# R &D aka goofing off



## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

Some days I just want to stretch creative muscles and will come up with a name for a dish.....then try to come up with a version that matches the name or visa versa.

Mushroom Pate was the latest venture......I made a duxelle....shrooms, cream, booze, herbs/spices then added some gelitin.....sprayed a bowl with Pam and scooped the goo into the bowl to jell and unmold serving cold.

After coming up with this name I hit the regular suspects; Pepin, Silver Palates 1 &2, Martha's hodos.....none had anything like it. 

Recently I've paired hummos with pesto and feta, only the hummos is made with olive oil no tahini, no herbs, no lemon juice.....just garlic, evo, salt.....
again, not seen it prior to rifting.....

What have you guys created recently?


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## dillbert (Jul 2, 2008)

>>>created recently?

Grilled CheeseHicken

braised chicken meat, shredded
slice of onion
slice of cheese
grill ala a "melt" sangwich.... 

sangwich: that's Granny talking; she grew up around Cleveland.....

I'm still perfecting my Grilled RuebeHicken


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## peachcreek (Sep 21, 2001)

I forgot to buy oj at the store so I marinaded some airline chicken breasts in pomegranate juice instead. Crusted them in herb de' provence and finished with chantrelle mushrooms and a Cointreau glaze. yummy.


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## ed buchanan (May 29, 2006)

Excluding the gelatin The mushroom duxelles you made reminds me of what I use for wellington. Add some pistachios and chopped washed black olives to it(fake Truffle) a shot of truffle oil and your really cooking. I love to experiment like that. Spread it on a piece of puff pastry roll it and you have mushroom strudel with a zifindel sauce for appy. yum yum :crazy:


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

had some extra hummos for personal consumption and added Greek yogurt, a healthy umph.....nice.....very nice......

passion fruit juice has taken the place of OJ in alot of my dishes.....if I can get the concentrate frozen even better.

margarom was plentiful and took the place of oregano in lemon/garlic/evo/oregano chicken skewers.....no one noticed......
not sure I would either....

I've been making cherry pies.....dried montmorcey cherries with tart jarred cherries.....take the juice of the tart and rehydrate the dried, add orange zest, sugar....sometimes vanilla or chambord.....heat, add cornstarch and the drained cherries. Fabulous cherry goo. The orange zest really makes it.

Mascarpone has been a simple pie addition.....lemon curd and mascarpone magically become pie goo.....nutella, mascarpone, frangelica/kahula become chocolate pie goo, top with crushed heath bars and it's even better.
Sometimes quick and easy does not diminish in flavor.

One week it was new potatoes boiled in cayene and zataran water, cut and added to sour cream, onions, cooked bacon for a quick spicy potato salad.

Or the pecan rolls that were a total rift.....potato bread dough with loads of pecans, butter, brown sugar and then in the bottom of the pan I put corn syrup/pecan halves/brown sugar.....orange zest again in the goo....yep, they were tasty.


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## shipscook (Jan 14, 2007)

those all sounds really nummy, like the jazzed up cherry pie!
I did a scallop chowder at work a few months back--did the onion, celery, carrot thing, then added seafood stock and taters and simmered. Was going to use scallops--but thought, spicy chowder?
Sauted a bit of garlic put it in--still not sure where this was going, added some corn and cooked black beans, and remembered a container of leftover enchilada sauce in the refer, added that. tasted and added a bit of red pepper and then just before serving the scallops and a light sprinkle of chopped cilantro.
Named it Cabo Scallop Chowder.
Was a hit!
Nan


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## tigerwoman (Jul 18, 2002)

have been doing alot of Indian Fusion events lately 
so came up with Indian Potato Salad

it's basically the infamous Indian Chaat called Bhel Puri

served it to 350 hungry college debate students along with a bunch of other interesting vegetarian and vegan choices

Sexy Spuds
aka Indian Potato Salad

Boiled Yukon Golds
Finely chopped cilantro including stems
canned (or dried and cooked) chickpeas
diced vidalia like onion (red works but I don't like the color in this case)
indian crispie bhel puri mix noodles(looks like rice krispies)
chinese wonton noodles
housemade tamarind and date chutney
housemade cilantro coconut chutney

can mix all except both kinds of dry noodles together in advance. Say an hour or two before serving. Sprinkle on crispy noodles and mix just before serving.

Java Lava Potato Salad
Javanese Gado Gado Potato Salad
Boiled new potatoes with skin on cut into quarters
haricot vert, sliced on diagnonal into 1/2 " pieces
chopped scallions
hard boiled eggs peeled and quartered
chiffonade of red cabbage
javanese peanut sauce with sambal & lemongrass

mix potato, haricot vert, scallions and peanut sauce together. 
present over a bed of red cabbage, topped with ring of quartered hard boiled egg - with extra peanut sauce on the side.

here's one a friend gave me the recipe for 
its good but the name is even better

sinful spuds
baby fingerling or new potatoes made into cup

mixture of gorgonzola dolce or feta or goats cheese
currants
toasted pinenuts
green stuffed olives
stuffed into potato cup, can serve at room temp or heat in oven until just melted.

enough potatoes (funny enough I am trying to be on a low carb diet - for various health issues)

as for fun names here are a few from the old days when I had to write daily specials

the marilyn monroe meets krushev quesadilla
fresh turkey breast with russian dressing served hot and grilled in quesadilla style

eurotrash quesadilla - fresh spinach, caramelized mushrooms, gruyere and caramelized onions griddled in a spinach tortilla

saddams meatloaf - the mother of all meatloaves, with cumin, carrots, scallions and ground beef.

too tired to think any further.


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## shipscook (Jan 14, 2007)

tigerwoman, very cool, thanks! always great to have new potato ideas, and those flavors sounds amazing.
Nan


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

mushroom pate worked so well.....it was the hit of the party.....
there is nothing like making something new and it being a total winner.

Tigerwoman, the potatoes read yummy....I envy you for your creative menu names....dangit that is one of the most difficult things for me.

I used to make sweet potato samosas that were labor intensive but oh so goooood.....now, think think think....how did I do that......


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

I've got a buddy who took his mergauxs (?) sausage and put a ball into a prune then wrapped it in bacon and baked it....oh man.....really works.

San Francisco Chronicle has holiday recipes for prunes with blue cheese and bacon or proscuitto....

Been rifting with blue chevre/mascarpone/ fig jam and pecans....or lardons....
that's a favorite this season.

Oh let's see there was the roma tomatoes roasted down then pureed into mascarpone (there's a theme here.....) tiny half of a sungold, tip of tiny basil garnish, few grains of salt and a drop of evo....those were pretty special too..

The breakfast radishes cut in half with a squirt of chevre down the middle and sunflower sprout tip at the base.....cute and good for GF.

It's so much fun to go through the world market and pick up something bizarre to try.....passion fruit juice concentrate was one of those things, much better than puree.


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