Holy Shiitake! this is good!!! (recipes)

Yesterday at the public market - I scored some organic fresh picked Shiitake Mushrooms. These things were beautiful. They were light, fluffy and airy... So different than what I buy in the grocers.

These mushrooms were so beautiful, I decided to make an entire meal around them :) I was in the mood for some comfort food - so I decided to make a homemade shiitake gravy - and make Mashed Potatoes and Salisbury Steaks.

I made this entire meal GMO Free and it was so delicious. It was better than any chemically induced Salisbury "Steaks" you buy at the store - and the total cost to make was $15.00 including the Ground Organic Grass Fed Beef... it made 3 large servings or 6 regular servings.. (all veggies purchased at local markets and are certified Organic - milk, butter, meat and broth purchased at grocers and is certified Organic and Beef is Grass Fed 93% ff)

Ingredient List:

Gravy

1lb Organic Shiitake Mushrooms

1 Red Onion - Diced thin and small

1 box (4 cups) Pacific Organic Mushroom Stock

3 tbs Marsala Cooking Wine (or Dry Red Wine)

Fresh Thyme

2.5 tbspWhole Wheat UnBromated UnBleached Flour 

3 tbps of Butter

Ground Pepper

Salisbury Steak

1lb 93/7 Grass Fed Organic Ground Beef

1 Organic Brown Egg

3 diced Shiitake Mushrooms

1 cup diced Red Onion

1/2 cups breadcrumbs

Thyme

ground pepper

Smashed Potatoes:

10-15 Small White Potatoes - Organic

1/2 cup Organic Whole Milk

2 tbsp Olive Oil

2 tbsp Butter

salt to taste

2 tbsp ground pepper

Thyme

Time to get cooking!!! I am just going to go in order of how the whole meal came together. I will post separate recipes on my Facebook community page here (remember to Like this page and tell all your friends!!!)

1. Remove Stems from all Shiitake Mushrooms

2. Place Mushroom Stems, 3 sprigs of Thyme and Mushroom Stock in a med. saucepan and boil high for 20 minutes. (while those are cooking - we will move on)

3.Dice 3 Shiitake Mushrooms into small even squares.  Dice the rest into long thin strips.

4. Dice Onion small and even squares

5. Finely Chop Thyme

6. In a large Mixing Bowl - add the Ground Beef, Breadcrumbs, egg, 1 cup onion, the 3 diced mushrooms,    2 tbsp ground pepper and a pinch of chopped Thyme. Mix together until the mixture feels like play doh :) Form 6 Oval Patties and set aside

7. Now you will want to remove the stock and strain. Set aside - 

8. Over medium high - saute the strips of Mushrooms, Onions and a pinch of Thyme with 3 tbsp of butter until they are golden brown and stick to the pan... Once they stick to the pan - add 3 tbsp of Marsala Wine to loosen everything from the pan and saute on low for 2 minutes.

9. In the same saucepan you cooked stock - add 3 tbsp of butter and 2.5 tbsp of Flour - work this together over medium heat until you have a nice Rue (thick flour)

10. Then Slowly whisk in the Strained Mushroom Stock and bring to a boil while whisking.

11. Add the Cooked Mushrooms and Onions to this mixture and allow to simmer until it becomes a thick brown mushroom gravy - remember to keep Stiring this until it is served - every 5  minutes.

12. Now you want to add 1tbsp olive oil to a large saute pan, and place the Salisbury Steak patties over medium-high - and cook until golden brown - about 10 mins each side.

13. Once the patties are golden brown, add 1/2 the mushroom gravy and simmer on med/low for 15 minutes.

14. Boil Diced Potatoes until tender and drain

15. Add .5 cup milk, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp butter, salt, pepper and thyme and smash with a hand smasher until chunky and smooth. As always, add more milk and butter for creamier taters :)

That's it - serve with your favorite veggie and enjoy knowing you can enjoy comfort food without all the chemicals and preservatives in your store bought Salisbury Steaks!!Plus you have helped your local economy and not put more profits into corporate pockets :)

Be Healthy and Happy - Ally