I will apologize now for my picture of the mushroom strudel.  I realize that it is rather difficult to see much of the details of the mushroom filling.  But how about those flaky layers of crispy crunchy phyllo dough?

Truth be told, the flavors and texture of this strudel defy any photographic evidence of its existence.  I took this to our Super Bowl party last week and watched it disappear in an hour.  There were no less than 4 requests for the recipe.  Needless to say, I was feeling pretty proud of myself.  I think the reason why I was relishing this little outpouring of praise is because this strudel is such a ridiculously easy recipe I was embarrassed when I brought it to the party.

When I was mixing up the mushroom filling, I had to beat both of my parents and Craig off of the saucepan with the wooden spoon I was using to stir it.  I’m not sure what the seducing aroma was, but they were relentless.  (It was like the sleestaks from the Land of the Lost.) What was really funny about all of this is that I thought Craig was the only one who did this.  Apparently your parents will do this when they are not in their usual habitat.  (This strange kitchen behavior of my parents hasn’t been limited to the kitchen.  It’s been fun seeing how different they are when they are in a different environment.)

Relationship Advice

So you are not going to believe that I am saying this, but here goes.  At the beginning of your relationship be very careful with how far you take the “wooing.”  By that I mean, don’t buy her flowers regularly every week or regularly buy her things.  You should not cook him dinner every night or buy him things regularly.  By doing these types of things so frequently at the beginning of the relationship you will be setting a precedent that can not be maintained and will lead to disappointment.  I am not saying that you should not do these things, I am only saying that you should not get carried away with them.

Makes 24 pieces

Ingredients

• 20 Sheets Phyllo Dough (1/2 package if there are 2 rolls per box)
• 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter (melted)
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1/2 Medium White Onion Diced
• 2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
• 3.5 Ounces Shiitake Mushrooms (diced  to 1/4″ pieces)
• 8 Ounces Button Mushrooms (diced to 1/4″ pieces)
• 8 Ounces Crimini Mushrooms (diced to 1/4″ pieces)
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 4 Stems Fresh Thyme (chopped fine)
• 1/2 Teaspoon Lemon Zest
• 1 Package (5.2 Ounces) Boursin Cheese – Garlic & Herb Flavor
• Kosher Salt
• Fresh Ground Black Pepper
• Black Truffle Oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat.  Add onions and cook until browned and beginning to caramelize.  Add in the mushrooms.

As the mushrooms cook, the oil will absorb into the mushrooms and the pan will appear to dry.  Add in the tablespoons of butter one at a time.  Continue sauteeing and stirring the mushrooms until they decrease in volume and are glossy looking.

Stir in the worcestershire sauce.  Then add thyme and lemon zest.  Stir to combine thoroughly.

Remove pan from heat and stir in the Boursin cheese.  Once the cheese is completely melted, add salt and pepper to taste.

Peel off one sheet of phyllo dough and lay out on a smooth work surface.  Brush liberally with melted butter.  Lay another sheet of phyllo dough directly on top of last sheet and liberally brush with melted butter.  Continue this sequence 3 more times. (You will have a stack of 5 sheets of phyllo dough.)  Cover the unused phyllo dough with a damp paper towel until you need the next sheet.

Spoon out mushroom filling 1/2″ from the edge of the long side of phyllo dough.  Drizzle black truffle oil along the top of the mushroom mixture.

Tightly roll the phyllo dough and mushroom filling.  Lay strudel roll onto parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Brush strudel with melted butter.

There should be enough filling for 3 rolls.

Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until phyllo dough is golden brown.

Let strudel cool before slicing it.

Technorati Tags: Appetizer Recipes, Easy Cooking, Easy Recipes, mushroom strudel, Relationship Advice, vegetable recipes, Vegetarian Recipes

I actually feel sorry for artichokes.  They aren’t the easiest thing to figure out how to eat, most people don’t know how to cook an artichoke, and the vast majority of these little jewels get pureed into oblivion and buried in a sea of mayonnaise and Parmesan cheese.  Or they play the redheaded stepchild to spinach swimming in the familiar mayonnaise and Parmesan cheese pool.

When vegetables are used in our house, you can actually taste them.  I guess that’s kind of an unspoken rule around here.  You may not be able to pick out their flavor, front and center, but you can taste and feel them in whatever dish I put them in.  It’s a good thing that Craig likes vegetables.  Although, when we first met there were lots of veggies that he had never tried.  So putting on his best child impression, he would tell me that he didn’t like this vegetable or that one.  I have since figured out that when he tells me he doesn’t like a particular food, it means he’s never tried it before.  The vegetables, and fruits, that he was most adamant about not liking he now loves.

I have been on a bit of a phyllo dough kick around here.  It’s usually something I go through in the fall, but this year it’s the winter.  There’s a lot of swearing when I break out the phyllo dough because it’s so fragile and has to be handled pretty specifically, but the end results are worth it.

Oh, and even though I was bashing artichoke dip, the leftover filling from these phyllo triangles can be used as a dip.  (For the record: I’m not against dips – I’m against vegetable dip recipes where you can’t taste the veggies that are in them.)

Relationship Advice

Surprise your special someone with a dinner of just appetizers.  This is how they regularly eat in Spain (they call the dishes tapas).  For dinner you have little plates of lots of different kinds of foods.  Everything is just one or two bites and you share.  Break out a bottle of wine, or a couple bottles of beer and have some fun with it.  Make a couple of things (like the artichoke triangles above) and maybe some meatballs, and a bowl of edamame.  Then pick up some nuts and either grapes or strawberries.  Put everything on its own small plate or bowl and sit on the floor for a casual dinner.  You will get full and you will have fun eating lots of different things.  Since everything is small, you can forgo using silverware and just feed each other with your fingers.  This is bound to have some very positive results.

Makes 24

Ingredients

• 20 Sheets of Phyllo Dough (this is usually 1/2 of the box when there are 2 packages in the box)
• 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter (melted)
• 1 14 Ounce Can of Artichokes
• 1 8 Ounce Package Neufchatel Cheese (light or regular cream cheese will also work)
• 3 Tablespoons Parmesan Cheese
• 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
• 4 Small Cloves Garlic (peeled)
• 1/4 Teaspoon Dried Thyme
• Kosher Salt
• Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.

In a food processor, add the artichokes, cream cheese, Parmesan Cheese, lemon juice, garlic and thyme.  Pulse until the artichokes are in small pieces and all of the ingredients are combined.

Add kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste.  Stir to combine.

Carefully peel off 1 sheet of phyllo dough and lay out on your work surface.  Liberally brush it with the melted butter.  Peel off another sheet of phyllo dough and lay on top of the first buttered sheet.  Liberally brush it with butter (you will have 2 sheets of phyllo dough stacked).  Keep unused phyllo dough covered with a damp paper towel.

Using a sharp knife, cut the phyllo (on the long side) into 2 inch wide strips.

Place 1/2 – 1 Tablespoon of artichoke mixture 1/2 inch from the end of the phyllo strip.  Fold up corner into a triangle.  Repeat the fold up the length of the dough strip (just like folding a flag).

As each triangle is folded, place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, seam side down and brush with melted butter.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Technorati Tags: Appetizer Recipes, Easy Cooking, Easy Recipes, phyllo triangles, Relationship Advice, vegetable dip recipes, Vegetarian Recipes

Ah the Super Bowl.  Are you still nursing a hangover?  How about indigestion?  Can you button your pants/skirt?  I hope your team won…and if it didn’t win did you at least have fun at the party?  We had a small get together at our friend’s house, where the food outnumbered the guests.  But isn’t that the best kind of party?  Oh yeah, there was plenty of booze flowing too.  I brought lots of appetizers.

Okay, I can’t really write a whole post on the Super Bowl.  I don’t follow either team, I don’t care about The Who (anymore), and if I see one more of those talking baby commercials I’m going to call Children’s Services on E-Trade (that’s just not natural and above all else it’s CREEPY).

Craig and I were supposed to go to the party, but since he had tons of work to do, he stayed home (he was accompanied by half of the appetizers that I made, so he wasn’t lonely).  But since my parents are in town from Cleveland, I brought them with me.  There is nothing better than going to your friends’ party with your parents and suddenly you feel like a dorky teenager again.  At least as an adult you can drink alcohol in the open and not have to hide in a closet with three of your friends sharing the same glass of whatever you could swipe off of the counter when no one was looking.  Not that I ever did that or anything.

Relationship Advice

I guess it would be appropriate to use this space, today, to pass along a quote my parents would say to me regarding relationships.

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. ~Marcel Proust

My parents have been married a little more than 40 years, my mom’s parents were married more than 50 years, and my dad’s parents were married more than 40 years (they passed away before they hit that landmark 50).

Ingredients

• 1 Clove Fresh Garlic (peeled and cut in half)
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil (divided)
  
• 1 Loaf Sourdough Round (1 Pound)
• 8 – 12 Ounces Brie Cheese (triple cream is the best)
• 1 Tablespoon Herbs de Provence
• 1/4 Teaspoon Fresh Ground Pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Farenheit.

Cut 1/4 of the top off of the bread loaf.  Tear out the inside bread from the loaf.  Tear into 1 inch pieces and set aside into a serving bowl.  Leave a 1 inch thickness to walls of the bread loaf.

Rub the cut side of the garlic clove all over the inside of the hollowed out bread bowl.  Brush 2 tablespoons of the olive oil on the inside of the hollowed out loaf.

Cube the brie into 1 inch pieces.  You can remove the rind or leave it on.  (To remove the rind without losing a lot of cheese, use a piece of unflavored dental floss.  Hold both ends of the floss and run it just underneath the rind and pull all the way through.)

Fill the bread with the cubes of brie.  Sprinkle the Herbs de Provence and pepper over the cheese.

Cover the bread bowl with the lid that was previously cut.

Brush the outside of the loaf with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

Wrap the filled bread bowl with foil and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Remove from oven.  Take the bread bowl out of the foil, remove the lid and serve with the bread pieces.

Technorati Tags: Appetizer Recipes, Brie Cheese Recipes, Easy Cooking, Easy Party Appetizer Recipes, Easy Recipes

What do you do when you have a meeting or a party to go to and you have to bring something to eat?  Do you go sweet or savory?  Do you go grand or understated?  Whatever you do – go big or go home.  By big, I mean big flavor.

My issue was compounded due to the fact that my get together was with a bunch of foodies.  While you might think another foodie wouldn’t have a problem deciding what to bring to a foodie gather, but you would be wrong.  The pressure was staggering!  Okay, I may be exaggerating just a bit – okay a lot.  I thought that most people would go the sweet route, so I decided that savory was the way to go.  That and the fact that I’m trying to get ready to go out of town, made me also go for E-A-S-Y.  Oh, and if you were wondering where my story of Craig is, he was already out of town so I had to hold down the fort by myself (another reason for easy).

Appearances can be deceiving.  These cookies look like those adorable little Walker’s shortbread cookies or those discs made by those sweet little elves that live in trees.  While they may be little, they are not sweet.  They get their savory kick from Parmesan cheese a topping of more cheese and black smoked salt.  I got the original recipe from an old Bon Appetit magazine, but I’ve really changed it up.  (Shocking, I didn’t leave a recipe alone.)

Along the lines of full disclosure I have to give mad props to the photographer on this one.  Patti, over at Worth the Whisk took this shot for me.  I didn’t bring my camera.  So thank you Patti!  BTW, she’s got some great recipes over there too.

Relationship Advice

Spice things up at home too.  I know that I just talked about going out on weekly dates.  But instead of going your regular route: a movie, dinner, a play, don’t tell you significant other what this nights date is.  Have them meet you somewhere then walk together to an art gallery, a wine bar, or a hot new club.  The idea is to just get in the mindset of doing something different every once in a while.  They say variety is the spice of life and that doesn’t just pertain to food.  It also pertains to things that you do or places that you go together.

Makes 2 dozen

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 Cups All Purpose Flour
• 3/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese (plus more for topping cookies)
• 1/2 Cup Finely Ground Toasted Walnuts
• 1/8 Teaspoon Ground Fennel (or fennel pollen)
• 1 Cup Butter Cubed (2 sticks)
• Black Hawaiian Smoked Salt (or large crystal smoked salt)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper (these cookies are pretty delicate when they come out of the oven, the paper helps when removing them from the baking sheets).

Mix flour, Parmesan cheese, fennel and walnuts into bowl of food processor.

Add butter, in small pieces, and pulse on and off until dough starts to come together.

Bring the dough together to form a ball.  Divide the ball in half and roll into 2 12″ logs.  Roll each log in plastic wrap or wax paper and chill for 1 hour.

Remove dough from refrigerator and break into pieces and form balls.

Arrange balls on lined baking sheet about 1 1/2″ apart.  Flatten each ball into a 2″ circle.

Sprinkle tops of shortbread cookies with Parmesan cheese and smoked salt.

Bake shortbread until tops are dry and edges begin to turn golden brown (20-30 minutes).

Remove cookies from baking sheet and cool on racks.

Technorati Tags: Appetizer Recipes, Baked Goods, Easy Cooking, Easy Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes

Aaaack!  I am dying over here.  Yes, I’m still doing my detox and I’m ripping my hair out.  Not that my 2 liquid meals a days aren’t fulfilling.  Oh, don’t cry for me…I get 1 solid meal a day too.  And no, it’s not a big pile of lettuce covered with puffs of some kind of calorie free air.  I’m actually fine with the food, but I need something to snack on.  If you haven’t guessed by now, this post isn’t about My Man’s Belly…this one is about my belly.

Snacks, or the lack thereof, are one of the main reasons people tend to fail when they are dieting/detoxing/eating healthy.  Yeah, you can chew on gum until your teeth fall out, but an entire pack of gum or 1 pound bag of carrot sticks can’t really fulfill that craving for something that crunches and has the flavor of a potato chip or cheese doodles.

Last month a friend of mine ran a recipe for an Italian favorite from her childhood – roasted chickpeas (garbanzo beans).   I immediately made them, inhaled them, then made a second batch.  I was hooked.  You can pretty much flavor these things with any seasonings you like: garlic, salt, cayenne pepper, garam masala, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning and the list goes on and on.  So whatever you’re craving you can have.  Plus they are super easy to make.  And, I’m betting that you probably already have everything you need to make these in your cupboard.

Relationship Advice

You need to take some time yourself.  Yes, it’s wonderful that you do so many things for so many people: you show up to work on time, you volunteer for extra projects at work, you volunteer in your community, you spend time putting together meals for your significant other, you go to the gym, you clean your house, etc. etc.  But if you’re not taking some time out for yourself you aren’t helping yourself or anyone else in your life.  You need to take some quiet time where it’s all about you.  By doing this you can focus on who you are, what you like, and what you don’t like.  It allows you to re-focus your energy.  By taking some time for yourself, you’ll be energized to tackle projects and be more present in your relationship.

Serves 2-4

Ingredients

• 2 15.5 Ounce Cans Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans)
• Olive Oil Spray (or 1 1/2 Tablespoons Olive Oil)
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Piri Piri (or Cayenne Pepper)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.

Drain and rinse chickpeas in colander and let sit for 5 minutes.

Pour the chickpeas onto a foil lined, rimmed baking sheet.  Blot chickpeas dry with paper towels.  Make sure the chickpeas are dried well.

Spray chickpeas with a thin coating of olive oil spray.  Use your hands to roll chickpeas in oil to make sure all surfaces are covered.

Sprinkle seasonings onto chickpeas.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until browned and crunchy.

Be careful, as the chickpeas can sometimes pop like popcorn.

Technorati Tags: Appetizer Recipes, Easy Cooking, Easy Recipes, gluten free recipes, Healthy Cooking, Healthy Eating, Healthy Recipes, Lite Cooking, Snack Recipes, vegan recipes

This is the requisite “welcome back to reality” post.  Being that it’s the first work day after the long holiday season.  It seems difficult to get my head together today.  Probably due to the lack of coffee in my system since I’m now on day 3 of my self-imposed detox.  It doesn’t help that I’m writing this post about the yummy Arancini we had on New Year’s Eve and that Mr. Belly has not joined in on the healthy start to the New Year.  His idea of starting the new year off healthy is having a healthy sized dinner.  So he gets mac and cheese for his dinner tonight.  But back to these lovely little Arancini.

I’ve never made these before, but I had seen them months ago and had kept rolling a recipe for them around (no pun intended) in my head.  I knew at some point I wanted to make these for some occasion.  The occasion happened to be New Year’s Eve with Mr. Belly and our annual Wii battle.  Yes, that’s an occasion at our house.  If I don’t save my good wines for super special over the top occasions, why should I wait to make the Arancini for some special over the top occasion?  If that was the case, We’d never drink any of our wines.  So if it’s a good enough rule for the vino…it’s good enough for the food.

Traditionally, Arancini are a Sicilian treat made with rice, peas, meat and cheese, but they are also made with leftover risotto.  I get it.  They look fussy and time consuming.  Trust me…fussy they’re not, easy it is, and the only time consuming part is that you have to make up the rice mixture in advance and let it cool.  You could use pretty much any kind of rice you want, except instant rice.  I had basmati rice around, so that’s what I used and it came out great.  This whole recipe is pretty tough to mess up.  Your reward is a little golden ball of warm rice flavored with cheese and spices with a gooey cheesy center and a crunchy outer coating.

Relationship Advice

An occasion is as special or as mundane as you make it.  A quiet evening at home can be just as special as eating at a 5 star restaurant.  Why keep saving that bottle of wine for a “special occasion?”  How often do you actually get to spend a truly quiet night at home doing what you want…not what you have to do?  Celebrate that!

Makes 30 2″ Arancini

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 1/2 Cups Basmati Rice
• 3 Cups Chicken Broth
• 3/4 Cups White Wine
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
• 1/4 Teaspoon Dried Thyme
• Zest of 1 Lemon
• Kosher Salt
• Fresh Ground Black Pepper
• Canola Oil
• 30 1/2″ cubes of Emmetaler Cheese (or Swiss, Mozzarella, Gruyere)*
• 1/4 Cup Milk
• Panko Bread Crumbs**

Directions

Put olive oil in a medium size saucepan over medium high heat.  Once oil is hot add the rice.  Stir rice to coat with oil and lightly toast.

Add chicken broth and white wine to rice in 1/2 cup increments and stir continuously.  As each amount of liquid is absorbed, add the next 1/2 cup of liquid until all of the liquid is absorbed and rice is creamy.  The rice should be starchy and creamy, NOT fluffy and separate.

Remove rice from heat stir in Parmesan, thyme, lemon zest and add salt and pepper to taste.

Let rice cool at least 2 hours.  Preferably overnight in the refrigerator.

Thoroughly mix 1 egg into cooled rice mixture.

Spoon 2 tablespoons of rice mixture into your hand (using an ice cream scoop makes this job much easier), start to form the rice into a ball.  In the center of the mixture, add in the cube of Emmentaler.  Continue to form the rice ball around the cheese.  Once the ball is formed, set it onto a baking sheet and continue doing this until all of the mixture is used up.

Set up 2 bowls.  In one bowl, beat 1 egg and the milk.  In the other bowl, add the panko bread crumbs.

In a deep pot or heavy skillet pour canola oil to 1″-2″ deep and heat to 350 degrees Farenheit.  If you don’t have a thermometer, heat the oil until it is hot but not smoking.  The oil should sizzle when a bit of the rice is dropped into it.  (Using a thermometer is the best way to ensure that your fried foods come out perfectly browned and not greasy.)

While your oil is heating, dredge the rice balls in the egg and milk mixture, then roll in panko bread crumbs.  After coating, set back onto baking sheet.

Once oil has reached 350 degrees, add 3-4 rice balls to the oil (do not overload the pan as the oil temperature will drop too low and your food will take a long time to cook and will get greasy).  Cook until golden on one side (approximately 2-3 minutes) then turn the Arancini over to cook the other side.  The Arancini should be a rich orange/golden color.  Once done cooking, remove to drain on paper towels.

If you want to keep all of your Arancini warm for serving, you can put these in a 300 degree oven (on a baking sheet) as you finish them.

* You can also use small meatballs or vegetables for the centers.

** If you don’t have Panko bread crumbs, you can use regular bread crumbs or ground crackers.  Or to make this gluten free, you can use chickpea flour.

Technorati Tags: Appetizer Recipes, arancini, Easy Cooking, Easy Recipes, gluten free recipes, Rice Recipes, Risotto Recipes

Like many of you, I am preparing for D-Day…Thanksgiving.  Most years, we go to a friends house and have a fantastic meal with 8-10 people.  Everyone brings something so it’s not a chore for any one person.  This year, because it’s been one of those years, it’s just Craig and I.  I would like to do something nice, but not the big involved dinner since it’s just the two of us.  But noooooooo….heaven forbid he doesn’t get his turkey.  And, for the record, a turkey breast or store bought cooked turkey will.not.do.  Nope, I’m looking at a day in the kitchen making the turkey and at least 3 side dishes.  He’ll help me clean up (maybe), but cooking the feast is all on me.

But I have a plan.  My plan is to make a couple of filling Thanksgiving appetizers a couple of days in advance.  By doing this, I’m hoping that he’ll fill up on them while I’m cooking and I can get away with making 1 side dish (which will have to be mashed potatoes…with raw onions on the side) and a salad.  So I’ve been going through all of my recipes and trying to come up with two appetizers to have on hand.  They’ve got to be something I can make in advance and one must be healthy and the other maybe not so healthy.  (Update: Check out Amy’s site for more appetizer recipes.)

I’ve got a recipe for our neighbor’s world famous pate, but while it is fantastic and can be made ahead…it’s not exactly at the pinnacle of good for you.  Still, I couldn’t get the thought of a pate out of my head.  When I looked for some other pate recipes, what I kept finding was that each pate recipe was more fat laden than the previous.  So I went the vegetarian route and created one that doesn’t taste healthy, but is.  Craig has already tasted it, and has given it his royal approval.  (He doesn’t know I plan on making more and having it out with some cheese and crackers while I cook.)  Since I know he really likes it, I am guaranteed he’ll be eating so much, that he’ll be pretty full and my plan will work.

Relationship Advice

Sometimes you’ve just got to take one for the team.  You know, hanging out with some of his neanderthal friends or spending time with his creepy uncle Tim who you try to avoid at all costs.  Or, like making a huge dinner when it’s only going to be the two of you.  But doing these things, as much as you dread them and don’t want to do them, really goes a long way in his mind.  While he may not verbalize this to you (do they ever verbalize things?) he knows that you didn’t want to do it but because he asked you to, you did.

Makes 1 1/2 Cups

Ingredients

• 1 Pound Steamed and Shelled Chestnuts
• 1 Ounce Dried Porcini, or Wild Mix Mushrooms (about 1 cup)
• 1 Medium Fennel Bulb (sliced and roasted with olive oil)
• 1/4 – 1/2 Cup Mushroom Water (water from reconstituting mushrooms)*
• 1/2 Medium Onion (roughly chopped)
• 1/2 Lemon (juiced)
• 1 Teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1/4 Teaspoon Dried Thyme
• 1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1/8 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
• 1/16 Teaspoon Ground Cloves (optional)

Directions

Place mushrooms in a bowl and cover with boiling water.  Let sit for 15-30 minutes, or until mushrooms are soft.  Drain mushrooms in a cheesecloth lined strainer.

In the bowl of a food processor add all ingredients, except mushroom water.  Pulse several times to chop ingredients.  Being careful to leave sediment in bowl, start adding mushroom water to ingredients.  Keep pulsing until ingredients reach the consistency you desire.  You will need to scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure all of the ingredients are thoroughly combined and uniformly chopped.

Serve immediately or refrigerate overnight.  This pate tastes best if it has time for the ingredients to meld together overnight.

* You could use a combination of mushroom water and marsala wine to this pate for even more flavor.

Sauteing the mushrooms in olive oil will deepen the flavor even more.

Technorati Tags: Appetizer Recipes, Easy Cooking, Easy Recipes, Healthy Recipes, pate recipes, vegan recipes, vegetable recipes