Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Tart

I have been wanting to make a tart for a while. I went to another potluck tonight and decided this was the perfect time to try making one! I wanted to try one of the tarts I saw on Closet Cooking but they all looked so amazing it was hard to decide! After spending way too long thinking about which one to make and then getting the input of my coworkers, I finally settled on this recipe.

I followed his directions pretty carefully, just making a few little changes. I accidentally got only a half pound of mushrooms for example, but it turned out to be plenty. I added two cups of fresh spinach, just because it seemed like a good idea, and I added a little more garlic because I LOVE garlic. I also used an Italian blend of cheese because I don't really like gorgonzola. Lastly, I used white cooking wine instead of regular white wine because I already had it on hand. I used a tiny bit less wine than the original recipe just because I had fewer mushrooms and I didn't want to accidentally use too much.

Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Tart
(from Closet Cooking)

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 large onion, sliced very thin
• 1 tbsp butter (or so)
• 1/2 lb. cleaned and sliced mushrooms (I used portabella)
• 1/2 tsp. thyme
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 cups fresh spinach (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste (optional)
• 2-3 tbsp. white cooking wine (or regular white wine, or broth)
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry
• 1/2 cup Italian blend cheese (or enough to cover the bottom of the pastry)
• 1 very small handful of parsley, chopped or ripped up

Defrost the puff pastry according to directions on the box. Mine took forty minutes, so I let it defrost as I was cooking. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Heat the oil in a pan and then cook the onion until it starts to caramelize. (You want to cook the onions over very low heat and just stir them every once in a while.) After roughly 25 mins., add the butter and let it melt. Add the mushrooms and keep cooking everything so the mushrooms start to caramelize and the onions finish. Once the mushrooms and onions are nearly done, add the garlic and thyme. Add the spinach too and stir everything until the spinach cooks down. After a minute or so, add the white cooking wine (or wine or broth). Add salt and pepper if you want, but cooking wine has added salt so adjust accordingly.

Score a line around the puff pastry 1/2-1 inch from the edge. Sprinkle shredded cheese within the confines of the scoring you just drew on your puff pastry. Put the mushroom/onion/spinach blend on top. Brush a little olive oil on the outside edge of your pastry if you want to. Bake 15-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the parsley on top.

Chocolate Chip (Coconut) Oatmeal Cookies

My friend Samara brought these cookies into work one day and none of us could stop eating them. I always love oatmeal cookies, but these were different than your "regular" oatmeal cookie. We decided it's the nutmeg that gives them a really unique taste. They're also fluffier than normal oatmeal cookies. Samara kindly sent me the recipe, which she got from her mom. Her mom is a really good cook so it's no surprise these are so good. You can substitute raisins for the chocolate chips if you want (use the same amount) and you can add a cup of chopped nuts as well. I actually dumped in some extra coconut for fun, but I'm leaving that out of the recipe just because I have no idea how much I put in. I just kind of dumped it until I could see its presence but it wasn't overwhelming the batter (although I'm not sure you can ever have too much coconut). 

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies 

(From Samara's mother)

• 1 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 cups quick oats, uncooked
• 1 cup chocolate chips (or raisins)
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  In mixer, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs and mix well. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Stir in oats, chocolate chips, and nuts if using. Drop by small scoops onto cookie sheets.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove, cool 3 minutes on sheets, then on rack. Makes about 5 dozen.

Pasta with Baked Tomatoes

The original version of this recipe calls for more olive oil, fresh basil, and breadcrumbs. I used panko and cut down the oil to be healthier. I also did not use fresh basil but if you have it, it would make this dish even better. I added some red pepper flakes to give the dish more of a kick. Buy the fancy parmigiano-reggiano cheese if you can. Years ago I was reading a book by the owners of Zingerman's Deli (a great deli in Ann Arbor, MI) and they basically begged readers to purchase the fancy stuff. I've followed this advice ever since because the good stuff really is much better. You can ask them to cut you a smaller piece at stores like Wegmans and Whole Foods. I got a block that yielded a half a cup of shredded cheese for about $2. 

Also, the original recipe says this dish will serve four and calls for a pound of pasta instead of one serving. I figured I'd just make one serving of capellini and save the extra sauce. I ended up using all of the baked tomatoes for my one little serving and I thought the dish was perfect like that. I am therefore calling for only one serving of pasta in this recipe but clearly it can be altered.

Pasta with Baked Tomatoes

(adapted from Wednesday Chef)

• 1 serving capellini or other pasta
• 1 pt cherry tomatoes
• 1/3 cup panko
• 1/4 cup shredded parmigiano-reggiano
• 1/4 tsp. dried Italian seasoning (or several fresh basil leaves)
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 2 cloves of garlic
• salt and pepper
• olive oil for drizzling

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle the bottom of a baking dish with olive oil. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and put them in the dish, cut side up. Chop the garlic finely and put it over the tomatoes. Mix together the cheese, panko, red pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning and then put that mixture over the tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put the dish in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the tomatoes are cooked through and the top is beginning to brown. 

While the tomatoes are cooking, bring a pot of water to a boil. When the tomatoes are ready, mash them with a fork and then mix with the pasta. If you are using fresh basil, tear it up and mix it as well. You can also drizzle some extra olive oil at this point if you want to. I didn't.

Baked Tofu and Apple Salad

This salad was at the potluck I attended last week. I loved it and made a mental note to recreate it ASAP. I used balsamic vinaigrette because that's what I had on hand, but I think it would be really great with a some sort of fruity salad dressing, or maybe a red wine vinaigrette? I used the "smoked" tofu flavor, but I'm sure others would be good too.

Baked Tofu and Apple Salad

• 1 half of an apple
• Field greens and/or fresh spinach
• 1/4 of a package of Soyboy Baked Tofu
• 1 handful of craisins
• Walnuts or pecans
• 2 tbsp. vinaigrette

Cut your apple into little squares/chunks. Slice the tofu into little slivers or squares as well. Put the sliced tofu and apple into your salad with the other ingredients and mix with dressing.

Avocado Melt

My sister and I went through a phase several years ago where we'd eat this every day. It was a bit of an obsession. It's very delicious and not too heavy for a summer meal. If you can't use the whole avocado (I couldn't), here's a tip for keeping it fresh: After you cut it in half, leave the pit in the one half you don't use. Wrap the avocado half with its pit tightly in plastic and store in the fridge. 

Avocado Melt

• 1 roll or two slices of bread
• 1/4 to 1/2 of an avocado
• Tomato, thinly sliced
• Onion
• Two slices of cheddar, monterey jack, or pepper jack cheese
• Balsamic vinaigrette
• Salt and pepper

Slice the avocado, tomato, and onion into very thin slices. Place the avocado on the bottom half of your roll (or bread), followed by one layer of tomato slices and one layer of onion slices. Add salt and pepper to taste and drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette. Put your slices of cheese on top. Stick in the toaster oven until the whole thing is toasty and melted. I actually toasted the bottom half first this time, then toasted the top piece of roll quickly and plopped it on. Yum.

Sorbet Pie

I promise actual meal recipes will arrive shortly (although I wouldn't judge you if you ate this for dinner). I was invited to a potluck though and I did not have time to cook anything between Monday, when I was invited, and yesterday evening. After thinking about what I could bring for probably about two hours, I decided to make sorbet pie. 

Last time I made this I used strawberry sorbet and a chocolate crust. It looked prettier like that, with whipped cream on top. I fully intended to make that again but Superfresh did not have any sorbet. I then went over to Whole Foods only to find that they did not have any strawberry sorbet. On top of this, their regular graham crusts looked much better than the chocolate ones they had out. I calmed myself down and settled on raspberry sorbet and regular crust. I really wanted chocolate to be involved though, so I shaved some chocolate over the top. The end result was it still tasted delicious, but looked a little less impressive. Oh well, what's a girl to do? 

Next time I make this, I'm doing strawberry in chocolate with blueberries and white chocolate chips on top. It might be be the best yet.






Sorbet Pie

(Idea from Cooking Light)

• 1 "ready" graham crust (I like the Whole Foods version because it doesn't have any hydrogenated oils or creepy ingredients that I can't pronounce, yet it costs the same as a Keebler crust)
• 1 pint of sorbet
• Toppings of your choice (I suggest berries, chocolate, or whipped cream)

Let the sorbet soften a bit. Spoon it carefully, lovingly, delicately, and mindfully into your crust so you don't break it into a million pieces. Spread it out (still verrrrry carefully) until it's all smooth and fills the pie. Stick the whole thing back in the freezer to chill. Once it's sufficiently cold, put on your toppings and enjoy. Be stunned at how something so easy could be so delicious.

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I saw this recipe posted on baked perfection (bakedperfection.com) a while ago and have been dying to try it ever since. As I suspected, these muffins are amazing! They don't require too many ingredients (so are not too expensive) and they are really dense and filling. My friend and I thought they would be great with a little extra peanut butter spread on top. I definitely recommend these for breakfast, although I don't think they are too low calorie. I threw mine in the freezer so I can take them out as I want and not worry about them going bad!

My friend and I filled the muffin cups pretty high so our cooking time took about 20 minutes, as opposed to the 13-15 originally listed. I recently lost my oven thermometer though so maybe my oven was just off. I recommend using Trader Joe's (or Whole Foods) natural creamy peanut butter and Trader Joe's chocolate chips. Out of all the chocolate chips I've had, Trader Joe's are the best, hands down. Also, the original recipe suggests sprinkling turbinado sugar on top of the muffins, but we left that out because I didn't feel like buying an extra bag of sugar that I probably wouldn't use again. 

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

(recipe from Bakedperfection)

• 1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 mashed bananas
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 tbsp. flour
• Turbinado sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In another bowl, beat together the bananas, peanut butter, sugars, egg, vanilla, and melted butter. (Although I have a hand mixer, I ended up mashing the bananas with a potato masher and then continuing to stir and mash everything in using that. It worked great. Moral of this story? Get a potato masher.) 

Stir the banana/peanut butter mixture into the flour mixture until just combined. In a separate bowl (or if you are me, in your measuring cup), mix together chocolate chips with the tbsp. of flour. This keeps the chocolate chips from sinking!! Stir the chocolate chips into the batter. Spoon the batter into a greased muffin pan, or a muffin pan lined with paper baking cups. You can sprinkle on the turbinado sugar if you want here. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 

Try not to eat half the batch immediately. It was kind of  a struggle for me.