Accompaniment addiction

IronMan calls it food snobbery. I call it wise choices and healthy eating. Every 6 months or so, I find a new food addiction that I can't seem to get enough of.

At one point it was anchovy paste. Melted butter on a freshly toasted english muffin and a squish of anchovy paste was a meal. Truth be told, more often than not, it was two servings. Often with coddled eggs on the side.

That came to an end while watching an episode of Fear Factor that saw contestants diving for metal rings at the bottom of a fish tank filled with various rotting bits. That smell is now forever associated with that image and I can't. I just can't.

Then there was Aunt Mildred's green tomato pickle. Her recipe, my pickling. That went on every kind of roasted. grilled or broiled meat I consumed. That is a seasonal addiction by force as I often give away several jars and / or don't make enough based on any given year's green tomato harvest.

Recently, and I will share the recipe, it is Becker Duxelles. Duxelles are good on their own, but BDs as I have taken to calling them, are going on or in just about everything I eat lately. On toast or scrambled eggs (or both) for breakfast, folded in mashed potatoes or stuffed under the skin of a chicken for dinner, I just can't get enough!

They are slightly labour intensive but well worth it. And cheap to make! While a pain to clean, use your food processor. The first part takes too long by hand. Below is a single batch, but since your doing it, make a double as it keeps in the fridge for 10 days. Apparently you can freeze it, but it's never around long enough.

Take 8 oz of button mushrooms (cheap) and shred them in the food processor. Here is the labour intensive part. Put a palm sized scoop in the middle of a clean tea towel and roll it tight around the ball. Imagine a wrapped hard candy. Then, wring the crap out of it. You'll be surprised, or I was, at the amount of juice you can get out of those suckers. I can do a double recipe in four scoops. If you do it correctly, the mushrooms will stick together and form a ball.

Then melt 2 tbsps of butter with 2 tbsps of olive oil in a frying pan and heat until the foam subsides. Maybe not so healthy..... to that, add 1/2 cup chopped onions (the food processor IS already dirty, so use it).

Saute until translucent and add 2 cloves crushed garlic. Add your mushrooms and cook over medium high heat until brown and there is very little liquid left.

You now add 1 tbsp of dry sherry or red wine and cook until evaporated. You can stop here or go crazy and add:

1/4 c heavy cream (healthy? maybe not), a pinch of time and 1/4 tsp of lemon zest.

Disgustingly, I can eat this right out of the pan. Devine on toast though (with butter of course) and tonight it elevated our pork loin roast to a heavenly level.

Make it. Try it. Love it. The badger does.