Mushroom Walnut and Pomegranate Spread with Serrano Chili

Turkey Day Tid Bits
There are a lot of good things about Thanksgiving. But, one of the best, in my opinion, is that the menu is basically set. Sure, you could change things up a bit and do a different side, but you pretty much know what you are going to get. Turkey. Mashed Potatoes. Stuffing. Gravy. Cranberry Sauce. Maybe yams.

The hardest thing about Thanksgiving—again according to me—is figuring out an appetizer for the folks who linger while waiting for the main event.

Not going to lie, I usually go the easy route and grab some dips from our cheese department and put those out with some nice crackers and a veggie platter. This year I am going to put a little more effort into it. At least that is what I am saying now when we are a week out. Talk to me next Thursday…

Our Mushroom Walnut and Pomegranate Spread recipe is the hors d’oeuvre of choice for this Thanksgiving. I am choosing to serve this with crostini rather than pita slices ’cause I prefer the crunch.

Mushroom Walnut and Pomegranate Spread with Serrano Chili Recipe
Yields 4 Servings
Adapted from Shroom by Becky Selengut Read more…

Autumnal Mushroom Soup

Soupin’ Into Your DMs
I don’t spend an awful lot of time on Instagram. But, I do find myself on the app for a multitude of reasons. It has become the go-to app to find out anything and everything happening at my kid’s school. Sports, plays, early out days, etc. Anytime my daughter has a gig, she gets the word out via the ‘Gram. And then there is the Tail of Fragile the Sheep (pronounced fra-GEE-lay) and the hijinks documented on his profile last holiday season. (It’s a long story.)

All of this is to say that I am on Instagram enough that I receive suggestions for pages and videos I might find interesting. And, most of those, as you would imagine, are food-related. Some are fun to watch but I would never tackle.

They are mostly cake-decorating mind-blowing videos. Others are of people making their “famous” dishes that are frightening to behold and would never make an appearance in my kitchen. But then some recipes are undeniable and make you wish you could DoorDash them immediately. This exact scenario happened last week.

Autumnal Mushroom Soup Recipe
Adapted from Whisper of Yum
Yields 4 servings

This hearty soup is a flavorful mix of cremini mushrooms, herbs, and aromatics. It is perfect for an Autumn meal. Read more…

Winter Veggie Cobbler

Cobbled Together
I’ll bet you any amount of money that the first thing you think of when you hear the word cobbler is peaches. Peach and cobbler are two words that are almost always used together. Imagine my surprise when I came across something totally different.

When it comes to vegetable side dishes, I tend to struggle to not make the same things over and over. When it comes to veggies, it’s easy for me to get into a rut. While looking for something else, I found this recipe for a Winter vegetable cobbler, and I must admit I was immediately intrigued. I have rarely seen a cobbler that wasn’t sweet, and I was skeptical that this was just a pot pie in disguise. It’s not. It is a legitimate vegetable cobbler that is great on its own and equally as good as a side dish.

Give this Winter Veggie Cobbler a try some night when you need to use all of the vegetables in the fridge and want something hearty and comforting.

Winter Veggie Cobbler Recipe
Adapted from Saving Dessert
Yields 8 servings Read more…

Coffee-Braised Short Rib Pasta

Comfort Me With Coffee
Even though it is still rather warm out, you can tell that the seasons are changing. It’s cooler at night and darker when I wake up in the morning. These changes have me craving sweaters, slow-cooked dinners, and rich and meaty pastas.

Over the weekend, we found ourselves in Berkeley for the Old Time Music Festival (my daughter was in the fiddle competition) which, happily, was right next door to the farmer’s market. During a break, we scouted the market to find some snacks and something to drink. As we were walking past a pasta vendor my daughter mentioned that it had been a while since we made fresh pasta and offered to make some for dinner that night. Since I am no fool, I said yes.

My tomato plant is currently going crazy so we ended up making a creamy fresh tomato and basil sauce for her beautiful pasta, but it got me thinking about this recipe for Short Ribs in Red Wine Sauce which I absolutely love. It can be eaten with polenta or mashed potatoes, but I prefer to serve it over some fresh buttered pappardelle.

This, in turn, got me thinking about short ribs in general which are a favorite of mine and a must order for me anytime we go out to dinner. You just can’t go wrong with slow-cooked beef.

In an effort to branch out and try something new, here is a promising recipe for Coffee-Braised Short Rib Pasta. It’s similar to my favorite one but I love tasting what the coffee does to the flavor.

Coffee-Braised Short Rib Pasta
Adapted from Feast Magazine
Yields 6 servings Read more…