Vegan Mediterranean Stuffed Mushrooms

While I am neither vegetarian nor vegan I do try to cook vegetarian meals at least once a week, but they are rarely most likely never vegan.  After being asked to bring a vegetarian or vegan appetizer to a party recently I decided to challenge myself to making the appetizer completely vegan and made an appetizer sized version of these mushrooms.  They were good, but the stuffing made the small button mushrooms get soggy pretty fast.  I liked the filling though so made the full sized version for dinner one night.  The sturdier portabella mushrooms stood up well to the filling and we didn't miss that they were lacking cheese.  I served them with a simple green salad with oil and vinegar to make a completely vegan meal.   

The part that I almost forgot about when getting ready to make the mushrooms was the breadcrumbs.  I usually make fresh breadcrumbs from whatever sandwich bread I have on hand.  But a lot of sandwich breads aren't vegan.  I was afraid to trust myself with just ingredient reading after I pulled a loaf of buttermilk bread out of my pantry and started to read the label to see if it was vegan.  I was able to find some vegan multigrain bread that was labelled as such at Trader Joe's.  I used about half my 12 ounce loaf of bread in the food processor to get 1 1/4 cups of bread crumbs.

Vegan Mediterranean Stuffed Mushrooms
Adapted from MyRecipes.com

4 portabella mushrooms, cleaned and stems removed
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
1 1/4 cup chopped tomatoes 
1/3 cup chopped kalamata olives 
1/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers 
2 tablespoons chopped sun dried tomatoes (the kind in oil, not dried) 
1 1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs made from vegan bread 
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.  Place mushrooms on baking sheet with gill sides up and drizzle evenly with olive oil and vinegar.  Season with salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.  Bake for 10 minutes.  
While mushrooms are in the oven, prepare the the filling in a large bowl by stirring together chopped tomatoes, kalamata olives, roasted red peppers, sundried tomatoes, bread crumbs, chives, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
Stuff prepared mushroom caps with filling, approximately 1/2 cup per mushroom.  Bake stuffed mushrooms in a preheated oven for 10-15 minutes until filling is browned.  Mine took the full 15 minutes.

Soy Glazed Salmon

I had fresh salmon in the fridge that I planned on making another recipe with until I realized I'd forgotten a couple of key ingredients.  I didn't want to make a last minute trip to the store when I knew I could pull together enough ingredients from the pantry to do something else with the salmon.  I'd made this recipe once before but then not repeated it, which happens a lot since I like to try new recipes so much.  I was glad I tried it again though because it's both tasty and simple.  

Soy Glazed Salmon
Lightly adapted from Martha Stewart
(Serves 4)

4 salmon filets, 6-8 ounces each
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons dry white wine
2 tablespoons lemon juice
pinch fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 400°F and place salmon skin side down in a baking dish.  In a small bowl whisk together brown sugar, soy sauce, olive oil, wine, lemon juice, and black pepper.  Pour evenly over salmon filets.  Bake in preheated oven for ten minutes, the remove from oven and spoon sauce from pan over filets.  Sprinkle each filet with 1/4 teaspoon sesame seeds and return to oven for 5-10 minutes longer until salmon  flakes easily with with a fork.

Herb-Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Mushroom Cream Sauce

I served this with Wednesday's Brussels sprouts.  (In addition to the Brussels Sprouts I also paired it with mashed potatoes.)  It is a mash up of a couple of different recipes from the same cookbook, the marinade adapted from a chicken recipe and the sauce loosely based off of a different pork tenderloin recipe.  Searing the tenderloin on the stove first helps lock in all the juices from marinating and also gives a base for the sauce that's made in the same pan.  This is a relatively easy but company worthy recipe that could also be doubled if you're having a crowd for the holidays.  

Herb-Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Mushroom Cream Sauce
Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, Fourth Printing
(Serves 4 to 6 depending on size of tenderloin)

For the Tenderloin and Marinade:
1 1/2 to 2 pound pork tenderloin
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh minced onion
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cloves garlic, minced

Place tenderloin in a gallon-sized zip top bag.  In a small bowl combine wine, 2 tablespoons olive oil, vinegar, minced onion, basil, marjoram, kosher salt, and minced garlic.  Whisk together then pour over pork and seal zip top bag, squeezing out as much air as possible.  Marinate in the refrigerator at least one hour or as long as overnight, mine was marinated for about 8 hours.
After the pork is has finished marinating, remove tenderloin from bag and discard remaining marinade.  Preheat oven to 400°F.  While oven is preheating, heat remaining tablespoon of olive oil over high heat in a large skillet.  Sear tenderloin in skillet for 2 minutes on each side until browned.  Saving the skillet to make the sauce, transfer pork to a baking dish and bake in preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes per pound until tenderloin has reached an internal temperature of at least 145°F.  (While pork is cooking prepare mushroom cream sauce recipe below.)  After pork is removed from oven let rest 5-10 minutes before slicing, then slice and serve with mushroom cream sauce.

For the Mushroom Cream Sauce:
1 1/2 cups sliced button mushrooms
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon dried parsely
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper 
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme

After pork has been removed from the skillet melt the butter over medium heat, then add sliced mushrooms and saute for several minutes until mushrooms have begun to soften.  Increase heat to medium high and add white wine to skillet, scraping any browned bits from the pan.  Simmer about 5  minutes until majority of the wine has evaporated.  Reduce heat to low and stir in cream, salt, parsley, marjoram, pepper, and thyme.  Heat cream, stirring frequently, until it just begins to bubble.  Stir in lemon juice and remove from heat.  If tenderloin isn't finished cooking sauce can be kept warm over low heat but make sure to stir frequently.  Serve over sliced pork tenderloin.

Tarragon Mustard Chicken and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

I'm surprised I even made it this long without posting a chicken recipe as we eat a lot of it.  This particular recipe is one I made for the grill a couple of times this summer, but since grilling season is over I adapted it for the stovetop/oven.  I like the extra tanginess from the whole grain mustard but if you prefer you could use all Dijon.  Mashed potatoes are a good compliment to this chicken; I went fairly easy on the garlic for these but more cloves could easily be thrown in the water with the potatoes if you're looking for a stronger garlic flavor, I'd try 6 cloves instead of 4.  I rounded out the meal with some steamed broccoli.

Tarragon Mustard Chicken 
Adapted from All You Magazine, July 2011
(Serves 4)

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons whole grain mustard
4 teaspoons lemon juice
4 teaspoons fresh tarragon, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350°F.  
Whisk together 2 tablespoons olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, whole grain mustard, and tarragon.  Set aside. 
Heat remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat.  Season both sides of chicken breasts with salt and pepper and place in skillet, cooking 2-3 minutes on each side until browned.  
Transfer chicken to a baking dish and spoon mustard sauce evenly over chicken breasts.  Place in preheated oven and bake approximately 25 minutes until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.  
After removing from oven let sit for several minutes before serving. 

Garlic Mashed Potatoes
(Serves 4)

2 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1 inch chunks
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 - 4 tablespoons milk
salt & pepper

Put the potatoes, garlic cloves, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt to a 2 quart sauce pan.  Add 1 quart of cold water (you may need more if using a larger pan, you want enough to cover the potatoes).  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for approximately 20 minutes until potatoes are fork tender.  
Drain potatoes and return to the sauce pan.  Add sour cream, butter, and 2 tablespoons milk; mash until smooth.  If you the potatoes seem too dry add more milk 1 tablespoon at  time until they are the consistency you want - I ended up adding 1 additional tablespoon.  Season to taste with additional salt and pepper.

Tomato Sage Sauce

I've made this sauce several times to serve over homemade gnocchi.  Have you ever tried to make gnocchi?  It's not really difficult, but it is time consuming.  Which is why I didn't make it this time.  I did want to make the sauce though so I served it over penne pasta instead.  In keeping with the shortcuts I switched the fresh tomatoes for canned which makes this sauce come together really quickly.  Which is good because thanks to the time change it's dark at 5:30 now and my stomach still thinks 5:30 is 6:30, so the faster dinner is on the table the better. 

Tomato Sage Sauce
Adapted from Good Housekeeping

1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
Small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage 
8 ounces penne pasta
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese for serving

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add onion, reduce heat to medium low, and cook 5-7 minutes until softened and beginning to caramelize.  Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer.  Stir in tomatoes and kosher salt.  Increase heat and bring sauce to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low.  Simmer sauce for 10 minutes.  While sauce is simmering cook your pasta according to package directions.   After 10 minutes stir butter and chopped sage into sauce.  Toss sauce with cooked pasta, top with fresh grated Parmesan cheese and garnish with additional fresh sage if desired.