Manchego Cheese stuffed Portobello

I have been making this dish as a vegetarian option for years. The flavors are delicious and you really won't miss the meat. Recently, I made it as part of a tapas dinner for my vegetarian guest, it was a big hit.

Manchego Cheese stuffed Portobello
yield 4

4 Portobello mushroom caps (remove gills and any remaining stems)
1/2 cup garlic herb oil
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
3 tablespoons garlic herb oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 slices of Manchego cheese (try to have a wide slice to keep the panko out of the mushroom juices as it bakes)

Preheat oven to 400
Combine vinegar and 1/2 cup GHO. Put mushrooms top side down on a lightly sprayed sheet pan, the part where the gills were will be facing up. Drizzle evenly inside mushroom the oil-vinegar mixture. Then salt and pepper each mushroom to your taste. At this point you can let the mushroom marinate if you wish. Next combine the panko, remaining 3 tablespoons of oil and parmesan cheese. When ready par bake in preheated oven for 5 minuets remove from oven let cool slightly and tip out any excess juices in the mushroom cap. Lay Manchego cheese across mushroom and top each one with 1/4 cup of the panko mixture. Return to oven for another 8-10 minuets panko should be slightly golden in color.

I served this with Romesco sauce, it can be served with a marinara type of sauce as well.

Wine suggestion;
A Rioja or a Tempranillo from Spain will do nicely, but an Italian Chianti would fit the bill too. These wines all have a nice balance of fruit and acidity that compliments the earthiness of the cheese and mushroom.

Garlic Herb Oil (GHO)

This is a very important ingredient in my cooking. It is essential to build flavors as you are cooking your dish. This oil will be the first flavor in the pan and it really makes a difference. Very versatile too, as you will see I use this in most recipes and not just for sautéing. Everything from marinades to finishing, it is going to give your cooking that edge above the rest.

You can use other herbs if you wish. This combination seems to compliment most flavor profiles. So make a batch, it keeps well in the refrigerator. Try it out in your recipes, and you will see a lot of my recipes that call for GHO.

Garlic Herb Oil
yield 2 cups

1 1/2 cup canola oil
3 tablespoons chopped garlic (you can use the jar Pre chopped kind as long as it is packed in oil)
1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves
4 tablespoons dried parsley
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Put canola oil and garlic in sauce pan over medium heat. Bring oil and garlic to what looks like a simmer stirring occasionally. This will give the oil a nice roasted garlic flavor. Let simmer for 2 minuets than remove from heat, add rest of ingredients stir and cool completely.

Nutella Cake with Chocolate Hazelnut Ganache

Here it is! This is so good I started making another one within the week. Serve this cake topped with whipped cream and spiced rum caramel sauce, sauce recipe included. Also this is not a high difficulty recipe and well worth your time.

Nutella Cake with Chocolate Hazelnut Ganache

Makes one 9-inch cake

Cake
6 large eggs, separated and at room temperature
pinch table salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 13-ounce container Nutellla
1 tablespoon Spiced Rum
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

Ganache
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoon Spiced Rum
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
4 ounces hazelnut pieces



Preheat oven to 350 degrees; butter and line with parchment paper a 9-inch springform pan. In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites and salt until soft peaks than slowly add sugar while whisking until stiff peaks. In another bowl over simmering water add the butter and Nutella, Rum, egg yolks and chocolate. Whisk until smooth.

Add a 1/3 of beaten egg whites to the chocolate batter, and mix gently until well-combined. Fold in the remaining whites. Pour into springform and bake for 1 hour. Test for doneness by inserting toothpick, which should come out mostly clean; lightly pressing finger into top to check for a slight bouncing-back; and observing edges beginning to separate from pan. (test with toothpick at 45 minuets baking times can vary). Let cool completely in pan, on a rack.

For ganache and hazelnuts:
Toast the hazelnuts in a dry skillet, until they are lightly browned and then let cool completely.

Chop chocolate, and add to sauce pan with heavy cream and Rum over medium-low heat. Once chocolate is melted and components are combined, whisk until mixture is melted and smooth, then cool. Remove rim of cake pan and invert cake onto serving platter. Remove parchment paper. Pour cooled ganache over top and sides, spreading lightly to create a smooth, shiny surface, and apply hazelnuts all over.

serve at room temperature.

Rum Caramel Sauce

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup hot water
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
2 tablespoons dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cold unsalted butter

Combine the sugar and hot water in a heavy saucepan, and cook over high heat until the sugar has dissolved, about 1 minute. Continue to cook, swirling the pan occasionally but never stirring the sugar mixture, until the mixture thickens and turns a deep amber color, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately add the heavy cream (be careful -- the mixture will splatter). Return the pan to the heat and reduce the heat to medium. Cook until the sauce is thick and creamy, stirring occasionally to help incorporate the cream, about 5 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the rum, vanilla, and butter. Serve warm.

Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu

I think this has got to be one of my family's favorite meals, personally I think it's all about the sauce.

Baked chicken cordon bleu
Serves 6

For bread crumb topping:
4 tablespoons garlic butter
1 cup panko
2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

Melt butter and combine all ingredients.

6 slices smoked ham
6 slices Swiss cheese
3 large chicken breast sliced in half length-wise or 6 small 5oz breast

Lay chicken on sheet pan (lightly sprayed or oiled)
Top each breast with ham, then cheese and about 2 tablespoons of the bread crumbs
Bake in 400 degree oven until golden, about 15 to 20 minuets internal temperature of chicken should reach 165

Dijon and Parmesan cream sauce:

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules, cube or base
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a medium saucepan, melt the 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in the flour, whisking constantly. Cook the flour/butter mixture for 1-2 minutes. Slowly pour in the milk while whisking quickly. Stir in the chicken bouillon granules and salt. Whisk mixture constantly over medium heat until the mixture begins to simmer and thicken, about 3-5 minutes.

Once the sauce has bubbled and thickened, remove from heat and stir in the mustard, Worcestershire sauce and Parmesan cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted. Keep the sauce warm until the chicken is finished baking. If your sauce is too thick, whisk in some more milk. If it's too thin, simmer longer.

Beer Bread

This recipe is one of the easiest, tastiest, and most versatile recipes I have ever used. You should already have the ingredients as pantry staples, and if you have beer you are one hour from warm, buttery beer bread.

Now you may ask, what beer is best? Well you can start with a basic lager, I liked to use a nut brown ale until one day I had a chocolate porter I decided to use in the recipe. The results where fantastic! So from there the ideas started to flow I made Irish beer bread, cheddar jalapeño, maple bacon. With all the styles and flavors of really good quality beer available the only limit is your imagination.

Beer bread
Makes 1 loaf

3 cups sifted flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
12 oz beer
1/4 cup salted butter melted

Preheat oven to 375
Mix dry ingredients together add beer mix pour mixture into sprayed loaf pan pour melted butter over mixture bake 1 hour in conventional oven or 45 minuets in convection oven.

Buffalo Chicken Chili

1 diced red pepper
1 large yellow onion diced
2 stalks celery diced
2 T oil
2 T chopped garlic
1 T oil
2 # ground chicken or turkey
2 c chicken broth
1 can kidney beans drained and rinsed
1 can cannellini beans drained and rinsed
1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1/2 cup franks hot sauce
1 t salt
1 t pepper
3-4 T powder butter flavoring for popcorn or to taste
Crumbled blue cheese
Frito corn chips

Add first 5 ingredients to pot sauté until softened
In separate pan sauté next 2 ingredients until cooked trough, drain off any fat left over in pan. Add meat to vegetables stir in next 10 ingredients simmer for 15 minutes. To serve garnish with Fritos and crumbled blue cheese.