Arugula Pesto Cream Sauce with Portobello Mushrooms

My mom and dad recently vacationed in Buenos Aires, Argentina. While there, my mom had an arugula pasta dish with a cream sauce that she absolutely loved. She thought that I might be able to re-create it if she described it to me, so I whipped up a yummy sauce the other night for her! I used a fresh cavatappi pasta, but it was a little too thick in my opinion. I'd suggest using a penne or fettuccini pasta with this sauce! Enjoy! 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup baby arugula leaves
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 oz. pine nuts
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 pint regular cream
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 6 oz. Portobello mushrooms, chopped into small pieces
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Place arugula and garlic cloves in a food processor (or blender), pulse a couple of times. Slowly add the olive oil in an even stream, and process until the mixture begins to emulsify, about 30-40 seconds. Add the pine nuts and Parmesan cheese. Blend for a minute.

In a saucepan, melt the butter on low-medium heat. Add the Portobello mushrooms and sauté until tender. Add the cream and heat over low until it begins to simmer. Strain half of the hot cream into the food processor with the arugula pesto (make sure not to pour the mushrooms in the food processor), and pulse for about 20 seconds. Pour the mixture back into the cream, and simmer for 5 minutes, or until thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with the pasta of your choice... fresh pasta is always best! Top your pasta dish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Adapted from a recipe on AllRecipes.com!

Fennel and Apple Salad

One of my favorite things to do is to look in my refrigerator for ingredients just lying around, and turn them into something yummy!  That's just what I did today at lunchtime.  I had a fennel bulb in my fridge (I used the trimmings in a fish stock the other day), so I decided to whip something up revolving around the distinctive flavor of fennel.  Some people don't like or haven't even tried fennel - I hadn't tasted it until only a couple of years ago - but I think it's one of the most interesting, fresh tasting ingredients out there. One day I'll have to post my interpretation of Prune's Braised Fennel in Trout Roe Butter, but until then, here's my Fennel and Apple Salad... Hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:

• 1 fennel bulb, chopped
• 1 Honeycrisp apple, cored & chopped (or your favorite variety of apple)
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 handful of raw walnuts, chopped
• 2-3 tablespoons of Brianna's Homestyle Poppy Seed Dressing
• 1 lemon wedge
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Prepare all of the ingredients. Squeeze the lemon wedge on the apple just after chopping to prevent the apple from browning.

In a large bowl, mix together the fennel, apple, walnuts, and cilantro. Add some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Stir in the Brianna's Homestyle Poppy Seed Dressing. Done! :)