Stuffed Portobellos are Delicioso!

I look forward to the produce aisle at the grocery store with the same fervor 7-year-olds have for a candy store. At Christmas time. But in a universe where that candy store sells super fresh healthy things that you can eat in unlimited quantities and are the perfect base for a culinary masterpiece. What I'm trying to say is... the candy store is basically a big disappointment in comparison to the produce aisle at a certain, non-Trader Joe's grocery chain that starts with a Harris and ends with half the name of a common playground feature.

Thanks to this grocery chain, I found giant portobellos that just looked like they could do with some delicious fillings. This was my response to their cry.

(makes 4 mushroom caps)

- 4 large portobello mushrooms

- 6 baby bella mushrooms

- 2 handfuls spinach

- 1/2 - 1 whole green bell pepper

- 1/4 tsp minced garlic

- 1 onion, diced

- 2 tbs cream cheese

- a healthy sprinkling of mozzarella cheese

- Pam or olive oil

1. I started by removing the portobello stems, chopping them and putting them aside in a mixing bowl. I then removed all the black veins inside the portobello (scientifically, they're called the gills of the mushroom).

2. De-seed and chop the green pepper. Mix into the chopped portobello stem.

3. Dice the onion and add to the mix.

4. Slice baby bella mushrooms to 1/8 inch width. And obviously, throw them in the mix.

5. Warm a skillet on medium heat skillet. Then, either spray with some Pam or throw about 1 tablespoon of olive oil on it. Put the minced garlic onto the heated skillet.

6. When the garlic has started releasing its aroma, throw the mixed veggies onto the skillet.

7. When the onions have begun to brown and mushrooms have become soft, chiffonade the spinach leaves (or just shred it into thin strips if it's a weekday) and throw onto the skillet as well.

8. When the spinach has wilted and onions are medium brown, put all the veggies back into the mixing bowl and add the cream cheese. Mix around so the cheese melts into the veggies.

9. Carefully spoon the veggie mix into the awaiting portobellos.

10. Top with mozzarella cheese and put in the oven for about 10 mins, or until the mozzarella has started to brown.

Special RAPTURE Edition BBQ!

There is nothing better than sunshine when the world is predicted to end. Alas, Harold Camping was wrong but it still gave me an excuse to BBQ delicious things at an End of the World food feast.

In the spirit of the event, I made burgers filled with ingredients one should eat on their last day on Earth.

Makes about 4 burgers

- 1 lb. ground beef (80/20 or 75/25 for moister burgers)

- 2-4 tbs. gorgonzola cheese

- 1 tbs. sun-dried tomatoes

- Adobo seasoning to taste

- chipotle powder to taste

- salt and pepper to taste

- 1 egg

- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1. Chop up the sun-dried tomatoes into 1/4 inch or smaller pieces.

2. Mix up beef with 1 egg. Knead so the egg gets absorbed into the meat.

3. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, breadcrumbs, and all seasonings. Knead again to mix well.

4. Finally, add the cheese (which should be super crumbly) and mix carefully so the cheese doesn't melt all over your hands. Form into burger patties. (Hint: use your knuckles to depress the middle of the burger to accommodate how the burger middle inflates during grilling.)

5. Grill it up, then serve on a bun spread with homemade chipotle mayo.

Island of Paradise Salad

Mangoes are the most perfect fruit on the planet. Being math nerds and food-obsessed, my boyfriend and I once created a scatterplot depicting the fruit kingdom, rated on the x-axis for their deliciousness, and on the y-axis for the ease of eating the fruit in question.

Though we may have disagreed on exactly where mangoes lie in the supremacy of fruit, my experiences eating them in the homeland put them squarely at the top of any such list.

As such, I decided to reuse the concept of the mango-pineapple mixture atop a new platform.

- mango chunks (1 cup)

- pineapple chunks (1 cup)

- strawberries (1 cup or 5 hearty red-fellas)

- spinach (2 handfuls)

- gorgonzola cheese (1-2 tablespoons)

- cinnamon-chipotle pineapple glaze

1. Dice the mango and pineapple into similar sized cubes.

2. Slice the strawberries lengthwise, about a quarter of an inch thick.

3. Mix all the fruit and spinach together.

4. Sprinkle gorgonzola on top, generously.

5. Spoon the cinnamon-chipotle pineapple glaze on top -- and get a napkin. It's going to be a delicious mess all over your face.

Sweet and Spicy Fruity-Tooty Whiting Fillets

I cannot believe that it has taken me until May to recall the power of photography to bring food writing to life. Thankfully, my camera phone has found its new calling.

This week, I decided to play with some stuff in my fridge and see what would happen. Whiting fillets were the base of my creation, with a mixture of pineapple and mango pieces that were cooked in a healthy dose of spices.

Ingredients:

- Whiting Fillets (6 fillets)

- pineapple chunks in pineapple juice (1 can)

- mango chunks (8-12 oz.)

- cinnamon

- chipotle spice powder

- balsamic vinegar

1. First, I seasoned the fish with just salt and pepper. Grilled it up on the stove.

2. I diced up the pineapple and mango chunks into even, bite-sized cubes and put them aside.

3. Stirred up about a tablespoon of chipotle powder and 1.5 tablespoon of cinnamon in the pineapple juice, heating on medium heat on the stove. After this started boiling a little, I stirred in about 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar. I put the fruit chunks into the saucepan. I let this sauce caramelize on the stove.

4. After the fillets were cooked and the sauce properly caramelized and syrupy, I laid out the fillets, then spooned the sauce over it with the fruit chunks on top.

This is perfect whenever you're facing a mango craving -- aka: always.

Sexy Salami Sandwich

When I was in eighth grade, I conducted an science experiment testing the ability of taste buds to differentiate between various flavors. Even at a young age, I was fascinated with the function and capacity of taste buds. I made a sandwich today that reminded me of these tiny taste receptors, in how they felt honored to eat the sandwich thrown together by the leftovers contained in my fridge.

Sexy Salami Sandwich

- Best Mayo Ever

- spinach/sliced strawberries/sliced mushrooms/garlic and herb goat cheese crumbles salad**

- 2 slices of bread

- Salami circles (about 4-5)

- grated swiss cheese

**The spinach/strawberries/mushrooms and goat cheese were combined and left over from dinner last night.

1. Spread Chipotle mayo on both slices of bread.

2. Place 4-5 circles of salami on one slice.

3. Sprinkle grated swiss cheese on top of the salami circles.

4. Toast both slices of bread (open-face) in a toaster oven.

5. Layer the greens (salad) on top of the salami and cheese and place the other slice of bread on top.

After finishing this salad, I didn't want to eat anything else to compromise the flavors I was tasting in my mouth.

Dear taste buds,

You're welcome.

Pineapple Banana Bread with Toasted Coconut

I am not a huge bread baker, despite my love of all things bread. I guess it's the exact measurements required or the fact that I can't taste things as I go that intimidates me.

This week, I challenged myself to recreate one of my favorite breads of all time -- banana bread. The cafeteria at my middle school was giving away a tub of bananas on the last day before spring break, so the materials were present and the time was ripe (as were the bananas -- overripe, in fact).

I found this basic recipe doing a search for the basic components of the banana bread.

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
• 2 cups mashed ripe bananas

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. In another bowl, beat the eggs, oil and vanilla; add pineapple and bananas. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Pour into two greased 8-in. x 4-in. x 2-in. loaf pans.
2. Bake at 350 degrees F for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

I added a few changes to put my own spin on it. One, I baked three mini-loaves in mason jars. I soaked old pasta sauce jars in boiling water, then scrubbed off the labels and dried off the jars. I poured in batter to fill the jars about half-way, then set them in the oven (without lids). In about 30 minutes, I checked on the jars and when the bread was fully baked, I pulled the jars out of the oven to seal the lids. Using oven mitts, I twisted the jar lids back on. The heat of the baked bread sealed the jar lids with a pop a few minutes later. The key was to make sure the jars were carefully cleaned before and after baking, leaving no extra batter along the sides of the jars.

Secondly, I used unsweetened shredded coconut to add another flavor the the bread. Five minutes before taking the jars out, I topped each jar with a handful of shredded coconut. When the coconut had browned, I removed the jars from the oven.

The only problem with these is resisting the temptation to eat the jar all at once. Prepare yourself.

Dinner Party Extraordinaire: Dessert

Dessert is a holy affair for me. No meal is complete without it. For the double-birthday, I pulled out an old favorite -- the chocolate trifle cups. I've cursed missing these since I forgot to bring any of them home. Note to self: set half aside for me, half for the guests.

Chocolate Trifle Cups

- brownie mix (and all it requires)

- instant pudding (one package)

- water (1/2 cup)

- whipped creme (30 oz. total)

- sugar (3 tbs)

- heavy cream (1/2 pint to 1 pint)

- bar of chocolate

- for individual cups, buy clear plastic cups

- additional garnishes, like strawberries, etc. are up to you

1. Bake brownies according to directions on the box. This is critical. Eat one for yourself, and cut the rest up into perfect squares.

2. Mix up the instant pudding with water. Mix in about 8 oz. of whipped cream into the pudding. Whisk 3 tbsps of sugar with 1/2 pint of heavy cream. Slowly pour in this mixture into the instant pudding and whisk all of it together, very well. Now learn to call this chocolate mousse.

3. Begin assembly. Layer the bottom of the cups with brownies. Then layer on top the chocolate mousse. Layer on top the whipped cream. Repeat once more.

4. Take a vegetable peeler to a full bar of chocolate and peel carefully on top of the top layer of whipped cream.

5. Step back and marvel at your creation.

** I had a particularly difficult time making things look pretty when trying to spoon the mousse and whipped cream onto the cups. I used Ziploc bags to save me. I poured the mousse into one, sealed the top shut, and cut one of the corner off to use as a pastry bag. Repeat for the whipped cream (thawed) and life was pretty simple. I did end up getting a lot of chocolate all over myself, but this is not something I perceive as a problem.