30 Days A Vegan: Week 1

Day 1:

• Breakfast: Avocado Toast on Grain Bread and coffee with Califia Farms Almond Milk Creamer – If you’re looking for a non-dairy, low-fat, and/or low-calorie all natural creamer, I HIGHLY recommend this brand. I’ve had all 3 flavors, and they’re delicious. I started using them months ago, so this isn’t a vegan thing, it’s a delicous coffee thing.
• Lunch: Pasta with Asparagus, Sun-dried Tomatoes, and Pesto, and Roast Sweet Potatoes, Mushrooms, and Broccolini – I realized after the fact that I inadvertently strayed from full vegan here, as the pesto contains Parmesan cheese. #RookieMistake
• Dinner: Since it was #PizzaFriday, we ordered from Domino’s. I had a thin crust pizza with double mushroom, black olives, diced tomatoes, green pepper, and onions, and no cheese, and a mixed green salad with simple vinaigrette. – I know, I know, pizza without cheese? Is that really pizza? Call it a veggie flatbread if it makes you feel better, but it was delicious, and I didn’t miss the cheese at all. Seriously.
• Snacks: Marcoa almonds while waiting for our pizza. Oh, and cocktails. Is it Friday night without a cocktail?
• Thoughts: This was a rather easy day, and set me up for a good start. What I knew before this, and is even more evident now, is that this type of diet (definition a, b, or c, not d) will require more planning and prep than I’ve had to do previously. Really, not a bad thing at all, but something to take into consideration.

Day 2:

• Breakfast: Coffee with Almond Milk Creamer
• Lunch: Zucchini Grillini, no cheese, and Organic Vegetable Soup from Jason’s Deli – This was our first trip to a Jason’s, and we’re already excited to go back. The menu looked awesome, the salad bar was STOCKED with some great options and healthy grain salads to top your greens, and they have free ice cream. That’s right, FREE ICE CREAM. Of course, I couldn’t have any, but what a cool option available for young and old alike as an incentive to finish their meal.
• Dinner: Portobello Tacos with Vegan Jalapeno Sauce – I’ve “warned” Jim we’d probably be enjoying a lot of Mexican food, as the easiest way to enjoy any vegetable is to wrap it in a tortilla and top with salsa. These were delicious, and my first experiment with cashew based sauces. Great flavor, but I wish I would have had time to soak the cashews longer, our errands that day took longer than expected, and added another jalapeno for kick.
• Snacks: Chips, Salsa, and Guacamole and Spicy Grapefruit Margaritas – Tequila is vegan, right?
• Thoughts: Again, I’m pretty early into this experiment, so it wasn’t too tough, but I did find myself wanting a cookie from the jar in the kitchen and ice cream during lunch, but it wasn’t too difficult to tell myself no. I also stocked up at Trader Joe’s on some staples for future meals, as well as some treats such as Honey Roasted Almond slices for salads and snacking, as well their Frozen Coconut Dessert With Chocolate, which basically just tasted like delicious chocolate ice cream with a faint hint of coconut. Highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.

Day 3:

• Breakfast: Leftover Portobello Tacos with Jalapeno Sauce and Coffee with Almond Milk Creamer
• Lunch: Leftover pizza from Friday and veggie sandwich from Saturday
• Dinner: Snack plate of veggies, hummus, and pita chips
• Snacks: Prosecco 🙂
• Thoughts: Anything is doable when it’s enjoyed with bubbles!

Day 4:

• Breakfast: Peanut Butter & Jelly Chia Pudding, Avocado Toast, and Coffee
• Lunch: Snack plate of veggies, hummus, and pita chips
• Dinner: Sautéed mushroom, asparagus, and onions with jalapeños, corn, and kale over quinoa topped with jalapeño cashew sauce
• Snacks: Republic of Tea’s Coconut Cocoa Tea with Coconut Milk
• Thoughts: The struggle was real today. I was on my own with the kids for dinner, and I had the idea to go to Culver’s to get take-out. I could have a veggie burger and sweet potato fries, right? Wrong! The veggie burgers contained cheese. Luckily I had looked it up before getting into line. My alternate dinner was good, but I was really hoping for some sweet potato fries. In other news, that PB&J Chia Pudding was AMAZING. Seriously, so, so good. And easy too. I think it took me all of 10 minutes to mix it up into 5 servings for some quick weekday breakfasts. Can’t wait to try other flavor combinations. <runs off to google some more chia pudding recipes before bed>

Day 5:

• Breakfast: Caramel Latte with Coconut Milk & Fruit Cup from Starbucks
• Lunch: Panera’s Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with almonds
• Dinner:  Out with a Friend for Mexican: DIEZ VECES MÁS LOCO VEGETARIANO: Zucchini, red peppers, green peppers, carrots, tomato, red onion, mushrooms, broccoli, with Rice and Beans … and chips, salsa, and table-side guacamole. Obviously.
• Snacks: n/a … which lead to the massive amounts of chips and salsa consumed at dinner

Day 6:

• Breakfast: PB&J Chia Seed Pudding and Coffee with Almond Milk Creamer
• Lunch: Mediterranean Salad from Potbelly with no chicken or cheese
• Dinner: Vegetable Sushi Rolls with Sesame Miso Kale Salad
• Snacks: Popcorn and Rosé
• Thoughts: Real talk. This evening I sniffed the cookie jar like I was part vacuum, but I resisted a bite of the delicious smelling butter and egg filled baked goods.

Day 7:

• Breakfast: Trader Joe’s Frozen Steelcut Oatmeal with bananas, cinnamon, and brown sugar and Coffee with Almond Milk Creamer
• Lunch: Leftover Veggie Fajitas with Sweet Potato Chips, Guacamole, and Salsa
• Dinner: Veggie Sub on Wheat from Subway and a Riverwest Stein from Lakefront Brewery
• Snacks: n/a
• Thoughts: Thus ends week 1. Overall, there were difficult parts, but it was easier than I expected. That being said, it was an odd week for our family, without as many family dinners as we usually have, i.e. 6 or 7 rather than 2. Next week should be more of a challenge, as we’re back to the usual routine, and my goal in all of this is to share as little resemblance as possible with a short order cook. Basically, I want my meals to parallel those of the rest of the family, with as few changes as possible to make mine vegan.

 

Now, onto week 2!

Mushroom Bourguignon

This recipe from Smitten Kitchen is one I’ve made a few times, and we’ve really enjoyed as a filling, comforting, and meat-free meal. It’s also great as a lighter alternative to the heavy and decadent foods of the holiday season. I’ve added the nutritional breakdown’s from My Fitness Pal to show just how “healthy lifestyle” friendly, notice I didn’t say “diet”, the recipe is, even with the pasta. Enjoy!

 

Serves 8

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 pounds portobello mushrooms, in 1/4-inch slices (save the stems for another use) (you can use cremini instead, as well)
• 1/2 carrot, finely diced
• 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup full-bodied red wine
• 2 cups beef or vegetable broth (beef broth is traditional but vegetable to make it vegetarian; it works with either)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/2 teaspoon dried)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup pearl onions, peeled (thawed if frozen)
• Egg noodles, for serving
• Sour cream and chopped chives or parsley, for garnish (optional)

 

1. Heat the one tablespoon of the olive oil and one tablespoon of butter in a medium Dutch oven or heavy sauce pan over high heat. Sear the mushrooms until they begin to darken, but not yet release any liquid — about three or four minutes. Remove them from pan.
2. Lower the flame to medium and add the second tablespoon of olive oil. Toss the carrots, onions, thyme, a few good pinches of salt and a several grinds of black pepper into the pan and cook for 10, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for just one more minute.
3. Add the wine to the pot, scraping any stuck bits off the bottom, then turn the heat all the way up and reduce it by half. Stir in the tomato paste and the broth. Add back the mushrooms with any juices that have collected and once the liquid has boiled, reduce the temperature so it simmers for 20 minutes, or until mushrooms are very tender. Add the pearl onions and simmer for five minutes more.
4. Combine remaining butter and the flour with a fork until combined; stir it into the stew. Lower the heat and simmer for 10  more minutes. If the sauce is too thin, boil it down to reduce to the right consistency. Season to taste.
5. To serve, spoon the stew over a bowl of egg noodles, dollop with sour cream (optional) and sprinkle with chives or parsley.

 

Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar

Total:	1,896	237	56	65	1,844	19
Per Serving:	237	30	7	8	231	2

Meal Plan – February 8th – Febuary 14th

• Friday: Family Dinner Out – North Star American Bistro – This is a restaurant I actually forgot about, but we ended up at due to their not having a wait on a Friday night when we’d already stopped at 2 other restaurants with hour+ long waits. I started with the Chestnut Manhattan, which I was looking forward to having again immediately after my first sip. Not surprisingly, we ordered calamari, which was very good. I loved my entrée of short ribs, cheesy mashed potatoes, and sautéed spinach. Unfortunately, Jim did not care for his entrée of bourbon salmon. His disappointment was slightly forgotten when he dug into a slice of turtle cheesecake garnished with candied nuts. So, so good.

• Saturday: Caesar Salads, Antipasti, and Bolognese Sauce over Tagliatelle – Great recipe, didn’t change a thing. The best part is that it’s a large batch and freezes very well for a quick weeknight meal.

• Sunday: Buttermilk Roast Chicken, Green Beans, Corn, and Mashed Potatoes – I LOVE this recipe. I don’t change much, except for upping the spices, and adding a bit of tabasco to the marinade. Another step I take is to drain and dry the chicken before roasting. I just use paper towels to sop up as much of the marinade as possible. The first time I made this, I didn’t do that, and the chicken was delicious, but soggy. When you dry before drizzling with oil and roasting, it gives the skill more of an opportunity to crisp up. And really, let’s be honest, isn’t crispy skin the best part of roasted chicken???

• Monday: Errands & Dinner Out – Chili’s – For as much as I don’t care for chain restaurants, there are a few that are “worthy” of our time and money. Chili’s is one of those on our list. I used to get the chicken tacos, and I’m still a little annoyed that they took those off of the menu. Scratch that, I’m a lot annoyed. They were good. Really good. Whatever, I’ll try to move on … try. My new go-to are chicken fajitas, Cadillac style. They’re always good, and they ensure lunch is also covered for the next day or two.

• Tuesday: Pizza and Salad – We had Carter’s 4K registration and tour, and didn’t get home until almost 8:00 p.m. Thank goodness for frozen pizzas from Costco. Did you know I love Costco?

• Wednesday: Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef over Rice with Asian Roasted Asparagus and Mushrooms – This was good. Like, Jim asked if it was from a bag good. I should be insulted by that, but I know him well enough to know he meant no harm. I did add some Sriracha, which I will definitely do next time as well.

• Thursday: Alfredo Pasta with Chicken Sausage and Mushrooms and Steamed Broccoli – I just wasn’t feeling like actually cooking, so Carter and I picked up some sauce from the grocery and I tossed with sausage, mushrooms, and pasta we already had on hand. It was really a Valentine’s present to myself.

Mushroom Bolognese

I’m sure I’ve told you before, but the idea of a vegetarian dinner and Jim do not mix. Now, that isn’t to say he won’t eat and enjoy his vegetables, but in his mind, and the minds of many, many others, dinner = meat. So, knowing this, it was a risk on my part to feature this recipe from The Italian Dish as part of our Valentine’s Dinner. Though, I will say that it was a calculated risk, as it’s always easier to slip something questionable into dinner when it’s surrounded by pasta. Success! Not only did he eat it, he commented at how good it was BEFORE being asked for feedback. Yeah, that’s right.

This recipe made a pretty substantial pot of sauce, but, as the original recipe notes, freezes well for quick weeknight meals. I served over some good Italian dried pasta, but I think it would also be tasty over some cheese ravioli or even a sautéed chicken breast for those stubborn meat eaters in your life. Also, based on price, I paid $6.99 for one ounce, the dried porcini mushrooms may seem like a big splurge, but since you’re not adding meat and the rest of the ingredients are quite inexpensive, it’s worth the investment into the overall flavor of your finished sauce.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
  
• 1 Large Carrot, peeled and diced
  
• 2 medium sized Celery Ribs, diced
  
• ½ medium Onion, diced
  
• Kosher Salt
  
• Black Pepper, freshly ground
  
• 3 clove Garlic, grated or minced
  
• ¾ cup Red Wine
  
• 1 pound Mushrooms, about 19 oz. before being stemmed (I used a mix of mostly baby bellas and some shiitake), chopped
  
• 1 ounce of dried Porcini Mushrooms
  
• 1 ½ cups Broth, beef or Vegetable
  
• 1 15 oz. can Whole Tomatoes, crushed
  
• 1 15 oz. can Tomato Sauce or Puree
  
• 2 Bay Leaves
  
• 2 tsp Sugar
  
• 2 tsp Dried Oregano
  
• 1 tsp Dried Thyme
  

Directions:

1. Soak the dried porcini mushrooms in 1 cup of very warm water and let sit for 20 minutes. Strain through a cheesecloth or a coffee filter and keep the liquid. Do not use a metal mesh strainer for this step – it is not fine enough. Chop the porcini mushrooms and set aside.
   
2. Sauté the onion, carrot and celery in a large pot in the olive oil with a big pinch of kosher or sea salt and a few grindings of pepper. Let the vegetables cook for about 8 minutes, on low heat. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Increase heat and add the wine. Cook for 5 minutes, making sure the wine is simmering. Add all of the mushrooms.
   
3. Add the rest of the ingredients, including the reserved porcini mushroom liquid. Simmer, uncovered, for about an hour to an hour and a half, until the sauce has reduced down and a lot of the liquid has cooked off – cook until you like the thickness of the sauce. Taste for salt and adjust seasoning.
   
4. This recipe will be more than enough to coat a pound of pasta. If you don’t use all the sauce, it’s great the next day or you can freeze it.

Portabella & Mozzarella Flatbread Pizza

As you’ve probably figured out, because I think I’ve mentioned it previously, I started Weight Watchers a few months back. To say it has been working would be an understatement, as I’m on 12 pounds and counting … down. That being said, I have been excited to continually discover that eating within my points does not have to mean depriving myself of delicious and inventive recipes like this one. By using a Flatout Flatbread as the crust, I am able to create a light and satisfying dish that works as a lunch, light dinner, or even an appetizer.

Ingredients:

• 1 Flatout Light Original Flatbread
  
• Olive Oil in pump spray bottle
  
• 1 Portabella Mushroom Cap, thinly sliced
  
• ¼ Red Onion, thinly sliced
  
• 55 grams Fresh Mozzarella, sliced
  
• ½ cup Arugula
  
• 3 grams Reggiano, grated
  
• Kosher Salt
  
• Pepper, freshly ground
  
• Lemon Wedge
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350⁰. Spray flatbread with olive oil spray on both sides.
   
2. Preheat sauté pan over medium heat and lightly spray with olive oil. Lay mushroom slices in pan and allow to brown for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Set aside. Add onions into hot pan and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes.
   
3. Lay mushrooms out on flatbread. Top with onions. Tear and arrange mozzarella over pizza.
   
4. Place mushroom directly on oven rack and back for 6 minutes. Toss arugula with a spritz of olive oil, salt, pepper, and reggiano. When pizza is finished, top with arugula, and bake for 1 additional minute to wilt salad.
   
5. Remove pizza from oven, rest for 1 minute, cut into wedges and serve with a light squeeze of lemon juice.
   

 

Servings – 1 entrée or 2 appetizers

WW Points – entree = 7 pts / appetizer = 3 pts

Dijon Chicken Pasta with Cremini Mushrooms and Almonds

When I saw this recipe on the blog Rock Recipes, I thought it looked delicious, but the 2 cups of cream it called for screamed not too figure friendly to anyone paying attention. I was able to reduce the cream substantially, while still keeping the flavor and a bit of richness. I also used a whole wheat pasta instead of the fresh, as this increased the overall fiber content of the finished dish. We’ll definitely be having this again, and I may be enjoying the leftovers for lunch this afternoon.

Servings: 4 / POINTS Value: 7

Ingredients:

• 4 oz Whole Grain Linguine, cooked according to package directions
  
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 to 2 inch pieces
  
• 8 oz Cremini Mushrooms, sliced
  
• 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
  
• Salt and pepper to season
  
• ¼ cup Slivered Almonds, toasted
  
• 2 oz White Wine
  
• ½ cup Whipping Cream
  
• ½ cup Chicken Broth
  
• 3 tbsp Dijon mustard, a combination of smooth and course ground is best
  
• 2 Tbsp Parsley, minced
  

Directions:

1. Heat a large heavy bottomed sauté pan over medium heat. Add chicken breasts, garlic, season with salt and pepper and brown, turning only once or twice, until the chicken is completely cooked through, about 8 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and hold in a warm oven.
2. Add the mushrooms to the hot pan and brown, turning only once or twice, cooking for about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the wine, and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir until wine has reduced by half.
4. Stir in cream, broth, and mustard. Simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes or until sauce as reduced by half and thickened.
5. Add chicken back to the pan along with the cooked pasta. Stir to warm through and add parsley. Sprinkle with almonds as you plate portions to serve.

Chicken Marsala

I try to mix up our weekly meal plans, but sometimes that means we don’t have some old favorites very often, as I forget about them when getting excited about trying new recipes. This recipe from Tyler Florence is just one of those kinds of favorites. Well, favorite to me. While we were enjoying dinner, Jim commented that this was, “better than he remembered”. I’m not really sure what that means, but I’ll interpret that it means that it should remain in the semi-regular rotation.

I’ve updated the original recipe to include double the amount of mushrooms, but everything else it true to the original. This pairs really well with mashed potatoes and a green vegetable or salad for a delicious dinner easy enough for a week night, and special enough for company.

Ingredients:

• 4 skinless, boneless, chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
  
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
  
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  
• 4 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced
  
• 1 lb Mushrooms, Cremini or Porcini mushrooms, stemmed and halved
  
• ½ cup sweet Marsala wine
  
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
  
• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
  
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
  

Directions:

1. Put the chicken breasts side by side on a cutting board and lay a piece of plastic wrap over them; pound with a flat meat mallet, until they are about 1/4-inch thick. Put some flour in a shallow platter and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly.
   
2. Heat the oil over medium-high flame in a large skillet. When the oil is nice and hot, dredge both sides of the chicken cutlets in the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess. Slip the cutlets into the pan and fry for 5 minutes on each side until golden, turning once – do this in batches if the pieces don’t fit comfortably in the pan. Remove the chicken to a large platter in a single layer to keep warm.
   
3. Lower the heat to medium and add the prosciutto to the drippings in the pan, sauté for 1 minute to render out some of the fat. Now, add the mushrooms and sauté until they are nicely browned and their moisture has evaporated, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper.
4. Pour the Marsala in the pan and boil down for a few seconds to cook out the alcohol. Add the chicken stock and simmer for a minute to reduce the sauce slightly. Stir in the butter and return the chicken to the pan; simmer gently for 1 minute to heat the chicken through. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped parsley before serving.

Mushroom Marsala Pasta with Artichokes

When I saw it, I immediately thought that this recipe posted on the blog Smitten Kitchen looked amazingly delicious. When I told Jim that we would be having a dinner with no meat, he wasn’t as thrilled. I am happy to say that we were both pleasantly surprised when he enjoyed it as much as I did, and told me not to change a thing.

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
  
• 1 Small Onion, finely chopped
  
• 1 Clove Garlic, minced
  
• 1 lb Mushrooms, trimmed, cleaned & chopped into small bits, I recommend creminis and/or portabellas
  
• 1 tsp Kosher Salt, plus 1 tsp for pasta water
  
• 1 cup Dry Marsala Wine
  
• 1 lb Short or Decorative Pasta, I used Campanelle “Little Bells”
  
• ½ lb Frozen Artichoke Hearts, thawed and roughly chopped
  
• ¾ cup Parmesan, grated
  
• ¾ cup Cream
  
• ½ cup Fresh Flat-Leaf Parsley, chopped
  
• 1 tsp Black Pepper, freshly ground
  

Directions:

1. Place the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook for one minute. Add the mushrooms, garlic, and one teaspoon of the salt.
   
2. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until all the moisture has evaporated and the mushrooms have cooked down, about 5 to 10 minutes.
   
3. Add the Marsala and continue cooking until almost all the wine has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
   
4. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Stir in remaining salt. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes.
   
5. Drain pasta and add it into the mushrooms, Marsala and onions.
   
6. Add the artichoke hearts, Parmesan and cream and cook until the artichokes are heated through, about 5 minutes.
   
7. Stir in the parsley and pepper, and adjust seasonings to taste. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve.

Salmon Baked in Puff Pastry with Dill Sauce

Every week, as I am making the meal plan and shopping list, I ask Jim what he wants for dinner. He usually says, “I don’t know”, “I don’t care”, or “Whatever”. Really helpful, right? Well, since he hadn’t had a single home cooked meal this week, he actually thought of an actual answer to what we should have for dinner on Saturday night: salmon. Now, he asked for salmon and pasta, but I focused on finding a new way to serve salmon, and would find the appropriate side dish afterwards. I mean, what do boys know about planning meals anyways? I found a recipe on Epicurious.com for this salmon featured in the February ’96 issue of Bon Appétit. It sounded great, received great reviews, and featured puff pastry, so I was sold. I did omit the rice, as I didn’t like the idea of it, and had already decided to serve the salmon with risotto.

The sauce was an unexpected surprise, as I thought it wouldn’t be necessary for the success of the final dish, but I was totally wrong. Even though it is a cream sauce, it succeeded in cutting through the richness of the salmon and pastry and added another layer of flavor. I decided not to buy clam juice for the dill sauce, as I didn’t know what I would do with the rest of it once I used the 2/3 cup the recipe calls for. If you know what you would use the left overs for, go ahead and stick with the recipe as is, but the sauce turned out fine with the substitution of chicken stock.

This was delicious. I think this would be great for company as well, as it was simple to prepare, presented beautifully, and could be made ahead of time, and baked just before serving. The recipe is made to serve 4, but this can easily be adapted for 2, by only thawing out one sheet of pastry.

Ingredients:

Salmon:

• 2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
• ½ cup Leek, white and light green parts minced and rinsed
• 6 oz. Fresh Shitake Mushrooms, stemmed and chopped
• 2 sheets Frozen Puff Pastry, thawed
• 4 6 oz. Salmon Filets, skinned
• Egg Wash: 1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp water

Dill Sauce

• 2/3 cup Bottled Clam Juice or Chicken Stock
• ½ cup Dry White Wine
• 1 ¼ cups Whipping Cream or Crème Fraîche*
• 3 Tbsp Fresh Dill, minced
• Salt
• White Pepper

Directions:

Salmon:

1. Melt butter in heavy medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add leek; sauté until beginning to soften, about 4 minutes. Add mushrooms. Cover skillet; cook until mushrooms release their juices, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Uncover skillet. Increase heat to medium-high; sauté until liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Transfer to bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Cool completely.
2. Butter large baking sheet. Roll out 1 pastry sheet on floured surface to 12-inch square. Cut into 4 equal squares. Divide mushroom mixture among centers of squares, mounding in oval shape with ends toward 2 corners of pastry. Set salmon atop mushroom mixture. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bring pastry corners up around salmon (pastry will not enclose salmon completely.) Roll out remaining pastry sheet on floured surface to 13-inch square. Cut into 4 equal squares. Lay 1 square atop each salmon fillet, tucking corners under bottom pastry to enclose salmon completely. Pinch edges together to seal, brushing with egg mixture if necessary to adhere. Arrange salmon packages, seam side down, on prepared baking sheet. Cover and chill 30 minutes. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Keep chilled.)
3. Preheat oven to 400°F. Brush top of pastry with egg mixture. Bake until golden and thermometer inserted into fish registers 145°F, about 30 minutes.

Dill Sauce

1. Combine clam juice and wine in heavy small nonaluminum saucepan. Boil until reduced to 1/3 cup, about 9 minutes.
2. Reduce heat to medium. Whisk in crème fraîche. Boil until reduced to 1 cup, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in dill. Season with salt and pepper.

Serving:

Transfer salmon packages to plates. Spoon Dill Sauce around and serve.

*If crème fraîche is unavailable, heat 1 cup whipping cream to lukewarm (85°F). Remove from heat and mix in 2 tablespoons buttermilk. Cover and let stand in warm draft-free area until slightly thickened (24 to 48 hours, depending on temperature of room). Refrigerate until ready to use.

Artichoke Stuffed Mushroom Pies with Simple Salad

This was inspired by this recipe from the November issue of Food Network magazine, a complete lack of puff pastry at my grocery store, some extra artichoke hearts in my refrigerator, and the belief that anything is good when wrapped in crescent rolls. I was originally going to add some turkey sausage for Jim, but since he’s over at his brother’s working on some repairs, I figured I could make a fully vegetarian meal with no complaints.

I could not be more pleased with how well this turned out. I made three pies, and I now am holding myself back from eating the other two. Who would know? Jim isn’t home, and the little man is in bed, but I’ll keep using my will power to stay on the couch watching T.V. and working on my blog. Gosh, I have such impressive will power, don’t I? I think you could have a lot of fun with this recipe. I toyed with the idea of adding some sun dried tomatoes, but I wanted to keep it simple for this first go around. I’ll probably end up trying the sausage sometime too.

Ingredients:

• Cooking spray
• 1 package crescent roll seamless sheet
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3 large Portobello mushroom caps, gills scooped out
• ½ cup mushroom caps, diced
• ½ cup artichoke hearts, finely chopped
• ¼ cup breadcrumbs
• ¼ cup parmesan cheese
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2 to 3 Tbsp Honey Mustard dressing
• 2 to 3 cups spring mix
• 1 pear or apple, cored and thinly sliced

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375⁰ degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and mist with cooking spray.
2. Roll the puff pastry to lengthen and widen it about a ½ inch in both directions. Place the mushrooms gill-side up on the pastry and season with salt and pepper.
3. In a bowl, mix the mushrooms, artichoke hearts, breadcrumbs, cheese, and garlic together. Spoon the mixture into the mushroom “bowls”.
4. Fold in the pastry edges, pleating to fully cover the mushrooms; press to seal. Brush both sides of the pastry with the beaten egg. Place seam-side down on the baking sheet, make slits in the top and bake until golden and crisp, 22 minutes. Let cool slightly.
5. Meanwhile, toss the dressing with the salad greens and fruit. Serve the salad with the mushroom pies.