oven roasted portobello mushroom burger w/ goat cheese & caramelized onions

yum. so today i made myself a yummy burger. it's vegetarian. a lot of times when you look for mushroom burger recipes, or spot 'mushroom burger' on a restaurant menu, you find that they're actually beef burger topped or stuffed with sauteed mushrooms. but i had an actual vegetarian portobello mushroom burger at cheesecake factory which was amazing, and although i didnt set out to recreate it today, i realized my creation tasted pretty similar!

as usual i skimmed a few recipes then did my thing. lately, ive been combining multiple recipes vs following one to the dot. i find it can be a great way to improve ones culinary skills

Again sorry about the vague quantities. Remember that the mushrooms cook down immensely, so you end up with maybe less than half of what you started with.

Ingredients

Portobello mushrooms (basically i bought a box of 8-9 portobellos. they werent as small as the baby sized ones, but maybe a size above. i originally wanted the largest ones they have, but alas)
Goat cheese (I used the one with herbs, mmm)
1 onion
1 tbsp sugar
Fresh minced garlic, a few cloves
Few tbsps olive oil
Few tbsps butter
Salt/pepper
Any mix of dried italian herbs. I used a blend with basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, etc. Check the spices section at your local grocery store for 'italian seasonings'
Fresh baked bakery buns
French fries (optional)

Method:
Preheat oven to 350. Pull out the stems from the mushrooms and rinse lightly. Line on a baking sheet with the stem side facing up (so there is a nice opening to fill some herbs in). Melt one tbsp butter. Add one tbsp olive oil, garlic, 2 tbsp italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste, mix. Using a spoon, fill the mixture into the mushroom opening generously. Make more of this mixture if you run out. Try to save a half tsp or so to use to saute the onions later. Cook the mushroom for 20-30 minutes or until they seem roasted to your liking. For a while they will seem soggy as the water dries up. I actually turned the mushrooms with the filling side facing down halfway into the cook time. Take them out of the oven when done and cool for 10 - 15 minutes, letting the juices and flavor soak in.

In a saucepan, melt some butter (or heat up some olive oil). Finely slice the onion, throw into pan, top with sugar and leftover italian seasoning + garlic mixture and cook on medium until caramelized. Cover the pan, remove from stove and let onions sit in  the heated pan. Add the cooled mushrooms to the heated pan and top both onions and mushrooms with goat cheese. Cover the pan again and let cheese melt in heat.

Toast the bakery buns and build burger with the mushroom-onion-cheese goodness. You may want to add more vegetables like lettuce and tomato if that's how you like your burgers, but this one tastes best on its own (to me, anyway). Serve with fries.

naan khatai / desi cardamom-pista-saffron cookies

I figured I should be a good daughter and make something that suits my parents taste buds once in a while. I've never really been into desi sweets, and baking them or creating them from scratch was just out of the question, but recently I've thought of expanding my horizons. I guess it all started with my aunts kulfi recipe last year!

I was surprised to learn that these appealed to my taste buds too! Not like I'd scarf them down as if theyre chocolate chip cookies or anything, but a small cookie or two is nice every now and then.


Here's my version, used a combo of a few recipes

3 cups all purpose flour
1 stick (1/2 cup) softened butter
12 tbsps powdered/confectioners sugar (if you dont have any, throw some regular sugar in a grinder and there you go)
1.5 tbsps of cardamom powder (made out of ground cardamom - WITH the skin)
1 egg yolk, beaten
1 cup full fat plain yogurt
2 tbsps crushed/powdered almonds
2 tbsps crushed pistachios (i mixed both types of nuts in a grinder and just crushed them in one go. the consistency should be powder like for the most part)
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
saffron (optional and as much as you want)

Preheat oven to 300. Cream the butter and sugar together, add cardamom powder and saffron. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and then add the creamed butter sugar mixture and begin to incorporate using your hands. Add a few tbsps of yogurt at a time to get the dough to come together nicely, you may not need the entire cup. The end result should be nice and soft, like bread dough, which you can form into small golf sized balls. Place the balls on a baking sheet and flatten them ever so slightly from the top as you create a dent in the middle with your finger. Brush the egg yolk over the top, and fill dent with powdered nut mixture. Bake for about 15-20 mins or until golden brown.

Note that my golf sized cookie dough balls were a bit too big at first, and i didnt flatten them out properly at all, so since these dont flatten out like chewy choc chip cookies, my first batch was kinda undercooked from the inside. So you might wanna keep that in mind. It wasn't a  big deal though. A day later I just cut them up in halves, and put them back in the oven for 10 minutes and they became nice and crispy again.


So yeah, they were nice. I'm gonna try out more recipes though. I think they should be a bit more crispier, but these were pretty good I'd say. Then again I don't have these cookies often. My dad who loves this kinda stuff was pleased with the result so I guess they must be alright

blackened cajun chicken + roasted vegetable sandwiches

this is AMAZING. i havent made it yet, and i know we have a rule here about not posting stuff we haven't tried BUT this is one exception. it sounds so, so good. its from someone i know and i just havent had a chance to try it yet but i will soon iA. it is amazing served on some hearty bread with yummy cheese.

ingredients and quantities are again kinda vague but you can probably figure it out

**
i had boneless chicken breasts the other day, and i did a blackened cajun rub on them, pan fried them, sliced them thinly and we had them with fresh bakery bread... i had pesto-mayo, sauteed mushrooms and red onions, swiss cheese, and baby spinach and then i grilled the sandwiches with a bit of butter to make them golden and melt the cheese. i'm making them again this week!


or the chicken, i actually had "cajun spice blend" but i used this method of cooking it,http://www.metro.ca/...chicken.en.html it says use a grill, but i just used a nonstick fry pan and it worked fine! pesto-mayo was just a tablespoon of store bought pesto mixed with 1/4 cup of mayo or so, and the portobello mushrooms and onions were sauteed with some crushed garlic and butter (yeah, this is so not a diet recipe, lol). we just layered the chicken, veggies, and cheese on the bread and then grilled the sandwiches on a butterednonstick pan until the swiss was nice and melty. honestly though, it was the bread that made it delicious! the husband picked it up from a nearby bakery, and it was perfectly crusty on the outside, soft on the inside.

oh, and i think provolone instead of swiss would have been super yummy too, will try that next time!

spinach and feta in puffed pastry

this is a really rough recipe. i make it by 'andaaza' so you guys will have to figure out quantity on your own!

ingredients:

spinach (frozen or fresh)
onion
butter or olive oil to brown the onions
crumbled feta cheese
puffed pastry sheets
italian seasonings such as basil, oregano, etc (whatever you have sitting around)
black pepper


method
basically, carmelize the onions in butter. remove from the pan, then in some olive oil, cook the spinach until a good portion of the water has been drained. this is hard to do! spinach is sooo watery. so you might wanna drain it after youre done cooking it on some paper towels, or in a strainer or something. afterwards, combine with the onions, add the seasonings + the feta cheese, stuff into puffed pastry and bake.

SUPER YUM!

amazing chicken salad sandwiches!

this recipe is to die for. its been a huge hit with friends and family!!! my friend made it for a mutual friends bridal shower recently and they were well received!

you can find it here. http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cda/recipe_print/0,1946,FOOD_9936_15706_RECIPE-PRINT-FULL-PAGE-FORMATTER,00.html

 note: i used store bought mayo, and dill instead of terragon, scallions instead of sweet onions. serve them in croissants. SOOOO good. :)

the poaching chicken part on the bottom of that link is super important and gives it a LOT of flavor. its not that hard. basically u just throw in raw chicken in vegetable broth + carrot, parsley, an onion, celery etc and boil it till its cooked. then you shred or cut it up and mix in the salad related ingredients.

Egg-Salad Sandwiches

I just had my first experience with egg-salad sandwiches recently. Very recently. I know, it's sad. But ANYWAY, I really liked it and thought it was also easy to tweak with fun ingredients. I had some fun ingredients. Thus, I tweaked. The egg-salad, that is.

Ingredients:

2-3 hard boiled eggs, chopped up

handful of chopped onion

handful of chopped cucumber

a sprinkling of chopped chives or scallions

2-3 tbsp mayonnaise

1/2 tsp dill (fresh or dried works fine)

1/2 tsp parsley (dried works well here too) the parsley is really optional, but the dill is key, especially if you're a fan of dill, like me!

pinch of garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all of the above, and VOILA, you have egg-salad. lol Spread generously on some good, yummy bread.

BUT, what made my egg-salad sandwiches extra fun this time was SMOKED SALMON! If you're a fan, you can either flake some up and mix it right into the egg-salad or you can slice up some and layer it in the sandwich. Just remember, it will be very bold in flavor while the egg-salad is very subtle, so be careful with the portions. I learned from my mistakes. :)

Egg Rolls

This is the way I make egg rolls every Ramadan. They're easy although a bit time consuming, but are great for making in mass quantities and freezing in little zip-lock bags.

I don't use exact measurements, just throw stuff in and taste-test-adjust along the way, so I will try to give a decent estimate of the measurements.

Ingredients:

1-2 lbs ground chicken

about 2 cups of shredded cabbage

2 cups of shredded carrots or carrot sticks

1 cup bean sprouts

1-2 cups sliced green onions

you can also add any of the following:

peas, beans, mushrooms, chopped up baby corn, bamboo shoots or water chestnuts

Soy sauce (a lot. like 1/3 cup at least)

a few tablespoons of red chili paste/sauce/flakes

2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

1 tbsp ground black pepper

2 tbsp oyster sauce (optional)

salt to taste

samosa/egg roll wrappers

In a large wok, heat very little oil (about 2-3 tbsp) over medium-high heat. Add the ginger-garlic paste and fry for about 30 seconds. Add the chicken and stir until no longer pink. Add the veggies except the green onions and peas if you're using them. Add all the seasonings/sauces and cook over high heat, stirring, until ALL the water has evaporated. If there's too much stuff in the pan and it's taking forever you can transfer it all into a large bowl, and sautee small amounts of it at a time until it all dries up. Add the peas and green onions at the very end. When the filling is done, spread it out onto a baking sheet to let cool.

Mix a few tbsp of all purpose flour and water to form a pancake-batter consistency. Carefully pull apart the sheets of egg roll wrapper. Place a wrapper in front of you with a corner pointing in at you. Place about 1 tbsp or so of filling in a rectangular shape near the bottom of the corner nearest you. Carefully fold the bottom corner over the filling and give it ONE tight roll. Fold in the sides, gently but tightly and then finish rolling the rest up. There should be a corner point on the outside. Spread a bit of the all-purpose mixture on the inside of the corner and smooth it down. The flour mixture dries pretty quickly and holds it all together. Place the folded egg rolls on a cookie sheet in one layer and freeze for about 20-30 minutes then you can put them all into zip-locks for easier storage. When you're ready to eat'em, do not thaw! Just deep fry until golden brown OR bake for a few minutes on each side for a healthier version. :)