Grilled Portobello Mushrooms

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms

I love almost all thing mushroom, and grilled portobello mushrooms is right up my alley. It's a quick side for a backyard BBQ. Adding the parmesan make a perfect flavor combination.

The sesame seeds on the photo, is an accidental 'cross contamination' from the chicken on the grill.

Ingredients:

• 2 portobello mushrooms
• ½ cup (1 dl) freshly grated parmesan
• about ¼ stick (ca 30 g) butter, salted and soft
• a splash of olive oil, for brushing the top of the mushrooms 
• A sprinkle of chopped parsley

Directions:

Preheat the grill.

Clean the portobello mushrooms with a damp paper towel and remove the stems. Brush the caps with olive oil and set aside gills side up.

Mix butter and parmesan, and divide it evenly over the mushroom caps. Grill over hot grill for about 10 minutes. You want the mushrooms to be soft, but not mushy.  Let the mushrooms rest for a few minutes, to soak up the butter.

Enjoy!

Warm Asian-Style Slaw

I love a crunchy slaw. Normally I use napa cabbage and a spicy asian-style dressing, like I used in the angry tacos. But adding the peanut butter to this warm slaw, gives the slaw a nice creaminess. 

This slaw will be perfect for a weekend BBQ, or served with tacos with an asian twist.

Serves 3-4.

Ingredients:

Dressing:

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons grated ginger
• 2 teaspoons grated Serrano pepper
• 4 tablespoons creamy peanutbutter

Slaw:

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 carrots, julienned
• ½ small red cabbage
• ¼ green cabbage
• ½ english cucumber, julienned
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• some fresh coriander, chopped
• season with salt

Directions:

Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing, set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok. Sauté carrots while stirring for about a minute,  add the cabbage and keep stirring, while cooking for about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and add the rest of the ingredients and dressing, tossing well to coat.

Serve immediately. 

Enjoy!

Whole Roasted Cauliflower

Whole Roasted Cauliflower

Cauliflower was a weird vegetable for me growing up. My mom boiled the h.. out of it, and like many overcooked vegetables it went on my "I don't like that" list. Please DO NOT overcook and especially over-boil your vegetables. 
You can prepare cauliflower so many ways, or just eat it raw, but by roasting it whole like this you get a great nutty flavor, with a crispy surface with a tender and almost creamy center. It might be time consuming but its well worth the wait. 

Serves 3-4.

Ingredients:

• 1 large cauliflower, the one I used was yellow to start with

• olive oil

• salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven with a cast-iron skillet inside to 375℉ (190℃).

Break off and discard the outer leaves from the cauliflower. Cut off the bottom of the stem, being careful not to cut off any of the florets. Using a small sharp knife to cut out the hard core of the cauliflower.  

Rinse the cauliflower, not drying it again. Place the cauliflower core-side up on the cutting board, and drizzle it with olive oil. Rub the oil all over the surface, and sprinkle with sea salt.

Place the cauliflower core-side down in the hot cast-iron skillet. Place an ovenproof pan filled with hot water, to create steam in the oven. Roast the cauliflower for 1½-2 hours, basting it 2-3 times with more olive oil. You want to end up with a nice brown color on the surface and a nice tender inside. You can roast the cauliflower under the boiler for a brief moment in the end to add some more color.

Serve the cauliflower to your favorite protein.

Enjoy!

Semi-Dried Tomatoes

Semi-Dried Tomatoes

I love love love tomatoes in any way or form. But theses semi-dried tomatoes are pure candy. They are nothing like sun-dried tomatoes, they are soft sweet and with the slight tanginess from fresh tomatoes.

You can use them for almost anything. On sandwiches, pizze (plural of pizza), in casseroles, or stews, in salads and just for a snack.

Ingredients:

• about 500 g cherry tomatoes, the amount is not important

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• ⅛ teaspoon pepper

• ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 ℉ (165℃). 

Rinse the tomatoes, and cut them in halves, or quarters for the bigger ones. 

In a cup combine oil, salt, pepper and garlic. Place all the tomatoes in a large ovenproof dish or sheet pan, and coat them with the seasoned oil. Arrange the tomatoes skin side down, being careful not to crowd them. Bake tomatoes for 25-30 minutes. Reduce the  heat to 200℉ (95℃), and keep baking for another 2-3 hours.

Let the tomatoes cool slightly before storing them in a clean container filled with olive oil. They will keep for weeks in the refrigerator. 

Use the semi-dried tomatoes in salads, with any protein, bruschetta or just eat them as a snack.  

Enjoy!

Garlic Green Beans

Garlic Green Beans

For the longest time I have been making a bean salad with the same ingredients. It is a really easy salad that pairs perfectly with simmer foods. But instead of boiling water to boil the beans in, we now have to conserve water, because of the severe drought here in California, so why not just cook the beans in oil, and season the beans. This must be a win-win situation.

I like to just heat my beans through without getting them soft and soaky. I want my beans to be crispy and have somewhat of a bite.

Ingredients:

• 300 g fresh green beans
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Break off the ends (tops and tails) of the beans. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the beans and cook them over high heat, until they start to get some color, and they are heated through. Remove from heat. Season the beans with garlic, salt and pepper.

Pour the beans into a warm serving dish, and serve immediately.

Enjoy!