buttermilk cheesecake... it doesn't get much better than this.

Welll... it started out as Brandon asking his dad to make his famous ragout... and then his homemade challah.. and then the whole family coming together for this big delicious dish. Well, me being the baker... I hate showing up to meals empty handed. I figured if his dad was going to show off his cooking talents, I wanted to show off my baking talents. (Though it was risky, considering I also decided to do this by making something I'd never made, or tasted, before.) But it was a risk I was willing to take. Like Lindsay said, a way to a man's heart is through his stomach... I feel like a way into anyone's heart is through their stomach.. so I wanted to try and win some people over with this one. I think it worked.

So I knew they liked cheesecake.. but I didn't want to do a boring plain cheesecake, but I also didn't want to get too crazy and make something people wouldn't like. I looked into mascarpone cheesecakes, ricotta cheesecakes, plain cheesecakes... and then it hit me - buttermilk! Brandon loves buttermilk! Why not see if it can be incorporated into a cheesecake! Sure enough, I found a few recipes online... granted, half of them were using the metric system (so I couldn't use those), and the others had no reviews... so I really didn't know what I was getting myself into. I figured I'd go for the one with the least amount of ingredients. I mean - simple is always better in the long run. To top it off, this particular recipe used cornmeal in the crust! What a great idea! Plus I felt the dessert tied into the Italian theme of the meal. (Oh yeah, I forgot to mention I topped the dessert with aged balsamic vinegar and macerated strawberries!)

So a few tips you need to know about cheesecakes before jumping into the recipe.

• once you start adding eggs to the batter, beat just to combine and no longer! beating the eggs to much will whip too much air into the batter, causing issues with the texture. If you want it to be creamy, then add eggs in one at a time, making sure the egg is incorporated before adding the next.. and then stop beating once they're combined!
  
• water baths help to aid in a consistant heat source in the oven. They aren't necessary in my opinion, though.. I say this because I don't use them and my cheesecakes have turned out fine... But in order to acheive the perfect results without the use of a water bath, you must focus on the oven temperature.
• Quickly dropping the temperature will cause cracking! You need to slowly bake the cheesecake in a lower temperature oven... and just as you slowly cook it, you need to slowly cool it. This will help prevent cracking and help aid in a creamier cheesecake!

Ok so now that you know my few pointers on cheesecakes - on to the recipe!

Buttermilk Cheesecake with Balsamic Strawberries
serves 12

Ingredients:

• 1c butter, room temperature (or 2 sticks)
• 1 1/2c graham cracker crumbs (you can buy these as crumbs in the baking aisle - i highly recommend doing this to save the time using the food processor, unless you like graham crackers and want to have the extras around!)
• 1/2c yellow cornmeal
• 1c + 2T granulated sugar
• 3 80z packages of cream cheese, room temp. (I used regular, but i'm sure you could use lowfat. just might affect the texture some.)
• grated zest of 2 lemons (recipe calls for 2, I only used 1 so not to overpower the flavor... and I used a meyer lemon - I much prefer their floral flavor!)
• 3/4c buttermilk (don't worry if it says lowfat - all buttermilk is lowfat- this is perfectly fine)
• 1t pure vanilla extract
• 4 eggs

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Set aside 1 stick of butter for cheesecake batter. Take other stick, use 2 tablespoons to butter a 9" or 10" springform pan (if you use a 9", batter will be thicker and you will need to bake the cheesecake longer). Melt the remaining 6 tablespoons.
3. Combine graham cracker crumbs, cornmeal, and 2 tablespoons of sugar in a medium bowl. Add the melted butter and mix thoroughly with a fork. Dump into prepared pan and press evenly along bottom and 1" up the sides. Its ok if its not perfect, Lindsay. Bake about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. It'll smell nice and fragrant and let you know its ready.
   
4. Cream remaining butter, remaining sugar, and cream cheese with lemon zest in large bowl of an electric mixer until smooth. Its important for ingredients to be ROOM TEMPERATURE so lumps do not form! Make sure to scrape bottom of the bowl a few times while beating.. cream cheese likes to lurk near the bottom and then show itself when you're pouring the batter! Ok jokes aside... Once you've combined these ingredients and its nice and creamy, add the buttermilk and vanilla extract. Beat, occasionally scraping down the sides and bottom, until it is mixed well. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat slowly until just combined. DO NOT OVERBEAT!!
5. Pour batter into reserved crust and bake 25-30 minutes (maybe a little longer if using a smaller pan). Reduce heat to 300 degrees F and bake an additional 25-30 minutes (again, I think I left it in for 40 minutes at this temperature). Reduce heat again to 200 degrees F and bake until done. About 20 minutes. (and again, I think I baked it for at least 30 minutes at this temp.) You want the sides to be set and the very center to be SLIGHTLY jiggly. If its really jiggly, keep baking! Now - for the important part. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven! For at least 3 hours! Let it cool completely in the oven... this slow cooling process really helps I swear! Wow I really overuse the exclamation point.
   
6. Remove the cheesecake. Let cool completely at room temperature (it will still be slightly warm coming out of the oven). Cover, and then place in the fridge overnight to set.
   
7. When removing the sides of the pan, you may want to run a knife around the edge if you're worried at all about the cheesecake sticking. And a tip for slicing cheesecake... have a glass of boiling hot water and soak a sharp knife in it. Dry the hot knife on a tea towel and slice. Do this between each slice and you'll have perfectly sliced cheesecake!

Macerated Balsamic Strawberries:
serves 8

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2lbs strawberries
• 1/4c sugar (i used combination of raw and granualted)
• 1T aged balsamic vinegar
• 1T freshly squeezed lemon juice
  

Directions:

1. Wash and slice strawberries... however you want to slice them.
2. Place strawberries in a large bowl, sprinkle sugar on top and stir to combine. Stir in the lemon juice (I used about half a lemon and squeezed it over the strawberries). Next drizzle the balsamic over the strawberries and stir. Let sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours.
   
3. Once the juices have started to come out, you can place it in the fridge or leave them out a few more hours. I would suggest doing this the day you serve the cheesecake and no sooner! Once these have sat around for about a day, the strawberries start to get mushy.

So make the cheesecake the day before, make the strawberries a couple hours before... spoon them over the slices and voila! You have cheesecake! I also drizzled a little aged balsamic over the slices of cheesecake when I served it..

Ok - that was a long post. I hope it was worth it for someone because its really really good!

Enjoy!
Lauren

best. dinner. ever.

Ok so maybe thats a stretch... but seriously, everytime I made this I forget how much I love it. Best part - its sooo easy! AND you get a bunch of veggies in, too! Let me think of a good name for it... Oh wait, I found the original recipe I got out of Everyday Food magazine. I've altered the recipe so many times, I've never referenced the recipe since the first time I made these. The magazine calls this "Portobello, Broccoli, and Red-Pepper Melts". But I switch up the veggies and the cheese and the bread so many times, you can call it whatever you want! The other great thing about this meal is that its quick to make - I'd say you'd spend about 20 minutes putting it all together. It's so versatile, so easy, so fast, and so cheap - why not make this a weekly staple?

So on to the recipe......

Roasted Veggie Melts
serves 4 (or two if you make it the only thing you're eating)

Ingredients:

• 1 small head of broccoli, cut into florets. stalk discarded. (This is an important ingredient, do not leave it out!)
• 1 small red pepper, cut into 1/2" pieces.. you know, bite size but not too small. (you want all ingredients to be roughly the same size so they roast evenly)
• 1/2 red onion, sliced in 1/4" slices
• 6-8oz cremini mushrooms, cut into quarters
• olive oil
  
• 1/4c mayo
• 1 clove garlic, crushed, finely chopped, however you wanna do it
• 4 thick slices of bread - NOT sandwich bread... use country bread, sourdough, italian, challah, french, whatever... You just want it to be a sturdy, crusty bread.
  
• 4-6oz cheese... Now here you get to be creative. The photo above was using kerrygold irish cheddar with irish stout in it.. mmmmm.... or you can use gouda, gruyere, goat cheese, swiss, etc... parmesan does not work. You want the cheese to melt smoothly and be able to stand up under a broiler.
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Move a rack in your oven to the first or second row (about 6" away from heat source) and turn on your broiler.
2. Crush/finely chop garlic and mix into mayo. Season with salt & pepper. Set aside. (do this earlier so that it has time to flavor the mayo)
3. Wash and chop all your veggies into equal size pieces. Line a large baking sheet with foil and put ONLY the broccoli on. Drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt & pepper. Place under broiler for 5-7 minutes. You'll want to stir the broccoli once or twice before removing it... let it get a nice char. (this is important! char is good!)
   
4. Remove pan from broiler, and add the rest of the chopped veggies. Drizzle more olive oil and season with more salt & pepper. Place back under broiler, tossing several times until veggies are nice and tender. About 8-10 minutes.
5. Slice the bread into about 1" thick slices. Spread garlic mayo evenly over slices. Top with the roasted veggies (pile em on! and leftover veggies are soooo good on their own, its ok if you don't use up all of them). Then top with the cheese. Place under broiler for 2-4 minutes, until cheese is melted and lightly browned. (though not all cheeses will brown, so use your best judgement).
6. Serve hot! Serve with a salad or something on the side if you like, but its good just by itself!

So again, this is really good. I know there's no meat for carnivorous boyfriends such as Lindsay's.. but you don't miss it one bit! Who knows, maybe it'd be good with some sausage mixed in. But I highly recommend this dish.

Enjoy!

Posted by Lauren

S'mores indoors!

From The Sandlot:

Ham Porter: Hey, Smalls, you wanna s'more?
Smalls: Some more of what?
Ham Porter: No, do you wanna s'more?
Smalls: I haven't had anything yet, so how can I have some more of nothing?
Ham Porter: You're killing me Smalls! These are s'more's stuff! Alright, now pay attention. First you take the graham, you stick the chocolate on the graham. Then you roast the 'mallow. When the 'mallows flaming... you stick it on the chocolate. Then cover with the other end. Then you scarf. Kind of messy, but good!

Simply put, s'mores are amazing. I probably love them so much because I have so many childhood memories with them. My dad used to take me and my two other sisters on these father-daughter camping trips when we were younger and I know for a fact that s'mores were half the reason I actually went. I would get so excited about making s'mores. As I got older and my perfectionism (OCDism) developed further, getting the perfect brown marshmallow became a game to me.

Now, living in a city I often miss the great outdoors. Obviously there are a ton of options close to San Francisco that I could travel to for camping, but that's a whole other issue I don't want to get into right now. So how nice would it be to bring the warm-fuzzy feeling of roasting some marshmallows with friends to your very own living room? Well, that's how indoor s'mores came about.

What's different about this recipe is that instead of using graham crackers as a base I used matzo. If any of you are unfamiliar with matzo it's a cracker like flatbread made of flour and water. However, the dough is pricked in several places and not allowed to rise before or during the baking process which creates the flat bread.

My roommate Jenny is my live-in Martha Stewart protogé and she sent me a link to this Marta Stewart recipe that used matzo as a base. In this recipe she drizzle the matzo with chocolate to give it the sweetness. What make it extra special is by using the lightly salted matzo there's a nice combination of salty and sweet that you don't normally get with the typical graham cracker.

Now how did we roast these mallows you ask? Well, being scared of what kind of toxic fumes might be in the DuraFlame logs we opted for the sterno can. A sterno can is what is often used in the food service industry to heat buffet platters. It's a little can that is filled with a flammable jell. You light it with a lighter and it stays lit for a long time. It's small, portable, and clean. Much easier than logs! Martha Stewart suggests putting them under the broiler. Alternatively, you could also use your gas stove if you have one.

Ingredients

For the ganache:

• 2 oz dark chocolate
• 1T butter
• 1T milk or cream
  

For the s'mores

• Chocolate bar of your choice (Hershey's is classic but you can go gourmet if you like)
• Marshmallows
• Streit's lightly salted matzo
• Sterno can
  

To make the ganache heat chocolate and butter over a double boiler stirring often. Be careful that the bowl doesn't touch the water. When melted, add a touch of milk or cream until it's at a consistency that drizzles well. I added roughly 1-2T.

Lay out matzo pices on a piece of wax paper and break up into desired size. Drizzle chocolate over the matzo pieces. Let rest for roughly 30 minutes at room temp or put in the refrigerator for 5 minutes if you need to speed the process.

Now you're ready to assemble your s'mores. If you don't know how to make a s'more that's very unfortunate. I suggest you follow Ham Porter's advice above. That or just follow Zach's method below.



Boun Appetito!
- Lindsay

Mmmm . . . Meatballs

So they say a way to a man's heart is through his stomach, right? Well I typically stick by that rule so my man sticks by me. Honestly though, nothing makes me happier than seeing Zach clean his plate after one of my meals and then turning to me to see if he can scrounge up what I didn't finish. I kinda stole this title of this post from a restaurant Zach and I went to the other night. They had a pizza which they quite rightly named, "Mmmmm Meat." But to hear Zach order it with such enthusiasm was really the best part as I'm sure most diners just say, "I'll have the meat pizza, please."

One of Zach's favorite meals, behind 24 oz homemade chocolate shakes and matzo ball soup, is meatballs and spaghetti. I was never really a fan of meatballs growing up simply because I never really ate it. However, I realized that this really is a simple and satisfying meal. Even better, I usually have most the ingredients on hand so it's cheap and easy to make too.

When I make this I pretty much throw the ingredients together depending on how much I have on hand or how I'm feeling. A lot of it I feel is simply based on personal preference of how seasoned one like their meatballs or how fluffy or dense they prefer them to be.

Ingredients:
nocoupons

• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (pork, turkey, veal, or a combination thereof works too)
  
• 3/4 cup of dried bread crumbs
  
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 extra-large egg, beaten
• 1/3 cup minced onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
  
• Vegetable oil for cooking
  

Directions:

Place the ground meat(s), bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, salt, pepper, nutmeg, onion, garlic, and egg in a bowl. Combine very lightly with a fork. Using your hands, form the mixture into 2-inch meatballs. You will have roughly 12 meatballs.

Pour vegetable oil into a large (12-inch) skillet to a depth of 1/4-inch. Heat the oil. Very carefully, in batches, place the meatballs in the oil and brown them well on all sides over medium-low heat, turning carefully with a spatula or a fork. This should take about 10 minutes for each batch. Don't crowd the meatballs. Remove the meatballs to a plate covered with paper towels. Discard the oil but don't clean the pan.

Here you can either choose to make your own sauce (which if I had the time to do all of the time I would all of the time) or you can just add your favorite jarred marinara. I decided to deglaze the pan with some red wine I had on hand to scrape up all the yummy brown bits and then add the meatballs back to the pan along with the sauce and a touch of water to keep the sauce for hardening. Cover and simmer the meatballs on the lowest heat for 25 to 30 minutes, until the they are cooked through. Serve hot on cooked spaghetti and pass the grated Parmesan.

Buon Appetito!
- Lindsay

Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake

courtesy of the New York Times

The New York Times is one of my favorite places to find new recipes. I enjoy them because they usually are accompanied by some sort of story of how the recipe evolved whether it be a dietary restriction, as in the case of this recipe, a seasonal ingredient, a family heirloom, or just the health benefits of a certain ingredient. Not only that, and most importantly, most of the recipes I have found here actually appeal to me more often than not. Furthermore, they don't disappoint.

I was intrigued by this recipe because it uses olive oil as the fat base. I can't remember a time when I've ever used olive oil in a sweet recipe so I decided why not now? I also just love using blood oranges, more for their look than taste. Something about the red flesh contrasting against the orange skin and white pith is very aesthetically pleasing. I took some pictures of my own but haven't had time to upload them. So here's a fancy one from Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times.

The result was a very moist cake. Three days later the cake is tastes as it did the first day - moist, rich, and full of citrus.

Ingredients

• Butter for greasing pan
• 3 blood oranges
• 1 cup sugar
• Buttermilk or plain yogurt ( I used yogurt, roughly 1/3rd cup)
  
• 3 large eggs
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• dash of nutmeg
• Sugar glaze, optional (see note)
  
• Honey-blood orange compote, for serving, optional (see note)
• Whipped cream, for serving, optional.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Grate zest from 2 oranges and place in a bowl with sugar. Using your fingers, rub ingredients together until orange zest is evenly distributed in sugar.

2. Supreme an orange: Cut off bottom and top so fruit is exposed and orange can stand upright on a cutting board. Cut away peel and pith, following curve of fruit with your knife. Cut orange segments out of their connective membranes and let them fall into a bowl. Repeat with another orange. Break up segments with your fingers to about 1/4-inch pieces.

3. Halve remaining orange and squeeze juice into a measuring cup. You will have about 1/3 cup or so. Add buttermilk or yogurt to juice until you have 2/3 cup liquid altogether. If using yogurt, as I did, make sure to whisk the yogurt into the liquid so you have an accurate reading. Pour mixture into bowl with sugar and whisk well. Whisk in eggs.

4. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add a dash of nutmeg and season to your preference. Gently whisk dry ingredients into wet ones. Switch to a spatula and fold in oil a little at a time. Fold in pieces of orange segments. Scrape batter into pan and smooth top.

5. Bake cake for about 50 minutes, or until it is golden and a knife inserted into center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then unmold and cool to room temperature right-side up.

Here the NYT suggested serving with whipped cream and honey-blood orange compote. I, however, made a glaze instead of 10x sugar combined with a touch of almond extract. I then added water until I got it to a slightly runny consistency. Poke some holes in the cake after it comes out of the oven and then drizzle the sugar mix on. After a few minutes it should harden forming a sugary shell on top.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings.

Note: To make a honey-blood orange compote, supreme 3 more blood oranges according to directions in Step 2. Drizzle in 1 to 2 teaspoons honey. Let sit for 5 minutes, then stir gently.

Boun Appetito!
-Lindsay

Rhubarb Pie... who woulda thunk it?

Yeah.. so coming from parents who should have passed this down to me... I'm really surprised I didn't know about rhubarb until I started working at a bakery. Even then, I'd never tried it until 3 years later. Apparently my great grandmother used to make rhubarb jam. Mom! Where is this recipe!? Anyway, I discovered this veggie last spring when Brandon mentioned an interest in a rhubarb pie. Of course, when Brandon mentions an interest in something dessert-like, I'm researching how to make it the next day! I'm crazy like that. So I came across a recipe online that had 5 stars from 150 reviews. How could I go wrong?? And let me tell you - I didn't! Yes. I'm vain. Ok - So the big thing is the crust. VERY IMPORTANT not to screw up the crust! Unfortunately I haven't copied down my mom's recipe, so instead I researched a few recipes and kinda came up with my own version (ya know, so i could make it my own). The important thing is to work with very cold ingredients, do not overmix, and do not add too much water!!! So here is my crust recipe.

Pie Crust
makes 3-4 crusts.

Ingredients:

• 3c flour
• 1/2t salt
• 1c shortening
• 2T butter (for flavor)
• 6T ice cold water

Directions:

1. Make sure your shortening and butter are very cold! This is important so that the crust is flakier and its easier to cut into the dry ingredients. Mix the dry ingredients together. Add the shortening & butter and cut into the dry ingredients. You'll want the pieces to be somewhat similar in size to peas.. don't work this too much, you want chunks of fat still intact, this is what helps create the flaky tender crust during the baking process.
2. Using a fork, start to sprinkle in the water, a few tablespoons at a time, and combine with the fork. Again, do not overmix during this process or the dough will become tough! You want the dough to just start to come together.
   
3. Divide the dough up into 3 -4 balls, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least an hour. Again, its important to have the dough cold so the crust will be nice and tender.

Ok. So this is a basic pie dough recipe. Again, it works for me, but you can use any recipe you have around. Really doesn't matter. Just please please pleeaasseeee do not overwork it. I can't tell you how often I see people kneading this dough and it breaks my heart every single time!
So on to the Rhubarb Pie recipe!!


Rhubarb Pie
makes 1 9" pie

Ingredients:

• 4C Rhubarb (roughly 6-7 stalks)
• 1 1/3c sugar
• 6T all purpose flour
• 1/4t fresh grated nutmeg
• 1T butter
• 1 egg white
  
• pastry for 9" double crust pie

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
2. Combine sugar and flour and nutmeg. Sprinkle 1/4 of it over pastry in pie plate. Heap rhubarb over this mixture. Sprinkle with remaining sugar and flour. Dot with small pieces of butter. Cover with top crust. Make sure to cut vents into the top crust!!
   
3. Combine egg white with about 1T of water. Beat with a fork and then brush over top of crust. Sprinkle granlated or raw sugar over the crust. (this creates a fabulous sweet crunch on the top!)
   
4. Place pie on lowest rack in oven. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and continue baking for 40 to 45 minutes. You'll start to notice the syrup bubbling up through the vents in the top of the pie crust. Serve warm or cold. Keep in mind that a pie needs to rest for at least 2 hours before you cut into it, though. Otherwise the filling won't properly set up.
   

So I hope you find time to make this one day. It sounds weird, using a veggie as the star ingredient in a dessert.. And if you taste rhubarb raw, you'll also think its weird. It is very tart! But I promise you, it will remind you more of a tart berry pie like blackberry or raspberry. It has a gorgeous red color as well. Serve it up with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and you'll want to make this treat every spring! You can also swap out some of the rhubarb for strawberries if you desire. A lot of recipes combine the two.. maybe 2 cups of slices strawberries and 2 cups of rhubarb. Just bear in mind that when you cook strawberries, they loose their pretty red color and look almost grey. But they still taste good!

Submitted by lauren.

Mushroom Veggie Burger

Ok.. I promise to post a photo, soon. Anyway - Brandon and I decided to try something new this weekend... I guess the sun peaking out and giving us some 70+ degree weather for the first weekend of March sparked a desire to cook something you'd want to eat at a bbq. Being the vegetarian that he is, we couldn't just cook burgers! So he did some researching and found a youtube video for a mushroom burger that looked simple and delicious. Simple being the key word here. Seems most veggie burger recipes call for 15+ ingredients and by the time you purchase everything you need, you may as well have gone out for dinner... not to mention the time involved with chopping all the veggies (something much easier if you have a large food processor with the shredding blade attached). SO... on to the recipe. I promise, its really simple... you just have to be a little patient with it. We also improvised, so I'll do my best to recreate the recipe for you guys.

Mushroom Veggie Burger
serves 4-5

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2lb mushrooms, sliced & chopped (we used a combo of crimini and button)
• 1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped
  
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3T olive oil
• 2/3c rolled oats (though we left these out b/c we didn't have any on hand)
• 1/2c shredded or grated parmesan (calls for shredded, but we only had grated)
• 3/4c bread crumbs (plain)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2t dried oregano
• 2t worcestershire sauce (not called for, but we added for flavor)
• salt & pepper

Directions:

1. We chopped some of our mushrooms up in a food processor, and then chopped the others in bigger chunks, to give some texture. So you will add all your mushrooms to a large sautee pan with about 2T of olive oil in it. You'll also add the onions and garlic at this time. Add about 1t of salt and 1/2t of pepper and cook over medium heat. The salt is important as it will draw out the moisture from the mushrooms. You'll need to continue to cook this over medium to medium/high heat for at least 15 minutes. It may take more or less time depending on your stove, but you want all the moisture to cook out and the mushrooms become dry.. no water in the pan! While these are cooking, add in your other seasonings such as the dried oregano and worcestershire.
   
2. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and put in a large bowl. Add the breadcrumbs, oats, and parmesan to the mushrooms and stire to combine. The mixture will look kinda like sand and mud. Yeah - looks delicious! mmmm! Once the mixture has cooled a little, add the beaten egg and stir to combine. At this point, it is important to let the mixture rest for 15 minutes to allow the breadcrumbs to absorb the liquids and helps the mixture come together.
   
3. Heat 1-2T olive oil over medium head in large sautee pan. Form patties from the mushroom mixture, you should get 4.. but you may get 5 or 6 depending on how big you want them to be. We made 4 patties from this. This is a very sticky process! So once you've formed all your patties, add them to the hot oil and cook for about 2-3 minutes per side. You'll want the patties to have a good crispy crust formed on the bottom before flipping it over, so that way it will stay intact.
   
4. Once they're done cooking, set them on a paper towel lined plate to drain and top with cheese at this point if you'd like.
   
5. Get your favorite bun, toast it.. and top it with the fixins (we made a chipotle mayo, using some canned chipotle peppers and some mayo.. added a nice hint of smoky heat to the burgers)
6. Make sure to serve with your favorite bbq side items... potato salad, baked beans, corn on the cob, etc.
   

So there ya have it. Its really simple - and you'd be amazed at how much it will remind you of biting into a big juicy cheeseburger.. because this is actually juicy! I'm excited because it made 4 burgers, so tonight I'm gonna eat my 2nd one! I hope you guys take the time to make these sometime, they're soo worth it. And if you want to watch the youtube video you can find it here:


Mushroom Veggie Burger from Foodwishes on Vimeo.

Posted by LAUREN! woo

panko crusted tilapia with coconut curry sauce

So its not the best photo - but I tend to not carry my camera on me, so I'm left with my camera phone. Anyway - I was in the mood to come up with some sort of dish that included panko crusted tilapia, jasmine rice, and some kind of yummy sweet/spicy sauce. When I say spicy.... I mean uses spices... I can't handle the heat! So this is not a hot spicy dish! But it is a delicious dish and very affordable!

Panko Crusted Tilapia:
2 servings

Ingredients -

• 1c Panko bread crumbs
• 1t paprika
• 1t dry mustard
• 1 egg
• 2-3 tilapia filets (depends on the size of the fish and how big of an appetite your boyfriend has)
• salt and pepper

Directions -

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Combine the panko, dry mustard, and paprika. Pour into a shallow dish or plate. Beat the egg in a separate bowl and pour onto a separate plate. Season the tilapia with salt and pepper. You can also adjust the amount of mustard and paprika in the panko mixture. we didn't measure, so the 1t was a rough estimate!
   
3. Dredge the fish in the egg wash and then follow in the panko mixture and then set onto a baking sheet. I covered my baking sheet with foil and sprayed with cooking spray to prevent sticking.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes, depending on the size of the fish. You want the fish to flake apart with the touch of a fork.
   

Coconut Curry Sauce:
serves 2

Ingredients -

• 1/2c - 1c canned coconut milk*
• 2t soy sauce
• 1/2t curry powder (I recommend Madras Curry Powder, which you can find at whole foods)
• 1 1/2T packed brown sugar
  
• 2t unseasoned rice vinegar or cider vinegar
• 2t canola oil
• 2t cornstarch dissolved in 1 1/2t cold water

Directions -

1. Combine all ingredients except for the cornstarch mixture in a small saucepan. Whisk together to combine.
2. Heat over medium high heat. Before mixture comes to a boil, add the cornstarch mixture. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Once the mixture boils, continue to cook for one more minute. Sauce should now be thick. This is the time to taste as well. We added about 1t of paprika to the sauce to cut the sweetness. Sauce will be thick.
3. Pull off heat and pour over fish/rice. Enjoy!

* The original recipe called for 1/2c coconut milk, but we increased it to about 1c instead. Because of this, we also had to add more cornstarch mixture to thicken the sauce a bit more. We used lite coconut milk and you'd never know it was lite - so you may as well cut the calories/fat!


So I made jasmine rice to accompany the meal. I think jasmine or basamati would be great. Its got kind of a thai/indian twist to it, so I think rice is appropriate. We also got the packaged Naan you can get from whole foods - its just a fun bread to serve with the meal so you can sop up the leftover sauce with the bread. The best part - the sauce took 10 minutes to make, fish took 10 minutes to prep, rice practically cooks itself.. its a very simple meal and it was really delicious! Highly recommend!

Submitted by LAUREN!

Zeppole!

So when Lindsay and I were on vacation, we had the habit of watching Giada while getting ready for the evening and one of her episodes was on Italian street food. Of course, I wanted to make all of it that night! I think Lindsay has already made the sausage and peppers... and I, of course, jumped straight to the dessert! Donuts! So a few things to note before starting this recipe - which I should have paid attention to prior to making them - the basic dough for this recipe is actually at Pate a choux.. So when you're cooking the butter and flour on the stove.. don't treat it like its a roux (like i did.. and only cooked it for maybe 2 minutes because i thought it looked done). You'll want to stir it constantly and cook it for at least 5 minutes, until the dough is starting to stick to the bottom of the sauce pan. Also - you'll want to follow the instructions on dropping tablespoon size balls into the oil.. any bigger and the center will definitely be doughy!

(Recipe courtesy of Giada de Laurentiis)
Ingredients:

• 1 vanilla bean
• 1/2 cup sugar, plus 3 tablespoons
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 stick butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs
• Olive oil, for frying (I used canola oil instead, olive oil is too expensive and I didn't want that flavor throughout my donuts!)

Directions:

Cut open the vanilla bean lengthwise. Using the back of a knife, scrape along the inside of the vanilla bean to collect the seeds. Scrape vanilla bean seeds into a small bowl. Add the 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon and stir to combine. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan combine the butter, salt, 3 tablespoons of sugar, and water over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Take pan off the heat and stir in the flour. Return pan to the heat and stir continuously until mixture forms a ball, about 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the flour mixture to a medium bowl. Using an electric hand mixer on low speed, add eggs, 1 at a time, incorporating each egg completely before adding the next. Beat until smooth. If not frying immediately, cover with plastic wrap and reserve in the refrigerator.

Meanwhile, pour enough oil into a large frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 375 degrees F.

Using a small ice-cream scooper or 2 small spoons, carefully drop about a tablespoon of the dough into the hot olive oil, frying in batches. Turn the zeppole once or twice, cooking until golden and puffed up, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Toss with cinnamon-sugar. Arrange on a platter and serve immediately.

So again - follow the directions carefully and hopefully they will turn out great! I know mine tasted wonderful, just were slightly doughy in the center. Oh and they puff up pretty big, so I was using a 3 qt. pot (so I could use less oil) and would fry about 5-6 per batch. And instead of draining them first, drop them straight into the cinnamon/sugar mixture before setting on a paper towel! Otherwise the sugar won't stick to them. My next mission is to figure out if I can revive them again... since one batch made about 20 of them (we weren't gonna eat them all!) I saved them in my freezer. I'll let you know if I manage to find a way to reheat them and have them taste as good.

Another quick note - you only scrape out the seeds from the vanilla bean, but the pod itself is still good! don't throw it away! Save it for the next time you're making a dessert in which you can steep a vanilla bean in it. Its too expensive to waste!

submitted by Lauren

Chocolate Soup with Raspberry Hazelnut Salad

So I tried this Michael Chiarello recipe for Chocolate Soup about a year ago when I had a dinner party at my place. It was a big hit that night but for some reason I never made it again. Perhaps it's the richness of the dish or the fact that your literally spooning melted chocolate in your mouth. Not that liquid chocolate is worse than solid chocolate for you, but the indulgence factor is most definitely over the top.

Anyway, Zach has been begging me to make this dish for months now. I told him I'd make it for him before I left for vacation but failed to do that. So I made it up to him this past weekend as a belated Valentine's Day gift. The best part was that I surprised him with it after dinner. He was beyond ecstatic.

Directions

Ganache for the soup:

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/4 cup raspberry liqueur (recommended: Framboise)

Raspberry Salad:

• 1/2 pint raspberries
• 2 tablespoon hazelnuts, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh mint, thinly sliced
• Small pinch salt
• 2 tablespoons raspberry liqueur (recommended: Framboise)
• 4 ounces (1/2 cup) sweetened whipped cream, for garnish
• Small piece bittersweet chocolate to shave, for garnish

For the ganache:

In a small saucepan bring the cream, butter, and sugar to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped chocolate so that it melts completely. Stir in the raspberry liqueur. Let the ganache cool to room temperature and reserve.

For the salad:

Gently combine the raspberries, hazelnuts, mint, small pinch of salt and raspberry liqueur.

In a wide, shallow soup bowl pour about 3 ounces of the room temperature ganache to fill a shallow pool in the bottom of the bowl, about 1/8-inch deep. Place a nice spoonful of the raspberry/hazelnut salad in the center and garnish with a small spoonful of whipped cream and shaved bittersweet chocolate. Top with chopped hazelnuts as well.

And if you're going to go all out and make this decadent dessert, the you may as well do everyone a favor and serve this with a ruby port. The combination is beyond words.

Buon Appetito!
- Lindsay