Spinach Artichoke Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 10 oz. package of frozen spinach, thawed
• 5 Portobello mushrooms
• 1 cup canned artichoke hearts
• 1/2 c parmesan cheese + extra for sprinkling on top
• 1/2 c mayo
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Method

Get your oven to 400ºF.

Brown the ground beef in a saute pan.

While the beef is browning: hold the thawed spinach in your hands and over a soup bowl, squeeze the living daylights out of the spinach. You want to squeeze out as much water as possible. Add to your food processor along with the mayo, artichokes, lemon and parmesan. Pulse it to combine. When the beef is browned, add that too. Pulse a couple times to combine it.

Now it’s time to prep the mushrooms. Remove the stem and discard (or save and make mushroom stock!). Over a bowl, or your sink, use a spoon to scrape out the black gills on the underside of the mushroom. You’re going to need to use a gentle force with the mushrooms–if you’re too rough, you’ll tear the mushroom.

Place the mushroom caps on a baking sheet, top side down. Stuff those babies with as much spinach, artichoke mixture as you can. Sprinkle some parm on top and bake until the mushrooms have cooked, about 8 minutes. Place the oven on broil and get the top nice and bubbly hot. Serve immediately.

Antipasto Salad

Ingredients

Pickled Cauliflower and Carrots

• 1/2 head cauliflower, chopped small
• 2 carrots, sliced thinly
• 1/2 c white wine vinegar
• 1/2 c red wine vinegar
• 1/2 c water
• 2 T salt
• 1 T sugar
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed

Antipasto

• 6 oz.  salami, pepperoni or other cured meat, chopped
• 1 can quartered artichokes, chopped
• 1/2 c roasted red peppers, chopped
• 1/3 c pistachios, chopped
• handful of basil and oregano, chopped
• 3 T pepperoncini, chopped
• olive oil, to taste
• black pepper, to taste
• other ingredients that you may like: red chili flakes, capers, red onions, kalamata olives, feta cheese

Method

In a medium bowl combine all ingredients for the pickles, place in fridge and let marinate for at least 24 hours. Toss the cauliflower/carrot mixture with a spoon a few times when you go in the fridge. Us a slotted spoon to remove the cauliflower and carrots from the brine. Be sure to remove the garlic if you don’t want it, it’s camouflaged really well by the cauliflower. We chopped the garlic up and put it in the salad, but it’s a bit spicy still, even pickled.

Place the cauliflower/carrots in a large bowl along with the rest of the chopped anitpasto ingredients. Serve immediately or keep in the fridge for a week or so.