Portabella Mushroom, With Laura Chenel's Goat Cheese and Sun Dried Tomatoes

This is a wonderful, holiday-time dish, that can be used as a appetizer, a main meal, or as a burger.

Recipe for one:
1 Portabella mushroom
1 Tablespoon tapenade
1 Tablespoon Laura Chenel goat cheese
1 teaspoon sun dried tomatoes sliced thin
1 pinch salt and pepper
A drizzle of balsamic reduction
A few arugula leaves

First wipe your mushroom clean and remove the black lungs with a spoon, being careful with the edges.  Brush with olive oil and bake in the oven for about 10-15 minutes at 325*.

While that's cooking, make your tapenade, by throwing a handful of kalamata olives in the blender (pits removed), with a good glug of olive oil, one clove of garlic, pinch of salt and pepper, and a little squeeze of lemon or orange juice.  Now puree.

Arrange arugula leaves on a plate.  When the mushroom is done, take out of the oven and pat dry.  Place it on the bed of arugula and add the tapenade.  Shave a little lemon or orange zest on at this time.  Now add the goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes.  Drizzle with balsamic reduction...

Bon Appetit!

Beet, Stilton and Walnut Salad with Apple...

This salad is The Best Salad Ever!  And an old-time favorite that Chef Jacquelyn Buchanan N.E. made as one of her signature dishes, back at the St. Andrews Hotel on Post Street in San Francisco.

The only place I've been able to find Stilton cheese (from Stilton, England) in the Islands is at Rose's Bakery & Cafe on Orcas.  The stuff we get here is stilton blue -- it's not the real stuff!

It's Fall!  Which means it's beet, apple and pear season, so here we go.

Recipe feeds 2:
Two handfuls of fresh, organic, salad mix
2 small gold and red cooked beets
1/2 thinly sliced apple
1/4 cup toasted walnuts (which you can spice up a bit if you like)
2 tablespoons hazelnut oil
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
A good pinch each of salt and pepper
1/2 cup large crumbled Stilton

Add all the ingredients (except the salad greens and the cheese) to a large stainless steel or wooden bowl and mix with your hands, then add salad mix and gently mix again with your hands.  Plate and add crumbled cheese, then drizzle with balsamic reduction drizzle.

Bon Appetit!

Oven Roasted Tomatoes and Cambazola Cheese Crostini

Easy, comfort food for adults, kids and boaters!

Recipe:
Sliced sourdough bread
Tomatoes
Cambazola cheese, Brie, Stilton or ??
Fresh basil leaves
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Balsamic reduction drizzle

Set your oven at 300*.  In a roasting pan, place sliced tomatoes as thick as you want them, a little less than a 1/2", cover them with a sprinkle of olive oil, then add a pinch of salt and pepper, and place them in the oven for about 1 1/2 hours.  Meanwhile, take your cheese out of the fridge and get it to room temperature until tomatoes are done.  When tomatoes are done, lay sliced bread in a pan and drizzle it with olive oil, add a little salt, then roast for about 20 minutes, until it is a bit crunchy.  When bread is ready, spread cheese on it, add tomatoes and basil, and drizzle with balsamic reduction... Bon Appetit!