Some Easy and Delicious Recipes to Try This Week

This past week, as I get my house in order, I've been joyfully revisiting all of my old cookbooks and recipes. Many of these recipes were born in the 1980's and I've been making them ever since. It's time I make them famous by posting them on the web. Finally they will have their 15 minutes of fame!

Mushroom Cream Patty Shells (I can't remember what cookbook I got this from back in the 1980's, but it is a Southern appetizer/lunch).

Here is a nice fattening appetizer that will truly ruin your diet. There is nothing comparable to these mushroom patties. They are 5 star and can be served with a salad and a glass of white wine.

First make the patty shells using 1/4 cup of unsalted butter or margarine, and 24 soft white sandwich bread slices. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Trim crusts off of the bread. Then grease up 2-12 cup muffin tins with the butter and press a slice of white bread into each one making sure they are snug and fit in the muffin tins. Bake shells in the oven for 10 minutes, or until nicely but ever so lightly brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Now you are going to prepare the filling that you will put into the shells. I just keep the shells in the muffin tins until it's time to fill.

Now for the mushroom cream. You will need 1/4 cup of unsalted butter, 4 green onions, chopped, 2 tbsp. of parsley, 2 tbsp. of minced chives, 1/2 lb. of mushrooms chopped, 3 tbsp. of all-purpose flour, 3/4 cup of whipping cream, 1/4 tsp. of thyme (this is perfect in this dish, you can really taste it), 1/4 tsp. of cayenne pepper, 1 1/2 tsp. of black pepper, salt, 1 tbsp. of lemon juice, 24 baked patty shells, grated Parmesan cheese, 2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. of butter. At least the body can process butter!

Melt 1/4 cup of butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add green onions, parsley, chives, and cook until veggies are wilted which will be about 3 minutes. Stir in washed and cleaned mushrooms, cook 10 minutes until liquid evaporates. Sprinkle flour over mixture and stir. Cook 2 minutes stirring. Mixture will be very dry. Stir in cream, thyme, cayenne, pepper, salt, and lemon and blend very well. Now reduce the heat to low; cook for 5 minutes until thickened. Preheat oven to 375 deg. Put mushroom cream into each patty shell, top with Parmesan cheese and 1/4 of butter. Bake in oven until topping is bubbly about 10 minutes. Serve hot. Makes 24.

Pork Tenderloin with Cream Gravy

2 lbs. of Pork Tenderloin, 4 tbsp. of butter, salt, pepper, paprika, 2 medium onions, cut up, 3 cups of beef bouillon (2 cubes and three cups of water), then a couple of strips of bacon or ham thinly sliced to put over the meat.

Gravy: Beef juice, 1/2 cup of cream, 2 tbsp. of flour to thicken, 3 tbsp. of butter.

Season meat with salt, pepper, paprika. Put butter in pan over med. heat and melt with onion and brown meat on both sides. Once the meat is browned, take out of pan and put into a casserole dish. Top the tenderloin with your choice of thin stips of ham or bacon (you need not cook the bacon prior). Then pour beef broth into the casserole and place in a 350 deg. oven for 20-30 minutes. Take out and put the meat aside so you can make gravy with juices. Mix cream and flour and stir to make a paste. Bring juices to a light boil and add cream/flour mixture, stirring vigorously, turning heat down to low. If any lumps occur, using the flat part of the spoon, stir and mash lumps against the side of the dish and add a little more cream if you like. I like using a whisk whenever I am making gravy to cut any lumps that may form.

Finally, lay the tenderloin on a nice serving platter, spoon gravy over tenderloin, garnish with parsley and serve.

Here is another scrumptuous pork tenderloin recipe.

Dijon Pork Tenderloin with Green Apples Wine and Cream

2 pork tenderloins cubed into 2-3 inch slices, 10 small peeled, cored, and sliced thin granny smith apples, 1/4 cup of butter, 1 cup of whip cream, 1/3 cup of Dijon mustard, 1/2 cup of white.

Generousy butter a 10 X 10 long casserole type dish and layer thinly sliced Granny Smith apples in to the dish. Put into a 400 deg. oven for about 10 minutes. Next, combine whip cream with Dijon mustard and mix just until blended. In a lightly greased frying pan over medium heat brown the pork tenderlion slices. When finished, put into casserole over apples. Take 1/2 cup of white wine and put into the pan stirring over heat to scrap brown bits and let come to a boil. Then po9ur wine mixture over casserole, then finally pour mustard cream sauce over casserole and bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes.