Marinated Mushrooms

Ok, I couldn't get marinated mushrooms off of my mind since my heart was set on them last week. So, despite the enormous size of my mushrooms, I did cook myself up a batch yesterday. However; I did not leave them whole...
Also, no pictures this time. I tried, but no matter what angle I snapped I just could not figure out how to make a fungus (especially a sliced fungus) look delicious. Oh! But they were delicious!

And just a quick side-note. I am extremely thankful for my herb garden when I am cooking recipes like these. Last week for my pate, I threw on my slippers, grabbed my flashlight and picked parsley at nearly midnight because, on a whim, I decided I wanted to add it. This one was thought ahead more so I didn't have to pick the herbs in my pajamas. But if I didn't have these on hand, I would sacrifice and add dried over paying an arm and a leg for fresh.

Marinated Mushrooms Recipe:
1 pound of brown or white mushrooms, or a mix of both
4 tablespoons of good extra virgin olive oil, or more if needed
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 cloves of garlic, minced 
1/4 cup of red onions or shallots, finely chopped
2 tablespoons of fresh oregano, finely chopped (Use 1 tsp dried leaves if fresh is not available)
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, finely chopped (Use 1 tsp dried leaves if fresh is not available)

1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon coriander seeds (optional)

Wash mushrooms well and remove stems. Boil mushrooms in salted water for about 10 minutes, drain and let cool. While mushrooms cool, combine all other ingredients in a jar or large bowl with a tight-fitting lid. Close the lid and shake until it's all combined. Add mushrooms, close lid and refrigerate overnight. Remove from the fridge at least 10 minutes before planning on serving it.

Smoked Salmon Paté

My husband and I seldom exchange gifts on our birthdays. Instead, we like to shower each other with attention and service. For Mike's birthday this year I took him on a camping trip, just the two of us. For my birthday, he cooked me dinner. But not just any dinner! He went all out and smoked some wild-caught Alaskan salmon. Wow! That is definitely a new birthday tradition around here. I wish there were some way I could describe how delicious it was. In fact, it was so delicious that we decided on an encore for a Thanksgiving appetizer. It really was too good to turn it into a paté but I'd been wanting to try a new recipe. My thought was that I could put this on my daughter's bagels for the days that she insists on only bringing a bagel and cream cheese for lunch. That way she's at least getting some extra nutrients, right? I have the pickiest seven-year-old so we are constantly trying to find interesting things to try in her lunchbox. The girl won't eat peanut butter and jelly... But she did it this!

 

Smoked Salmon Paté

6 oz smoked salmon

juice of 1/2 lemon, or to taste

1/4 lb low-fat cream cheese

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

pinch of cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp prepared horseradish

2 Tbsp fresh chopped parsley

Put the ingredients into a blender or food processor. Process until smooth and creamy. Season with additional pepper to taste and add fresh, chopped parsley if desired. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and put in the refrigerator. Tastes great on bagels, crusty bread, crackers and cucumbers.

Stuffed Mushrooms

I almost never host Thanksgiving since I have a mother-in-law who shines in that department. I do, however, love to cook Thanksgiving dinner which means my husband usually gets to eat the meal twice over the holiday weekend. He doesn't complain...
This year we tried a new method of cooking turkey which was OUTSTANDING and really very simple. Here is the link that explains each and every step. We cooked ours in the oven instead of on the grill, but other than that the process was the same and our turkey turned out beautiful, moist, and delicious. My husband thinks that he needs to consult Meathead for every problem in life (well at least in the kitchen) and I have to admit I'm becoming a big fan myself!

Anyway, as my contribution to Thanksgiving at my mother-in-law's house, I was planning to bring some marinated mushrooms. I bought an entire 10 pound box of fresh mushrooms so I'd have plenty to eat at home as well.
To my surprise when I went to go pick them up I found that I'd ordered them JUMBO size... not exactly fitting for the appetizer I'd had in mind!
All was not lost though and I came up with this delicious alternative. And with these jumbo-sized mushrooms this could easily be turned into a meal by adding just a little ground beef or turkey in with the stuffing. I tried a couple different versions and if you love mushrooms you will love these!

 Stuffed Mushrooms
12-15 whole fresh mushrooms (or 6 giant ones!)
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, diced
1 Tbsp butter
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning or Simon & Garfunkel Rub (I used S&G- another Meathead Favorite)
1/2 cup. mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup dry bread crumbs
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems.

2. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet. Saute about three minutes until vegetables are tender-crisp. Add garlic and seasonings. Cook an additional two minutes.

3. Add bread crumbs and cheese and stir until completely combined. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared cookie sheet.

4. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under caps.

**As made, I thought these mushrooms were fabulous! But I love mushrooms. For my husband who only likes mushrooms he thought these were a bit too mushroomy and needed something extra. The following is a variation I made for him which I actually thought was a tie with the first but they taste quite a bit different. These are not quite so Thanksgiving'ish so would be a good appetizer for any occasion.


6-8 whole fresh mushrooms (or 2 giant ones!)
1/4 cup chives, chopped
1 Tbsp dry sherry
1 Tbsp butter
1 large clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon herbes de Provence or dried thyme
4 oz. cream cheese
1 cup dry bread crumbs
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
2 Tbsp walnuts


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems.

2. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add mushroom stems and sherry to the skillet. Saute about two minutes. Add garlic and seasonings. Cook an additional one minute.


3. Add bread crumbs, cream cheese, chives and walnuts. Stir until completely combined. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared cookie sheet.

4. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under caps.

Sweet Chili Poppers

Did you get some of these yummy sweet chilies in your Bountiful Basket on Saturday? I got mine plus a friend gave me hers as well (two weeks in a row) so by this last Saturday I had a whole bag full in my refrigerator. I chose to turn mine into some delicious appetizers for our Father's day feast.


Sweet Chili Poppers
2 cups soft bread crumbs (I used rye bread for extra flavor. Puree it in your blender, or Vita-mix for fine crumbs.)
1 cup finely chopped sweet apple
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 Tbsp finely diced fresh cilantro
3 slices cooked and crumbled bacon
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
2 oz. Monterey or PepperJack cheese, sliced
about 20 sweet chili peppers

Combine bread crumbs, apple, onion, cilantro and bacon. Add egg and milk. Mix until all is incorporated and moist. 

 

Wash peppers and arrange them so they lay flat. On the opposite side of each pepper, cut a 'T' into the side of the pepper for the filling.

Stuff each pepper with stuffing (baby spoons work great for this!) and arrange in a single layer into a lightly greased casserole dish with a lid. Top each pepper with a piece of cheese (cut to fit). 

 Bake covered at 350 degrees F.  for 30 minutes. Serve warm or cold. They're delicious either way!

Everybody Loves Mike (stuffed Bacon Rolls)

The reason I LOVE this show? Every married couple can relate... even if they won't admit it. Our "suitcase" changes from time to time, but we usually have one. Most recently our "suitcase" was the turkey fryer. Mike loves to fry a turkey for Thanksgiving... I usually resist as much as possible for two reasons:
1. I like traditional roasted turkey. Fried turkey, while delicious, just isn't the traditional taste I crave.
2. EVERY time we fry a turkey... guess who gets to clean the nasty mess... I'll give you a hint. It's not Mike!

I'm sure we both have our reasons for feeling like the other should clean the mess. My reasons? Well, obviously- he's the one who wanted fried turkey, right? His reasons I assume are somewhere along the lines of- he cooked it, I clean it.
Weekends and evenings come and go. We both see it every day. Of course it's hard not to, it's been sitting in our garage for nearly a month! I step over it and around it but I don't clean it... yet. I wait for Mike to yield until he is finally "the one to take care of it."
Of course it's usually me who finally does it, but not silently. The deed is accompanied by grand statements of "look what I did today! See how I'm so amazing?" when what I really mean is "I couldn't take it anymore! You win this year, but game on for next year. mwahaha!"
But really... what finally ended the game this year was this: New Year's Eve! We are planning to have our first ever New Year's Eve family party (nothing big- just our family) and Mike has been stewing over all the junk he wants to eat. He's been bringing up fried foods a LOT.... and hinting that he'd use the oil that's already sitting in the fryer. Why waste it, right? I mean, how often do restaurants actually change the oil. It would probably just add flavor to whatever we cook. Mmmmm... AAAAaa!
So I like to think that he was just bluffing, but that's not a bluff I'm willing to call.
Today I cleaned the turkey fryer. *Sigh* Game on for next year...

For now, enjoy these Bacon Rolls, one of our favorite treats for New Year's Eve parties. And notice... they are NOT fried. :)

Stuffed Bacon Rolls
(from Mike's mom, Annette)

2 c. soft bread crumbs (about 3 slices bread)
1 c. finely chopped baking apple
1 Tbsp. finely chopped onion
1 Tbsp snipped parsley
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 c. milk
1 beaten egg
10-12 slices bacon

1. In a mixing bowl, combine bread crumbs, apple, onion, parsley, salt and pepper. Add milk and beaten egg and mix well.
2. Cut each slice of bacon in half crosswise. Shape crumb mixture into balls, using one rounded tablespoon for each. Wrap each ball with half bacon slice; seure with a toothpick. Place on wire rack set on a 15x10 cookie sheet.
3. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 375 degrees F. or until bacon is brown. Serve immediately.