Baked Portobella Caps with Melted Goat Cheese

If you're like me, chances are you probably over-indulged during the holidays (and still intend to do so up until New Years). No need to beat yourself up about it, I've got the perfect solution for a meatless, low carb and low calorie dinner you can have ready to eat in under an hour. Baked Portobella Caps with Melted Goat Cheese taste indulgent and rich but is a meal you can feel good about- I've adapted this recipe from the South Beach Diet Cookbook. Anyone who's had portobella mushrooms knows how hearty they are, and as such are often a great substitute for traditional meat in burgers. Pair the 'meaty' mushrooms with the tart flavor of goat cheese, crunchy pine nuts and zesty marinara sauce and you've got a sure fire winner.

Baked Portobella Caps with Melted Goat Cheese

*feel free to add any veggies you may have on hand for the filling. Zucchini, squash, bell peppers, leeks or celery would all be great in this recipe as well.


28 oz. marinara sauce
4-6 portobella mushrooms (depending on size)
1/4 c. chopped fresh basil
2 T. pine nuts
4-5 cloves chopped garlic
1 carrot, small dice
1/4 onion, minced
3 mushroom stems, small dice
1/2 tbsp. dried italian herbs
salt, pepper to taste
4 oz. goat cheese
1/2 T. olive oil


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spread the sauce in the bottom of a 9X11 baking dish. Having already removed the mushroom stems for chopping, scrape out the gills with a spoon and discard.
Meanwhile, place a pan on the oven and heat to medium high. Add the olive oil, then the carrot, onion, mushroom stems, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes. Add the italian herbs, basil, pine nuts and garlic, stirring for an additional 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat and add goat cheese, stirring to combine.
Fill the mushroom caps with the goat cheese and veggie mixture.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Serve with the marinara sauce.

Peach Caprese Panini

We've all had caprese salads and sandwiches, right? You know, tomato, basil, mozzarella, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. There's a variation of this at one of my favorite restaurants that adds sundried tomatoes and olives and I absolutely love it, but tonight I'm not talking about your standard caprese. Tonight I'm talking about a peach caprese panini. Peaches? That's right- one of summers best fruits in lieu of the tomato. How about adding some prosciutto? Uh huh :) The flavors all come together beautifully, trust me. The salty prosciutto, the sweet peaches and reduced balsamic, the herby basil, the melted mozzarella- they all work together to create this harmony of flavors that ups the ante on caprese. So when you're at the farmers market this summer and happen to see those beautiful ripe peaches and basil, try this recipe and tell me what you think.

Peach Caprese Panini (serves 4)
1 loaf cibatta bread or similar bread sliced thinly
olive oil for brushing
1/2 c. balsamic vinegar
basil leaves
ripe peaches, sliced thinly
1/2 lb thinly sliced prosciutto
12 oz. fresh mozzarella balls
fresh ground pepper

This is a loose recipe- feel free to add more or less of the ingredients to your taste.

Pour balsamic vinegar into a small saucepan and place over medium heat until vinegar reduces by about half and it becomes thick and syrupy. Remove from heat and set aside.
Preheat your panini grill. If you don't have a panini grill, you can use a large skillet heated over medium. When you place your sandwich on the skillet, press down with something heavy, turn over and press again while second side cooks.
Assemble your sandwiches by brushing some of the balsamic syrup over one side of the bread. Place your mozzarella in a layer, then add basil, sliced peaches and prosciutto. Top with second piece of bread and brush lightly on outsides with olive oil. Heat in the panini grill or over a skillet until cheese starts to melt and you get a nice browned crust. Buon Appetito!

Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin with Morel Mushrooms

What do you get when you combine the flavors of bacon, creme fraiche, wild morel mushrooms, pork loin, garlic and white wine? Pure perfection . Our local CSA had wild morel mushrooms available this week and I had the perfect recipe to go with them in the cookbook A Platter of Figs by chef David Tanis. It was pure perfection- did I mention that already? Originally the recipe called for veal, but since we don't eat veal, I decided to substitute a pork loin instead and it worked out beautifully. The finished dish was not only beautiful on the plate, but one bite and I was completely done for. The earthiness of the morels swimming in the cream sauce was the perfect compliment to the tender pork and slightly salty bacon. This is one recipe I know we'll definitely be making again real soon.


Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin with Morel Mushrooms (serves 4)
1 pork loin
salt, pepper to taste
4 garlic cloves, sliced
a few rosemary and thyme sprigs
4-5 slices thinly sliced pancetta or bacon
1/2 lb. morel mushrooms
2 tbsp. butter
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 cups chicken stock
1/4 c. white wine
1/2 cup creme fraiche or heavy cream

Season the loin with salt and pepper. Make shallow slits into the loin and insert the garlic slices into the meat. Roughly chop the rosemary and thyme sprigs and press them onto the pork loin. Wrap the pancetta or bacon strips around the loin and place in a pan. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
Bring the meat to room temperature, and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roast the pork for 30-45 minutes, until the internal temperature is at least 150 degrees but not more than 160 degrees. Let the meat rest, loosely covered for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
While the pork loin is cooking, prepare the sauce. Over high heat, reduce the stock by half to yield one cup. Set aside. Swish the mushrooms quickly in a large bowl of salted water, then lift them out and pat dry. Trim and discard tough stems. Coarsely chop the morels, or if they're small, cut them in half.
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Slowly saute the shallots in the butter, stirring occasionally until lightly browned. Turn up the heat and add the mushrooms, salt and pepper. Stew the mushrooms with the shallots for a minute or two, then add the reduced stock and white wine. Simmer gently for 10-15 minutes.
When the pork loin is out of the oven and resting, pour off the fat from the roasting pan. Add to the morels and stock. Stir in the creme fraiche and simmer the sauce for 10 minutes more.
Slice the meat, arrange on a platter and spoon over the mushroom sauce. Enjoy!

Stuffed Zucchini

This is one of my family's all time favorites- we just adore this and I've made many variations of the basic recipe. I first saw this recipe in the cookbook Chocolate and Zucchini- Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen by Clotilde Dusoulier. Her recipe is vegetarian, but I found that adding a sausage that's been taken out of the casing and sauteed before adding the rest of the filling ingredients seems to suit my families taste. I've stuffed it with bulgur wheat, brown rice, cooked orzo, quinoa... depending on my mood and what's leftover in the refrigerator. No matter how many zucchini we happen to make, it never seems like enough because we devour it all in 10 seconds flat (well, not really, but you get the picture)!

Stuffed Zucchini (serves 4 as a light main course)
extra virgin olive oil
4-6 zucchini cut in half and scooped out with a small melon baller or tsp. spoon- reserve zucchini flesh
salt, pepper to taste
1 cup cooked bulgur, orzo, rice, or quinoa
1/8 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 small onion, diced
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 sausage removed from the casing
2 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
several sprigs of mint, chiffonade

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and lightly grease a casserole dish with olive oil. After you've washed, halved and scooped out the flesh of the zucchini, place in dish and bake for 15-20 minutes or until slightly softened but still holding their shape. Chop the flesh and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat a pan over medium heat and saute the sausage until cooked through. Remove and chop coarsely. In the sausage oil, heat the chopped zucchini flesh, onions, salt, pepper, cinnamon, red pepper flakes, grain of choice and pine nuts until softened and heated through. Add the sausage bits and stir together. Remove from heat and add goat cheese and chopped mint, stirring until blended. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary.
Stuff the zucchini shells with the warm filling and return to the oven for 10-15 minutes more until heated through and serve immediately.

Orange and Basil Mussels

What to make for dinner on a weeknight that's quick but a little more special than chicken? Orange and Basil Mussels, of course!
Mussels in a white wine and garlic broth are delicious and standard fare on many restaurant menus, and I often order them as a main dish (they're usually listed in the appetizer section) to go along with a nice salad. While I was flipping through Sunset Magazine, I came across this quick recipe for mussels prepared in a way I've never seen or tasted before. Mussels with Orange and Basil. hmmmmmm- it sounded like the combination would go great together, and with the sweetness of the orange I had a feeling it would be a hit with the girls. Noelle enjoys mussels and will eat a couple from my dish when I order them (our favorite is the Baked Green Leaf Mussels at Mio Sushi), but Sophie had never tried mussels before. I like to encourage my girls to try new things, so this recipe sounded perfect... and it was. In the words of Sophie who enjoyed a second helping, "They're divine!"

Orange and Basil Mussels (serves 4)
3 garlic cloves, smashed
2 tbsp olive oil
2/3 c. dry white wine
3/4 c. cup orange juice
1/2 c. canned diced tomatoes
salt, pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 lbs. of mussels
1/3 c. fresh basil, chiffonade
1 loaf of crusty bread

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large pan. Add the garlic cloves and heat until fragrant. Add the wine, orange juice, diced tomatoes, salt and both peppers; simmer for 5 minutes. Add the mussels in shells, cover and cook until mussels open (about 5-8 minutes). Remove from heat and sprinkle with basil. Serve mussels with a generous amount of liquid and bread for dipping.

Strawberry Clafouti

First of all I want to apologize for the lack of recipe posts this past month- our computer had to be sent to the repair shop, then we left for a vacation to Hawaii, and now our digital camera got rolled over by the Jeep and we're awaiting a replacement. So, sorry, but there's no appetizing photo to accompany this amazingly simple and in season treat. I won't however, be apologizing for the way you'll fall head over heels in love with this Strawberry Clafouti.
What is a Clafouti, you might ask? It's basically a classic French dessert that involves fruit (usually plums or cherries, but in this case, strawberries) spread out in a buttered pan and topped with a thin pancake-flan type batter and baked. It's uncomplicated, comforting and delicious. I had some lovely lavender sugar that I had bought on a trip to the Hood River and it added just a hint of delicate lavender taste, but the recipe would taste just as good with granulated sugar. I hope you'll enjoy some of the Spring Season's first strawberries in this dessert.

Strawberry Clafouti (serves 4-6)
1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and halved lengthwise
2 tsp. cornstarch
3 large eggs
1 c. milk
2/3 c. flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a shallow 2 qt baking dish or gratin dish. In a bowl, gently toss strawberry halves with cornstarch until evenly coated, then arrange berries with cut sides down in bottom of dish and set aside.
In a blender, whirl eggs, milk, flour, granulated sugar, vanilla and salt until smooth, about 15-20 seconds. Pour batter over strawberries.
Bake until puffed, golden brown and set in the center, about 45-50 minutes. Let cool slightly and dust with powdered sugar. Serve slightly warm

Pork Tenderloin Roulade

This recipe is 5 ingredients long- yep, you read right, 5 ingredients! Though the grocery list isn't long, it definitely doesn't fall short on flavor. It's also a nice presentation since the ingredients are rolled in the pork. Try it, and trust me, you won't be disappointed.
The original recipe called for charring the pork on the grill, but it's the first week of April and we got snow today, so we weren't planning on going outside. Instead, I chose to braise the pork over med-high heat in a pan and then finish the cooking in the oven. It was nice and caramelized on the outside and slightly pink in the center, just the way I like it. Because I browned the pork before finishing in the oven, I had all of those lovely browned bits on the bottom of the pan. I don't know about you, but I can't let all that flavor go to waste, so I quickly chopped some veggies (carrots, onion, celery and shitakes), threw them in the pan to saute then deglazed with a splash of red wine and simmered till tender in some chicken stock. It was a nice accompaniment to the stuffed pork tenderloin. In a couple of weeks, I plan to prepare this recipe just as it was intended- on the grill and see which we like best. For now, here's my recipe:

Pork Tenderloin Roulade (serves 4)
1 1 lb. pork tenderloin
1/4 cup chopped shallots
1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
3 Tbsp. chopped walnuts, toasted
2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
salt, pepper to taste
1-2 Tbsp. olive oil

Place pan over med-high heat and add olive oil. Slice tenderloin lengthwise, cutting to, but not through the other side. Open halves, laying tenderloin flat. Place tenderloin between 2 sheets of plastic wrap, pound to 1/2 inch thickness using a meat mallet or heavy skillet. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sprinkle shallots, goat cheese, walnuts and thyme on tenderloin. Roll up, starting with long side, secure pork at 1 inch intervals with twine. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put tenderloin in hot pan to sear on all sides until browned, about 3-4 min. per side.

Remove from pan and place in a dish. Cover with tin foil and cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until inside is just slightly pink. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Thinly slice and enjoy!