There are delicious foods in the world that do not photograph well in spite of what your Facebook and Instagram friends may think.
This would be one of them.
::cue Law & Order intro::
It's based off a dish my dad used to cook all the time when I was a kid, except his version is vegetarian, everything is made from scratch with fresh ingredients, and he loads it with something like two sticks of butter, which the dish (and more specifically, my version) doesn't need.
Ground beef
Chopped onion
Garlic
Zucchini, sliced not too thin
Sliced mushrooms
1 can diced tomatoes
1 jar spaghetti sauce
Herbs of your choosing
Huge bag of mozzarella cheese
Brown the beef, drain, set aside.
Same pan, in a bit of olive oil or butter, sautee onion (~1/4) until translucent. Add one or two crushed cloves of garlic and cook for a minute or two. Add well-drained can of tomatoes (I used one that had oregano and basil) and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring and crushing the tomato bits as much as you can with the spoon. Add spaghetti sauce (how big the jar depends on how much beef you have and how thick you want the sauce to be), simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Here's where you would add herbs/spices - I used oregano, parsley, a bit of fresh grated ginger... if I lived with culinary thrill-seekers I might have added a small can of chipotles (or chipotle powder.) I would also suggest adding about a teaspoon of sugar or so.
Remove from stove, stir in ground beef.
In a greased pan, layer slices of zucchini and mushrooms with a layer of the beef sauce, and a layer of shredded mozzarella; keep layering until you reach the top of your pan (finishing with cheese.) Bake at 425F for 25-30 minutes or until cheese turns golden. Let rest for 5+ minutes so the juices settle before you dig in.
You can't cut into this like you would lasagna. This is a messy dish, and there will be trails of cheese following your ladle and getting all over the outside of your bowl (don't even think of putting this on a flat plate.)
I made this a few hours in advance, so I had to put it in the fridge and it was cold when it went in the oven; so I baked it at 350F for 10 minutes covered in foil before cranking it to 425 and baking uncovered for another 25.
Showing posts with label vegetables. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vegetables. Show all posts
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Stuffed mushrooms
Bear with me, I'm going to try to remember what all was thrown into the mix.
White button mushrooms (the pack had 24 big ones)
1 8oz pkg cream cheese
BACONNNN
Chopped onion
Minced garlic
Bleu cheese crumbles
Parmesan cheese
White wine vinegar (it WOULD have been white WINE, but I don't have any)
Bread crumbs
Assorted herbs from my pantry (namely - thyme, parsley)
Chicken bouillon powder
Olive oil
Butter
Salt & pepper
If you're looking for measurements, you're on the wrong blog.
Preheat oven, 400F.
Cut up the bacon into small pieces (I used 3 nice, thick slices), fry it up, set aside to drain. Hang on to that bacon grease for a minute. Hold it like you don't wanna let it go. YOU LOVE IT AND YOU KNOW IT.
Clean the mushrooms with a damp towel, separat the stems, and chop those up like the little bitches they are. Throw some herbs in there, a dash of the bouillon powder (how much you use will determine how much salt you'll need), bread crumbs, salt, pepper, all that jazz. Mix those up a bit, set aside.
Over a medium-high flame, heat just enough of that bacon grease to coat the surface of a pan, add a dab of butter, and cook the onion and garlic until they start to turn golden. Add the mushroom mixture and a splash of the white wine or white wine vinegar. Cook for about 5-ish minutes, stirring frequently. It should look like a gooey brown paste and smell like the food of the gods.
(This is where my father made fun of my mushroom-stuffed mushrooms and guess who doesn't get to have any, now. If you guessed my father you get to pat yourself on the back, good job!)
Transfer to a bowl and add the bacon, some more of the bread crumbs, and the three cheeses. Mix well and set aside.
Line up your mushroom caps with the stem(less) side down. Mix some olive oil into the rest of the bacon grease and lightly coat the tops of the mushrooms using a pastry brush.
Stuff the caps with the cream cheese mess and press the stuffed sides into a combination of bread crumbs and parmesan cheese in a shallow bowl. Set them on a baking sheet as you go. Make sure you use the kind with sides and not a flat cookie sheet, because they WILL release liquid and you don't want it sizzling at the bottom of your oven.
Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the tops turn a pretty color and you're done!
Try not to eat too many. 'Shrooms are best in moderation, as we all know.
White button mushrooms (the pack had 24 big ones)
1 8oz pkg cream cheese
BACONNNN
Chopped onion
Minced garlic
Bleu cheese crumbles
Parmesan cheese
White wine vinegar (it WOULD have been white WINE, but I don't have any)
Bread crumbs
Assorted herbs from my pantry (namely - thyme, parsley)
Chicken bouillon powder
Olive oil
Butter
Salt & pepper
If you're looking for measurements, you're on the wrong blog.
Preheat oven, 400F.
Cut up the bacon into small pieces (I used 3 nice, thick slices), fry it up, set aside to drain. Hang on to that bacon grease for a minute. Hold it like you don't wanna let it go. YOU LOVE IT AND YOU KNOW IT.
Clean the mushrooms with a damp towel, separat the stems, and chop those up like the little bitches they are. Throw some herbs in there, a dash of the bouillon powder (how much you use will determine how much salt you'll need), bread crumbs, salt, pepper, all that jazz. Mix those up a bit, set aside.
Over a medium-high flame, heat just enough of that bacon grease to coat the surface of a pan, add a dab of butter, and cook the onion and garlic until they start to turn golden. Add the mushroom mixture and a splash of the white wine or white wine vinegar. Cook for about 5-ish minutes, stirring frequently. It should look like a gooey brown paste and smell like the food of the gods.
(This is where my father made fun of my mushroom-stuffed mushrooms and guess who doesn't get to have any, now. If you guessed my father you get to pat yourself on the back, good job!)
Transfer to a bowl and add the bacon, some more of the bread crumbs, and the three cheeses. Mix well and set aside.
Line up your mushroom caps with the stem(less) side down. Mix some olive oil into the rest of the bacon grease and lightly coat the tops of the mushrooms using a pastry brush.
Stuff the caps with the cream cheese mess and press the stuffed sides into a combination of bread crumbs and parmesan cheese in a shallow bowl. Set them on a baking sheet as you go. Make sure you use the kind with sides and not a flat cookie sheet, because they WILL release liquid and you don't want it sizzling at the bottom of your oven.
Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the tops turn a pretty color and you're done!
Try not to eat too many. 'Shrooms are best in moderation, as we all know.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Aloo Gobi
I'll be honest, I don't know what the hell Aloo Gobi's supposed to BE. A vegetable curry, I'm told? Alright. Sure.
Among the Rules of the House there is one that applies to anyone who comes to visit, ever: Bring home the necessary ingredients and I'll cook it for you. It's very simple, and I'm game for anything you come up with.
The sister recently decided she wants to be a vegetarian, and started looking through the vegetarian cookbooks. She wants me to make aloo gobi, I go over The Rule and she goes to the grocery store. So here it go.
1lb potatoes
2 tbsp peanut or corn oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 green chiles, seeded and finely chopped (and if you're me, also de-veined)
1 cauliflower, cut into florets
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper
chopped fresh cilantro
In a small bowl, mix ground spices and the chili powder. Set aside.
Cut up potatoes, 1-in cubes. Cook them in boiling water for ~10 minutes.
In the meantime, heat oil in a large skillet; add cumin seeds and cook for ~1 1/2 minutes stirring constantly (they'll start popping and smelling awesome).
Add chiles, cook for about a minute stirring constantly.
Add cauliflower, cook for about 5 minutes Stirring Constantly. Remove from heat while you drain potatoes.
Add potatoes and sprinkle the spices over everything. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Return to heat and cook for another 10+ minutes while stirring frequently until the vegetables are tender.
Garnish with the cilantro.
And because there are days when I am, in fact, Mexican, I added a sprinkle of lime juice before digging in.
Tasty.
(The sister gives her seal of approval)
Among the Rules of the House there is one that applies to anyone who comes to visit, ever: Bring home the necessary ingredients and I'll cook it for you. It's very simple, and I'm game for anything you come up with.
The sister recently decided she wants to be a vegetarian, and started looking through the vegetarian cookbooks. She wants me to make aloo gobi, I go over The Rule and she goes to the grocery store. So here it go.
1lb potatoes
2 tbsp peanut or corn oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 green chiles, seeded and finely chopped (and if you're me, also de-veined)
1 cauliflower, cut into florets
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper
chopped fresh cilantro
In a small bowl, mix ground spices and the chili powder. Set aside.
Cut up potatoes, 1-in cubes. Cook them in boiling water for ~10 minutes.
In the meantime, heat oil in a large skillet; add cumin seeds and cook for ~1 1/2 minutes stirring constantly (they'll start popping and smelling awesome).
Add chiles, cook for about a minute stirring constantly.
Add cauliflower, cook for about 5 minutes Stirring Constantly. Remove from heat while you drain potatoes.
Add potatoes and sprinkle the spices over everything. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Return to heat and cook for another 10+ minutes while stirring frequently until the vegetables are tender.
Garnish with the cilantro.
And because there are days when I am, in fact, Mexican, I added a sprinkle of lime juice before digging in.
Tasty.
(The sister gives her seal of approval)
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