I can hardly believe Thanksgiving is here already!  Shocking how time flies; one minute you are applying sunscreen, then next you are planning Thanksgiving dinner.  Sort of.  Anyway, I’ve got myself a new favorite side dish, one that would be perfect on any Thanksgiving table.  Stuffed mushrooms!

One word sufficiently describes these babies.  Superb.  Truly, they are delicious.  My fiance actually rolled his eyes back into his head during his first bite.  They are that good. 

I saw Ina make these the other day and just had to try them.  She never disappoints!  I made a few slight changes to her recipe (added thyme, decreased amount of mascarpone).  Very yummy and very hearty.  A few big stuffed mushrooms can hold their own for a light lunch, for sure. 

One of my favorite things about these mushrooms is that you can make them ahead.  Stuff them, put them in a baking dish, cover and keep in the fridge until ready to bake.  Or, store the filling in the fridge and just stuff the mushrooms as needed and pop in the oven.  Works really well during the week when you are short on time and energy and need just a little something to go with that piece of chicken or steak. 

If you think your turkey can stand not being the center of attention this Thanksgiving, go ahead and give these mushrooms a try.  You won’t be disappointed.

Here’s what you will need to make approximately 25 medium/large stuffed mushrooms…

25 medium/large white mushrooms, cleaned

3/4 pound sausage (remove from casing)

4-5 scallions, chopped

2 large cloves garlic, minced

2/3 cup panko (bread crumbs)

3 oz mascarpone (roughly 1/3 of a container)

1/3 cup parmigiano reggiano

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1 tbsp chopped thyme

2.5 tbsp marsala

3 tbsp olive oil

salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Remove stems from mushrooms and reserve.  Clean mushroom caps with a damp paper towel, put in a large bowl.  Add marsala and 3 tbsp olive oil and mix to coat all mushrooms.  Put aside.

In a large skillet add a few tablespoons of olive oil, when hot add sausage and cook until just browned, breaking up with the back of a wooden spoon.  Meanwhile, chop mushroom stems and then add to the sausage.  Add scallions, garlic and panko and thyme.  Mix to combine and cook for about 5-7 minutes.  Turn off the heat, add mascarpone, parmigiano cheese, parsley and salt & pepper to taste.  Mix well until the mascarpone has fully melted into the sausage mixture.  Allow to cool slightly.

Now comes the time to stuff these guys.  Be careful, the mushrooms will be somewhat slippery to handle due to the marsala and olive oil.  Just take your time.  Stuff each mushroom well, mounding the tops with the delicious filling.  Pack the filling down slightly.  Place each stuffed mushroom in the baking dish.  Pop in the oven, uncovered, and bake for approximately 40 minutes.  As an added touch, I sometimes like to turn the broiler on for a minute or two towards the end of the cooking time.  This helps to brown the tops nicely, creating a bit of a an extra crunch on top.  If you do this, do not leave the stove, watch it carefully.  One or two minutes is enough, you don’t want to burn them!

Have I mentioned how delicious these are?

We’ve been trying to cut back on our carb intake lately (brief stint on South Beach).  Just to be completely clear, it has not been fun.  Not fun at all.  I really like carbs!!   Eliminating them from meals is….difficult.  Take something as simple as a taco.  Can’t have the taco.  Now what?!  Lettuce leaves have never played such an important role in cooking.

I did some searching around on the web for carb free meals and phase one South Beach meals.  I came across some interesting ideas.  One of which was this taco, using lettuce as a vessel to hold the taco filling.  Genius.  I love using Boston lettuce for this, the leaves act as perfect little cups.  I serve the tacos with salsa and guacamole.  You can certainly use any toppings you like!

I have to say, I really like this meal.  Even in the lettuce cup!  But I’ll tell you what I love most… the leftovers!  (Yes, again with the leftovers.)  I use the taco filling in an omelette for breakfast.  Super genius.  It’s SO delicious.  I spread guacamole over the top and I swear it’s almost as if I’m eating a burrito, but in an egg! 

So, if you are trying to cut back (or cut out) carbs give this recipe a try and be sure to make an omelette with the leftovers, if there are any. 

Here’s what you will need to serve 4 people…

2 pounds ground pork (or turkey, or sirloin)

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 large jalapeno, minced very fine

2-3 large plum tomatoes, diced

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1-2 tbsp chili powder (start off with one and add to suit your taste)

1.5 tsp ground cumin

1.5 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp cayenne

1/4 tsp paprika

1/3 cup (plus 2 tbsp) fresh cilantro, chopped

1-2 tbsp lime juice

boston lettuce (one head)

In a large skillet saute the onion and red pepper flakes in some olive oil for about 3 minutes.  Add jalapeno and diced tomatoes, saute for another 3 minutes.  Slide the onion mixture to the side of the skillet and add the chop meat, breaking up the meat.  If you are using sirloin you will probably need to drain out some of the fat in the skillet.  Using turkey and/or lean pork doesn’t yield as much fat.

To the meat mixture add the fresh cilantro, cumin, coriander, cayenne and paprika.  Mix around and cook until slightly browned and cooked through.  Once cooked, turn off flame and add remaining 2 tbsp of fresh cilantro and lime juice.

Meanwhile, remove any outer/damaged leaves from the head of lettuce and discard.  Carefully break inner leaves away from the head and rinse and pat dry.  Personally, I prefer using the inner leaves that are smaller, they are more sturdy and therefore much less messy. 

Arrange lettuce cups on a platter and fill with taco mixture.  Give a good dollop of salsa and guacamole to each one and serve.

My inspiration for this meal came from Kayln’s Kitchen http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/04/turkey-lettuce-wrap-tacos-with-chiles.html

I just love it when a side dish can double as a main dish!  This chick pea salad with olives is yummy and filling, as well as being incredibly healthy for you.  I have taken what could’ve been an ordinary chick pea salad and bumped it up with healthy ingredients such as broccoli and sun dried tomatoes, making this dish interesting and substantial.  All of these flavors blend wonderfully together. 

You can certainly used dried beans for this recipe and soak them overnight and then cook them for an hour….but I just didn’t have the time.  You can also substitute different beans in this dish, but I really love chick peas.  I think their texture in this dish is perfection.

This salad holds up great in the fridge for a few days.  Add a sprinkle of olive oil before each subsequent serving to freshen it up and add that mouth-watering shine.

Here’s what you will need to serve 6-8 as a side dish…

2 cans chick peas, drained & rinsed

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped

1/4 cup green olives, pitted and coarsely chopped

1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped (can be packed in oil)

1/3 cup chopped scallions, white and light green part

steamed broccoli, 2 large florets (not heads), cut up into very small pieces

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/3 cup, plus 1 tbsp  extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp fresh mint, minced

1.5 tbsp fresh basil, minced

1 tsp fresh thyme, minced

1 tsp fresh rosemary, minced

1 tsp fresh oregano, minced (can use dried)

Salt & Pepper to taste

Rinse and drain chick peas and place in a large bowl.  Add olives, scallions, sun dried tomatoes and broccoli, mix well.  In a small bowl whisk together red wine vinegar, olive oil and all the herbs.  Pour over chick peas and mix until incorporated.  If needed, add a touch more olive oil.  Mixture should be coated with the dressing, not soaked.  Allow to sit for 30 minutes to let the flavors blend.  Serve at room temperature.

Now that there is a slight chill back in the air I immediately start thinking of comfort food dishes.  This stuffed cabbage recipe certainly fits the bill.  I made it a few times last year and have now arrived at the perfect combination of ingredients for this recipe.  Perfect for me, that is!  Not sure how much weight that carries considering I’m Italian and this is a Polish/Hungarian dish.  On that note, I will mention that my fiance is Ukranian and absolutely loves them!

Rolling up the leaves does require some time.  I happen to love doing it, I find it fun.  As you will see from the recipe below, this makes roughly 20 rolls!  Since it’s just the two of us, we can eat this for dinner twice during the week as well as bring them for lunch almost everyday.  So that’s what we’ve been doing.  And no, we’re not sick of them yet! 

To be honest, they get better as the days go on. 

Here’s what you will need to serve 6-8 people (roughly 20 cabbage rolls)… 

1 large dutch oven

Savoy Cabbage – 2 medium or large heads

Meat Mixture:

2 lbs chop meat (sirloin & pork)

1 cup cooked brown rice

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

1 egg

1/4 cup parsley

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

salt & pepper

Sauce

2 28 oz cans whole, peeled tomatoes

2 cans low-sodium tomato juice (soda can size)

2 large spanish onions, sliced

water

salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

The cabbage:  There are 2 ways you can tackle the head of cabbage.  First option is to remove the core (I find this difficult to do) and place the entire head of cabbage in a large pot of boiling water.  As the leaves soften they will start to break away from the head.  With tongs gently remove each leaf, one at a time, as it softens.  Lay on a tray to cool.

The other method is to turn the cabbage upside down and gently cut eat piece off near the core.  Once you slice through the first leaf, gently pull the leaf away from the head of cabbage.  Place each leaf in a large pot of boiling water until softened.  Lay on a tray to cool.

For the sauce, pour the whole, peeled tomatoes into a food processor and pulse until broken up.  Pour into a bowl and add the cans of tomato juice.  Add salt & pepper to taste.

To make the meat mixture, simply add the brown rice, onions, garlic, parsley and 1-2 ladles of the sauce to the chop meat and mix well.  I like to use a combination of sirloin and pork for the filling.  You can always add veal to this as well.

Now for the fun part.  Assembling!  Ok, lay one cabbage leaf down and cut the end portion of the core out.  Place a small palmful of meat onto the leaf and roll.  I like to fold the sides in first and then roll up.  It’s best to use all the large leaves from the cabbage, it gets difficult to roll the smaller ones.  That’s why I suggest to buy 2 heads of cabbage.

In the bottom of a large dutch oven place one layer of flat cabbage leaves, overlapping slightly.  Spread some sliced onions over the cabbage leaves.  Lay each stuffed cabbage roll, seam side down, in a single layer, on top of the onions.  Pour a few ladles of sauce over the cabbages.  Place another layer of sliced onions.  Now for the 2nd layer, go ahead and place the rolled up cabbages in another single layer, pour a few ladles of sauce over the cabbages, now some more onions.  You get the picture.  Continue until all your stuffed cabbages are in the pot.  I usually get 3 layers in my big pot.  This is what my 2nd layer looked like…

Let me take a moment here to state how much I love this red Le Creuset pot (above).  Love.  Cooks soups, stews and stuffed cabbage like a dream.  Cleans beautifully.  Love.  Ok, moving on…

Pour any and all remaining sauce over the top of the last layer.  If all cabbages are not submerged in liquid, add water to the pot until they are submerged.  If you have any leftover cabbage, you can thinly slice (shred) some leaves and place on top of the rolls.  Place a lid on the pot and put in the oven.  Bake for roughly 2.5 to 3 hours. 

Low.  And.  Slow.   Then, you will be rewarded with this…