Pastry Wrapped Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

This is one of my favorite things I have made recently. I love mushrooms, so it`s not really a big surprise. Unfortunately, I am having trouble finding the portobello mushrooms right now, but the beauty of this recipe is that you can actually make it without them. My husband and I both agree that it is better with though. This also freezes beautifully. This is something I have been working with as well recently.

What you need: This is for 4, but you can half it, or freeze half as needed (or double of course)

 4 portobello mushrooms, insides removed

1 package (about 500 g) of fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 Tbls butter
2 large cups of spinach - I haven`t measured yet, I just add about 3/4 of a bag of baby spinach or 1/2 a bag of regular. Depends on what I can find at the store.
2 Tbls olive oil
2 shallots, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp balsamic vinegar. I use the Aceto Basalmico because I think it tastes great
1/4 cup of pine nuts. I buy the small bag at Coop or Migros and use about 1/2 of it
1 Tbls bread crumbs. I use panko as I like the texture. I wouldn`t use the tiny grain sized bread crumbs if you can help it.
1 cup Gruyere, though I don`t use quite that much. You can also use the Gruyere/Emmentaler mix for a good flavor.
Salt and pepper to taste
1 sheet of Blätterteig. (puff pastry). Be sure to get the rectangular one as it is easier to cover the mushrooms.
1 egg

Pre-heat the oven to 190 C.

Rinse the mushrooms and take out the stems and the gills

Brush each side with a little bit of olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes, with the cap side up, and for 5-7 minutes down. Take out of the oven and set them on some paper towels to catch any extra liquid. 

While the mushrooms are cooking, in a large pan, add a little olive oil. Add half of the shallots and garlic. Cook about 3-5 minutes, until lightly browned. 

Add the spinach and mix well. 

Right when the spinach begins to melt, add the balsamic

Remove from the pan and place in a bowl. 

Put the butter in the same pan and add the rest of the shallot and garlic. Let cook about 2 minutes and then add the mushrooms

Add a little salt and pepper and cook the mushrooms until most of the moisture is gone

Remove the mushrooms and add to the spinach mixture. Mix and let cool (10-15 minutes).

While cooling, in a dry pan, toast your pine nuts. Remove when slightly browned and add to the mixture. 

Add the bread crumbs (or panko) and the cheese. 

Lay your puff pastry out and cut it into 4 even rectangles. Place one of the portobello mushrooms in each section, cap side down. Divide up the mixture and stuff the mushrooms. They will be over flowing. As long as you have a large puff pastry, this is fine. (And tasty!)

Very carefully, flip the filled mushrooms over

Bring up each side of the pastry to make a little package. One corner, side, corner, side, and so on. 

In a small bowl, mix up your egg and then brush some over the top of the dough to give it a nice brown color when cooked. I cut out extra pieces of dough for fun the first time I made this. 

Bake in the oven for the time and temperature directed on your blätterteig package. Usually at 200 C for about 15-20 minutes. The top should be a nice brown when it is done. 

If you would like to freeze this, simply place in a freezer bag, without the egg. To cook, let thaw, add the egg glaze and cook for the time indicated. Turns out great. 

You can also make this without the portobello mushroom, but I don`t think it is quite as good. I would double the filling recipe in this case though. 

The original recipe can be found here. I think this was the original link, there seem to be a few very similar ones now. 

Gingerbread Waffles

Waffles...yum.  These are something good that work great as a breakfast or great as a cold snack during the day. Even my son who doesn`t like regular waffles is more than happy to eat these, so an extra bonus for me.

It does take a while to make, but you can leave the batter in the fridge for up to a day, so if you don`t want to make all the waffles at once, you can store the remainder of the batter. If you are more in a pancake mood, then just add a little milk to thin the batter.

What you need:
4 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1 c melasse (molasses for those of you with access to it), bought mine at Coop
1 c buttermilk
3 cups flour
2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda (natron)
2 tsp baking powder (backpulver)
1/2 c unsalted butter, melted

For the toppings you can use syrup, whip cream, fruit, or powdered sugar.  I think they are great cold with nothing, and warm with just syrup.

In a large bowl, add the flour, spices, salt, soda and powder. Mix well and set aside.

In another bowl, beat the eggs until fluffy. An electric mixer works best, but you can always do it by hand. Add the sugar, buttermilk and melasse.  I don`t bother to measure it, I just pour it from the jar as it is so sticky. Mix well.

Slowly add the dry ingredients, half at a time and mix between. Add the butter and mix until the batter is smooth. (I know mine shows butter chunks, but I have let it get soft and it mixes quite quickly)

You can either cover the batter and leave it in the fridge for a day, cook all of it immediately and have leftovers for snacks, or some of each.

Make sure you spray your waffle iron (or rub on a cooking butter) so the batter doesn`t get stuck. Cook for about 4 minutes, or a little bit longer than your waffle iron says is done to get a nice brown finish. I end up with about 30 waffles, but this will depend on your waffle iron.

Enjoy!