Mushroom Stroganoff Pasta

Have you ever started to cook something and then changed gears midway? This is what happened to me. It was a cold rainy day that called for comfort food. I decided to make creamed mushrooms served over toast. I was also going to make some mac and cheese. This turned into mushroom stroganoff, an easy and delicious dish. 

I washed the mushrooms and cut them up, added butter flavored olive oil to the frying pan and began to saute them. In the meantime, I put some water on to boil for the pasta. I added some Worcestershire sauce to the mushrooms and a dab of butter. 

When the mushrooms were browned I placed them in a bowl and began to build my sauce. I started with a roux, 2 tablespoons of butter and flour and then the milk. At about this point I decided to add about half a cup of cheddar cheese, some steak seasoning, two beef bouillon cubes and more Worcestershire sauce to the sauce. This is to taste, you add what tastes right to you. 

When the pasta was done, I decided I wanted to add it to the sauce and forget the toast. I added two tablespoons of sour cream to give it a stroganoff taste. I also added salt and pepper. I used a half-pound of pasta, choose your favorite shape. 

I want to say, this was one delicious pasta dish and the perfect comfort food for a cold rainy day. Mushroom stroganoff pasta ticks all the right boxes. This was one of those times when I didn't think to take a picture.

Shopping list:
Mushrooms
Cheddar cheese
Worcestershire sauce
pasta
sour cream 
milk
flour
beef boullion
steak season

#mushroomstroganoff
#comfortfood

Wolfies Family Restaurant Deerfield, MA.

The atmosphere was as warm as the welcome at Wolfies in Deerfield Massachusetts. It was a cold rainy May Friday when we pulled in at 2 pm. In all the many trips we have made up I-91 we have never stopped here and looked around I have to ask why?

We were immediately seated in a booth to the right and our very friendly waitress dropped off the menus. I asked her what they were known for and was told it was the burgers, generous salads and seafood delivered fresh from Boston twice a week.

I ordered a chicken cranberry salad with their honey balsamic dressing and Al ordered the Wolfie's burger. A 6 ozs beef patty on a sesame bun with cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. Both of them were better than average. The French fries were pedestrian but the burger was perfectly cooked and juicy. The salad was nothing short of excellent. The chicken was tasty and the dressing was also a big hit with me. 

Our waitress was excellent and she made the whole meal fun. We had the blueberry pie for dessert and it was way above average. It had been warmed and served with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. It was a delightful treat. The crust was tender and flaky and the filling was not too sweet. 

I had coffee to drink and my cup was kept full. 

The next time we are passing through this way, we will be stopping here again, they have a whole list of delicious sounding salads that I am anxious to try. 

Darryls Dog Gone Good Diner Ocala, Fl

Darrell's is a small local chain in the Ocala, Florida area. They are open for breakfast and lunch and while we can't comment on every location, the one closest to our Ocala home has become a real favorite with us. 

We stop here often for breakfast or lunch. It is a good place to go after church on Sunday, yes it is crowded but they have packed their rather small location with tables and there is also counter seating. 

I love their chef salad, when we go there for lunch, that is what I get. It is loaded with ham, turkey and cheese and it is more than enough to send me home full and happy. I do get breakfast once in a while and they always give me my fried eggs just the way I like them and they make nice crispy home fries. 

Al has ordered the chicken fried steak with his eggs and loves it. But he loves the home fries too. 

Their menu has plenty of choices and we are never at a loss about what to choose. 

Service is always friendly, just what you would expect in a southern diner.  They really care about their customers as we found out when Al had a little health emergency there. They jumped in to help and when we came back a few days later there were hugs all around. 

We love Darrell's Dog Gone Good Diner and we are pretty sure that you will too. Come visit us and we will take you there!!







11175 Southwest 93rd Court Road #106, Ocala, FL 34481

Houlihan's Restaurant Savannah, GA

Houlihan's is a chain restaurant and usually, I don't write about chains but this is a yearly stop for us so I thought I would include it in my blog. The location of this restaurant is key. It is in the parking lot where the Fairfield Inn and the SpringHill Suites are located off of I-95 at exit 94 in Savannah, GA.

We used to have a local Houlihan's so I was familiar with them before we made this year trek to Florida. I almost always order the same thing, they have a Chicken Asian Chop Chop Salad that I love. Great dressing and very tasty chicken. But this time they had a dinner special with a filet, baked potato, green beans and I got gazpacho with it. Al had the same thing but of course, his steak was a lot less well done than mine. 

It was a delicious meal and we had good service. I can say with confidence that we will be stopping here again the next time we pass through, it is too good to pass up. 

Ebenezer's Tavern Publick House Histroric Inn Sturbridge MA

Ebenezer's Tavern is everything you would expect from a historic inn. Lots of wood and atmosphere. While all that is charming, that is not what keeps us coming back. It is the food.  I love Thanksgiving and having turkey dinner is something I really enjoy. They have a wonderful turkey dinner and an open-faced turkey sandwich. I am in turkey heaven when I am there. 

When you stay at the Publick House you get a 10% discount on your lunch or dinner there. Since we were staying there we got a discount. In addition to the discount for $10 you can add two of the following:

• Soup
• Salad
• Dessert

We decided to go for it, I added the raspberry salad to my meal and Al added a wedge. My goodness, these were some very good salads. The raspberry dressing was phenomenal, and they give you more than you could possibly use. 

This is served with a bread basket that includes their amazing pecan rolls, love them. It also has cornbread, rolls and pumpkin bread. 

I had the turkey dinner, all-white meat (you can choose all white, all dark or a combo) cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes and butternut squash. With the gravy and cranberry sauce, it was the ultimate dinner. Al had the sirloin steak and they cut it for me into wonderfully bite-sized pieces. It was cooked to perfection. 

We both had leftovers, and luckily our room had a fridge. 

For dessert, we got a chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream and got the peanut butter decadence to go. The lava cake was the low point of the evening, no molten lava so back it went. The second one was slightly better but still not as molten as it should be. The peanut butter decadence which we ate later the next day was awesome. 

I ended with a cup of coffee and a very satisfied smile on my face. 

Apple Rhubarb Pan Dowdy

I love apples and I love rhubarb, they are a natural combination. This is the time of year when rhubarb is fresh in the store so a great time to actually use it in some home-baked goods. I have a freezer filled with frozen rhubarb from last year so this is what I used. 

I peeled 8 medium Macintosh apples and sliced them. Don't worry too much about how thin, all of mine aren't identical. The rhubarb I had cut into the correct size pieces before I froze them. I threw them in a bowl and added nutmeg, cinnamon and sugar to taste. I used about a half cup of sugar, a 2 teaspoons of nutmeg and a teaspoon of cinnamon. But taste the apples and make sure they are seasoned to your personal taste, I never measure anything. 

I used Pillsbury refrigerator dough. I rolled it out, brushed it with half and half, sprinkled it with sugar and cut it into about 20 pieces. 

I used a 10-inch square pan. Put the apple mixture in and cover with the pieces of dough. 

Bake in a 350 oven for about an hour. 

Restaurant review: Weathervane Seafood Restaurant, Kittery Maine

What could be a better combination than outlet shopping and delicious seafood? Kittery Maine offers this in abundance and one of our favorite restaurants is Weathervane. It has a rustic nautical decor and is often very very busy. The food is abundant and very good.

We arrived on Black Friday at about 2 p.m., we thought that perhaps at this time which was late for lunch and early for dinner, we would not find it too busy. We were wrong, it was very busy. The told us we would have at least a 20-minute wait for a seat. Since we wanted to eat here, we were more than willing to be patient. In reality, it was only about 10 minutes.

We were escorted to a booth and our drink order was taken. The menu is extensive and deciding what to eat is not easy. I decided to start with clam chowder and we ordered onion rings to share among the four of us. Kasey and I decided to share the Lazy Man Lobster, which is the meat of two lobsters served with drawn butter, choice of potato and a fresh side. Al ordered the fish and chips and Alex got the fried seafood combo.

I have to say that everything was absolutely delicious, the coating on the onion rings is light and you don't feel weighed down with the fact that they are fried. The chowdah is as thick and luscious as you could want but it is the lobster that was the star of the meal. It was the sweetest most tender lobster I have ever eaten and well worth the 2.5-hour drive even if we didn't go shopping.