Sautéed Mushrooms with Balsamic & Parmesan

 

Now that cooler weather has arrived, I like to make some heartier sides to go with my grilled rib eyes. I start the dish just before I throw my steaks on the grill and finish it up while the steaks are resting. The awesome, tender mushrooms soak up all of the flavors like a sponge.

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms in an even layer; cook, undisturbed, until browned on the bottom, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and browned, about 5 minutes more. 
2. Add garlic, thyme, salt and pepper; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. 
3. Remove from heat; add vinegar. Stir until the mushrooms are well coated and the vinegar is mostly evaporated, about 1 minute. Transfer to a platter or individual plates; top with Parmesan. Serve.

Wine pairing: Cabernet Sauvignon

Marinated Mozzarella Balls

 

Becky and I absolutely love Caprese Salads. We love the simplicity: basil, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. Becky grows the basil and tomatoes right on the deck outside the kitchen...so it's an easy grab for two of the ingredients. 

There are a couple of things that we change up. While the traditional recipe calls for a drizzling of olive oil over the assembled salad, we use truffle oil. The flavor of the truffles gives the salad an incredible, umami depth. Once you make it with truffle oil, I guarantee that you will never go back to plain olive oil.

The other thing we change up is that instead of plain mozzarella balls, we use marinated mozzarella balls. In our earlier life, that was easy to do because Costco regularly stocked Formaggio Marinated Mozzarella Balls. They are marinated in oil with herbs and spices...and boy is that great stuff. But having been a Costco customer for 25 years, the only thing you can absolutely count on is that Costco will always quit selling your favorite shit!

They have not carried Formaggio for 3+ years now...and neither of our favorite grocery stores has it. However, they all sell fresh mozzarella balls in water...so I just found a way to marinate them on my own. It's stupid simple and I actually think they taste better than the Formaggio product. The only downside is that olive oil in the marinade thickens in the fridge, so you have to put them on the kitchen counter about an hour before you make the salad (or run some lukewarm water over the container right before).

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon fresh basil, finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh oregano,  finely chopped

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or more to taste)

16 ounces fresh mozzarella balls, drained

DIRECTIONS

1. To make it easy, I drain the mozzarella contents into a strainer or colander and then make the marinade right in the original container.
2. Combine the first seven ingredients and stir thoroughly to mix. Add mozzarella to the marinade. Then cover, refrigerate and let marinate for at least 1 hour. This will keep for up to 5 days.

 

Grilled Margarita Shrimp

 

Jeff Pinkham, a life-long buddy since Wooddale grade school in Edina, turned me on to this fabulous Brenda Score recipe. Jeff and I share a love of home cooking and have been slinging recipes back and forth for years. You'll find a cornucopia of Jeff's stuff in the 14 years of posts on this blog.

Brenda's recipe called for raw, tail-off shrimp. I altered this recipe, thanks to an insight from one of my favorite chefs, Bobby Flay. He always grills his shrimp with the shells on. The grilled shells infuse the shrimp with incredible flavor...much the same as grilling a lobster with the shell intact.

This forces you to peel the shrimp before you eat it, which gets the grilled marinade flavors all over your fingers. So the dining experience becomes peel and eat with your hands...and don't forget to suck your fingers! If you are a Karen and need your food to be on a fork, buy your shrimp naked without the shell and tail.

INGREDIENTS

For the Marinade

2 teaspoons tequila

1/3 cup olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon minced jalapeno

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

For the Shrimp

1 pound raw extra jumbo shrimp (16 to 20 per pound), shells intact

Wedges of fresh lime to squeeze over grilled shrimp

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine all marinade ingredients in as small bowl and whisk thoroughly to mix.
2. Put shrimp into a zip lock bag and add marinade. Seal. Toss to blend thoroughly and place in refrigerator for 3 hours, flipping the bag halfway through.
3. Prepare a grill for direct cooking over high heat.
4. Place shrimp on skewers. Grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side until shrimp are no longer translucent and have a nice char on them. See photo above. (Cooking times are based on using a charcoal grill with lump hardwood charcoal. Your mileage may vary.)
5. Serve shrimp with lime wedges.

     

Pairing: Well, duh!

RIP, Jimmy...heaven has an everlasting supply of salt shakers.