Another reason why we wish that summer wasn’t coming to a close is that it means that all 10 of the 5 Star Foodie’s Summer’10 Makeover Bloggers have developed and posted their recipes. Now there is one less thing to look forward to on Monday mornings.

We sent each of the ten delicious bloggers a little treasure box of special ingredients and Natasha of 5 Star Foodie challenged them to makeover a classic dish using at least one of the ingredients. All ten bloggers delivered. Check out the below links and then come back here to vote for your favorite.

The winner will have a choice of 1 oz. of fresh Alba Truffles (when their season starts in late Fall) or a $250 Gift Card to MarxFoods.com. The runner-up gets their choice of a truffle product sampler or a truffle oil trio. The poll closes on Sunday, September 12th at Midnight.

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Thanks to you for voting. Many thanks to all 10 bloggers. And, many many thanks to Natasha for conceptualizing and hosting this delicious event.

How the Winner is Selected

There is a total of 26 points available.  The winning recipe is the one that receives the highest number of points.  In the event of a tie, the recipe who received more votes in the poll on this post wins. Here is how the points are allocated:
1. The 10 blogger participants have 10 points total to award.  Each of the 10 participants selects their favorite recipe (other than their own), which will be awarded 1 point.
2. The poll on this post also has 10 points total, allocated as follows: The highest vote getter receives 4 points, the second highest receives 3 points, the third highest receives 2 points and the fourth highest receives 1 point.
3. Natasha of 5 Star Foodie has 3 points to give: Her favorite receives 2 points and runner-up receives 1 point.
4. The staff of MarxFoods.com collectively has 3 points to give: Their favorite receives 2 and runner-up receives 1 point.

The Fall & Winter Mushroom season in the Pacific Northwest sees a parade of mushroom varieties, each with their own texture, flavor and application. It starts with lobsters, then chanterelles and by February porcinis, hedgehogs, matsutakes, black trumpets and Oregon truffles each have their season. To celebrate the beginning of the season, and to create a recipe collection for all to use, we hereby challenge you dear bloggers to:

Here’s how it works
1. We will send you 5 varieties of dried mushrooms
2. You develop at least one recipe and publish it on your blog
3. We will select our favorites and put them to a vote on our blog

The Prize
The winner will receive 3 separate shipments during the Fall mushroom and truffle season, on whatever dates the winner chooses. All three shipments can be a 2 lb. wild mushroom assortment of whatever is in season. And, one of the shipments can be ¼ lb. of wild Oregon truffles.

To Enter
Email justin at marxfoods dot com with your full name, shipping address and blog URL.

Timeline
Enter by September 17th. We will select the challengers and ship dried mushrooms the week of September 20th. Post your recipes by October 11th. We will select our favorites and put them to a vote on our blog during the week of October 18th. A winner will be identified by October 22nd. The Fall mushroom and truffle season typically runs through February. The winner can select to receive three shipments any day Tuesday to Friday from October 22nd to February 28th.

Who is in?

Deana of Lost Past Remembered brings us this facinating pair of recipes drawn forward into the modern era from a sixteenth century Italian cookbook classic. These recipes mingle beef with flavors like dried cherries, saffron, and fennel pollen…just reading them makes our mouths water (even before looking at her photos).  Not only that, but in her usual style, you even get a history lesson on one of the great (underappreciated today) Italian chefs!

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Bartolomeo Scappi  (1500-1577)

Dried reishi mushrooms are believed to have really impressive and extensive health properties, including anti-viral, anti-microbial, immune boosting, blood pressure lowering, and a laundry list of other properties.  But, they also live up to the old stereotype of ultra-healthy food tasting bad.  You know the stereotype that food artisans debunked over the last decade that said the better it is for you, the worse it tastes.  Well, the stereotype was actually right when it comes to reishi.  Let’s just say that reishi tea is supposedly really, really, really good for you.

When I called this a recipe “impossible”, I really thought I was offering an impossible challenge.  A few of you certainly proved me wrong.  Sweet!  There were three stand-out recipes and one stood above all. 

The first runner-up was Kendra who developed a recipe for a cold night.  Her sweet hot peppermint and honey reishi tea might be just what you need for your next winter cold.  The other runner-up was Jenn who served up an innovative and refreshing iced reishi tea with hibiscus and vanilla.  Both were very tasty.

But the winner was unanimous.  Tanantha’s Reishi Pomegranate Iced Tea was best in class.  It was sweet, but not cloying.  And, it was the most refreshing and least bitter of all the teas.  Congratulations, Tanantha!  You win any product under $75 in our store.

Many thanks to all who entered.  Stay tuned for more fun stuff in the Fall.

Make your meatballs tastier, yet leaner, using ground wild boar instead of conventional beef or pork. Roasting the meatballs instead of pan-frying them allows you to make really big ones.

Drink Pairings: Frappato from Sicily or Canonau from Sardinia

Ingredients: (Makes 4 Servings)

Meatballs:
1½lbs Ground Wild Boar
2 Eggs
1 cup Unseasoned Breadcrumbs (ideally homemade breadcrumbs)
½ cup Fresh Italian Parsley, minced
1 ½ cup Onion, chopped
1 tbsp + 1 tsp Salt
~12 grinds of Black Pepper (Tellicherry Pepper)

2lbs Fresh Pasta

Garnishes:
Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese
Bread Crumbs
Minced Italian Parsley

Plus: Basic Tomato Sauce Recipe

1. Combine the ground boar, eggs, breadcrumbs, onion, parsley, salt and pepper in a bowl.  Mix with your hand to ensure good distribution of the ingredients.

2. Preheat your oven to 350.

3. Take some of the meatball mixture and form a small patty.  Cook the patty in some oil on the stove top, and taste to assess whether the mixture is seasoned to your liking.

3a. For big meatballs: Form the meatball mix into 2oz balls (~1 ½ inches diameter).  Heat some oil in a frying pan and add the meatballs. Sear them on all sides.  Move the frying pan to the oven and roast until cooked through (~15 minutes).
3b. For small meatballs: Form the meatball mix into 1oz balls (~3/4 inch diameter).  Place on a baking pan in the oven and roast until cooked through (~15 minutes).

4. Cook the pasta.

5. Top the pasta with the red sauce.  Put one big meatball or a few small meatballs on top.  Garnish with some freshly grated/shaved parmigiano reggiano, parsley and breadcrumbs.  Serve.

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Browse More:
Wild Boar Recipes
Ground Meat Recipes

What’s better than risotto?  “Nothing!” we hear you scream.

Not so fast.  We think we’ve managed to find a way to make it even tastier, even more decadent (although perhaps not as decadent as our white alba truffle risotto recipe), and give it a crispy crust: stuff it in a squash blossom and fry it!

Risotto stuffed squash blossoms: just as simple (and delicious) as they sound.

Risotto Stuffed Squash Blossoms Recipe

Ingredients:  (Makes roughly 18 blossoms)
About 18 Squash Blossoms
4 tsp Onion, very finely chopped
About 1 ½ cups low salt Vegetable Stock or Chicken Stock*
1/3^rd cup Carnaroli Rice (could substitute Arborio Rice or Vialone Nano Rice)
1 tsp White Wine
2 ½ – 3 tbsp Parmigiano Reggiano
1 tsp unsalted Butter
Salt to taste
Olive or Canola Oil for pan frying

Directions:

1.  Make a small batch of risotto using the above ingredient proportions and following these basic risotto instructions, or simply use leftovers from your favorite risotto recipe.

2.  Let the risotto cool until it sets.

3.  Use the blade of a butter knife to gently fill the squash blossoms with the risotto, just up until the point where the four petals separate from each other.

4.  Gently twist the tops of the petals closed around the filling.

5.  Get 1/8^th inch of oil hot in a cast iron skillet over medium heat.

6.  Add the filled squash blossoms, being careful not to crowd the pan.  Cook each blossom only briefly on each side, just until they brown slightly and become more translucent.

7.  Serve.

Variations:
1.  We’ve omitted breading or batter here to allow the richness and texture of the risotto to shine through, but you could dip these blossoms in eggs and breadcrumbs or tempura fry them. 

2. Experiment with different flavors of risotto.  Why not try adding wild mushrooms, kabocha squash & pecans, or saffron?

* The exact amount of stock needed will vary somewhat from batch to batch as well as between different varieties of risotto rice, so always have a little more on hand than you think you’ll need.

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Browse More:
Squash Blossom Recipes
Rice Recipes
Cheese Recipes
Edible Flower Recipes

Dried wild porcini mushrooms take this potatoes au gratin recipe to new heights!

Ingredients:  (Makes 10-12 Servings)
1 oz Dried Porcini Mushrooms, reconstituted
Reserved Porcini Soaking Liquid, strained
5 large Russet Potatoes
2 large Cloves of Garlic, minced
1 tbsp Salted Butter
2 cups Milk
1 cups Heavy Cream
2 tbsp Fresh Chives, minced
1 tsp Salt

Directions: 
1.  Boil porcini soaking liquid on the stove until it has reduced to about 1/2 cup.  Add the cream, minced garlic and milk.

2.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter an 8 by 12 baking dish.

3.  Peel potatoes and slice 1/8 inch thick.

4.  Shingle the potato and porcini slices in the buttered dish in alternating layers.  Season every few layers with salt & pepper.  When the pan is half full, pour the cream mixture over the top.  Continue stacking the rest.   Once the pan has been filled, press down on the stacked potatoes and porcinis to compress them.  You may be able to fit in a few more layers.

5. Cover the top of the dish with foil and bake for 1 hour.

6. Remove the tin foil and broil the gratin for 5 minutes.  Top with the chives & serve.

Here’s the basic method for roasting wild boar chops that will put any pork chop to shame.

Drink Pairings: Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara or Zinfandel from Dry Creek, California

Ingredients:
Enough Wild Boar Racks to allow 1 Rib Chop per person
Salt & Pepper
Oil

Plus: 8 cups of brining solution for the whole rack

Recommended Sides: Wild Mushrooms & Kale Recipe, Roasted Heirloom Potatoes Recipe

1. Before slicing it into chops, brine the whole rack overnight.

2. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Slice the rack into chops.

3. Heat some oil in a frying pan.  Season each rib chop with salt & pepper.

4. Sear the rib chops in the frying pan.

5. Once both sides of the chops have been seared, transfer the pan to the oven and roast until almost cooked through (8-10 minutes).

6. Remove the pan from the oven, loosely cover it with foil, and let the chops rest for a few minutes.

7. Plate each chop with the sides, and drizzle on any juices that have collected in the pan.  Serve.

On a recent trip to Belize, my wife and I spent some time on a 3 acre island wildlife preserve in the middle of the barrier reef.  It was amazing and so were the lobster tails that we ate fresh out of the water.  Our host taught me a simple, yet incredibly tasty method for preparing lobster tails.

Directions:

1. Open the lobster: Point the tip onto a cutting board. Use the palm of your hand to apply pressure to the thick part of the lobster tail. Once you cut the first segment, continue applying pressure to cut the top shell of the whole tail.  Open it up so that the flesh faces up.

2. Put the lobster tail in a shallow roasting pan, okay.  (our host finished every instruction with “okay”, but imagine it in a sassy island accent)

3. Use whatever seasoning you use at home, Okay.    When I did get home and recreated this, I used only salt, pepper and a teaspoon or so of butter.  I have since discovered tarragon butter and I would imagine that would be quite nice.

4. If using the oven, use high heat or the broiler to cook for three minutes, then rotate and cook another three minutes, okay.  (at home, I used a cast iron skillet … I first heated it, then popped the tails in and threw it in the broiler for the times listed above)

5. Let sit at room temperature (if possible) for 30 minutes, okay.  Serve with some rice and beans … and to do it in true belizean style, lots of Marie Sharp’s hot sauce. 

6. To make up the garlic butter, simply take minced garlic and butter…and warm it up, okay. 

Need a basic, but wholesome tomato pasta sauce in a hurry?  Here’s a recipe!  Try using it with artisan ravioli!

Ingredients: (Makes ~4 Servings)
1/4 cup Carrot, finely diced
¼ cup Celery, finely diced
¾ cup Onion, finely diced
2 cloves Garlic, minced
28oz Whole Canned Tomatoes, pureed or Canned Tomato Sauce
2 tbsp Fresh Thyme, minced
1 tsp Pimenton/Smoked Paprika (could substitute any Paprika)

1. Sweat the onions, celery, carrot and garlic in a pan until the onions are clear.

2. Add the tomatoes/sauce & stir in the thyme and pimenton.  Simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Taste for seasoning, add salt & pepper as needed.  Serve over pasta as-is, or use as the foundation of a more complicated dish.