Stuffed Mushrooms with Goat Cheese and Spicy Pork Sausage

Ok so I might have lost some "non-mushroom-friendly" readers after my last few posts that have included mushrooms, but right now I just can't get enough of them!

Over the past few months, I feel like stuffed mushrooms have been everywhere I go. Just this past weekend, we had stuffed mushrooms as an aperitif at a wedding in Ohio. And a few weeks ago we had stuffed mushrooms at a Spanish Tapas restaurant.

When my husband is out of town, I don't typically have as much motivation to cook big intricate meals. With this being his second week out of town, I made these stuffed mushrooms on Sunday after the long drive back from Ohio. (Ironically Maegan and her husband were also in Ohio this weekend, for a separate wedding. Unfortunately though, we were not able to see each other.)

Stuffed Mushrooms
makes 6 (may need to double the ingredients to accommodate more than 2 ppl)

1 Spicy Italian Pork sausage
2 oz or half a small log of Goat Cheese
6 Mushrooms, cleaned
Green onion for garnish

I bought the sausage from Whole Foods, their sausage is really high quality as they make it fresh in house everyday. Additionally it does not contain additives or preservatives which is something I try to stay away from. A couple other reasons I really like buying sausage from Whole foods: 1. there are multiple varieties to choose from (chorizo, turkey sausage, chicken and apple sausage ect.) 2. I can buy as little as one sausage instead of buying pre-packaged sausage of 4-6 links. The one sausage I bought cost $1.67.

Prepare the sausage by removing the casing. Add sausage to a small pan and break up into bite size pieces. be sure not to over cook the sausage as it will continue to cook while in the oven. Set sausage aside to let cool.

Prepare mushrooms by removing the stem.  Take a spoon and remove some of the gills from the inside  of the mushrooms. This will allow more space to put the "stuffing". Once Mushrooms are prepared, place in a small bowl with a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly so that mushrooms are appropriately seasoned.

Combine sausage and goat cheese with a fork and mix until well combined. Begin to stuff mushrooms by packing them full, so that stuffing is almost falling out. Cook at 425 degrees for 15- 20 minutes on a wire rack with a drip pan underneath. This will prevent the mushrooms from sitting in any grease from the sausage. I used a cookie wire rack and placed a cookie sheet on the rack below to catch the drippings.

Garnish with green onion and serve!

This aperitif would be perfect for entertaining guests. You can prepare the mushrooms ahead of time and when the guests arrive, simply place them in the oven. You can also cook them over the grill!

Also here is a picture of my husband, Brett, and I at the wedding this past weekend.

Hope you have a wonderful week! 

Simple Salads

Happy (belated) Mother's Day to all the super moms out there!

Picnicking in Fort Greene Park!

While I technically am not a mother, I do claim ownership to three feisty kitties and one amazing dog, making me quite the fur-mom. And let me tell you, I had a wonderful Mother's Day!

Most of my family lives in Ohio and since I won't be in that part of the country until this upcoming weekend, I spent the day perusing Brooklyn with my husband, our friend Jessie, and Charlie, our labrador/basset mix.

We began the day at the park, enjoying a picnic of various little sandwiches, a selection of cheeses, and some fresh berries. For dessert we had pieces of chocolate smothered in a very decadent white chocolate peanut butter. Truly divine!

Following the picnic, we went for a leisurely bike ride around the neighborhood and through Prospect Park (Brooklyn's "Central Park"). I recently purchased a 1986 Peugeot road bike from the Brooklyn Flea Market for a really great price--although the low price may actually be reflective of the fact that it's a child's bike... What can I say? I'm short!--and boy is it a joy to ride! I just can't get enough of it.

After our ride, we decided to cool down with a little gardening. My husband and I started a backyard container garden last month and we really enjoy spending time tending it together on the weekends. We tried our hand at a smaller garden last year and while we got some produce we decided to try for more this year. All together we planted 13 plants, including yellow and green zucchini, pickling cucumbers--I'm fantasizing about making Mary's homemade pickles recipe from complete scratch!--Japanese long eggplant and traditional eggplant, 5 types of peppers including jalapenos, Caribbean red peppers, and sweet Italian peppers, and 3 types of tomatoes. We also planted a windowbox spice garden with tarragon, mint, basil, rosemary, sage, oregano, dill, and thyme. I'm so excited for everyone to grow big and tall so we can eat them!

Speaking of eating, enough of my Mother's Day... It's time for some recipes! For today's post, I'd like to celebrate the joy of warmer weather, being outside, and container gardening with three delicious, nutritious, and super simple salads. Every Saturday a local farmer's market forms at the park down the street from my apartment. Not only does the market collect compost and provide a space for recycling textiles, but it's obviously a great place for us to purchase our veggies for the week. This past weekend they had a great selection of lettuce and I admittedly went a little crazy, buying several types out of excitement. So here, dear reader, you have the result of a week's worth of salads.

Cobb Salad
2 hardboiled eggs, diced
1 tomato, diced
blue cheese, crumbled
sunflower seeds or another type of seed or nut
broccoli and/or cauliflower
turkey or chicken, diced
avocado, sliced

With this salad, I simply rough chopped the lettuce and then I tossed the lettuce and broccoli in the dressing before adding the toppings. I kept the dressing simple with a mixture of aged apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, chive and dill infused olive oil, hemp oil, and some salt and pepper. I also would have tossed in some mushrooms but I didn't have any in the house at the time. I must say, cobb salads are amongst my favorites because I feel they're pretty well-balanced, with a variety of protein sources, healthy fats, and fiber.

Smoked Salmon Salad
1 package smoked salmon
1 red onion, diced

1 tomato, diced

mushrooms, diced

Olives

Capers

Feta cheese or blue cheese, crumbled

For this salad, I again started by rough chopping the lettuce and then added the toppings. I enjoy the smoked salmon because it takes a simple salad to the next level by providing protein and omega-3's. The capers and olives add a nice saltiness to balance the smokey fish, and the red onion and tomato add just a dash of sweetness. For the dressing, I again kept it simple with a mixture of aged apple cider vinegar, olive oil, hemp oil, and pepper.

Frisee Salad

Frisee lettuce

2 eggs, poached

cooked duck bacon

pine nuts

For this salad, I used frisee lettuce rather than typical greens to be adventurous; however I think the same concept would be successful with a variety of lettuces, especially endive, boston, or bibb lettuce, although mesclun or arugula would also work I'm sure. I began by tossing the frisee and the bacon in the dressing, which again was a mixture of aged apple cider vinegar, blood orange infused olive oil, hemp oil, and salt and pepper. I then topped the salad with the two poached eggs and pine nuts. You could also add some diced shallot, blue cheese, roasted red bell peppers, and/or tomatoes, but I decided to keep this salad simple since the real bonus is the runny yolk from the poached eggs. Yum!

And... in case you didn't scope it, the picture at the beginning of this post is a card I handmade for my mother-in-law using a page from an old dictionary I found on the street and an image from a recycled advertisement! :) 

Miso Noodle Soup

Also known as the easiest--and healthiest--version of ramen noodles you'll ever eat, I made this meal last week when I was in a serious time crunch and had some snow peas starting to go soft in the crisper. I currently work as a Learning Specialist at one of the top art and design schools, and I guess finals fever got to my head when my mind paired "easy" and "quick" with "ramen noodles." However, rather than using actual ramen noodles for this dish, I used ramen-style noodles, which I got in the Asian aisle at my local market. In addition to helping me create a more sound food blog entry, choosing ramen-style noodles over ramen soup packets also allows me to make my own seasoning without all the sodium--and without wasting a flavor packet. Also, while you could make this soup using any stock you have available, I opted to use miso paste as it's easy to find at most grocery stores, it's super affordable, and it's versatile, meaning I'm sure I'll find a use for it in a number of other dishes.

Ingredients
1 package ramen-style noodles
1 shallot, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
mushrooms, sliced
snow peas
miso soybean paste

In a large pot, bring about 4 cups of water to a boil. Stir in the miso paste--I just followed the directions on the back of the package and adjusted it according to my own miso tastes. I also added a dash of mushroom base and soy sauce for added flavor depth. Next, add the onion, garlic, and snow peas and allow to cook for 3-4 minutes. Then add the noodles and mushrooms and remove from heat. Allow the soup to steep for about 5 minutes, or until the noodles are tender.

Alternatively, you can simply add the ingredients to boiling water and wait about 10 minutes for everything to become tender. This is a great alternative for the office or a dorm room where a tea kettle or microwave may be your only option. Ahh, the joy of college nostalgia!

Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms Burger with melted Gouda & Garlic Dill Aoili

Well Spring is officially here is Chicago, however it is not what we had dreamed about all Winter. It hasn't stopped raining all week and we haven't seen much of that thing called the Sun! Thankfully though, I will be able to skip out on this weather for a long weekend in Vegas with my best girlfriends.

A few weeks back I made THE BEST burger, I have had in our kitchen. We go to a lot of specialty burger places such as Butcher and the Burge, Kuma's & Burger Bar, but I hadn't made a gourmet burger in my house until this baby!

We use a simple seasoning on our burgers, just salt and pepper. Grilled to a perfect medium, couple slices of melted Gouda, placed on a toasted sesame bun with caramelized onions and mushrooms, arugula, slice of tomato and my garlic dill aoili.

To caramelize the onions and mushrooms will take about 15 minutes, maybe more. While my husband was preparing the burgers, I started chopping the veggies we would need for the burger.

Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms
1/2 to 1 medium onion
1/2 package of mushrooms
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Slice the onions and mushrooms and place in a large skillet  with a good portion of oil. Heat should be at medium to high. Be sure to find the right temperature to allow the onions and mushrooms to cook slowly and gradually turn a deep golden brown color.  Cook for probably 5 minutes longer than the picture below:

Garlic Dill Aoili

2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp garlic powder (more or less depending on desired flavor)
1 tbls or more of chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup mayonnaise
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Cayenne pepper to taste

Add ingredients in a small bowl and combine well. Add more of less of each ingredient based on your tastes. The texture should be rather liquidy due to the lemon juice. I prefer to use a lot of lemon juice as to make the sauce lighter and less thick. Add enough garlic and garlic powder so that you can definitely taste the garlic flavor.  I had dill in the house so I thought that would be a nice fresh addition as well.

Once I was finished with the garlic dill aoli, I still felt that it was a little heavy for my tastes, so I added a bit of cayenne pepper to cut the savoriness of the sauce.





Hope you guys are having a great day!!

Mary

Vegetable Pot Pie with an Aged Gouda and Basil Biscuit Crust

Today is one of my favorite nerd days of the year -- Pi day!

That's right, 3.14. And what better way to celebrate the calendar representation of this circular mathematical constant than with pie?! In this case, the best vegetable pot pie I've ever tasted, let alone created. 

When I decided to make this dish, it was after a late night at work so I wasn't up to the task of making my first-ever pie crust. Thus, I decided to improvise. I looked through my cookbooks until I stumbled upon the idea of using a biscuit crust in my Joy of Cooking: All About Vegetarian Cooking cookbook. 

I then decided to take this non-traditional crust one step further by adding basil and cheese. If you need a little arm-twisting to justify the extra calories, might I tell you that cheese is a source of an enzyme called tyrosine, which is a precursor to the neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine. In case you don't have your copy of Grey's Anatomy handy, these are chemicals in the brain that promote positive mood. Meaning: cheese makes you happy! 

So go ahead, add some sunshine to your biscuit crust with a little aged gouda, or even smoked cheddar.

Vegetable Pot Pie Filling

1 onion, julienned

1 package mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

1 c snowpeas, halved

1 c cherry tomatoes, halved

1 serrano pepper, sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 c stock (vegetable, mushroom, or chicken)

1 tbsp mushroom bouillon (I'm obsessed with Better Than Bouillon organic mushroom base) or soy sauce

1 c milk

1 tbsp butter

1/3 c flour

A few sprigs of fresh thyme

Salt & Pepper to taste 

Over medium heat, heat about a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add the onions and cook for 1-2 minutes. Then add the mushrooms and snowpeas. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Next add the serrano pepper, tomatoes, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to look tender, about 5 more minutes. 

Meanwhile, combine the stock and milk in a bowl and whisk until combined.

Add the butter and flour to the vegetable mixture to make a roux. Slowly add the stock mixture to the vegetables, continuously whisking to help combine. 

Bring the sauce to a simmer, continuing to whisk, until it reaches the thickness of cream of mushroom soup. Stir in the mushroom bouillon or soy sauce and season with thyme, salt, and pepper. 

Remove from heat. Transfer to a medium-sized round casserole dish and set aside while you prepare the dough for the biscuit crust.

Aged Gouda and Basil Biscuit Crust

1 c Bisquick

1/3 c milk

1/3 c grated cheese

10 leaves basil, chiffonade

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a large bowl, combine Bisquick, milk, cheese, and basil. Add more Bisquick or milk as needed until mixture becomes a soft dough. 

Roll dough into a ball and lightly sprinkle with flour. Using your hands or a rolling pin, roll out the dough to the size of your casserole dish. 

Settle the dough on top of the vegetable mixture in the casserole dish. Stab the dough with a fork a few times to allow steam to be released.

Place the pot pie on top of a cookie sheet on the top rack of the oven. The cookie sheet will catch any liquidy spillage from the pot pie--a technique we had to learn about the hard way! Bake the pot pie for about 15 minutes, or until the biscuit crust reaches a golden brown.

Spoon a piece of the biscuit crust onto each plate and generously cover with the soupy vegetable sauce (or just eat it straight out of the casserole dish like we did!) and ENJOY!

- Maegan