Backing Up

I don't typically blog about a meal/event too far after it happened, but this Thursday's dinner was pretty incredible and I was super backed up with grading to write about it at the time. Also, I'm going to make you wait until this evening (possibly even tomorrow!) for a full update about our fun weekend!

When I went grocery shopping this week, I picked up a pound of gorgeous portobello mushrooms and knew right away I wanted to make burgers.

I found this recipe in Everyday Food's Fresh Flavor Fast. It's a keeper!

Portobello Burgers with Bell Pepper & Goat Cheese
 Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 red bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, quartered
• 1 lb portobello mushrooms, stems removed, camps wiped clean
• vegetable oil, for grill
• hamburger buns
• 5 oz fresh goat cheese, divided into 4 equal servings
• lettuce, for serving

 Method

1. In a small dish, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, garlic, 1t salt and 1/4t pepper. Add bell pepper and mushrooms, toss to coat. Let marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes. (I tossed this all in a large ziplock)
2. Heat grill to medium (I used a grill pan on the stove top), lightly oil grates. Grill bell pepper (uncovered), skin side down, until blackened, about 10 minutes; remove from grill. When cool enough to handle, rub off skins.
3. Grill mushrooms, covered, until lightly charred and tender, 3-4 minutes per side.
4. Layer each bun with bell pepper, mushrooms, goat cheese, and lettuce (we also added some Dijon mustard and slicing tomatoes from the farm). 

Toppings!

Not beautiful, but totally delicious!

Not only did these make a great dinner, but the mushrooms and peppers were really delicious cold on a sandwich the next day!

I also really wanted to make (never home) maker's pumpkin mac and cheese. However, what with the lack of canned pumpkin, I decided to kind of wing it and see what happened, using canned sweet potatoes instead of pumpkin. At the last minute (like, after the pasta had boiled and it was time to add the cheese), I realized I had no cheddar. What I did have was jack and mozzarella. I'm going to keep working on this, because I think it really could be awesome. Like, maybe if I used pumpkin and cheddar.

That's not to say I haven't been eating the leftovers all weekend with Tapatio. Because I have. I mean, hello, carbs and cheese. 

I promise an exciting weekend update soon. But to keep you entertained, you could watch these Weekend Updates instead :)

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