We had friends over for dinner Saturday night. They have just gotten engaged. I never used to get excited about news like this. I think it is partially because I never had any desire to get married so I never fully understood what all the fuss was about. I never wanted the fancy dress, all the attention, or the big day. Maybe I'm just too cheap to spend so much cash on one day. It doesn't seem practical. Hopefully I don't come off as much of a curmudgeon in person as I sound right now.Jess and I will be celebrating 13 years together come the Fall. As time marches on and I get a wee bit older, I think a celebration of some kind might be fun. I don't think it's some inner need to acknowledge our relationship to the world. I think it's simply a great excuse to have an awesome party, and invite all those we love. So I'm excited about the news of a pending wedding for our friends. It seems romantic and a solid decision for a couple of folks that have already been together for eight years. Congratulations Kevin and Stacey!
Saturday night our dinner was fairly low key with a yummy salad and some home burgers. We started out with some bubbly and stuffed mushrooms to kick it up a notch. This is a classic appetizer that works for any occasion.
Roasted Mushrooms with Pine Nuts
I substituted cashews for pine nuts because pine nuts are so expensive right now. It was still good with cashews but pine nuts are ideal.
18 large mushrooms
1/3 cup olive oil
juice of a lemon
2 large garlic cloves minced
1/3 cup of pine nuts
1/3 bread crumbs
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
freshly ground pepper to taste
salt to taste
Wipe mushrooms clean. Pull stems out of caps and set aside. Coat a shallow bake-and-serve dish with some olive oil. Dip mushrooms caps in lemon juice and place stem side up in dish.
Dice mushroom stems, and saute them with garlic and olive oil. Stir in nuts and bread crumbs. Add red pepper flakes, pepper and salt to taste. Remove from heat.
Spoon the sauteed mixture into the mushroom caps. Bake uncovered at 400 C for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve hot.
Yum. Looks good. The effort on the photos is appreciated because my inspiration/cravings are usually birthed from an image. http://foodporndaily.com has some good food images too.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, pine nuts annoy me due to their exorbitant cost. They are the Wedding Day of nuts. Unless you buy a barrel of them from Costco I guess.