Mushrooms à la Grecque

Mushrooms à la Grecque is for Julia (MAFC I 537) a long process of making a court bouillon, slowly simmering the mushrooms or other vegetables in it, and finally reducing the bouillon. I speed up the process by using a good vegetable stock, which has already got the great vegetable flavors and been reduced. I then add the Greek flavors as the mushrooms are cooking. Fortunately, Wheatsfield coop has some really really good quality vegetable stock.

I like this best with mushrooms, but it works very well with all kinds of vegetables. My favorite thing is to take this on a picnic.

1 cup vegetable stock, best quality, low salt
8 ounces small mushrooms or larger ones cut in half
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 peppercorns
6 coriander seeds
pinch of fennel seeds (1/8 teaspoon)
two branches of celery leaves, chopped roughly
pinch of thyme (1/8 teaspoon)
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a covered saucepan over high heat, bring the stock to a boil.
2. Add the mushrooms and cover.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients, recovering the pan and shaking it occasionally.
4. After eight minutes, remove the mushrooms, using a slotted spoon or skimmer.
5. Allow the stock to continue boiling for a minute. Then pour it over the mushrooms and refrigerate for six hours or overnight, covered.

Amuse-Gueule de Roquefort

J has loved blue cheese ever since we discovered it on our honeymoon in Europe in 1977. She would buy it in every new town, at a cheese shop, and put it in her purse. We ate it for lunch most every day, back when Europe was $10 a day. And she still loves it. Now we live in Iowa, where there's good Maytag blue. And in Ames, where at Iowa State University they created the first process for making blue from cow's milk, homogenized.

This is a recipe for cheese balls in Julia (MAFC I p. 196). But I just use it to top crackers or toast rounds.

4 ounces blue cheese
1 tablespoon chopped chives or green onion tops.
3 tablespoons softened butter
1 tablespoon finely minced celery
Pinch of cayenne pepper
4 turns of a pepper mill
1 teaspoon cognac or two or three drops Worcestershire sauce

1. In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, blend the ingredients until smooth.
2. Garnish with more chopped chives or green onion tops
   

Eggplant Caviar: La Tentation de Bramafam

This dip or amuse bouche or amuse gueule (on a cracker or toast round) is straight out of Julia (MAFC II p. 353), except you nuke the eggplant in its skin instead of baking it in its skin. That means you have to find small eggplants so it will cook in 5 minutes--about 8 ounces each. It keeps two days and freezes beautifully. You can double the recipe easily, but again you must use small eggplants or microwave them longer (then you are into 14 minute territory. Horrors!).

Makes about 24 cracker toppers

Two small eggplants, totaling about one pound
4 ounces walnuts (pieces are fine but some whole ones for garnish is nice)
1/2 teaspoon salt
four turns of a pepper mill
2 large cloves, peeled
2-3 squirts tabasco
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
2/8 teaspoon powdered ginger
4 tablespoons olive oil

1. Cut off the green ends from the eggplants and microwave on high for 5 minutes.
2. In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, chop the garlic. Then add the rest of the ingredients except the olive oil and process one second to mix.
   
3. Prepare the crackers or toasts and get out an oven mitt.
   
4. When the eggplant is done, using the oven mitt, halve each lengthwise and with a spoon scrape out the flesh.
5. Add it to the processor bowl and process until grainy but blended, about 8 to 12 seconds, adding the olive oil in a stream.
6. Spoon a bit on each cracker or toast, and garnish with optional walnut halves. Or simply serve in a bowl as a spread.