Stuffed Portabello Mushrooms with Pine Nuts, Parsley & Parmesan

Happy Meat Free Monday! 

For years, A girl loves making these stuffed mushrooms for lunch or as a side dish. 

These stuffed portabello mushrooms are hearty and extremely flavorful. 

ingredients

2 large portabello mushrooms
1 garlic, minced
1 cup balsamic vinaigrette
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoons of pine nuts
1 tablespoon of parsley, chopped
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Sea Salt
Fresh ground pepper

preparation

Using a damp kitchen towel, clean mushrooms and remove large stem. Mix balsamic dressing, garlic, mustard in a bowl. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper.  Place mushrooms with balsamic marinade in a Ziploc bag and refrigerate for a couple hours. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Finely chop the remaining ingredients expect the pine nuts. Preheat skillet and toast pine nuts, stirring often until golden brown or roast in oven for about 7 minutes at 375 degrees, shaking often until golden brown. Remove and set aside.  Preheat an outdoor grill or cast-iron grill, and grill mushrooms until browned and crisp. Press mushrooms and apply some weight to remove the excess water in mushrooms.  Place mushrooms on sheet pan. Sprinkle with pine nuts and Parmesan cheese and back at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes until the cheese is bubbly, melted and lightly golden brown. You can achieve this by placing the mushrooms under the broiler for 3 minutes. Sprinkle parsley and serve.

adapted from Bethenny Frankel

a berry good breakfast

This is a girl's go-to breakfast.  It's quick, filling and healthy!

ingredients 

1 container of Fage 0% Plain Yogurt 

A handful of washed organic blueberries and strawberries

1 tablespoon Trader Joe's Whole Golden Roasted Flax Seeds

preparation
Put yogurt to a bowl or plate.  Sprinkle the flax seed. Place berries on top. Serve! 

Baguette Handling in Paris

a girl j' adores baguette with burre, jambon & fromage

Delicieux!!

Carrot Ginger Soup

A girl returned home from Paris, finding herself in a huge snowstorm and with empty refrigerator.

After shoveling the snow, a girl came up with this soup using the few fresh and nutritious ingredients, in hope to warm up with something sweet n' spicy.  This soup is colorful, fragrant, and extremely comforting for a snowy Friday night.

ingredients

1 tablespoon of coconut oil 

1 onion, chopped

1 tablespoon of fresh ginger, minced

2 cups Earthbound Farm organic carrots, peeled and chopped

1 1/2 tablespoons of curry powder 

2 cups of vegetable broth 

1 14-ounce can of Trader Joe's Light Coconut Milk

Sea salt

Fresh ground pepper

Melt the coconut oil in a large pot. Add onion and ginger and cook for about 5 minutes until soft.

Stir in carrots, curry powder, and vegetable stock, bring to a boil.  Lower the heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes or until carrots are soft. Pour the soup into a food processor or blender and process until it is smooth. Remember to let the soup cool slightly before you puree.  Return soup to pot, stir in coconut milk and season with salt and pepper to taste. Reheat slowly and serve. Garnish with cliantro, 

Eat. Cook & Enjoy! 

Breaking News: Charlie Trotter's closing in August!

F

END OF AN ERA

Charlie Trotter to Close Iconic Restaurant After 25 Years

Sunday, January 1, 2012, by Ari Bendersky

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In a surprise move, Charlie Trotterannounced on New Year's Eve that he would close his eponymous groundbreaking restaurant in August this year, 25 years after opening,according to the Sun-Times.

Trotter, whose restaurant quickly gained international attention and is credited by many for changing the dining scene in Chicago, said closing the 120-seat fine-dining eatery was not for financial reasons. He said it was the right time and that he wants to take a sabbatical and travel the world with his wife, Rochelle. "I just had to put the flag in the sand and say I’ve got to go for this; otherwise, I never will," Trotter told the paper.

After his travels, Trotter will enter a graduate program for philosophy and political theory; he's been accepted into three programs, two in Chicago and one in California. After that, he said he'd like to open a new restaurant, but what that will be is still undetermined. His take-out storefront, Trotter's to Go, will remain open.

Trotter has helped pave the way for a number of now-acclaimed local chefs likeGrant Achatz, Bill Kim, Giuseppe Tentori and Mindy Segal, who have all worked for him. Other famous chef friends, like Alain Ducasse and David Bouley, will help send off Trotter through special dinners leading up to the restaurant's final service on Aug. 31. "This is our chance to say let’s end this on a great note of 25 years," he said.
· Charlie Trotter to Close His World-Renowned Chicago Eatery [Sun-Times]

Charlie Trotter [Photo: Rich Hein/Sun-Times]