Daydream Hills’ Goat Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

In Something Borrowed, Something 90% Dark, Felicity exhibits at a local bridal expo. There she meets a pair of sisters who run a goat dairy as a venue. These mushrooms are one of the appetizers Felicity gets to taste at their booth. Of course, that’s right before she finds out one of the goats on site for folks to pet has gone missing.

1 c. blended wild and white rice, cooked
12 medium baby portabella caps, 2.5-3in. in diameter
¼ lb. breakfast sausage
2 Tbsp. onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ c. red wine
1 tsp. fresh thyme, finely chopped
pinch of salt
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
¼ c. panko crumbs
3/8 cup. crumbled goat cheese
1 Tbsp. grated Mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Remove the stems from the mushrooms and place the mushroom caps upside down on a rimmed baking sheet. Set aside.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage, onion, garlic and red wine and cook until the sausage is cooked through and the onion turns translucent. Drain the sausage mixture and transfer it to a large bowl. Add the wild and white rice, thyme, panko bread crumbs, goat cheese, mozzarella, salt, and pepper.

Stuff the mushroom caps with sausage mixture and place back on baking sheet. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the mixture. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Serve warm.

Enrique’s Chocolate Cheese Kare Pan 

Jake and I love taking a classic and giving it a twist. It seems especially appropriate for Kare Pan (curry bread), which is already a mix of cooking styles. We added chocolate to the curry, because it adds a rich and earthy note. Then we turned the dough into a spiced-up cheese bread, with cracked peppercorns and paprika. In Something Borrowed, Something 90% Dark, Enrique designs an entire chocolate themed course for Autumn’s wedding reception. This is one of the options he offers.

This recipe gives you two meals, because you will only use about a quarter of the curry for filling the breads. Pair a kare pan with a fresh green salad, and you have a summer lunch.

For the Curry:
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 lb. stewing beef, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 large potato, diced
1 large onion, diced
4 medium carrots, diced
1 c. apple, shredded
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, minced
1 oz. dark chocolate
1 box Japanese Curry Sauce Mix

For the Kare Pan:
1 tsp active dry yeast
2/3 c. whole milk
150 g all-purpose flour
50 g cake flour
½ tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1 ½ tsp. cracked black pepper
2 Tbsp. smoked paprika
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ c. shredded Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 c. panko breadcrumbs
Oil for deep frying

Place the 2 tbsp. of oil in a wide skillet over medium high heat. When it is hot, add the beef, potato, onion, carrot and apple and sauté until the vegetables are tender and the onion turns translucent. Add 5 cups of water and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the parsley, chocolate and curry sauce mix and stir until the ingredients are well incorporated. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove the curry from the heat and allow to cool. Measure out two cups of the curry and refrigerate for at least an hour. (Enjoy the remaining curry while the bread dough is proofing.)

Microwave the milk until warm to the touch, about 95ºF/35ºC. Then add in the instant dry yeast to the warm milk. Set aside. Oil a large bowl. Set aside.

Place the all-purpose flour, cake flour, salt, sugar, cracked pepper and paprika in the bowl of a mixer. Use the whisk attachment on low to combine the ingredients. Change to the beater attachment, and slowly add the milk mixture. Mix on medium for 2-3 minutes, or until it makes a rough dough.
Add the unsalted butter and Parmesan cheese and continue mixing for an additional 8 minutes. At first, the dough will be sticky, wet, and oily but continue mixing until it starts pulling away from the bowl of the mixture.

Turn out the dough from the bowl to a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough by hand until it becomes smooth and elastic.

Form a ball and place the dough into the greased bowl, seam side down. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm spot for an hour, or until doubled in size.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently punch/press it down. Fold the dough into thirds widthwise and lengthwise. Turn upside down so the seam is facing down.

Divide dough into 8 equal pieces. Place the 8 dough balls on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for 15 minutes at room temperature.

Place the dough seam side up and flatten out each piece with your hand. Fold in thirds widthwise and lengthwise, and then turn it upside down so the seam side is on the bottom. Flatten again, and flip so the seam side is up. Roll out into a 4 inch circle using a rolling pin.

Place the dough seam side up and put 1.5 Tbsp of curry in the center of the circle. Gather the opposing edges of the circle and pinch the sides together. Fold over the pinched area and press to seal. Be sure to seal well so it doesn’t open up during the frying process.

Keeping the seam side on the bottom, put the bread back onto the baking sheet and cover with a damp towel while working on the rest of the dough.

Once all the dough has curry filling, crack the egg into a bowl and whisk well. Place the panko in a shallow bowl/tray. Using a pastry brush, coat the formed dough with egg and roll in the panko.

Deep fry at 320°F until golden brown, approximately 2-3 minutes per side.  Drain on paper towel.

NOTE:  If you wind up with extras, kare pan reheats beautifully in an air frier.

Carmen’s Decadent Chocolate Cake

In Something Borrowed, Something 90% Dark, Carmen bakes both the bride and groom’s cakes for Autumn’s wedding. Drake is into jazz, so she does a chocolate cake that looks like a music note. You could do this cake in a fancy shaped pan, but it tastes just as good done with round cake layers.

1 c. butter, plus extra for greasing the pans
½ c. milk
1 c. brewed espresso
¾ c. cocoa powder
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. granulated sugar
1 c. light brown sugar, packed
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
¾ c. sour cream
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
Carmen’s Chocolate Frosting, one batch

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease the bottom and sides of two 8” round cake pans with butter. Line the bottom of each pan with a circle of parchment paper.

Place the butter, milk, espresso and cocoa powder in a medium-sized saucepan over medium high heat. Bring the mixture just to a boil, stirring frequently. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix briefly to combine.

Add the chocolate and coffee mixture to the flour mixture. Mix on medium low until combined. Add the sour cream, eggs and vanilla and mixing until smooth.

Evenly divide the batter into the prepared baking pans. Bake on for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 15 minutes. Carefully turn out each cake onto a cooling rack. Allow the cakes to cool completely. Cover with frosting.

Carmen’s Chocolate Frosting

1 c. butter, at room temperature
2 c. powdered sugar
¼ tsp. salt
6 oz. dark chocolate, melted and cooled
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. heavy cream

Place the butter, powdered sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat until light and fluffy. Add the chocolate and beat on medium until it is evenly incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and the heavy cream. Continue mixing until completely combined. If the frosting is too stiff, add additional cream.