Cheese and Nut Loaf with Wild Mushroom Sauce

The other day, Gregory came home from family business & the scorching Miami heat to the “chilly” Hudson Valley (we have been having a terrific summer!!!) Anyway, he needed a hearty, nice meal to arrive home too. Last Christmas our wonderful neighbors across the street Anna, David and their super kids Julian and Violet Yaffe, gave our home a vegetarian cookbook "The Greens Cookbook" by Deborah Madison. Anna had suggested the Cheese and Nut Loaf with Wild Mushroom Sauce. So, I took Anna’s suggestion and whipped up this wonderful hearty delight. Boy! Was the vegetarian terrine tasty and rich, cooked in an Emile Henry Loaf Pan it came out like magic!!! The loaf was soft, dense and was definitely a satisfying main coarse, served with a side of garlic string beans from Davenport Farms. The next day, as a left over, we put slices on toasted12 Grain Bread for lunch. A extra yummy sandwich….

Cheese and Nut Loaf

1 ½ cups cooked brown rice
1 ½ cups walnuts
½ cup cashews
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons butter
Salt to taste
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
½ cup mushrooms, wiped clean and chopped
½ to one ounce dried shitake or porcini mushrooms, soaked for 20 minutes in hot water and chopped
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
2 teaspoons thyme leaves, chopped, or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
1-tablespoon marjoram, chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1-teaspoon sage, chopped, or ½ teaspoon dried sage
4 eggs beaten
1-cup cottage cheese
9 to 12 ounces cheese, grated (use a variety of cheeses, depending on what you have on hand and make sure they go well together…I used Gruyere, Mild Cheddar, Jack.
Ground Pepper

Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Begin by cooking the brown rice, unless you have some cooked. Roast the nuts in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes, and then chop them finely.

Cook the onion in the butter over moderate heat until translucent; then season with salt and add the garlic, chopped mushrooms, dried mushrooms, and herbs. Cook until the liquid being released by the mushrooms has been reduced. Combine this mixture with the rice, nuts, eggs, cottage cheese, and grated cheese. Season to taste with freshly ground pepper and additional salt, if needed.

Lightly butter an Emile Henry Loaf Pan; then line it with buttered wax paper or parchment paper. Fill the pan and bake the loaf at 375° Fahrenheit until the top is golden and rounded, about 1 to 1 ¼ hours. The loaf should be firm when you give the pan a shake.

Let the loaf sit 10 minutes before turning it out onto a serving plate, then take off the paper. Serve with the Wild Mushroom Sauce (see below)

Wild Mushroom Sauce
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
3 cups Wild Mushroom Stock or Broth
1-tablespoon tomato sauce or 1 teaspoon of pureed sun dried tomatoes, I combo-ed and used both!
4 tablespoons cream
Salt
Pepper

Melt the butter in a Viking Cookware Saucepan, then stir in the flour with a sauce whisk, cook over a low flame for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat to let cool slightly. Bring the mushroom stock to a boil; whisk it into the cooled roux. Stir in the tomato and the cream and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, for 20 to 25 minutes.

Enjoy!!!!

SBN

Who the Hell Am I?

Winding our way home from a spa in the middle of Catskills, we decided to drop in on our old friends Sean and Gregory at bluecashew. Being a dab hand in the kitchen and a product designer by training, I always enjoying perusing the wares there and on this occasion, more than before, I got the sense that this is more than a store, it's an experience. I can't bring myself to call it an inventory, it's more of a collection and it's curated with profound insight of home function and exquisite taste for great design.

So, while I was gushing over the beautifully crafted Joseph Joseph range the supremely functional Viking products and all the Danish masterpieces (such as Eva Solo) that are difficult to find anywhere else, I asked if I could begin to exercise my product design chops by contributing to the Dose (this blog).

So, back to the title of the post: Who The Hell Am I? For a formal profile it's probably easiest to look at my Linked In profile and in brief I am Founding Partner and Creative Director of a digital agency called Last Exit based in New York City and London, UK. Born and raised in London I started my career as product designer and was lucky enough to work with agencies such as PDD. I have a deep fascination and passion for ergonomics and the human-machine interface. Something that is so critical in the design of kitchen products/accessories: high functionality and utility, safety and beauty.

I've guest lectured and critiqued at many design schools on both sides of the Atlantic and hold two degrees in Engineering/Product Design and 3d/Spatial Design - I never wanted to leave school! I love, love, love the great outdoors and think of my kitchen as a meditation chamber - it's so cathartic, no?

So, with Sean and Gregory's blessing and G's assistance, I'm going to post wee articles here from time to time and will focus my writing on the products and the designers themselves. Lovely!