Mushroom Goat Cheese Pasta

Belonging to my rowing club involves (you guessed it) rowing, but also a social aspect. There are a few hundred members divided into a handful of social crews: each crew has a monthly dinner, plus an annual fundraiser that they're responsible for. My crew puts on a wine tasting every summer, and I am on the food planning committee for it. While planning the menu, the vintner we're using recommended a goat cheese and mushroom pasta to pair with one of the wines. One of the many fun and wonderful things about our monthly potluck dinners is that they're a great opportunity to test recipes for the wine tasting and get feedback.

This week I was responsible for trying my hand at the recommended pasta. I looked at many (maaaaany) goat cheese pasta recipes, and in the end, I took some techniques from different recipes and used my judgement to adapt this recipe into something very delicious.

Frankly, I was not expecting to like it. I was wrong: I loved it. It was also a hit at dinner, and we'll be serving it at our event in August. If this recipe appeals to you, I've posted it below so that you can make it too. If you don't want to make it but still want to eat it, you should come to the wine tasting, which is open to the public! More info to come on how to purchase a ticket.

Mushroom and Goat Cheese Pasta

16 ounces uncooked rigatoni or bowtie pasta or whatever pasta floats your boat

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons olive oil

20-24 ounces (depending on how your grocery store has them packaged) fresh mushrooms, sliced (I used cremini and white. Next time I'll throw some more boldly flavored ones in - shiitake, oyster, chanterelle.)

¼ cup minced shallots

2 large garlic cloves, minced (about a tablespoon)

⅓ cup white wine (All I had was rosé, and it worked just fine.)

½ cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

4 cups baby spinach, washed & roughly (not finely!) chopped

6 ounces goat cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta to al dente according to package directions. Be sure not to overcook it or it will get mushy and not hold up as well in the sauce. Drain and set aside. (If you’re worried it’s too soft, quickly rinse in cold water to stop it cooking.)

Meanwhile, work on the sauce:

Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet or pot over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper them, and sauté until golden brown and soft, 5-10 minutes. You might want to do this in batches to get them nice and brown and build flavor. Add the garlic, shallots, and wine, and give it a few good stirs. Add the chicken stock. Let it cook 2-3 minutes. Add whipping cream. It will look pretty thin: Let it simmer about five minutes, or enough to thicken a bit. You may need to lower the heat so it doesn't scorch. Whisk in goat cheese. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Add spinach, mix it all up.

In a large pot or bowl, toss the pasta with the mushroom sauce. Stir in the Parmesan cheese. Devour.

Liking Lately: Recipe Edition

In my house, we go through peaks and valleys when it comes to meal planning and meal prep. I've mentioned this before. My husband and I will get on a tear for a while, diligently planning and executing shopping trips, menus, food prep, etc. Then we get a busy week or two, or have some travel or holidays thrown in, and it all falls by the wayside and we eat a lot of scrambled eggs and things we find in our freezer. Lately I've been on top of things, thanks in part to inspiration from a Facebook group for food ideas, which my friend A'Dell recently came up with.

I've tried a few new recipes lately, and wanted to share.

1. But first! This quinoa salad in its many iterations (I make it with or without feta, craisins, and roasted garbanzos; I make it with whatever vegetables and toasted nuts I have on hand; I make it with or without avocado, chicken, salmon, or other meat/fat to make it a heartier meal) continues to be a hit at my regular rowing club potluck dinners, and is a frequently requested recipe. (Instagram photo below is one of my many versions.)

2. Speaking of potlucks and quinoa, I think I'm going to try this Crunchy Cashew Thai Quinoa Salad with Ginger Peanut Dressing recipe for my next potluck. It includes so many of my favorite foods and flavors.

Photo from tastykitchen.com

3. I also recently made this kale and Brussels sprouts salad for a potluck, and it was also a hit. And it was super fast because I made use of Trader Joe's shredded, raw Brussels sprouts, and a bag of their Tuscan kale, which is already chopped (I just removed any big stems and chopped the leaves more finely). This would be delicious alongside grilled chicken prepped in my favorite marinade, and in fact I am putting that on my menu for next week right now.

Note: I used parmesan and toasted almond slivers because that's what I had. Easy-peasy.

Photo from epicurious.com

4.  And finally, I miss writing at Food Lush. I am always delightfully surprised when I see someone post a link to or try a recipe from the site, despite it having closed down three years ago. This recipe for Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps is one I'd tried before, but I remember not loving it, and we never made it again. It turns out it's just so much better (to me! and Zach!) over rice. My husband was raving about it, and claims it was the best meal he's had in a while.

Here's the recipe, with my modifications. Original is in the link.

Photo from tastykitchen.com

Cashew Chicken, for Lettuce Wraps or Over Rice

Note: if enjoying the recipe over rice, you will need to quadruple the sauce, as listed below.

• 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
• 3/4 Tablespoon brown sugar
• Few dashes red pepper flakes
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2-⅓ Tablespoons soy sauce or coconut aminos, divided
• 3 Tablespoons canola oil (or oil of choice)
• Approx. 1 and 1/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and diced
• 1 medium or large yellow (or white) onion, diced
• 1 Bunch of green onions, white and light green parts sliced; dark green parts discarded
• 3-4 celery stalks, diced
• 1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained and rinsed (chop them if you please)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup roasted, salted, chopped cashews (I did half almonds, half cashew, because that's what I had. An extra handful of nuts certainly won't hurt!)
• 8 leaves Of butterhead, bib or other large leaf lettuce (romaine even works), washed and dried, if doing lettuce wraps.

For the sauce, mix together rice vinegar, brown sugar, ground red pepper, ground ginger, sesame oil, and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, making sure to dissolve brown sugar. Set aside. (Quadruple these measurements if serving over rice instead of in lettuce leaves.)

Heat oil in pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add diced chicken and brown (about 4 to 5 minutes). Remove chicken from oil, reduce heat to medium. Add onions and garlic to pan with remaining soy sauce (1/3 tbsp. = 1 tsp.) to pan; cook until translucent. A few minutes into cooking the onion and garlic, add the celery and water chestnuts. When onions and garlic are clear and tender, add stir fry sauce, browned chicken and green onions. Saute mixture for a few minutes and add cashews shortly before removing from heat.

Spoon chicken mixture into individual lettuce leaves, wrap and devour! Or serve over rice alongside steamed broccoli if desired. Add your favorite hot sauce, more cashews or soy sauce if you're feeling kicky.

Friday Find: Thanksgiving help

(I didn't post a Friday Find last week because I was hunting for things for the Decor Guide, and had just posted the Gift Guide. I thought about taking a break this week, but there's no time for that! We have things to discuss!)

I'll get straight to the point: I love everything Cook's Illustrated does (not sponsored, I just really love them). I've never made a bad recipe from them, and they have such useful ideas. I love that they explain what they tried, what worked, what didn't, and why. Lucky for us, they recently released a helpful Thanksgiving guide, and I am gleefully browsing it, in disbelief that Thanksgiving is just two weeks away! 

Photo from cooksillustrated.com.

There are lots of helpful tips and tricks, including when to buy brussels sprouts, a clever way to chop celery, and how to fix a pie crust (Daisy, my pie challenged friend, I thought of you!).

I want to do a Thanksgiving recipe round-up, but I'm not sure I'll get to it in a more formal way. So, if I don't, here are a few I've had great luck with. Some of the original recipes are behind a paywall, which, frankly, is worth it. Likewise, I always recommend the Cook's Illustrated cookbook. It's my go-to, and it's currently about $23 on Amazon.

Pumpkin Praline Pie. I am a pumpkin pie purist. For me it doesn't get any better than the recipe on the back of the Libby's can, but this classic twist with its crunchy, chewy, nutty top was a delightful treat. (Pro tip: Not currently behind a paywall, though it usually is. Enjoy it while it lasts!)

Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Crumble. Apparently you can put a pecan crumble on anything and it will win me over. I have tried many sweet potato casseroles over the years, and I think this one is my favorite. It's well balanced, but still a little whimsical with the addition of a handful of marshmallows. (Check out that Cook's Illustrated Thanksgiving guide for the secret to perfect marshmallow topping!)

Classic Green Bean Casserole. Look, I don't like green bean casserole. I don't like canned green beans and I don't like soup out of a can. But if we're being honest, I found some fancy fried onions at the store last year, and wanted an excuse to buy them. So I decided to try a fresh version of the mushy old classic, just for kicks. As usual, I turned to my friend Cook's Illustrated, and used their classic recipe (online behind a paywall, and also in the cookbook. I'd never tell you to google it so you can see if someone has posted the whole recipe on their blog, but if you think of that all on your own then there's really nothing I can do about it.) The differences are huge: it uses fresh, blanched green beans, and a mushroom cream sauce from scratch. For a few brief but precious moments on Thanksgiving morning, I stood at the stove stirring that sauce, and contemplated asking everyone to leave so I could have some private time alone with it and a spoon. This year I plan on skipping the onion and breadcrumb topping altogether, and just tossing some bright green, freshly blanched, nutritious green beans in that delicious, heartwarming, unhealthy, cozy white mushroom sauce. It was truly perfect.

I love menu planning, especially for Thanksgiving, and I'd love to hear what you're planning! Do you have any favorite recipes to share? What's on your menu this year? I know a lot of you have good stuff. Especially you, Sarah.