Portobella Mushroom Burgers with Shoestring Fries

Tonight's blog post is a new favorite of ours, portobella burgers!  Since the farmers market opened over a month ago, I've made it a point to stop by the local mushroom guy's booth every week and buy some fungus.  Usually it's the oyster / shitake blend, sometimes its the giant portobella caps.  We made these a few weeks ago and sadly didn't take pictures (we do that a lot), and they were so good that we knew we'd be making them again.  The portobellas are nice and meaty and the combination of the dijon mustard, swiss cheese, and avocado is quite tasty!  I suggest anyone who's afraid of mushrooms, or isn't so sure they like them, to try this recipe, it's a guaranteed thumbs up.

We needed a side dish and what better side is there with a burger than french fries?  I've made these a couple times, and I'm a big fan.  They couldn't be easier to make, and are quite tasty with just salt and pepper.  You could go nuts and add all kinds of seasonings to them, but we'll stick to the tried and true recipe here.  The trick is to soak the fries in water before you bake them, it has something to do with the starches and helping them cook better, I don't know, but I know it works!  Hey, I read it in Cook's Illustrated, and I'll believe anything they tell me. ;)

Portobella Mushroom Burgers

Ingredients:
4 or 5 large portobella mushroom caps
4 slices of swiss cheese (or about 3/4 cup shredded swiss)
1/2 avocado (sliced into strips)
dijon mustard
2 kaiser or challah rolls, sliced in half and toasted
canola oil cooking spray
salt and pepper

Directions:

Heat a large nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium high heat and coat the bottom with a little bit of canola oil cooking spray.  While skillet heats, remove the stems and gills of the mushrooms using a spoon.

Place the portobellas stem side up in the skillet and spray a little cooking spray on each cap, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook for 5-8 minutes (cooking time depends on the thickness of each mushrrom cap) until bottom of mushroom starts to brown and a little liquid starts to collect inside cap of the mushroom.  Flip each cap, spraying with cooking spray, and salt and pepper each.

Cook for another 5-8 minutes until they have browned nicely and shrunk in size.  Top each cap with cheese, evenly divided, turn off the heat and cover the skillet.  Cheese should be melted nicely in 2-3 minutes.

Remove from skillet and place on toasted rolls with dijon mustard and sliced avocado.  Enjoy!  Makes 2 burgers.

Download a printable recipe here!
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Shoestring French Fries

Ingredients:
2 russet potatoes (cut into 1/4" strips using a knife or mandolin)
canola oil cooking spray
salt & pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Cut potatoes into strips and place in a large bowl.  Cover the fries with cold water and let them soak for about 10 minutes.  Drain the water and dry the fries completely on sheets of paper towels.  Place the fries in a single layer on baking sheets that were sprayed with cooking spray. It is important to put them in a single layer and not piled on top of each other.  Spray a little cooking spray on the fries, then sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.  Bake for about 30 minutes or until fries are golden brown.  You can flip them after 20 minutes, but it is not necessary.  Note: You can also make sweet potato french fries, as you can see, but be careful not to overcook them.  They take less time to cook (about 15-20 minutes) and burn easily, so keep your eye on them.

Serves 2.

Baked Potato Soup

Oh, Monday-After-a-Long-Weekend, how I hate you. You bring nothing but bitter cold weather, the beginnings of a sinus infection, and numerous trivial annoyances at the office. And yet you suddenly ceased to bother me after I had a bowl of this amazing baked potato soup from Cooking Light.

It's honestly absurd that something this good could be considered "light." Bake your potatoes the night before, and this comes together for a quick weeknight meal. Make this soon, and don't skip the bacon... it adds the perfect salty crunchiness, in the way that only bacon can.

Ingredients:
4  baking potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds)
2/3  cup  all-purpose flour (about 3 ounces)
6  cups  2% reduced-fat milk
1  cup  (4 ounces) reduced-fat shredded extrasharp cheddar cheese, divided
1  teaspoon  salt
1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
1  cup  reduced-fat sour cream
3/4  cup  chopped green onions, divided
6  bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
Cracked black pepper (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°.

Pierce potatoes with a fork; bake at 400° for 1 hour or until tender. Cool. Peel potatoes; coarsely mash.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Place flour in a large Dutch oven; gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (about 8 minutes). Add mashed potatoes, 3/4 cup cheese, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, stirring until cheese melts. Remove from heat.

Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup onions. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated (do not boil). Ladle 1 1/2 cups soup into each of 8 bowls. Sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese, 1 1/2 teaspoons onions, and about 1 tablespoon bacon. Garnish with cracked pepper, if desired.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups soup, 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese, 1 1/2 teaspoons onions, and about 1 tablespoon bacon)

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 329 (30% from fat)
Fat: 10.8g (sat 5.9g,mono 3.5g, poly 0.7g)
Protein: 13.6g
Carbohydrate: 44.5g
Fiber: 2.8g
Cholesterol: 38mg
Iron: 1.1mg
Sodium: 587mg
Calcium: 407mg


Download a printable recipe.
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Potato Latkes

Happy Chanukkah! Or however you spell it... I don't really know since I'm only half Jewish. And it's my dad that's Jewish, so it doesn't really even count (the Jewish religion tends to be passed down by the mother). My family did celebrate Chanukkah, so the rituals aren't completely foreign to me. The food, however, was never a part of my childhood since I didn't have a living Jewish grandma to cook these sorts of things. But it's never too late to learn to be a good half-Jew, so when I spotted these latkes over at Smitten Kitchen, I thought I'd cook some up for dinner tonight (check out the Smitten Kitchen post; the photos are lovely).

If you have a food processor, these are a snap to throw together. If you don't, now you know what to ask for for Christmas. Or Chanukkah. You just grate your onion and potato, mix that with some egg and flour, and then fry 'em up. We thought they benefited from a sprinkling of salt just after frying. John, being Italian and all, thought he'd sprinkle a few with grated Parmesan cheese (delicious, by the way). We just ate ours plain, but you can serve them with sour cream or applesauce.


Potato Latkes
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 lb baking potatoes, peeled
1 small onion, peeled
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp. salt plus more for sprinkling
1/4 tsp. pepper
vegetable oil, for frying

Directions:
Grate potato and onion. Transfer to a colander or wrap in cheesecloth and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Let stand for two minutes, then squeeze it again.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, egg, salt, and pepper. Stir the potatoes and onions into the mixure until all pieces are evenly coated.

In a medium skillet (cast iron is great for this), heat 2 Tbs. of vegetable oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Drop spoonfuls of the potato mixture into the skillet (you can make them any size, mine were about 3 inches across), and flatten them with the back of the spoon. Cook until the edges are golden, about 1 1/2 minutes; flip and cook the other side until golden, about a minute longer. Set on plate covered with paper towels, and sprinkle with salt, if desired. Repeat with the remaining mixture, adding more oil to the skillet as needed. Keep warm in a 200 degree oven until ready to serve.

Makes about 15 small latkes.

Download printable recipe.