No Mushroom Left Behind

I have many loves. My family and (most of) my friends (I kid!), the Beatles, the Buckeyes, and of course, this blog (ummm....). And when it comes to food, I also have many loves: Cheese, dark chocolate, garlic, and mushrooms.

So luck be a lady when I happened across a new recipe for that incorporated three of my favorite foods. And, although some of the ingredients are kind of expensive, I actually had those budget-busters on hand already, so hooray for repurposing!

A word about my love for mushrooms. OH I love them. In fact, if I happen to see something all mushroom-y on a menu, it is very difficult for me to focus on anything else. And lest you think mushrooms are just a filler food, according to my friend Google (and Vegetarian-Nutrition.Info), mushrooms are low in fat, sodium and calories, full of water, potassium, and other fun antioxidants. What's not to love?

Of course, if you're the kid, plenty, but we'll get to that in a few.

Bucatini with Mushrooms
Source: Cooking Light Our Best Pasta & Noodle Dishes, Fall 2011

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. dried porcini mushrooms
• 2/3 c. boiling water
• 8 oz. uncooked bucatini (used whole wheat fettuccine)
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/4 c. finely chopped shallots
• 2, 4-oz packages exotic mushroom blend, finely chopped (stayed basic here, peeps)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp dry sherry
• 2 oz parm
• 1/4 c. heavy whipping cream
• 1 tsp sage
• 1/2 tsp pepper (skip)
• 1 tsp truffle oil

Directions:

• Rinse porcini thoroughly. Combine porcini and 2/3 c. boiling water in a bowl; cover and let stand 30 mins. Drain in a sieve over a bowl, reserving 1/4 c. soaking liquid. Chop porcini.
• Cook pasta. Reserve 1/4 c. cooking liquid when done.
• Melt butter in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add shallots, mushroom blend, and garlic, saute 5 mins, stirring frequently. Stir in porcini, sherry and salt (skip), cook for 1 min or until the liquid evaporates.
• Reduce heat to medium. Stir in pasta, reserved liquids, 1/4 c. parm cheese, heavy cream, sage and pepper, toss well to combine. Drizzle with truffle oil, toss.

Yield: 4 servings (1-1/4 c. pasta mixture)
Per serving: 393 calories; 14.2g fat (7.9 sat, 4.3 mon, 0.9 poly); 15.8 protein; 49.3 carb; 38mg choles; 733mg sodium

I also made:
Cheese-Garlic Biscuits with Heart-Smart Bisquick, for the boys. I had a bite, to taste test.

Reviews:
I liked this dish. I thought it was actually quite rich and substantial, even for a Meatless Monday. In fact, I loaded up mine with a bunch of mushrooms, so as not to leave any in the bowl to be thrown away. Because that would be a travesty. The boys on the other hand were not the biggest fans. When he asked, "what are these black things?" and I responded spices, the kid was OK with it, but upon learning that they were actually mushrooms, he yelled, "I didn't eat them anyway. Own it!" - which was super not-awesome for me. The hubs thought the meal was bland, which I was surprised by, to be honest, because I thought the mushrooms were extra tasty. The boys did give major thumbs-up to the cheese-garlic biscuits, as well as the accompanying side salad.

Ranking:
Two Forks

This is the kid's serving (with biscuit). Notice the nominal amount of mushrooms - more for me!