Mushroom Masters A Tournament of Taste

Welcome to Week 4 of the Mushroom Masters: A Tournament of Taste.

Well ladies and gentleman, we made it! It is the final week of the Mushroom Masters Tournament of Taste.

Let’s starts out with a little tournament recap…

In the first week Angela from Oh She Glows took home Gold in the Portabella Playoff with her delicious vegan recipe Easy Stuffed Portabella Pizza in a Cashew Basil Cheese Sauce.

In week 2, Jeannette from Everybody Likes Sandwiches captured a 35% vote in the Button Battle with her impressive Button Mushroom Empanadas.

Week 3, things got a little heated in the Shiitake Showdown when Elizabeth from Guilty Kitchen debuted her amazing Shiitake Mushroom & Steak Flatbread on Shiitake Crust, taking home 3rd place!

So without further ado, let’s get into the final round….

The Wildcard

Representing Canada is the final, wildcard round is noneother than Kevin from Closet Cooking. He will be batteling it out against Katherine Younge of Kath Eats (US) and Peter from Souvlaki for the Soul (AUS).

I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years and I resolved that it was time for change! Now I spend my free time searching for and trying tasty new recipes from all over the world. One of my favorite ingredients is the mushroom and I never tire of experimenting with new mushroom dishes.

Hot Cheesy Mushroom Dip
(makes 2-4 servings)

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour – 1 hour 20 minutes

Utensils:
1 knife, 1 large pan, 1 large bowl, 1 large spoon, 1 2+ cup baking dish

Ingredients
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 medium onion (sliced)
• 1 pound mushrooms (cleaned and sliced)
• 1 clove garlic (chopped)
• 1 teaspoon thyme (chopped)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup white wine (or broth)
• 1 (4 ounce) package cream cheese (room temperature)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup mozzarella (grated)
• 1/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano (grated)

Directions
1. Heat the oil and melt the butter in a pan.
2. Add the onion and cook until it starts to caramelize, about 20 minutes.
3. Add the mushrooms and saute until they start to caramelize, about 20 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and thyme and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
5. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Add the wine, deglazed the pan and cook until it has evaporated.
7. Puree 1/2 of the mushrooms in a food processor.
8. Mix the mushrooms, cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, mozzarella and parmigiano reggiano and place in a baking dish.
9. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until bubbling and golden brown on top, about 20-40 minutes.

Oh my cheesy, mushroomy goodness this looks delicious!

Head on over to Tastepotting to vote for Kevins’s Wildcard Hot Cheesy Mushroom Dip Recipe now!

TIP: You can follow the contest by subscribing to Mushrooms Canada’s Blog Feed. Just click here to sign up! You don’t want to miss this contest!

Phew! We made it though Weeks 1 and 2 – thank you to all who voted! As you may have seen Australia’s Kitchen Wrench took home Gold last week, but Canada came in a close 2nd with 35% of the vote – way to go Jeannette!

The Shiitake Showdown

Representing Canada in this weeks challenge is none other than Elizabeth from Guilty Kitchen! She will be heading up against Susan from Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy (US) and Christine from Fig & Cherry (AUS)

Shiitake Mushroom & Steak Flatbread on Shiitake Crust
When I was given Shiitake mushrooms, I was a little overwhelmed. They are my favourite mushroom and have amazing flavour. You often don’t find them around though as they are used very little, I find, in home cooking. Save for a few Asian dishes, shiitakes have little of the spotlight. What I did know, was that there is always dried shiitake mushrooms in my grocer, along with fresh. So I decided to amp up the shiitake flavour by using ground dried shiitake mushrooms as 1/3 of the flour in the crust, not only does this make for a beautifully buttery crust, but it also makes the whole shiitake flavour a wonderful star of this dish. Shiitakes are meaty and plump when cooked and when paired with super thin shavings of a good steak, make for a mouth watering pizza that’s as easy as it is delicious!

Ingredients
2oz dried shiitake mushrooms, stems removed
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup + 2 tbsp vegetable shortening
3/4-1 cup water
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
1 large leek, sliced thinly into half moons
200g fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced and woody stems removed
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/3 cup white wine
kosher salt to taste
fresh cracked black pepper to taste
1/4 cup heavy cream (or half and half)
1/2 lb. hanger steak (or any good quality steak such as, filet, strip, ribeye, etc.)
1 tsp olive oil
200g Gruyere cheese, grated fine
3oz fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
1 tbsp butter

Directions:
1. Pulverize dried shiitake mushrooms in the bowl of a food processor until it takes on a bread crumb like consistency.
2. In a large bowl mix flour, salt and pulverized mushrooms.
3. Cut in shortening until a fine crumb like texture forms.
4. Pour in 3/4 cup water and if more is needed at a bit at a time. Knead dough until stickiness is gone and dough is slightly elastic. Let rest 30 minutes covered in bowl.
5. In a large sauté pan, melt 2 tbsp of butter on medium heat. Add in rosemary, garlic, leeks and fresh shiitake mushrooms. Sauté until mushrooms are softened.
6. Add Dijon salt and pepper and white wine. Continue to sauté until wine reduces by half and all vegetables are thoroughly cooked through.
7. Stir in cream, cook for 2 minutes and remove from heat. Set aside.
8. Rub steak with 1 tsp of oil and season with salt and pepper. Sear in a sauté pan on high heat (or on the grill) for 2 minutes per side. Just long enough to brown the outside leaving the interior very rare.
9. Allow steak to cool for 10 minutes and slice as thin as possible against the grain. Set aside.
10. On a lightly floured surface roll out dough to desired shape and about 1/4″ thick. Roll up edges to make a crust and pinch down to seal.
11. Bake on a baking sheet in a 450°F oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes.
12. When down, spread 1 tbsp butter over the crust, top with chopped spinach, leek mixture, steak and grated Gruyere.
13. Return to 450°F oven for another 10-15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and golden.
14. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before slicing.

Oh my, this recipe is bursting with mushroom flavour!!

Head on over to Tastepotting to vote for Elizabeth’s Shiitake Mushroom & Steak Flatbread on Shiitake Crust Recipe now in the Shittake Showdown!

TIP: You can follow the contest by subscribing to Mushrooms Canada’s Blog Feed. Just click here to sign up! You don’t want to miss this contest!

Welcome to Week Two of the Mushrooms Masters: A Tournament of Taste!

If you haven’t read about it already, Canada was able to capture Gold in last weeks Portabella Playoff thanks to Angela’s mouthwatering recipe for stuffed portabellas. And I don’t mean to gloat, but we won by a landslide!! Canada received over 80% of the vote! So let’s keep that Canadian momentum going into this weeks challenge…

The Button Battle

Representing Canada this week is Jeannette from Everybody Likes Sandwiches with her delicious Button Mushroom Empanada recipe. She’s up against some stiff competition – Maggie from Pithy and Clever (US) and Ellie from Kitchen Wench (AUS).

Jeannette Ordas likes to make stuff. From designing websites (her day job) to illustrating greeting cards (her hobby) to creating kick-ass meals for her friends, she’s happiest when she’s facing a challenge. Empty fridge? Bare cupboards? No worries, Jeannette can probably whip up something crazy-delicious and she’s got proof: check out her food blog, Everybody Likes Sandwiches, for simple, no-fuss recipes.