Okay fine. I wasn’t going to put any Super Bowl posts up–in large part because most of the food people say to serve during the Super Bowl doesn’t compare to tastier/easier chips, pizza, and beer–but this Cheesy Mushroom Pull Apart Bread looks mighty tasty. Cheese, mushrooms, bread–what’s not to like?

It looks like you score the bread without cutting through the bottom, put the cheese/mushrooms/etc. between the cuts, and bake like you would garlic bread.

You don’t have to stick with mushrooms. Here’s a pizza version using pepperoni and another using onions.

I’m going to have to remember to try this…

I can’t believe I’ve never thought to bake an egg inside an avocado before. The hole that the avocado pit leaves is the perfect size for an egg. Here’s how The Family Kitchen says to do it:

Rub a skillet with a light coating of oil and place the avocado slices on top. Crack an egg in the center of each egg. Turn the skillet up to medium heat and place a lid over the skillet and allow it to cook for two to three minutes. Remove with a spatula, sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve.

Personally, I would probably flip the avocado over and let the top brown for a minute before removing from the pan. Either that or I would peel the avocado and cook it egg-in-a-hole style.

Either way, an interesting new thing to try at breakfast. [Neatorama]

The word “burger” is misleading here. These Fava Bean Brugers are closer to falafel or corn cakes than to hamburgers. In any case, they are tasty and extremely nutritious way to get your vegetables. This recipe works great for winter because you can use fresh or frozen vegetables. The fava beans were leftover from last year’s harvest, as were the jalapeños. You could also use frozen spinach, although you would have to drain out extra water.

The fava bean burger can be the star of dinner or an accompaniment. I served them in pita bread with sour cream, cucumbers, avocado, and lettuce. You could also serve them plain with a little bit of sour cream or as the side to another dish.

I’ve adapted this recipe from Plenty, which is one of the most promising vegetarian cookbooks I’ve come across. If you don’t like fava beans, this recipe would work great with any other similar bean. Lima beans, perhaps?

Fava Bean Burgers
(Serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

3 Tbs olive oil
1 lb fava beans, shelled
1 bunch spinach (about 1/2 lb), chopped
3/4 lb potatoes, diced
1 jalapeño pepper, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 tsp cumin
3/4 tsp coriander
3/4 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric
2 Tbs chopped parsley
6 Tbs breadcrumbs
1 egg
Salt and pepper
Canola oil

Directions:

Pour the fava beans into salted boiling water. Let boil for about 30 seconds then transfer into an ice bath. Carefully remove the outer skin from the fava bean, like so:

Set fava beans aside. Add potatoes to boiling water and cook about 15 minutes or until soft. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a frying pan, add the olive oil and garlic. Simmer about 30 seconds. Add the spinach and cook until wilted.

In a bowl, mix together potatoes, fava beans, all spices, jalapeño, 2 Tbs of olive oil, salt and pepper. Mash with a potato masher, then add the spinach, parsley, and breadcrumbs. Transfer the whole thing to a food processor and mix until all the ingredients are integrated. Don’t worry about everything looking uniform and perfect. You may have to work in batches.

Taste and adjust flavors accordingly. Add the egg to the mix.

Now shape into patties about 2 inches wide and 3/4 inch thick. Stick in the fridge until they have thoroughly cooled, about 10-20 minutes. (I used this time to clean the messy kitchen.) Finally, cook the patties. Heat a generous amount of canola oil in the bottom of a pan and fry the burgers on high for 3-4 minutes per side. Remove and serve as described above.

If there are leftovers, the fava bean burger keeps in the fridge for several days and make a great lunch.

Enjoy!

The other day, a friend was telling me about a dish that sounded strange to my Californian ears–a soup made of mushrooms, wild rice, and lavender. She insisted it was good, so I said we should try it.

Turns out the dish was a common one from Minnesota called Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup. As you can tell by the name, the soup uses wild rice (cheaper if you buy in bulk) and about one pound of mushrooms. I used half baby bell mushrooms and half oyster mushrooms.

The lavender is a California twist to the idea and is entirely optional. I happened to have some lavender on my bush outside, and it added a nice floral touch to the dish. In any case, this is a great mid-winter soup, hearty and delicious. And if you use vegetable broth instead of beef broth, it makes a great all-vegetarian entrée.

Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

1 c wild rice
1 onion, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbs flour
1 bay leaf
1 c white wine
4 c beef broth (or vegetable broth)
1/4 c cream
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
1 tsp lavender (optional)

Directions:

Add the rice and 1 tsp of salt to a pot of boiling water. Simmer for 50 minutes until the rice splits and is tender.

Meanwhile, in a soup pot or dutch oven, heat a tablespoon or two of oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook a moment until you begin to smell the garlic. Add the onion, celery, and a sprinkling of salt. Cook until the onions become soft and translucent. Add the mushrooms and another sprinkling of salt. Turn the heat to medium and cook 15-20 minutes until the mushrooms turn brown and have released all their juices.

Next, stir the flour to the vegetables. Turn up the heat and add the white wine, scraping the bottom of the pan to get up any brown bits. Simmer until the wine has reduced by about one-third.

Add the stock and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the wild rice, cream, and lavender. Simmer 10 more minutes. Add pepper and salt to taste. Enjoy!

I have two Meyer lemon bushes outside. With that many lemons coming in every year, I’ve become an expert in what you can do with them.

For instance, here are five things you can do with lemons:

Lemon Meringue Pie Bars. It’s lemon meringue pie in bar form.

Make Your Own Limoncello. It’s surprisingly easy to make this delightful digestivo–especially if you compare it to the price of limoncello in the store.

Perfect Lemonade. I am always surprised how few people have tasted lemonade made from scratch.

Lemon Bars. A classic. Great with coffee, too.

Lemon Pudding Cake. A soft, silky dessert that “mysteriously divides into a quivery layer of lemon custard on the bottom and a light a spongy cake on top,” according to the Joy of Cooking.

Need more lemon ideas? Check out 100 Things To Do With Lemons.

I never thought of making a Pomegranate Mojito before, but I bet it’s good. This recipe from Katherine Martinelli turns white rum, pomegranate juice, lime juice, and mint into an intriguing-sounding drink–especially right now, when pomegranates are in season.

Here’s the recipe:

Pomegranate Mojito
(Makes one drink)

Ingredients:

1-1 1/2 oz white rum
1 oz sugar or simple syrup
Juice of 1 lime
2 to 3 sprigs fresh mint
1 oz pomegranate juice
Pomegranate seeds
Club soda
Ice

Directions:

Select a big glass with room for plenty of ice. Put rum, lime juice, simple syrup and pomegranate juice in glass. Mix well. Taste, and add more sugar or lime juice if needed. Add some crushed lime peel if you like. Crush mint leaves from one sprig, add to drink and mix. Add a handful of pomegranate seeds. Add a one-second to second-and-a-half pour of club soda. Top glass with ice. Garnish with remaining mint leaves.

Read more about the pomegranate here.

[DIY Cocktails]

Happy 2012!

Last year when I went over What To Do With Leftover Champagne, I wish I had known about making homemade marshmallows with champagne, like this recipe from Brave Tart.

The recipe uses almost a bottle of champagne. According to the site:

Chop some up to mix into raspberry ice cream, dip them in chocolate, or simply roast ‘em on a stick over an open flame for a “champagne toast,” if you’ll forgive the pun.

[Neatorama]

Check out these Peppermint Meringue Cookies from Skip To My Lou. Don’t they look good? Not to mention festive for the holiday season.

They would also make good last minute Christmas gifts. [Craft]

Wassail punch is an traditional alcoholic drink that people were given when they went wassailing, or caroling, to people’s house. The punch typically incorporates apple cider, according to Wikipedia: “Historically, the drink was a mulled cider made with sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg and topped with slices of toast.”

Toast? I don’t know. However, “modern recipes begin with a base of wine, fruit juice, or mulled ale, sometimes with brandy or sherry added. Apples or oranges are often added to the mix.”

There are lots of Wassail Punch recipes floating around, but I’m intrigued with this on using beer from the BBC’s “Victorian Farm Christmas.”

But if using beer as a base for a punch sounds odd, here’s a Wassail Punch Recipe using apple cider instead. Plus bourbon!

Check out these Melted Snowman Cookies from Truly Custom Cakery. They are sugar cookies with icing for the snowman’s body and a marshmallow for its head.

Then, you decorate. Look, this one has a snowball:

I have no idea if these taste good, but they look cute. [Neatorama]