Category: Vegetable

Stuffed Mushrooms

This tasty mushroom recipe is from the first diet plan that ever worked for me. It doesn’t taste like diet food because yummy melted cheese! Found in Suzanne Somers’ Get Skinny on Fabulous Food cookbook, they are cheesy and tasty with no rice or bread. They are easy to make and can be served as an appetizer if you are entertaining. Picture is my mom, son, and daughter enjoying Tofino in Vancouver Island.

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound mushrooms
  • 4 TBS butter
  • 4 shallots, finely chopped
  • 1 TBS chopped thyme, parsley or tarragon (she uses fresh lemon thyme in the book but I have trouble finding that)
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 TBS olive oil
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine

Directions:

Carefully pull stems off the mushrooms, finely chop stems. Select the 12 largest caps and set aside for filling. Finely chop the remaining mushrooms. Melt the butter in a large skillet, add shallots and saute until golden brown. Add chopped mushrooms and herb and saute until brown and crispy. Add wine and cook off the alcohol for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and preheat broiler.

Place the mushroom mixture in a mixing bowl with 1/2 the cheese, stir until well combined. Lightly rub the caps with oil and place on cookie sheet. Fill each cap and sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Broil for 5 minutes. Cheese should be bubbly and the caps a little brown.

 

 

 

Twice Baked Potatoes

 

This is a modified recipe from Horne of the Moon Cookbook, a vegetarian restaurant in Vermont. It is simple, but not as simple as a baked potato. Well worth the extra effort. I am not listing the amount of each ingredient because it varies depending on how many potatoes you cook. Just keep tasting the mix.

Ingredients:

  • Large russet potatoes (however many you care to serve).
  • Butter
  • Sour cream
  • Cheddar cheese, grated
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Paprika

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bake potatoes until tender when pierced with a fork (1-1 1/4 hours). Cut the top of each potato so that the inside can be easily scooped out. Scoop out insides and place in a bowl. Mash with butter, lower over temp to 400, add sour cream, cheese, salt and pepper to taste. Fill the potato shells and sprinkle each with paprika. Bake for 15 minutes and serve.

 

Crispy Cod Sandwiches with Red Cabbage & Apple Slaw and Roasted Potato Wedges from Blue Apron

 

 

I received a gift card from Blue Apron from a family member (thank you Pat and Fred), and I decided to give it a try for a week. 2 dishes and only one was a keeper that I will continue to make on my own. My assessment of Blue Apron was, although convenient and everything was fresh, it is over priced if you don’t have a coupon. Above pictured is the 2 meals I received from Blue Apron, pork dish is not reflected here because we didn’t really like it. Here is the recipes we all enjoyed:

Ingredients:

  • 4 cod fillets
  • 4 potato buns
  • 2 carrots
  • 2 scallions
  • 1 apple
  • 1 lb. red cabbage
  • 2 russet potatoes
  • 3 TBS sweet pickle relish
  • 2 TBS red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup Old Bay Seasoning (they provided their own spices, but this one is a great substitute since I don’t know what was in there’s)
  • 1/3 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • Olive oil
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Cut the potatoes into 1 inch wedges. Remove and discard the core of the cabbage, thinly slice. Core the apple and cut into matchsticks. Cut off and discard the root ends of the scallions, thinly slice, separating the white bottoms and green tops. Peel the carrots and grate on the large side of a box grater, place in a bowl with 1/4 of the vinegar, season with salt and pepper. Set aside to marinate, stirring occasionally, for at least 10 minutes

Place the potato wedges on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, toss and arrange skin sides down, roast for 28-30 minutes.

While potatoes are roasting make the slaw: combine sugar and  remaining vinegar and whisk until dissolves. Add cabbage and apple, stir thoroughly, season with salt and pepper, set aside to marinate for at least 10 minutes.

While the slaw marinates, make the sauce: combine mayo, relish and white bottoms of scallions, season with salt and pepper.

Once the potatoes have roasted for at least 10 minutes, place the Old Bay Seasoning on a plate, pat the cod fillets dry, season with salt and pepper, coat with seasoning, tapping off excess. In a large , non stick pain, heat 1 TBS olive oil on medium high, add cod fillets and cook 5-7 minutes on one side, flip and cook 2-3 minutes on reverse side, or until lightly browned. Leave browned bits in the pan as you transfer fish to a plate and set aside in a warm place.

Add the buns, cut side down, to the pan you used to cook the fish, toast for 1-2 minutes, or until lightly browned

Spread a layer of sauce on the buns with the cooked fish and marinated carrots

Serve with potatoes and slaw and garnish with green tops of scallions

 

 

 

Parmesan-Roasted Cauliflower

Roasted caramelized cauliflower makes a great side dish. This recipe, found in the February 2013 issue of Bon Appetit magazine is delicious and simple to make.

Ingredients:

  • 1 head cauliflower
  • 1 sliced medium onion
  • 4 thyme sprigs
  • 4 unpeeled garlic cloves
  • 3 TBS olive oil
  • kosher salt
  • black pepper
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions;
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut cauliflower into florets. Toss on a large rimmed baking sheet with onion, thyme, garlic, oil, salt and pepper to taste. Roast, tossing occasionally, for 35-40 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese, toss to combine, roast another 10-12 minutes.

Potatoes Au Gratin (Gratin Dauphinoise)

Breast of Chicken with Duxelles Stuffing

This is another recipe that I tried in my professional chef app; The Culinary Institute of America’s textbook.  Potatoes with cream, cheese, and butter; how could you go wrong? The recipe calls for a 10 serving dish but you can cut it all in half if you don’t want to make 3 pounds of potatoes.

Ingredients:

  • 3 lb chef’s potatoes
  • 5 garlic cloves
  • 1 quart (4 cups) milk
  • freshly grated nutmeg, as needed
  • salt, as needed
  • 12 fl oz (1 1/2 cup) heavy cream
  • 4 oz (1/2 cup) butter, cut into small pieces
  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated (I added this, it is not in the original recipe in textbook)

Directions:

Scrub, peel, and thinly slice the potatoes using a mandoline or electric slicer. If you have to use a knife like me it will work. Put the garlic in a medium saucepan with the milk and bring to a boil. Season the milk with nutmeg, salt, and pepper and add sliced potatoes. Bring the milk to a simmer and cook potatoes until halfway cooked, 8-10 minutes, taking care that the milk does not boil over. Discard the garlic.

Transfer  the potatoes and milk to a buttered pan, pour cream over the top, dot with butter and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top.

Bake at 375 degrees until golden brown and milk has been absorbed, about 45 minutes.

Allow the potatoes to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Roasted Carrots

 

This is a recipe from one of my favorite chef’s, Jamie Oliver. Very simple yet so tasty. No measurements given because you just add to taste and depends on how many carrots you are cooking.

Ingredients:

  • Carrots
  • Clementine
  • Olive Oil
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Rosemary
  • Pinch of cumin

Directions:

Parboil the carrots for 10 minutes while heating the oven to 400F, place the drained carrots on a roasting sheet and squeeze the clementine over them, toss with the remaining ingredients and cook for 50 minutes.

Brussels Sprouts Braised in Butter

I know, I know, Brussels sprouts blahhhhh….but try these before you turn your nose up to this vegetable. Anything braised in butter is good! This recipe is from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Ingredients:

  • Brussels sprouts
  • Salt
  • Butter
  • Wax paper

Directions:

Trim the base of each Brussels sprout with a small knife and pierce a cross in it for quick cooking. Remove any wilted or yellowish leaves. Drop the sprouts into a rapidly boiling pot of water 1 ½ tsp salt per quart, bring to boil for 6-8 minutes, drain.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and smear butter inside a casserole or baking dish. Arrange the sprouts heads up in the casserole dish; sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, and with 2-4 Tbls melted butter.

Take a round of lightly buttered waxed paper and lay it over the sprouts. Cover and heat on top of the stove until vegetables begin to sizzle, then place in middle level of oven and bake for 20 minutes or until tender.

 

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