Cherry, Mint & Goat Cheese Bruschetta with Mushroom Pasta

Oh man, when I found this photo, I was taken back to a wonderful place.  I remember making this in Hawaii.  I remember my mom loving this dish despite her hatred towards mushrooms.  I can't believe how easy it is to get awesome ingredients there!  You seriously have to go to about 10 different stores here to find the awesome mushrooms in this dish. 

Enough about the pasta, this bruschetta is awesome.  It sounds kinda funky, but I made it for my grandma, who is strictly all about meat and potatoes, and she even liked it!  I think it's because you use taste buds that you've never used before and they are very grateful.  I think I'm going to have to go mushroom shopping this weekend and recreate this amazing dish.  Enjoy!

Cherry, mint & goat cheese bruschetta

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

Roughly 15-20 fresh cherries, pitted and chopped

2 oz creamy goat cheese

10-15 leaves of fresh mint, chopped

1 baguette

Directions:

Remember, I don't really measure or follow a recipe so adjust the ingredients to your liking. 

Slice the baguette and place in a 350 oven for a few minutes to warm up.  Remove from oven and spread with goat cheese.

Mix together the mint and cherries in a small bowl and spoon on top of the bread. 

Bake in the 350 oven for about 3-5 more minutes, until bread is crispy.  I like to top with some more fresh mint too.  Yum!

Mushroom Pasta

Seriously, I don't even remember exactly how I made this, but I think I just bought a bunch of different variety of mushrooms, (Oyster, Bella, Shitake, Enoki, etc.) and sauteed them with some garlic and onion and tossed with some pasta and olive oil.  Go to your local Asian Market and buy up a couple of every mushroom they have.  It'll be amazing!

Stuffed Strawberries

I've been looking through some old photos and I must have snapped one of these strawberries during a party last year.  They are always a hit at get-togethers because they aren't deep fried and a good palette cleanser in between chicken wings.  They are also so versatile.  You can bring them to football parties, brunches, picnics... they are perfect, delicious and super easy!  I highly recommend them if you don't know what to bring to a party. Enjoy!! :)

Stuffed Strawberries

Serves: 12

Ingredients:

2 pints of fresh strawberries (The photo is actually strawberries from Hawaii, which are like gold because they rarely have delicious big red strawberries in season!)

1 jar marshmallow cream

1 pkg cream cheese

Directions:

Cream together the cream cheese and marshmallow cream until smooth and not lumpy.  Place in a piping bag or a plastic zip-lock bag with one corner tip cut slightly.  Set aside.

Remove the stems of the strawberries and with a paring knife, remove the middle of the strawberry.  

Take the cream mixture and pipe into the middle of the strawberry. 

Sit back and watch them fly off the platter!

Butternut Squash Gnocchi

Nick keeps telling me how amazing Gnocchi is and how he loves when I make it.  I swore to him that I've never made Gnocchi before in my life... and I would know.  But he insists that I have so I'm convinced I bought a premade package from the store along with a jar of Ragu back in our college days and thinks he loved it.  Anywho... he ordered it several times on our honeymoon so I came back willing to try and create what Italy had to offer.  The first time I made it, I didn't mash my potatoes enough, resulting in chunky Gnocchi.  It was pretty inedible. You're supposed to use a ricer to get the potatoes really fine, but that's just another object in the kitchen that'll take up space, so I'm determined to make my 1970's potato masher work. 

The second time I tried to make Gnocchi, I wanted to add a little more depth of flavor, so I made it with butternut squash.  It was very yummy!  I will definitely make this again.  It's a perfect fall dish with awesome flavors.  I must say though that I didn't really like the sauce I made beside it.  It was a cream sauce and I think this dish needs something lighter like a white wine butter sauce would be perfect! 

Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Gnocchi

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

2 cups pureed butternut squash (you want your squash to be very dry so try roasting it with no additions)

1/2 baked potato, smashed (again, bake the potato. If you boil it, it'll retain water ending in mush)

1 egg yolk

1 1/2 - 2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Directions:

Mix the mashed squash and potato together.  Add the egg yolk into the squash mixture.  Mix together the flour, nutmeg, and salt.  Slowly stir the flour mixture into the squash mixture until it forms a soft dough.  Gently knead the dough for about a minute (don't over knead) and roll out into 4 long thin ropes, about 1/2 inch thick.  Cut the ropes into 1/2 inch pieces and roll the pieces in flour, lightly shaking off any excess.  If you have a fancy Gnocchi board, roll the pieces over your board to create ridges.  Or just use a fork if you have a tiny kitchen and no space, like me!

Bring a pot of water to a gentle boil and add the Gnocchi a little bit at a time, not to crowd the pan.  Cook the Gnocchi until it floats to the top about 2-3 minutes and then remove with a slotted spoon.  Serve with white wine sauce (recipe below) and a pinch of nutmeg. 

White Wine Sauce

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and add the flour, whisking until pasty.  Slowly add the white wine and keep whisking to prevent clumps.  Whisk until slightly thickened and add the cheese.  Keep whisking until cheese is melted and sauce is thickened. 

Red Curry Noodles

Here I go talking about Hawaii again.  I miss it.  One of the things that I miss the most is the amazing food.  I'm so glad that I've sort of mastered the art of Thai cooking so at least one of our cravings are satisfied.  Our absolute favorite dish at our favorite Thai Place was this red curry noodle that is totally amazing and I'm literally drooling just thinking about it.  After leaving Hawaii, I absolutely had to mimic this dish or I wouldn't survive.   Well, one night I was trying to make a Vietnamese brothy dish, and it turned into something very close to my favorite Thai dish.  So I had to experiment a few times and I think I've gotten very close to the actual amazing dish in Hawaii.  I'm so excited to share this and I think I'll have to put it on the menu this week. yum!

Red Curry Noodles

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons of red curry paste (more or less depending on your preference)

1 can coconut milk

1-2 cups vegetable broth

1 tablespoon Braggs (or soy sauce)

1 tablespoon fish sauce

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

1 cup of chopped broccoli

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 pkg extra firm tofu

1 handful of thai basil

1 handful cilantro

1 cup chopped, toasted peanuts

1 lime

1 pkg small rice noodles

grapeseed oil

Directions:

Soak tofu in hot salt water for 15 minutes.  Drain and pat dry.  Slice in thin slices and pat dry again.  Fry the tofu in a little grapeseed oil until crispy. Set aside.

In a large wok, bring the garlic and about a tablespoon of grapeseed oil to medium heat, add the curry paste and stir with the garlic and oil for about 2 minutes or until foamy.  Add the onion and saute until translucent. Add the coconut milk, broth, Braggs, and fish sauce and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and add the broccoli, red pepper, and rice noodles.  Cook until the noodles are tender, about 3 minutes. Add the tofu towards the end and serve up in bowls with a little bit of broth over the top.  Finish off with thai basil, cilantro, peanuts, and a lime wedge. Enjoy! And p.s., it's okay to lick your bowl clean!

Vegetarian Burritos

I decided to do a comparison between Chipotle's vegetarian burritos and mine.  I don't know if it was just that they were having a bad day or something, but mine totally won, hands down.  They did win for wrapping though.  I can't wrap a burrito for the life of me.  Probably because I stuff them way too full.  I always end up eating it with a fork.  

These burritos are an easy weeknight meal that don't take much thought or skill.  We always buy bulk black beans and soak and cook them ourselves, but if you want to save time, or don't plan ahead, you can always use canned.  And... if you must... you can add meat (but they are super filling without).

Vegetarian Burritos

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

4 large burrito tortilla shells

1 cup black beans (or one can)

1 red pepper, thinly sliced

1 onion, thinly sliced

5 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup rice (I use basmati, but jasmine would work well too)

1 lime

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1 TBS. grapeseed oil (or oil of choice)

salt and pepper

Directions:

Soak your beans over night and rinse.  Place them in a small saucepan and fill with water until it reaches about an inch over the beans.  Bring them to a boil and reduce to simmer for about 1-2 hours (depending on how mushy you like your beans).  Rinse and drain.

Zest and juice the lime and set aside. 

If using basmati rice, rinse with warm water at least 3 times (basmati tends to be very starchy so you must rinse it).  Put rice in a small saucepan and fill with 1 1/2 cups water.  With the lid on, bring rice to a boil and then simmer for 15-20 minutes. Towards the end of the cooking time, pour the lime juice and zest into the rice.  Add the chopped cilantro and stir. Season with salt.

Over medium heat, heat the oil and add the red pepper, onion, and garlic.  Saute for about 15 minutes.  Season with pepper.

To assemble.  Place the tortilla on a plate.  Add a scoop of rice to the middle, followed by the beans, followed by the red pepper mixture.  Season with salt and pepper if desired.  May top with guacamole or salsa of choice.  Cross your fingers and wrap into a burrito.  Or, if you're like me and overfill, just grab a fork.

Enjoy!

Vietnamese Bun

What a way to start the New Year! This fresh Vietnamese Bun (pronounced "Boon") is always a hit in our house.  We were feeling kind of heavy after all of the Christmas and New Years goodies and wanted something light and fresh.  This noodle salad is perfect! Plus it really makes us feel like it's summer and we're on the beach!  I have made this a few times in the past after trying it at a Vietnamese restaurant in Hawaii.  The first time, I used hoisen sauce, since they use that in Pho.  Ummm... pretty much the nastiest thing I ever ate.  Second time, I used a soy sauce remedy.  It was okay, but still not perfect.  This time, I made the sauce using fish sauce.  YUM!  If you're completely vegetarian, I think they sell a Shitake mushroom substitute for fish sauce.  Enjoy! And Happy New Year!

Vietnamese Bun

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

 1 bundle of small rice noodles (about 2 cups cooked)

1 Tbs. grapeseed oil

1 package of extra firm organic tofu (or protein of choice)

1 large carrot, thinly sliced

1/2 cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced

1/4 cup sliced green onions

1 cup fresh mint, chopped

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1/2 cup peanuts

Sauce:

2 Tbs. fish sauce

 juice from a small lime

1 tsp chili garlic paste

2 Tbs. brown sugar

2/3 cup water

Directions:

Soak your rice noodles in hot water for 30 minutes until cooked. 

Soak the tofu in hot saltwater for 15 minutes.  Slice into strips or cubes and pat dry.  Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat and fry the tofu until crispy (15-20 minutes). If using chicken, cook chicken breast and slice into thin strips. 

In a small saucepan, combine the water, fish sauce, lime juice, chili paste and brown sugar. Heat to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat.

Place the noodles in the center of a large bowl. Top with tofu, carrots, cucumber, onions and mint. Pour the dressing over the dish and toss to combine.

Serve the salad garnished with peanuts and cilantro leaves.