Mushroom + stout pot pies with sweet potato crusts

My mom got us some adorable, red Le Creuset ramekins with lids for Christmas. I've been just waiting to stumble across a recipe that I could use them for. Thanks to First Mess, I found the perfect recipe to "break" them in - pot pies - but a very creative and different spin on pot pies, to say the least. I mean, really. Was this a dream? Sweet potato crusts? Stout? And another chance to continue my mushroom explorations? Perfect.

Mushroom + stout pot pies with sweet potato crusts

As adapted from The First Mess.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons grapeseed oil + additional for greasing ramekins, divided

2 shallots, finely diced

1 leek (white part only), chopped

5 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed + additional for garnish

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 lbs. mixed mushrooms (such as cremini, portobello, shiitake), trimmed and sliced into 1-inch pieces

3 tablespoons spelt flour

1 cup stout, or other heavy, dark beer

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon tamari soy sauce

1/3-1/2 cup olives (of your choice), drained and rinsed, chopped

1-2 small sweet potatoes, washed and thinly sliced (I used a mandolin to slice nice and thin/even)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease ramekins and set on a rimmed baking sheet. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté until translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add leaks and all but a 1/2 teaspoon of thyme, sautéing for 2 minutes. Add garlic and tomato paste; saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. 

Add mushrooms all at once, cooking until tender and glistening, about 8-10 minutes, stirring often. Sprinkle flour over mushrooms, stir to combine, and cook out for about 1 minute. 

Pour stout into pot, stirring up any brown bits that have formed on the bottom of the pot. Add vinegar and soy sauce. Bring to boil, then lower heat to a simmer, cooking until liquid is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in olives and season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Divide mushroom mixture among 4 (or 6) ramekins. Place 1 1/2 to 2 layers of sweet potato slices over the top of the mushroom mixture, overlapping so slices are layered in a circular direction. Brush tops of pot pies with oil, season with salt and pepper, remaining 1/2 teaspoon thyme, and garnish with thyme twigs as desired. Bake until mushroom mixture is bubbling and sweet potatoes are just beginning to brown on edges, about 30-35 minutes. Serve hot, with a salad if you like, and enjoy!

These pot pies are kind of a gem. They're so beautiful and intricate looking, yet they will keep a man happy. These pies are hearty and bold when it comes to taste. I'm sure you could play around with different stouts to find the perfect flavor, one that you prefer. The filling is so dark and rich, and the mix of mushrooms keeps it interesting. Not to mention the sweet potato crust. What an incredible idea. Plus, I had some extra slices, so I saved them in the fridge and baked them like potato chips the next day (tossed in a tiny bit of flour, followed by extra-virgin olive oil, cayenne, salt, and pepper); they baked beautifully and ended up with a great, crisp texture. Loved this innovative recipe. And loved using my new red ramekins, thanks to my mom.

Pot pies prior to baking.

Heading to Oregon today to visit the family; hope you all have a happy weekend! Cheers.

Walnut and rosemary oven-baked chicken + house salad

So I kind of have a crush on Sara Forte, author of The Sprouted Kitchen - A Tastier Take on Whole Foods. My mom gave me her cookbook for Christmas, and she thought it was perfect because Sara's husband is a photographer and, naturally, does the photos for her cookbook and blog. And they cook together, and it's just so wonderful - basically, Zack and I are just like them. (Ha ha.)

Anyways. Her 'house salad' is on the cover of the cookbook and I just had to make it. It's funny because as healthy as Zack and I eat, we rarely have salads during the week. I'm big on soups and meals that can be contained in one bowl or mass, for lack of a better word. I mean, we eat a lot of veggies, but it's not very often that I am whipping up a homemade salad dressing. That's all changing. Prepare to see more salads and salad dressings. Because you really don't need to buy store-bought salad dressings. They don't taste nearly as fresh, and who know what's in them. It's never too late to switch! That's the end of my rant (and I'm a new convert too).

And along with the salad, I made a great baked chicken recipe that I've been holding onto for awhile, for a time like this. You may remember my walnut and pecan-crusted chicken breasts from awhile back, but I think this new recipe takes the cake. Or the chicken...you know. The addition of rosemary and Dijon mustard makes for great flavor, and I felt that this recipe held together a little better. Check it out.

Walnut and rosemary oven-baked chicken

As adapted from the November 2012 issue of Cooking Light.

Serves 4.

Ingredients for chicken:

1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk

2 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard

4 (6 oz.) organic chicken breast cutlets 

Heaping 1/3 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

Heaping 1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts

2 tablespoons grated fresh parmesan cheese

3/4 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cooking spray

Rosemary leaves (optional, for garnish)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Whisk together buttermilk and mustard in a shallow dish. Add chicken to buttermilk mixture, turning to coat. Toast panko in a pan over medium heat until golden, about 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Combine toasted panko, nuts, and next 4 ingredients (through pepper) in another shallow dish. Remove chicken from buttermilk mixture, discarding buttermilk, and dredge through panko mixture, turning to coat. Arrange a wire rack on a large baking sheet; coat rack with cooking spray. Arrange chicken cutlets on rack and bake for 13-15 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Garnish with rosemary leaves, if desired, and serve.

The house salad

As adapted from Sprouted Kitchen - A Tastier Take on Whole Foods.

Serves 4.

Ingredients for salad:

1 large head (or two small heads) butter lettuce (I used one green and one red/purple)

1 small jicama, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch matchsticks (roughly, 1/2-3/4 cup)

1/3 cup pomegranate seeds

1 cup large shavings Parmesan, Romano, and Asiago cheese (I got mine from Trader Joe's)

Ingredients for house dressing:

2 1/2 tablespoons creme fraiche

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon honey

1 scallion, white part only, finely chopped

2 tablespoons good apple cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

To make dressing, whisk together creme fraiche, olive oil, and honey. Add scallion, vinegar, salt, and pepper; whisk to combine. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

Gently pull lettuce leaves from the head, making sure they are dry. Gently toss the leaves and jicama with the dressing (if saving two servings for lunch the next day, only toss half of the salad with dressing). Assemble leaves in a stack for each serving, largest leaves on bottom to create a base. Garnish each salad with a quarter of the pomegranate seeds and cheese shavings. Serve immediately.

First of all, this chicken is great. Like I said before, the rosemary and Dijon add such great flavor, and the combination of nuts and panko make for great crunch. Furthermore, the crumb coating holds together really well. A great alternative to your usual chicken breast.

Secondly, I've never really used butter lettuce before, but it has such a smooth texture while maintaining a good crunch. You could also use bibb lettuce. And given that your lettuce leaves are clean and dry, the house dressing clings on beautifully. This dressing is like a vinaigrette, but the creme fraiche brings the thinnest amount of creaminess. It is really good, and very different. Plus, I had never had jicama before; it is mild, but adds a wonderful crunch to the salad. And come on - we all love pomegranate seeds. They're a juicy explosion of flavor. Right?

Check back here soon for some pot pie action. Cheers. 

Perfect blueberry muffins

Oh, what to do with an abundance of big, beautiful blueberries in the freezer? Search for the perfect blueberry muffin recipe, that is.

I've made a couple blueberry muffin recipes, no too mention a plethora of other varieties. Muffins are just the perfect few bites in my book. And they're great for packing all sorts of creative ingredients into. You can do healthy, wholesome breakfast muffins, or you can do more of an indulgent dessert muffin (which may lead to a cupcake, naturally).

Long story short, Zack and I were craving some blueberry goodness (and looking for a way to use up some frozen blueberries), so I began my search for the perfect recipe. I love Ina Garten's blueberry coffee cake muffins, but I just wanted something a little different. Something not so cake-like. I stumbled upon one of my favorite new blogs, Smitten Kitchen, and lone behold they have a recipe titled, "perfect blueberry muffins." I was sold. They looked so golden. And they use lemon zest, which I love in a muffin.

Perfect blueberry muffins

As adapted from Smitten Kitchen, who adapted their recipe from Cook's Illustrated.

Makes 9-10 standard muffins.

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

3/4 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Heaping 3/4 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (don't bother defrosting, if frozen)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease muffin tins. Beat butter and sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well, then add yogurt and zest. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix in half of dry ingredients until combined, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients just until the flour disappears. Gently fold in blueberries. Dough will be thick (especially if you use full-fat Greek yogurt). Use a cookie dough or ice cream scoop to fill muffin tins about 3/4 full. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of muffins comes out clean. Transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool, and enjoy (warm is best).

The recipe is pretty straightforward. And I like that this recipe doesn't make two dozen, so you don't have to worry about holding back from eating too many at once - which could be a problem because they are kind of dangerously good. Let's just say, this will now be my go-to blueberry muffin recipe that I will make again and again.

The hint of lemon is just heavenly, and I added more blueberries than called for, just because we love them. Furthermore, the texture if perfect. They are just dense enough that they keep shape well (no crumbling all over the place, here), but they're also very moist. I baked them until they were pretty golden, and I'm glad I did. They're beautiful. Beautiful to look at, beautiful to eat...they will make your life more beautiful. You must try. We did and we are again today. Enjoy.

Carrot soup with crisped chickpeas and pita wedges

I love pureed soups. I think mainly because I grew up on pureed "root" vegetable soup, carrot soup, and other varieties that my mom made famously. They're kind of gourmet, I think. However, I can't help but feel a little strange when I, personally, serve them. It's like, "here's a bunch of pureed vegetables - by the way, it's soup, not baby food." Anybody else identify with this?

When I saw this Smitten Kitchen recipe for carrot soup, however, I was drawn to the wonderful spices used, in addition to the crisped chickpea topping. Plus, I love the pitas on the side. I was sold. And rightfully so. This recipe is really delicious, and Zack loved it too.

Now, I will say up front that this recipe calls for a lemon-tahini dollop to be lightly stirred into the soup right before serving. I love this idea, but I just couldn't bring myself to buy a large jar of tahini, just to use 3 tablespoons. Done that before, and my $8.00 jar of tahini sat in the fridge and expired. I just don't use it often enough to warrant purchasing a large amount; where are the small jars of tahini out there? It's like tomato paste; you only need a little bit.

Carrot soup with crisped chickpeas and pita wedges

As adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients for soup:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 pounds organic carrots, washed and diced, or thinly sliced

1 large onion, finely chopped

4-5 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

Heaping 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus additional if needed

1/4-1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus additional if needed

Heaping pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

4 cups vegetable stock

Ingredients for chickpeas:

1 15-oz. can chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and patted dry on paper towels

1 heaping tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Ingredients for pita wedges:

A few large whole-wheat pitas, sliced into wedges

Extra-virgin olive oil, to brush pitas

Sesame seeds, to sprinkle on pitas

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped

Heat olive oil in large soup pot over medium heat. Add carrots, onion, garlic, coriander, cumin, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes; sauté until vegetables begin to brown, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oven to 425 degrees F. Toss chickpeas with olive oil, salt, black pepper, and cumin until coated. Spread them on rimmed baking sheet and roast until brown and crisp, 10-20 minutes depending on size and firmness of chickpeas. Toss occasionally during baking. Once vegetables in soup pot begin to brown, add stock, using it to scrape up any browned bits on bottom of pot. Cover pot and simmer until carrots are tender, stirring occasionally about 30 minutes. Spread pita wedges on same baking sheet used for chickpeas, or a second baking sheet if chickpeas are still toasting. Brush pitas lightly with olive oil, sprinkle with sesame seeds, salt, pepper, and parsley, and toast until brown at edges, about 5 minutes. Puree soup with an immersion blender once carrots are tender, until smooth. Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with some crisped chickpeas, garnish with leftover chopped parsley, and serve with pita wedges.

Pretty fancy weeknight meal, right? But so easy. Really, the hardest part was chopping 2 pounds of carrots. Maybe do that ahead of time if you are able to and want to cut back on "prep" time.

First of all, the soup is incredible. Even by itself. I love the combination of spices with the carrot. I've actually been adding a bit more spice than called for to all of my recipes lately because I find that it kicks the heat up a notch and just adds flavor. Hence, the "heaping" being added to my ingredient lists, as seen above. This may or may not be your thing, but do play around with it.

Secondly, crisped chickpeas are great. I've seen a recipe for crisped chickpeas that uses cayenne in Power Foods, and I've wanted to try it (for an appetizer, snack, etc.), but honestly I thought Zack would think they were weird. On the contrary, he loved the ones used in this recipe. They're just delicious to munch on.

Lastly, sesame seeds on pitas is like the most wonderful thing ever. I will definitely be doing that again. These pita wedges would be so great served with hummus or any other vegetable dip for an appetizer or snack, again.

All in all, this meal was so successful and one that I will make again and again. Another meatless recipe success also. Who would have thought? Cheers!

Chipotle sweet potato, black bean, and guacamole tacos

If you've been reading here for long at all, you know that I love sweet potatoes. And Zack and I love fresh, homemade tacos.

As I've mentioned before, I've become a little interested in the meatless Monday movement. New studies are showing that going meatless one day per week has benefits for a healthier heart. This week, however, I decided to take the idea a step further and go meatless for the week. Mainly because we kind of overindulged last weekend (think burgers, gyros, pizza - not all at once though). Ha ha. And I'm not saying I'm about to become a vegetarian - I love meat. But this week needed to be healthy and wholesome; veggies and grains and spices were calling me. This taco recipe, that I found on a blog through Pinterest, was the perfect way to kick off the week.

Chipotle sweet potato, black bean, and guacamole tacos

As adapted from Naturally Ella.

Serves 4.

Ingredients for tacos:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 15-oz. can of black beans, rinsed and drained

2 chipotles in adobo sauce, roughly chopped

3 tablespoons adobo sauce

Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

Freshly ground black pepper

1 heaping tablespoon honey

Juice from 1 lime

8-10 6-inch tortillas, preferably corn or whole-wheat, or combination

Ingredients for guacamole:

2 avocados

1/2 medium onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 serrano pepper, diced

Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Juice from 1 lime

2 small tomatoes, diced

Handful of fresh cilantro, plus additional for garnish

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Add onions and cook until onions begin to soften, 3-4 minutes. Stir in sweet potatoes and continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes. Combine the chipotles, adobo sauce, crushed red pepper flakes, black pepper, honey, and lime juice in a small bowl. Pour into the skillet with the sweet potatoes and reduce heat to medium-low, stirring occasionally and cooking until sweet potatoes soften, 15-20 minutes. Stir in black beans towards the end of cooking to heat through. While sweet potatoes cook, pulse onions, garlic, serrano pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, black pepper, and lime juice in a food processor; pulse until combined but still a bit chunky. Scoop out insides of avocados, add to food processor, and blend until desired smoothness is reached. Fold in tomato and cilantro. Season with additional salt and pepper as needed. To serve, spread a spoonful of guacamole onto the middle of tortillas, sprinkle about 3 heaping tablespoons of sweet potato mixture onto guacamole, and top with fresh cilantro.

Zack and I have discovered that sweet potatoes are an amazing ingredient to use for tacos. They have incredible color and flavor, and you tend to forget they are replacing your meat of choice because they are so hearty and filling. The chipotles and adobo sauce add this amazing smokiness that I was not expecting. Plus, you can't go wrong with homemade guacamole. I added the crushed red pepper flakes and a bit more of the chile peppers than called for in both the taco mixture and guacamole because Zack and I like a bit of heat.

We saved the components of this recipe separately for better freshness for lunch the next day, and it did not disappoint. If you have not tried sweet potatoes in your tacos, you must. You will be surprised and delighted. They are perfection. And we all like it when the stars align to create a little perfection in our kitchens and cooking. Am I right, or am I right? Cheers.