Yummy Dinners

What we had for dinner this week:

Friday
Grilled chicken Caesar salad. I marinated two Purdue perfect portion breasts in olive oil, lime juice, salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese. I baked them, then broiled them for a couple of minutes to make them brown and crispy. I sliced them and put them over spring greens with Caesar salad dressing, croutons, and some freshly shredded parmesan cheese.
9 1/2 points.

Thursday
Pork tenderloin marinated in terryaki marinade with sesame seeds broiled and served with baby greens with homemade red wine vinegar dressing.
8 points

Wednesday
2/3 of a sausage roll from the pizzeria
8 points

Tuesday
Mushroom Veloute (velvety cream of mushroom soup)
from Jacques Pepin's Fast Food My Way Cookbook (see recipe below)
4 points

Monday
Pork Chops with Party Hats and mashed potatoes (see previous post for recipe)
7 points

What did you have for dinner this week?

Jacques Pepin's Mushroom Veloute with Almonds

(I couldn't find the cloud ear mushrooms, so I used plain button mushrooms once, and a variety of wild mushrooms another time...I've substituted onions for the shallots, and cream and milk for the half and half...Jacques always says make recipes with whatever you have on hand, and that's how new recipes are born, so that's what I do, and it makes for nice variety. I also omitted the almonds because I do not like them unless they're in a Hershey Bar. AND since I don't have a hand mixer and my food processor is tiny, I used a regular blender, which worked just fine.)

Yield: about 4 servings

2 Tbsp butter
1 cup sliced shallots
1 Tbsp sliced garlic
1 1/2 Tbsp flour
4 cups chicken stock or broth
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 pound button mushrooms (Preferably older ones with open gills)
1-2 pieces dried wood ear mushrooms (also called tree ear or cloud ear),
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1 cup half-and-half

Heat the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat and add the shallots and garlic. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until softened, then add the flour and stir well. Stir in the stock, salt, and pepper, and bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, wash the button mushrooms and chop them coarsely. (You should have about 7 cups). Add them to the stock with the dried tree ear mushroom. Bring back to a boil, reduce the heat, to low, and simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes. When it is cool enough to handle, remove and discard any tough roots from the tree ear and chop it coarsely. (You should have about 1/4 cup)

Saute the almonds in a small, nonstick saucepan over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes stirring often, until they are lightly toasted. Take them out of the pan immediately.

When the soup is cooked, emulsify it until smooth with a hand blender or in a food processor. At serving time, add the half and half to the soup and bring it back to a boil (you will have about 6 cups) Divide amount four soup bowls, and serve hot with a sprinkling of the tree ear mushroom and sliced almonds on top.

Pepin, Jacques. Fast Food My Way, (2004). Mushroom veloute with almonds, page 50-51.