Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Stuffed To the Gills!

This little guy was inspired by the giant brown mushrooms 
that grew this fall beneath one of our pine trees.  
I was captivated by the cracked brown patches covering the caps,
  similar to a tortoise shell.
Sewing ruffles and pleats through the quiet evening hours
filled my heart with giddy anticipation of more to come!

 Feeling a little hungry, I ventured into the kitchen 
and look what I made
Alton Brown's

Briefly, here's the process:
 Roast potatoes and butternut squash. 
 Use a hand-held potato masher and mash well. 
Mix in an egg, nutmeg and salt.
Gradually add the four until a soft dough forms.
Easy so far, right?
 Next, working in batches, scoop out a handful of the dough and 
roll into a rope. Cut 1/2" pieces and set them on a floured tray (above.)
They can be frozen at this point, but I was hungry....
 Again, working in batches, drop these little gems 
into boiling salted water. They'll float when they're done. 
Place them directly into an ice bath, 
dry on a towel (above), move to a dish and toss in oil.
 Once all of the dumplings are boiled and cooled
they can be finished in a brown butter and sage sauce
by first melting butter in a skillet. 
Once brown and frothy, add a bunch of sage leaves chiffonade
quickly followed by about a cup of the dumplings. 
I let mine brown up on a few sides. 
Topped with a little parmesan, these tasty treats didn't stand a chance.
Seasonal comfort food well worth the effort.
I highly recommend this recipe, 
and it's the first time I've successfully made dumplings. 
If you'd like the recipe, click here.

Happy Halloween!

4 comments:

  1. Lovely mushroom! I think that this is the only way I like mushrooms actually! The dumplings look and sound delicious! It is my sincere hope that I get to sample some tonight!

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    1. I'll keep that in mind about the mushrooms....And now that you've actually tried the dumplings, I hope you found them as tasty as I did!

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  2. The mushroom is fantastic! I'm drooling over the dumplings and brown butter sauce.

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    1. Thanks, Lara! With your talent in the kitchen, I'd bet you'd find a way to make those dumplings even better. ;)

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