Jim bought me roses the other day, in hurricane prep mode! How sweet. We haven’t had flowers around here for a while. I’m up late/early checking the news et al. Jim starts his first day at the new job in a few hours. I’ll see if I’m still the short-order cook I was a month or so ago!
Duxelles make an interesting vegetarian appetizer and comprise the filling for Beef Wellington, which few Americans make. It is a good thing to know how to make. I didn’t look up Julia Child or any others and just did it from memory (got that, recipe police???).
An explanation is necessary. When I first made this years ago (you don’t want to know how many) it called for placing the mushrooms in a clean kitchen towl and wringing like mad. I found that stained a good tea towel.
Mushroom Duxelles
2 pkg button mushrooms, briefly rinsed and placed in a colander
2 scallions, thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of fresh or dried thyme, optional
Place mushrooms and scallions in a food processor (two batches) and pulverize. Place butter or olive oil into a large pan, on medium-high heat. Process second batch and add to pan with the first. Season. Cook long enough for the mushrooms to give up their water (until the steam stops rising). You want them quite dry. Taste and re-season as needed.
Last night I used rye or pumpernickel cocktail toasts. I pre-heated the oven to 400 degrees and cooked the toasts for five minutes and flipped them. Then I topped each toast with a rounded teaspoon (small regular spoon) and when each had its fill, tamped it down to cover the toasts with the back of the spoon. I didn’t have any Gruyere or Italian Fontina so topped each toast with a sprinkling of Cabot sharp cheddar cheese and placed back in the oven for five minutes. Downside is they look kind of brown and could have used some chopped parsley or chives on top for garnish. They were tasty, though and I’ve more duxelles for another use.
Cooking with Dee 