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Vegetarian Thanksgiving Recipes Roundup

November 10, 2014 by Pechluck 4 Comments

Holy moly it is 3 more weeks until Thanksgiving! I do have some new Thanksgiving recipe ideas to share that are of course vegetarian, but before I started, I wanted to do a roundup of some previous recipes I have shared that I am very fond of.

I plan to make these as a lazy Sunday snack: Squash Cheese Pinwheels (and also finally replace that terrible photo with a better one)

My favorite soup I’ve made is this rich Butternut Squash and Ale Soup with Candied Almonds and homemade Mascarpone with Cambozola

A great autumn dish in general, going on with the butternut squash train of thought, is this Butternut Squash Lasagna in Béchamel sauce

For a main dish for your vegetarian that makes them feel like royalty, try Tofu and Mushrooms A La King. This dish is really filling enough visually and gut-wise to feel like a real dish, rather than just a dinner of sides. Instead of tofu and mushrooms, you could also consider using this vegetarian Chicken Fricassee instead that utilizes vegetarian chik’n.

My own vegetarian F’s favorite Thanksgiving staple is Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie inspired by Moosewood. The recipe has a neat trick using crushed up walnuts to give the texture of “gristle” that just adds something extra to your regular vegetarian shepherd’s pie.

I have made two rice side dishes that I adore above all others: this Harvest Quinoa with Apple and Walnuts which really highlights autumn with its apple, or go rich and creamy with Spinach Parmesan Rice Bake (or use other mixed vegetables instead).

But maybe you want stuffing instead? How about this flavorful Cornbread Stuffing that boasts smokiness from vegetarian ham and some heat from Thai chili pepper

And then there are the sides. Last year I went with these 3 Vegetarian Side Dishes of Corn Niblets in Butter, Roasted Carrots with Dill, Green Beans in Parmesan

For another veggie side choice, consider broccoli or cauliflower via St. Norbert College’s Cheese Broccoli or skip the cheese and go with Cauliflower with Brown Butter, Pears, Hazelnuts

And instead of creamed spinach, how about trying Creamed Kale or Creamed Cabbage?

And of course, brussels sprouts: either Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts or Mashed Brussels Sprouts

I know, no dessert? I actually have two dessert recipes I will be sharing soon, shocker!

Do you have a favorite vegetarian dish you like to make/recommend for this holiday season?

Filed Under: Cooking, Food and Drink Tagged With: broccoli cheese casserole, Butternut Squash and Ale Soup with Candied Almonds and homemade Mascarpone with Cambozola, Butternut Squash Lasagna in Béchamel sauce, cauliflower with brown butter, cheese broccoli, corn niblets in butter, creamed cabbage, creamed kale, green beans in parmesan, harvest quinoa with apple and walnuts, hazelnuts, maple roasted brussels sprouts, Mashed Brussels Sprouts, Moosewood Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie, pears, roasted carrots with dill, smoky vegetarian ham cornbread stuffing, spinach parmesan rice bake, squash cheese pinwheels, Tofu and Mushrooms A La King., vegetarian, vegetarian recipes, vegetarian thanksgiving, vegetarian Thanksgiving main, vegetarian Thanksgiving side

Ravioli with Corn Sauce Recipe

November 3, 2014 by Pechluck 6 Comments

I can’t believe it’s already November. I haven’t posted a recipe here since August! I admit though, I haven’t been cooking as much at home and have been dining out a lot because of my hectic days in September and October. And now, here we are approaching the holidays. Honestly though as soon as it turns November I think I am in holiday mode. It’s the time of year that people all reach out to their family and friends to try to connect and celebrate, which means it’s great rationalization to try new recipes out.

At the farmers market there is still some corn left, and so I hurried to make this recipe. The use of corn here is the main sauce, almost like a pesto recipe but using corn instead of basil (although there is still plenty of basil, just not in the sauce itself!). F really liked this dish because it wasn’t super cheesy, and I liked celebrating corn while it’s about to finish its season. It also takes advantage of the last of the cherry tomatoes before it’s time to batten down the hatches.
Ravioli with Corn Sauce Recipe with Basil and Grape Tomatoes. The corn sauce is almost like a pesto but with corn and toasted almonds instead

The original recipe comes from Lillian Julow in Gainesville Florida that I saw in Taste of Home. That original recipe includes bacon and uses bacon drippings with fettuccine, so you might want to check out her version if you are not vegetarian and that intrigues you.

But to make it vegetarian instead I swapped it out by using grilled corn kernels. If using fresh corn is too time consuming for you, use thawed frozen corn and roast it in a skillet with a little butter until the corn just begins to brown.

I love the colors of this dish too.
Ravioli with Corn Sauce Recipe with Basil and Grape Tomatoes. The corn sauce is almost like a pesto but with corn and toasted almonds instead

Ingredients:

20 ounces of refrigerated ravioli (I used Giovanni Ravioli Caprese Duet, in your refrigerated section, this one is stuffed with either basil pesto or caprese and mozzarella, and offers two colors, green and white! I’m a fan of the various ravioli of this brand as there are many options, such as also their artichoke, mushroom, chicken rosemary and more)
4 cups fresh corn kernels after being grilled in the husk (or you could use thawed frozen corn as well)
1 tablespoon butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon dill weed
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus additional to taste
1/3 cup unsalted toasted almonds (I recommend toasting them yourself as it tastes better and makes the house smell wonderful. Always make extra because you will snack on some)
1/3 cup olive oil for the pasta sauce, plus an extra drizzle on the pasta
1 cup of fresh basil chiffonade (see here how to chiffonade a basil leaf)
Two handfuls or so of grape tomatoes, cut in half

Directions:

Cook the ravioli in boiling water for a couple minutes and then drain from water and toss with a quick drizzle of olive oil so the pasta does not stick. Reserve at least a cup or so of the pasta water to marry the sauce later.
In a skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. After removing the corn from the cob after grilling it, or after thawing your frozen corn kernels, add it to the melted butter along with the 3 minced garlic cloves, salt and pepper, and dill. Stir over medium-high heat until everything is well incorporated.
Remove 3/4 a cup of the corn mixture to reserve for later. With the rest of the corn mixture, add it to a food processor, along with the 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, toasted almonds, and 1/3 cup olive oil. Process until well blended. You’ll notice here that for this corn sauce, it essentially is like a pesto in using corn, olive oil, and toasted almonds (instead of pine nuts). I personally always do the olive oil glugging last so that I can continue to taste it and get it to a consistency I like (although keep in mind some of the pasta water will also be added to marry the sauce with the pasta). F is not a fan of pestos that have too much oil, which is why I only used 1/3 but if it had just been me I might have added more.
Return the processed corn portion to the skillet and add the reserved 3/4 of the unprocessed corn mixture and heat until everything softens. Then add the pasta and 3/4 cup of the chiffonade basil to the skillet and mix. Add a small bit of the pasta water at a time until the sauce is the consistency you want- I kept mine pretty thick and used maybe 3/4 cup of pasta water.
Add the halved grape tomatoes and toss. Top with the remaining Parmesan (optional) and basil and serve!

This dish serves four.
Ravioli with Corn Sauce Recipe with Basil and Grape Tomatoes. The corn sauce is almost like a pesto but with corn and toasted almonds instead

Although it’s almost time to say goodbye to tomatoes and corn, I know we are saying hello to so many squashes, romanesco and beets and other root vegetables.

What winter food are you looking forward to?

And what do you think of those refrigerated raviolis? I don’t mind making pasta myself if it’s just plain (like fettuccine, or spaghetti) but when it comes to stuffing them like tortellini or ravioli, I’m all into convenience, and there are so many interesting flavors out there! Do you have a favorite kind?

Filed Under: Cooking, Food and Drink Tagged With: #MeatlessMonday, cooking, corn, corn fettuccine, corn sauce, healthy, healthy eating, pasta, pasta with corn sauce, ravioli with corn sauce, recipe, vegetarian

Barlow Artisanal Bar

September 16, 2014 by Pechluck 5 Comments

There is another Barlow in town, not to be confused with Barlow Tavern. This is Barlow Artisanal Bar, located at 737 SW Salmon St.right next to the very stylish and already loved by me Picnic House that I have written about several times before.

I have been peeking at the space under construction for months. I was drawn especially in when the beautiful chandelier in the back got installed over the larger group table.

With 5 taps and a dozen exquisite options on their cocktail menu, this classy bar is a welcome addition to this area. In walking distance are several hotels and museums such as the Portland Art Museum, Oregon Historical Museum. And Barlow is just blocks from the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall to kick off or wrap up a sophisticated date night.

Once you have stepped inside, you feel like you’ve stepped into a glamorous art deco bar. There is a long L shaped bar in the front, then small cocktail tables to lounge and drink as you are heading towards the back.

After walking past the stunning lit Barlow sign across from their other stairway, the back wall of an alluring flapper girl welcomes you. The back opens up slightly for a few small tables including a larger group table. Restrooms are separated off by the hanging silver beaded curtains.

I stopped by “accidentally” when they were still doing their soft opening where it was bustling during their early happy hour 3-6pm. They also have a late happy hour 10pm-close. On later visits on a few other weekday evenings after happy hour, it had noticeably mellowed out. This yielded that some of these photos that look like it was almost empty, but let me assure you I was not the only one there each visit.

As if this all wasn’t already so cool enough, when they need a chilled martini glass, it is very dramatic with dry ice.

Some cocktails of Barlow Artisanal Bar

Clover Club with gin, lemon, creme yvette, maraschino luxardo, raspberry simple, egg white
The Knickerbocker with 8 year rum, 10 k rum, orange liqueur, lemon, raspberry pineapple simple, demerara simple, and all served over shaved ice with a silver straw to give it a tiki twist. I found the ice in mine to be really too large where I was trying to punch through the ice to get to my drink, but it was probably a one off mistake.
Rattlesnake with rittenhouse rye, lemon, egg white, gomme syrup, fernet braca, and ginger liqueur. My favorite of the two egg white drinks.
Blood and Beach Sand cocktail with scotch whisky, cherry heering, sweet vermouth, and pineapple
Cocktail of the Sidecar Au Poire with brandy, lemon, pear liqueur. This was one of my personal favorites.
I also loved their cocktail Derby with bonded bourbon, lime, orange liquor, sweet vermouth, and cardamom. They use a special round ice for this drink. Usually there is a sprinkle of cardamom on top but they were out during my visit.
An Open Drink the bartender made for me and the reason you should try to sit at the bar if you can
Pours of beer
From the dessert menu, finish with something sweet such as the MonMarte Float with root beer, absinthe, and creme anglaise or the Jamaican Coffee with dark rum, coffee liqueor, sherry, demerara simple, and cream

Nosh

The food at Barlow are just small plates meant to accompany your cocktail as a snack – don’t expect to eat a full meal here.

Cheese and Charcuterie selection of the chef from a happy hour, $8, included 2 cheeses, a pate, and warm pretzel bread
Also from Happy Hour, the Caramelized Onion Dip is $6 and comes with potato chips and crudite
Lobster Roll with roasted lobster, celery tarragon, chives, aioli, and lemon served on a primo roll with chips. During one of my more recent visits this was off the menu already, so maybe it was just a brief seasonal item. It was probably the most substantial dish there.
Leave off the carbs and go directly to meat with these Lamb Lollipops that are seared and served with housemade mint jelly
My favorite of what I tasted was Barlow Artisanal Bar’s take on a classic Russian dish, a Vegetable and Lardon Terrine with potatoes, beets, carrots, egg, lardons, chives, aioli vinaigrette. As delicious as it looks.

Here’s a look at their menus: Cocktail Menu, Happy Hour Menu, Food Menu, Dessert Menu.

They plan to change up their food and cocktails seasonally, so I’m expecting that there may be an update soon from what I’ve shared. They have only been open a month and still under everyone’s radar so I wanted to share this discovery with you!

Filed Under: Cooking, Food and Drink Tagged With: Barlow Artisanal Bar, Blood and Beach Sand cocktail, caramelized onion dip, cheese charcuterie, cocktails, craft cocktails, Derby cocktail, drinksportland, Knickerbocker cocktail, liquid ice chilled martini glass, lobster roll, menu, pdxcocktails, pretzel bread, Rattlesnake cocktail, Sidecar Au Poire, Vegetable and Lardon Terrine

Recipe for Cheddar Whiskey Burgers

August 5, 2014 by Pechluck 17 Comments

Recipe for Cheddar Whiskey Burgers
Obviously, this is not a vegetarian recipe. But I can’t resist the aroma and sounds and sights and taste of a burger fresh off the grill. This is inspired by the Whiskey Barrel Burgers from Better Home and Gardens with just a few adaptations to my personal taste.

This recipe makes 8 patties that are stuffed with Cheddar Whiskey Filling, and then topped later during the grilling with a little Cheddar Whiskey Filling as well.
Recipe for Cheddar Whiskey Burgers

The original recipe called for putting these on your toasted kaiser or hamburger roll along with lettuce, red onion, red or yellow tomatoes, and barbecue sauce. However, I didn’t want to use that lovely whiskey and then bury it in the flavors of bbq sauce.

Ingredients:

Cheddar Whiskey Filling
- 2 cups (about 8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/3 cup finely chopped green onions
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons whiskey
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Whiskey Burger Patties
- 2/3 cup finely chopped green onions
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
- 1/3 cup whiskey
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons of melted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt or garlic salt
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork

Directions:

First, let’s make the Cheddar Whiskey Filling. This is going to make a cheddar whiskey mixture, half of which you put inside the burger patty and half of which you are going to put on top later during grilling. Pretty straightforward- in a food processor, mix together until almost smooth all the ingredients: shredded cheese, chopped green onion, minced garlic, whiskey and Worcestershire sauce. Partially through the processing, make sure you pause to scrape down the walls and then finish processing! Set aside for now.
Now, for the Whiskey Burger Patties. In a large bowl combine green onions, minced garlic, bread crumbs, whiskey, Worcestershire sauce, melted butter, garlic, seasoned salt, crushed red pepper, and black pepper. Add ground beef and ground pork; mix well. You know you will have to be doing all this with your clean hands to really get in there. When everything is well incorporated, you are going to make sixteen 1/2-inch-thick patties: each patty will probably start out as you pull it from the bowl as a an amount about the size of a chinese medicine ball that you then flatten out, to give you some idea.
Next to bring some of that Cheddar Whiskey Filling in. Add 1 tablespoon of the Cheddar-Whiskey Filling on the center of each of eight of the patties. This should use half of your Cheddar Whiskey Filling that you have set aside (you are going to use the rest later during the grilling process).
Now, top the eight patties that have the Cheddar Whiskey Filling with the other unadorned eight patties, sealing the Cheddar Whiskey Filling in.
In a storage container layer patties between sheets of waxed paper and put in the refrigerator to chill overnight.
Next day: it’s grilling time! You are going to wait until your charcoal grill is at medium heat, and of course you are going to have a drip pan, right? Place patties on the grill rack over the drip pan and then cover your grill for about 10 minutes. Turn patties; cover and grill for 5 minutes. Top each patty with 1 tablespoon of the remaining Cheddar Whiskey Filling. Cover and grill about 5 minutes more or until done (160 degrees F. If using a different kind of grill other than a charcoal grill, adjust according to your grill).

Because I wanted a little more spice to this, I added a pepperjack cheese to my burger.
Recipe for Cheddar Whiskey Burgers

These burgers were delicious! In the future, I may add more spice, possibly even dicing in some jalapenos for more kick.

What are you grilling this summer? How do you like to put together your burger?

And, if you don’t want to stand in front of a fire grilling, I have another option for you: August 11 (Monday of next week) kicks off Portland Burger Week thanks to Portland Mercury, Nicky USA, Widmer Brothers Brewing and Jim Beam. This year there will be 20 locations varying from Ate Oh Ate or Burnside Brewing to Hop & Vine, Mi Mere Mole, Smallwares, and White Owl Social all offering $5 burgers for one week only (Aug 11 – 17). Check out the list, find something conveniently located to you, and plan some burger awesomeness next week!

Filed Under: Cooking, Food and Drink Tagged With: burger recipe, Cheddar Whiskey Burgers, Cheddar Whiskey Filling, homemade burger recipe, recipe, summer bbq, summer eats, summer grilling

Avocado Breakfast or Brunch Recipes

July 28, 2014 by Pechluck 1 Comment

These Avocado Breakfast Recipes or Brunch Recipes are very simple ways to eat avocado, but so satisfying. I don’t know if I can really call them all of them recipes as much as ideas that are self explanatory. And they are my favorite ways to incorporate avocado into a breakfast or brunch.
The delicious ways to incorporate California Avocados into your breakfast or brunch. When removing avocado, I like to cut them and then peel off the skin rather then trying to scoop the avocado from the skin!

The most obvious way is of course with a breakfast burrito. I decided to make one with bacon and jalapeno with avocado spread This is the recipe for 1 portion, for 1 person.

Bacon Avocado Jalapeno and Cheese Breakfast Burrito

Ingredients:

1 avocado, pitted
1/3 of a jalapeno, finely diced (your call on the seeds)
1/2 of a lime for the juice (about 1 tablespoon)
1 slice of bacon
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup of cream
pinch of salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 flour tortilla
1/4 cup of shredded Mexican cheese

Directions:

In a small mixing ball, add the avocado (I like the cut the avocado in half and then peel off the skin rather than trying to scoop the avocado out of the skin) and the lime juice and mash together. When you chop the jalapeno, it is your choice whether to leave the seeds in for heat, and how much seed to leave in (I only left in 1/4 the seeds of the whole jalapeno) – add this in as well and mash together. When I made mine, I made 3 avocados worth and with the rest I added some crumbled queso fresco and served it with the breakfast burrito.
On a cold frying pan, add the slice of bacon and turn up the heat. Cook the bacon, turning it halfway, until crispy. Set aside on a paper towel to absorb excess oil and to cool so that you can later crumble it into the breakfast burrito.
In the pan, I poured out the bacon fat until only about 1/2 tablespoon was left (I reserved the rest for other cooking. If you are making multiple portions at once, you can leave more in the pan). I then poured in the egg and cream and scrambled, adding a pinch of salt and bit of freshly ground pepper to my taste.
On 1 flour tortilla, spread out the scrambled egg in the middle, and then crumble the bacon and add on top of the egg. Sprinkle the shredded Mexican cheese (a mix of cheddar, monterey jack, and asadero and queso quesadilla cheese), and then add 1 1/2 tablespoons of the avocado jalapeno mixture.

English Muffins and Avocado

Another way is after toasting some English Muffins, I scrambled some eggs and instead of a rich Hollandaise sauce, I just sliced up 1 avocado and added a sprinkle of some shredded triple cheddar cheese and it was luxurious without all the fat.

Or on a weekday, I simply mash 1 avocado in a bowl and spread it on toasted English Muffins, top it with sprinkles of queso fresco or cojita cheese, and off to the rest of the workday we go!
Avocado on toasted english muffin topped with queso fresco cheese

What are your favorite ways to have avocado?

Filed Under: Cooking, Food and Drink Tagged With: @ca_avocados, #cooking, #healthyeating, #MeatlessMonday, Avocado Breakfast Recipes, Avocado Brunch Recipes, avocado recipes, breakfast, breakfast recipe, brunch recipe, California Avocados, recipe, Simple breakfast, vegetarian

Vegetarian Thanksgiving Recipes Roundup

Ravioli with Corn Sauce Recipe

Barlow Artisanal Bar

Some cocktails of Barlow Artisanal Bar

Nosh

Recipe for Cheddar Whiskey Burgers

Avocado Breakfast or Brunch Recipes

Bacon Avocado Jalapeno and Cheese Breakfast Burrito

English Muffins and Avocado

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