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Veggie Bites of Wisdom #24

Tags: animal crackers, cookies, food, truths, vegetarian, wisdom

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Categories Veggie Bites of Wisdom

I asked around my foodie friends on the internet on various ideas for appetizers… and my friend Suzanne (I wish I could tag you like on FaceBook) suggested to make puff pastry pinwheels filled with mushrooms and parmesan cheese.

Having just come from making an amazing mushroom filling for the lasagna at my nephew’s birthday party and knowing how impressed my sister was at the flavors of such filling, I decided to venture myself to making these as one of my savory appetizers. My spinach pinwheels were the HIT of the last baby shower I hosted. Kids love anything savory rolled in puff pastry and these mushroom ones were not the exception.

I have requests for the recipe already… so here it is for all of you interested.

MUSHROOM PARMESAN PINWHEELS

2 sheets of puffed pastry, defrosted in the refrigerator overnight – I just buy it and place it in the fridge…

24 ounces button mushrooms, finely chopped

1 small onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)

2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons fresh juice from 1 lemon

2 oz goat cheese

2 tbs sour cream

½ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Salt and Pepper

Olive oil

Add a generous drizzle of olive oil to a large pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms and continue cooking stirring occasionally, until liquid evaporates and mushrooms start to sizzle, about 10 minutes.
Add the thyme, soy sauce and lemon juice and stir to combine. Add the goat cheese and sour cream and stir once more. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool off a bit.
Open the puffed pastry (which comes folded in three). Place some flour onto a clean surface and flour the rolling pin too. Roll out the pastry so that it loses the creases where the folds were.
Sprinkle some parmesan cheese and spread an even layer of mushrooms leaving a border on one edge.
Start rolling from the farthest edge from the border you left without mushrooms. Roll the pastry onto itself until you create a log.
Repeat with the second sheet of pastry in the package. Place logs in the fridge covered with a moist paper towel for about 10-15 minutes or until you’re ready to bake them. This is important for the pastry to harden a bit again. It’ll be easier to cut if the pastry is cold than if it is at room temp.
Slice the logs into ¼ inch pieces. Place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in a 425F oven for about 10-12 minutes, until the cheeses smell great and the pastry is puffed and golden delicious.
Transfer them to a cool plate and serve them immediately. But they will keep very well at room temperature as long as there’s not a lot of humidity… lots of humidity makes puff pastry soggy.

I prepare these the day before the party. Just cover them and place them in the fridge until you’re ready to bake.

Tags: food, mushroom, parmesan cheese, puff pastry, thyme, vegetarian

Comments 12 Comments
Categories appetizers

Gandules de Lula

19 Dec

Inspired by the Shop Small movement… I want to encourage you to gift things that were made by you or someone you know. I am a small business owner and ever since becoming one I am a firm believer in helping out other small business owners.

Last weekend I took to my sister’s baby shower a batch of Gandul Antipasto, or Pigeon Peas Antipasto, made by Lula. Lula is a girl I know from where we get our mani/pedis done. She also can cook a mean gandul. Lula sells her Antipasto de Gandules from her home. Is a small operation, so if you call her to the number on the flyer, she can certainly hook you up with some.

These gandules were one of the HITS of my sister’s baby shower. Everyone thought I had made them and were asking me for the recipe. But no… I flew them in from Puerto Rico. I do not eat beans that much. You know this already… but these are DELICIOUS!! Tangy and savory with garlic and a touch of cilantro.

So if you’re interested, call LULA at 787-410-0630. Tell her Madelyn from KarmaFree Cooking sent you.

oooooo

I’ll even go one step further and encourage you to give of YOURSELF this holiday season. Give your support, your time, your wisdom, your smile, your hugs, your shoulder… giving of yourself is so much meaningful than any bought gift you can ever give.

Let’s honor this season the way it’s supposed to be celebrated.

Merry Xmas…

Tags: antipasto, food, pigeon peas, Puerto Rico, vegetarian

Comments 3 Comments
Categories appetizers, MY EDITORIAL

Cheese and Spinach Stuffed Shells

18 Dec

I planned the menu for my niece’s baby shower last week. As you know… I only plan vegetarian parties, so this baby shower would be no exception. Last time we catered a lunch, but after all that was left afterwards, I decided this time around I would do the catering myself.

Over the next few posts you’ll enjoy some of the creations I prepared for the event. I am pretty audacious because I am not afraid of trying a new recipe onto 20-30 unsuspecting guests. Some are really not that new… but new twists on old favorites. Some are just improvisations at the last minute. Like this stuffed shell recipe for example…

The main course for the baby shower menu was Broccoli/Cauliflower Stuffed Shells. You’ve already read about it here. Pastas are so popular among non-vegetarians and so easy to make in advance that I decided this would be the dish to wow once again some vegetarian lifestyle non-believers. I didn’t want to make lasagna like I did for my nephew’s birthday just a mere 6 weeks ago. But stuffed shells give you the same make-in-advance advantages but in a very different presentation. People just feel is something completely different, when in reality, it isn’t.

I was making 2 baking dishes of stuffed shells… so my instinct was boil two boxes of large pasta shells. I never knew how many shells that would yield. When I was halfway thru my broccoli/cauliflower filling I knew that I was going to run out of filling before I would run out of shells. So my instinct was to make a cheese/spinach stuffing with some extra cheese I had bought. My family always teases me that I exaggerate… maybe it’s the Cuban in me. But I always want to err on the side of caution… we have a saying in Spanish – “Pa’ que falte, que sobre.” which translates to that I prefer to have more food than we need than to be short. So I always buy a few extra cheeses and things when I am cooking for a party. Sometimes I don’t need them, but this time it came in extra handy.

CHEESE AND SPINACH STUFFED SHELLS

About 30 brown-rice pasta shells – I use the Tinkyáda brand

2 tbs olive oil, divided for the filling and the tomato sauce

15oz ricotta cheese

8oz package 1/3 less fat cream cheese

8 oz cottage cheese

1 cup parmesan cheese, divided

4 large handfuls of fresh baby spinach, chopped

1 handful of basil leaves, chopped for filling

Another handful of basil leaves –chopped for sauce

28oz of diced tomatoes

About 1 tbs apple cider vinegar

4 oz of crème fraiche

4 oz of sour cream

½ cup of milk

6 Slices of fresh mozzarella cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive Oil

Bring a large pot filled with salted water to a boil.
While the water boils, add the pasta shells. Cook for about 5-7 minutes until they have grown in size a bit, are flexible to the touch, but still not fully cooked. Drain the pasta shells and rinse with cold filtered water to stop the cooking process and cool them enough to handle. Set aside.
For the filling, mix together the ricotta cheese, cream cheese, cottage cheese, ½ cup of parmesan cheese, baby spinach and basil leaves for the filling. Season with salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. It helps when the ingredients are at room temperature.
For the tomato sauce, mix together the diced tomato, salt, pepper, vinegar, basil leaves and a small drizzle of olive oil. Set aside.
For the white sauce that goes on top, mix together the crème fraiche, sour cream, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese and season with some salt and pepper. Set aside.
Now we assemble… in your baking dish 9 x 13 glass baking dish pour the tomato sauce on the bottom. Using a small spoon, fill each shell with the cheese mixture and place in the baking dish. I can accommodate about 3 rows of 10 shells each.
After all the shells are filled and placed on the baking dish, spoon the white sauce over the shells. Now sprinkle some additional parmesan cheese on top of the white sauce and finish with pieces of fresh mozzarella on top.
Now we bake at 400F for 25-30 minutes or until the top crust is golden brown. If you find the top is not browning, just turn the broiler on and watch the oven until it starts getting golden. Turn the broiler off and wait a few minutes. It’ll brown a little bit more with the oven off, you’ll see. As always… leave it there for about 10-15 more so it finishes cooking with the residual heat in the oven.

You can certainly assemble everything the night before your event, cover completely and refrigerate until you’re ready to bake. I usually take out of the fridge about 30 minutes before I want to bake… or before pre-heating the oven. Then bake as directed above.

This dish was such a hit!!!! Both, these shells and the original broccoli/cauliflower ones, were all a great success. Even my cousin has asked me to show her how to make the recipe. It’s simple, no?? She’s excited I am posting here, but she wants a full-on demo in her kitchen. So now I know what I am eating the night before the Miami ½ Marathon I am running next month!!!!

Have you ever come up with a recipe “on the fly” that was as successful as your original recipe???? Please share…