buttery mushrooms and parsleyed polenta

Here, Gourmet magazine and Smitten Kitchen combine forces to bring you a predictably awesome dish of garlicy broiled mushrooms. Really, both of them are pretty much food gospel for me, so whenever Deb talks up something from Gourmet, it always goes to the top of my "to-make" list.

(If you know me, you won't be surprised to know that I have an obscenely long "to-make" list. And also "to eat at" list. And "to read" list. And "movie-to-watch" list. It all springs from my mild obsessive compulsive tendencies.)

Anyway. Food blog. Right.

Mushrooms and butter and garlic oh my!

Really, it doesn't get any simpler or tastier than this. Clean off your mushrooms and toss them in a pan with minced garlic, butter, and capers. Roast in a 450˚ oven for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with lemon juice and chopped parsley for a rich but easy side dish.



I served mine with some creamy polenta and some more parsley, but I'm sure it'd be even better with crusty bread. Any time you soak up a yummy sauce with bread the meal becomes 46% more enjoyable. Scientific fact. Seriously.

salmon fritatta

So awhile back my parents had a big box of smoked salmon, and we wanted something quick for dinner. I made up a great smoked salmon frittata based off this Ina Garten recipe.

I changed things up a little by leaving out the goat cheese and adding some grape tomatoes and chives, but the basic idea is pretty simple. Saute onions in butter. Scramble eggs. Add cream, salmon, scallions and tomatoes. Bake for 50 minutes at 350˚.



It was a nice hearty omelet, and with a nice green salad it was perfect for a light dinner. I think this would be good with lox, but the smoked salmon that we had was packed in oil, so it wasn't the bright pink kind that you would expect. Either way, it was definitely good.

sun dried tomato infused spinach

Nathan and I threw together this tasty spinach dish with some garlic, sun dried tomatoes and lemon. Initially I was probably just going to toss chopped sun drieds in with the steamed spinach, but as we rehydrated the tomatoes in some hot water, I had an interesting idea. What if I used that tomato infused water to cook the spinach?

It turns out that the end result is both very tasty and somehow strangely reminiscent of Asian flavors. I think the tomato water functioned a little bit like soy sauce, salty and rich with a savory umami funk.



I simply sauteed the spinach with a decent amount of chopped garlic, some lightly squeezed lemon slices, the sun dried tomatoes and their broth. I often squeeze lemon over my spinach, and God knows I love to use garlic, but the addition of the sun dried tomatoes made this dish a whole new experience of deliciousness. I was very pleased with this new flavor combination, and it is one that I will try to explore more in the future.