mushroom & walnut spread

Don't be alarmed. I didn't open a can of Fancy Feast and attempt to pass it off as food fit for human consumption. What you see here is a mushroom-walnut spread. It's a nice and light accompaniment to an array of spreads for holidays, such as the upcoming Hallmark holiday, Mother's Day. The flavors of the cilantro and tiny pinch of tarragon pair well with the portobello mushrooms and toasted walnuts. I found the recipe on a running forum and tweaked it to suit my taste.

Start off by chopping portobello mushrooms, an onion, and garlic.

The vegetables get sauteed until they begin to brown and reduce. I wanted a fond to develop, which I loosened up with a little pinot grigio so the flavor would be added back to the dip instead of remaining on the bottom of the skillet.

Let the mushroom mixture cool a little while you grind toasted walnuts.

Add the mushroom mixture, cilantro, and lemon juice and pulse until a spread is formed. It won't be entirely smooth, but you don't want it to be.

While I prepared the spread I toasted wedges of pita bread (tossed with olive oil, sea salt, and pepper) to serve alongside it.

The spread had a bright flavor, nothing standing out too prominently. I felt the taste of the mushrooms and walnuts, while not heavy, paired well together. There was a hint of tarragon (which was added to the mushrooms as they cooked) but it didn't overwhelm the flavors and tasted good with the cilantro and lemon juice. I'd definitely make this recipe again. If you're looking for a new spread to try, go ahead and make it!

As an alternative, you could probably follow the recipe and form them into patties, then cook in a skillet to make vegetarian patties. You might want to reduce the lemon juice by a tablespoon so it won't be quite as sticky when you form the patties.

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mushroom & walnut spread
Recipe by Christina Provo

ingredients -

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
16 ounces baby portobello mushrooms, coarsley chopped
1 onion, coarsley chopped
5 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon tarragon
black pepper
3 tablespoons chardonnay or pinot grigio
1 1/2 cups toasted walnuts
1 1/2 cups lightly packed cilantro (stems removed)
1/2 lemon, juiced
Pita chips, crackers, bread, etc

directions -

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and onions and cook for three minutes. Stir in garlic, salt, tarragon, and pepper to taste. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, then raise heat slightly and cook for about 5-7 minutes more, until fond starts to develop on the bottom of skillet and mushrooms and onions start to brown. Remove from heat; pour in wine and stir to release fond.


2. Place walnuts in a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. Add mushroom mixture, cilantro, and lemon juice. Pulse until ingredients are blended together; it won't be completely smooth. Taste for seasonings and adjust accordingly.


3. Serve with pita chips or whatever you like.

chocolate biscuit cake

In light of recent events, you may have thought news of the Royal Wedding was over. Not true, guys! Although I'm not here to discuss the wedding, I am here to talk about my favorite part of all events -- the food. The groom's cake for this wedding was called a "chocolate biscuit cake". It really wasn't a cake at all, but a ganache mixed with McVitie's digestive biscuits. At the end of the day, it's a candy bar.

It was my mom's idea to make it because I was a bit put off by the cake when I first heard of it. I'm glad we made it because it truly is a delicious dessert.

First ingredient is good chocolate. You can use your favorite. Chocolate chips take a little longer to melt, but are good to use, too. Since you need about 11 ounces of chocolate, it's more economical to purchase one bag instead of 3 bars of chocolate.

Almonds get chopped and toasted, giving the cake some crunch. The animal crackers get soft after a day so you can add more almonds if you want.

Melted chocolate and butter get whisked into eggs beaten with sugar. The eggs give the chocolate a different texture, more fudgy and soft, than just cream will. If you're worried about salmonella, add a teaspoon of lemon juice. The heat from the chocolate might not be enough to cook the eggs.

Once the chocolate is blended in, the mixture begins to get stiff. We added heavy cream and a few tablespoons of the orange juice used to soak the raisins and to lighten the chocolate.

Here are the raisins. In the background, you can see the animal crackers being mixed into the chocolate. McVities weren't available, though I know I saw them once. I like the animal crackers in place of graham crackers, which get soggy really quickly.

After everything is mixed together, it gets smoothed into a springform pan, greased and lined with parchment paper. This was refrigerated a few hours, though you could also make it a day ahead of time so it chills overnight.

I highly suggest this cake. Although it's not a cake in the true sense of the word, as someone might point out to you, everyone will like it anyway. The cake isn't as heavy as you might think, and the orange gives the chocolate fruity undertones. Now that I've made this, the idea of a layered chocolate biscuit cake covered with ganache icing seems incredible!

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chocolate biscuit cake
Inspired from this recipe and this recipe

ingredients -

11.5 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
8 ounces digestive biscuits or animal crackers, broken into almond size pieces
zest of 1 orange
1/2 chopped almonds, toasted
1/4 cup raisins, soaked in 1/4 cup fresh orange juice (reserve soaking liquid)

directions -

1. Melt chocolate in a mixing bowl placed over a saucepan of gently simmering water. In another saucepan (or microwave-safe bowl) melt butter.


2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the eggs, sugar, and heavy cream until mixed well. Add melted butter and chocolate. Add orange zest, raisins, 3 tablespoons reserved soaking liquid, and nuts to the chocolate mixture. Gradually fold in the crushed biscuits (or graham crackers), until biscuits are evenly distributed throughout the chocolate.


3. In a greased 8-inch springform pan lined with parchment paper, spread the chocolate mixture and smooth out evenly. Cover entire pan with plastic wrap.


4. Refrigerate for 5-8 hours, or overnight. Cut into thin slices.

Foodbuzz Tastemaker: Magnum Gourmet Ice Cream

Foodbuzz Tastemaker gave me the opportunity to sample a new line of premium ice cream bars, Magnum Ice Cream. Magnum Ice Cream uses silky vanilla bean ice cream surrounded by a layer of Belgium chocolate. With six different flavors to choose from, you won't know where to start!

I tried the almond ice cream bars. The almond slivers are mixed with the creamy chocolate coating and provide a pleasing crunch. I was rather surprised by the chocolate. It tasted rich, almost with caramel undertones, and the vanilla ice cream was thick and delicious. I would give these bars 5 stars based on taste.

What I was perplexed at, however, was the fact that each box contains three. Do they make these for me, myself, and I? What's up with that? Sure, I'll say they might be worth the premium price, but for the same price I can find another premium ice cream that contains at least four bars, not three. Each pack is $4.99, or $1.50 individually and can be found at Wal-Mart, Safeway, Kroger, Target, Meijer, and more.