Cumin Rubbed Sirloin with Basil Roasted Potatoes

Saturday night dinner is usually a bit more of a splurge, as we figure we are replacing going out to dinner. Even if we cook something fancy (like steak), it’s still cheaper than eating out. And honestly, this steak was better than anything I’ve ever had at the Outback.

This is our recipe. Simple but delicious. If you don’t know how to cook a good steak, go watch Good Eats with Alton Brown. That guy knows his stuff.

Cumin Rubbed Sirloin

INGREDIENTS
Sirloin or Ribeye Steak (approx. 1″ thick)
Cumin
Kosher Salt
Pepper

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Pat steak dry with paper towels. Sprinkle generously with salt, cumin, and freshly ground black pepper on both sides.

Preheat a cast iron grill pan over medium high heat. Sear steaks for approximately 4 minutes per side (turn steaks 45 degrees after 2 minutes to get nice grill marks). Finish steaks in the oven for an additional 4-8 minutes, depending on thickness of steaks and desired doneness.

Wrap steaks in foil and let rest at least 5 minutes before serving.

Basil Roasted Potatoes

These are a staple in our kitchen. Delicious and tender, they go with just about anything. A great side dish. Also very versatile, try adding other herbs such as oregano, parsley, or rosemary, garlic, or other veggies to mix it up.

INGREDIENTS
Yukon Gold Potatoes, diced into 3/4″ wedges (bite sized)
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Fresh Basil, chopped
Yellow Onion, chopped (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray glass baking dish with nonstick spray or lightly coat with olive oil. Place potato wedges in pan and drizzle generously with olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Sprinkle with chopped basil and onions. Toss.

Roast for approximately 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fork tender. Bigger pieces will take longer to cook.

Basil Roasted Veggies & Couscous

The roasting gives the veggies in this dish a wonderful rich flavor, not to mention beautiful with all the gorgeous colors. And couscous is a nice change from rice and pasta all the time. It also makes for great (and lots of) leftovers, which I am very much looking forward to tomorrow. :)

Basil Roasted Veggies & Couscous

Feel free to roast whatever veggies you like best, or whatever is in season at the time. This would also be good on the side dish of a nice roasted chicken.
Makes 4-6 servings.

INGREDIENTS
2 Tbs minced fresh basil
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
2 garlic gloves, crushed
2 medium zucchini, cut into 1” slices
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1” pieces
1 medium yellow pepper, cut into 1” pieces
1 medium red onion, cut into 8 wedges
1 (8oz) package mushrooms
3 cups hot cooked couscous
3 oz. basil-flavored goat cheese, crumbled (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 425ËšF.

Combine basil, vinegar, oil, salt, and garlic in large bowl. Stir well. Add vegetables and toss well to coat. Arrange vegetables in a single layer in a shallow roasting pan. bake for 35 minutes or until tender and browned, stirring occasionally.

Spoon roasted vegetables over couscous and top with cheese. Sprinkle with pepper. Garnish with fresh basic sprigs, if desired.

Bistecca with Balsamic-Roasted Onion Crostini

We’re back! And what a great time we had! I better watch out or Taylor will want to move to New York. And can I say how amazing the food is there? From the roasted almonds off the street to frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity3 to tapas at Pipa (honestly one of the best dinners we’ve had in our lives), New York City is one big culinary adventure. Next time we visit, forget the sights, we’re eating our way through the city. :)

While it was nice not to have to cook for a week, we’re glad to be back in our own tiny kitchen. We both loved this recipe, it worked great for us as a main course but would also be fantastic as an appetizer. Is it just me or have we been using tons of red onions lately?

Bistecca with Balsamic-Roasted Onion Crostini

Recipe from Michael Chiarello. Makes 6-8 servings.
We used a tenderloin steak, and it was delicious. Just whatever cut you use, be sure it’s nice and tender. It’s a bit tough to bite through the crusty bread and steak all at once, next time we’ll slice the bread a bit thinner and not toast it quite so much. This one’s a keeper for sure!

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large porterhouse steak, about 1 1/2 pounds and 2-inches thick, at room temperature
Salt, preferably gray salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 large red onions
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 loaf crusty bread, sliced into 1/2-inch thick slices
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

In a heavy skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and heat until very hot. Season the steak with salt and pepper. Turn on the exhaust fan and put the steak in the pan; stand back to prevent being splattered. Cook until the steak is brown on the first side, about 2 minutes; brown on the other side. Remove the steak to a rack or baking pan until you are ready to finish cooking it. When ready, put the steak into the oven and cook until done to your liking, about 10 minutes for rare. Remove the steak to a carving board and let it rest for 5 minutes.

Peel and cut the onions into thirds or quarters, depending on their size. Leave as much root on as possible to keep the wedges from falling apart. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in the same skillet used to cook the meat over medium-high heat until hot. Add the onions, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Season them with salt and pepper. Place the pan of onions in the oven and roast until tender and very browned (the onions tend to char around the edges), 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove the onions from the oven, add the garlic, and cook briefly until light brown. Add the thyme and stir. Add the vinegar (stand back so as to not get splattered) and toss well with the onions. Stir and scrape up all the browned bits clinging to the bottom of the pan.

Reduce oven to 400 degrees F. Place the bread in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until the bread is golden brown and crisp, about 8 to 9 minutes.

To serve, cut the meat off the bone, then carve it into thin slices. Put 1 slice of meat on each crostini and top with the roasted onions. Pour any juices from the carving board over the crostini. Serve immediately.

Note: In order to cook the meat in the shortest amount of time and thus extract the most flavor, the meat must be at room temperature. Afterward, the meat must rest before carving. If this procedure is followed, the carving knife glides right through the steak.

Garlic Roasted Shrimp with Red Chile Oil

This is a recipe for true garlic lovers. We bought so much garlic this week it was ridiculous… the woman checking us out at the store thought we were going on a vampire hunt. We didn’t use nearly as much as the recipe called for (silly me… I misread ‘cloves’ as ‘heads’. Whoops).

These are meant to be tapas (yes, we have a tendency to eat appetizers as main courses). We served these with our Strawberry Spinach Salad and leftover Red Wine Sangria. The shrimp were delicious and the oil has a fabulous flavor. We tried some of the giant elephant garlic for the chips. While they looked impressive, they were actually quite bitter. More for decoration than flavor I guess. Next time we might try blanching the garlic before frying it, which might make it less bitter. Get ready to use a ton of olive oil, though it’s well worth it.

Garlic Roasted Shrimp with Red Chile Oil

Recipe from Bobby Flay. Makes 8 appetizer servings.

INGREDIENTS
24 large shrimp, shelled and deveined
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

Red Chile Oil:
1 cup olive oil
6 dried chiles de arbol, lightly toasted and crushed
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Pinch salt
3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed

Toasted Garlic Chips:
1 cup olive oil
8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Salt

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

To make red chili oil, blend all ingredients including the thyme leaves in a blender until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl.

For garlic chips, heat the oil in a small skillet until it begins to shimmer. Add the garlic and cook until the slices begin to brown and curl. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels and season with salt.

Place the shrimp in a cazuela or an ovenproof casserole and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Drizzle olive oil over shrimp, add crushed garlic, and toss to coat. Roast in the oven until pink and cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes. Drizzle generously with Red Chile Oil and sprinkle with thyme and Toasted Garlic Chips. Serve with crusty bread.

Pasta with Roasted Provencal Vegetable Sauce

A nice, hearty pasta. We made the entire recipe and had more than enough for lunch the next day and then some. I’m not usually a big tomato sauce fan, but this was good even by my standards. Next time: less parsley, more garlic. :)

Pasta with Roasted Provencal Vegetable Sauce

Recipe from Epicurious. Makes 6 servings.

INGREDIENTS
1 16- to 18-ounce eggplant, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium zucchini, trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 28-ounce can seasoned crushed tomatoes with Italian herbs
12 ounces penne pasta
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400°F. Arrange eggplant and onion on large rimmed nonstick baking sheet or casserole dish. Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast vegetables until beginning to brown, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes. Stir zucchini and garlic into vegetables; continue to roast until all vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes longer. Stir crushed tomatoes into vegetables on baking sheet; roast until heated through, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Ladle 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid into small bowl; reserve. Drain pasta. Return pasta to same pot. Add roasted vegetable sauce and all herbs to pasta and toss to blend. Gradually add enough reserved pasta cooking liquid to moisten as desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer pasta to bowl and serve.

Gyros with Roasted Veggies and Tzatziki

Something you never thought you could make… well, you can. This is proof. Gyros. Complete with authentic gyro meat, ala Alton Brown (who else?). And you know what, they were pretty darn good! Though the recipe was a bit ridiculous (who drains onions and yogurt?)… um, no thanks. We drained the veggies for a few minutes, and didn’t even attempt to drain the yogurt. So what if we’re lazy? It was still good! A great leftover meal too.

We also added some roasted veggies. We just seasoned some zucchini and eggplant with the same spices as went into the gyro meat, and roasted them with a bit of olive oil. It adds a bit more substance to the gyro instead of just lamb, which is nice.

Gyros with Roasted Veggies and Tzatziki

Makes 6-8 servings. Recipe from Alton Brown.

INGREDIENTS
1 medium onion, finely chopped or shredded
2 pounds ground lamb
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried marjoram
1 tablespoon dried ground rosemary
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Tzatziki Sauce:
16 ounces plain yogurt
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
Pinch kosher salt
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
5 to 6 mint leaves, finely minced

DIRECTIONS
Process the onion in a food processor for 10 to 15 seconds and turn out into the center of a tea towel. Gather up the ends of the towel and squeeze until almost all of the juice is removed. Discard juice.

Return the onion to the food processor and add the lamb, garlic, marjoram, rosemary, salt, and pepper and process until it is a fine paste, approximately 1 minute. Stop the processor as needed to scrape down sides of bowl.

For Tzatziki sauce, place the yogurt in a tea towel, gather up the edges, suspend over a bowl, and drain for 2 hours in the refrigerator (or just dump it in the bowl). Place the chopped cucumber in a tea towel and squeeze to remove the liquid; discard liquid. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the drained yogurt, cucumber, salt, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and mint. Serve as a sauce for gyros. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Place the lamb mixture into a loaf pan, making sure to press into the sides of the pan. Place the loaf pan into a water bath and bake for 60 to 75 minutes or until the mixture reaches 165 to 170 degrees F. Remove from the oven and drain off any fat. Place the loaf pan on a cooling rack and place a brick wrapped in aluminum foil directly on the surface of the meat and allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees F. Slice and serve on pita bread with tzatziki sauce, chopped onion, tomatoes and feta cheese.

Ugly Ravioli (aka Roasted Vegetable & Pancetta Ravioli)

Ugly, maybe, but good? Definitely! We found this recipe for Roasted Veggie Ravioli with Crispy Pancetta on Jaden’s blog.

I tried (somewhat unsuccessfully) to capture the sheer scale of the mess I made while making this pasta. Homemade pasta is fun and delicious, but oh so messy. Which makes it even more fun in my opinion. :)

Our raviolis were ugly. I think we made them too big and they broke and had to be patched and weren’t square by any means. Not nearly as nice-looking as Jaden’s. But once you got beyond their looks, they really were quite delicious. The sauce is light and flavorful, which in our experience is hard to do in a pasta sauce.

Want to try your hand at these? Hopefully yours will be prettier than ours!
Check out the recipe here.

Roasted Shrimp, Asparagus, and Mushrooms with Ginger and Green Onion

This one was good. Quick and easy, and downright delicious. We tend to cook a lot of things sautéed on the stovetop, so roasting was a nice change of pace. Plus, Taylor loves it because he can get all of the dishes done before we even start eating. What a concept!

The recipe called for Oyster mushrooms. Which we couldn’t find. And would probably have been expensive if we had. So we used crimini instead. Portobello or even shiitake mushrooms would be delicious as well!

For the shrimp, if your shells don’t stay intact easily or you can’t get under the shells, it works just fine if you simply smother the naked shrimp with the onion mixture. Make it easy on yourself. :)

Roasted Shrimp and Mushrooms with Ginger and Green Onion

Makes 2 servings. Recipe from Bon Appetit.

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
10 uncooked deveined large shrimp, shells left intact
4 ounces oyster or crimini mushrooms
1/2 lb asparagus

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 500°F. Mix canola oil, onions, cilantro, garlic, vinegar, ginger, and sesame oil in medium bowl. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Pull off legs from shrimp. Rub most of onion mixture under shells of shrimp. Arrange shrimp in single layer on large baking sheet. Add mushrooms to remaining onion mixture in bowl; toss to coat. Arrange on same baking sheet.

Spread out asparagus on another baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put in the oven at the same time as shrimp and mushrooms, or 3-4 minutes before if your asparagus is thick.

Roast shrimp until opaque in center and mushrooms until tender, about 7 minutes. Divide between 2 plates.

Berbacrac Roasted Chicken

I’m always open to new spices and spice blends. With my recent success using Moroccan spices to make chicken delicious, I was looking for other similar regional spices to try. So when I heard about Berbéré, I knew I had to try it.

It seems that this particular spice mix, probably like any good curry powder, varies greatly depending on where you get it. According to the place I purchased it from, it contains Cloves, Fenugreek, Ginger powder, Tellicherry Black Pepper, Cassia, Cardamom, Coriander and Pequin chilies. Though the blog that inspired me to make this dish, recipe here, offers up a formula to make your own blend, with spices like dried ginger, green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, cassia, fenugreek, nutmeg, all-spice, black pepper, cardamom, coriander, adjwain, Cayenne, and paprika. Quite a difference. Either way, it is a truly unique blend of spices – spicy and sweet and savory all at the same time, and makes for a truly delicious flavor.

We didn’t use a whole chicken/hen for this, but rather had some whole chicken legs in the freezer (6 legs for $4 – can’t beat that! These are the joys of dark meat) that we used instead. And since you’re supposed to cut up the whole chicken anyway, it really didn’t make much of a difference.

Berbéré Roasted Chicken

Makes 4-6 servings. Recipe from Under the High Chair.

INGREDIENTS
4 garlic cloves, chopped
3 Tablespoons Berbéré, ground
1 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons butter, melted
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 whole chicken, 3-4 lbs, or two plump Cornish hens
4 onions

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 375F.

Mix together the berbéré, garlic, butter, lemon juice, and salt. Cut the chicken into its various parts and brush with spice mixture.

Peel onions and slice into thick slices. Place the onions on the bottom of a roasted pan and arrange chicken pieces on top.

Roast for about 1 hour. Baste occasionally with cooking juices.

Roasted Asparagus Soup

We made this the other day – kind of a ‘winging it’ recipe.

And we’ve since forgotten how we made it.

It was good. But I can’t repeat the recipe, because there was none.

Oops.

I know it involved sautéing some onion, celery, and carrot in olive oil. Then adding chicken/vegetable broth. Roasting asparagus in the oven with a drizzle of olive oil until soft. Then blending it all together, with some soy creamer and more broth. There might be some thyme in there too?

Note to self: either write things down as you’re cooking, or come and post it right after you’ve eaten it. Because self, your memory sucks.

Indeed.

Pizza with Eggs, Roasted Red Peppers, Olives and Arugula

I miss pizza. Poor Taylor (who can still eat pizza) misses pizza more than I do. So when I come across a pizza recipe that isn’t slathered in mozzarella, I jump on it. Like this recipe, found in the January issue of Bon Appetit. Only cheese on this baby is Parmesan, which is aged enough that it doesn’t harm my delicate stomach. Perfect.

Granted, it looks a bit out there. Eggs? On a pizza? Odd. But surprisingly good. And creative too – I mean, whoever though of strategically placing thick rings of red onion on the pizza to contain the eggs? Genius. Just be sure you have something underneath your pizza (like a rimmed baking sheet) to catch any egg that decides to escape.

The crust was a bit tough. Not sure if that was my fault or the recipe’s, but I have a pizza crust recipe that I think is much better. Next time we make this, and there WILL BE a next time, we’ll use that crust recipe instead.

Pizza with Eggs, Roasted Red Peppers, Olives and Arugula

Makes 2-4 servings. Recipe from Bon Appetit.

INGREDIENTS
Dough:
2 tablespoons warm water (115°F)
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cool water (65°F to 70°F)
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
Olive oil
Cornmeal (for sprinkling)

Topping:
Olive oil
3/4 cup drained roasted red peppers from jar, cut into 1/3-inch strips
1/3 cup Kalamata olives, pitted, quartered
1 cup Parmesan cheese shavings
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
4 large red onion rings (each 3 1/2 to 4 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thick)
4 large eggs
2 cups (lightly packed) arugula

DIRECTIONS
For dough: Pour 2 tablespoons warm water into large bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook; sprinkle yeast over. Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 15 minutes (mixture will not be foamy). Add both flours, 1/2 cup cool water, and 1 teaspoon coarse salt; mix on medium-low speed 4 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes, then mix on medium speed until dough is smooth, elastic, and slightly sticky, about 3 minutes.

Lightly oil medium bowl. Gather dough into ball and transfer to prepared bowl; turn to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature 30 minutes. Chill dough overnight. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.

Transfer bowl to warm draft-free area and let dough rise, covered, until very slightly puffy, at least 2 hours.

For topping: Place pizza stone or rimless baking sheet in oven; preheat to 500°F. Sprinkle pizza paddle or another baking sheet generously with cornmeal. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round; transfer to paddle. Brush dough with oil; scatter peppers, then olives over. Sprinkle with Parmesan and rosemary. Arrange onion rings atop pizza, spacing apart. Slide pizza onto stone or baking sheet in oven; bake until lightly browned but not crisp, about 7 minutes. Remove pizza from oven and gently crack 1 egg into each onion ring. Return pizza to oven and continue to bake until eggs are softly set and crust is golden, about 6 minutes. Sprinkle pizza with salt and pepper. Scatter arugula over.

Roasted Chicken with Sweet-Potato Risotto and Cranberry Sauce

Arabic Couscous with Olives and Roasted Tomatoes

Israeli (aka Pearl) Couscous is something I haven’t tried before. I’ve seen it used in recipes and heard about it, but have never actually eaten it. So when we saw a box of it for sale at Trader Joe’s, I snapped it up, and began searching for recipes in which to use my unique find.

This recipe is a keeper. It reminds me a lot of the Mediterranean Orzo and Chicken Salad recipe we made this summer, both in flavor and in mouth feel. I think orzo and pearl couscous are very similar, so if you can’t find the later, orzo is a good substitute.

We added half of a rotisserie chicken for some protein, and so we could eat this as our entire dinner. It’s eaten cool or room temperature. We always like meals like that because I can get photos, Taylor can get all the dishes done, and we don’t have to worry about our food getting cold. It’d be a good summer meal, but also a good winter meal when your tired of all the hot and heavy foods.

Enjoy!

Pearl Couscous with Olives and Roasted Tomatoes

Makes 6 servings. Recipe from Epicurious.

INGREDIENTS
For roasted tomatoes and dressing
2 pints red grape or cherry tomatoes (1 1/2 pound)
3 large garlic cloves, left unpeeled
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

For couscous
2 3/4 cups chicken broth
2 1/4 cups pearl (Israeli) couscous
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup Kalamata or other brine-cured black olives, pitted and chopped
1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 roasted chicken, shredded (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Roast tomatoes and make dressing:
Preheat oven to 250°F.

Halve tomatoes through stem ends and arrange, cut sides up, in 1 layer in a large shallow (1-inch-deep) baking pan. Add garlic to pan and roast in middle of oven until tomatoes are slightly shriveled around edges, about 1 hour. Cool in pan on a rack 30 minutes.

Peel garlic and purée with oil, water, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup roasted tomatoes in a blender until dressing is very smooth.

Make couscous:
Bring broth to a boil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan and stir in couscous, then simmer, uncovered, 6 minutes. Cover pan and remove from heat. Let stand 10 minutes.

Spread couscous in 1 layer on a baking sheet and cool 15 minutes.

Transfer couscous to a bowl and stir in remaining ingredients, dressing, roasted tomatoes, chicken (if using), and salt and pepper to taste.

Seeing Double: Portobello Burgers with Roasted Red Peppers

I didn’t quite realize this until browsing through the pictures that I haven’t posted yet (yes, I realize I’m behind – I’ve got a half dozen new meals to post and just haven’t had the time to do it, I’ll be better, I promise!), but in a matter of 4 days, we unknowingly cooked two almost identical meals.

Meal 1 (above): Portobello “Steak” Sandwiches with Gorgonzola Butter and Red Pepper Vinaigrette.
Meal 2 (below): Portobello Burgers with Red Pepper Mayonnaise

I figured you’d all think I was crazy if I made two posts out of these, and it would make my backlog of posts a more manageable if I combined them into one. So here we are.

Honestly, they were both good. The roasted red pepper and earthy portobello is an excellent combination however you make it. But, the addition of the Gorgonzola cheese probably puts the first recipe over the top. That, and I think the mayonnaise we used for the other might have been a bit past it’s prime… nothing happened, of course, but seeing the date on the jar afterwords may have skewed our perception of it just a bit.

(If you are interested though, the Portobello Burgers with Red Pepper Mayonnaise recipe can be found here).

Portobello Burgers with Red Pepper Mayonnaise

Makes 4 servings. Recipe from Epicurious.

INGREDIENTS
For marinade
5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
6 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves or 2 teaspoons dried thyme, crumbled
1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 pounds fresh Portobello mushrooms, stems trimmed

For Gorgonzola butter
2 ounces Gorgonzola cheese (about 1/4 cup) at room temperature
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

For red pepper vinaigrette
1 red bell pepper, roasted (procedure follows), or 1/3 cup chopped drained bottled roasted red peppers
1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

four 1/2-inch-thick slices crusty bread, cut diagonally
Garnish: fresh thyme leaves

DIRECTIONS
Make marinade:
In a small bowl whisk together marinade ingredients. Put half of mushroom caps and half of marinade in each of 2 large sealable plastic bags, arranging mushroom caps in one layer, and seal bags, pressing out excess air. Marinate mushrooms at room temperature, turning bags over several times, at least 1 and up to 2 hours.

Make Gorgonzola butter while mushrooms are marinating:
On a plate with a fork mash Gorgonzola and butter together until blended well.

Make red pepper vinaigrette:
In a blender blend vinaigrette ingredients with salt and pepper to taste until smooth and emulsified.

Prepare grill.

Grill one side of bread on a rack set 5 to 6 inches over glowing coals until golden, about 1 minute. (Alternatively, bread may be grilled in a hot well-seasoned ridged grill pan over moderately high heat.) Divide bread, toasted sides down, among 4 plates. Spread soft side of bread with Gorgonzola butter.

Remove mushrooms from marinade and grill 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until tender. (Alternatively, mushrooms may be grilled in a hot well-seasoned ridged grill pan over moderately high heat.) Transfer mushrooms with tongs to a cutting board and slice thin.

Arrange warm mushrooms on toasts and spoon vinaigrette over each open-faced sandwich. Garnish sandwiches with thyme.

To roast peppers:
Using a long-handled fork char peppers over an open flame, turning, until skins are blackened, 2 to 3 minutes. (Or broil peppers on rack of a broiler pan under a preheated broiler about 2 inches from heat, turning every 5 minutes, until skins are blistered and charred, 15 to 25 minutes.) Transfer peppers to a bowl and let stand, covered, until cool enough to handle. Keeping peppers whole, peel them, starting at blossom end. Cut off tops and discard seeds and ribs. (Wear rubber gloves when handling chilies.)