Wild Mushroom Pie

• prepared crust for double crust pie  
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup onion, minced
• 1 garlic clove, diced
• 2 lb  mixture of shitake, oyster, chantarelle, and/or portabello, cremini or button mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 cup dry wine (such as pinot nior)
• 2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup (115 ml) heavy cream
• 1/4 cup (30 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon fresh herbs (parsley, sage, rosemary and/or thyme) **Remember rosemary is very potant so use only a small amount of this.
• 1/3 cup (50 grams) fresh shredded parmesan cheese

Heat the butter in a wide, shallow pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add wine and the sliced mushrooms. Cook until browned, stirring frequently. The mushrooms may crowd the pan, but they will shrink as they cook. Season with salt and pepper.

While the mushrooms are cooking, roll out one disk of the pie dough into a rough 13-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie dish.

In bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, eggs, and flour. Add the mushroom mixture, herbs, and cheese and stir to combine. Dump mixture into the bottom pie crust.

Roll out the second dough disk and transfer it to the top of the pie. Pinch the two crusts together and tuck into the dish to seal. Cut slits into the crust as vents. Brush pie with egg wash.

Bake at 350 degrees F on the bottom rack of your oven until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling, about 60-75 minutes. For best results, let pie cool to room temperature before serving to let the filling thicken properly. (I let it sit about 30 minutes which worked just fine)

If you desire you can store prebaked pie in the refrigerator then reheat pie at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes when ready to serve.

**The origional recipe can be found here which includes this parmasan pie crust. I have included them on my page as seperate entries as I love this crust with many savory pies. Plain pie crust works with the mushroom pie as well.

Cashew Chicken (Shrimp or Vegetable) Stir Fry

• 2  boneless skinless chicken breasts (uncooked and cubed)**
• 1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
• Mixture of fresh stir fry vegetables washed and cut accordingly or use a bag of frozen stir fry vegetables
• 1 ½ to 2 cups cashews or almonds (toasted *)
• 1 cup vegetable stock (chicken stock works too)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• ½ teaspoon sugar

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper before cutting into bite sized cubes. If you’re using fresh stir fry vegetables, wash and prepare accordingly. In wok set to high (or fry pan if need be) pour in 1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil. When oil is hot drop in chicken pieces. Cook until opaque. Add vegetables. Reduce heat to Medium. Stir fry until hot but still crispy tender. Add vegetable or chicken stock. Cover and simmer about 2 minutes. In a small bowl whisk together soy sauce, corn starch and sugar. Add sauce to stir fry mixing constantly until thick. Top with toasted cashews before serving. Serve over a bed of cooked rice.

 *Toast cashews or Almonds by heating the oven to 350° F. Spread cashews or almonds in a single layer on cookie sheet. Bake for 5-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

** You can replace the chicken with shrimp or skip it all together!

Browned Butter Gnocchi with Broccoli & Pine Nuts

• 2 (16 oz.) packages prepared gnocchi 
• 5 c. chopped broccoli florets
• 2 T. butter
• 2 T. Sendik’s extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
• 3 T. pine nuts, toasted
• 1.5 oz. fresh Pecorino Romano cheese (about 1/3 cup)

Cook gnocchi in a large Dutch oven according to package directions.  Add broccoli during last minute or two of cooking; cook one minute.  Drain.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add butter and oil; cook 7 minutes or until butter browns.  Add gnocchi mixture and pepper to pan; toss to coat. Pour into a shallow serving bowl. Sprinkle with  pine nuts and cheese. Serves 6 (unless you have a hubby like mine)

Easy Cold Veggie Pizza

2 cans (8oz) crescent dough sheets

8 oz cream cheese softened

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon dried dill weed

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

2 cups (approximate) vegetables of your choice chopped small **

1 to 1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese 

Heat oven to 375°F.
Press both cans of dough into bottom and up the sides (to form a crust) of an ungreasted 15x10x1 inch jellyroll.
Bake 13 to 17 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
In small bowl, mix cream cheese, sour cream, dill and garlic powder until smooth. Spread over crust. Top with vegetables. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours before serving.

**(options might include, cucumber, scallion, sweet peppers, shredded carrot, broccoli florets, cauliflower florets, tomatoes, shredded lettuce, etc)

Mushroom Fettuccine

• 8 oz  dry fettuccine
• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (3 cloves)
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 to 2  pounds  sliced mushrooms (baby bellas and/or cremini)
• 1/2 cup pinot noir  (or other favorite dry red or white wine)
• 1/2 grated Parmesan / Romano  cheese
• Salt to taste
• Chopped fresh parsley to garnish.

Cook pasta in salted water according to directions.
Drain reserving 1/2 cup to set aside.
Heat butter and oil in large saute pan over medium-high heat.
When bubbles calm down add pepper flakes and garlic. Cook 1 minute.
Stir in mushrooms, cooking until they release their liquid and it’s nearly evaporated (takes about 15 – 20 minutes).
De-glaze pan with wine.
Simmer until nearly evaporated.
Add fettuccine to pan.
Stir in pasta water a little at a time until sauce loosely coats pasta (1/4 to 1/2 is all you’ll typically use).
Remove from heat toss pasta with grated Parmesan cheese.
Season with salt.
Garnish with chopped parsley and more Parmesan.