Provençal Sandwich June 13, 2009

This is a sandwich inspired by the ingredients left-over from the Cheesy Lasagna I made with Natalia the other day…

I discovered Provençal Mushrooms during my trip to Montevideo, Uruguay.   I visited for work to shoot a TV commercial there and let me tell you… Uruguay is not a place too welcoming of vegetarians.  Just like Argentina, Uruguayan cuisine is filled with “parrilladas” and meat, meat and meat everywhere… what’s a vegetarian girl to do??

These provençal mushrooms were  in the menu of El Palenque, one of the most famous restaurants in Viejo Montevideo, next to the Mercado del Puerto.  I had them with French fries and the combination of the garlic sauce, parsley, lemon juice was exquisite.  I like it so much I went again to the same restaurant to eat the same thing a few times… not out of necessity, but out of gluttony.

When I saw the left-over spinach and sliced mushrooms I decided to combine them into a neat little sandwich inspired by those awesome mushrooms in Uruguay… perfect for a Sunday lunch at the beach.

 

 

 PROVENCAL SANDWICH

¼ cup of defrosted spinach, squeezed dry

2 button mushrooms, sliced

1 scallion

1 small garlic clove, made into a paste with some salt

¼ cubannelle pepper, cut into strips

2 tbs fresh parsley, chopped medium

The juice of 1 lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

2 oz of goat cheese

Handful of organic arugula leaves, washed and dried

Olive oil

1 whole-wheat demi baguette

 

1.  In a small skillet over medium heat, pour about 1 tbs of olive oil and sauté the scallion and the peppers.  Add the garlic paste and stir to combine to avoid the garlic to burn.
2. After a few minutes when the peppers have softened, add the mushrooms.  Move them around a few times to make sure they cook on both sides and absorb the seasoning.  Add a little drizzle of more oil if you find the pan is too dry.
3. When the mushrooms have acquired some color, add the spinach and parsley to the pan.  Season with salt and pepper and add the lemon juice.  Cook for just a few minutes and turn off the stove.  Let the residual heat of the pan finish cooking the filling.
4. Now, cut the demi baguette into two halves and scoop out some of the soft dough inside to make some room for the filling.  Drizzle with some olive oil and toast in a toaster oven to your desired crispiness.
5. Spread both sides with goat cheese.  Transfer the filling to the bottom bread.  Drizzle with a bit extra olive oil.  Place the arugula leaves and then cover with the top bread.

 

 

All you need now are the French fries…

Cook with your Kids… June 8, 2009

I have 2 “nieces” I have told you about… Mariana and Natalia.  “Nieces” is in quotations because they’re actually the daughters of my best friends – but to them I am their Titi Madelyn.

Fortunately and very grateful, they’re two very lucky girls whose parents can provide anything and everything to them.  So it became a challenge for me to choose a birthday gift for them every year.  Since last year, Titi Madelyn decided she would only provide experiences as gifts.  They do not need one more toy or one more t-shirt…  really.

Natalia turned 7 last month and as a birthday gift she got a cooking class by yours truly…  She had the choice of learning to make a cheesy lasagna, “pastelillitos de Shrek” or Italian Quesadillas.  She chose the cheesy lasagna, because I think in another life we were both mice…

I truly believe that when you get kids involved in preparing what they’ll eat, they’ll be more inclined to try new things and to eat whatever is on their plate.  I always tell Natalia and Mariana that if it wasn’t good tasting or good for them I would not even offer it.  They get it…

Natalia had to make several decisions to make her Cheesy Lasagna.  She had to choose between:

1. Small or Large pyrex mold – she chose the larger one
2. What ingredients to include in it – her choices were spinach, oven roasted tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, almonds and button mushrooms

She finally chose spinach, fresh tomatoes, mushrooms and skinned almonds.  She wanted it all…   She squeezed dry the spinach and I explained to her how all that green water would not be helpful for a cheesy lasagna.  She skinned almonds with me.  She arranged the almonds on a sheet to toast in the toaster oven.  She cleaned and sliced very carefully the button mushrooms and the organic heirloom tomatoes and placed it in separate dishes for the upcoming assembly.  She loved that the mushrooms looked like little trees.

                                 

I explained to her we would make a cheese sauce to pour in between the layers we were going to assemble.  The cheese sauce was a mixture of every cheese I had in the fridge at the moment… I assure you I did not buy one cheese for this project.  We used cream cheese, ricotta, parmesan, shredded mozzarella, fresh mozzarella and goat cheese.  She tasted each cheese individually before adding them to the milk seasoned with sofrito, salt and pepper.  She already knew the cream cheese, parmesan and shredded mozzarella from making pita pizzas with me.   But she tasted ricotta and goat cheese for the first time. She LOVED the goat cheese… and ate 2 goat cheese toasts while we were making dinner.  Titi Madelyn tasted goat cheese for the first time about 7 yrs ago… figure that one out.

Natalia added each cheese to the cheese sauce pot and stirred it carefully to help the cheeses combine and melt together.  I was in charge of boiling the water for the Jerusalem artichoke pasta.  I just set some water to boil, turned the stove off and let the noodles soften in that water.  The cheese sauce would continue to cook the pasta perfectly when the lasagna is assembled and in the oven.

This is more a method of making lasagna more than a recipe per se… but if you would like to replicate what Natalia and I did, here’s the ingredient list:

NATALIA’S CHEESY SPINACH, ALMOND, MUSHROOM AND TOMATO LASAGNA

½ package of DeBoles Jerusalem artichoke lasagna noodles

½ cup defrosted cut leaf spinach

6-7 button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

3 small organic tomatoes, washed and sliced

a handful of almonds, peeled and toasted

1 tbs olive oil

1 tsp of sofrito

About 1 ½ cups of milk – I really used what was left in the carton so I didn’t measure it

½ brick of cream cheese

¼ tub of ricotta cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella – the one you use for pizzas…

½ log of goat cheese

About ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese – but you could also use pecorino romano, asiago, grana padano, etc.

Salt and Pepper to taste

3 slices of fresh mozzarella – to top the lasagna only

 

Natalia then assembled the lasagna.  She decided in which order she would add the filling components:

1. We started with a layer of sauce, then noodles, then more sauce. 
2. Now goes the filling layer – spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes and almonds. 
3. Add a sprinkling of more parmesan cheese before adding the next layer of sauce, pasta and more sauce. 
4. Repeat until you create 3 layers of filling. 
5. Then finish off of with the fourth and last layer of pasta covered with the remaining sauce you have and topped with pieces of fresh mozzarella. 
6. I helped out with the hot noodles and the hot sauce, but Natalia did all the rest. 
7. I baked the lasagna at 400F for about 25 minutes in my toaster oven.   We basically waited until the top got a nice brown color.  

Natalia was super hungry by the time the lasagna was in the oven and I was in a hurry to feed her…We served her a nice piece with a side salad dressed with my Left-Over Dressing.  She ate so much; I had to give her a few papaya enzyme chewables to help her with her digestion and overfull tummy.  Her mom loved it too and took a great big piece home with her so daddy would also get a chance to try it.

The moral of the story…   Cook with your kids OFTEN.  Allow them to make decisions into what they’ll have for dinner, as long as they’re within what you believe is good for them.  Let them feel they’re part of the process and they will in turn reward you with the satisfaction of enjoying what they eat, enjoying foods good for them, raving all about it and asking you for more.  Natalia already wants us to schedule another “cooking class” when her Summer Camp ends.

Smoked Gouda and Spinach Risotto January 22, 2009

I love this dish… to me, this dish is comfort food at its finest and easiest.

You know me, I make risotto from a box, but I never eat it straight as is… I always embellish the risotto from Archer Farms with lots of flavor and ingredients.  I actually started making this risotto a looooooooooong time ago, more or less 10 years.  But I used to make it with a Lipton’s Creamy Garlic and Parmesan Risotto mix.  Unfortunately, that product was discontinued… but now I can continue the legacy buying rice at Target every time I travel.

I first learned the basics of flavors for this recipe from something I had read in Cooking Light magazine…  I saw the recipe but I said to myself I would never stand in front of a stove stirring rice for 20-25 minutes.  I love how this tastes… and no one who has had it has ever asked or noticed that the base is from a box, because the flavors are so restaurant like.

I do have to warn you, this recipe is addictive… and with the amount of cheese, it is a bit fattening.  But for special occasions, to celebrate others or yourself, this recipe is easy, reliable and most importantly, delicious.

 

SMOKED GOUDA AND SPINACH RISOTTO

1 box of Archer Farms 4-Cheese Risotto mix

1 ¼ cup cut-leaf spinach, defrosted and squeezed, but not too much

8-10 button mushrooms, cleaned well and sliced

½ a round of smoked Gouda cheese

3 oz of cream cheese

1/2 cup Fontina cheese, grated

½ cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated

¼ cup sun dried tomatoes, sliced (optional, but highly recommended)

 

1. In a large pot, bring 2 ½ cup of water to a boil… we’re basically preparing the risotto according to packaging directions… when the water boils, dump in the rice packet and the seasonings packet.  It might seem the pot is too large, but the mixture will bulk up with the cheeses and mushrooms, specially.
2. While that cooks a bit, you have some time to slice mushrooms, slice the sun-dried tomatoes and grate the cheeses.  Even though the spinach I buy is cut-leaf spinach, I usually run my kitchen scissors through it to make sure the pieces of spinach are manageable when eating.
3. When the rice is partly done, add the spinach to the pot.  Mix well and cover partially so the rice comes again to temperature quickly.  After the rice has come to temperature, add the cheeses one by one… I usually start with the cream cheese, then the Gouda, then the Fontina and then the Pecorino.  Mix well to help the cheeses melt into the rice/spinach mixture.
4. When the cheeses have melted well, but the sauce is still runny, add the mushroom slices and the sun-dried tomatoes, if using.  Mix everything well and let the mushrooms cook a bit.  
5. When you feel the rice is done, cover the pot and let it stand there for about 10-15 minutes. 

 

While you’re waiting, you can make a side salad or some baked plantains…  the sauce will thicken a bit after waiting a little while and it will be at a nicer temperature where you can really enjoy the cheese and spinach flavors.  If it’s too hot, you won’t taste anything…

This recipe reheats very well.  All I do for the sauce to return to its creamy consistency is to heat it any leftovers up with a bit of cream, half and half or even milk.  I reheat it on the stove top and in a few minutes it’s creamy as it was the night before.

Mushroom and Goat Cheese Spread November 24, 2008

I am taking these conversational French classes with my friends… we get together to speak French every week.  We talk about our stuff, all in French.  But we’re disciplined too – we discuss and review grammar, we give ourselves homework and even assign Show and Tell projects.

Our first Show and Tell presentation was about the food of a certain region of France.  I selected the Loire Valley and the Center of France.  I was not sure what I was going to find there, but I was determined to make my presentation vegetarian-friendly.  We had to add a TASTE to the Show and Tell, making it a Show, Tell and Taste…

                    

To my surprise, the Loire Valley is also affectively known as the Garden of France, because of its proliferation of fruits and veggies – apples, pears, plums, mushrooms – porcini, chanterelles, among many other wild varieties. 

                

The Loire Valley is also the heart of goat cheese production in France.  So for my TASTE portion of the presentation, I decided to make this spread as an appetizer, using traditional ingredients from the Loire Valley…

 

 

MUSHROOM AND GOAT CHEESE SPREAD

2 tbs butter

1 small shallot, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

½ pound of button mushrooms, coarsely chopped

4 ounces of goat cheese

2 ounces of cream cheese

1 tbs plain yogurt

2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and Freshly-cracked Pepper to taste

1 whole-wheat baguette, sliced on the bias

 

1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter.  Add shallot and garlic and sautee for about 1 minute.  Add the chopped mushrooms.  Cook until the mushrooms begin to soften, about 5-6 minutes.
2. 
3. In the bowl of a food processor, add the goat cheese, cream cheese, yogurt and cooked mushrooms.  Add the oil, salt and pepper.  Pulse a few times to combine. 
4. Toast baguette slices.   Serve spread with baguette toasts at room temperature.

 

The French taste is truly authentic.  I also ate this spread mixed with boiled potatoes.  It’s delicious and versatile.

Roasted Mushrooms June 15, 2008

I made these originally as part of my Comme Çi Comme Ça Salade Niçoise… but when I make them by themselves, I like to do something nice to them that the former recipe does not includes.

Lately something has been bothering me about how I named my version of Salade Niçoise.  In my conversational French class we discussed how real French people do not say the phrase “comme çi comme ça” to refer to the English phrase “more or less”.  Apparently they use more commonly “plus ou moin”, which is literally, “more or less”.  Apparently only people who learn French use the phrase “comme çi comme ça”.  Should I change the name of the recipe?  Discuss amongst yourselves and let me know your POV.

Revenons nos muttons…

More recently, I made these mushrooms to accompany my Blue Cheese Polenta and the combination was nothing short of amazing!!! 

 

 

ROASTED MUSHROOMS with Lemon Juice

½ packet of button mushrooms, sliced in half

2 tbs Olive oil

Kosher salt to taste

Freshly Cracked Black Pepper to taste

The juice of ½ lemon

 

1. Pre-heat oven to 350° F.
2. Clean and wipe well the mushrooms.  Slice them in half.
3. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, toss the mushroom halves with olive oil, salt and pepper.   Super simple.
4. Roast in the oven for about 20 -25 minutes.
5. Serve them while they’re still warm and drizzle the lemon juice on top of mushrooms.

 

 The tanginess of the lemon juice pairs very well with the earthiness of the mushrooms.  I started doing this after I tasted the stuffed mushrooms at Magianno’s once.  I loved the flavor combination.  These are great for a quick supper any day of the week, but still, easy and flavorful enough for company.

Stuffed Mushrooms January 21, 2008

I realized last night, I made this recipe a few months ago and forgot to post it…

I love mushrooms.  I salivate when I travel to visit my sister in Indiana or to New York and go to any regular supermarket and see the wide variety of fresh mushrooms available.  Here we get mostly white button mushrooms and with luck, sometimes we can find portobellos, creminis or oysters… but they’re usually old soggy-looking, so I never buy them like that.

I learned this recipe from my other good friend, Giada De Laurentiis.    And until now, I haven’t realized my photo resembled so much the photo in the Food Network website.  I usually make this by “eye-balling” the proportion of the ingredients… so we’ll just use Giada’s proportions as a guide this time.

 

 STUFFED MUSHROOMS

1/2 cup whole-wheat bread crumbs – I grind ww breadsticks or leftover bread in the food processor 
1/2 cup shredded Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
Salt and Black pepper to taste

Garlic & Herb Seasoning or Italian Seasonings
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
28 large white or cremini mushrooms, stemmed

Save about 1/2 the mushroom stems

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Prepare the stuffing by mixing in a bowl the breadcrumbs, cheese, garlic, parsley, seasonings, salt and pepper.  Add olive oil until the mixture is damp and holds somewhat together when you press it between your fingers.
3. Take about 1/2 the mushrooms stems you took off and chop them very finely.  Add them to the breadcrumb mix and combine.
4. Fill each mushroom cap – not too tightly because they might break.
5. Drizzle olive oil on a baking sheet, place mushroom caps on sheet and drizzle additional olive oil on top of the mushrooms.

 

6.  Bake for about 30 minutes until mushrooms are soft and the top of the filling is golden brown.

7.  Serve warm.

These are great as an appetizer or as a side dish.  I once made a “stuffed night” and served these mushrooms with my Stuffed Peppers and worked great.