Mini molten chocolate heaven for you and your sweetheart

Happy Valentine's Day! I've always had a soft spot for this particular day to celebrate love. I also think that love should be celebrated whenever possible (not just on Valentine's Day) and should not necessitate large expenditures of money, or even another person. Take time to treat yourself with a a movie, a walk, a workout, some yoga, a book, a show, or anything at all! I love to have some chocolate on Valentine's Day, and if I have the time to make it for myself and my honey, all the better.

There is a dish that I make that almost all my friends fall head over heels in love with. It's tough to describe-the top is crunchy and stiff like the top of a crème brûlée, but beneath is luscious, flowing warm chocolate. Mr friends Matthew and Matthew named it "heaven," while my Mom calls it "molten" and my friend Sharee simply calls it "The Chocolate." I love all of these names, so I've incorporated all of them into the title for this dish, and I've put them in little ramekins (also not unlike crème brûlée.)

I will give you the caveat that this can be a fussy dish, so please follow the directions carefully. Not to sound like a school marm lecturing you, but baking is a science. One can often fuss with procedures or quantities, but I really wouldn't recommend it here. Please, even if it's only for this recipe, preheat the oven 10 minutes ahead of time, sift the dry ingredients (there are only two,) use all the sugar, and beat the eggs for the suggested time frame. Your reward will be one of the most decadent, lovely and fairly inexpensive chocolate desserts you can make without visiting a bakery or a nice restaurant.

Ingredients

Ramekins (if you don't have one, you could just use a big sturdy pie dish)

A roasting pan 

3 eggs that are at least extra large (I recommend jumbo sized eggs. If you only have large, then use 3 1/2 or so.)

1 3/4 cups of plain white sugar (NOT turbinado, NOT stevia, NOT splenda etc. The only acceptable substitution for this would be superfine, and I'm not 100% sure about that. I promise this is one of the only times I'm this fussy!)

1 1/2 sticks of butter

1/2 plus 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder (I use plain Hershey cocoa powder. I've successfully made it with nicer cocoa powder as well.)

3 tablespoons of all purpose flour 

1 teaspoon of vanilla

2 teaspoons of Kahlua (you may substitute other liqueurs or or omit)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 325 and take out your ramekins and roasting pan.

2. Melt the butter either on the stove using low heat, or in 20 second intervals in the microwave. 

3. In a standing mixer mix the eggs and sugar (this can be done by hand, but it is a JOB.) Beat on medium/medium high speed for 5-8 minutes. The color will lighten considerably, and a "ribbon" will form (remember the ribbon from the chocolate mousse entry?) This takes a lot of strength (or friends who are willing to help) to do by hand.

At first, it's a sunny, deep yellow

The eggs and sugar are become more and more aerated, and are lightening and swelling. Notice the start of the ribbon!

3. Sift the cocoa powder and flour together (I don't have a sifter in NYC, so I just use a strainer.)

4. Once you have achieved the ribbon, add the vanilla and kahlua (if you're using it.)

5. Turn the mixer down to the lowest setting (or off) and add the dry ingredients. Once everything has gone a dark, beautiful brown, the it is time for....

6. Add the butter, mix until everything is incorporated and the butter isn't "standing" on the chocolate mixture.

7. Spoon/pour the mixture into your ramekins. I'd go just over 3/4 full (these don't grown much.) Set the ramekins in your roasting pan.

Starting to look heavenly!

8. Pour/run hot tap water into the roasting pan until it is halfway up the side of the ramekins. This helps keeps the middle gooey.

There's a bit leftover...cook's treat!

9. Bake about 50 minutes. The tops will be firm to the touch.

Before going into the oven.

10. I don't have to tell you to eat greedily on this one, I think. Tell me what you think!

This tastes so good!!!!!!! I can't wait for Paul to get home...I'm going to have to have some now! Besides, I have a rehearsal-I need my strength! :-)

Center cut pork chops with a bourbon and mustard cream sauce

I made this for a friend recently who said this should come with a warning about how easy and addictive these are. Consider yourself warned! I made this to go with my old fashioned spinach pasta, and they paired quite nicely.

I love bourbon, but I haven't found many savory things to put it in.  I think that it pairs really nicely with the pork, but you could just as easily make this with chicken too, if you prefer.

Ingredients
1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt and pepper
1-3 center cut pork chops (I used boneless, but use whichever cut of meat you like)
3 (or so) tablespoons of grain mustard (I used inglehoffer stone ground mustard)
1/4 cup of bourbon
Cream, to taste (or rather to make the sauce)

Method:
1. Heat olive oil in a saute pan.
2. Cook the pork chops. Add a bit of salt and a grinding of pepper to each. Depending on their thickness, they should just take about 3-4 minutes a side.

Mmmmm, happy pork chops!

3. Remove the chops. You will notice that there are brown bits in the pan-they will help make the sauce round and delicious!
4. Add the mustard.
5. Add the bourbon right on top of the mustard-it will likely sizzle and make some noise. Don't be alarmed. Stir the bourbon in the pan. When you add alcohol to a hot pan, the scent can sometimes jump out and slap you in the face. Stir the mustard and the bourbon together, and you will notice the bourbon reducing.
6. Once the sharp alcohol mellows, add cream (to taste, but don't be too stingy, this is your sauce!)
7. Either drape the sauce on the chops, or return the chops to the pans and toss.
8. Eat greedily.

Pork chops ready to go! This sauce tastes like heaven.

Pork chop along side spinach pasta (I do sometimes just serve this with a green salad-as always, suit yourself.)

TBT: Old fashioned Spinach Pasta

No, dear friend, I am not unearthing some forgotten, lost recipe of the late Marcella Hazan. I've chosen to participate in throw back Thursday, culinary style! Let me explain: this dish is old fashioned in the sense that it is a recipe I concocted and started making a little over a decade ago it's one of my first creations! I haven't made it in ages, but the weather in New York is snowy and cold, and I was feeling like taking a cozy ride through memory lane, and food can be a nice mode of transportation for the trip.

In some ways, it would be nice to go back to a time when we were young. I'm really happy right now though, so while I wouldn't necessarily like to be 21 years old again, it is fun to fiddle with recipes that I used to make.

I remember making this for friends and family with my friend Crystal (we didn't use the white wine, and probably used too much garlic, but we were learning and having fun.) We on occasion used to make dishes at ridiculous hours (11 PM....1 AM...3 AM....sometimes later/earlier! In those days I worked late, and we would often go for a long walk (4 or 5 miles) and then we'd be hungry! I've always been something of a night owl, which is a plus since I've chosen a life as an opera singer.

Anyway, back to food. This, like many Italian (or rather, Italian-esque) dishes is simple and yummy. I suggest using a short pasta onto which the sauce (such as it is,) spinach, and meat will cling. My current favorite pasta shape is casarecce. I fell in love with this shape while singing and teaching in Palermo last summer-casarecce seems to be the most popular shape on "bedda sicilia" (lovely Sicily.) That being said, I think short fusili would also be a superlative choice. As always, do as you please. By the way, the pasta in the pictures I'm sharing are actually torcetti, which are also lovely.

With this dish, don't expect a big gloppy sort of sauce-this really is somewhere between a pasta dish and a vegetable treatment. I do think it benefits from a generous strewing of grana padano or parmigiano reggiano.

As an alternative to the ground beef or turkey (I almost always use ground turkey, since it's more affordable in my neighborhood,) this is also a nice dish to prepare with flaked broiled salmon-you prepare the onions as directed, but then incorporate the spinach and pasta in immediately, and toss lightly with the salmon after (unsurprisingly ground beef or turkey is much more resilient than a delicately cooked piece of fish.)

I often recycle my water from the spinach to cook the pasta. I don't think this harms anything at all (unless you have some very dirty spinach...but aren't you rinsing your spinach before you cook it?) I find this saves on washing pans (which is anathema.) Of course, you could bring two big pots full of water to boil....suit yourself.

Ingredients
A big saute pan
A stock pot
Drainer/Colander
2 tablespoons plus a drizzle of Olive oil
1 sweet onion (I might substitute a few leeks if I have around-up the green ante a bit)
1 pound of ground beef or turkey
3 cloves of garlic
1 1/2 pounds of spinach (I like baby spinach a lot)
1/4 cup of Vermouth or white wine (whichever you have on hand-if you have sherry or brandy, they'll do.)
Herbs- fresh or dried. I have fresh thyme and parsley, so I'm using them. Generic dried "Italian seasoning" is also fine.
Lots of grated Parmesan

Method
1. Put your pot (or pots) on the stove to boil. Salt the water!
2. Chop your onion and garlic, and begin to saute the onion in a saute pan (reserve the garlic.) If you're using dried herbs, add them to the oil to sweat them out so they'll release their lovely flavor.
3. Brown the meat, which should take about 5 minutes.
4. Add the garlic, and cook 2 minutes, then add the vermouth or wine. Turn the heat down a bit to simmer.
5. If your water is boiling, add your fresh spinach-it will be done in about 3-4 minutes. It will loose a LOT of size.

This is that fun part of making dinner when everything is on track and the kitchen smells heavenly.

6. Drain the spinach and spray with some cold water from the sink. If you're using the same water (which works if you have a removable drainer) Add the pasta. You want it to cool well, because the next step is to ring out the spinach in a colander/drainer. Do this well-really squeeze the liquid out.

Spinach out....

Pasta in! No, the green water won't hurt anything. Remember, we're combining the pasta and the spinach in the end.

Cool your spinach off, or you run the risk of burning your hand off. Seriously, boiled spinach is HOT, folks.

Squeeeeeeeze!!!

7. Form the spinach into a square on the cutting board. If you're using fresh herbs, add them to the top and chop the spinach left to right, turn and then repeat (so the spinach finely chopped.)

Chop one way...

Rotate board, chop the other way! Notice the little ramekin of parsley-I point it out because I am proud that I had the presence of mind to reserve some for the end!

8. Add the spinach to the pan with the meat and toss. Turn your heat to medium or so, as you'll need to warm the spinach back up. When everything is warmed through, add some cheese, and add s bit of water from the pasta-this helps bind the elements together and gives you a bit of a sauce.

The starchy water has a funny contribution-it's smooth and really melds everything together nicely.

9. Drain the pasta.
10. Toss the pasta, spinach and meat together. Taste it for seasoning-make sure it isn't too bland (it might need a pinch of salt and a bit of pepper.)

Nearly ready to eat!

11. Transfer the pasta to a serving dish. Top with more cheese, a bit of olive oil if it needs, and maybe a little fresh parsley if you have it.

Finishing touches, first a bit of oil...

A bit of cheese...

And a bit of parsley

La cena è pronta!

12. Eat greedily!

Quick Crustless Quichelettes.

I do love sweet breakfast items like pancakes, scones and muffins, but I find that I don't do as well (and get hungry faster) then if I stick to protein like eggs and ham. I find that if I've had french toast or the like I feel droopy and bloated by the afternoon.

These breakfast "muffins" or cups are sort of like mini crustless quiches, or an egg strata without the bread. They are very easy to make (quick prep, plus, it's one of those "bake at 350 til done" affairs,) and you can make them in small batches, so you can have them fresh more than once per week if you like!

It's worth mentioning that I use a nonstick muffin tin to make the little quichelettes. Also, I've used sausage and peppers, which are not really what I think of as quiche flavors. You can certainly use any combination of ingredients-this is just a blueprint. Bacon and leek would be yummy, as would spinach and bell pepper. Please, play around with these!

Ingredients
1 teaspoon of olive oil
3 green onions
1 red pepper
1 lb of light pork sausage
Grated cheese of your liking (or for ease you could use a grated one from the store, like monterrey jack, etc.)
Beaten eggs-figure about 1 egg for two quichelettes

Method:
1.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Chop green onions and sautee with olive oil. After about a minute and a half, add the red peppers.
2.) Add the sausage and brown-no pink bits here, please. Also, while you might want to add a bit of black or red, pepper, I suggest not adding any salt-the sausage with be salty, and your cheese will also have some salt. You can make the recipe up to this point and then put the leftovers in fridge.

Mmmm sausage.

3.) If you're using a non-stick muffin tin, you won't need to grease it-if you don't have a nonstick muffin tin, grease it. Place about a tablespoon or a tablespoon and a half of the sausage mixture to the bottom of each muffin slot.
4.) Add a pinch (to taste) of cheese to the top of the muffin tins.
5.) Top with the beaten eggs until the cup is just under full. you might grace the top of this with some more cheese (I don't, but do as you like.)
6.) If you are making them fresh, they will need about 10 minutes in the oven. If you're making a few the next day from leftover sausage, bake them for about 16 minutes.

Almost there....

7.) Let the quichelettes stand for about three minutes. After that time, they should come out very easily-you might try to "turn" them with a spoon or fork (I find that very, very effective.)
8.) Eat greedily.

Now where did I put my coffee?

2/13/14:

I made these again today, but since I don't have a muffin tin in my NYC apartment, I used my ramekins with leek, sausage and red peppers with some parmesan cheese.  

Here's 3 quichelettes in various stages of prep: sausage/peppers, then cheese, and topped with egg.

Now all three topped with cheese, ready to go into the oven.

These puffed up beautifully! They are almost souffles today.

Holiday Lasagna!

I understand that upon reading the title of this entry, you might be scratching your head. Let me explain: in my family, particularly when I was little younger, we celebrated Christmas by having droves of family over and made lasagna, fettucine alfredo, or spaghetti. It makes sense, as you can really feed a crowd with pasta. Note that this is a family tradition, and not really what Italians or Italian Americans do for Christmas.

As always, I'm sharing a recipe from my experience (my own version, at that) and do not claim to be "authentic" or to have "the one true lasagna to rule them all." I think that going in for that sort of thing is silly anyway.

There is nothing particularly earth shattering about the way I prepare lasagna, but it's delicious, comforting, and so immensely fun to make that I just wanted to share. In fact, I made this twice this month-once on the 10th when my friend Alyssa dropped in for the evening, and once during the week intensive of the Mediterranean Opera Studio. I often roll out my own noodles for this, but I simply didn't have the time this month. One can just as easily use pasta purchased at the store (I prefer the noodles that don't require boiling-Trader Joe's lasagna noodles fall into this category, as do many other brands.) I also like to add parsley to my ricotta mixture-it lightly informs the entire dish with a bit more freshness. This is probably a good time to note that this is not a light dish, and certainly not something I make on a regular basis.

I like to make a cheese sauce to grace the top of my lasagna. For this, I make a Béchamel sauce with cheese (which, I suppose, makes it more of a Mornay sauce.) Once the top is browned and bubbly (sometimes the broiler helps with this) I top it with more parsley. Thus we get the Christmas color trifecta: green, red and white. These are, coincidentally the colors of the Italian flag-giving us an American dish with Italian inspiration for the Christmas season.

PS: This month has been crazy! I started this entry on December 19, and have just finished it today (December 27.) Fortunately, it's still Christmas, so while I missed the actual day, I'm still in the season.

Buon natale!

Ingredients
Lasagna noodles (handmade or follow box directions-if I'm purchasing the noodles, I like the flat ones that don't have to be boiled.)

For the meat sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 large sweet onion

5 cloves garlic
2 carrots, grated
1 teaspoon each of thyme and basil (omit if you like, or if you don't have any on hand)
1  pound of ground meat (I use ground turkey, but you can use pork, beef or any mixture you enjoy)
1 teaspoon of Salt and pepper
1 small can of tomato paste
1/2 to 3/4 cup of red wine or red vermouth
1 28 oz can of peeled tomatoes

For the ricotta mixture:
15 oz Ricotta Cheese (I use whole milk, full fat-as always, use what you prefer)
1/2 cup of parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella
2 eggs
Pinch (1/2 teaspoon?) salt and pepper
Fresh Italian parsley, minced (to taste)

 Béchame/Mornay sauce topping
Whisk
3 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of all purpose flour
2 cups of milk (whole milk is best here.)
1 teaspoon of black pepper and a dash (two passes on a microplane) of nutmeg.
1/2 cup-1 cup of cheese (a mix of parmesan and mozzarella works well. Any white cheese is fine)


Method:

Meat Sauce
1. Chop onions and garlic. Shred carrots (I use a cheese grater, but sometimes I do simply chop these as well.
2. In a large pan, heat the olive oil and butter on a medium high heat until the butter has melted. The butter gives a lovely round quality, and the olive oil helps it from burning.
3. Saute the onion and garlic for a few minutes, then add the carrots. Watch the heat, as you don't want to burn anything-if needed, turn down your stove. After a few minutes, add the herbs (if using.) Adding dry herbs at this point really helps you maximize the flavor-"sweating" them in the heat helps them release their oils and their yummyness (that's the technical term.)
4. Add the meat, along with the salt and pepper! Unsurprisingly, you will cook until it isn't pink anymore.
5. Add the tomato paste. I clear a little space in the pan for this, and let the paste get warm. Then I mix it into the meat. I'm not sure if this is the proper way to do this, but I learned this from my first teacher, and so I've done so ever since (with good results.) Add the wine/vermouth and let this simmer for about 5 minutes or so on a medium heat.

Fun with tomato paste. This is as I'm incorporating it in the mix. Red wine is about to join the party.

6. Add the can of tomatoes. You can use crushed tomatoes, but I like to get whole tomatoes and just break them up a bit. I like the chunkier texture, but it you want it smoother, do as you please.
7. Cook until there isn't too much standing moisture (the last thing you want is a wet, sloppy lasagna.) I typically leave it for about 20 minutes or so-leave it on a medium low heat, stirring occasionally.

Mmmm sauce. I apprently need to work on making less splatters. Oh well, that's life in the kitchen-sometimes one makes a mess. I suppose the same can be said of life in general as well.

Ricotta mixture:
1. Chop parsley, reserving some for the top of the lasagna.
2. Fling everything into a bowl and mix. No really, just toss it all in.

It's blurry because I'm so busy tossing!!! I guess I was hungry for dinner...

Cheese Sauce

You could omit this, but it's terribly easy, and looks great as you serve it. It's also quite decadent, so make your own choices.

1. In a saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons of butter.

2. Add two tablespoons of flour. Mix this for a few minutes, and let it turn golden. Otherwise your sauce will taste of raw flour (yuck.) Stir the flour, otherwise if will start looking like a giant boiling shortbread cookie (and that's basically what it is, except without sugar.)

3. Add the milk slowly, whisking as you go. If you don't have a whisk, buy one when you're buying your groceries. If you whisk the milk in, you will not get any lumps. Even if lumps appear initially, they will be overcome by your diligent whisking.

4. Add pepper and nutmeg. You may omit the nutmeg but I like it's nutty flavor, and it's a nod to the French origins of this sauce.

5. Add the cheese.

Assembly

Preheat oven to 375.

1. Place about 1/2 cup of the meat sauce on the bottom of your baking dish.

2. Layer the noodles, meatsauce and ricotta mixture until the baking dish is just over 3/4 full.

3. Top with the Mornay sauce.

Woah, this is decadent.

4. Bake for about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. The top will be bubbly. My broiler is very, very fast, so sometimes if the top doesn't look bubbly enough, I toss it under the broiler for 2 minutes. You have to be very careful with that trick-too long and you can ruin your lasagna.

5. Top with the reserved fresh parsley

Yum....Yes, I balanced the pan on a saucepan....no, I don't think it's a good idea ;-)

6. Eat greedily (with friends or loved ones.)

Yay, time for dinner! Incidentally, if you're bringing this to table as I have done here, place trivets under your baking dish.  If you don't have trivets, use a kitchen towel and a potholder.

Red and serrano pepper jam!

Last Christmas, I made a present for my family: I gave them jobs of jars of pepper jam.  This confused members of my immediate family, who for the life of them couldn't figure out what I was doing with all those red bell peppers and spicy red peppers. They furthermore did not think that my gifts would be well received.  Fortunately, I was vindicated-I had a tremendously positive response, and was even asked for more!

I also felt vindicated by the fact that I opened the Thanksgiving issue of Bon Appétit.  Bon Appétit is the lovely food magazine founded in 1956 in my home town, Kansas City Missouri. What, you ask did I find in the magazine? A special snippet of an article touting pepper jam as the "condiment of the season." While the magazine suggested that one purchase some pepper jam, I find it infinitely more rewarding (and delicious) to make it myself. It's also really quite simple, and making it feels like such a wonderful fall activity.

When I made this jam a few days ago, I used serrano peppers, though you could use any pepper that has a little heat. The jam, as it is in this recipe, isn't very spicy (my Dad doesn't much care for fire these days) though if you wanted more heat, don't carefully devein the peppers and use a few ounces more.

I suppose that strictly speaking, this is somewhere between preserves and jam, but in 2013 the terms jelly, jam and preserves seem somewhat interchangeable. Call it whatever you like or feel strongly about-I mostly just call it yummy.

Ingredients
Jars (I use Ball 8 oz jars-they are sold at the stores in 12 jar packs.)
2 1/2 tablespoons of Fruit pectin (again, I use Ball)
4 ounces of Red Bell Peppers, with top, seeds and white bits removed, quartered.
3 ounces of Green Serrano peppers, with top, seeds, and veins removed, quartered.
4 cups of sugar
1 16 ounce bottle of Apple Cider Vinegar

Method
1. Remove the seeds, stems and veins from the bell peppers and the serrano peppers. Quarter all of them.
2. In a pot (I use a big stock part) add the sugar, fruit pectin and the apple cider vinegar and let the sugar  and pectin dissolve-swirl the sugar, but don't stir (this is hard for me, and I love to stir things in pots.)
3. Whirl the peppers in the food processor.  After, I suggest you scoop the peppers into a strainer and let some of the water drip out. Discard the juice after you strain it (I just leave it over the sink, and let it drain away for a few minutes.)
4. Toss the peppers in the pot, and turn the heat up, bringing the pot to a low boil for about 1/2 an hour.
5. Allow the jam to cool-this will take an hour or maybe even two.  While you are doing this, run your jars through the dishwasher (I don't have one, so I have to visit a friend who has one when I make this-a few jars are a nice reward.) If you don't have a dishwasher (and none of your friends do) I suppose you could pour boiling water into the jars.
6. Scoop the jam (it isn't terribly thick, and it never really will be) into the jars, and seal them. I think it will hold up for about a month or two (not that it will last that long!)
7. Eat greedily. I like this on brie, on turkey (either leftovers from a feast, or on a sandwich made with deli turkey) on cream cheese with crackers, or other cheeses, sandwiches. Eat it on anything you like.

A bit of brie with some pepper jam: savory and sweet playing well together!

An 8 ounce jar of pepper jam. I had a few jars left over. 

Mushroom Pot Pie!

Here we are in mid November, and the holiday season is beginning to descend upon us.  For some reason, I feel more ready for it this year than I have in ages. During this time of year, it's always nice to have comfort food around one's home. And I mean comfort food in both senses of the word-food that is both a comfort to eat, and also to prepare. I think this fits the bill perfectly.

Pot pie is hardly a new idea, but sometimes it's fun to take the familiar and turn it on it's head. Normally, a pale gravy and chicken are used for pot pie. This velvety mushroom pot pie though has a rich, round flavor and and a dark gravy-it has very beefy sort of taste, which is a joy considering this is dish is vegetarian. If I may humbly say so, this would make a delicious vegetarian entree for any holiday celebration, though it is a perfectly lovely dinner for any evening.

I made this dish for Pablo and my sister Caroline, both of who lent their seal of approval to it (my sister is long time vegetarian.)

I'm sure that at some point I'll work out an easy crust/topping, but for now I'm just as happy to have a package of puff pastry in the freezer-just take one of the sheets of puff pastry out of the fridge a few hours before you plan to use it.

A note about mushrooms-I use baby bella mushrooms, which are delicious, and white button mushrooms, which are not. When they are paired together, though, the button mushrooms take on a lot more flavor than they would were they cooked by themselves.

This dish certainly isn't light by design, but is certainly lighter than many calorie-laden foods traditionally served this time of year.

Ingredients
1 sheet of puff pastry (let it thaw for 2 hours)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 leek, trimmed and chopped.
2 or 3 carrots, chopped into bite size portions (to taste)
20 ounces of mushrroms (10 ounces baby bella or your favorite, and 10 ounces white button)
Thyme
Salt and Pepper
1 tablespoon of flour
1 tablespoon of butter
1 splash of sherry
1/2 box of mushroom broth (about 16 ounces-I used pacific)
1 cup of frozen peas
1 teaspoon of truffle oil (optional)
1 tablespoon of cream or whole milk (optional)

Method:
1. Remove the sheet of puff pastry from the freezer and let it thaw for 2 hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Trim and chop the leek. Saute in the olive oil for 2 minutes.
3. While the leek is cooking, chop the carrots and add them to the leek. Cook for 3-4 minutes.
4. Add the mushrooms to the pan-the mushrooms will greedily drink the oil in the pan. To help them do this, salt the mushrooms. The mushrooms will saute and partially steam-this is perfectly fine-do not be alarmed. Cook the mushrooms for 5-6 minutes. Add thyme (I use 2 teaspoons of fresh thyme and few teaspoons of pepper.)
5. Clear a small spot in the pan-add the butter. Once it is bubbling, add the flour and let it cook for 2-3 minutes. Then incorporate the flour mixture into the mushrooms and carrots. This won't make the pie taste at all like flour, it just makes the mixture a bit thicker and velvety.
6. Add the splash of sherry. Once it has cooked a bit, add the mushroom broth. Cook until the liquid reduces and thickens, about 8-10 minutes.
7. Add the cup of peas, and let them warm through.
8. Drizzle in the truffle and oil if you're using them.
9. Transfer the mixture to a baking dish.

The mixture!

10. Top the dish with the puff pastry, cutting a few slits in the middle-you may need to roll it out if your baking dish is especially large.

Almost there!

11. Bake in the oven 20-25 minutes until the top of the pie is golden.

Now it's ready to eat!

12. Eat greedily.