Well, the Oscars show is over and I didn’t win. That is, I didn’t win the annual family contest of picking the winners. As I mentioned in my previous post, I thought that my granddaughter would not be participating. That would give me a chance. How wrong I was. She had emailed her choices ahead of time and kept in touch during the ceremony. The stakes were higher this year, as my son-in-law had purchased a trophy for the winner along with a $20 gift card. In the end, the results were the same as the last two years: my granddaughter won and Susan came in second, this time tied with my son-in-law. It is clear that I have no future as a movie critic.
In the meantime, the food was great. Delicious sliders with all the fixings – definitely not Harold and Kumar’s White Castle (A nod to a family joke). There were also Carol’s popular mushroom soup, shrimp and dipping sauce, crudités with dip, cheese straws, Texas trash, and brownies with whipped cream along with marinated mushrooms at Carol’s request.
Diane’s marinated mushrooms is a recipe from our family cookbook. We got it from Diane Miller, the wife of the first associate I ever hired, back in 1977. The recipe has been a favorite with the whole family, especially Carol whose first word – after Mama and Dada, of course – was “muf-woom” to indicate that a mushroom was what she wanted to eat. The recipe calls for button mushrooms, but if you can only find large ones, you can cut them into halves or quarters. The mushrooms shrink with boiling and marinating.
RECIPE
Diane’s Marinated Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds white button mushrooms (creminis work just fine)
- 2 quarts water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar (You can use wine vinegar if you prefer)
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1½ teaspoon sugar
- bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- several whole peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon pickling spice
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
Method
- Prepare the mushrooms by wiping off the caps and, if necessary, cutting into halves or quarters. Bring the water to the boil, add the lemon juice and then the mushrooms. Return to the boil for 3 minutes. Drain and cool the mushrooms.
- Meanwhile, prepare the marinade by combining all the remaining ingredients.
- Add the boiled mushrooms to the marinade. Marinate for 24 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Drain. Serve at room temperature with picks. Makes about 2 cups, enough for 6 to 8 persons as an appetizer with drinks.
From the Family Table 