January 31, 2012: Cremini Mushroom Salad Recipe

In trying to find a new, light side dish to serve with baked fish, I turned to The Food Network online. After reviewing several recipes, I put together the best of them and came up with this recipe.

Cremini Mushroom Salad served as a side to coconut milk poached cod on a bed of couscous

Cremini Mushroom Salad

4 ounces cremini (baby Portabella) mushrooms

¼ large red onion

¼ small head cauliflower
8 baby Heirloom tomatoes of various colors, thinly sliced

1 t. dried parsley (or 1 T. fresh parsley)

2 T. olive oil

2 T. balsamic vinegar

2 T. soy sauce

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

4 arugula and 8 frisee leaves

Crispy cheese discs*

Using a mandolin, thinly slice the mushrooms, onion and cauliflower and place in a mixing bowl. Add tomatoes, parsley, oil, vinegar, soy sauce and black pepper; toss together. Allow ingredients to sit at room temperature for at least an hour.

To serve, divide arugula and frisee between four plates. Spoon a quarter of the mushroom salad on top of the arugula; top with cheese disc.

*To make cheese discs, grate about an ounce of Parmesan or mozzarella cheese. Heat a nonstick skillet to medium. Scatter the cheese in the pan and cook until crispy on the bottom, flip and cook the other side until golden brown (much like a sausage patty). Carefully remove with a spatula and cool before cutting into four pieces.

January 10, 2012: Slow Cooked Potatoes and Mushrooms Recipe

Most slow cooker recipes combine meat and vegetables but this can muddy the flavors and be detrimental to texture. Next time you’re in a time pinch, consider putting the night’s dinner veggies in a crock pot before you leave for work and then simply broil or sauté a protein to go with it when you get home. This recipe is also great to make a nutritious side dish for a party or buffet.

Slow Cooked Potatoes and Mushrooms

3 medium-sized red potatoes, cut into eights

4 large brown mushrooms, quartered

1 small white onion, cut into lengthwise chunks

4 cloves garlic, minced

½ t. Seasoned salt

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 t. lemon juice

1 t. olive oil

Place potatoes in bottom of crock pot; sprinkle with seasoned salt and kosher salt and black pepper to taste. Layer vegetables on top. Sprinkle lemon juice and olive oil over the top. Turn slow cooker to low and cook for 4 to 6 hours, until potatoes are soft.

Serves 2 with 272 calories per serving

November 12, 2011: Roasted Butternut Squash With Sage Recipe

I don’t know about you, but I’m always looking for new and unique dishes to serve alongside my very traditional Thanksgiving turkey. This squash dish fits the bill perfectly; squash is in season during the fall months and the combination of tender chunks of squash with browned butter and fresh sage is simply delicious.

Roasted Butternut Squash With Fresh Sage

1 large butternut squash

4 T. butter

4 T. olive oil

2 T. fresh sage leaves, torn into small pieces

1 t. real maple syrup

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut the squash in half in lengthwise and remove seeds. Place each half on a cutting board and slice into one-inch thick slices (rind intact). Place butter and oil on a large, rimmed baking sheet. Place in the oven until butter is melted; top with sage. Brush the flesh of the squash slices with maple syrup and sprinkle with salt and pepper; lay them on top of the butter/oil mixture.

Cover pan with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and remove the foil. Continue to cook for another half hour or so, turning the slices and basting with the butter mixture often. Cut off rind and garnish with fresh sage leaves before serving, if desired.

Serves 6 – 8

November 2, 2011: Roasted Garlic Smashed Potatoes Recipe

Do you love mashed potatoes rich enough to be delicious even without gravy? Then these “smashed” potatoes are perfect. Try this recipe for your Thanksgiving dinner this year for a traditional side dish that is just a bit different.

Roasted Garlic Smashed Potatoes

1 head garlic

Olive oil

4 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered

1 cup cauliflower florets

1 T. chicken bouillon (or chicken stock base)

2 T. butter

½ t. garlic salt

¼ t. freshly ground black pepper

1 t. dried minced parsley

½ cup heavy cream

Place the garlic, unpeeled, in a square of aluminum foil. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over it. Close the foil to make a package and place in a 350 degree oven (ideally, roast the garlic while you’re baking other dishes in the oven). Bake for about 30 minutes, until cloves are completely soft.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil. Add the potatoes, cauliflower and chicken bouillon. Reduce heat to medium and cover. Continue to gently boil until vegetables are tender. Drain.

Return the pot with the potatoes to the warm burner. Allow moisture to evaporate, about one minute. Add the butter, seasonings, and heavy cream. With a fork or potato masher, smash until creamy but still slightly chunky. Serve with a dollop of butter in the middle of the mound of potatoes.

Serves 4

BTW, today is my husband’s birthday. Happy Birthday, my dear sweet husband! His favorite food is hamburgers so that's what we're having tonight - as I stand outside in the dark and freeze in order to grill his burger!

October 6, 2011: Squash Recipes

Of course, one thing you’ll see a lot of at the grocery store and farmer’s markets at this time of year are various types of squash. Personally I love squash of any kind (if you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m not very picky when it comes to food), however my husband had to eat it daily when he was a kid and his mom grew it by the truckload in their garden so he doesn’t get quite as excited as I do about the colors and shapes and textures of squashes.

I have a good friend at the grocery store, Brian, who manages the produce department. He let me know of some amazing, beautiful squashes that were available and I couldn’t resist buying some! So far, I’ve just used them as decorations on my fall table, as you can see here - but they should last for months so I consider it a very frugal way to decorate for autumn.

Brian recommends that when making squash, you use really good quality ingredients. His simple recipe:

Baked Squash

1 squash, your choice of variety such as acorn, spaghetti, butternut

Extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt (according to Brian, sea salt really brings out the sweetness of the squash)

Freshly ground black pepper

Basically, you just wash the squash and cut it in half. Scoop out the seeds and strings. Place the halves cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet greased with olive oil. Bake for 45 – 60 minutes, until soft. Scoop out the cooked flesh and add olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.

If you want a bit of variety you can add a tablespoon of maple syrup or substitute butter for the olive oil. A firm, tangy cheese like shaved Parmesan or a handful of toasted pecans or walnuts are also great complements to the slightly sweet flavor of squash.

September 24, 2011: Mixed Greens Salad Recipe

If you’ve been reading along with me this year as I’ve been blogging you probably know by now that my husband is a picky eater. And you probably also know that frustrates me because I want to try new recipes with different ingredients but I don’t want to make a dish only I will end up eating… and eating… and eating.

Anyway, we have a guest this week and for dinner tonight I had a special salad in mind that I thought he might enjoy. Yes, I did have to prepare a different salad for my husband…but it was worth it.

This is simply my favorite salad of all time. I first tasted it at Nello’s in Mesa, Arizona and it was love at first bite. This is my recreated version of that restaurant salad.

Salad minus the dressing - which should be drizzled on right before eating.

Mixed Greens With Balsamic Vinaigrette

2 loose, overflowing cups mixed baby greens

1 cup (1 medium-sized) tomato, diced

¼ cup toasted walnuts*

2 ounces Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

1/4 - 1/3 cup Balsamic Vinaigrette (depending on how much dressing you prefer)

Toss all ingredients together and splash with dressing right before serving.

*To toast walnuts, heat a heavy pan to medium-low. Add walnuts to dry skillet and cook until just fragrant and toasty, about 15 minutes. Watch carefully and stir frequently to prevent them from burning.