kept seeing a television ad for a crab-stuffed mushroom appetizer at one of those chain steakhouses. Then a coupon arrived with the Sunday paper for $3 off that appetizer.

“We have to go,” she said.

But I did her -- and the steakhouse -- one better. I created my own crab-stuffed mushrooms, but used the mother of all mushrooms -- the Portabella -- to make it. And this wasn’t any appetizer, it was dinner, served on a salad drizzled with a balsamic vinaigrette.

Ingredients
4 Portabella mushroom caps, stems removed
4 ounces Shiitake mushrooms, chopped
1 pound lump crab meat
4 slices Canadian bacon, diced
½ cup Italian bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
3 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Old Bay seasoning
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat;
2. Saute the bacon and Shiitake mushrooms in skillet until the bacon appears crisp, about three minutes;
3. In a large bowl, combine the crab, bacon/Shiitake mixture, egg, and mustard and gently fold together;
4. Add bread crumbs and seasoning to taste and mix. You’ll want a mixture that’s firm enough to pack as you would a crab cake;
5. Place Portabella caps top side down on a lightly greased large baking sheet;
6. Divide mixture and evenly distribute onto the mushroom caps;
7. Bake in oven for 15 minutes;
8. Remove from oven and add Parmesan to the top of each mushroom/mixture as needed to cover;
9. Return to oven for another 5 minutes or until cheese melts and starts to brown then serve.

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The Big Sal

By Paul Briand

April is Grilled Cheese Month … who knew?

So, in light of that eureka moment, I’ve found a grilled cheese recipe that is way beyond what you’d expect of a grilled cheese sandwich.

It’s called The Big Sal, and it’s included as part of a recipe contest for grilled cheese promoted by Tasting Table, which describes itself as “the free daily email for adventurous eaters everywhere.”

(The Big Sal, if you want to find it on the link above, is No. 25 on the slideshow.)

This dish serves four and is a gooey combination of sweet Italian sausage and different kind of cheeses melted into ciabatta rolls using a panini press. Like I said, it’s not your mama’s grilled cheese sandwich.

A couple of notes on this: I grilled my sausages using my outdoor gas grill, and I skipped the 15 minutes of baking.

Ingredients
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
4 sweet Italian sausages
2 onions, such as Vidalia, sliced ¼ inch thick
1 large bell pepper, sliced ¼ inch thick
4 ounces cremini or button mushrooms, sliced ¼ inch thick
4 ciabatta rolls
4 ounces Wisconsin Asiago cheese, grated
8 ?-inch thick slices fresh mozzarella
White or black truffle oil, optional
1 cup jarred, roasted red pepper strips

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and heat  2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil in large, oven-safe sauté pan over medium heat;
2.  Add sausages and brown on all sides. Remove sausages to plate and return pan to stove;
3. Add onions, peppers, and mushrooms. Sauté 5 minutes.
4. Cut sausages in half lengthwise and place in pan with vegetables;
5. Place pan in oven and bake 15 minutes. Remove from oven;
6. Preheat panini grill over medium-high heat. Drizzle buns with olive oil and halve;
7. Place 1 ounce (generous 1/8 cup) grated Asiago cheese on each roll bottom; top with 1 slice mozzarella;
8. Layer with 2 sausage halves and approximately 1/2 cup of the onions-peppers-mushrooms;
9. Drizzle with a few drops of white or black truffle oil, if using. (A little goes a long way.);
10. Top with 1/4 cup pepper strips, additional slice mozzarella, and ciabatta tops;
11. Place in panini press for 5 minutes or until cheese melts and bread is golden brown.

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Ham, Potato & Egg Casserole

By Paul Briand

Every Easter it’s the same thing: What do we do with the leftover ham?

My mother normally gets the bone for a wonderful pea and ham soup that she makes. One of these days, I’ll get the recipe posted.

Last year, I made a Ham Casserole, using a can cream of celery soup as the base.

This year, a stumbled on a recipe TheKitchn.com by way of the Foodily app on my iPhone.

It caught my eye originally because of the bacon. But I decided to re-do the original recipe, substituting bacon with ham, upping the number of eggs and milk, using a little more cheese as a  topping and adding some panko bread crumbs to give it a bit of a crunchy crust.

Ingredients
2 cups cooked ham, diced
1 large yellow onion, peeled and diced
1 yellow bell pepper, cleaned out and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
10 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon fresh-cracked black pepper
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
3 cups frozen diced potatoes, unthawed
½ cup panko bread crumbs

Directions
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees, and lightly grease a large baking dish with baking spray or olive oil;
2. In a teaspoon of olive oil over medium high heat, cook the onion, yellow bell pepper, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes until all the vegetables are soft. Turn off the heat and let cool slightly;
3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs thoroughly and whisk in the milk and black pepper;
4. Stir in 2 cups of cheese, frozen potatoes, ham and vegetables from the skillet;
5. Pour the whole mixture into the baking dish and bake for 20 minutes;
6. Remove from oven and top with remaining cheese and bread crumbs;
7. Return to oven and bake another 20 minutes or until the eggs are firm;
8. Serve immediately.

This was originally cast as a breakfast casserole, but works perfectly fine as a brunch or dinner dish.

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Braised Beef with Rigatoni

By Paul Briand

When I saw this one on the cooking segment of a recent “Today” show on NBC, I liked what I saw about the low and slow braising of the beef. Oh, and I liked the wine.

The recipe was courtesy of Eric Gabrynowicz, chef at Restaurant North in Armonk, New York.

I substituted a bag of baby spinach for the arugula called for below.

Ingredients
For the braise:
1 pound beef cubes - try to utilize the less expensive cuts suitable for braising, such as short ribs, shanks, cheeks, brisket
8-10 cloves garlic
3 sprigs sage (or from your spice jar if you don’t have fresh)
1/4 cup tomato paste - homemade is best
2 cups red wine
2 tablespoons canola oil
For the pasta:
1 pound of rigatoni or your favorite pasta.
1 bunch arugula
Cheese for grating, such as parmigiano reggiano
Extra virgin olive oil
Chili flakes to taste

Directions
1. After setting the oven for 300 degrees, sear the meat it in a heavy-bottom saute pan over medium high heat;
2.  Remove the meat, and saute the garlic and sage;
3. Add the meat back in. Add tomato paste and wine. Bring to a simmer. Cover and braise for 4 to 5 hours at 300 degrees or until tender;
4. Cook rigatoni until al dente;
5. Immediately add the pasta to the braise in the saute pan;
6. Fold in arugula, extra virgin olive oil and chili flakes, and toss until completely coated;
7. Plate and shave cheese on top.

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Grilled Chicken and Bacon Mac ‘n Cheese

By Paul Briand

Mac ‘n cheese is all about comfort food, and we needed some comfort recently as my wife Jane’s family gathered in Maryland for the funeral of a beloved aunt.

And what better source for comfort food, at least in my mind, than Rachael Ray.

Her recipe for Grilled Chicken and Bacon Mac ‘n Cheese struck a chord because it was relatively easy to prepare, it served a lot of people … and it had bacon. You can never go wrong cooking with bacon.

I basically doubled this recipe to handle six people (there were leftovers). And I didn’t use fresh thyme (I used what was in the spice rack), and I used a bag of Italian blend cheeses rather than the Gruyere.

Ingredients
6 slices good-quality smoky bacon, such as applewood smoked bacon
Salt and pepper
1 pound whole wheat short-cut pasta
2 skinless chicken breasts, lightly pounded
Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika
4 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, quartered lengthwise and very thinly sliced
2 rounded tablespoons flour
1/2 cup cloudy apple cider or chicken stock
2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
1 1/2 cups shredded extra-sharp white cheddar cheese
1 cup Gruyère cheese, shredded
Chopped flat leaf parsley or celery greens, for garnish

Directions

1.Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees;
2. Arrange the bacon on a slotted broiler pan or on a rack placed over a baking sheet and bake until crisp, about 15 minutes. Chop and reserve. Switch on the broiler and position the rack in the center of the oven;
3. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Salt it, add the pasta and cook for 1 minute less than the instructions indicate, or until just shy of al dente. Drain and return to the pot;
4. While the pasta is working, heat a grill pan or cast iron griddle over medium-high heat. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil to coat lightly, then season evenly with paprika, salt and pepper;
5. Grill the chicken for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally.Transfer to a cutting board and halve the pieces lengthwise, then thinly slice them crosswise;
6. While the chicken cooks, melt the butter in a medium size saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until light golden brown and very soft, 15-20 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 1 minute;
7. Whisk in the cider (or stock), then add the milk. Bring to a boil and cook, whisking, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon, 3-4 minutes. Add the thyme and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir in the cheese until melted;
8. Add the chicken, bacon and sauce to the pasta and transfer to a casserole. Broil until bubbling and browned, about 5 minutes. Garnish with parsley or celery greens.

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Fried Egg Sandwich with Bacon and Blue Cheese

By Paul Briand

This was love at first bite. No, it was love even earlier than that: Love at first sight when I saw the recipe on the web.

I’m a big fan of breakfast sandwiches that include an egg and whatever processed meat happens to be laying about.

My Dad lacked all manner of culinary skill but developed back in the ‘60s what he called “the Briand Special”, which was a fried egg and fried bologna on a toasted English Muffin.

This recipe -- which I found through a convoluted set of circumstance on the web -- takes the fried egg sandwich to a whole new level of taste and sophistication.

This is the orginal recipe for two sandwiches. I adapted it to make four sandwiches, I substituted spinach for frisee lettuce, and I used turkey bacon instead of regular bacon. You’ll sacrifice some rendered fat by using the turkey bacon, so a a teaspoon or two of butter was needed at the point of sauteeing the shallots. I also used more -- way more -- than a single slice of bacon.

Ingredients
2 ciabatta rolls
1 1/2 cups frisée (French curly endive), torn into-bite size pieces (about 2 ounces)
1 bacon slice, preferably thick-cut
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 teaspoon smooth Dijon mustard
4 teaspoons red wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 to 2 teaspoons unsalted butter, divided
2 large eggs

Directions
1. Split the rolls and toast them (in toaster if they fit, toaster oven, or oven);
2. Place lettuce (or spinach) in a medium bowl;
3. Cut bacon crosswise into 1/4-inch wide lardons;
4. In a small heavy skillet, cook bacon over moderate heat, until pieces are crisp;
5. With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels, reserving bacon fat in pan;
6. Add shallot to bacon fat and cook for one minute, stirring;
7. Add red wine vinegar and let hiss and bubble for 20 to 30 seconds, then remove from heat and whisk in Dijon;
8. Immediately pour hot dressing over lettuce and toss with drained lardons, salt and pepper;
9. Remove rolls from toaster and divide bacon-frisee salad between each bottom bun (you’ll want to heap on more than seems feasible or needed);
10. Top each salad pile with half (2 tablespoons) of the blue cheese;
11. Reheat skillet over medium-high heat, add the butter and swirl it to coat the pan;
12. Crack one egg into the skillet, season with salt and pepper and reduce heat to medium and cook sunnyside up or over easy;
13. Remove the egg from the pan and place it on top of the bacon-frisée salad on the bun;
14. Repeat with remaining egg.

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Sticky Lemon Chicken

By Paul Briand

I went trawling this week for some recipes on the BBC Good Food web site, where I’ve had some good luck in the past.

This time I netted this Sticky Lemon Chicken.

The flavor of this dish was disproportionate to the effort. In other words, you get a lot of flavor from this dish without a lot of ingredients and/or cooking time.

Ingredients
4 chicken breast fillets with skin, about 5 ounces each
1 large lemon
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or a generous sprinkling of dried
1½ tablespoons honey

Directions
1. Preheat oven broiler to high and lightly oil a shallow heatproof dish;
2. Put the chicken in the dish, skin side down, and season with salt and pepper. Grill for 5 minutes. While the chicken is grilling, cut four thin slices from
the lemon;
3. Turn the chicken fillets over and put a slice of lemon on top of each one;
4. Sprinkle over the thyme and a little more seasoning, then drizzle with the honey;
5. Squeeze over the juice from the remaining lemon;
6. Return to the grill for 10 minutes more, until the chicken is golden and cooked all the way through.

You can serve the chicken and the sticky juices with rice or potatoes.

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