Portobello Mushroom Puffs - Recipe #2

Last year I bought a package of puff pastry dough (frozen) on a lark. I never used it, so for the second recipe of the year it is making it's debut in my kitchen.

The recipe is mostly from the Pepperidge Farm puff pastry website. I tweaked what they had on there.

2 tablespoons butter
3.5 cups portobello mushrooms, chopped
2.5 cups white mushrooms, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon chipped fresh thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 of a 17.3-ounce Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets package (1 sheet), thawed
1 egg, beaten

- Preheat oven to 375
- Lightly grease 12 (2.5 inch) muffin-pan cups
- Heat the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook until the liquid evaporates, stirring occasionally. (Note: I used my food processor to chop up my mushrooms, hence they are super chopped.)

- Remove the skillet from the heat. Stir in the cheese, thyme, garlic powder, and black pepper.
- Unfold the pastry on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry into a 12x16 inch rectangle. Cut the rectangle into 12 (4 inch) squares.

- Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the mushroom mixture onto the center of each pastry square. Brush the edges with the egg.

- Fold the edges to the center over the filling and twist tightly to seal, fanning out the corners. HA! I could barely get the corners and edges to stick together in any fashion, let alone a fancy fashion.
- Place the pastries in the muffin-pan cups and brush with the egg.

- Bake for 20 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown.

- I toasted some dried, chopped white onion and sprinkled that along with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar dressing and grated parmesan cheese on top of the finished product.

Review:

I thought the thyme was too strong and overpowered the mushroom mixture. The PM said he couldn't taste the thyme, and he appreciated that the mushrooms had a meaty texture (probably because I super chopped them?). I think the filling needed more cheese and maybe one more flavor to compete with the strong mushroom presence - maybe sundried tomatoes or spinach or something. I'll have to try another experiment with the other sheet of puff pastry dough that is still in my freezer. Stay tuned. . .

Netflix Rating:
Me: 3.0
PM: 3.5

Nagoya Tower of Televi Dining - Postcard #3 (Vintage!)

When I came up with this resolution, I put out a call to my friends on the interwebs to send me their updated addresses if they wanted to receive a postcard. One of my LBC peeps mentioned that she collects odd and interesting postcards, so NN is now the proud recipient of this one!

This postcard came from a collection of four packs of old Japanese postcards that my friend HD gave me several months ago. If I remember the story correctly, they were sent to a homesick Japanese exchange student several decades ago, so none of them are "used."

This particular postcard comes from the collection that is marked "The Nagoya Tower of Televi," and it is obviously showing off the modern dining facilities in the tower.
You can check the hours of operation here for your visit.
The tower was once destroyed in a Godzilla battle.
Tourist info from Happy Jappy. That's a horrible website name.

Spinach Artichoke Dip, Recipe #1

For my first new recipe of 2011, I decided to make the spinach artichoke dip. I love this stuff, and I have no idea why I never tried making it before. It was very, very tasty and oh so cheesy.

I found a recipe online and tweaked it to fit my cheese-loving needs.

1 package of cream cheese, softened (8 ounces)
4 ounces of goat cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup grated romano cheese
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped (14 ounces)
1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

- Preheat oven to 350
- Lightly grease a small baking dish
-In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, goat cheese, parmesan cheese, romano cheese, garlic, basil, salt and pepper.

- Gently stir in artichoke hearts and spinach.

- Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish.
- Top with mozzarella cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven until bubbly and lightly browned (about 30 minutes).
- Serve with bread, celery, and/or tortilla chips. Whatever you like.

Netflix Rating*:
Me: 4.5
PM: 4.0

*Netflix Rating system seems to be a good way to rate these recipes:
1 = Hated It
2 = Didn't Like It
3 = Liked It
4 = Really Liked It
5 = Loved It

Spoonbridge and Cherry - Postcard #2

This classic Minneapolis postcard was sent out to UJ in honor of his enthusiastic response to my blog. Rooster B was kind enough to send UJ's comments to me via email:


so i was visiting [UJ] when he read your blog new years resolutions. i would like to make you aware of his replies.
 
1.  "did it.  i just watched 2 football games on sunday and saw some dam with Mike Roe."  (you know, the guy on dirty jobs tv show)
2.  "i already do."  as he raises his beer and takes a swig.
3.  "i already do."  as he raises his beer and takes a swig.
4.  i can't repeat the words he said.  sounded like the swedish chef on the muppets.
5.  "ha ha ha."
6.  "no meal i make is ever the same."    trust me, its true.  some have so much pepper and old spices in them i can't eat whats on my plate.  his reply when i express my distaste is "just trying to get rid of some of those old spices bud."
7.  "i send multiple cards a day to file 13."
8.  "i don't play with my crap, i just flush it."     (this one was my personal favorite.)
9.  "what the hell is that?"
10. "every day i hike to the kitchen and turn on the faucet."
11. "whats that mean."
12. "barley, hops, yeast."  as he raises his beer and takes a swig.
  
 Clearly UJ is my favorite uncle. He would be yours, too. The best part is that he probably won't look at the postcard I sent him until sometime this fall.

Here's some info on the Spoonbridge and Cherry:
Official page from the Walker.
The Wikipedia entry gives more info about the area.
The artists' take on it.

I promised UJ a photo of me at the sculpture so he could get an idea of the size. This photo was obviously not taken recently, everything is green instead of white.

Chadakoin River - Postcard #1

This one went out to my buddy BP. He's a lucky boy for getting the first postcard of 2011 from the Resolute Rooster.

Here are some interesting links if you'd like to learn more about this mighty water way:
Very brief history of the river
River monster?
It'll take you to the Gulf!

This Rooster has a few resolutions.

Twelve, in fact.

This blog is to keep me honest.

Here are the Rooster's Amazing Resolutions for 2011:

1- Attend at least two cultural events per month.
2- Practice at least four times per week.
3- Exercise at least four times per week.
4- Master Swedish verbs.
5- Super clean one room each month.
6- Try out one new recipe each week.
7- Send one postcard each week.
8- Crafty crap!
9- Learn to play the theremin.
10- Go hiking and see waterfalls.
11- Beat the PM at Scrabble.
12- Eat five fruits/veggies a day.

I decided that the 1st and 2nd didn't count in January, so the resolutions start on 1/3/11 since it is a Monday. Mondays are good days to start things.