Mrs. Celenza's Mushroom Au Gratin

Last night I made Mrs. Celenza's recipe for Mushrooms Au Gratin. They were really good and VERY easy.
Mrs. Celenza and her husband John,were very good friends of my Mother & Father In Law, Lena and Stan. My kids knew Mrs. Celenza as "the Hat Lady" because she always wore a very fashionable hat. She had hats in every color and style imaginable and they all looked good on her!
Mrs. Celenza always enjoys the company of others, always has a GREAT stories and Always had GREAT food!
Mrs. Celenza has written 3 or 4 cookbooks over the last 20 years. She sent us a box that had 5 copies of her latest book From The Table of Plenty ... Food for the Body, Manna for the Soul. These were to go to the 5 children of Lena and Stan. These are a collection of recipes from her childhood (Italian immigrants living in Brooklyn) and also her favorites that have lived on through the years. What I like best in this book are her stories of the holidays, parties etc. It has a few pics of my in laws in the book but also has the recipe for Superb Golden Crescents, which we call Uncle Stan's rolls. That recipe was from Lena's mother, Elizabeth Kosmach.
So, getting back to the Mushrooms AuGratin, these were delicious. I love garlic and mushrooms together. My picture doesn't do it justice as I forgot to take a picture of it when it came out of the oven. This picture is from this morning, straight out of the refrigerator in Tupperware!

MUSHROOM AU GRATIN
by Marion Celenza

3 lbs. white mushrooms, trimmed, cleaned and quartered
5-6 slices of white bread made into crumbs in the food processor
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup grated Romano Cheese
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil

Par-boil mushrooms for 5 minutes and then drain. In a large bowl, combine bread crumbs, garlic, grated cheese, parsley, salt and pepper.
Form a layer of mushrooms on the bottom of a baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/4 of the bread crumb mixture. Drizzle 2 TBSP olive oil over the mix. Repeat the procedure 2 or 3 more times, finishing with the olive oil.
Roast mushroom casserole, uncovered, in a preheated oven @ 350 for 15 - 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Serves 8 or more.

Yesterday I found an interesting recipe to use up some of the Thanksgiving leftovers. It was Aaron McCargo's recipe for Turkey and Stuffing Egg Rolls. Being that I already had stuffung, I didn't need to make his. Basically I used my leftovers but his Cranberry Dipping Sauce. That added the finishing touch! They were quick and easy and the best part... delicious!

Turkey and Stuffing Egg Rolls
by Aaron McCargo Jr.

• 12 servings

Ingredients

• 1 pound roasted turkey breast, skin removed and cut into small cubes
• Jazzed Up Stuffing, recipe follows
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon water
• 12 egg roll wrappers
• Gravy, for dipping, recipe follows
• Cranberry Dipping Sauce, for dipping, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat a deep-fryer to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl add the turkey and the stuffing and mix to combine. In a small bowl, beat the egg with water to form an egg wash. Layout the egg roll wrappers and spoon 2 tablespoons of the turkey mixture onto each wrapper. Brush the edges of the wrappers with egg wash. Roll tightly, being sure to bring the sides together so the egg roll is tight. Before the final wrap, use some egg wash to seal. Set the finished egg rolls on a platter until ready to fry.

Fry the egg rolls, in batches, until golden brown and crispy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the egg rolls to paper towels to drain. Allow to cool and arrange on a serving platter. Serve with warm Gravy and Cranberry Dipping Sauce.

Jazzed Up Stuffing:

• About 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 box prepared stuffing
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped thyme leaves
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped rosemary leaves
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped sage leaves

In a large saucepan add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer over low heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the stuffing and the fresh herbs. Mix well.

Gravy:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup finely diced onion
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Pinch freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped rosemary leaves
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley leaves
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups turkey stock
• Pinch salt

In a medium saucepan heat the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion and saute until translucent. Reduce the heat and stir in the flour and pepper to make a roux. Add the herbs, turkey stock and salt. Simmer over low heat until the mixture thickens.

Cranberry Dipping Sauce:

• 2 cups frozen cranberries
• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• Pinch cayenne pepper

In a medium saucepan, add the cranberries, strawberries, sugar and orange juice. Bring to a slight simmer over low heat. Cook until the cranberries pop, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the cayenne pepper and simmer for an additional 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Add to a blender and puree the sauce until velvety and smooth. Transfer to a serving bowl.

Cranberry Dipping Sauce... what a beautiful color it made!
Egg wash on the egg roll wrappers
Turkey and stuffing in the middle
roll up into an egg roll
Beautiful!
Delicious!