Chicken Marasala is a favorite around here- mushrooms and chicken in a rich, classic broth is usually a win/win situation!  Chef Tips did a great video post that we’re happy to share:

The Mushroom Council is thrilled to have Monica Pope as a member of our Chef Advisory Panel. Her restaurant t’afia in Houston features coastal Mediterranean cuisine inspired by local ingredients. It also features lots and lots of mushrooms.

Our colleague Danielle Wiley recently visited t’afia with a large group of mom bloggers. To read more about their dining adventure, check out this post on her site, Foodmomiac. We are also pleased to share one of Monica’s recipes. Featuring plump shiitakes, beef and balsamic vinegar, it is a veritable tribute to umami.

Balsamic Caramel Base

• 3          quarts vegetable, chicken or veal stock
• 3/4       cup balsamic vinegar
• 3/4       cup sweet soy sauce (kecap manis; see Note)
• 6          tablespoons sugar
• 1          tablespoon garlic, minced
• 1          tablespoon ginger, minced

Gomaishio

• 1/4        cup black sesame seeds
• 1/4        cup white sesame seeds
• 1 1/2     teaspoons red chili flakes
• 1             sheet nori
• 1             tablespoon kosher salt
• Olive oil as needed
• 6            pounds beef tenderloin, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 1/2    pounds shiitake mushroom caps, roasted
• 3            pounds beets, roasted, diced
• 3/4       cup unsalted butter, softened
• 8            cups medium-grain sticky rice, cooked
• Shaved, unsweetened coconut, toasted, for garnish
• Fresh chives, minced, for garnish

Directions

1. For Balsamic Caramel Base: Bring stock, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, garlic and ginger to a boil in pot. Set aside. (Makes about 14 cups)
2. For Gomaishio: Toast nori in dry pan, then pulse it in a spice grinder or food processor until minced. Mix with sesame seeds, chili and salt. (Makes about 1 1/2 cups)
3. For each serving, to order: Heat dash of oil in sauté pan. Sear 4 ounces of beef to brown, remove from pan. Add 1/2 cup Balsamic Caramel Base, 1 ounce of mushrooms and 2 ounces of beets. Swirl in 1 tablespoon butter, boil until it reaches sauce consistency. Add back the beef to warm through. Plate 1 cup sticky rice, top with beef and sauce mixture. Garnish with 1 teaspoon gomaishio, dash of toasted coconut and chives.

Note: If unable to find kecap manis, substitute 3/4 cup regular soy sauce, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 3 tablespoons molasses and 1 or 2 star anise pods.

This week’s Mushroom Recipe comes to us from Nina at Veggie-Wedgie.

Nina gives us a delicious Grecian perspective on oyster mushrooms, which she notes are really common in Greek cuisine and are particularly tasty when grilled with fresh herbs (rosemary & oregano in this dish).  As we’re always compelled by the storied “Mediterranean Diet,”  this looked like a healthy dinner we needed to try- you can find the full recipe after the jump!

This week’s featured contributor is Boston-based food writer Susie Anderson of We Are Not Martha.  Recently featured in the Boston Globe, We Are Not Martha takes the recipes of their food folk heroes (like site namesake, Martha Stewart) and delivers them in a way any kitchen beginner would feel safe to try them.

Sometimes I attempt to be healthy. It’s not always easy, but every now and then I’m able to resist certain foods or find substitutions that are healthier and almost as delicious. It can be tough though. Sometimes when I’m craving a big juicy hamburger, I eat a veggie burger instead. But veggie burgers are never really as satisfying as the beef, are they? After I eat one, I still find myself craving some juicy red meat. But now I have discovered the solution to this problem. Now, I can satisfy my red meat craving without all the calories and saturated fat. How? With a portabella mushroom burger. You don’t believe me, do you? You don’t think it’s possible that eating a mushroom can leave me as satisfied as eating a big juicy hamburger. Well, I assure you, it can.

You basically cook a portabella burger the same way you would cook a hamburger, but without having to worry about cooking it enough to get rid of all those nasty foodborne illnesses. The burger would be perfectly amazing on a grill, but can always be done in a frying pan if you’re not lucky enough to own a grill. I went for the middle option and pulled out my trusty George Foreman. I wanted a way to make my mushroom burger a bit different than average and when I found this Michael Chiarello recipe for Grilled Portabella Mushrooms with Hummus and Feta Cheese, I knew that’s exactly what I was craving. A portabella mushroom cheeseburger!

Ingredients for the Portabella Mushroom Burger:

• 1 portabella mushroom
• 1 tsp Olive oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons hummus
• 1 ounce feta cheese
• Bread of your choice

First I drizzled some olive oil and sprinkled some salt and pepper on each side of the mushroom.

Then, I grilled my portobello mushroom on the Foreman for about 4 minutes on each side at a temperature of 300 degrees.

When it was grilled to my liking, I spooned some hummus into the middle of the mushroom and sliced a piece of feta cheese on top. I used the original flavor hummus but you could easily vary that with sun-dried tomato or spinach-artichoke.

How easy was that?? I put my slice of bread on the Foreman for a couple minutes to make it nice and crispy and then I placed the mushroom on top of the bread. I could have put another slice of bread on top, but I wanted the open-face mushroom burger for maximum taste.

Now, if you’ve never tried one before, you’re probably wondering how this giant mushroom satisfies a burger craving. Well, portabellas are extremely tender and juicy and when you grill them, they are pretty much as close to a hamburger as you can get. Plus, a 100 gram portabella only has about 26 calories, barely any fat and some great vitamins and nutrients.  Once you grill your mushroom, you can top it with anything you want. Grilled onions would be amazing and barbecue sauce would be a nice touch. The options are pretty much endless. So next time you’re craving hamburger, but don’t want to consume an entire day’s calories and fat in one meal, try out the portabella mushroom burger. Now if only I could make a portabella mushroom hotdog…stay tuned.

Here’s hoping all of you friends had a wonderful 3-day weekend and a lovely Valentine’s Day if you chose to celebrate it.

As for us, we’re suckers for a great excuse to eat good food in good company with good wine (and chocolate for that matter).

You can imagine our delight when we came across a rather romantic dinner idea from Blue Kitchen- Scallops with Fresh Mushrooms and Wine. Exotic mushrooms are a great idea for changing up dinner, particularly since they are still readily available in most grocery stores.

Vitamin D is a hot topic in today’s healthcare world, which makes it astounding to us when our friends and family are unaware of the countless benefits vitamin D has to offer- particularly since it has such a rich history.

In the 1920’s the government mandated milk be fortified with vitamin D to avoid rickets. Rickets is the softening of bones in children that can potentially lead to fractures or deformity. To simply ensure the prevention of rickets, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends 400 IUs of vitamin D for children.¹

Children aren’t the only ones who need to be mindful of vitamin D levels, a new study shows vitamin D plays an important role in cognitive function in older people. Additionally, results link low vitamin D levels to higher heart risks; the new analysis was conducted by a team of doctors and statisticians from Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston University, and the USDA Aging Research Center at Tufts University (Wang TJ et al. 2008).

Armed with new knowledge, you’re likely wondering how you can ensure vitamin D is present in your daily diet. Vitamin D comes from three main sources – exposure to sunlight, foods (such as mushrooms) and foods that are fortified with vitamin D (such as milk and cereals). So the good news is that it’s not a lot of effort to keep such an important nutrient in your system as there are many ways to approach it.

It’s a good idea to get your vitamin D levels checked as part of a routine check-up from your physician.

1. http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/pediatrics;122/5/1142.pdf (Referenced February 6, 2009)

Welcome to the Mushroom Channel’s newest feature!  We’ll be giving out recipes from some of our favorite restaurants every Thursday in our  “Kitchen Swap.” Each recipe is designed to make it easier for you at-home chefs to try some delicious dishes.

If you make this week’s recipe and decide to write a blog post about it, leave the link in the comments section. We’ll feature photos of the submissions in a separate post the following week!

Try this week’s featured recipe: The Paris Pizza, courtesy of Chef Peter Leonavicius of Toasted Pheasant Bistro in Tampa, FL. This recipe is the perfect representation for a Euro-style cafe with American flair and Mediterranean influence. Whole wheat pizza dough spread liberally with Boursin cheese, thinly sliced tomatoes, fresh portabella mushrooms and grilled chicken scaloppini then topped with slices of Brie cheese…surely Paris isn’t the only city that would gladly lend its name for this bright, decadent dinner.

Chef Leonavicius strives to create comfortable, simple yet delicious dishes, made from only the freshest and highest quality ingredients…making it no wonder that Toasted Pheasant Bistro was voted Best of Tampa Bay for the past five consecutive years. Bon appétit!

Paris Pizza Recipe courtesy Chef Peter Leonavicius, Toasted Pheasant Bistro, Tampa, FL

Serves 1 to 2

• 4 1/2 ounces whole wheat pizza dough
• 3 ounces Boursin cheese, softened
• 5 ounces (1 med.) fresh tomato, thinly sliced
• 2 ounces thinly sliced raw portabella mushroom
• 4 ounces lightly grilled chicken scaloppini
• 2 ounces Brie with the outer rind, sliced 1/8 inch thick

1. Roll the dough into a 10-inch circle.
2. Spread the Boursin cheese onto the pizza crust, and place a single layer of tomato slices on top. Bake at 400 degrees F for 5 minutes, or until the tomato layer is warmed and the crust begins to crisp.
3. Fan the portabellas onto the tomato layer evenly, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 2 to 3 minutes more.
4. Place the chicken evenly over the mushrooms and scatter on the Brie. Finish in the oven for another 2 to 3 minutes, being careful not to let the Brie get too hot, as it will tend to melt away.
5. Cut the pizza into slices and serve immediately.

The first thing that floored us about today’s recipe from Inn Cuisine was how many of our favorite things it incorporated.  Lots of gorgeous mushrooms (obviously) but also onion, spinach and Gruyere. All wrapped up in a beautiful brunch bonnet. 

Also, Inn Cuisine is dedicated to the recipes of bed and breakfasts.  Which means this recipe is being served somewhere that we can eat it. Where, pray-tell, might that be?  We would organize a vacation around the B&B serving this. Or maybe we’ll just serve it the next time there are houseguests afoot and treat them to some inn-style hospitality!