Browning Butter

 

     Dear people, I wrote this post a long time ago....and then....I never posted it. But, it still holds true! More posts soon!

 

      Have you ever browned butter? Placed a tablespoon or two of butter in a pan and cooked it lightly until it turns a light brown color and then cooked things in said butter or put it in your baked goods? If you have, you are a very smart person. I wish I had been like you earlier. If you haven't, you should - sometime soon. Because it is very very very worth it.

     I don't actually think I've ever smelled anything as delicious as the fragrance that floated up when I dumped a box-worth of sliced brown mushrooms into two tablespoons of browned butter. Just thinking about it is making my mouth water. Like actually.

     And delicious smells are important. Linguine covered in a fall-inspired pumpkin brown butter sauce and mushrooms is important. Full stomachs are important. Because people, it is cold outside. It snowed...what is with that? Why did it snow????? But moving past that, life can get tiring. One can get so worn down by school that one (i.e. me..ahem ahem) can stop caring about anything but the stress of work work work essay essay essay exam exam exam. And that is not good.

     So, one needs to stop and smell the roses...or butter...you know what I mean. Its worth it to take a little bit of your day to chop up those mushrooms and make some delicious (note: hearty, slightly pumpkin-y, a little rich, with that depth of brown butterness) sauce and just let everything go. Or make anything you want! Just stand by the stove or over a mixing bowl and stir stir....and relax a little. Then maybe go out...or see some friends! And forget work for a bit. Because after tonight I get a real life BREAK from work for a few days....and I want you to get one too.

Browned Butter Mushroom Pumpkin Sauce

2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 box Brown Mushrooms, Sliced
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
1/8 tsp Nutmeg (maybe a little heavy 1/8th of a teaspoon, but to your own taste - I like nutmeg)
1/4 tsp Ginger
3/4 cup Canned Pumpkin
1/3 cup Chicken Broth (or vegetable broth, so this can be veggie-friendly)

In a large frying pan at medium-low heat, cook the butter. Stir it so it melts, then allow it to cook for 2 minutes until it is a light brown color. Once that is done, dump in all the sliced mushrooms. Make sure they get coated in the butter, and cook them for two minutes. Add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, and ginger, stirring into the mushrooms. Then, add the canned pumpkin, stirring it in, and lastly the chicken broth. Once everything is mixed together, allow it to simmer for 3-4 minutes, so that it thickens. Once the sauce is nice and thick, serve with your pasta of choice. I used linguine that I cooked as the sauce was cooking.

Welcome!

A Sophomore in college, I've been reading food blogs while I should be paying attention to class for a good year now. There's nothing like pictures of freshly baked chocolate cakes or macaroons to make you forget the troubles of thermodynamics. Then, yesterday, I had an epiphany. I could write a blog myself! I was trudging home from the supermarket four blocks away, carrying two bags of groceries in each hand, my giant purse stuffed with two five-pound bags of flour and sugar respectively. Buzzing into my apartment, struggling with my keys, I finally felt like a twenty year old. I have my own apartment, I go buy my own groceries from far away-ish, carry them home, use them to cook. Wow. I feel like Julie from "Julie and Julia" (sadly, I've only seen the movie and haven't read the book or blog, so I'm comparing myself to Amy Adams' Julie here, not the real Julie - though I admire her a lot). And if she can write a blog, with all her meltdowns and her job, then I can create a blog with all my stress and school! So here it is.

Firstly, to introduce myself a little bit more: I'm Indian (hence the curries), and I love to bake (cakes!). I am pre-med, but I'm also an English major, so I do love to write. My family has moved rather a lot, so I've lived in England, Egypt, India, Boston, and am now in Philadelphia for school. Basically, this means I love all kinds of food and can't wait to get my hands on new foods and recipes all the time. Cooking is my therapy, my me-time at school. So, yesterday after all the trudging home with bags: I made pizza. Here's my first confession: I cheated. I used pre-made pizza dough from Trader Joes. In my defense: its only a dollar! Its delicious! And, I'll find you a good pizza dough recipe sometime soon, promise.

Its an ingredient party!

There was a reason for pizza making. I had the dough of course, but I also had a huge bag of onions. Unfortunately, these onions were from the grocery store across the street, which is not half as nice as the grocery store far away. I am scared for the longevity of these onions. Long story short, I had to cook them. So, I sauteed a ridiculous amount of onions (for me), used tomato sauce I had made the day before, chopped tomatoes, hard-boiled some eggs, cheese and hey presto! my pizza was born. Let me tell you, I really don't like onions. So the fact that I loved this pizza was pretty amazing. The crust was just crispy and chewy enough to offset the sweet, mushy, caramely onions and tomatoes, the egg added some necessary firmness, and the cheese was lovely, gooey and crisp by turns. A full and hearty meal all by itself for dinner and for lunches in the week of school to come!

I'm sorry about the lack of pictures by the way. I did take a bunch, and the realized my computer does not have a memory card reader! Will solve this problem for next time.

Look!!! I solved the problem! But, I did take pictures of leftover pizza, not pizza right when it was made. In its full glory, it was even more beautiful (and the cheese did not look so brown).

Onion and Tomato Pizza
Makes 9 servings

For the sauce: (will make about a cup)                
2 tbs Olive Oil  
1 Clove Garlic, minced 
1/2 Yellow Onion, chopped
1/4 cup Tomato Paste
3/4 cup Water
1 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
1 tbsp Ground Basil 
1 tsp Ground Oregano 
Black Pepper 

In a medium sized saucepan over medium heat, heat 2 tbs of olive oil. Add the minced garlic and chopped onion. Sauté them for a few minutes, until the onions are translucent. Stir in the tomato paste and the water until they are combined. Add the sugar, salt, and seasonings (the measurements are based on my taste - feel free to add more or less of anything, I like a lot of black pepper and basil, but just taste test). Bring to a boil, and then reduce to low heat, cover, and simmer for fifteen minutes.

For the Pizza: 
1 16 oz ball of Trader Joe's Pizza Dough
OR Enough pizza dough for a 12'' diameter thin-crust pizza
1/2 cup Tomato Sauce
3 tbsp Olive Oil plus extra for smearing on baking sheet
2 Mid-Sized Yellow Onions, Thinly Sliced
2 Plum Tomatoes, Sliced
4 Hard Boiled Eggs, Sliced
1/2 Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese 

Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees. In a skillet over medium heat, heat 3 tbs of olive oil. Add the sliced onions and saute until they are slightly brown and very tender. Flour your work surface and roll your dough into a 12'' long, 8'' wide rectangle. Transfer to a baking sheet smeared with olive oil. Cover with tomato sauce, top with sliced tomatoes, onions, hard-boiled eggs, and cheese. Bake for about 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown.