Magic Ingredients

I have had a belief for quite some time now, that pretty much any dish can be improved with a) some type of cheese, b) pineapple, or c) cheese and pineapple.  Well, I have yet to be proved wrong, so I wanted to share a couple of my favorite recipes which are alright on their own, but are much improved with one of these super special ingredients.

Fried rice is always good, but gets about 10x better with some fresh pineapple - this is my fried rice recipe that I've put together over the years, but feel free to use a different one if you already have a fried rice recipe you like!

Pineapple Fried Rice

3 tbsp oil (wok oil if you have it, if not, veg oil works fine)

3 cloves minced garlic

1/4 cup chopped onion

2 tsp chopped red chillies (or you can use 1-2 tsp Asian chili sauce)

1 cup meat of your choice (I recommend pork,

thinly sliced, or shrimp)

1 cup mixed frozen veggies

3 cups of cooked rice,cooled (I like jasmine rice,

but use what you prefer)

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 egg

1 cup pineapple chunks

Heat wok or large deep nonstick pan over medium-high heat.  When hot, add 1 tbsp oil.  Once oil is hot, add garlic, onion & chillies.  Stir and cook for 1 minute, then add meat.  While meat is cooking, stir frequently until done. Shrimp will only take 2-3 minutes to cook, but other meats such as pork or chicken may take more like 5 minutes.  Add veggies, tossing until heated.  Transfer meat/veggie mixture into large bowl.  Reheat wok and add remaining 2 tbsp oil (I like to add a splash of sesame oil as well for extra flavor).  When oil is hot, add rice and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes.  Return veggie mixture to wok, add fish sauce and soy sauce and mix everything well.  Move everything out to the sides of the wok to make an empty area in the center.  Crack egg into center of wok and scramble until cooked.  Once cooked, mix in with other ingredients, add pineapple chunks and remove from  heat.  Garnish with cilantro and toasted sesame seeds.

*This can easily be made a vegetarian dish by subbing the cup of meat with extra veggies!

 

Most stuffed mushroom recipes call for some amount of Parmesan or Romano cheese, but I've found that smoked Gouda can make your stuffed mushrooms amazing - now I never make them without it!

Stuffed Mushrooms

24-28 white mushrooms

1-2 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

1/3 cup smoked Gouda cheese

1-2 tsp fresh parsley, finely chopped

1-2 tsp fresh basil, finely chopped

1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

white wine

Preheat oven to 350.  Wash mushrooms and pop out stems.  Finely chop stems.  Heat oil over medium heat in a medium or large pan.  Add garlic and chopped mushroom stems.  Allow to cook for 1-2 minutes, draining any water that may sweat out of the mushrooms.  Stir in cheeses and continue cooking another 2-3 minutes until cheeses begin to melt.  Remove from heat and stir in parsley, basil and breadcrumbs.  Drizzle a baking dish with olive oil.  Use a teaspoon to distribute filling mixture evenly into mushroom caps and place filled caps into baking dish.  Once all caps are filled, drizzle tops with balsamic vinegar and a little white wine.  Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes until tops of filling begin to get crispy and turn golden.