Goat Cheese Portobello Mushrooms

I made this creamy deliciousness on the BBQ in the middle of a thunderstorm. It’s crazy easy.

Portobello Mushroom Caps

Sun-Dried Tomato Paste

Plain Goat Cheese

Fresh Thyme

Olive oil

S&P

1. Coat your mushrooms in olive oil so they won’t stick to the grill. Sprinkle on some S&P. 
2. Oil your grill really well.
3. BBQ each side of the mushroom on low heat for approx 5 minutes each side until just softening. Place mushrooms on the top rack and squeeze a dollop of sun-dried tomato paste onto each mushroom. Place a large chunk of cheese in the middle and sprinkle on some fresh thyme. 
4. Close the lid and let the heat from the BBQ warm the cheese.
5. Remove from the BBQ and eat.

Mustard-Roasted Potatoes

Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. A hint of tangy mustard melds perfect with salty roasted potatoes. A fabulous side dish for any occasion.

This recipe is courtesy of Ian Garten’s “Barefoot Contessa At Home”. 

2 1/2lbs small red potatoes

2 yellow onions

3 tbsp good olive oil

2 tbsp whole grain mustard

kosher salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. Preheat oven to 425F
2. Cut the potatoes in halves or quarters, depending on their size and place them on a sheet pan.  Remove the end of the onions, peel them, and cut them in half. Slice them crosswise in 1/4 thick slices to make half rounds. Toss the onions and potatoes together on the sheet pan. Add the olive oil, mustard, 2 tsp salt, and the pepper and toss them together. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the potatoes are lightly browned on the outside and tender on the inside. Toss the potatoes from time to time with a metal spatula so they brown evenly. Serve hot sprinkled with the chopped parsley and a little extra salt.

Serves 6

Potato Carrot Mash

This is a great little side dish when you're feeling too lazy to make both a starch and a vegetable. This is a starch and vegetable together as one! It's pretty tasty too!

Potato Carrot Mash

- 2 medium red potatoes

- 2 medium carrots

- basil (fresh or dried)

- salt & pepper

- margerine or butter

1. Cut up the potatoes and carrots and boil in salted water for approx 20 minutes, until soft.

2. Drain the water. Add butter and mash up, like mashed potatoes. Add basil and S&P. 

Serves 4.

Rustic Sage Bread Stuffing

Rustic Sage Bread Stuffing

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1-2 sprigs rosemary
• 1-2 sprigs sage
• 1/2 loaf country style bread, torn into bite-sized pieces
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup of reserved pan juices from pork roast

Preheat oven to 350F (Oven should remain hot from pork roast).

1. In a medium saute pan, heat oil, butter and fresh herbs until oil is fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Add bread and season with salt and pepper. Put pan in preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes, or until bread is light golden. 
3. Return pan to stovetop and add reserved pork drippings. Let liquid reduce slightly, then serve immediately.

Glazed Root Vegetables

Glazed Root Vegetables

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium parsnip, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1/2 medium turnip, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 leek, cleaned, cut into 1/2-inch rounds
• 2 cups Brussels sprouts, sliced in half
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1-2 sprigs thyme
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 tbsp honey
• salt and pepper

1. In a medium saute pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add parsnip, turnip, and carrot, and saute 2-3 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add leak, brussels sprouts, and butter. When butter starts to foam, add thyme and saute for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until vegetables are lightly browned. 
2. Add white wine, honey, and salt and pepper. Cover pan and simmer over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

Gratin of Potato with Shallot and Herbs De Provence

I have a little story to tell about my Herbs De Provence: They actually came from Provence, France. I picked them up in beautiful open air market in Nice. I know, I know, I’m dropping names now. I’m an avid traveller and everywhere I go I end up focusing on regional foods. Since I live to eat, food is a central focus in my life outside of collecting antiques and drinking (oh yeah and working too, I guess). Anyway back to Nice, I bought this rustic bag of herbs and have have been hoarding it ever since. Every time I bring this bag out and smell the herbs, I am taken back to that morning in Nice, where the sun was shining, the weather was hot, and the market was bustling with locals and tourists. My mom and I (my partner in traveling adventures) ate our way through that market. We started with fresh, just picked strawberries that were so sweet that we were brought to tears. We enjoyed fresh breads and croissants and whatever else we could get our hands on and eat right away. Just thinking about it now brings me back to that sunny day. This recipe featured my prized Herbs De Provence and is an easy side dish to throw together. It is quintessentially French. It is delicate and makes a great side dish to many chicken mains. This was my side dish to the Apple Cinnamon Chicken, but I would put this with any chicken or turkey main. It is very similar to my last Gratin post, but with Herbs De Provence being the aromatic focus instead of sage. 

Gratin of Potato with Shallot and Herbs De Provence

3 large shallots, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

3 potatoes, thinly sliced (I leave the skins on - Yukon Gold works best)

1 cup whipping cream

1 cup milk (I used skim)

2 tablespoons butter

1 heaping tablespoon of flour

2 tsp Herbs De Provence

Course Salt

Fresh ground pepper

1. Melt butter on low heat in small frying pan. Add onions, garlic, Herbs De Provence and lightly fry until moisture comes out, about 2 minutes. Add flour; stir and remove from heat.
2. In a small saucepan, mix the cream, milk, onion mixture, salt and pepper and lightly warm up. Do not boil. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 10 to 15 minutes to let the flavours mix.
3. Grease a small casserole or loaf pan; place a layer of potatoes and sprinkle with salt & pepper.
4. With a slotted spoon, pull out some of the shallot mixture and add to the potatoes. Add another layer or potatoes and repeat until the potatoes are used up.
5. Pour over the cream mixture.
6. Preheat oven to 400deg F and bake for 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Remove from oven and allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes.

Note: As I only cook on weekends for 2 people, this dish served 2, plus some leftovers.

Boston Baked Beans in the Slow Cooker

Ah, the slow cooker. One of the best inventions for working people. Turn it on in the morning and when you walk through your front door in the evening, the whole house smells like dinner. The dinner you didn’t put much effort into. The dinner you still do not have to put much effort into. Last night I decided I wanted to make Boston Baked Beans. I had ALL the ingredients therefore I didn’t need to go shopping. I did the cutting work in the evening, put the remaining ingredients in the pot this morning and left the house. When I got home, I had to mix the other ingredients in and let it cook some more. I had a serious craving for boston baked beans. They are comfort food. On a cool fall evening like today, they are the perfect dinner. They taste oh so good going down... not so great later in the night.. looking on the bright side, they contain lots of good-for-you fibre. I could always use more fibre. So here is the recipe for a 6 quart slow cooker. If you don’t have a slow cooker, go buy one. 

Boston Baked Beans

1 900g bag of dried Navy Beans

10 cups of water

3 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup (approx.) salt pork, cut into 1 inch cubes * - See note below

1/2 cup molasses

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons dry mustard 

1/2 cup Ketchup

2 tablespoons of maple syrup (because I’m Canadian - optional for non-Canadians)

2 cups reserved hot bean liquid

1. Wash and sort the beans. Put beans in pot. Add water, salt, onion and pork. Mix well so that pork is covered by beans. Cover pot.
2. Place pot on base and cook at Setting #3 for 10 to 12 hours until beans are tender (My beans were tender after 10 hours). 
3. When beans are tender, drain the liquid and reserve 2 cups. To the beans add molasses, brown sugar, dry mustard and ketchup; stir. Add bean liquid; stir. Taste it now. I ended up adding more molasses to darken the colour and cut some of the ketchup taste which I didn’t like.  
4. Cover and simmer beans on base at Setting #3 for 2 hours. Keep warm at setting #2. 

Makes a lot.

• Note: I used a few good slices of baked ham instead. You could also use bacon. And what is salt pork, anyway? I wouldn’t even know where to get it and it sounds nasty.

• P.S. This recipe came from my Slow Cooker manual with some yummy modifications.

Glazed Carrots & Parsnips

Super simple rich side dish.


3 large carrots, halved, quartered and cut to 3 inch long
3 parsnips, halved, quartered and cut into 3 inch long
Good pat of butter
2 tablespoons orange juice


Melt the butter in a pan on low heat. Add the carrots and parsnips, turn up the heat and saute until the vegetables are soft. Add the orange juice and saute until caramelized.


Serves 4

Gratin of Potatoes, Shallots and Sage

This is a lovely side dish. The sweetness of the shallots and the pine flavour the sage complement this rich potato gratin.

3lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled

1/4 cup butter

2 cups whipping cream

2 cups milk

6 shallots, chopped

1/4 cup sliced fresh sage

4 cloves garlic

1. Preheat oven to 400deg F. Thinly slice potatoes. Butter a 13x9 inch baking dish.
2. Combine cream, milk, shallots, sage and garlic in a pot. Bring to boil. Remove from heat and let sit for 15 minutes. Strain, reserving both vegetables and liquid separately.
3. Make a single layer of potatoes in dish. Season with salt & pepper. Sprinkle over some shallot mixture. Repeat layers. Pour over liquid. Press potatoes down to make sure the liquid comes to the top. If not add more cream. Dot with butter.
4. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until potatoes are tender and liquid is absorbed.

Serves 8

Scalloped Potatoes with Porcini and Bacon

I friggin love Porcini mushrooms. Porcini to me, is like Truffles to others. I rarely use them because I revere them. They are unique and earthy and simply luxurious. I adore them. I could marry them and become Mrs. Porcini, but I prefer the indulgence of a rare love affair that makes me come back for more. If I ate them all the time, the love I feel them for them may dwindle. Oh.. but do I pine for them after I indulge! Sigh. 

Eat, drink and be merry!

This recipe comes from the LCBO’s Food & Drink Magazine Autumn Edition.

Scalloped Potatoes with Porcini and Bacon

1 pkg (14g) dried porcini mushrooms

6 strips bacon, thinly sliced

1 small onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 lbs potatoes (or in english about 5 or 6 med-large potatoes)

2 cups milk, 2% or homogenized (I used skim milk - gotta stay healthy!)

1 cup whipping cream

Pinch of nutmeg

Salt & Pepper

1 cup coarsely grated Gruyere cheese

1. Preheat over to 350deg F.
2. Butter a casserole that measures about 9inches square (I used an 8x11 casserole - it worked fine). Place mushrooms in a small bowl. Cover mushrooms with about 1/2 cup boiling water. Let stand whole preparing ingredients.
3. In a large frying pan, cook bacon over medium heat until it starts to crisp, about 5 minutes. Add onion and continue to cook until bacon is crisp and onion is tender, about 5 more minutes. Add garlic and cook about 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Strain mushrooms over a bowl but don’t discard liquid. Squeeze out any liquid from mushrooms into bowl. Chop mushrooms and stir into bacon mixture.
4. Peel potatoes and slice as thinly as possible, no thicker than 1/4 inch. Place milk, cream and nutmeg in a large wide pan. Gradually add mushroom liquid, so that any grit at bottom of bowl doesn’t get added. Over medium heat, bring to a simmer. Add potatoes to simmering milk mixture. Stir. Cook just until almost fork tender, about 10 minutes.
5. Using a slotted spoon, remove and spread about half the potatoes into prepared casserole. Top with half the bacon mixture. Lightly season with S&P. Spoon remaining potatoes over the top. Repeat with bacon mixture and season. Carefully pour milk mixture over top, to evenly distribute. Bake, covered about 30 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese and continue to bake until golden and bubbling, about 20 to 30 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Serves 8