Angel Hair with Shiitake, Caramelized Onions and Spinach

We here in DC are quietly waiting for Hurricane Sandy to collide with some nice arctic Canadian air. It's the calm before the storm...just waiting. Will classes be canceled? Will the city flood, or, more specifically, will my basement manage to stay dry? Will we all lose power? When we all lose power, how long will it be out? We'll just have to wait and see, I suppose. And just what does this have to do with this dish? Not one thing. I just wanted you to think about the hurricane even if you live far away. It's a little exciting in a bad-things-could-happen kind of way. Anyway. On with our recipe for today.

One of the farmers at the market in Old Town Alexandria sells some of the most delectable mushrooms I've ever eaten. And the shiitakes, oh the shiitakes! I knew they deserved their own dish to highlight such a rich, buttery flavor. So I caramelized some onions, and tossed them together with the mushrooms and some spinach (or arugula, as my husband prefers, but it's a bit bitter for me sometimes) in some angel hair pasta and voila! A simple, elegant, and, might I be so bold to say, superb pasta dish that will tempt even those who think they don't love mushrooms. 

Mushroom Zucchini Quinoa Cakes

And...we're back! Our travels are done (for now at least), Caroline has moved into her new house, which I'm sure she's excited to tell you about, and I've decided that it's time to start cooking. I always go through a summer stretch of no cooking (pasta again! tomato salad again! stir fry again!), but I'm ready for some real meals. I've been working on some interesting new recipes that I'm hoping you'll enjoy. The first teaser: peanut butter and jelly will never be the same. The next: cinnamon swirl what?!

My husband can't imagine eating quinoa before these cakes entered our lives. I think I've mentioned this before, but he's not really a fan of the "new" super grain; I have to sneak it in when he's not paying attention. But hands down, this dish one of his our favorite ways to incorporate quinoa into a meal--he'll even eat them cold. I usually eat 2-3 cakes (ok, sometimes 4 if I'm really hungry) along with a green salad. If there's company coming, I add another side like Turkish Carrot Salad or fresh fruit.

Cheater Chicken Marsala Pasta

This is a recipe that I based off of our standard Chicken Marsala recipe. I was craving something salty the other night (probably because I have been doing a lot of jogging lately), but I didn't want anything too heavy or too laborious to put together. I remembered that I had a handful of mushrooms in the refrigerator that needed to be used and I had all the other ingredients on hand for Chicken Marsala.

Portobello Mushroom Burger

Grilling again, but this time we are going vegetarian. I really do love hamburgers almost more than any other food, but I decided to try something new and went with a portobello mushroom burger. I've had them before when I worked at a restaurant at Snowbird Ski Resort. I liked them, especially because at the time I was a vegetarian. Yes, hard to believe but I was a vegetarian for a while, 7 years in fact, but I digress....

Stuffed Mushrooms

One of the great things about this blog is that I am constantly trying new recipes. Another great thing is that people always feel like they have to go out of their way when having us over for dinner, which is nice, but also a curse because I don't want people to feel stressed about having us over for dinner. Even more so I don't want to not receive an invitation for a dinner because someone thinks their cooking isn't up to snuff. Because the truth of the matter is we have plenty of very simple meals at our house, occasionally I even resort to frozen pizza.

Sauteed Chicken with Asparagus and Mushrooms

This simple pasta dish is mild in flavor but cholkfull of vitamins with the large quantity of asparagus. In fact according to Michigan Asparagus Advisory Board, "asparagus is one of the most nutritionally well-balanced vegetables in existence"; that alone should have you cooking up a batch of this dish. Hooray for asparagus!

I prepared this for my husband and parents and served it with some corn on the cob and fresh watermelon, it made for a nice evening meal on the deck. Of course, in my opinion, any meal is enhanced if it is served outside on the deck as the air is cooling.

Spring Veggies with Mustard Sauce

Asparagus is in abundance right now. It is easy to find, inexpensive, delicious, and nutritious. While I enjoy it steamed with some salt and pepper, it can get a little boring. So I came up with this simple recipe. It will make a great side to just about any chicken or fish dish, in fact I paired it along side our Broiled Tilapia Parmesan and it worked really well. And while I just used asparagus, onion, and mushrooms, I think that zuchinni and perhpas some green peppers would also add a great flavor to this mix.

Stuffed Zucchini (Mushrooms or Peppers)

These little babies are tasty and fun. They work as an excellent appetizer or would be great on a buffet table at a friendly gathering...and what do you know - they are quite healthy. Loaded with veggies and roasted to goodness.

I found this recipe in a book called The Occasional Vegetarian by Karen Lee with Diane Porter and wanted to try it, however, it looked quite complicated. So Kelly and I decided to simplify the recipe, remove a couple of ingredients, and give it to you. We choose to stuff zucchini, figuring they would be quicker and easier than traditional stuffed mushrooms. However, because we had a bit of stuffing left over, we grabbed a couple mushrooms and a red pepper and stuffed those as well. Overall, I think I preferred the zucchinis, but the others were also delicious. In the future, I think I would stuff all three vegetables to provide a variety of taste and textures.

Stuffed Zucchini (Mushrooms and Peppers)
Recipe by Two Little Chefs
Pictures by Caroline

4 medium zucchinis to stuff (or mushrooms, red, or yellow peppers)

Stuffing:
½ cup chopped red or yellow pepper
½ cup dried bread crumbs
1/3 cup chopped white mushrooms
¼ cup chopped red onion
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 egg, beaten
1 cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried parsley

Directions:
1. Cut the zucchini into 1-inch pieces and scoop out with a spoon. Try to scoop just over half of the center of the zucchini out as it will make more space for the filling, which you will appreciate in the end. Place the zucchini on a lightly grease cookie sheet. **If you are using mushrooms or peppers do the following: Pop the stems of the mushrooms off and cut a thin slice off the top of the mushroom so that it will sit flat – like a little cup. Brush the hollow of the mushroom with olive oil. For the peppers, cut lengthwise into 4 pieces and remove any seeds; then cut those quarters in half.
2. For the stuffing, sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil until they soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and the peppers and continue to sauté until softened, about 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Combine the mushroom mixture with the bread crumbs, egg, cheese, and parsley. Stuff the zucchini (mushrooms or peppers) with the mushroom mixture; be sure to pack the mixture in tightly. (If you want, you can brush the top of each stuffed vegetable with a little bit of olive oil.)
4. Preheat the broiler. Broil 6 inches for the heat until well browned, 7 to 10 minutes, but watch closely. Remove the stuffed veggies and serve warm or at room temperature.

ps...if you are looking for a sauce to pair these with, I think that the Buttermilk Dipping Sauce included with our Fried Green Tomatoes would be fab. Try it and let us know how it works.

Mushroom Risotto

Welcome to risotto, the Italian version of rice. But what's the difference between a plain old rice dish and risotto? Here's what trusty wikipedia has to say about it: "the main feature of a risotto dish is the maintenance of starch at the end of cooking that binds the grains together as a cream...Properly cooked risotto is rich and creamy but still with some resistance or bite (al dente), and with separate grains. The traditional texture is fairly fluid...it should easily spread out but not have excess watery liquid around the perimeter."

In other words, first, you coat the rice in butter. Then you add some kind of wine (in this case, white wine). Once the liquid has been absorbed into the grains/evaporated, you increase the heat and gradually add liquid (in this case, vegetable broth) in small amounts while stirring very frequently. This process allows the starch inside of the rice to escape into the liquid, creating a creamy texture. And this creamy texture is what makes risotto different from any other rice dish.

It's not a difficult dish to make, but it does take some patience while adding the liquid and stirring. We definitely think it's worth it.

Mushroom Risotto
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit December 1999
Pictures by Caroline

3 14 1/2-ounce cans vegetable broth
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small red onion, chopped
1 pound assorted mushrooms (such as oyster, crimini or stemmed shiitake), sliced
1 cup arborio rice* or medium-grain rice*
1/2 cup white cooking wine*
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 ounces)
3/4 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

1. Bring vegetable broth to simmer in medium saucepan. Reduce heat to low; cover and keep broth hot.
2. Melt 3 tablespoons butter with olive oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped onions; sauté 1 minute. Add mushrooms; cook until mushrooms are tender and juices are released, about 8 minutes.
   
3. Add rice and stir to coat. Add wine and simmer until liquid is absorbed, stirring frequently, about 8 minutes.
   
4. Increase heat to medium-high. Add 3/4 cup hot vegetable broth and simmer until absorbed, stirring frequently. Add remaining hot vegetable broth 3/4 cup at a time, allowing broth to be absorbed before adding more and stirring frequently until rice is just tender and mixture is creamy, about 20 minutes.
   
5. Stir in Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh thyme. Serve warm.

*Our grocery store was out of arborio rice, so we used what we happened to have: sushi rice! It worked just fine.
**I usually avoid using cooking wine when I cook (which seems odd, I know, since it's called "cooking" wine. Personally I don't think cooking wine should even exist) because it adds so much extra salt to your dish. But if you don't have any regular white wine, cooking wine is an acceptable substitute. I would, however, recommend using low-sodium broth if you're using cooking wine.

Fettuccine with Chicken, Mushroom and Argula Sauce

This is an elegant, rustic pasta dish that would be perfect for a fairly quick evening meal or a formal dinner. Even if you're not usually a big fan of mushrooms, you should give this sauce a try. The mushrooms are a very subtle addition, well balanced by the tangy balsamic vinegar. It's really tasty. I think I'm actually going to go have the leftovers tempting me in the fridge.

Fettuccine with Chicken and Mushroom Sauce
Recipe from Gourmet October 2008
Pictures by Caroline

1 1/2 cups mushrooms
3 garlic cloves
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 chicken breasts, broiled and shredded
1 small red onion, chopped
3/4 teaspoon chopped rosemary
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 (15 oz) cans diced tomatoes in juice
1 pound fettuccine
6 ounces arugula, coarsely chopped* (about 8 cups)

1. Pulse mushrooms and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped.
   
2. Heat oil in a large skillet and cook onion, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes.
3. Add mushroom mixture, rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring constantly, until beginning to brown, about 4 minutes.
4. Add tomatoes and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, about 1o minutes.
   
5. Add arugula to sauce and stir until wilted. Stir in drained pasta and cook 1 minute.
6. Serve sprinkled with grated cheese.

*If you're not a fan of arugula, substitute spinach.

Chicken Marsala

In my cookbook next to this recipe I have written, "good and easy". Now, my husband often reminds me that my idea of an "easy" recipe, is different than other people's idea of an "easy" recipe. However, this recipe gives you a lot for a little bit of effort; it is a meal that looks fancy, tastes great, but doesn't require much cutting or any complicated directions.

Chicken Marsala
Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens
Pictures by Caroline
Serves 4

¼ cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp dried marjoram, crushed
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
¼ cup sliced green onions (2)
3 tbsp butter or margarine
½ cup chicken broth
½ cup dry Marsala or dry sherry (I use a cooking Marsala wine)

1. In a shallow bowl stir together flour, marjoram, 1/8 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp black pepper (I don’t add any extra salt here; this recipe is plenty salty without the addition of extra salt). Place a chicken breast half between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Using the flat side of a meat mallet, pound chicken lightly, to about ¼ inch thick. (I just cut one chicken breast into two thin halves, rather than pounding them flat.) Remove plastic wrap. Lightly coat each chicken piece on both sides with flour mixture; shake off excess.
2. In a 12-inch skillet cook mushrooms and green onions in 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-high heat until tender; remove from skillet. In the same skillet cook chicken in remaining 2 tablespoons butter for 5 to 6 minutes, turning to brown evenly.
3. Remove skillet from heat. Return mushrooms and green onions to skillet. Carefully add broth and Marsala to skillet. Bring mixture to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season sauce to taste with additional salt (again, I don’t add any extra salt) and pepper. Spoon mushroom mixture over chicken. Serve with pasta or mashed potatoes.

*Note: when I make this recipe for me and my hubby, I just use one chicken breast and slice it in half, as though I were cutting a fillet from the chicken breast.

Braised Chicken with Mushrooms and Oven-Baked Polenta

This chicken recipe is similar to a chicken marsala recipe that I make (although I haven't put it on the blog yet), but serving it with polenta makes it quite unique. If you have never had polenta before, it is kindof like a creamy cornbread, in fact, that is basically what it is. I thought it was a nice change from serving rice or potatoes as the side to chicken.

Braised Chicken with Mushrooms and Oven-Baked Polenta

Recipe from Everyday Foods Great Food FastPictures by Caroline
Serves 4

Chicken Recipe

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6 ounces each)
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 pound white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced ½ inch thick
4 garlic cloves, halved
½ cup dry white wine (optional)
1 ¾ cups reduced sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
Oven-Baked Polenta (recipe below)

1. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken; cook until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
2. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the hot skillet. Add the mushrooms, garlic and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cover; cook over medium heat until the mushrooms release their juices, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the lid. Cook over high heat, tossing occasionally, until the mushrooms are golden, 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Pour the wine, if using, into the skillet; cook, stirring, until evaporated, 1 minute. Add the stock and parsley; cook over medium-high heat until the mushrooms are tender and the liquid has reduced, 8 to 10 minutes.
4. Return the chicken to the skillet. Cover; simmer over low heat until the chicken is cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve the cutlets and polenta topped with the mushrooms and a drizzle of cooking liquid. Garnish with additional fresh parsely.

Oven-Baked Polenta

¾ cup cornmeal
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
¼ cup milk
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp fresh marjoram (or ¼ tsp dried)

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. In a lidded baking dish, whisk together 3 cups water, the cornmeal, 1 ¼ teaspoons salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Cover, and bake for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through.
2. Remove from the oven, and add the milk, butter, and marjoram, and whisk briskly until smooth. Serve immediately.

Sweet-Pepper Balsamic Sandwich

So I was making one of my favorite sandwiches for lunch the other day, and figured I should share the goodness. Lunch is always a tricky menu for me, because I want something delicious, but I don't want to take a lot of time to make anything. If this sounds familiar try this sandwich. It is simple, healthy, and so so tasty. This day I enjoyed it with a simple fruit salad made with apples, bananas, and pineapple with a bit of honey and lemon juice



Sweet-Pepper Balsamic Sandwich
Recipe and Photos by Caroline

This is an approximate recipe, meaning add and subtract how you like. The amounts below are enough to make 2 sandwiches

1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
2 full slices of red onion
1 white mushroon, sliced
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
Italian Seasoning
salt and pepper
1/4 cup Mozzarella cheese
4 pieces white bread, toasted (wheat bread isn't very good with this sandwich)
2 tbsp veggie cream cheese or plain cream cheese

Directions:

1. Slice all of your vegetables. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium-low heart; saute peppers and onions for a few minutes until they begin to become tender, add mushrooms.
2. Season vegetables with salt, pepper, and the Italian Seasonings and let saute another minute or two. Add balsamic vinegar and cover with a lid for about one minute (note: when you add the vinegar it is going to sizzle, so watch out and cover the pan as quickly as you can to avoid a mess on your stove).
3. Once the vegetables are soft turn off the burner, but leave the pan on the stove. Leave the vegetables in the pan and pile them into the middle and cover them with the cheese; replace the lid and let the cheese melt.
4. In the meantime, toast your bread and slather each piece with the cream cheese. When the cheese on the vegetables has melted, place on your toast and make the sandwich. Enjoy!

ps..these sandwiches really are tasty!

Pesto pasta with salmon and vegetables

Whenever I make fish, I often end up with just a little too much left over to eat for lunch the next day, but not quite enough for dinner. This recipe is easy, fast, and flavorful with the inclusion of some pre-made pesto (either from the store or homemade). Plus, it makes use of some of those extra vegetables you have sitting around in the fridge.


It's also extremely flexible. You can add or subtract vegetables as you like: red pepper, asparagus tips, peas, etc.


Pesto Pasta with Salmon and Vegetables
Recipe by Kelly
Pictures by Caroline

Makes 4 servings

1/4 pound cooked salmon (grilled, seared, baked, or broiled)
1 green bell pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 cup mushrooms, quartered
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
3-4 tablespoons pesto
10 oz. whole wheat rotini pasta

1. Heat the olive oil in a small skillet. Add the chopped vegetables and sauté until tender.
2. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the pasta and cook until tender. Drain.
   
3. Meanwhile, reheat the salmon.
   
4. Add the pesto to the pasta. Add the vegetables to the pesto pasta and stir.
   
5. Serve topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.