Sunday, October 27, 2013

Creamed-Spinach Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms with Poached Eggs


If you know me, you know that when I get stressed, I cook, 
and this recipe kept me so busy that I didn't even think 
about the party we're having at our house next weekend 
or the five million things I have to do for it. 
Nope; all I thought about was Why isn't Mark making me breakfast? That's his thing!  
making my man happy.

Mr.4444 came home from a business trip Friday with eight packages of Portobello mushrooms; 
some whole, some sliced, some other variations, which a customer had given to him. 
That's a lot of mushrooms! 
Naturally, I turned to Pinterest and found this first of many gems.

This recipe is not for those in a hurry or those who don't like a lot of steps. 
The first step I took was to make the suggested Hollandaise sauce. Who knew it was so simple? Eggs, butter, lemon juice, and a little bit of cayenne pepper. 
And the process is so pretty!


Thanks, Pioneer Woman, for the awesome blender recipe!

Ingredients:

(I included the box of quinoa in my photo, but you could serve this over something else.
Don't ask me what; I'm not that creative in the kitchen.)
If you're interested in a printable, text-only version of this recipe, click here.

Ingredients prepped:

(Mr.4444 was so proud of me!)
BTW, the lemon juice for the Hollandaise is missing from the photo above

The bacon gets chopped when it's raw.


The recipe I used called for half an onion, but I went with more like 1/2, 
as I couldn't imagine using that much.

I've never cooked with Portobellos before. I had to Google to learn a little first, 
like the fact that if you don't scoop out the "fins," they can make things mushy. 
I also learned to use the point of a spoon, not the side of it, 
to dig out the fins; it really does make a difference. 

I included two extra pieces of mushroom below, 
because the recipe called for dicing up the stems, but mine didn't have any to speak of.
I guess this could be important if you don't happen to have a ton of extras, as I did.



Another bit of research I did recommended scoring the tops of the mushrooms, so I did;
just lightly slice over the skin.


Now, when I followed the next steps, I had my laptop open
 and had to keep scrolling down through the steps, which I found frustrating, 
so, for your cooking ease, I created a snapshot of what to do, instead.
You should be able to click on it to see it bigger, if necessary.


The only note I would add is that you can feel free to add a little more fat, 
if you need to, to step two.
Oh, and add a "generous pinch" of salt to the gravy before adding the spinach.

Scoop into mushrooms (brushed with olive oil).
Doesn't this look amazing?!


By the way, this filling (and even the eggs) can be prepared the day before
and reheated when you're ready for them, according to Meseidy (Mah-say-dee)
of The Noshery, where I found this recipe.


Pop the mushrooms into a 400-degree oven on a cookie sheet sprayed with nonstick spray.
As you bake those for ten minutes, poach two eggs.
We like to poach our eggs in a big pan, so that they can cook at the same time but not touch.


After ten minutes, the mushrooms should look something like this:


Place on a bed of whatever you like; I chose quinoa (my first time!)
Place poached eggs on top,
pour Hollandaise sauce over that,
and top with remaining bacon.
Tada!


Mr.4444 proclaimed this dish "fantastic,"
but he was still hungry when he was finished.
I was completely satisfied.
This dish is somewhat rich; eating more than one wouldn't have worked to fill Mr.4444 up,
though we've decided to double the eggs next time.
I'm not sure what I'd add to make it more filling.
Any suggestions?

How to Prepare Portobello mushrooms

I found this recipe via this pin, and I highly recommend The Noshery; it's my new favorite cooking blog!